Kerbin is too sciencey?

[DrCeph]

I've been really enjoying the current glimpse into what will be a full career mode, it has encouraged me to develop scientific programs to break into the 'next tier' of stuff with projects such as science probes and rovers.

The one thing that hasn't sat well with me is the amount of science to be done on Kerbin itself - there is too much. I appreciate the upper atmosphere, orbital experiments and EVA reports above the various biomes. On the flip side, surface EVA reports and samples from some beach on Kerbin? That doesn't seem in the spirit of a space program.

[Nemoricus]

I think being able to do those is fine. The amount of science you can get is absolutely paltry compared to missions to the Mun, Minmus, and beyond, and their sole purpose is really to give new players a little boost in unlocking the first few sets of nodes.

[dudester28]

I don't mind all the experiments in Kerbin. They only help. If you want you could simply ignore doing science within the atmosphere of kerbin.

The only thing that bothers me with career mode is how it appears to be turning away newcomers. By lacking a tutorial, new players seem to have a little trouble figuring out how to perform early science with what little they are provided. I have observed multiple examples of this in sections of the forum.

[Force21]

The thing is, the science progression is supposed to be the tutorial. The devs said it's not the main event of career mode because career is nowhere near finished yet. Science is only the first step in career, and if you can get through it in only a few flights then good for you. I'm currently challenging myself to not transmit any data at all except for crew reports because they have 100% transmission value. Doing this self challenge causes all the science on Kerbin to become very necessary to get to better like nuclear engines.

[FlamedSteak]

I think it's fine, it encourages exploration of the most interesting planet. Besides there isn't a helluva lot of science to be collected on Kerbin, you could grind a tier out of it, but it would be pretty boring.

[Commander Zoom]

I think science will have more tutorial-ish elements added (like popup windows, which all veterans will instantly turn off if given the option) once there's more of an actual system in place. Keep in mind that what we have now is literally the very first release / update in which it's been present at all.

[thiosk]

I tried getting a little science out of kerbin. Theres not much to get.

I am more interested in things unlocking for direct accomplishments rather than points.

"Land on the mun" get better stuff

"Find an anomaly" get better stuff

I would suspect modding will enable all things to be possible.

[TheDarkStar]

I tried getting a little science out of kerbin. Theres not much to get.

I am more interested in things unlocking for direct accomplishments rather than points.

"Land on the mun" get better stuff

"Find an anomaly" get better stuff

I would suspect modding will enable all things to be possible.

You tend to get large amounts of science for orbits, flybys, and landings. You get more if you bring extra mass in the form of science modules along.

[katateochi]

Having science on Kerbin gives you more options on how to play the game. My biggest fear with career mode was that it was going to be overly perspective as to what had to be done, ie you must get into space and go to X.

I've been really pleased with the scope of flexibility it offers; in one career mode I'm doing it entirely with aircraft, if not for the science on Kerbin that would not have been possible. It's taken me ages and been quite a challenge, I've slowly worked my way up to an SSTO and have only just tasted space for the first time in that career mode. There's a a thread about my aircraft craft career here if you're interested.

[paleorob]

As a scientist I can tell you there is still a lot of science to be done on Earth. No reason why there can't be massive quantities of science on Kerbin. Let the player decide where and how to gather science for their save.

[Madrias]

I think there's plenty of Science on Kerbin. Just the right amount, in fact. What I dislike is that by the time you're able and ready to exploit Kerbin for Science, you don't need it. If we had plane parts before we were firing rockets into space, Kerbin would have the perfect amount of science.

[HeadHunter67]

It is very reasonable to say that a great deal of terrestrial science had to be discovered and researched before we could take our first steps into space - so why does it seem odd that the Kerbals would have to do the same?

And from the looks of it, Kerbin is still an untamed world anyhow.

[Superfluous J]

Yeah I have no problem getting 10-20 science per Kerbin location. It helps get the first couple nodes unlocked and then it's not really worth the time when you can get 100 or more easy by just going to Mun. Likewise Mun science should dry up and force you to Minmus, Duna, etc.

I've no doubt that this sort of stuff will be all balanced when the game is complete. This is just a first pass.

Plus, it's nice when you're coming back from a mission to try to land your craft in a new area so you can get that EVA report from the polar ice sheet without setting a specific mission there

[Nostromo]

How can there be too much science? Need MOOOAR science!