Munar column

[elanachan]

Hey there, couldn't think of another name for this so here it is.

My crackpot challenge is to see who can build the tallest column on the mun or other low gravity body with the goal being to reach orbital altitude while remaining stable. Bonus points for anyone who can not only build it up but also topple it over with a ship.

The leaderboard will be added to the opening post once people accept, the conditions of who will be ranked highest will be scored as follows:

tower height measured from ground to top of tower: 1 per meter

stock parts, free standing (no stability control): 20

mod parts, free standing (no stability control): 15

stock parts: 10

stock + mechjeb: 10

mod parts: 5

how thin is the base? (smaller the base, higher the score): base 100, minus 1 for every meter beyond 2 meters (the diameter of the rockomax tanks if I'm not mistaken)

hitting the tower with an orbiting spacecraft: 50

did the entire tower fall when hit?: 20 if yes

The structure height can be measured by placing a kerbal at the top and bottom of the tower, taking the altitude at the top and subtracting from the base altitude.

Edited August 28, 2013 by elanachan

[Zeroignite]

:sigh:

You can't build structures bigger in any dimension than 2.2km, since beyond that distance vessels only follow Keplerian mechanics.

[elanachan]

Surprisingly enough, I seem to recall being able to maintain a stable orbit around the mun at about 2k in the past due to the virtual lack of gravity.

[SargeRho]

It has nothing to do with that. KSP only simulates physics to 2.5km from your ship. So the tallest structure you can possibly build is 2.5km tall.

[elanachan]

so has it been done yet?

[Merinsan]

If you were to find the highest point on the Mun, you could do it with a 50 meter tall tower. I don't see that as impossible.

[Johnno]

My crackpot challenge is to see who can build the tallest column on the mun or other low gravity body with the goal being to reach orbital altitude while remaining stable. Bonus points for anyone who can not only build it up but also topple it over with a ship.

This is a simple enough challenge in concept, but you really should read the challenge submission guidelines. There's a lot 'missing' from your opening post, yes the guidelines are only that but even so, to interest people and to be able to judge the challenge, rather than just a simple "hey let's try this" post you'd need to add several things.

Limitations / Requirements

- Debug menu or no?

- Mods (which?) or stock?

- Are any parts prohibited?

Scoring

- Leaderboard

- Points system

Backstory

- Any roleplaying element?

- Pure game 'skill' challenge?

Beyond that, have you tried this yourself? Do you know how hard it would be to do? Are you willing to put up an initial entry to get things started?

Essentially when you really look at this challenge and what it entails, it's somewhat of an undertaking. Getting a tall enough structure onto the Mün and then toppling it is easy enough, but then what? To improve on a single launch/landing structure you'd need to dock. That's when it would become competetive. And this is also when it becomes an undertaking. Would anyone be interested in spending that much time on this particular challenge, just to 'win' ?

Also, how do you measure the structure's height? You'd need to figure that out and post the criteria so there's no confusion.

I'm posing all these questions for you to figure out so you can redo your opening post and make this a viable challenge. I'd be interested in participating, but you'll have to put more work into it first.

[kahlzun]

I remember back in 0.17 or so, there was a guy who built a 150m tower out of the girder sections on Gilly.

Eventually, because there were no struts to support it, it fell over in an awesome slow-motion collapse that he got on .gif, complete with kerbal running away from the tower.

[elanachan]

This is a simple enough challenge in concept, but you really should read the challenge submission guidelines. There's a lot 'missing' from your opening post, yes the guidelines are only that but even so, to interest people and to be able to judge the challenge, rather than just a simple "hey let's try this" post you'd need to add several things.

Limitations / Requirements

- Debug menu or no?

- Mods (which?) or stock?

- Are any parts prohibited?

Scoring

- Leaderboard

- Points system

Backstory

- Any roleplaying element?

- Pure game 'skill' challenge?

Beyond that, have you tried this yourself? Do you know how hard it would be to do? Are you willing to put up an initial entry to get things started?

Essentially when you really look at this challenge and what it entails, it's somewhat of an undertaking. Getting a tall enough structure onto the Mün and then toppling it is easy enough, but then what? To improve on a single launch/landing structure you'd need to dock. That's when it would become competetive. And this is also when it becomes an undertaking. Would anyone be interested in spending that much time on this particular challenge, just to 'win' ?

Also, how do you measure the structure's height? You'd need to figure that out and post the criteria so there's no confusion.

I'm posing all these questions for you to figure out so you can redo your opening post and make this a viable challenge. I'd be interested in participating, but you'll have to put more work into it first.

For the sake of this challenge I would be giving a bias twards people who only use stock parts with the exception of mechjeb, within the stock category I'm not prohibiting anything but I will give a bonus for tower stability without the aid of SAS/RCS. As for your question on if I have tried it personaly, it is on my to do list to see how tall I can make one, however due to my current hardware limitations I cannot expect to get close to the goal of 2km tall as the sheer number of pieces needed is too much for my system at this time, therefore when I do mine I don't expect to be at the top of the leaderboard. The leaderboard will be added to the opening post once people accept, the conditions of who will be ranked highest will be scored as follows:

tower height measured from ground to top of tower: 1 per meter

stock parts, free standing (no stability control): 20

mod parts, free standing (no stability control): 15

stock parts: 10

stock + mechjeb: 10

mod parts: 5

how thin is the base? (smaller the base, higher the score): base 100, minus 1 for every meter beyond 2 meters (the diameter of the rockomax tanks if I'm not mistaken)

hitting the tower with an orbiting spacecraft: 50

did the entire tower fall when hit?: 20 if yes

The structure height can be measured by placing a kerbal at the top and bottom of the tower, taking the altitude at the top and subtracting from the base altitude.

And yes, as you said, docking will almost certainly be required to build such a structure, however if people want I can add another catagory for the scoring for those that wish to try an un-docked structure.

For the most part, I consider this a skill based challenge, though if you want to make a story around your own, you are welcome to.