Time-Efficient Biome Exploration

[codepants]

So, I love science, and I always want more of it. I know for the Mun you can polar orbit and get the InSpace biomes, but aside from that it seems like visiting all the biomes is just very... well, time-consuming. I've got only a few potential solutions to this, and I'm wondering what other people have come up with, or if there's something I'm missing. I'm interested in general strategies, specific ship designs (screenshots welcome), and possibly mods, if they aren't too "cheat-like" (eg no Hyper Edit).

Also, even though there aren't many biomes on other planets right now, I hypothesize there will be at some point, so if you have planet-specific solutions (strategies might be different on Duna than on Eve, for instance), I'm interested in those as well.

(1) The most time-efficient yet least fuel efficient of my methods I just call "hopping." For the Mun, I've designed a VTOL that "hops around --" lands, does science, takes off with a 45 degree trajectory, lands, repeats. However, I can currently only visit one or two biomes without having to orbit and refuel (though I haven't tried a design with a nuclear engine). For Kerbin, I can usually only do one biome per launch because the atmosphere makes rocket launching so fuel-intensive (I haven't tried high-altitude trajectories with jet engines yet). For Duna, in getting from the middle of the planet to the poles, I've got a ship that does an orbital rendezvous for refuel, but the fuel intensity of polarizing the orbit usually means I can't launch, de-polarize, then rendezvous again.

(2) (Kerbin only). A high-speed plane, obviously. But again, this is almost ridiculously time-consuming. Even with an educated guess at where all the biomes are, flying between them takes hours of gameplay time -- even with a plane that flies straight during physics warp.

(3) Rovers, obviously, but again, they take forever, even if they go straight with physics warp.

(3.5) I'm wondering if there's a mod or possibility of a mod in the realm of "Time Hopping -- " a mod that would simulate time acceleration for a period and reload the game at the end of that period. For instance, you might point your rover north, accelerate to 15 m/s, then "Hop" an hour into the future, effectively moving your rover 900m north. It would have to adjust for altitude changes and a confirmation option would be nice ("There's ocean/a cliff here, are you sure?), but I don't feel like that would be too "cheaty" as it just replaces me holding down the "W" key for an hour. Thoughts on if this is possible/something similar has been done?

[Traches]

Sounds like your high speed planes on kerbin aren't as high speed as you think-- it's possible to circumnavigate the planet in an hour or two game time.

For the Mun, I haven't tried it yet. If you can build a high speed, easily controlled rover that stays stable at 4x time acceleration I think that might be the way to go.

[Jason Patterson]

(2) (Kerbin only). A high-speed plane, obviously. But again, this is almost ridiculously time-consuming. Even with an educated guess at where all the biomes are, flying between them takes hours of gameplay time -- even with a plane that flies straight during physics warp.

...

(3.5) I'm wondering if there's a mod or possibility of a mod in the realm of "Time Hopping -- " a mod that would simulate time acceleration for a period and reload the game at the end of that period. For instance, you might point your rover north, accelerate to 15 m/s, then "Hop" an hour into the future, effectively moving your rover 900m north. It would have to adjust for altitude changes and a confirmation option would be nice ("There's ocean/a cliff here, are you sure?), but I don't feel like that would be too "cheaty" as it just replaces me holding down the "W" key for an hour. Thoughts on if this is possible/something similar has been done?

2. Planes work on Laythe as well. Just sayin.

3.5 This sounds like a pretty darned "cheat-like" mod. If you're willing to simply jump an hour into the future without having to deal with possibly crashing during that hour, just use hyperedit and put yourself where you want to be. To answer your question directly though, it sounds like you're after a mod that gives an even higher version of physics warp without all of the chaos that would come with it. No, to the best of my knowledge there isn't such a thing.

[nhnifong]

You can build high-altitude plane using the ram air intakes (if you have them) and explore all the biomes on kerbin in a few hours. You should be able to fly around 1700 m/s at 22 to 26 km.

I think your best route would be something like this.

Also, I would not advise landing in the ocean with your plane Better design a special craft for that.

Edited November 10, 2013 by nhnifong

[HeadHunter67]

For instance, you might point your rover north, accelerate to 15 m/s, then "Hop" an hour into the future, effectively moving your rover 900m north.

More like 54 kilometers. Check your math.

[codepants]

Sounds like your high speed planes on kerbin aren't as high speed as you think-- it's possible to circumnavigate the planet in an hour or two game time.

Hmmm, okay. IMO that's still a lot of play time for science doing. But good to hear from someone who flies planes more than I do.

2. Planes work on Laythe as well. Just sayin.

3.5 This sounds like a pretty darned "cheat-like" mod. If you're willing to simply jump an hour into the future without having to deal with possibly crashing during that hour, just use hyperedit and put yourself where you want to be. To answer your question directly though, it sounds like you're after a mod that gives an even higher version of physics warp without all of the chaos that would come with it. No, to the best of my knowledge there isn't such a thing.

I guess I don't have a rebuttal for that. You're right, it would be pretty darned cheat-like. But if the terrain is flat and the rover is stable I'm not sure it's any different than, say, Mechjeb -- you're essentially asking the computer to hold "W" for you.

Anyways, thanks for the info.

You can build high-altitude plane using the ram air intakes (if you have them) and explore all the biomes on kerbin in a few hours. You should be able to fly around 1700 m/s at 22 to 26 km.

I think your best route would be something like this.

Also, I would not advise landing in the ocean with your plane Better design a special craft for that.

I approve of this map.

I was hoping for something that would take less than "a few hours," but it's not the fault of your suggestion... Kerbin is big.

Thanks for the input.

More like 54 kilometers. Check your math.

Hey, only off by a factor of 60! I got my seconds and hours confused for a second... hour... crap.

[mossman]

I recently visited 3 separate Mun biomes in a rover. Landed in Midlands, drove about 10 km south to a rather interesting crater, then back... and then 35 km northeast to the Northern Basin. And all the way back.

Interestingly enough I figured out that the rover was actually much less likely to tip over when running at highers physics warp settings, which helped a lot. The wheels just start sliding all over the place instead of gripping the soil and spilling the vehicle over into a roll. The wheel physics are pretty wonky.

Anyway, that was a lot of fun. Here's some photographs of Bill in the rover right outside the Landing Module.

Bob was in the lander.

One of the solar arrays got knocked off during a particularly exciting descent through a valley about 20 km north of the landing site.

I probably should have given Bill the camera, on second thought.

Oh well, he got plenty of soil samples, gravimetrics, seismic data, etc.

[KerbMav]

As milking the biomes gets less and less efficient as more lucrative targets come into reach with your increasing tech level, just schedule every return mission to land in a different biome to get them all eventually.

There are (by now) two mods that scan planets to create maps - both also show the biomes.

[Geschosskopf]

So, I love science, and I always want more of it. I know for the Mun you can polar orbit and get the InSpace biomes, but aside from that it seems like visiting all the biomes is just very... well, time-consuming. I've got only a few potential solutions to this, and I'm wondering what other people have come up with, or if there's something I'm missing. I'm interested in general strategies, specific ship designs (screenshots welcome), and possibly mods, if they aren't too "cheat-like" (eg no Hyper Edit).

First off, the only reason to grind out each biome on Kerbin and Mun is simply if you're RPing that way. The Kerbin system is chump change compared to other planets so if you're trying to unlock the tech tree fast, you only need 1 or 2 Mun landings before you should feel up to an interplanetary trip. And after that, you'll never do anything in the Kerbin system again.

So, RPing. First off, you have to decide how to handle Kerbin. Was it fully explored centuries before by guys in sailing ships? If so, skip it. If not, you have to figure some reason why . If you want to go everywhere there, the quickest way is to lob suborbital stuff everywhere, at least until you get airplanes.

As to Mun, the easiest way is to land there. Once done at that place, take off into the lowest possible polar orbit and wait until Mun rotates under you enough to bring the next target under you, and land again. Repeat as long as fuel and/or goo pods last.

[DerekL1963]

First off, the only reason to grind out each biome on Kerbin and Mun is simply if you're RPing that way. The Kerbin system is chump change compared to other planets so if you're trying to unlock the tech tree fast, you only need 1 or 2 Mun landings before you should feel up to an interplanetary trip. And after that, you'll never do anything in the Kerbin system again.

This. I needed Kerbin biomes early on, and took the easy ones (I.E. you can hit the polar ice caps and the Great Desert without too much work) early on... by the time I'd hit those, it was off to solar orbit and other planets. Probably half or more of my tree was filled out with a handful of planetary probes. (Including impactors on the planets with atmospheres.) You don't need returns (currently) and you don't need to exhaustively grind every Kerbin and Munar biome. You just need patience and Kerbal Alarm Clock if you run planetary probes in parallel (multiple ones in transit at the same time).

The further out you go, the more Science! you get - it pays to reach out as far as you can as soon as you can.

[Gnipu]

There are (by now) two mods that scan planets to create maps - both also show the biomes.

What are these mods called?

Thanks

[codepants]

First off, the only reason to grind out each biome on Kerbin and Mun is simply if you're RPing that way. The Kerbin system is chump change compared to other planets so if you're trying to unlock the tech tree fast, you only need 1 or 2 Mun landings before you should feel up to an interplanetary trip. And after that, you'll never do anything in the Kerbin system again.

So, RPing. First off, you have to decide how to handle Kerbin. Was it fully explored centuries before by guys in sailing ships? If so, skip it. If not, you have to figure some reason why . If you want to go everywhere there, the quickest way is to lob suborbital stuff everywhere, at least until you get airplanes.

Well, possibly. To be honest, sometimes I just want shorter, easier missions, but ones that still accomplish things. The other half, you're right, is RP'ing. I am aware that going to other planets ASAP is the best way to fill the tree.

Even if it was explored centuries before by guys in sailing ships, they obviously did not have the advanced things we have today... like thermometers. ) Point and case: all the research we (humans) do today on the poles. I know Kerbals are in a different universe, but still. In any case, at some point it does become a question of, "To RP, or not to RP?"

As to Mun, the easiest way is to land there. Once done at that place, take off into the lowest possible polar orbit and wait until Mun rotates under you enough to bring the next target under you, and land again. Repeat as long as fuel and/or goo pods last.

Exactly. My question was, what ship do you use to accomplish this? My designs can usually only do a few "hops" before needing to refuel.

[KerbMav]

What are these mods called?

Thanks

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/55832-PLUGIN-PARTS-WIP-SCANsat-terrain-mapping

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/entries/1081-Mapsat-4-devbuild-2-now-available

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/9396-0-22-ISA-MapSat-4-0-Dev-Build

[Tank Buddy]

It took me an hour real-time with minimal timewarp.

[arise257]

Put a popcorn-style probe deployer up around Mun, in polar orbit, then drop them to each biome as you fly over. These are are only good for transmits unless you equip them with fuel for a rendezvous.

You could do something similar with a space station and multiple rovers. Consider assembling something big over several launches, then taking that to Mun, grinding, re-assembling, and returning.