Accelerated science start

[ineon]

Background: I am looking to come back fresh to 1.1 having played some 1.0.5 and I think I want to start a new game with all the things that I have learnt rather than try to move my 1.0.5 game with all its orbiting debris to 1.1. However, I do not find the initial phase interesting (e.g. fly a Command Pod + Parachute + Flea + Goo to the shore, collect science. Now repeat for grassland, ocean, highlands, etc, now repeat that all for temperature scans once that is unlocked). Then flying to the Badlands is just plain dull.

Question: Is there a way to "cheat" all science experiments from Kerbin biomes? Similarly, once I have landed on Mun/Minmus a few times is there a way to cheat the remaining biomes?

I am aware of the Starting Science option when starting a new game, but then I can get all the science twice (once from starting science and once from actually doing the experiments). So an alternative would just to mark those experiments as done, and add the start with a big bunch of science. 

Or I am open to other suggestions...

[Warzouz]

As you said, you can cheat your way trough SFS editing or Alt+F12 cheat menu

OR

You have to do a crash science course : KSC science with some kind of rolling ship, then Mun partial striping, then Minmus total stripping, then Mun remnant stripping. Every thing should be unlocked by then.

I don't know any other way.

EDIT : getting all science from Kerbin is quite a long task and not too rewarding. It's more an opportunity reward when you end a mission. Doing a dedicated mission to visit poles is not wirth it. I prefer landing on the poles when returning from Mun or Minmus (easier)

Edited June 2, 2016 by Warzouz

[Geschosskopf]

1 hour ago, ineon said:

Question: Is there a way to "cheat" all science experiments from Kerbin biomes? Similarly, once I have landed on Mun/Minmus a few times is there a way to cheat the remaining biomes?

I am aware of the Starting Science option when starting a new game, but then I can get all the science twice (once from starting science and once from actually doing the experiments). So an alternative would just to mark those experiments as done, and add the start with a big bunch of science. 

Or I am open to other suggestions...

I don't know of any way to mark various experiments as completed without substantial save file editing.  Open the save of a game where you actually did all those experiments, find the science archive section, and copy all that data into the new game's save file.

But why bother?  Instead, just give yourself however many science points you want at the start and then just not go to the biomes you don't want to bother with.  Not only is there a slider to give you some starting science at the creation of the game, but you can then easily edit the save file to give yourself any arbitrarily high number of science points, way more than the slider will give you.

HOWEVER, my preferred method of avoiding the grindiness of the early career is to go the following:

• Start the game so I get 200% or more rewards in all categories.
• Use mods like DMagic Orbital Science so I have many more experiments on the ship.
• Play normally, just unlocking the tech tree MUCH faster than normal.
• OPTION:  have some starting science to avoid the "pod on the runway" thing
• OPTION:  have some starting money for building upgrades
• OPTION:  use CustomBarnKit to lower the prices of building upgrades and set the cost of hiring Kerbals at some constant, arbitrarily low number to avoid having to grind out dozens of rescues

 

 

[mk1980]

there is probably something like 10 times more science in the game than you need to fill out the tech tree, so don't worry about getting too much science from kerbin or someting. you'll finish the tree LONG before you visited every planet and moon. and that's not even counting the potentially unlimited science you can generate with labs.

if you want a head start, use the starting science slider in the setup of the new career. if you don't want to land in 20 different moon biomes, don't do it. get enough tech to mount interplanetary missions and go to duna or ike or gilly or whatever to collect points. you might also learn a few things in the process (which may be more motivating than doing a boring "science sweep" with repeated visits to the same 2 moons over and over)

[bewing]

One other alternate -- not nearly as good in the short run but maybe more satisfying in the long run:

This only works if you pretty much know for a fact that you will be replaying the game several times from the "beginning".

Hold your nose and do the dull grindy stuff at the very beginning once more (but you will know it's the last time!). Then make a named quicksave after you've gotten to the very beginning of the good stuff. Then start every future game from the quicksave point.

[Tiberius K]

I didn't think I would but I actually enjoyed getting the early science in my new 1.1 game.  This time I Installed crowd-sourced-science which definitely gave a reason to pay attention, and DMagic Orbital science which adds more variety and interesting experiments (plus makes it quicker without feeling like you've cheated).  I didn't do much science on Kerbin though, like Warzouz just what Biomes I land in plus the local Biomes to KSC

[StarStryder]

Am I missing something? Why not just play a sandbox game if you don't care about getting the science properly?

[FullMetalMachinist]

4 hours ago, StarStryder said:

Am I missing something? Why not just play a sandbox game if you don't care about getting the science properly?

It's not that people don't want to get science "properly", it's about avoiding the very-early-career grind. 

Once you've started a career save more than a handful of times, the first several science nodes are extremely tedious. 

At the start of a career, your first four or five flights are almost always identical. Same parts, same contracts (launch first vessel, escape the atmosphere, orbit Kerbin, etc.) usually the same ship design (because of limited parts). 

So why, when I'm starting my n-th career save, do I need to do all the same stuff again? Better, I think, to give yourself a boost to get past that early grind, and start out with something different and interesting. 

[DaMachinator]

Install a mod that affects the very early game, like Sounding Rockets (make a tiny unmanned rocket with starting parts) or Engineering Tech Tree (changes the starting parts, best with a few part packs). 

I'm using both of these for my Spartan Space Program series (insert shameless plug). Good contract packs help too. 

Edited June 4, 2016 by DaMachinator

[ibanix]

On 6/3/2016 at 5:36 PM, FullMetalMachinist said:

So why, when I'm starting my n-th career save, do I need to do all the same stuff again? Better, I think, to give yourself a boost to get past that early grind, and start out with something different and interesting. 

I was thinking about this myself, and I was surprised to find that there are no mods to skip a bunch of the early career grind. Something that would complete all the science on body X (at some % of return value),and clear the early "launch a ship to orbit" contracts, would be great.