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What contracts SHOULD be


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Contracts should be more focused on the commercial aspect, such as:

Launch this sattelite to an (equatorial/molniya/keostationary/polar) orbit with apoapsis (x km) and periapsis (y km).

There should be others, like launching stations, landing rovers, sample return missions and many others.

What do you you guys think?

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Firstly, the prospect of commercial service is pretty interesting, as such is being done in the real world. For example, spaceX offers commercial cargo to be sent up into space for about $300,000,000 for about 10+ tons. I believe that such integration into the game would make a good aspect, just like the addition of science and funds.

Secondly, the addition of commercial service means that there are multiple sources of funds, and this drives people to build interesting ships and launchers. Also, commercial spaceflight means that SSTOs and Space Stations would finally come in useful.

Thirdly, the specifics of the orbit of a commercial payload would make it very close to the real world counterpart, such as customers demand specific orbits for their payloads. This would widen the structure of funding and reputation. Also, players who completed unlocking all parts would have a reason for a mission.

However, i have some questions:

1. Would the payload be a vessel with specific parts that cannot be attached to or removed from? And does this mean that you must build a launcher around it?

2. Does landing rovers fit into the definition of "commercial"? Unless the contractor requires you to set the rover as a "payload", landing a rover would be more of a challenge, rather than commercial service.

3. What happens if you fail to send the payload to its destination? Would you lose funds, or reputation?

Anyway, i have full support for this idea, and i really wish for it to be implemented into kerbal space program!

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The rovers one was an example. Failure to get the payload to the correct destination would result in loss of rep.

Also, there would be certain companies that offer these contracts.

Another expansion: in order to raise rep, there could be a sort of container where the public can put random objects in and you put it into space/ on the mun/elsewhere.

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Yes! This makes a lot more sense than having contracts be 75% "part testing" and occasionally rescuing a random Kerbal (how did he get into orbit!?) or exploring or sending science data. Like RDivine said, most REAL space programs do the commercial stuff.

It shouldn't be a preset part, though. It's more fun to design your own craft, they could just say "put a communications satellite into orbit, with two antennas and power supply" etc. Then when you get up there, if all the parameters are met, you get a "Hand over control" button and the satellite is put into a section of objects that you don't own, can't control, but can still view (or stop tracking)

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Yes! This makes a lot more sense than having contracts be 75% "part testing" and occasionally rescuing a random Kerbal (how did he get into orbit!?) or exploring or sending science data. Like RDivine said, most REAL space programs do the commercial stuff.

It shouldn't be a preset part, though. It's more fun to design your own craft, they could just say "put a communications satellite into orbit, with two antennas and power supply" etc. Then when you get up there, if all the parameters are met, you get a "Hand over control" button and the satellite is put into a section of objects that you don't own, can't control, but can still view (or stop tracking)

Definitely. Most countries actually send communications satellites into geostationary orbit, and communications companies actually reserve parts of the satellites communications for commercial use. Also, commercial service does add interesting ways to complete missions.

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Contracts should be more focused on the commercial aspect, such as:

Launch this sattelite to an (equatorial/molniya/keostationary/polar) orbit with apoapsis (x km) and periapsis (y km).

There should be others, like launching stations, landing rovers, sample return missions and many others.

What do you you guys think?

Technically many contracts are commercially focused. Take for instance any mission you test a part for a company, that's a "Commercial" contract. Same goes for any contract that is given by a company, go to the moon and collect science from orbit from Kerbodyne.

Now the ones you propose are what most people expect as a contract. I personally hope something of the like would appear in the end game. For now we are stuck with the ones, and im sure squad will expand on this at a later time.

The biggest thing to think about it how to keep the game flexible enough when asked to deploy anything. As you don't want to grind out sending pre built station parts over and over and over again, thats boring and not flexible what so ever. Which is one reason why we have the test this part type contracts, outside of the single part the contract gives you flexibility by allowing you to complete it any way you want (rocket, plane, SSTO, station anything)

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