ARK - Or, Andon's "Realistic" Career mode.

[Andon]

So I've played around with a "Realistic" career mode and got quite far in it, then I got bored. I wanted a CHALLENGE! So, now, I'm setting myself some rules and doing a write-up as I go along.

The Rules:

1 ) Don't abuse SCIENCE. There'll be a few mentions of this in a few places on the mods.

2 ) One Month between launches of new rockets.

2a ) If the rocket is an identical version or only payload-modified version of a rocket flown within the past Six Months, this is reduced to Two Weeks (Because, really, we couldn't make a replica Saturn V now, even though that's in the past...).

2b ) Spaceplanes can be refueled and flown in Two Days. New Designs need to wait Two Weeks from last ROCKET launch (But do not effect Rocket launch timer)

3 ) Permadeath (No Jeb, Bob, or Bill)

4 ) No Reverting or Quicksaving

4a ) Except in case of bugs. Then it's fine.

The Goals:

1 ) Plant a flag on each possible rock.

2 ) Expand my knowledge of how KSP works!

The Mods:

Hooo boy. This one's a big one! Current mods are:

B9 Aerospace (Exsurgent Engineering and Firespitter included. I don't have the firespitter pack installed)

Beastly Science Scoop-O-Matic and Scoop-o-Matic Jr (No KerbalKam... didn't care much for it)

Texture Management. Because this list wouldn't be possible without it.

CactEye Telescope. This one is EASILY abused. To prevent that, it isn't to be used outside of Kerbin orbit and isn't to have a MechJeb module on board. (HullCamera dll included but no parts)

Custom Biomes. Makes things more interesting!

Deadly Re-Entry Continuted. I'm not sure if I need to tweak the settings for this or not.

Extraplanetary Launchpads. Some of the parts from this I won't use. But Others I will.

Ferram Aerospace Research. Because planes.

Kerbal Attachment System. I've got a bag of goodies that I've added to the grabbable list... some of them don't work nicely.

Kerbal Joint Reinforcement. I think this needs no more explanations.

Kethane. Maybe it'll help me. Maybe it'll get me obsessed with some stupid crazy things. Who knows.

Infernal Robotics. Because there's nothing better than DIY Sun-Tracking Solar Panels.

MechJeb. Generally a delta-V calculator/tracker and info provider, although I do utilize planetary transfer things and manuever node assistance. And takeoff assistance when I feel like it.

Nothke's 6S Sevice Compartment Tubes. I've added a 2m tall variant of both sizes along with a 3.75m size in 1 and 2m heights.

NovaPunch 2. Primarily for 3.75m parts. It includes a different part size dynamic than stock, so I'll primarily be sticking to NovaPunch parts since they'll mostly be better than whatever stock is at that point. Also, it looks prettier.

Tweakable Wheels. Don't want my rovers faceplanting.

Panda Jager Laboratories MastCam only. Didn't like the others.

Krag's PlanetFactory CE. Currently with nothing in it!

RBI Caterpillar Treads

RCS Build Aid. I'm trying to build rocket ships, not amusement park rides.

RealChutes. These chutes are such a drag!

TAC Life Support. THIS will kill more kerbals than any sort of Whackjovian contraption I can come up with.

TAC Fuel Balancer. I think I've used this once... but man, was it awesome.

Kerbal Alarm Clock. This will be how I time my rocket launches!

Kerbal Alternate Resource Panel. Oooh, shiny!

Universe Replacer. Because my Kerbals want individuality and/or mustaches. I'm not sure which was more pressing for them.

Vanguard Parachutes. With so many ways to kill my kerbals, I may at least try to save some of them.

Crowd-Sourced SCIENCE. Because as Scott Manley said once, it has to be written in all caps.

TweakableEverything. Because it tweaks, well... everything.

For completion, I also have Procedural Fairings installed, but I'm not going to use them. It's just for use in my other saves.

And of course, most of these wouldn't function without the wonderful Toolbar Plugin to keep me from going (more) insane.

Alright. Ground rules are laid out... Let's get rocketing!

[Andon]

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So, the first launch was a resounding success! Almost hit space and nobody died! And the ship even came back in one piece!

And shortly after...

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The second launch was also a success! The third launch will attempt orbit, but that's a month away!

Edited February 16, 2014 by Andon

[Andon]

And the third mission. We achieve orbit, come back down, and barely avert disaster when we end up facing the wrong direction. But the payout is fantastic!

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