Today I build a Rocket

[mpink]

Ok im a day late but i think it was worth it.

Hard Score

35.27T into LKO = 176.35

11 Sections so 8 Sections over the min + 80 = 256.35

Munar landing +50 = 306.35

Using Im A Cupcake Wannabe V0.3 Plugin.

Now we have somewhat of a problem. Most of the video is at 3X speed already just to try and make the game clock run in real time but the full video is a shocking hour and a half long.

I tryed a cut down version but its still 30 mins more than anyone will be willing to watch. I might try to get this one playing at 4X speed and then it will only take 17Mins LOL.

Your best bet is to use the

as you can skip to the parts you want much easier.

Problem for me is that playlists dont seam to work if your watching in fullscreen mode.

Ether way you will probably need some rock radio and snacks.

Managed to put all the fuel tanks down with no crashes or retakes but the nose cones were a different matter.

Think i placed all the parts when i was drunk a few weeks back and forgot to remove the side wheals from the Gear Action.

After about 7 crashes i had to hack the save file to change the Action and fix my mistake.

The only other bad problem i had was with that huge ladder. It looked like a bug caught on video to me. It seamed like the kerbal was following a ladder he was not in contact with and i had to retract it to get around the problem. I did try hacking gravity with the hope of jetpacking into the capsule before i found the fix but that resulted in the collapse of the rocket.

So the bar has been truly set but is anyone crazy enough to try beating that ?

Edited February 13, 2014 by mpink
Update quick video link

[Cupcake...]

Ok im a day late but i think it was worth it.

Hard Score

35.27T into LKO = 176.35

11 Sections so 8 Sections over the min + 80 = 256.35

Munar landing +50 = 306.35

Using Im A Cupcake Wannabe V0.3 Plugin.

Now we have somewhat of a problem. Most of the video is at 3X speed already just to try and make the game clock run in real time but the full video is a shocking hour and a half long.

I tryed a cut down version but its still 30 mins more than anyone will be willing to watch. I might try to get this one playing at 4X speed and then it will only take 17Mins LOL.

Your best bet is to use the

as you can skip to the parts you want much easier.

Problem for me is that playlists dont seam to work if your watching in fullscreen mode.

Ether way you will probably need some rock radio and snacks.

Managed to put all the fuel tanks down with no crashes or retakes but the nose cones were a different matter.

Think i placed all the parts when i was drunk a few weeks back and forgot to remove the side wheals from the Gear Action.

After about 7 crashes i had to hack the save file to change the Action and fix my mistake.

The only other bad problem i had was with that huge ladder. It looked like a bug caught on video to me. It seamed like the kerbal was following a ladder he was not in contact with and i had to retract it to get around the problem. I did try hacking gravity with the hope of jetpacking into the capsule before i found the fix but that resulted in the collapse of the rocket.

So the bar has been truly set but is anyone crazy enough to try beating that ?

Bloody hell! I knew the longer we'd be waiting the more epic this would be, well done! I think your place at the top of the leaderboad is more or less assured! Cheers for posting the video too, I'll pour myself a nice glass of Scrumpy and watch it tonight. We really need a banner or something for people that take part.

Cupcake...

Edited February 12, 2014 by Cupcake...

[mpink]

Bloody hell! I knew the longer we'd be waiting the more epic this would be, well done! I think your place at the top of the leaderboad is more or less assured! Cheers for posting the video too, I'll pour myself a nice glass of Scrumpy and watch it tonight. We really need a banner or something for people that take part.

Thanks

Im hoping that my kethane Mining colony plans will benefit a lot from this. I have visions of Mainsail powered transport ships . So i shall need a huge fuel transport network and bases that look like small towns.

I updated that short video with a 5X playback rate so its only 10mins now

As for being assured the top spot, im not so sure.

I cant put this challenge down just yet and have a theoretical build that launches with 3 stages Using 25 sections delivering 30T into orbit for around 400 points.

Its all stock and the build should be somewhat easy and a lot faster compared to the VTOL test.

I still have a small Chuck Norris difficulty build i haven't showed yet too.

My idea is that hard just isnt hard enough and Chuck Norris should mean stock only and no fuel pipes, struts or orange tanks.

But with the number of other entry's to the challenge maybe making it harder wont help.

[Cupcake...]

Thanks

Im hoping that my kethane Mining colony plans will benefit a lot from this. I have visions of Mainsail powered transport ships . So i shall need a huge fuel transport network and bases that look like small towns.

I updated that short video with a 5X playback rate so its only 10mins now

As for being assured the top spot, im not so sure.

I cant put this challenge down just yet and have a theoretical build that launches with 3 stages Using 25 sections delivering 30T into orbit for around 400 points.

Its all stock and the build should be somewhat easy and a lot faster compared to the VTOL test.

I still have a small Chuck Norris difficulty build i haven't showed yet too.

My idea is that hard just isnt hard enough and Chuck Norris should mean stock only and no fuel pipes, struts or orange tanks.

But with the number of other entry's to the challenge maybe making it harder wont help.

Ha, ha, no perhaps not. I've got a feeling people are quietly working on this challenge in the background though. But yeah, brilliant job, I've just finished your video too (the 10 min version!) , BTW you might want to check out the OP.

Cupcake...

[Ryu Gemini]

Personally, I've just been busy getting off my arse to finally take, edit, and upload some videos I've been meaning to do (including a bipedal robot).

Infernal robotics is fun.

[Cupcake...]

Personally, I've just been busy getting off my arse to finally take, edit, and upload some videos I've been meaning to do (including a bipedal robot).

Infernal robotics is fun.

Your entry sir, is one I am looking forward to a great deal.

Cupcake...

[Ryu Gemini]

Your entry sir, is one I am looking forward to a great deal.

Cupcake...

Sorry, should have clarified that I meant "I am too busy making tons of OTHER stuff with this mod."

Its a pretty safe bet that when we get an update to KSP, I will not update until the magicsmokeindustries mod (Infernal Robotics) gets updated for it. Its just that fun to make things with it.

The rover in question though will have to be quite large for stability. Maybe shaped like a giant horseshoe base. Could perhaps use fuel ports as grapple points for a claw (which also has fuel ports as finger tips), or just create a forklift.

For a forklift, what I know of kerbal physics means you would want to temporarily dock with the lower section of a bot before lowering the next stage down onto it though, otherwise as soon as it docks it will realize there is a flat piece of foreign metal still inside the rocket and that it needs to explode. To put things in perspective, it does not bother with this if things are part of the same craft to begin with. Infernal robotics therefor lets you move parts through each other since they are part of the same craft, its only when something breaks and becomes two separate craft (even if the second is a single tank or wing segment) that they start exploding everything.

Actually had a thought just now while typing this. Use of a rotatron and piston would basically allow you to easily fuel unfueled ships with a rover using an extending fuel arm.

Just in case you wanted to make every part parachute down after it falls off the rocket, gather them back up with a transport rover, refuel them without having to design 20 different rovers with slightly different fuel port locations on them, then put the same parts you used the first time back on the pad again, just like when you assembled the rocket the first time.

I probably won't do that though. Unless its for a small just-to-show-it-being-done sort of deal. Though now that I think of it... I could assemble the rocket while all tanks are still empty! Then, I just fuel up the entire thing with a "gas elephant" rover that sticks its snoz up to the side of one of the rocket's side-docking points and fills it up for launch.

In fact, that would theoretically be the safe (and therefor un-kerbal, sorry) way to do it. Of course, fuel doesn't effect explosion intensity in KSP. But it does influence how much weight the parts would have, which influences how much my rover's construction arms would bend (while IR parts have very high impact tolerances, you by their nature should not connect rigid struts to a moving part for reasons that are pretty clear).

Edit: Actually, in the event someone hasn't already mentioned it and I just missed it, you people using VTOLS could take advantage of empty fuel tanks too. Just put a sideways docking port on the lowest stage, and have a fuel rover that can reach and dock with it. You can then use your vtols to build a larger rocket since all the parts are empty (and so weigh a good deal less), then fuel it up while its on the pad with fuel rovers until you have moved fuel into all the tanks. I think its what, click on one tank, alt-click on the second tank, and you can transfer fuel around? Its good for adjusting fuel balance in aircraft sometimes if they burn from the "wrong" tank early.

.

Edited February 14, 2014 by Ryu Gemini

[ttnarg]

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Just a quick sneak peek at what I'm working on.

So I'm going to give Infernal robotics a go. Only problem is there no room on the launch pad to drive around so I'm going to build my rocket behind the run way I hope it still counts.

Edited March 13, 2014 by ttnarg

[Rakaydos]

Not directly related to this challange (though the result will qualify) but I'm having problems managing my skycrane. Due to the particulars of the rocket I'm building the skycrane uses large docking ports, and I cant seem to manage a docking without breaking one or both sides of the docking connection.

[mpink]

Not directly related to this challange (though the result will qualify) but I'm having problems managing my skycrane. Due to the particulars of the rocket I'm building the skycrane uses large docking ports, and I cant seem to manage a docking without breaking one or both sides of the docking connection.

Yeah i had the same problem. Half a full orange tank makes a huge impact force even at 1-2 M/S.

Have you tryed using runners like my entry dose ?

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Watching the video will show them off in action (1st post).

Not just do they help align for docking but they also take most of the impact in the suspension whilst correcting your angle so you hover towards the center point.

Then on top of all of that i think i tested a 3X runner system with 3X mainsails pointing down at max throttle and the connection still did not break (well until the fuel run out and the suspension/clipping fired the engines into the sky).

[Rakaydos]

I'll try that. My one worry is that it may put too much weight/drag on the rocket, but I'm not using FAR, so that shouldnt be too much of an issue.

This is more for a "today I refurbish a rocket" attempt, where I do a SpaceX lower stage landing after getting the upperstage to orbital velocity, land the upper stage after dropping the cargo, then reassemble them at KSC, and "Launch" a new cargo and enough fuel tanks to top off the launcher for another run.

[ttnarg]

Not directly related to this challange (though the result will qualify) but I'm having problems managing my skycrane. Due to the particulars of the rocket I'm building the skycrane uses large docking ports, and I cant seem to manage a docking without breaking one or both sides of the docking connection.

yes it can be quite hard. In space the docking port force can slowing rotate the parts and pull them together so they line up. but on the ground with large rockets you just have to match it. Mpink idea is good anything that helps matching postion and angle can be a good thing. One thing to keep in mind is sometime with the large docking port it can be hard to tell which way around it is and you can feel quite silly if you spend 5 mins trying to dock something together only to relise that you built the rocket with the docking port is on the wrong whay round. (or so I would imagen not that I would ever admit to doing this)

[ttnarg]

48.54 tons * 5 points per Ton = 242.7 points

(17 sections - 2(needed)sections) * 10 points per section = 140 points

242.7 + 140 = 382.7 points

This craft was designed for a apollo-ish style Tylo mission but as I have not done the mission I dont get any points for that.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

I had to ditch the small lander as it made the craft unstable at lunch and I could not stop it from flipping over after takeoff. The small lander was desinged (but untested) for laythe.

My first try had the Level 2 section (the first one spawned) smaller/thinner and lifted with the crane but the side booster wobbled too much on lunch and fell apart. So it was made bigger and had lots of structs. This made it too heavy for the crane and I needed to add 2 more liffers to hold it while I added the level 1 sections.

The crafts TWR is very close to 1 and I think I should of used mailsails. I didn't because I was close to what the legs could hold. But I think it would of been worth the extra weight.

[Cupcake...]

48.54 tons * 5 points per Ton = 242.7 points

(17 sections - 2(needed)sections) * 10 points per section = 140 points

242.7 + 140 = 382.7 points

This craft was designed for a apollo-ish style Tylo mission but as I have not done the mission I dont get any points for that.

http://imgur.com/a/rKN35

I had to ditch the small lander as it made the craft unstable at lunch and I could not stop it from flipping over after takeoff. The small lander was desinged (but untested) for laythe.

My first try had the Level 2 section (the first one spawned) smaller/thinner and lifted with the crane but the side booster wobbled too much on lunch and fell apart. So it was made bigger and had lots of structs. This made it too heavy for the crane and I needed to add 2 more liffers to hold it while I added the level 1 sections.

The crafts TWR is very close to 1 and I think I should of used mailsails. I didn't because I was close to what the legs could hold. But I think it would of been worth the extra weight.

Well done Ttnarg, that's a really impressive entry, I'll update the scoreboard shortly. I'm afraid I'm going to have to push you back to a Medium entry as all rockets should really be constructed on the launchpad, (the Kerbals that mow the lawns get upset otherwise.) Now you've perfected your technique I'll be looking forward to seeing more entries from you.

Cupcake...

Edited March 13, 2014 by Cupcake...

[ttnarg]

I knew I was cheeting abit not doing it on the launchpad but some one only built a ramp on one side of the launchpad and there is not room to drive around to get to the other side :-(

Also it takes a lot longer to drive over there then it dose to fly!

Maybe now I know what I'm doing I might be able to do one on the launchpad. Not sure if I'll do another one or not.

I'm happy you like it.

Edited March 13, 2014 by ttnarg

[mpink]

Oh Ship.....

Well done ttnarg, excellent vessel.

I so should have checked for new posts before working so hard at my next entry.

What can i say, I just didnt think there was anyone else crazy enough to give this a serious try.

The construction phase is still all in my head but im sure it wouldn't have been to hard compared to the rest of the build so far.

It was going to be a constructable shuttle system. In the demo video it delivers 42.24T to orbit.

I was planing to enter at medium and claim top position at all levels so with -4.27T of fuel it would have been 189.85 points in payload.

Well it still makes for an interesting video if youv got 8 mins to waste.

I dont know what to do now though. A redesign for a 100T Freight Shuttle could be interesting. On the other hand though cupcake could always introduce a new 2X points bonus for landing back at KSC (exact point from where your meant to start) and then it might be worth me making the constructor.

[Cupcake...]

Oh Ship.....

Well done ttnarg, excellent vessel.

I so should have checked for new posts before working so hard at my next entry.

What can i say, I just didnt think there was anyone else crazy enough to give this a serious try.

The construction phase is still all in my head but im sure it wouldn't have been to hard compared to the rest of the build so far.

It was going to be a constructable shuttle system. In the demo video it delivers 42.24T to orbit.

I was planing to enter at medium and claim top position at all levels so with -4.27T of fuel it would have been 189.85 points in payload.

Well it still makes for an interesting video if youv got 8 mins to waste.

I dont know what to do now though. A redesign for a 100T Freight Shuttle could be interesting. On the other hand though cupcake could always introduce a new 2X points bonus for landing back at KSC (exact point from where your meant to start) and then it might be worth me making the constructor.

Wow, leaving the challenge aside that video was quite an achievement in itself! That cargo system must have been a nightmare to put together. I don't know about double points but I think a 25 point bonus for landing back as KSC is do-able.

Cupcake...

[mpink]

Wow, leaving the challenge aside that video was quite an achievement in itself! That cargo system must have been a nightmare to put together. I don't know about double points but I think a 25 point bonus for landing back as KSC is do-able.

Cupcake...

Thanks Mainly it was a test of my new GFX card.

The cargo doors wasnt too hard. I have tried horizontal doors in the past but they are a nightmare.

The hardest thing is balancing the wings as to be able to pull out of a 45 degree dive at 200/MS in less than 300 meters whilst not flipping out of control and crashing tail 1st. This also means it can maintain 20 degrees nose up on reentry.

I think i said something about a supper heavy lifter a few months ago. I have an image of a test flight you might like too see. I made that hover plugin as i thought i would be able to build higher using a vertical build system. It turns out though that 3 orange tanks is about the limit of what my reinforced large docking port can take . Oh and then there is the the difficulty in trying to move a layer containing 9 orange tanks :rofl

Iv still got some ideas about a stock only supper heavy lifter but ill keep them to myself for the moment.

The CSS Derwent had its 1st successful test flight (including construction) today and a full video should be ready for the submission by Friday night. It most certainly can and will be constructed on the pad. I think i will release the ship and construction system somewhere too. I remember seeing a shuttle thread in the exchange section some time ago. There is still the possibility of having the primary docking port on a wing and so iv got some more pipes to add just in case this ever happens.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Hummm.... I cant help but have thoughts about building off world now. Duna seams a little thin on the atmospheric side but both eve and Laythe could support parachute drops of components. I think it would take more than 1 craft for the construction though as you would need to roll the components into an upright position before starting the build. :daydreams seeing a shuttle aerobraking around jool would be very cool.

[Cupcake...]

Thanks Mainly it was a test of my new GFX card.

The cargo doors wasnt too hard. I have tried horizontal doors in the past but they are a nightmare.

The hardest thing is balancing the wings as to be able to pull out of a 45 degree dive at 200/MS in less than 300 meters whilst not flipping out of control and crashing tail 1st. This also means it can maintain 20 degrees nose up on reentry.

I think i said something about a supper heavy lifter a few months ago. I have an image of a test flight you might like too see. I made that hover plugin as i thought i would be able to build higher using a vertical build system. It turns out though that 3 orange tanks is about the limit of what my reinforced large docking port can take . Oh and then there is the the difficulty in trying to move a layer containing 9 orange tanks :rofl

Iv still got some ideas about a stock only supper heavy lifter but ill keep them to myself for the moment.

The CSS Derwent had its 1st successful test flight (including construction) today and a full video should be ready for the submission by Friday night. It most certainly can and will be constructed on the pad. I think i will release the ship and construction system somewhere too. I remember seeing a shuttle thread in the exchange section some time ago. There is still the possibility of having the primary docking port on a wing and so iv got some more pipes to add just in case this ever happens.

http://imgur.com/a/pVzFQ

Hummm.... I cant help but have thoughts about building off world now. Duna seams a little thin on the atmospheric side but both eve and Laythe could support parachute drops of components. I think it would take more than 1 craft for the construction though as you would need to roll the components into an upright position before starting the build. :daydreams seeing a shuttle aerobraking around jool would be very cool.

Good lord! That is just too epic for words, I'll await your video with interest!

Cupcake...

[mpink]

Pnk Engineering proudly presents the CSS Stour.

Stour you say........ what happened to the Derwent you say.....

:Cough :Cough

The Stour successfully made orbit with 59.38T and returned to the hanger at KSC.

Unfortunately it was still carrying 522 units of fuel and 760 units of oxidizer witch in my book adds up to 6.41T.

So with a Medium payload of 52.97 + 10 points for a 3rd stage + 25 points for returning i calculate a total of 299.85 points . Its very late and iv had a long day so im calling that a win on the bases of building on the pad, but im sure ttnarg wont give up and will find a way to get his idea working .

There is also a full 15 minutes unedited version of the construction with all the docking problems for you entertainment / education.

Oh the Derwent........

Well it had problems.......

The booster fuel pipes added to maintain flow in the case of primary docking on the wings....... was bad .

Even worse though was that i didnt notice that radial decoplers have cross feed ! This resulted in the new fuel pipes on the wing docking ports pulling fuel from the tanks that the wings were attached too .

So i now present the death of the Derwent (All Hands Survived).

I see a lot of room for improvement of the CSS series. I think if i had the patients it could make a hard entry but it would take a long time. It might be able to do a Mun flyby with minimal changes so i will looking into that. I also have the CIS (Constructable Interplanetary Shuttle) upgrade to the CSS planed out in my head and the CFS (Constructable Freight Shuttle) in low altitude landing tests.

Im thinking i should test the CIS first as the upgrade would be transferable to the CFS and im not sure i would want to make the latter if it cant go off world.

The Supper heavy lifter is still a long way off im afraid but it always sits in the back of my mind prodding at me. Im sure i can make a 100T hard lifter although i know i could score more making other craft. Breaking the 100T mark is a personal goal for me .

Edited March 29, 2014 by mpink
Adding Craft link and remastering the video

[Cupcake...]

Pnk Engineering proudly presents the CSS Stour (craft download links to follow after iv got some sleep).

Stour you say........ what happened to the Derwent you say.....

:Cough :Cough

The Stour successfully made orbit with 59.38T and returned to the hanger at KSC.

Unfortunately it was still carrying 522 units of fuel and 760 units of oxidizer witch in my book adds up to 6.41T.

So with a Medium payload of 52.97 + 10 points for a 3rd stage + 25 points for returning i calculate a total of 299.85 points . Its very late and iv had a long day so im calling that a win on the bases of building on the pad, but im sure ttnarg wont give up and will find a way to get his idea working .

There is also a full 15 minutes unedited version of the construction with all the docking problems for you entertainment / education.

Oh the Derwent........

Well it had problems.......

The booster fuel pipes added to maintain flow in the case of primary docking on the wings....... was bad .

Even worse though was that i didnt notice that radial decoplers have cross feed ! This resulted in the new fuel pipes on the wing docking ports pulling fuel from the tanks that the wings were attached too .

So i now present the death of the Derwent (All Hands Survived).

I see a lot of room for improvement of the CSS series. I think if i had the patients it could make a hard entry but it would take a long time. It might be able to do a Mun flyby with minimal changes so i will looking into that. I also have the CIS (Constructable Interplanetary Shuttle) upgrade to the CSS planed out in my head and the CFS (Constructable Freight Shuttle) in low altitude landing tests.

Im thinking i should test the CIS first as the upgrade would be transferable to the CFS and im not sure i would want to make the latter if it cant go off world.

The Supper heavy lifter is still a long way off im afraid but it always sits in the back of my mind prodding at me. Im sure i can make a 100T hard lifter although i know i could score more making other craft. Breaking the 100T mark is a personal goal for me .

Well done mpink, you have taken your rightful place near the top of the Medium level leaderboard! I must admit I'm curious to see what you'll come up with once the new SLS parts come through. I think the joint re-enforcement and possibly even the claw will help add additional scope to the challenge.

Cupcake...

Edited March 29, 2014 by Cupcake...

[I.T Marcus]

Hmmm cupcake I have a question, would it be eligible for the hard leaderboard if the rocket was fueled externally after construction? For instance I build the rocket and assemble it, then afterward drive a large fuel tanker beside the launch site and connect fuel pipes to the rocket and fuel it on the launch pad without hyperedit. Would this entry be considered "hard"

[Cupcake...]

Hmmm cupcake I have a question, would it be eligible for the hard leaderboard if the rocket was fueled externally after construction? For instance I build the rocket and assemble it, then afterward drive a large fuel tanker beside the launch site and connect fuel pipes to the rocket and fuel it on the launch pad without hyperedit. Would this entry be considered "hard"

In order to qualify for "hard" the rocket components have to be fully fueled before constuction. Sorry.

Cupcake...

[I.T Marcus]

In order to qualify for "hard" the rocket components have to be fully fueled before constuction. Sorry.

Cupcake...

No need for apologies I'm just asking a question

Thanks for the fast reply

[Cupcake...]

No need for apologies I'm just asking a question

Thanks for the fast reply

No worries, good luck with the challenge.

Cupcake...