Sand box or Career?

[Noud]

i was just wondering what the community loves most.

is does not matter how modded your game is as mods can make the difference between playing the one or the other.

[Superfluous J]

Woo hoo I'm in the majority! 100% of the 1 people who answered agree with me!

I mainly play career. Sandbox is generally just for testing things.

[ARS]

For me, I love Career mode, since it opens all facilities in KSC, so my missions seems "meaningful"

Sandbox mode is for testing something that I deemed too expensive or too risky to be tested in career mode without bricking my space program

Edited June 9, 2017 by ARS

[The Flying Kerbal]

The short answer is I play both at the same time - kind off...

Actually I'm playing my first ever Career game.  Previously I played KSP Demo version until I almost had it done to death, even though I had the full game ready and waiting.

When I did start playing KSP seriously I just started a career game and so far all's going well, indeed you could say that my career game has - wait for it - taken off!!  However I use Sandbox alongside my career game as a kind of laboratory where I design and test out my various contraptions, considering it as a flight simulator in the KSC design office.

[lodger]

I played science career twice (0.24 and 0.90) but since 1.0 I only play sandbox. Career mode just isn't what I expected it to be.

[KerbalNetwork]

I used to normally play career mode, now Sandbox.

I can only say a reason, and it is that in Career you have to unlock new parts, but in order to do that you have to transfer science (and all of that stuff). 

This is just my opinion, and yes, I still play Career sometimes.

 

[LoSBoL]

I started out with sandbox, just to get a feel for the game and capabilities, build a huge spacestation in LKO and Minmus, after that I did a Science game and to finish it off I now play Career.

Haven't been playing that long compared to many others, but I like career since it adds the funds and contracts, So I do some contracts here and there to fund the upgrades off the KSC and to finance my projects. I can imagine that if you've played long enough then career might feel to 'science grindy' and that a career game turns into a sandbox game, but I'm still having a bunch of fun.

I still start up my sandbox game to test here and there, and do an occasional challenge.

[NSEP]

50/50. Career for gameplay and challenge and Sandbox for ideas and creativity.

[Finnan]

Career. Never played sandbox or science.

[tater]

I play career a fair bit mostly so I can complain about how truly awful it is. It's slightly less awful with heavy use of career mods---no fault of the modders, they don't have much to work with regarding career.

[regex]

Sandbox or science mode. I stopped playing career a while ago, it's just really bad all around. I like to actually direct my space program and do interesting missions; career instead demands that l do a ton of random, uninteresting crap first.

[adsii1970]

32 minutes ago, regex said:

Sandbox or science mode. I stopped playing career a while ago, it's just really bad all around. I like to actually direct my space program and do interesting missions; career instead demands that l do a ton of random, uninteresting crap first.

I play sandbox exclusively. When the career mode and science mode first came out I was pretty excited. I was hoping for some sort of progression and challenges that make sense. But I was surprised.

The way I play sandbox is actually more challenging - I decide on what the objects of the mission are, then I plan the mission, build for the mission, and execute the plan. And there are enough things in KSP to where it never gets boring and random things do happen.

[Jens Lyn IV]

I mostly play sand, but I keep telling myself that one of these days I'll give box an honest attempt.

Sorry.

Edited June 9, 2017 by Jens Lyn IV

[NSEP]

1 hour ago, regex said:

Sandbox or science mode. I stopped playing career a while ago, it's just really bad all around. I like to actually direct my space program and do interesting missions; career instead demands that l do a ton of random, uninteresting crap first.

I do agree with you, but once you achieved first orbit and get some actual contracts (other than the tourist/test missions) you just get glued to your screen for a few hours. I dont know if its just me. But yeah, actually starting a career game is kind of boring and painful.

Just my opinion and experience.

Edited June 9, 2017 by NSEP

[Scarecrow]

Sandbox all the way.  I just find Career too restrictive.

[Julien Kerman]

At the moment I am playing RSS RO RP0 and I love it <3

[klgraham1013]

Sandbox with an enforced periodic budget.  I have spreadsheets and everything.

[regex]

1 hour ago, NSEP said:

I dont know if its just me.

It's you. Past the first few milestones all I really encounter is grind and unconnected, unrelated, totally random missions that I don't care about but need to do in order to build up funding for the things I want to do, which includes building upgrades. Same for RP-0, only I find RP-0's starting game to be quite fun with small sounding rockets and such. That mid-game slump while I do "crap missions" is a major pain; in science mode I can just literally direct my space program, no tourists, no stupid part testing, no useless satellites, no grind, just missions that interest me.

Edited June 9, 2017 by regex

[Ed Jaws]

I chose Sandbox which I think all new players should.

I started playing career but I just didn't know all of what is doable. It's too easy to get your bird in a ringer picking contracts and I had restarted numerous times.

Now I'm playing sandbox and loving it. You can learn, set goals, be creative, and challenge yourself in sandbox without getting bogged down meeting arbitrary goals.

Perhaps in the future I will give career another try.

EDIT: Just saw @klgraham1013 post. That's a great idea for a career mode.

[adsii1970]

1 hour ago, NSEP said:

I do agree with you, but once you achieved first orbit and get some actual contracts (other than the tourist/test missions) you just get glued to your screen for a few hours. I dont know if its just me. But yeah, actually starting a career game is kind of boring and painful.

Just my opinion and experience.

But the careers (doesn't matter which style you choose) can become very repetitive. Once I have mastered a certain skill, I want to immediately go to the next challenge, not repeat the skill several more times for more points, etc.

42 minutes ago, Scarecrow said:

Sandbox all the way.  I just find Career too restrictive.

Hahaha, if you knew how bad I restrict my sandbox game, you'd be yelling, "Get me back to my career mode!"

24 minutes ago, klgraham1013 said:

Sandbox with an enforced periodic budget.  I have spreadsheets and everything.

And for me, it doesn't stop there. Just like NASA and the EU (and even the Japanese Space Program), each destination where kerbalnauts are heading has to follow a pattern:

1. Orbital survey from a probe (probe also has to have the ability to serve as a communications relay satellite).
2. Lander probes sent to identify and land on two designated landing sites.
3. Identify mission requirements and goals.
4. Design spacecraft and any landing equipment.
5. Test spacecraft (if a new design or new components are included). Use the Mun as an analog for bodies with no atmosphere. Use Kerbin as analog for bodies with atmosphere.
6. Launch mission to the solar system body designated for exploration.

I know many would think it is a boring approach, but I do enjoy it. It's challenging, each mission becomes different, and things do often happen that requires a RESCUE MISSION!

[NSEP]

7 minutes ago, regex said:

It's you. Past the first few milestones all I really encounter is grind and unconnected, unrelated, totally random missions that I don't care about but need to do in order to build up funding for the things I want to do, which includes building upgrades. Same for RP-0, only I find RP-0's starting game to be quite fun with small sounding rockets and such. That mid-game slump while I do "crap missions" is a major pain; in science mode I can just literally direct my space program, no tourists, no stupid part testing, no useless satellites, no grind, just missions that interest me.

I agree with the fact that RP-0 is alot more fun than stock, RP-0 makes stock career look like a kids game.

But in stock career, you do not have to do all of the test/tourist/survey/satellite contracts. I did stock career once without following these contracts and i earned more than enough funds in notime. It bassicly turns into science mode after you passed 1 million funds. And the non-feces contracts actually try to lead beginners to new achievements. 

So i do agree with you that most of the contracts are useless, but im just saying that they can be ignored.

 

1 minute ago, adsii1970 said:

But the careers (doesn't matter which style you choose) can become very repetitive. Once I have mastered a certain skill, I want to immediately go to the next challenge, not repeat the skill several more times for more points, etc.

Thats what i noticed actually. Thats why i rarely play career, but i still do, because once you haven't played career or KSP in general in a long time it is bassicly a quick way to remember on how to get space again.

[regex]

9 minutes ago, NSEP said:

I agree with the fact that RP-0 is alot more fun than stock, RP-0 makes stock career look like a kids game.

The problem with RP-0 is it still follows stock's career paradigm which is fundamentally broken (IMO). There is no direction from the player; it's a totally random yet oddly railroaded experience. Even contract weighting doesn't help this.

Quote

But in stock career, you do not have to do all of the test/tourist/survey/satellite contracts. I did stock career once without following these contracts and i earned more than enough funds in notime. It bassicly turns into science mode after you passed 1 million funds.

That hasn't been my experience but, as with any game, YMMV (E: And yes, I realize I don't have to do ALL of the contracts, but I'm not interested in playing a slot machine either). Either way, there's a lot of grind between starting out and doing what I want to do. Career mode isn't enjoyable to me in the least because I can't influence the direction of the space program and none of the missions are relevant to what I want to do at the moment, so I just stopped playing it.

Problem solved.

Quote

And the non-feces contracts actually try to lead beginners to new achievements. 

I mean, that's great and all, and I'm glad newbies get that direction, but I've been playing this game for four years running. I don't need career mode to give me direction, I want to give it direction. Since I can't do that, I play something else.

Edited June 9, 2017 by regex

[sdrevik]

Every time a big release rolls out, I start over in career and see how fast I can work the tech tree.  This round I focused on getting the science lab, so I could take most of my Mun/Minmus science and get a 5x multiplier via the lab.  I have a manned mission going to Duna to land for a contract, but I've filled out 90% of the tree already and haven't  gone beyond Duna or Eve unmanned missions yet.

I found myself getting a bit bored with making the same designs, so I'm going to finish out the rest of the system using unmanned probes, since I have all the good antennas and probe controllers unlocked now.

[JoeNapalm]

 

I started before there was a Career mode, and have bounced off it pretty hard on every attempt I've made to give it a fair shake.

I know some people are all about spreadsheets and realism and progression -- that just isn't why I play this game.

I build a big, Kerbal spaceship out of a pile of random parts (mostly found on the side of the road), fill it with little green men, and throw it into space. I don't need "directed play" and after all those hours of sandbox-before-sandbox-was-a-thing I find that it chafes.

I've even tried giving myself all the money and science just to get the contracts...but the contracts just end up getting in the way of what I want to do at any particular moment.

I would never have built this (my avatar pic, actually) if I was constrained by budgets, schedules, or to-do lists:

 

-Jn-

Edited June 9, 2017 by JoeNapalm

[Leafbaron]

I play career and use sandbox for testing. I choose to play career not because it is easy but because it is hard..... errmmm excuse me. I play career because i want my missions to mean something. I find that collecting milestones and science in the beginning is more than sufficient to get and funding this allows me to completely skip the part testing contracts and other PITA  random/stupid contracts. Career also makes you push further with less and i find that rewarding, to keep funding later in the game i just accept contracts to places i already have missions planned or satellite contracts and rescue contracts. This way i can build my astronaut roster while simultaneously creating a powerful com net. The best part about career for me is getting to the destination with a limited part count and vehicle mass, with jsut enough delta v to get the mission done (sometimes with a little help from the EVA suits) and when i get there i collect a return science that allows me to use more parts and the mission actually had value and weight.