WORLD RECORD! Kerbal Space Program SPEEDRUN | Full Tech Tree Unlock in SUB-1 HOUR (Science Category)
3,440Yes. KSP has a speedrun. (ikr?) Several speedruns, it turns out.
The goal of this run is to unlock every node of the tech tree in R&D as quickly as possible, starting from a new Science-mode save.
After studying and re-routing the current WR run (by HardlinerSlugs), I've shaved 20 minutes off, bringing the run down to sub-1 hour, and bagging my first World Record in Kerbal Space Program.
[LOTS TO SAY ABOUT THE SPEEDRUN]
The first big change to HardlinerSlugs' routing is what I'm calling "Science Jr. Early." By launching the first ship twice - once from the launchpad and once from the runway - we're able to get the 108+ science needed to buy the first two tiers of tech in r&d AND the tier-3 unlock that contains both the Science Jr, and the Experiment Storage Unit... in ~4 minutes.
Having the Science Jr, and not being limited by weight or part count in Science mode, we can then skip the entire mission of collecting EVAs at Kerbin, and launch immediately for the first Minmus landing.
Returning from Minmus with 2200+ science (and only really needing 2030 of it) we can buy into the technology needed to land a Mobile Processing Lab on Minmus, and timewarp/transmit our way to the 14780 science needed to unlock all remaining nodes in R&D.
The biggest change to the final mission is bringing an RA-100 antenna to Minmus with the lab. It's electrical consumption and transmission rate are far better than any other combination of antennas; Allowing for transmission from Minmus' surface in ~half the time per transmit as any other.
Because electrical consumption is far less using the RA-100, we're also able to transmit from any time of day on Minmus, (so long as Kerbin is visible) with just 12 (Z-400) batteries aboard. Hypothetically, only 6 solar panels are truly necessary to cover the usage of the lab and store a slight excess for transmission. (Though this run includes more.)
Using the Twin-Boar engine (which contains its own fuel tank) massively simplifies the lifter stage, requiring just 4x Kickback SRBs to get us a quick build and launch to orbit.
And making use of the Magnetometer (added in KSP 1.10) along with collecting some extra EVAs at Minmus orbit, allows us to grind the ~15,000 lab-processed science from just 2 landing sites instead of 3, saving the time loss of a site transfer.
This run is, of course, not a perfect delivery of the new route. "MISTAKES WERE MADE!" And the routing itself can clearly be improved upon. ...Suicide burns, direct ascents, reduced tabbing in the VAB at build-time, adding reaction wheels to the final ship for better control authority... are all obvious possibilities.
But having taken 20 minutes off the previous WR run and brought the category in under an hour, I'm thrilled with the success of this new routing! HENCE! I now retire from the category and await the next runner who will whittle the time down ever more! (...my way of saying, I won't run against my own run here. I'll only compete after a new WR is set.)
KSP Tech Tree (Science) Speedrun in 58:06.350 (RTA)*
*Timed from the first frame of black (loading screen after button clicked) to the first frame in which the final node in R&D turns green.
[WATCH THE FULL STREAM HERE]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPMfb1MGdCc
[ALSO, DO THESE THINGS]
Join the live shows on Twitch... http://twitch.tv/roninpawn
Watch the VODs on... http://pawnlive.roninpawn.com
[STILL BORED?]
Feed Pawn on Patreon: http://patreon.com/roninpawn
Dot Pawn at the com: http://roninpawn.com
Spread Pawn all over your body: http://roninpawn.spreadshirt.com
Other Videos By roninpawn
Other Statistics
Kerbal Space Program Statistics For roninpawn
roninpawn currently has 1,002,033 views spread across 171 videos for Kerbal Space Program. The game makes up over 7 days of published video on his channel, roughly 23.62% of Kerbal Space Program content that roninpawn has uploaded to YouTube.