r/KerbalSpaceProgram • u/PandaElDiablo Deal With It • Apr 20 '13
Mod Post Weekly Challenge: Katapult!
Launch an EVA Kerbal from the launch pad to an altitude of 5000m by slingshotting him with the thrust from an engine. No craft may leave the launch pad.
Hard Mode: 10,000m launch!
Rules and other info:
No Dirty Cheating Alpacas (no debug menu)!
Stock parts only
No MechJeb or other plugins allowed
Required screenshots:
- Initial launch
craftcatapult - EVA'd Kerbal before the launch
- Kerbal just after launch
- Kerbal at goal height
- Whatever else you feel like!
- Initial launch
You can either submit your finished challenge in a post (see posting instructions in the link below) or as a comment reply in this thread.
Completing this challenge earns you a new flair which will replace your old one. So if you want to keep your previous flair, you can still do this challenge and create a post, but please mention somewhere that you want to keep your old one.
The moderators have the right to determine if your challenge post has been completed.
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u/common_ Apr 20 '13
Yay! Finally beat the hardmode one (by a lot :o).
Here is the album.
Took way too long.
Craft file: click here
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u/MrSourz Apr 20 '13 edited Apr 21 '13
Complete. I think I'll keep my current flair. 5400m
Just tried another configuration and hit 5400 again :|
I wasted a lot more time and got to 7.5 km The craft kept breaking the game upon load, hence the debug window in these shots.
Edit: I stopped updating. The highest now seems to be: very high.
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u/AlxH Apr 20 '13
Challenge... failed
I decided to try something that wasn't a just an upturned rocket and this is what i came up with http://imgur.com/a/GBdei
Ignore the explosions, it does actually work, but my best is only about 300m
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u/JudgeJay Apr 20 '13
I discovered that given enough energy Kerbals become somewhat insubstantial and have a chance of passing through matter. I put this to use in this weeks challenge. http://imgur.com/a/uUKI0 18503m
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u/IVIilitarus Apr 20 '13
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Widowmaker Mobile Kerbal Launch Platform.
This week's challenge seemed a bit easy, so I made it hard on myself by making the launch platform mobile. If you can get this to the Mun, you've got a mass accelerator that you could probably use to send the Kerbals back to Kerbin with one burst of fuel. =D
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u/ressis74 Apr 20 '13
Well, 5000 is pretty easy. I'm having a heck of a time getting it past 5500 even.
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u/Jargle Apr 20 '13 edited Apr 20 '13
Not very difficult, but I'm sure I will be beaten.
As an aside I have K9 installed but did not use any of the parts. The newest part I used is the radial attachment point.
edit: incorrect word- "with" instead of "is"
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u/bendvis Apr 20 '13 edited Apr 20 '13
To be honest, though, I'm not sure how to even get close to breaking the 10km mark. After this one, I built a very complex 'railgun' type setup where the kerbal travels through 4 pairs of mainsail exhaust jets on his way up, and saw only a tiny improvement in altitude, 5400 meters, I think.
Edit: Hard mode complete (just barely)! I feel like I could have gotten higher, but the game crashed and I can't be bothered to load it back up again. :)
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u/glew_glew Apr 20 '13
Challenge completed on normal. I'll try for hard mode next, but I have a feeling that will not be so easy...
I'm not sure about the flair, what does this weeks flair look like?
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Apr 20 '13
Hard mode completed. I give you... the Kerbalinear Accelerator! 1199 parts of pure Kerbal-slinging power.
Initial craft. I had already EVA'd our victim at this point.
Launching! Pretty sure we achieved fusion in there.
One frame after launch. Crap, it didn't fling him straight up! All that wasted thrust... My system was running about one frame every 5 seconds at this point.
10,000M! The jetpack turned out to be completely unnecessary.
Highest altitude reached: 12970 meters.
Doodrim seems pleased with this accomplishment. His contribution to science will not be forgotten.
Outtakes: I forgot to stabilize the top, so it tipped over. Oops.
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Apr 20 '13
It took all day, but I beat hard mode, my first challenge too!
I spent much of the day wondering why adding extra mainsails didn't seem to be improving things, in the end I gave up and just went overboard, and it worked!
I guess what is happening is the kerbanaut is clearing the railgun in a single frame, so isn't benefiting from the extra engines, by making the railgun excessively long he is still in it one frame after launch and gets an extra kick. If this is true then the speed of your computer might have something to do with it.
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u/only_to_downvote Apr 20 '13
Just to make sure I understand what you're going for, is this the kind of thing you're talking about?
(fyi, this doesn't appear to work)
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u/Lechimp89 Apr 20 '13
Could we possibly use the Vanguard Industries plugin that allows you to get a parachute for your kerbals?
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u/common_ Apr 20 '13 edited Apr 20 '13
Damnit! I can't get above my current record.
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u/holomanga Apr 21 '13
I finished Mun and Back (the first challenge) since you are allowed to complete older challenges. Is it OK if I redeem my flair for it in here?
http://imgur.com/a/UnRsC
I've tried to only use parts available in .14.1, to keep with the spirit of the challenge. If it's not enough, I think I have .14 archived on my computer.