Kerbal Awards and Commendations

[tntristan12]

I was brainstorming ways to make kerbals more individualized and give players more of a sense of ownership and came up with this:

I imagine something like the KSP mission ribbons in my sig, but in-game. The idea is that when a kerbal goes out on a mission, if he enters the SOI of a planet or moon, he automatically gets that ribbon. Attachments like the ones in my sig would be cool too, or maybe even just a star to signify that they've returned. Ribbons could accrue and be examinable in the astronaut complex, by clicking on the Kerbal's name and getting more information about them (a separate feature that I would like to see implemented as well). Perhaps there might even be other awards you can give manually that boost the Kerbal's courage or automatically add the "badass" flag (badass ribbon anybody?). Of course you may only have a certain number of awards you can bestow each in-game year so you have to pick wisely.

I think the spirit behind this idea is that it allows players to groom their kerbals into the astronaut heroes they want them to be. We all know Jebediah is awesome, but wouldn't having a list of awards and citations as long as he is tall solidify that? It may not add much in terms of core gameplay mechanics, but anything that more fully immerses the player into the Kerbal's world is a good thing in my book.