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Gale Crater achievement in Kinect Fun Labs: Mars Rover Landing

Gale Crater

Safely land Curiosity in the center of the target zone

Gale Crater0
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How to unlock the Gale Crater achievement

  • PsybrnetiCToasTPsybrnetiCToasT
    18 Jul 2012 18 Jul 2012 22 Jul 2012
    *EDIT* Thanks to MathGuy42 for pointing this out. The game may be looking for an accuracy score of 50/50 rather than actually landing perfectly centered. However, the scoring seems to be inconsistent at best so I'm not sure how helpful this advice is at the moment. I'll update this guide again once I've ascertained exactly how to satisfy the game's requirements for a score of 50 points. *END EDIT*

    This was a bit tricky, but with some patience and a little luck it's quite doable. If you use this guide, I'd recommend reading the whole thing before attempting the achievement since it goes by faster than you'd think and it would be difficult to go back and forth between game and guide.

    Two things to note: First, when I got this achievement, I landed with two of my wheels outside of the circle. Most of the rover was in, however. It would seem that you simply need more than 50% of the rover in the inner circle. Second, if you find yourself lower on fuel than you'd like to be, or too far from the target for comfort, it's best to just crash your rover. You'll start again immediately and avoid having to repeat the first two sections over and over.

    As soon as the Landing sequence starts, raise the appropriate arm straight up to send Curiosity toward the center of the target. Don't sweat the alarms--you'll right yourself and slow down soon.

    Just before or at the moment the rover is going to be dropped, raise your other arm as well. You'll level out and drift farther toward the center. After a moment, your speed will be in the green (i.e. very slow). If you do nothing you'll drift too far, so to adjust simply drop the appropriate arm completely, then immediately raise it again. This will provide a tiny boost in one direction with minimal rover swinging. Do it 1-3 times until you are fairly centered.

    Next you'll want to drop a bit to conserve fuel. I found the best way to do this without going into free fall is to flap your arms up and down in unison, smoothly, not too fast, like a demented, achievement hunting bird. If you're a bit low on fuel by now, you can probably to afford to drop a bit, level out again, then start flapping.

    Once you're close enough to the ground to really see where you're going to land (about when you can see the top of the inner circle), shoot both arms straight up immediately. You should be hovering just over the Martian ground. If you need to, make a *tiny* adjustment (seriously, TINY. Otherwise Curiosity will start swinging all over the place), then level out again and hover. Once you're over the miniscule center circle, flap your arms and land.

    Good luck! Let me know in the comments if this helped and what I can improve.

    Guide not helping? View 1 more guide for this achievement.

    Showing most recent comments. View all comments.
    PsybrnetiCToasTThanks for the tip MathGuy42! I've edited the guide accordingly.

    Can anyone confirm what exactly the game is looking for in order to gain 50/50 on the landing accuracy score? I'll update the guide again once that's figured out =)
    Posted by PsybrnetiCToasT on 22 Jul 12 at 21:39
    Mike MarcelaisI just got this -- very low of fuel and swinging desperately and made a last ditch attempt to get back towards the center. I hit very hard with lots of horizontal velocity, but the lander impacted in the dead center of the circle and then skidded out (almost outside the next largest ring!) and I got 50/50. I think the game looks for the moment of first contact, not the position the lander finally ends up in.
    Posted by Mike Marcelais on 04 Jan 14 at 03:05
    KinectKid333Hahaha demented achievement hunting bird lmao +1
    Posted by KinectKid333 on 13 Jul 15 at 16:11
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  • GOINPOSTAL321GOINPOSTAL321
    04 Nov 2012 04 Nov 2012
    I just tried to keep the rover near the center once it got close at the bottom i dropped both my arms and let it land
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