Whack a rover

[earth]

Try to wreck this rover while driving it:

http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/superrover3/

iI bet you can't!

If you manage to break something, tell me or take a screenshoot, and i will improve upon this!

My goal is to make the toughest rover ever!!

Obviously dropping it from space, hitting it with another craft or modifying it (and such stuff) does not count!

[Giggleplex777]

This + Dres canyon = GG.

My attempt to get to the bottom with a rover (my own):

[Kerbies_are_my_Minions]

First attempt. Max speed strait into the water. Broke the lights, the seat, the probe, and the radial hard point.

Second attempt. High speed turn resulting in sideways end over end tumble. Broke the wheels and rollcage.

Edited July 3, 2013 by Kerbies_are_my_Minions

[earth]

Thats interesting... I made a lot of high speed turns, even going downhill to get more speed, and i never broke anything from rolling over... did you do it in timewarp??

I will look into making it more water resistant at high speed.

EDIT : i tried splashing into the water at full speed, and thats true, the internal components break off... But they are supposed to be protected by the outer bars (since they are on the inside of the rover) i dont think this is something i can work around. Also, the legs are the most G-sensitive parts it seems. I tried dropping it from 12k meters and only the legs broke (from too much G force).

If you break the rover using the fact that a wheel is broken, it does not count beacause it is intended to be driven by a kerbal.

i will now try to go down the dres canyon. I think it will be safe because its a low gravity body

Edited July 3, 2013 by earth

[Kerbies_are_my_Minions]

No time warp, I'm just good at distructive driving. this was the result of a high speed end over end at an odd angle. the wheels that broke off are the corners that where impacting the ground on each rotation.

You won't be able to do anything about the water. water trailing a part has the same impact as water ahead of the part. this means if you put a pannel leading a seat to impact and break the water, so that that the seat is safe, it will not work.

[shoveycat]

Do you consider slamming it into Kerbin at 4000 m/ps orbital velocity "driving it"?

[sauliukas]

Nice little rover. But can't withstand 20 m/s impacts to landing strip lights.

[zarakon]

I will take this to the north pole of the Mun. That's where the serious rough terrain is!

[earth]

It can withstand 20m/s impacts with the VAB, and can jump the Launchpad slopes. However, i did no test slamming it into the lights of the runway

[earth]

I will take this to the north pole of the Mun. That's where the serious rough terrain is!

I tested it in the mountains north of KSC, so mun shouldnt be a problem since its low grav!

[earth]

Do you consider slamming it into Kerbin at 4000 m/ps orbital velocity "driving it"?

This isnt driving it. I dont thing it would survive that. However i dropped it accidentally fromm 2000m up on kerbin, and i was delighted to find that it was still in pretty good shape (but not intact).

[sauliukas]

I tested it in the mountains north of KSC, so mun shouldnt be a problem since its low grav!

You should test it in Mun, but I think it will be pain to drive it because of low gravity.

[sauliukas]

It can withstand 20m/s impacts with the VAB, and can jump the Launchpad slopes. However, i did no test slamming it into the lights of the runway

My rovers can withstand VAB too, but those lights at runway is something different. After hitting them I usually lose some parts, but no structural damage. There is one way to cushion that damage, but the trade off is not worth it.

[Tiron]

My rovers can withstand VAB too, but those lights at runway is something different. After hitting them I usually lose some parts, but no structural damage. There is one way to cushion that damage, but the trade off is not worth it.

The impact pushes the beams out of position, far enough that things which are normally protected can hit the light. They're also small enough that they can get between wheels, and other elements that would normally be hit first.

I've got my own pretty darn tough rover, and the whole 'surface imprecision messes up the suspension' thing likes to send it tumbling down hills. If you're going fast enough when that happens and it starts flinging off the command seats and wheels, even as the rest of the structure survives. I'll be trying that with your rover in a minute, I expect to lose wheels.

Edit: Oh and this thing has waaaay too many RTGs. The wheels only use 2.8/sec, the lights and probe core hardly use any. Four RTGs produce 3/sec, that'd probably be plenty for everything. Half the number that are on it right now.

Edit2: First explosion, and I haven't even gone tumbling yet:

One of the side landing legs blew up while rolling gently down the hill. This thing has major problems with hills, it starts tipping over backwards trying to drive up them if it's too steep, and is extremely prone to rolling in a turn to begin with, but it's far worse on a slope. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get OVER this hill to start the tumble testing.

Edited July 4, 2013 by Tiron

[minerman30]

Drove it off the launchpad and flipped it, lost an entire wheel assembly.

If you drive nicely, this works great, but it's not as indestructible as you describe.

[Tiron]

I didn't get over the hill. I nearly did by driving backwards, but lost it near the top and started tumbling. Couldn't get it to stop...and, well...

The command seat is destroyed. Jeb survived falling out but not the slide down the hill. All the RTGs are destroyed. One of the batteries is destroyed. Two of the landing legs, destroyed. One of the headlights destroyed. Multiple Struts Destroyed. Three of the wheel assemblies are scattered on the hillside.

That wasn't even nearly as much energy as what I was intending: I was going to tumble it while it was going downhill at 50 m/s plus. It was doing maybe 10 m/s, UPHILL, when it started to tumble.

[earth]

I really dont get get how you rip off the wheels.... I rolled downhill pretty darn fast in the mountains and there was no problem! Even with V3.0 i just had a wheel ripped off once, and the wheels in V3.1 are strutted a lot to the structure.

Also, it turns over easily because of the high center of grav. As you sait i could put four RTG instead of 8, but the CoM would be a lot higher and the rover would be lighter. I'm not sure i want that.

Concerning the landing legs : they are the less tough part that isnt directly protected, and i made the structure so they never collide with the groung. However, if you manage to rip off a wheel, then the left and right legs arent protected anymore.

Maybe i should re-organize the attachment logic in the structure so that wheels are better held...

And you tiron, i dont know how you did your thing, you even broke the probe that is on the inside and the RTG... Just by driving up a hill???????? I mean, i know its prone to wheelies, thats due to the RTG, but man, i wish i had seen this myself....

Edited July 4, 2013 by earth

[Tiron]

I really dont get get how you rip off the wheels.... I rolled downhill pretty darn fast in the mountains and there was no problem! Even with V3.0 i just had a wheel ripped off once, and the wheels in V3.1 are strutted a lot to the structure.

Also, it turns over easily because of the high center of grav. As you sait i could put four RTG instead of 8, but the CoM would be a lot higher and the rover would be lighter. I'm not sure i want that.

Concerning the landing legs : they are the less tough part that isnt directly protected, and i made the structure so they never collide with the groung. However, if you manage to rip off a wheel, then the left and right legs arent protected anymore.

Maybe i should re-organize the attachment logic in the structure so that wheels are better held...

And you tiron, i dont know how you did your thing, you even broke the probe that is on the inside and the RTG... Just by driving up a hill???????? I mean, i know its prone to wheelies, thats due to the RTG, but man, i wish i had seen this myself....

It got up on two wheels near the top of the hill. Then One. Then none. It started slowly tumbling downhill, then faster, and faster, and faster. Surprisingly the wheels themselves didn't rip off, the girders they're attached to did. One of them even has a cross-girder attached to that one still. The first thing to break was one of the wheels.

And there IS some way for the side landing legs to touch without anything breaking off first, because one blew up from a gentle rolling before the tumble.

Most of the stuff that was destroyed (except struts) broke off from the rover and went flying through the air, being destroyed when they hit something. Mostly the rover itself.

I was planning to go over the hill and tumble it going really fast down the other side, but it tumbled on its own from the top of the hill. It's a big bloody hill.

Just for you I'm gonna try to take a video of it.

[Daddy Cecil]

Since its called Whack a rover, I used Whack-a-Kerbal (ofc) and it was pretty resilient to default settings.

[Tiron]

Video Made, Trimmed, and Uploading. ETA 15 minutes.

[Tiron]

Here you go, death of a superrover by hill. In HD 1080.

Entry speed was higher than the first time, and sideways rather than upward, but basically the same. I actually wanted to get over farther before tumbling it but lost control.

Edit: Okay, death by mountain. It's a big frakkin' hill.

Edited July 5, 2013 by Tiron

[Giggleplex777]

I've noticed that the structural girders have weak radial attachment points (especially when attaching things radially to them). This makes things fall off easily.

[Mach56]

Try making your rover longer and wider. It MIGHT make it a bit more stable.

[earth]

Try making your rover longer and wider. It MIGHT make it a bit more stable.

Exactly what im doing with V4.0!! Its almost done already! Ill tell you more later

[earth]

Here you go, death of a superrover by hill. In HD 1080.

Entry speed was higher than the first time, and sideways rather than upward, but basically the same. I actually wanted to get over farther before tumbling it but lost control.

Edit: Okay, death by mountain. It's a big frakkin' hill.

Okay well.... Whats funny is that the wheels dont look like they are ripped off, they look like they just detach oO

At 0:48 the wheel part is like "nothing to de here" and just pops. I dont have that at all, even with no struts to attach the wheels more.

I noticed you have an increased delta T, and that might be the problem.

I have a V4.0 in testing right now, and its much lighter and with a lower CoM ans less parts (mATM). It should be better.

What software do you use for recording? I would like to show V4.0 off

here is a pic :

Compare V4.0b vith V3.0 :

Edited July 5, 2013 by earth