The "Better Than Starting Manned" Career Challenge

[Death Engineering]

Edited December 18, 2015 by Death Engineering
challenge closed

[MarvinKitFox]

Ok, next time i run through a science on BDSM I will optimise to fit your specs.

Normally I send only one mission up at a time, so game days count is loooong.

And no, i have never actually maxxed out the tech tree. That last tier is VERY expensive!

Wot? You say I have the wrong word for this mod? I think calling it BDSM is perfectly accurate, you must *want* to suffer to play BTSM!

On my current runthrough I am aiming to optimise minimum number of missions. Currently on day 314, mission 15.

Tech tree full up to here:

Edited May 18, 2014 by MarvinKitFox

[Death Engineering]

Hey that's really respectable progress for 15 missions! BDSM.. hehe, ya it's more of a challenge than stock, to be sure.

edit:

This is how far I made it through the tree.. only two final-tier nodes left. But, it's time to restart.. OP challenge submission cookin' now.

Edited May 19, 2014 by Death Engineering

[mindstalker]

So your saying its possible to land a Kerbal to Duna and return in Tier 7? I don't see how that is possible without life support kegs?

[Death Engineering]

So your saying its possible to land a Kerbal to Duna and return in Tier 7? I don't see how that is possible without life support kegs?

Thanks for the catch! Moved to 8.

edit:

The "Duna Dominance I" mission from Tier 7 has been corrected. There is now a "Duna Dominance I - Prime" and a "Duna Dominance I - Backup" modifier. Only one may be scored.

Edited May 19, 2014 by Death Engineering

[Ninjatsu]

Nice challenge. Just trying to get the understanding of scoring down :

Obviously the lower your score the better.

So with Alarm Clock = I don't need a slide rule (3)

And No Alarm Clock = Purist (5)

Tiers?

Tier 4 - "Spudnik" (3)

With no more than two Tier 4 nodes unlocked, achieve a stable orbit and on a single launch transmit all Tier 3 orbital science for at least two biomes.

Survivor I (1): Unlock all Tier 4 nodes with no kerbal fatalities.. so far.

Biome Hunter II (2): Score Tier 3 science on all Kerbin biomes

Is it when you unlock your first Tier 4 SCIENCE! node you get the Tier 4 reward of (3). Or do you have to unlock all tier 4 SCIENCE! nodes to achieve the (3). Or is it that you have to complete the challenge of "With no more than two Tier 4 nodes unlocked, achieve a stable orbit and on a single launch transmit all Tier 3 orbital science for at least two biomes.".

Hmm, just wondering what happens if you do manage a challenge in the tier before? Like Biome Hunter II, what if I stay on Tier 3 and complete that challenge?

Going to restart my BTSM career for this. Just as soon as the D3 anniversary buff is finished.

Edited May 20, 2014 by Ninjatsu
wondering about tier scoring challenge

[Death Engineering]

Nice challenge. Just trying to get the understanding of scoring down

Great questions and thanks for your interest!

..is it that you have to complete the challenge of "With no more than two Tier 4 nodes unlocked, achieve a stable orbit and on a single launch transmit all Tier 3 orbital science for at least two biomes."?

For any 'primary' goal, it must be completed while using only nodes from that in-game tech tree Tier. In your example, "Tier 4 - "Spudnik" (3)", only two nodes of Tier 4 may be used to complete the mission. Similarly, "Tier 3 - "Taking it slow" (3)" requires that all Tier 3 nodes are unlocked before proceeding.

For all others, any number of nodes from that Tier may be used and can be unlocked in any order.

Hmm, just wondering what happens if you do manage a challenge in the tier before? Like Biome Hunter II, what if I stay on Tier 3 and complete that challenge?

Bonus objectives, which appear underlined and are numbered I - III: The ones located within a Tier 1-9 bullet point must be completed with technology no higher than the tier it's listed in. You may complete them early, but there is no bonus for doing so.

Other bonus objectives can be completed at any time.. with the exception that Duna Dominance IA or IB, II and III must be completed in order.

So with Alarm Clock = I don't need a slide rule (3)

And No Alarm Clock = Purist (5)

With 'Alarm Clock' and any approved mod but no engineering help: (3)

No 'Alarm Clock' nor any approved/unapproved mod besides BTSM: (5)

Edited May 22, 2014 by Death Engineering

[MarvinKitFox]

My progress so far.. Update 14 jun

note: I will complete this at the same version of BTSM I started at. Too many fundamentals have changed in the jun12 release, the balance is significantly changed.

time elapsed, 92 days

Failures to date:

*first Mun Gravioli Scanner. Only got 2 biomes, as I didn't know new btsm had transmission range limit!

*BoB. Last seen heading towards Epsilon Eridani , altitude 666666 speed NaN. BoB was doing a solo taste of interplanetary space, to get Temp and high-solar report. Alas, the Hell Kraken was the one that got a taste.

*Bill used too much fuel on his fast-track flight to Duna. He got there, got the science, and is back in orbit. But he has only *just* enough fuel to get back home, and since clumsily stepping on a solar panel on the ground, he has only enough surplus power to brew a cup of tea every third day. He will not get home before his life support expires, and I don't think my rescue craft can get there in time.. will see, I have 46 days to try..

*Haldos Kerman simply cannot figure out how to get science from an asteroid. He intercepted one, poked and prodded it with every instrument in his stable, no luck. He Eva's to the rock, tried kickign it, no luck. How is he supposed to complete the RockHound achievement?

Complete:

everything in Kerbin SOI.

MoHo , Eve, Potato, Duna, Ike landing, all sensors

Eve, Potato, Duna, Ike goo landing. Returns still en-route back though.

Duna, Ike mannaed landing, all sensors all reports. Headed back, Jeb's return fro Ike is no problem. Bill from Duna..... dunno.

Science, tier 8 all done, 4705 science lying around.

Sensor Probe missions to Jool & all moons en route

Sensor Probe mission to Dres en route.

Manned lander en route to Eve, Potato.

Manned lander about to depart to MoHo.

Asteroid captured, but clueless.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Edited June 14, 2014 by MarvinKitFox
update 14 jun

[Death Engineering]

My progress so far..

time elapsed, 3 days 1 hour

No kerbals lost. (virtually none use, so far!

Gravscan for Kerbin, Mun, Minmus done 1 launch each, including landing temp,atmo,seismic.

Crewreports Kerbin 1 launch.

Goo from Kerbin, Mun, Minmus 1 launch each, including landed.

Failures to date: first Mun Gravioli Scanner. Only got 2 biomes, as I didn't know new dtsm had transmission range limit!

Now launching manned-Mun, Manned-Minmus,

Now launching Kerbin Nosecone probe(as multiple lil rockets, instead of flyer).

Soon as I get a suitable antenna,

I'll be launching unmanned flyby MoHo,Eve,Potato,Duna,Ike.

and launching Eve Nosecone probe, Duna nosecone probe.

Sheesh, this is hard work!!

That is good progress for 3 days! Looking forward to future updates on your space program. I think managing launch windows in early interplanetary will be key here. From memory, flying to Moho early even for flyby is very doable.

News from the OP submission to the challenge is proud to report a successful tier 6 A-style Mun landing. All Three Amigo crew were returned safely, paving the way for continued Munar exploration.

However in sad news, Jebediah Kerman was later lost on a high-speed re-entry test of the Minmus CM. Steep re-entry angle and poor attitude control were blamed. He will be remembered for his contributions to high-altitude test flights, seen here in this photo after an early science achievement. This once revered image now stands in memoriam of brave cries for.. MOAR BOOSTERS!

Edited May 25, 2014 by Death Engineering

[Death Engineering]

Made some minor clarifications to the number of biomes required to score "Biome Hunter II" to "Biome Hunter IV". Basically, excluded necessity to get crew reports over KSC mini-biomes.

While doing an OP submission to the challenge, a robotic goo-return mission failed on the first Duna window due to lack of probecore on the return vehicle, rendering it inert and unrecoverable. Surface science and atmospheric science captured will simplify the next landing, but fuh-shnizzled about missing the first low D-v window.

Edit:

As a result of the design error which caused the loss of the Duna goo-return mission from Tech Level 7, added Kerbin SOI departure clarifications for Duna Dominance I Prime and Backup:

Duna Dominance I - Prime (4):

Launch a robotically controlled mission which scores Goo science from Duna's surface. Must leave Kerbin SOI before any Tier 8 nodes are unlocked.

Duna Dominance I - Backup (3):

Successfully return a kerbal from Duna's surface back to Kerbin. Crewed vehicle must depart Kerbin SOI before any Tier 9 nodes are unlocked.

Edited June 7, 2014 by Death Engineering

[MarvinKitFox]

updated my main entry, 8 jun.

[Death Engineering]

My progress so far.. Update 8 jun

time elapsed, 52 days

Failures to date:

*first Mun Gravioli Scanner. Only got 2 biomes, as I didn't know new btsm had transmission range limit!

*BoB. Last seen heading towards Epsilon Eridani , altitude 666666 speed NaN. BoB was doing a solo taste of interplanetary space, to get Temp and high-solar report. Alas, the Hell Kraken was the one that got a taste.

Complete:

everything in Kerbin SOI.

MoHo landing, all sensors

EVE landing, all sensors.

Yes, i managed to land, on day 52, a ship using only day9's tech. No heatshields. No drogue parachutes. No radial decouplers. No fuel lines.

Bragging blurb below the album...

Day 52, and space is getting crowded.

I have landing probes en route to or landed already at MoHo, EVE, Potato(gilly), Duna, Ike, Dres, Jool *3

I have Goo return missions headed to MoHo, Eve, Potato, Duna, Ike

I just landed my EVE probe, for all sensors not requiring return or Kerbal operation.

http://imgur.com/a/8eRps

Still to be done in Kerbin SOI: absolutely nothing

Unmanned probes en route to just about everywhere.

Manned missions starting as soon as I manage enough power systems to keep the Kerbalnaughts breathing.

The EVE mission:

Launched on day 9, as soon as nosecone sensor was achieved, this craft used(wasted) 11800 d-v to cut a shortcut across the system, diving below MoHo orbit on its hasty route.

All science, all sensors.

Then, reentry! I have 2800 m/s left in the tank, did a grazing re-entry. As soon as perigee (71km) was reached and i started rising, maxx retroburn to kill reentry speed.

It still burned off the engines, and main fuel tank.

Then, falling through EVE atmo, with no access to Drogue shoot tech, I had to repeatedly trigger a chute mounted on one of the 8 solar struts, have it tear off, and take a bit of speed with it.

Repeat * 8!

The by-then stripped probe core was slowed enough to deploy a small chute and not shred itself.

Landed, got ground temp, atmo, seismic. Awesome science in EVE seismic!

Day 52, enough science to almost fill penultimate tier.

Wow. Humbled by the progress you've made! That shot from Eve's surface is awesome. And the lifter, well ya.. go big or go home!

edit: BTW condolences on the loss of a kerbal to the hungry space demon.

For my OP submission, still really chuffed about botching the robotic goo return from Duna. Going to try again on the next high ÃŽâ€v window - really want to complete Duna Dominance trifecta! Hopefully between that and using a "disposable" orbiting Mun platform to get every science point from there, I can make up some late-game ground...

For no particular reason other than I like the shot...

Edited June 11, 2014 by Death Engineering
add pic

[ttnarg]

I've just started this last night. Here are some screen shots of what I've done so far:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[MarvinKitFox]

Mission Control, Kerbal Space Center.

<phone rings>

Joman Kerbal speaking, KSC MCS COD, I'm busy what do you want? (cod= controller on duty)

.....

Oh, hello dear. No, I won't be able to come home tonight, it's just too busy out there.

.....

No, not tomorrow either

.....

Please understand dear, these Kerbalnaughts trust their lives to my guidance. I cannot let them down. Once we are over this crunch, I will be able to live a normal life again, but for now I have to put them first in my mind. Jeb, Bob, Bill, Biff.. they all rely on me to guide their missions without fail.

.....

.....!!

.....

Yes dear, I have made special plans to be available for his birthday party next week, I won't let little Kermo forget about his daddy.

....!!

*(!&(* !!!

......!!

Yes dear, of course I meant Kerbo, not Kermo. You think I've forgotten my own son's name?

<click>

Oh yes... Kerbo is my daughter,. hmm.. Pshaw, she's just overreacting.

Wonder how Jeb's doing with that sticky thruster, out near Duna?

======

Day 67

A busy day at the Office.

13 missions en route, more under construction.

[ttnarg]

I feel your pain.

Currently I can claim "Purist (5): No other mods whatsoever, other than BTSM. None." But the alarm clock mod is very temping. About to lunch simultainus Mun, Minmus and Kerbol missions.

[Death Engineering]

I've just started this last night. Here are some screen shots of what I've done so far:

http://imgur.com/a/yXfTr

Looking real good, ttnarg, and welcome to the challenge.

Mission Control, Kerbal Space Center.

<phone rings>

Joman Kerbal speaking, KSC MCS COD, I'm busy what do you want? (cod= controller on duty)

.....

Oh, hello dear. No, I won't be able to come home tonight, it's just too busy out there.

.....

No, not tomorrow either

.....

Please understand dear, these Kerbalnaughts trust their lives to my guidance. I cannot let them down. Once we are over this crunch, I will be able to live a normal life again, but for now I have to put them first in my mind. Jeb, Bob, Bill, Biff.. they all rely on me to guide their missions without fail.

.....

.....!!

.....

Yes dear, I have made special plans to be available for his birthday party next week, I won't let little Kermo forget about his daddy.

....!!

*(!&(* !!!

......!!

Yes dear, of course I meant Kerbo, not Kermo. You think I've forgotten my own son's name?

<click>

Oh yes... Kerbo is my daughter,. hmm.. Pshaw, she's just overreacting.

Wonder how Jeb's doing with that sticky thruster, out near Duna?

======

Day 67

A busy day at the Office.

13 missions en route, more under construction.

http://i.imgur.com/iKGvjm4.png

You have crews around Duna on day 67? Wow..

I feel your pain.

Currently I can claim "Purist (5): No other mods whatsoever, other than BTSM. None." But the alarm clock mod is very temping. About to lunch simultainus Mun, Minmus and Kerbol missions.

Yeah, I find the 'engineering' mods take too much away from the game for me, but I really have become attached to KAC.

No "Purist" points here...

[MarvinKitFox]

And the lifter, well ya.. go big or go home!

Think that's big? Take a look at my Asteroid sniffer launch.

2700t in LKO!

[MarvinKitFox]

Argh.

Ok, I'm calling it quits right here.

Due to the changes in BTSM, I will be unable to continue any of my missions, or my chosen style (building bigger)

My entry for "normal". I will not be entering an "expert" entry.

Note, I completed the last couple nodes in tier8 in the 2 days since release of the last btsm variant. I allowed this under your "current missions" rule

Time: 92 days

Tier1: all (1)

Tier2: all(2)

tier3: all(4)

tier4: all(6)

tier5: all(8)

Tier6: Not apollo-style., all the rest(9)

Tier7: all(21)

Tier8: not Duna Dominance-backup, not rockhound, all the rest(11)

Missed points:

Not Rockhound: Cannot figure out how to get science from my pet rock. I rendesvoused with it, dragged it to a LKO, poked & probed & samples & reported it. No science achievable, except for the token "return of a vessel from solar orbit"

Duna Dominance: Goo has been collected from from Duna and is en route. The same design worked just fine from mun, minmus, moho, and potato(gilly). Am i allowed to mark this challenge as "complete"? I do not need the science from it to get tier 8 complete. (I have 4500 surplus)

Tier9: Not Attempted.

I lost one Kerbal, to a space Kraken. He left the scene at many multiples of lightspeed. I have considered the case, and do not consider this a Kerbal fatality by your rules.

My Duna Kerbal, Bill, is most likely headed for death by life support depletion. But he has air for 48 days, so he is not dead *yet*. I have a resupply ship en-route, but i think it will be a week late. It's *hard* to calculate rendesvous time for two ships barreling at each other in deep space.

I do use alarm clock, and engineer info helpers, so no purist for me.

So score...

92 days.

Total extras: 1+2+4+6+8+9+21+11=62

final score, Normal mode: 92 * (1 - (62*.001))=86.3

Mods used:

The required BTSM w. DRE.

Alarm Clock

Mechjeb, *in hangar only*. I'm pants at calculating delta=v for complex staging, without MJ or KER I would be even worse over-building than I already am. And KER leaks too much memory on a 2400-part ship.

====

Comments on how:

Launch many many multiple missions simultaneously! I was on my way to Mun, while the debris of my second launch was still falling to earth.

As there is no penalty for non-manned failures, I launch multiple unmanned probes for almost every job.

If I have a probe that can survey both Duna and Ike, I launch two of them. Maybe even three! This helps a *lot* when missing a biome, crumpling a landing leg, or other sillyness.

I over-engineer.

Most of my designs have a comment of "used BICS technique". As in: Bull In China Shop. No delicacy. No elegance. If I need a 500t launcher, I build a 2500t >thing< on the launchpad. Why not, it just wastes that nonexistent thing called money.

As a result of the point above, I virtually ignore launch windows, optimal transfer calculations, etc.

My heaviest design puts 2700tons in LKO.

When your MinMus probe has 13000 delta-v, you don't *need* to mount solar cells on it. Or even that many batteries. Just whoosh over there in 4 hours, do your thing, and whoosh back.

Need to re-enter and no heatshield invented yet? easy! Just retrofire using your surplus 3000 dv, and gently ease backwards into the atmosphere.

Need to get to Duna in a rush, and the planets aren't aligned?

Burn retro, fall below EVE orbit, and then burn out to duna. You can totally ignore planetary alignments, and you only pay a penalty of about 6000 dv.

The only reason I couldn't do the moons of Jool is because solar cells don't work that far out, and until tier9 the only available power sources are 8 tons each, and a probe needs 2 at least!

(even with overbuild, 16 tons in payload precludes a high-speed transit)

at peak, i had manned missions to Moho, Eve, Potato, Eve, Duna,Ike, and asteroid all flying at same time, competing with a goo return mission to moho,eve,potato,duna,ike,dres, jool (6*), and nonreturn probes to jool(4*) and dres still flying.

I've never needed Alarm Clock before, but I was *drowning* in this challenge, trying to coordinate 23 missions at the same time without fumbling!

Never again! Too much hard work!

[ThreeMartiniLaunch]

• Biome Hunter I (1): Score Tier 3 SCIENCE! on at least 3 biomes on your first Tier 3 launch.
  

I don't think this is possible using BTSM 1.57...assuming you have to hit three biomes with the Negative Gravioli Detector.

[Death Engineering]

Argh.

Ok, I'm calling it quits right here.

Due to the changes in BTSM, I will be unable to continue any of my missions, or my chosen style (building bigger)

My entry for "normal". I will not be entering an "expert" entry.

Note, I completed the last couple nodes in tier8 in the 2 days since release of the last btsm variant. I allowed this under your "current missions" rule

Time: 92 days

Tier1: all (1)

Tier2: all(2)

tier3: all(4)

tier4: all(6)

tier5: all(8)

Tier6: Not apollo-style., all the rest(9)

Tier7: all(21)

Tier8: not Duna Dominance-backup, not rockhound, all the rest(11)

Missed points:

Not Rockhound: Cannot figure out how to get science from my pet rock. I rendesvoused with it, dragged it to a LKO, poked & probed & samples & reported it. No science achievable, except for the token "return of a vessel from solar orbit"

Duna Dominance: Goo has been collected from from Duna and is en route. The same design worked just fine from mun, minmus, moho, and potato(gilly). Am i allowed to mark this challenge as "complete"? I do not need the science from it to get tier 8 complete. (I have 4500 surplus)

Tier9: Not Attempted.

I lost one Kerbal, to a space Kraken. He left the scene at many multiples of lightspeed. I have considered the case, and do not consider this a Kerbal fatality by your rules.

My Duna Kerbal, Bill, is most likely headed for death by life support depletion. But he has air for 48 days, so he is not dead *yet*. I have a resupply ship en-route, but i think it will be a week late. It's *hard* to calculate rendesvous time for two ships barreling at each other in deep space.

I do use alarm clock, and engineer info helpers, so no purist for me.

So score...

92 days.

Total extras: 1+2+4+6+8+9+21+11=62

final score, Normal mode: 92 * (1 - (62*.001))=86.3

Mods used:

The required BTSM w. DRE.

Alarm Clock

Mechjeb, *in hangar only*. I'm pants at calculating delta=v for complex staging, without MJ or KER I would be even worse over-building than I already am. And KER leaks too much memory on a 2400-part ship.

====

Comments on how:

Launch many many multiple missions simultaneously! I was on my way to Mun, while the debris of my second launch was still falling to earth.

As there is no penalty for non-manned failures, I launch multiple unmanned probes for almost every job.

If I have a probe that can survey both Duna and Ike, I launch two of them. Maybe even three! This helps a *lot* when missing a biome, crumpling a landing leg, or other sillyness.

I over-engineer.

Most of my designs have a comment of "used BICS technique". As in: Bull In China Shop. No delicacy. No elegance. If I need a 500t launcher, I build a 2500t >thing< on the launchpad. Why not, it just wastes that nonexistent thing called money.

As a result of the point above, I virtually ignore launch windows, optimal transfer calculations, etc.

My heaviest design puts 2700tons in LKO.

When your MinMus probe has 13000 delta-v, you don't *need* to mount solar cells on it. Or even that many batteries. Just whoosh over there in 4 hours, do your thing, and whoosh back.

Need to re-enter and no heatshield invented yet? easy! Just retrofire using your surplus 3000 dv, and gently ease backwards into the atmosphere.

Need to get to Duna in a rush, and the planets aren't aligned?

Burn retro, fall below EVE orbit, and then burn out to duna. You can totally ignore planetary alignments, and you only pay a penalty of about 6000 dv.

The only reason I couldn't do the moons of Jool is because solar cells don't work that far out, and until tier9 the only available power sources are 8 tons each, and a probe needs 2 at least!

(even with overbuild, 16 tons in payload precludes a high-speed transit)

at peak, i had manned missions to Moho, Eve, Potato, Eve, Duna,Ike, and asteroid all flying at same time, competing with a goo return mission to moho,eve,potato,duna,ike,dres, jool (6*), and nonreturn probes to jool(4*) and dres still flying.

I've never needed Alarm Clock before, but I was *drowning* in this challenge, trying to coordinate 23 missions at the same time without fumbling!

Never again! Too much hard work!

Thanks for giving the challenge a go! I must say I'm no where near your score for Normal Mode! If you happen to push forward to the end of the tech tree, post up a pic or two. Normal Mode entry added and feel free to update to Expert Mode anytime.

I don't think this is possible using BTSM 1.57...assuming you have to hit three biomes with the Negative Gravioli Detector.

Isn't it? This is the T3 craft that achieved that goal.

[ThreeMartiniLaunch]

Isn't it? This is the T3 craft that achieved that goal.

Is that craft under 12.5t? I don't think so.

[ttnarg]

Isn't it? This is the T3 craft that achieved that goal.

Is that craft under 12.5t? I don't think so.

That looks just like the craft I posted for Biome Hunter I (1)

I found it very hard. I thought about going back and trying to unlock 2 T3 tech before my first lunch to do this but in the end did it with one.

Where did you get the 12.5 number?

PS this was mine

Edited June 16, 2014 by ttnarg

[ttnarg]

Tips for anyone else starting this. This the easy way to get Biome Hunter I.

This would of saved me a few headaches.

Tier 1

Firework1 (Solid Core)

-Temp flying (Sci +4)

Tier 2

Unlocked basic Rocketry (sci -4)

Firework2 (Solid Core + 6 Boosters)

-Temp upper atmos (Sci +4)

-Pressure upper atmos (Sci +8)

-Pressure flying (Sci +8)

Firework3 (mass 23.85t) (Solid Core + 12 Boosters)

-Temp near space (Sci +8)

-Pressure near space (Sci +16)

Tips for Firework3

- only put 2 batteries on (this meens you can't combine firework 2&3 but does make it lighter)

- Trigger boosters in groups of 6

- Trigger stages early(ie with a little overlap), while you do take a hit with drag, it helps you stay straight.

- add you batteries and science gear to the bottom of the rocket also seem to help it stay straight.

Tier 3

unlock General Rocketry (sci -16)

unlock Basic Flight Controls (sci -16)

Rocket 1 (Mass 12.17t) (Liquid Core + 3 Boosters)

- needs lots of batteries, I used 36.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Edited June 16, 2014 by ttnarg

[MarvinKitFox]

Sorry, but your Firework3 (mass 23.85t) (Solid Core + 12 Bosters) shows you are not running under the latest BTSM ruleset.

While in tier2, your rocket mass is limited to 12.5 tons gross.

[Death Engineering]

Tips for anyone else starting this. This the easy way to get Biome Hunter I.

This would of saved me a few headaches.

Tier 1

Firework1 (Solid Core)

-Temp flying (Sci +4)

Tier 2

Unlocked basic Rocketry (sci -4)

Firework2 (Solid Core + 6 Boosters)

-Temp upper atmos (Sci +4)

-Pressure upper atmos (Sci +8)

-Pressure flying (Sci +8)

Firework3 (mass 23.85t) (Solid Core + 12 Boosters)

-Temp near space (Sci +8)

-Pressure near space (Sci +16)

Tips for Firework3

- only put 2 batteries on (this meens you can't combine firework 2&3 but does make it lighter)

- Trigger boosters in groups of 6

- Trigger stages early(ie with a little overlap), while you do take a hit with drag, it helps you stay straight.

- add you batteries and science gear to the bottom of the rocket also seem to help it stay straight.

Tier 3

unlock General Rocketry (sci -16)

unlock Basic Flight Controls (sci -16)

Rocket 1 (Mass 12.17t) (Liquid Core + 3 Boosters)

- needs lots of batteries, I used 36.

http://imgur.com/a/h6xZ8

Thanks for the tips post, but in mass-restricted BTSM, you'll need to fly your Firework 2 (or a modified version of it) to get enough science to get "Biome Hunter I" on your first T3 flight.

Sorry, but your Firework3 (mass 23.85t) (Solid Core + 12 Bosters) shows you are not running under the latest BTSM ruleset.

While in tier2, your rocket mass is limited to 12.5 tons gross.

MarvinKitFox is correct - that is not a viable path to "Biome Hunter I" in the mass-restricted BTSM.

However, it is possible to achieve.. just not likely on the first Tier 2 launch if you're going for "Bird's eye view" (2) -- On your first Tier 2 launch, transmit 100% Temp and Pres science from Upper Atmosphere". In fact in my proving-missions, I had to launch three T2 rockets to get enough science to unlock two nodes in Tier 3 before trying "Biome Hunter I".

Edited June 16, 2014 by Death Engineering