Just for the heck of it...!

[Whackjob]

I know I kind of looked down on those militarizing the game, but ol' Whack is slowly having a change of heart. Specifically, playing the multiplayer got me thinking.

Let's say I want to take out a space station. Obviously, there aren't classic weapons. There are no slug throwers, no explosives. That leaves just kinetic kill vehicles.

This is my interceptor. It carries a loadout of twelve individual self propelled kill vehicles. Ten have already been used, there are only two there.

What was I firing at? An empty orange canister I put into orbit that I designated "Able Target". You can see one missing solar panel... clipped by the sixth kill vehicle.

Closeup of the kill vehicle. Small engine, 2 small fuel tanks, small RCS canister, battery, probe control, nosecap, RCS thrusters.

I fire the munition, turn on the engine, then use both the engine and the RCS thrusters to steer it on target. The first five shots were pretty wild... it's a tough thing to hit something 6km away! Like hitting a bullet with a second, tinier bullet. I initially despaired of having a hit, and was just about to move closer to make it easier when I tore off the solar panel. Refreshed and renewed, I continued firing. And with the tenth shot...

... I tore the arse end off the able target, striking it right in the orange canister body. My jaw dropped. I'd done it! I let out a whoop and a cheer, immediately panicking my pet cockatiel, who then retaliated by flying over and biting me in the neck.

I now have a proof-of-concept model. Success!

[LtHeckard]

You can use Mainsail engines to launch projectiles at targets. Of course you'll want to counter the thrust of the launcher Mainsail by putting another mainsail on the back.

[Whackjob]

... and with my twelfth and final kill vehicle, I struck the control core and nosecone at a distance of 12km.

My mind is reeling with possibilities.

You can use Mainsail engines to launch projectiles at targets. Of course you'll want to counter the thrust of the launcher Mainsail by putting another mainsail on the back.

I hadn't considered this at all. Good thinking. I don't think I could use that accurately at kilometer ranges, though. But for a close in broadsides? Hrm.

#EDIT: Just had another thought. The kill vehicle is going to get a redesign...!

Edited November 9, 2013 by Whackjob

[DisarmingBaton5]

I've always wondered how well a frag projectile would work in KSP. Use wheels as fragments perhaps?

[spyker92]

I've always wondered how well a frag projectile would work in KSP. Use wheels as fragments perhaps?

It depends on the acceleration of the object. If you get enough parts to fly fast enough, they'll take just about anything out.

[Whackjob]

Just redesigned my kill vehicles. The newer model is a wee bit scarier. Going to launch another able target, redesign my interceptor into a corvette class ship, and go again.

Pictures when I'm there.

#EDIT: Just came up with what I think is a rather ingenious cannon!

Edited November 9, 2013 by Whackjob

[Pbhead]

Whackjob's threads are always amazing. thanks for sharing. cant wait to see what happens when you undoubtedly monsterize this somehow.

[Geschosskopf]

Bravo, WJ!

I tried a different approach once, seeking a fire-and-forget system. I made this small thing with long, heavily strutted girder arms sticking out on all sides, put MJ on it, and told it to rendezvous with the target (which was in a different orbit on the other side of Kerbin) at a distance of 1 meter. What happened was, the "kill vehicle" would home right in on the target but would slow down trying to get right next to it. But it could never get close enough because the girders were longer than that and would hit the target, knocking it away. The more interesting things occurred when the "kill vehicle" would spin around to make another pass, really backslapping the target with the arms in the process. The result was that the "kill vehicle" would spend 15 or 20 minutes constantly bludgeoning the target until it ran out of fuel. In the process, it would break off small parts but not big ones and never hit anything hard enough to explode it. But it did a great job of knocking the target all over the sky and sending it spinning at high speed. Might be useful for some applications

[Whackjob]

Thank you, all! MOAR PICTURES!

I call this the WK-SG-Mk1. It's a small shotgun.

What I like about it is it's small. It's a one-shot use weapon, but I'm already mulling over ideas on how to reload it. The two engines fire, cancelling out their thrust, but the rings detach and are propelled away by the thrust.

Fire in the hole!

As you can see, our target is the VAB. Most of our rings hit.

But one... well, it ends up just over two kilometers away.

Effective. I believe that velocity will be enough to break parts. I'm calling it quits tonight while I mull over what I managed to pull off. Still considering a reload mechanism. It'd be easier just to haul ammo stacks than a separate cannon for each one.

Great idea, LtHeckard!

[FITorion]

There is an issue... You can't get them going above a certain relative speed or they'll clip right through each other.

EnterElysium's World War K youtube series demonstrated this over several episodes as he tried to drop some things from orbit onto a target only to have the Kill vehicle pass through the target and explode on contact with the ground... leaving the target unharmed.

I myself have gotten so fast that I've clipped through Kerbin. There's a recent Danny video featuring that one.

So there is an upper limit to the relative velocities where the physics steps get wide enough for things to pass through each other. Things in prograde and retrograde orbits for example will be going too fast relative to each other to hit.

In another World War K video he makes a "flack" device to throw up a bunch of debris in the path of an incoming ICBM... which passed right through it. No damage.

Edited November 9, 2013 by FITorion

[_Aramchek_]

There is an issue... You can't get them going above a certain relative speed or they'll clip right through each other.

I found that out the hard way unfortunately, otherwise my gun would be pretty nasty.

I've got ideas about a reload mechanism and stuff, it's just picking the right engine for just enough velocity, but not too much so the clipping happens.

[Bluntie]

That shotgun is terrifying. xD

[Madrias]

Given any considerations to some 4000 part count Kessler bombs yet? Given your abilities, Whackjob, I could see that being insane in a multiplayer environment.

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

Danny showed it off too

[Scotius]

Poor Devs They are so adamant about not weaponising KSP. Alas, there is no stopping of human inguenity and imagination when it comes to destroying stuff. Human race is scary

[vexx32]

Weapons aren't my thing, but this is actually looking pretty cool. One doesn't really need a mod for weapons in KSP when just slamming small parts into bigger craft can sometimes end spectacularly xD

[Whackjob]

Given any considerations to some 4000 part count Kessler bombs yet? Given your abilities, Whackjob, I could see that being insane in a multiplayer environment.

I'd thought about this. There's several different issues that make it ineffective. First, the sheer size of space. Even if I scattered 10,000 parts in LKO, the odds of any ship coming near one of those parts is quite small. Second, the parts in their orbits would be moving at exactly the same speed as everything else in the same kind of orbit, further lessening the chance for a strike. Even if there were one, it would be at very low velocities. Now, if I used an elliptical orbit, at the lower end it would be moving at a higher speed, but that greatly reduces the time the scrap is in the striking range of something in a circular orbit, further lessening the odds of a hit.

The only effective part, I believe, would be in lagging the heck out of everyone else on the server. But I can do the same thing with just putting something around six thousand parts or so on the launch pad.

[sparty48]

Whackjob... PC specs please

[Whackjob]

Whackjob... PC specs please

I should just put them into my signature haha. 2.53Ghz quad core processor, one of those quad core 2 duo things that predate the i3 intel series. 8GB RAM. Dual Geforce 280ms. Runs windows 8.

[Arsonik]

So there is an upper limit to the relative velocities where the physics steps get wide enough for things to pass through each other.

I had this happen to a vehicle after undocking it from my station and forgetting to change its orbit. Station caught up and passed through the other vehicle at high speed.

[Whackjob]

Given all that's been said, here, I think my original munition system is probably what I'd want to stick with. I did come up with a couple of other series of munition, one where the rocket even had lander lets on the nose to open up and have like a broadhead-arrowhead type effect, but it's much larger. Tiny munitions seem to do the job fine, and I can carry more of them.

Maybe tonight I'll put together a missile frigate. Frigate in the Homeworld sense of classification. So, big thing. Not little fighter thing. Not quite a destroyer.

[Thorbane]

Saw this design on the forums somewhere. I was surprised at how fast it goes.

its a small decoupler with 2 sepratrons clipped into the sides. If you use the editor tools vertical snap setting it flies perfectly straight. Apparently cant do much to 2.5 meter parts though.

[Whackjob]

Too fast and it'll clip through the target ship, though. That and there's no guidance system at all. But it'd probably make for an awesome broadsides, close in attack. Close enough to prevent most of the speed, close enough to make aiming easier.

... I think I'll stick with my long range guided munition. But thank you for the suggestion!

#EDIT: I think tonight I'll launch another able target, another interceptor, and do a youtube vid of my firing practice.

[panfish5]

You should go look for a battle thread in the forum games there are some really interesting threads in there and a great place to test your weapons on other peoples stuff!

Thought id show one of my favorite battle pics.

[Whackjob]

You should go look for a battle thread in the forum games there are some really interesting threads in there and a great place to test your weapons on other peoples stuff!

Thought id show one of my favorite battle pics.

You'd hate me. I can hit things from 20km away currently. I'm working on a way to up that to about 100km.

Reliably.