JadedStoner

DMagic, So I figured it out. It's a bit of tricky wording that I was reading it incorrectly, in some places it reads as time remaining, other as total time needed. Could a countdown be added into the contract writing? I just got the message that two magnetic survey contracts had been completed so they definitely work. As a humble gamer, I apologize for thinking it was wrong on your end. Your mods are some of the best in the game! JS

Yeah, I've had one mag survey around Kerbin for 64 days by the MET clock, the mission was only for a 21day scan... sure, the margins of the orbit are close 0.186 vs .15 e, but still, if it's on rails, it shouldn't change... So why isn't it triggering the mission to be completed?

RoverDude, I love the work you do man, some great fun stuff! I've been playing around with the Ratpack for a couple of days and I've been having a couple of funny issues... First, it looks liked the two chassis don't meet up in the same horizontal point, the back one sits down a bit. Second, once I've decoupled the frame during the build phase and start adding the chairs or other pieces I get a funky oscillation in the z-axis. Must be hitting a resonance cause the amplitude gets to the point where parts start exploding, how very Kerbal BTW... Moving the rover and setting the brake on/off seems to stop it, but once more parts are added it starts again. I've been doing all of this on or near the launchpad with Bill at lvl 2 w/ the powertool and node attachment. I saw an old video where the Ratpack was put together via 'storing' the piece into each other, did that change with KAS/KIS updates? Oh, and I totally put a winch on the front and have done some testing around the shores, so later today I'm sending Val, Bill and Bob for a three man rover expedition to Minmus! JS

Squad, big props on all the effort into loading up the game... I played stock for a week (waiting for mod updates) and it was wicked fast... Now I've got a dozen plus mods and it's still stupid fast... I use to go out for a smoke and come back, now I can't make it back with a glass of water... Cheers! JS

I've read through this thread and I think there is a point missing here. The proposed hiring system would be great... for SCIENCE mode! There is no incentive to return Kerbals, it's all about exploring. So it should cost you more to send that 100th guy out on some mission. As for CAREER mode, the OP is absolutely right. Salaries, hazard pay and all that good stuff. When probes go on long distance transfers, major operations are limited to very few personnel and are "awoken" for major trajectory changes, so there could be a very small operations budget to account for it. Maintaining a space station could provide long term funds and rep. To do it right would take serious work from the Devs and I would respect any amount of time they needed to create a truly robust economic system. Just my two cents. JS

If Kerbals are being recruited with funds, can Jeb, Bill and Bob be free test pilots? This would plug a nice canonical gap with their flight suits! JS

Thanks for all the props everyone! JS

It occurred to me, there is a perfect rescue mission in the game... in the tutorial! One tutorial has the player correct Jeb's orbit with a limited amount of fuel. Perhaps you could 'authorize' a test flight for rep and the game screws it up, giving a contract to fix it. Stranded in orbit, on the Mun, loads of stuff... and since you authorized the test flight, it's not some shadow space program... JS

Watching a space program grow can be a beautiful thing... One thing I find sorely missing would be an overview of the players financial progress. Management/city building games provide serious, in-depth reports on many aspects of growth and I think the boys at KSC could provide the same graphs, albeit in a much more Kerbalized version... I've put together a few thoughts, feel free to expand them or squash em. Quarterly Reports - Income - Launch Costs - Payroll - Rep gains and losses - Science and Research Long Term Finance Reports - Contract gain/cost/net - Strategy projections - KSC upgrades Post-Mission Reports - Mission Logs: burn times, dockings, SoI transfers, take-off and landing - Launch/Insertion efficiency: for Ecc<0.05 (deltaV required / deltaV used) x100 - Transfer efficiency: - Crew/Experience - Time of Flight, Biomes visited - EVA/Surface samples These would find a home in the Administration Building and I think it could be a great asset of players. I'm sure some hard-core players do all the number crunching themselves for each flight, but bringing it to life in the game would flesh out the 'running a space program' bits... Cheers! JS

Rocks, Rockets... It's KSP right? JS

Did anyone else catch this video? KSP could really use a herd of cows fleeing before a launch! JS

Could this be a gizmo that was recently added to the VAB/SPH?

I'm all for But I gotta give my honorable mention to JS

I haven't played with Kerbal Construction Time myself, but I think this might be what you are looking for. Not quite the 'time running in the VAB' you are looking for, but it would require you to spend a few days game time between constructions... JS

Above all, I think most people would agree that these should be career options. From what I gather, most people agree that SQUAD doesn't want to force the players into any particular path. With that being said, I had a thought. If scanning/mapping were added to stock, un-scanned terrain could create a situation where your instruments (speed, altitude, orbital period) provide a "range" of speed. Since the mission timer turns yellow as the physics slows down, the indicators could turn yellow/red representing a +/- 2% to 10% range from the actual values. With a probe flyby, this wouldn't be mission critical (except for VERY low periapsis). If you did choose to send a manned mission, the module DOES have a radar altimeter, so at 3k meters above the surface, your instruments do reset to 'solid green' since its reasonable to get your speed/altitude from them. This would make landing on an un-scanned surface tricky, but not impossible. Flyby's would let you scan a swath of the planet's surface, enough to provide 'solid green' speed/altitude information for the next probe to circularize it's orbit. Additionally, if your probe is below a 5k altitude, a smaller 'landing approval swath' could be created, setting up landing sites for future contracts/programs. In the map view, I would visualize this as a '2D-path' of varying width, or event better, a 3D 'tube of possibilities'. Imagine the awesomeness of paths/tubes in highly eccentric orbits, with tiny widths near periapsis and large widths near apoapsis. Your probe/vessel could be represented as an orange disc/sphere within the path/tube, providing some idea of where you are, but not an exact measurement. As for the Kerbol system being immutable, the starting positions of the planets could be options (t = year 0, 10, 30). I think I heard something about the game requiring the planets to be in position X at t=0 and that the mass/atmospheres are fundamental So for this to work, I think the game would need to identify they surface of the planet with the orbital trajectory. How challenging is this coding-wise? Finally, I've been playing since 0.17. I've started a dozen career/sandbox modes for different projects. I don't think long term players would just jump to the wiki. I think most would relish 'rediscovering' the Kerbol System. I want to see a Monument Park where you can use a VAB style editor to create homages to your greatness!

I'm starting to wonder if someone could devise a mod for 'career mode'. Give it dozens of options, the community suggests 'career styles' etc...

My 2 cents, my thoughts on this back in Jan14 http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/64768-Probes-discoverable-science-a-quest-for-knowledge-and-the-Fog-of-Jeb

I've been playing a heavily modded game and all was going well. The other day I installed RemoteTech and the RemoteTechXF mods. I was able to run the game a few times, and found the omni-antennas were not functioning, so I removed RT and RTxf. Now the game is stalling during the parts loading when I boot it up. The Task Manager on my computer says it is still running, the loading jokes continue to scroll, but about 90% of the way through loading, it just stops... I've tried removing both and reinstalling, but still just halts loading without crashing. If need be, I can list the mods I'm using, but its up to 20+ at this point... I'm hesitant to go into the persistent file and start deleting things. Is there a way to choose which quicksave the game boots into? JS

tl;dr - contracts fine for funds, create Programs/Missions for science! I've really enjoyed the evolution of the contract system, especially with some of the mod's kicking in their own. But I feel that it lacks the role-playing aspect that Kerbal Space *PROGRAM* needs to have before it goes 1.0. Hence, I have been thinking about how real space programs manage their various missions. I'd like to see the current system focus more on generating long term funding by placing satellites into target orbits. The randomness of the science contracts are well, random. So I've been thinking of how to approach the scientific discovery in a more organic way. For this example, I will be using the Mun, Apollo style. Programs "We go to the Mun, not because it is easy, but because things might explode" These are overarching goals. Each planet would have one as well as various space stations, outposts and asteroid as the game progresses. Once a player has reached orbit, Mission Control offers them their first Program. Each program would contain a number of phases, such as flyby, survey, lander, etc. The player would be able to select which ones they wanted to do and which to skip. More phases means more investment in the short term and larger science returns in the long term. Multiple phases could be completed in single mission or multiple missions, how ever the player chooses to go about it. If I were planning a Mun Program, I'd break it down like this: Phase I - Flyby Phase II - Orbital Survey Phase III - Survey Lander Phase IV - Manned Orbit Phase V - Manned Landing Missions "Captain, the 'insert technobabel' is acting up! She cannot take it!" Once a Program has been created, the Mission Planning begins! This is where the player selects which phases they want to accomplish during the mission. For my first mission, I will complete Phase I and II, by placing a satellite in orbit. Now, choosing where to place my satellite is critical, so a series of options would be available (drop down windows!), which in the end would create a 'target orbit' that you can see in Map mode, like we have now. For added reputation, you can set an orbital tolerance of 1/5/10%. Science objectives could target specific Geomes for bonus science. If I were planning Phase I and II, I'd break it down like this: 1 - Unmanned 2 - Polar Orbit ~ 75 deg inclination 2.1 - Low Orbit ~ 20-25 km 2.2 - 5% Orbital Tolerance ~ 5% reputation bonus 3 - Major Geomes - Lowlands, Midlands, Highlands, Poles ~ 10% science bonus Flying the mission, a checklist shows you how the conditions are being met. Once all the mission objectives are met, the Phases are completed and you collect your rewards and move on to the next Phase. If you want to send a manned mission your very first trip to the Mun and complete every Phase in a single mission, by all means, do so. The difficulty settings could be adapted to change how much risk/reward is when going for one or two phases vs. all five+. (I'm thinking actual Apollo Program vs. Interstellar "MATT DAMON") Mitigation Of course, going back to the Mun over and over shouldn't be as rewarding each time right? Reputation should certainly decrease by some amount each time, as well as funds earned for completing something you've done seven times. Science of course is not affected, bring a new toy, get new data. And the icing on the cake that would REALLY make this game yours/mine/ours... an in-game Program/Mission Emblem Generator. Maybe a few options, different number types, colors, icons... JS

Please, oh please, move the console in the Cupola Module! This might be helpful: http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/755812main_iss_view_full_full.jpg

Has anyone confirmed this yet? I'll give it a shot myself today. I plan to clear the maps in game first before installing the mod. Cross your fingers.

tl;dr - Space programs inspire the next generation of scientist and engineers, we need a way to highlight our proudest KSP moments and one day share them. I have been having a blast playing Beta! I've been mulling over some ideas about what could make KSP something you could be proud to share with others. NASA does this in one of the most engaging ways, Visitor Centers. If you've ever had a chance to get to one, they are awesome. Walking through the halls, you are filled with the grandest sense of accomplishment. The Visitor Center - Another tiered building. There is both an interior and exterior component. Once multiplayer is added, this would give you a chance to highlight your greatest accomplishments. Inside - There are a number of things I think would give a sense of longevity to your personal space program. Wall of Kerbalnauts - Portrait, rank, 'time in space'. For lost souls, a black band across the corner. Timeline of Program - A wall sized timeline that changes over time. When a flag is planted that triggers a contract completion, a moment on the timeline is created. Major upgrades to the space center, major catastrophes, etc. Maps of Planets - This could be generated if/when scanning is implemented. This would be the perfect place to put flag icons and pull them off the map view and lessen the onscreen clutter of the map view. Screenshot/gif gallery - A picture is worth a thousand words. Create a new 'science part' that if/when we get 1st person EVA that allows you to 'add a camera to the EVA suit.' This could be a one-off right click action that takes a screenshot specifically for the Visitor Center. This could be upgraded later to a video camera to create in-game gifs. Outside - A number of places to erect statues and monuments that increases with the tier of the building. This is where NASA shows off their various rockets and statues. Each different part of the Visitor Center could be 'opened' by reaching or spending a certain amount of reputation. Once KSP integrates multiplayer, this is how we show off our accomplishments to each other, Thoughts? JS

This is a minor cosmetic suggestion, but the cost indicator for the current design and the current total funds are different graphics. I think it makes the mental math of 'how much will I have left' just a tad bit longer to take since the ones/tens/etc don't line up. Personally, I prefer the classic, white flip-card with black numbers style as opposed to the green, pixelated numbers. If the current design cost font is a shade of red, it would contrast it to the total funds and give the impression of a balance sheet. I'd also love to see a 'cost of fuel' and 'cost of parts'. It could help people see what percentage of their craft is fuel, helping to judge TWR or design efficiency.

Thanks man! I think some roleplaying aspects would be great. I mean, who didn't want to be stationed at the helm of the Enterprise-D, sitting next to Ensign Buxom or Ensign Ethnic?