Water: Landings vs Splash

[Karretch]

What's the difference and how are they achieved? (splash is a bit obvious but still)

Edit: What I mean is that in the science archives there are two types of surface sciences that can be done, landing and splash.

Edit 2: Kerbin's water has both a landed and splashed surface science. Not landing on land vs splashing in water. Landing and splashing both in water.

Edit 3: Picture showing what I mean. If you look closely, good example the last two, it shows 2 surface sciences. One from splash down and one from "landing" in water

Edited February 17, 2014 by Karretch
Clarification

[robopilot99]

What do you mean?

[Shna_na]

Landing is achieved when a craft is stationary on the surface of a body on solid ground. Splashed down is a craft that remains stationary on the surface of the planet while buoyantly floating atop a liquid.

[Dave Kerbin]

The difference is how the impact is distributed.

Each part has an impact rating, like 7 m/s for most engines. So if you land without landing gear on your engine you will be fine if you had a velocity of 5 m/s, but if you are going 8 m/s the engine will be destroyed. The explosion of the engine will in turn provide an upward force to slow down the rest of the craft so depending on how heavy it is it might now be going slow enough for the next part (like a fuel tank) to survive impact with the ground. So basically when you hit the ground ('land') your ship will be destroyed from the bottom up until the speed is reduced to less then the impact rating of the next part. If you are playing smart you'll have something like landing gear at the bottom which have an impact rating of 12 m/s, so you just need to be going slower then that and nothing will be destroyed.

Water works differently. On water even after the first part like the landing gear passes the impact test the ship will still continue to sink (only at a certain point does buoyancy helps push your ship up and stabilize it). That means that if you hit the water at 10 m/s your landing gear will survive, but then it will immediately sink into the water and your engine will hit the waters next at 10 m/s destroying it. Because of this you generally need to be going slower if you want your ship to survive a water landing in one piece.

[Karretch]

Shouldn't have forgotten about this. What I mean is that in the science archives there are two types of surface sciences that can be done, landing and splash.

[Shna_na]

Shouldn't have forgotten about this. What I mean is that in the science archives there are two types of surface sciences that can be done, landing and splash.

Ah, that's much simpler to answer:

Landing: Science recieved from experiments on solid ground.

Splashed: Science recieved from experiments on liquids. Only possible on Eve, Laythe, and Kerbin.

[Karretch]

No, I mean the waters of Kerbin have a landed and a splashed version both. Not splash only on water.

[Shna_na]

Hmm, strange. The science yield is no different, either way. The only difference between landed and splashed is that one word change, nothing else.

[Karretch]

From what I see, and I've apparently done each one, there IS a slight difference in science yield.

And since both are separate sciences (possibly accidentally left in) to be able to do both to full potential would be nice but I don't know how.

[Shna_na]

The difference in science yield is the same as for any biome, the variation is due to repeat experiments and changes in altitude, as well as different types of experiment.

[Karretch]

I understand that all, the point being I'd like to milk this for as little as it has, being two separate fields the game recognizes. For the two times only I hit the water it gave me a different surface report so there's still stuff to get from each. I just don't know how to replicate how to get the different kinds as I've not had the time to play much the past few days. I came here hoping someone knew and shall hope still someone does.

[KerbMav]

The Ocean is a biome like Mountains, Grasslands, Desert etc. - the game just differs between dirt and water landings.

What do you mean if you say "different surface report"?

A different amount of science points (diminishing returns then) or a different text in the window (some reports have more than one text available by default).

[nhnifong]

There is an entry in the science file for "Splashed down at the Sun" but you can't achieve it.

[KerbMav]

but you can't achieve it.

yet.

Actually a splash down is the closest thing to a landing you might achieve on a star.

[Karretch]

KerbMav, if you look at the picture of the original post you see that I have two different entries for surface samples and ground EVAs. The two surface samples have separate diminishing returns. Therefore, while possibly a relic accidentally left in, there is more science to be had and I want to know how to accomplish both as easily as possible as I can't figure it out.

[undercoveryankee]

My guess: The biome map doesn't line up perfectly with the terrain, so there are places where you can land near the water, register as "landed" as opposed to "splashed", but be in the water biome. I seem to recall this happening for me near the island airfield.

[undercoveryankee]

Here's a mission report that mentions getting "grassland" results after a splashdown. I suspect that "splashed" results for grassland are a separate category, just like "landed" results for water.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/64897-Reconstruction-a-0-23-career-mode-story?p=928044&viewfull=1#post928044

[Glenathan]

I noticed this too. I spent a few hours figuring it out and then built something quick that lets me get those research points easy. I don't want to provide spoilers if you want to figure it out and build your own thing, but I will tell you exactly how I did it if you want.

I thought to get the surface landing in water that maybe I just had to land super slow or it only happens first time you land in water. Nope, it is as simple as splash down happens when your rocket enters the water.

[MarvinKitFox]

What's the difference and how are they achieved? (splash is a bit obvious but still)

Splashed Down = arrived on Kerbin surface via an OCEAN water animation tile, regardless of Biome.

Landed = arrived on Kerbin surface via anything other than a water display tile.

So yes, one can dig the Water of the ocean, if you happened to "land" on it instead of splashing down,

and one can swim in Shore, Grassland, Highland, Mountain, Desert, Tundra if you can get there after "splashing down", and without crossing a boundary that differentiates water from land.

This boundary is, more-or-less, on every transition between water and land tile. But not all!

The above biomes I have actually managed to sample & eva report while in splashed down mode.

KSC, Ice seem to have more perfect boundaries. Possibly separate algorithm that computes them? Badlands doesn't border on an ocean, anywhere i can find.

Simple, reproduceable example.... The grassy dunes between the shoreline and the runway on the island just east of KSC is Biome-d as Shore and Grassland, but generate a "splashed down" when landing on it without wheels.

Science varies a bit between splashdown and landed, the # of data is the same but the multiplier is a bit higher for splashed.

[Rakaydos]

Water hazards within a biome generate separate science from the land portions of the biome. IE, if you head westsouthwest of KSC, there is a lake on the west coast where you can get Desert Science, that stacks with "normal" desert science.

By the same token, you can get a full science load from a water splashdown, then another full science load from the island airstrip.

[How2FoldSoup]

I don't think anyone has touched on what it actually is yet so here it is. You get one set of Eva and surface sample reports from actually being on the water. You can get another set of slightly higher science value from landing on the kerbin island runway. I noticed this when doing a spaceplane only career and thought it interesting, I guess it's not widely known. I am 99% sure this is the difference. Happy sciencing

[netmonger]

I too noticed that for example, for Highlands, I have a Splashed and Landed reports

I found this on the wiki:

Currently[outdated], Kerbin is the only celestial body that both has water and biomes. Most rivers and smaller bodies of water are the same biome as the ground around them, offering the chance for science in a SrfSplashed situation. Only one of the biomes does not have a water area in any of the places it occurs on Kerbin. Shores, obviously, have both land and water; and small islands in Kerbin's oceanic areas, such as at the Insular Airfield, sometimes are counted as surface landings, not splashdowns, within the Water biome.

I believe that if you land in a lake or river within a biome such as Highlands, it counts as Surface Splashed within the Highlands. For Surface Landed in Water biome, that most likely pertains to small islands that are considered a Water biome. That's a guess though as I have not paid attention to reports from an island landing.

[uraa]

@Karretch

There are different situations in which experiment can be performed on same biome. Landed and splashed is same thing as lower and higher atmosphere or low and high orbit. Same experiment can be performed in each of this situations if it is predefined in experiment definition. With landed and splashed it is little confusing because places where you can do both situations are rare, for example, you need to find lake in grassland biome to make splashed experiment or find part of water where it is overlapping with land to make "landed" on water experiment (like old airfield).

Here is picture of some of biomes around KSC that can be splashed (sorry for bad picture).

Stock experiments that can be performed in both situations are Crew and EVA report, Goo, surface sample, material lab, temperature, barometer and gravity scan.

All splashed experiments have higher science value.

@netmonger

Where did you found splashed for Highlands?

Edit: Never mind, found it, it's a lake north from my desert marker.

Edited May 4, 2014 by uraa

[martin.stejskal]

No, I mean the waters of Kerbin have a landed and a splashed version both. Not splash only on water.

hi i have the same issue and i think its related how far from the shore you splashed. becouse i was realy close to the base floating in the water and the situation was: "over kerbin shores" so there is probably border discrepancy betwean the biome and where the water is. may be this should be reported as bug?

[martin.stejskal]

hi i have the same issue and i think its related how far from the shore you splashed. becouse i was realy close to the base floating in the water and the situation was: "over kerbin shores" so there is probably border discrepancy betwean the biome and where the water is. may be this should be reported as bug?

Reading other posts show that it is probably not a bug but a feature :-)