Rebalance Optional Hypersonic Flight Contracts #2346
Conversation
Update speed text in the contract description to say '2000 m/s below 40km' instead of '2000 km'.
Update contract description to say '@/minSpeedMPS m/s below 40km' instead of '@/minSpeedMPS km' Update speeds to remain at 2000 m/s. No parts exist that can be shaped into an aerodynamic nosecone capable of withstanding the thermal loads of the previous 2300 m/s and 2600 m/s speeds for two minutes. The X-15 non-inline cockpit can withstand 2300 m/s, but not 2600 m/s. In real life, the fastest X-15 went up to 2020 m/s, and that flight effectively wrote it off. Change duration to be variable. Three minutes for the first optional contract and four minutes for the second. Achieving 2000+ m/s hypersonic flight for four minutes is not a trivial endeavour, but is actually achievable, unlike the old 2600 m/s contract, and allows for more freedom of craft design.
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Looks good to me. The X-plane contracts should not require something so far beyond the limits of available parts. |
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I wonder why the contract even starts straight from 2km/s, instead of something like 1.8km/s. Also, what's the speed that nosecones start to have issues? Not a fan of speed value staying the same. |
it'd be useful to find data on how long the x-15 maintained that top speed. intuitively, the "2 minutes" part seems more unrealistic than the speed part to me... |
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I did not want to drop the speed on the non-optional contract, which requires 2000 m/s, because that contract seemed fairly well balanced. However, dropping the speed requirements of the non-optional contract would put it more in-line with the speeds experienced during typical X-15 flight. From my testing, the procedural nosecone will survive speeds of 2200 m/s indefinitely, so requiring a higher speed than the non-optional contract is possible. Therefore, a possible further modification to the optional contracts could be to first require 2100 m/s at two minutes, and then 2200 m/s at three minutes. |
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From what I can find on how long flight 188 stayed above 2000 m/s, the answer can't be more than at most 10-20 seconds. The engine was not kept lit during this time according to mission reports.
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Ehh, YOLO. |
The current optional hypersonic flight contracts require speeds of 2300 m/s and 2600 m/s. The 2300 m/s contract is achievable, but only when using the non-inline X-15 cockpit. No parts exist with an aerodynamic shape, or that can be changed into an aerodynamic shape, which can withstand the temperatures encountered at those speeds.
In real life, no X-15 ever flew faster than 2020 m/s (Flight 188). That flight also essentially ruined the aircraft from thermal damage.
Because of this, believe that the differences in speed requirements should be dropped in favour of duration requirements.
I have changed the optional contracts to instead require the player to maintain 2000 m/s for longer, at three minutes for the first contract, and four minutes for the second. These are still difficult requirements to hit, but fall within the thermal limitations of something like the procedural nosecone.
I believe that these changes ensure that the confidence awarded by these contracts (150 on normal difficulty) is now more in-line with the craft required to perform them.