What should I do?

[walia6]

This is currently my science tree+points:

I have explored all heights (and landed) of Kerbins orbit, and all heights of Minmus's orbit above highlands(not landed on minmus). And all heights of muns orbit that are above highlands and have a surface sample from muns highlands as well.

What action should I take?

Also, are there any plugins that combine Kerbal Alarm Clock and http://ksp.olex.biz/? thats a plugin? Im not a big fan of having to exit and enter the window alot. (And I don't want to play not fullscreen)

Edited June 1, 2014 by walia6

[sal_vager]

You can get to Duna and back with those nodes open, there's some great views there for your Kerbal holiday snaps

[Kasuha]

I suggest landing on Minmus. Then land on Mun. Then go interplanetary, preferably towards Eve and visit Gilly (do not land on Eve yet if you want to return). Then go to Duna and visit Ike. Then Duna itself.

[walia6]

You can get to Duna and back with those nodes open, there's some great views there for your Kerbal holiday snaps

That's a bit above my skill level

[sal_vager]

Nah, you'll surprise yourself

The orbital manoeuvres aren't really any more difficult then going to Minmus, it just takes longer and you'll need more fuel, fuel lines will help though.

[Eric S]

Not exactly sure what the question is. Since you've got unspent science, I'm assuming you just mean general direction, you're not actually stuck.

My early targets in stock career mode are:

Decouplers

Batteries

Fixed Solar panels

Fuel lines

Thermometer, Barometer

Better solar panels

Beeline for the Gravioli detector

EDIT: You'll notice that I pretty much ignore 2.5m parts. That may not be the best decision for you, it really depends on your skill level and such. I've done manned round trips to Duna and Ike's surface without a single 2.5m part, as well as Eve orbit and Gilly's surface, and just about any other planet with probes. Basically, I don't need 2.5 meter parts to finish the tree, so I don't prioritize them. Science parts on the other hand, help a lot towards that goal. On the other hand, the last time I played a stock tech tree was before 0.23.5, and the changes to the 2.5 meter part placement in the tree has changed, so those parts may be more viable now that the poodle isn't the first and only 2.5m engine you get at the first node with 2.5m engines.

You've got the first three items on that list. I'd definitely spend your remaining science points on Fuel Systems and Space Exploration, that gets you fuel lines and the thermometer. Fuel lines let you more easily create multi-hop landers if you want to go back to the Mun or Minmus (Minmus is a fantastic place for science if you don't get bored of it, 9 biomes and low enough gravity that almost any craft that can land there should be able to hit multiple biomes) or cross-feeding fuel boosters for larger launchers if you want to start going interplanetary. The thermometer gets you a good bit of science.

Beyond that, I think we'd have to ask what you want to do? Would you enjoy more trips to the Mun or Minmus (yes, Minmus is easier to land on, even takes less delta-v including the transfer)? Or do you think it might start feeling repetitive? Do you think you'd want more science parts before you head out to other planets? Or will more science parts want you to go back to the Mun and Minmus to get it all before you go on (yes, I can be a completist, so I speak from experience here). If you're more of a completist, I'd probably recommend getting the rest of your science parts via Mun/Minmus science before going to Duna/Eve/etc., as going back to the Mun to finish up science with new parts is a lot easier than "oh, a new science part, let's redo that huge mission to Jool that visited all its moons."

Edited May 31, 2014 by Eric S

[Tortoise]

I suggest going to a planet

[Sirrobert]

Well, first I'd go to Minmus and Mun a few times until you have more science.

Than, unlock the nodes you need to feel comfortable going out of the Kerbin system.

There are alot of ways to help you go to another planet. Mechjeb can plan the manouvers for you, Kerbal Alarm Clock can tell you when the best moment to go comes, and there are websites that can tell you what angle, when, and how long to burn

[Pecan]

You should start using sandbox mode so you aren't constrained to thinking there is "a" way to play KSP that you have to follow.

[Eric S]

You should start using sandbox mode so you aren't constrained to thinking there is "a" way to play KSP that you have to follow.

Isn't that a little self-contradictory? If anything, he should decide for himself how he wants to play, not take someone else's opinion.

[walia6]

Isn't that a little self-contradictory? If anything, he should decide for himself how he wants to play, not take someone else's opinion.

Nah it's fine. I'm open to suggestions.

[walia6]

You should start using sandbox mode so you aren't constrained to thinking there is "a" way to play KSP that you have to follow.

Thanks, but this is my first career mode, and I have played since before the tanks were green. (Lol remember back then?)

[Pecan]

And yet, he's asking for and we're giving opinions.

Ah, the irony - is suggesting that someone should be able to make their own decisions depriving them of the right to be told what to do by others? "You've got to think for yourselves. You are all individuals" (Life of Brian).

Everyone is, of course, entitled to follow "the" correct, official, dogma but that doesn't mean that's what they "should" do.

ETA: Our posts crossed. Lol, why would you even need to ask opinions? You must know the parts inside out!

[Eric S]

Actually, I was thinking more in terms of the contradiction of "there is no one way to play" and "play in sandbox" though I didn't state that very well, or at all, really. Wasn't meant to be argumentative, which also came out wrong, so apologies for that.

I absolutely agree that everyone should play the game the way that they find fun, be it sandbox vs career, stock vs modded, etc., and have no issues with giving opinions/suggestions to people that ask for them. The reasons I haven't done a full mission in sandbox since career mode came out don't necessarily apply to anyone else. The reasons you play sandbox, similarly, don't necessarily apply to anyone else.

[LethalDose]

I'd recommend a Minmus landing. You've flown by Minmus, and landing there isn't that hard. you'll net a lot of science and, more importantly, start builiding the confidence you need to attempt more complex missions (Munar landing, Duna fly-by, etc).

[michaelhester07]

Find all the Biomes on Minmus and Mun. Minmus has about 7 that I've seen and Mun has 12-14, some I haven't seen yet either. Here are things you can do to farm science at home (without leaving kerbin's Sphere of influence)

1. Low polar orbit around Mun: Establish a low orbit (50km or less) and as you fly over something that seems like a biome have Jeb EVA and do an EVA report. You'll get something like "Eva report while flying over Biome". Do this for each Biome on the Mun to net about 150 science and Minmus for another 60.

2. Landing time! Land on Minmus's flats. From a low equatorial orbit land on Minmus's flats. 150 science just from the Sample, EVA, and Crew Reports. If you land near the edge of the flats you can use the EVA thrusters (press R to activate when you're in EVA) to explore the "Minmus slopes" biome.

3. Landing time: Mun! Land on the Mun! For a hint: use the Lv909 and the FL400 tank on your lander, use the FL 800 tank and a LV-t30 for the "transfer stage". I'll leave it up to you to get that to orbit.

4. Science work time! Unlock the basic probe core and build lander probes that carry the Science kit JR and 2 goo pods (for balance). Fly these to the Mun and Minmus and try to land one in each biome. You'll learn how to do a precision landing if you placed a flag back in mission 2 (and you should have): land on the flag you placed. After landing each science probe send your lander back from step 2 and collect the data from the probe. You can return this data to get full points for the experiment in lieu of returning the actual experiment.

5. Build a probe mothership: You'll quickly realize how tedious it is to launch one probe for each biome so why not launch 5 probes at once and land everything on minmus in one fell swoop! The tiers you have unlocked already can accommodate this.

[Eric S]

Find all the Biomes on Minmus and Mun. Minmus has about 7 that I've seen and Mun has 12-14, some I haven't seen yet either.

Nine biomes for Minmus, and 15 for the Mun. With fuel lines, it should be possible to create a manned lander that can hit all 9 Minmus biomes in a single trip (short hops between biomes, don't go back to orbit, that costs a lot more fuel), though at that level of tech, you most likely won't be taking enough Goo containers and Science Jr's for all the biomes.

If you're looking for more science before you start going interplanetary, I strongly recommend looking up biome maps of Kerbin, Minmus, and the Mun, and remember which experiments are per-biome at which altitudes. The Negative Gravioli Detector is nice that way, as it is per-biome in both low and high orbit. EVA reports are per-biome on the surface and in low orbit.