Random Microbial Life (Research)

[edwardc]

Hi Guys,

After reading about some probe/rover finding traces of microbial life I thought, why isn't this in KSP?

So, my suggestion:

At the start of a career mode game, randomly set one of the planets as containing microbial life.

This can only be discovered by taking a soil sample and analyzing it in the Lab module (or similar).

Why

It encourages you to plan your missions more carefully in that you have to send a Kerbal and be able to return.

You also don't know what planet the life can be found on so you have to hunt for it.

It could have a nice research point payout as a reward (cash/fame in later versions) to encourage the search.

Yes I know this is "just another research mission" but when the final game is out, we'll need a lot of these mission types for fame and fortune. What could be more fame inducing than finding other life in space?

Comments?

[AlamoVampire]

could be fun. i think tho, this is more of a distant thing, like, mid to late BETA closer to 'final' product.

[Clockwork_werewolf]

I kind of got the feeling the goo was bacterial life but I could be wrong. Considering most of the experiments have return values (that you can stuff in a command pod), there is already value to returning your Kerbals and their pods.

BUT I do like this idea as a random goal somewhere in the system. Although maybe it should be restricted to the harder to get planets so that one player doesn't find it on EVE and another finds it on the Mun.

[AlamoVampire]

I thought the goo was liquefied kerbals, since it was posited that is what the goo was anyway... forget where on these boards i saw that theory tho

[edwardc]

why...? why would anyone liquify Kerbals??? They're supposed to die of old age, drifting aimlessly through space.

Back on topic though, depending on how difficult you want to make it you could restrict it to a certain biome on a certain planet but that just sounds annoying to me. It'd be too easy to miss.

I do agree that it shouldn't be too easy to find. Maybe limit it to planets with atmosphere or enough gravity to pose a challenge in returning.

The reward should determine the difficulty. So maybe, single cell fossils on the Duna with a small reward or small invertebrates on Eeloo with big reward.

It could use one random occurrence but make it reward more the harder it is to reach.

There is already enough research around, this would just be a "Nice one!" sort of surprise.

[AlamoVampire]

@edwardc well, kerbals are green, and well, there was a video, by squad I think, that shows the goo, and the goo is green. things DO go wrong for our poor kerbals, and maybe they just liquefy them and then use them in the goo cans? at least I think that was the going theory

[KvickFlygarn87]

No, the description says that some dude found it in a dumpster.

And, to not derail: Nice idea, would really encourage going to all the planets!

[togfox]

Ive modded the kethane scanner to detect Bacteria spread througout the kerbalverse

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/50986-Universal-Resources-Because-Kethane-is-too-Easy%21?p=681039&viewfull=1#post681039