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While I was showcasing my Grimes Flying Laboratory replica, I was still a bit disappointed that it was just a means to show off new aircraft lighting rather than it being an actual laboratory with experiments and everything. I have seen many (and built a few) mobile bases with laboratories on them, and I remember Marcus House making a super trainer that can also double as a passenger transport years ago, but so far the only plane or SSTO I've seen with an onboard laboratory is Matt Lowne's flying Laythe base. So, I decided to build my own and started a thread where everyone else can show theirs off too. Maybe even get a little competitive with them along the way. Here are the rules on how your craft can qualify. First and foremost, it has to have at least one (1) MOBILE PROCESSING LAB. After all, it's not a flying laboratory without a lab. EXCEPTION: If you're using a balloon or dirigible mod that includes a part that can generate science points, that is allowed. Be sure to mention that, though. It has to have the following scientific instruments mounted: REQUIRED: Thermometer Barometer Seismometer Gravioli detector Atmospheric GCMS OPTIONAL (not required, but recommended): Materials Mystery Goo It has to be capable of flight in its final form, as in after all preceding stages (if applicable) are spent. You can use delivery rockets to get the flying lab to its destination (e.g. Laythe, Duna, Eve), but the lab has to fly on its own once it arrives. You are also allowed to make it capable of traveling on land and/or water, but it has to be able to fly. Craft has to be able to land and takeoff in its final form; where specifically doesn't matter. Otherwise, it's just a miniature space station or interplanetary transport vehicle. Crew must be able to get in and out of the craft. It doesn't matter if the final form can only fly on Kerbin, in space, and/or on other planets. The specifics on its performance capabilities will determine division placement and awards. More on those later. ISRU and/or docking capabilities for the end-stage okay, regardless of whether or not it leaves Kerbin's atmosphere. Though I suppose you wouldn't really need docking capabilities if your craft can't even get past a suborbital trajectory over Kerbin. Stock and/or DLC parts only. Autopilot/navigation/gauge mods okay. Generally, no mods outside of DLCs that come with additional parts. EXCEPTION: mods that come with balloon or dirigible-related parts are permitted, but those craft go in a separate division. If you want to allow a specific mod that conforms to the other rules, let me know and I'll take a look at it before deciding if it shall be allowed. Pictures and/or video of the craft in action are required. You can test it in Sandbox mode. If it can perform up to regulations there, it can do just fine in Career. Multiple entries per person allowed. In fact, it is encouraged if you want different awards under your belt. Qualifying entries and their respective awards will be shown in the Wall of Fame. Here are the divisions and division-specific awards for when your craft qualifies. Depending on the entry's capabilities, it might even qualify for more than one division award at once. ALL Divisions - awards that can be awarded to qualifying entries of ANY division. Agena Award - is docking-capable. It may not be practical for a Kerbin-only entry, but it can be for spaceplanes and body-specific landing craft. Alicorn Award - can submerge itself in water as well as fly in the air. The final form cannot detach anything, though. It has to be able to swim underwater and fly in one piece. This award applies for other planets with liquid on the surface (e.g. Eve and Laythe). Daffy Duck Award - can take off and land on water safely as well as land. This award applies for other planets with liquid on the surface (e.g. Eve and Laythe). If it can fully submerge itself underwater, then it qualifies for the Alicorn Award instead. Greenie Award - goes all-electric; no Lf or Ox required (except for balancing only). Huey Award - is capable of vertical takeoffs and landings. And yes, helicopters can qualify for this. Landers for Duna and celestial bodies without atmospheres do not count, unfortunately. Jetpacker Award - can serve as a land vehicle as well as an aircraft. E.g. flying cars. Office Award - has a total capacity of 19 or more people. Pilot + 2 scientists + 16 miscellaneous. You don't have to load your craft with that many people to qualify, just prove that it can carry that many. Olde Tyme Award - uses propeller engines that require Lf and air intakes. Jet engines cannot be the primary source of propulsion. More likely to find these on Kerbin, but you could maybe try this on Laythe too. Eve and Duna are not good places to win this award, since their atmospheres are not suitable for air intakes. SEAL Award - final form can do well as a sea and a land vehicle as well as an aircraft. Again, no detaching anything in its final form. Self-Sustainer Award - can refuel itself using ISRU. Electric planes do not qualify for this since a competent engineer would install some means for the plane to recharge itself, whether it be via solar panels, RTGs, or both. Supersonic Award - can cruise faster than 343 m/s. If it can do a suborbital trajectory around Kerbin, then it qualifies for the Kermit Award instead. Homesick Division - vehicles that cannot go past a suborbital trajectory of Kerbin. Kermit Award - can go in a suborbital trajectory (and not a full orbit) over Kerbin. Cannot substitute for the World Traveler Award or the Verne Award. Verne Award - can circumnavigate all of Kerbin without stopping to refuel. Has to stay within the atmosphere at all times. Electric planes that can do this can qualify, but it is recommended that you fly west with the sun at a velocity of approximately 175 m/s. World Traveler Award - has a range of between 1,885 and 3,770 km without stopping to refuel. Has to stay within the atmosphere at all times. If your craft can fly that far, it can go anywhere on Kerbin. If your craft can do a full circumnavigation around Kerbin, then it qualifies for the Verne Award instead. Diamandis Division - for spaceplanes and other SSTOs. Has to do a full orbit around Kerbin to qualify, and plans must be in place to return it to Kerbin. Armstrong Award - can land on the Mun before returning to Kerbin. If it can do that, then it can certainly do the same thing on Minmus. Will add the Apollo Commendation if it can do that without having to refuel itself in the middle. Which will then be substituted for the Double Commendation if it can land on the Mun AND Minmus before returning - AND without refueling before leaving the Mun (which means refueling on or around Minmus okay). Which will then be substituted for the Twin Gods Commendation if it can do all that without refueling at any point. Dirtblood Award - can get itself to Duna before returning to Kerbin. Refueling stops in the middle allowed. Will add the Watney Commendation if it does not need to refuel itself at any point. Jupiter Award - flying lab can do the Jool-5 before returning to Kerbin. Yes, that means that your kerbals have to walk on the surface of Tylo. Refueling stops in the middle allowed. Will add the Totally Insane Commendation if it does not need to refuel itself at any point. Lazybird Award - build a spaceplane to carry your lab-equipped spaceplane. For a concept demonstration, check this out. New Home Award - can get itself to Laythe and back. Refueling stops in the middle allowed. Will be substituted for the Jool-5 Award if the craft is capable of completing its namesake challenge. Will add the Iceberger Commendation if it does not need to refuel itself at any point in its mission. Snowball Award - can get itself to Eeloo before returning to Kerbin. If it can do that, it can certainly do Dres. Refueling stops in the middle allowed. Will add Halley's Commendation if it does not need to refuel itself at any point in its mission. Labazon Division - for planes, landers, or other landing-capable flying laboratories that are not designed to return to Kerbin. Detachable delivery rockets allowed. Awards listed in order of proximity to Kerbol as opposed to alphabetically. Hermes Award - for craft that will stay at Moho. Aphrodite Award - for craft that will stay on Eve. Will add the Scorcher Commendation if it can circumnavigate Eve on one tank of gas OR one full charge of batteries (day or night). Will add the Icarus Commendation if the craft can do a suborbital trajectory around Eve before landing safely in one piece. With how large Eve is and how thick its atmosphere is, it does not seem possible to do a full orbit and land safely in one piece. You're welcome to prove me wrong, though. Mun Hopper Award - for craft that will stay on the Mun or Minmus. Will add the Aldrin Commendation for craft that are designed to work on both moons, as in they are intended for inter-moon travel. Ares Award - for craft that will stay on Duna. Will add the Braun Commendation if the craft can do a suborbital trajectory around Duna before landing safely in one piece. Which will then be substituted for the Paperclip Commendation if it can do a full orbit around Duna before re-entering and landing safely in one piece. Which will then be substituted for the Whole Enchilada Commendation if it can operate in Duna's atmosphere and at least land on Ike before going back. Anaerobic Award - for craft that will stay on one of the following celestial bodies: Dres Pol Bop Vall Eeloo Harland Award - for craft that will stay within Laythe's atmosphere. Will add the Olympic Commendation if it can circumnavigate Laythe on one tank of gas OR one full charge of batteries (day or night). Will add the Frederick Fleet Commendation if the craft can do a suborbital trajectory around Laythe before landing safely in one piece. Which will then be substituted for the Starline Commendation if it can do a full orbit around Laythe before re-entering and landing safely in one piece. Dead Kerbin Award - for craft that can get on and off Tylo safely. Heisenberg Division - specifically for balloons, blimps, zeppelins, et cetera. Detachable delivery rockets allowed for entries that leave Kerbin's SOI. Cluster Bomb Award - for Eve entries. Graf Zeppelin Award - for Duna entries. Resurgence Award - for entries that do not leave Kerbin. Skytanic Award - for Laythe entries. Man, that was a long list. Now that it's out of the way, I eagerly await what you all come up with. The spoiler below shows my entry, which qualifies for the Homesick Division: Old Tyme Award, the Fliegendlabor. WALL OF FAME @Mars-Bound Hokie (ORIGINAL POST) Homesick Division: Olde Tyme Award with the Fliegendlabor Homesick Division: World Traveler Award with the Surveyor

This is the Platypus Dive Research Vehicle. I will give an overview of what is inside and how it works. Pilot Control Overview fast-flood main ballast tank fast-vent main ballast tank fine-flood main ballast tank find-vent main ballast tank trim for'ard (moves mass from the aft tank to the for'ard tank) trim aft (moves mass from the for'ard tank to the aft tank) Craft-File Editing: Resources The distinctive monoprop tanks are actually, from fore to aft: XenonGas, Oxidizer and MonoPropellant. The first of those two tanks was edited to include a new Resource section for the desired contents and with capacity expanded as desired. I retained the original MonoPropellant section but zeroed amount and maxAmount and inverted all the booleans (True to False and False to True) to nullify them. It's possible to simply remove them but for some kind of stock tanks, KSP defaults the 'known' resource back into existence if it does not appear at all. The for'ard trim tank is 24,000 units of XenonGas and the aft trim tank is 600 liters of MP. Respective densities are 0.1 kg/liter and 4, giving a 1-to-40 ratio in terms of mass. The 'standard' C7 Brand Adapter LFO tanks have been modified to contain a pure 800 liters of LF each. They power the Wheesley for conventional propulsion. I did just remove the Oxidizer section in these tanks and expand the capacity in liters of LF to be the sum (360 + 440), such that the total did not expand. Worth making a distinction here that this Adapter is a standard tank in the machine used for a conventional purpose, so I never 'cheat' when 'monkeying' (research term; look it up) with the contents of such 'for convenience'. The ballast system tanks are 'open season' because they are part of the 'magic'[TM] side here. There are mods for this kind of thing, but I generally find it desirable to avoid e.g. config files that others might then have to download. Craft-File Editing: Engines for resource production Apart from the conventional propulsive Wheesley, the following engines can be identified: two Twitches, a Puff and a Dawn. Their ModuleEnginesFX sections have been modified to set independentThrottle True and independentThrottlePercentage to a calculated (hugely) negative amount. The Twitch supplying OX for fast-flood of main ballast is geared to -40404.0391%, for example. The fine-flood Twitch uses -12121.212%. The OX is pushed to the central main ballast (yellow) tank. (The catch is that LF is also produced by this technique!) A worked example is worthwhile. I wanted to produce 250 liters of OX per second. The Twitch is rated at 1.125 liters/sec (LF + OX) fuel consumption. We want a percentage thrust. Hence: -250*20/11*100/1.125 = -40404.04.04 and you will realize that the multiplication by 20/11 (LF:OX being in a consumption ratio of 9:11) is intended to scale the OX component up to the total fuel production of the Twitch. The Dawn produces XenonGas for the for'ard trim tank and the Puff produces MP for the aft trim tank. Main ballast buoyancy control is relatively uncomplicated. Two Twitches producing LF/OX at different rates are employed for flooding and the OX goes directly to the single main ballast tank. Venting simply opens one of two drain valves on the OX tank, selecting the appropriate rate. The wrinkle, however, is that, while flooding the OX tank, LF is being pushed into the twin fuel (LF) tanks. Two opposed LF drain valves on one of the LF tanks, set in Vessel-draining mode, are opened to exactly vent the same amount of unwanted LF as is being produced by the running Twitch as a by-product. There are two sets of these LF valves, matching the two flood rates. Trim adjustment uses a similar technique for different reasons. Trim For'Ard produces XenonGas for the for'ard trim tank, adding mass. An equivalent mass has to be removed from the aft tank, so this is done by venting MP via a drain valve. Trim Aft works in reverse. So a note about the initial priming of the trim ballast subsystem. When those tanks (Xe and MP) are empty, Either of the Trim modes will fill one tank while venting an already-empty tank: a no-op. Thus, you can prep for ocean-going by filling one trim tank, while loitering on the surface. Filling the tank takes a while, but the advantage of completely filling it is that that total mass in the trim tanks is now exactly half of their total carrying capacity. That gives a) a known quantity consistent across every dive, and b)the greatest 'leverage' on trim balance via the greatest trim range. After priming, the opposite Trim command can be employed to balance fore and aft equally or, better yet, when the sub has been tuned to known quantities, that known balance can be dialed in, ready for dive operations. Submersible parameter tuning A trim ballast subsystem is possibly not so necessary on small, simple craft but ought to alleviate a lot of work at design time for large and/or complex submarines. Furthermore, dynamic trimming for differing fuel loads or to compensate at speed for unbalanced 'aerodynamic' drag may become important. A primitive guide to trim while in motion and with SAS engaged is to observe the plane angle and trim until is it neutral. The overall best and easiest way to tune is to take a submersible in its initial sea trials to the seabed (as an easy way to arrest/reset motion and attitude. Vent main ballast until the craft slowly rises. Patiently true out the vertical speed to zero. Release SAS and then observe attitude drift: bow (nose) up or down. Be patient but it is quite easy to find settings in which the sub hangs motionless in the water, with zero degrees attitude. Note the numbers, main and trim quantities. Planning and Design I ran a spreadsheet on everything to make it easier to adjust settings when anything unexpected forced a change. I'll expand on this in the near future... Issues and Future Work KSP truncates drainRate values into the range 1-20%. This is the annoying kind of 'fact-checking' that modern programmers must do to comply with corporate standards for making bland, boring, unimaginative, creativity-suppressing products. Where would we (I) be without the imaginative lack of concern displayed by Squad programmers when they wrote the code that trusted the human-editable craft file when it specified a vastly negative throttle setting, hey?? OK, so this forced me to have a faster fine-control vent rate than I wanted. Particularly as this was ultimately determined also by the LF fuel capacity for LF/OX production reasons. Adding valves (doubling up) can conceivably lift the 20% limit (although not very relevant to subs unless you wanted emergency evacuation in less than 5 secs). I noticed that the drain rate on one of multiple tanks, when set in Vessel-drain mode, appears to take the percentage on the tank (part) it is connected to, and disregards the total capacity of that kind of tank across the vessel. This suggests that a small, auxiliary tank can be added in some circumstances, with a vessel drain and a rate set, calibrated on the size of the small tank, such that an effective drain rate significantly less than 1% can be achieved. (I have assigned an underling on my staff to look into this, but he is known for laziness; well it will be his last chance!) This will work when like tanks are being filled/emptied uniformly. Another item to note relates to why trim ballast on Platypus is this strange platyputtian mix of Xenon and MP. The original intention had been to use MP uniformly across the two trim tanks and in the main ballast. Filling the for'ard trim tank would require producing MP for it, and the aft and the main, in the desired amount scaled across the total capacity of the three tanks. The main would simultaneously drain what it received and the aft trim would drain twice what it received. Unfortunately, fuel produced is not stored in the ratio of the individual tank's total capacity, but in the ratio of the tank's remaining capacity (i.e. emptiness). (A desirable way to do things, really, and exactly what my mod, Telemagic, does: to each according to its need and from each according to its ability.) Platypus unintentionally flies. Badly. With its puny wingspan (staying that way), its approach speed for a conventional landing would resemble a ballistic projectile. It can currently be flown to a dive site and enter the water, nose-first, under chutes at about 9 m/sec. Chutes repacked, and after a submerged vertical speed run, it can get airborne again and could be flown to KSC and ditched offshore and then taxied onto land. It is probably not hard at all to change the chute arrangement for it to perform a vertical gear-down landing on land (easy). The superable challenge would then be to effect the belly landing on water without breakage. I think a v3 update will add this capability shortly. Acknowledgements The first time I heard of the engine negative-gearing for resource production idea was from Dr @swjr-swis. (See the furtively beautiful Anion.) When I ran into the first set of issues with the original objectives (listed in Pilot Control Overview), I ruminated on what would be necessary to overcome them (and would eventually find an additional issue (unwanted production of LF)) but decided to publish Platypus in a slightly-restricted form ("publish or perish" re grant schedules, you know). Gratitude again to Dr @swjr-swis for the "push" to go the whole mile.

I was thinking besides having colonies on other planets maybe we could be able to setup small research stations in Kerbins different biomes (for example deserts, north/south pole etc.) that would ocassionally give us science points as long as scientists are learning more things about that biome, and perhaps we could launch small vehicles from the station that would need to bring samples or measurements from specific places inside the biome to the station for extra science points. What do you think?

Working on a new video, which will go thru what it the hardest destinations in KSP, and how to do them. But I wanted to ask the general forum public what they think is the hardest destination in KSP? While you do your score, please consider the following: -Think of a destination as overall in difficulty -My rating system will be General deltaV requirements Difficulty in sending a probe Difficulty in doing a return crew mission Combining those together, you can get a good score. So please think your responses thru, results will be in KSP video!

INTRODUCING THE RSV DOLPHIN The RSV (ReSearch Vessel) Dolphin is the Proverbial 'Big Mama' of long range research and experimentation featuring Premium QualityTM Cabins For scientists and Researchers away from Home. Just look at how happy they are! Craft Link; craft file here Hopefully in the future I hope to put this badboy on Laythe as Mobilebase/Refueling Station for seaplane SSTOs But I don't have the talent or skillz to get her into orbit let alone over to Laythe, any help would be appreciated ~Chad

Science Mysteries! Discover the Secrets of the Kerbol System The problem: So you've done it! You flew all the way over to another world and landed (some-what) softly. Now to send some science back and... oh, that's it. Hmm. So, great, you get to unlock something on your tech tree, but what did this science you sent back even mean? What did the scientific community learn about your destination? We never really find out except for the vague or funny message that displays when you collect the science. There is so much more we could learn about the Kerbol system! Some ideas for Science mysteries: Why is Minmus so warm? If it's not a pistachio, what is it? Where did Minmus come from? What's up with that big crater on Kerbin? Why is Eve so purple? (Fascinating Diazirinone: A Violet Gas) Did/does Duna have a molten core? Space volcanoes?! How can Laythe have liquid water so far from Kerbol? Do Kraken cause earthquakes? Why are there canyons on the the Mun? Is it the same time everywhere else? Is it just me or is the sun getting bigger? What's at the center of Jool? Are there Meteorites from Moho on the Mun? (Interplanetary Volcanic Ejecta) The solution: So as a solution, I would like to make an in-game science magazine that would report on your discoveries, allowing players to learn about the places they visit. Once you have collected the correct constellation of science reports, you would receive a new magazine article. A lot of the findings will then add up to a larger "scientific mystery." Once you get all the parts of the mystery you get a final article summarizing the findings. Maybe some mysteries could require only 3 out of 4 articles to solve or have multiple pathways to solving the mystery. You won't know what science data to look for but you can maybe figure it out from hints in the articles you have found so far. Maybe we would also need a hint system to get people started. Okay, let's just give an example: If you collect: Temperature reading from Kerbin Ice Sheet Surface sample from Kerbin Ice Sheet You get the following short article (Btw, reading it in Scott Manley’s voice makes it so much better): ARE THE POLAR ICE-CAPS HITTING A GROWTH-SPURT? Hubark Kerman, Discovery Daily A member of the KSP surveys the frozen polar icecap. Credit: Astronomer. Recent data from the poles suggests young snow is sticking around longer that it used to. Members of the KSP have shown snow deposited recently has not be melting at rate high enough to maintain the status quo, in fact, it's not even close. Almost 5 meters has been added to the ice shelf over the past 5 years leaving many scientists baffled by this sudden change. Normally the ice sheet maintains equilibrium through the evaporation of solid ice called sublimation, melting, and the calving of icebergs where the glaciers meet the sea. "This is likely a part of a natural cycle that we don't yet understand," says Bill Kerman from the KSC. By collecting more data from around Kerbin you can reveal the entire mystery. (This one may seem too obvious but others are more elusive.) See the rest of this mystery here. Spoilers! Peer Review: I have a few more mysteries written but I would love this to be a collaborative effort. Other people could submit articles for 'peer review' on this forum and they could be then revised or added to the mod if they pass muster. I do not have a science background so I can only write basic science stories like the example above. I have personally learned so much about physics and orbital mechanics from ksp I would love to see the same thing with other areas of science. I think KSP has great potential as a education tool. I want the stories based on real science but they should be fun and light just like stock ksp. Absolute realism is not possible because some aspects of the game are unscientific. General topics we can write about: Age and formation of each planet Geology Oceanography Volcanism Chemical cycles Catastrophic events Atmospheric science Origin and Evolution of Life on Kerbal (and elsewhere?) Paleontology Signs of Life Astronomy Physics Ect. To start, I would like to have at least 1 mystery for each planet/moon. I think we could differentiate the planets from our local analog. Duna is not Mars and so should have it's own mysteries. Help me: I do have basic programming skills and have made a couple plugins but I think I will need help creating the framework. Trying to GUI makes me die inside. So if someone could help me with this, I would greatly appreciate it! Specifications: I'm imagining a button at the bottom of the main KSC that shows you have a notification. When you click it, you get the pop-up article. You can navigate through your unlocked articles by clicking Next and Previous buttons. Super simple. The articles could be in PDF form, I noticed that KIS uses PDFs for their in-game manual. PDFs mean pictures could be included. Could we load websites in-game? Then we could update the articles without having to redistribute the entire mod. The trigger for the article would be simple too. You just need to read the records of science reports to check if all requirements have been met then unlock the articles. This check would only occur when you return to the KSC so should not cause performance issues. I would like this mod to be a community framework that others could use to "publish" articles within the game based on triggers like science collection or milestones. It would be best if we could add new articles with just a Article_Config file indicating what science is required and then a link to the article in the gamedata folder. Mods like orbital science could have their own unique mysteries or be incorporated into existing ones. Milestones could also trigger articles ie. "First Kerbals Walk on the Mun!" or “What it’s like to live in space” and other historic events that you would expect a magazine or newspaper to report on. It would not require any change to the game mechanics or conflict with any mods. You just get information. All of the above is just my opinion but I think the community should decide on all the details. Reference articles to get you thinking: Apparently National Geographic stole my idea: Top 5 Mars Mysteries https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/11/top-mars-mysteries-exploration-nasa-insight-space/ Overflowing crater lakes carved canyons across Mars https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181116164505.htm Earth's magnetotail: First-ever views of elusive energy explosion https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181115144917.htm Volcanoes, Then an Asteroid, Wiped Out the Dinosaurs https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/what-killed-dinosaurs-volcanoes-asteroid-earth-science/ TL-DR: I want to write an in-game scientific magazine about what you have discovered with your science. You will learn more about the planets and moons you go to. I will need help doing this.

Wanted for Research: College students (ages 18-23) who played Kerbal Space Program and/or Factorio when they were in High School. Participants will be entered into a raffle for one of three $10 Amazon gift cards. Key participant criteria: • Currently age 18-23. • Currently enrolled in college and pursuing a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM). • Played Kerbal Space Program and/or Factorio between the ages of 15 through 18, inclusive, and playing these games influenced your decision to pursue a STEM degree. Study Information: This study investigates how playing video games that use Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) as their core mechanic motivates adolescents to pursue a STEM degree. The goal of this qualitative study is to publish findings for career development professionals to understand how STEM games can build interest in STEM careers. This novel research will open the door for future similar studies. If you are selected to participate in the research you will fill out a written-response survey about your motivations to pursue a STEM degree. The survey has six questions that require paragraph-long written responses, estimated time to complete 30-60 minutes. This research is anonymous and completely voluntary, you may stop at any time. If Interested: Please read the consent form and complete the screening questionnaire If you have any questions, please comment on this post below or send a private message. Thank you for your time; I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon. (Study conducted as part of a Graduate Degree program at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs; Institutional Review Board protocol number:18-044)

it would be nice if when researching science from the biome your in. Like you landed a processing lab in a biome and started researching the science from the biome in the biome, would give the research extra data or something or just a bit more science. because if you were in that situation you could go out and get more samples or test new ideas as soon as you have them. so what do you think?

Since there's no official storyline in ksp, the history of kerbal. So why don't we discuss about it? Let's construct, verify, and debate on theories! Any theory is welcome, if it has sufficient proof. Also, any reasonable suggestions are greatly appreciated! (If there's similar thread with this, please let me know!) Rules - (Again) Reasonable suggestions is desirable. - Discussion on topic: While constructing a theory, you can discuss on it here and flesh it out. It wouldn't be documented. - To count as a theory, it should meet the following conditions: * For each theory, the name and the abbreviation should be given to refer to it conveniently. * (WIP) - Theories will be documented on the OP, with following format: (WIP) - Change/Augmentation of a theory(WIP) - Withdrawal of a theory(WIP) ----------------- Theories start here --------------- Sections of History - Subject-Oriented Theory (SOT) In this theory, history is classified by the experiences of the individual subject. 1) Formation of the Kerbol system 2) Geological history of Kerbin 3) Origin and Evolution of Life 4) Origin of Kerbals 5) History of Kerbalkind Each section could be closely correlated to others, giving and taking several effects.

So... bit of an unusual suggestion, this, but I guess it fits the scope of the forum anyway. Basically, this is another attempt to address the tech tree. I'll explain it as simple as possible: Have the same parts be unlockable in several different nodes. Design the tech tree accordingly. This would allow the tech tree to have many more distinct "branches", to allow for a variety of different ways to progress through the tree. It would begin with multiple starting nodes, all containing roughly the same parts. An SRB, some simple tail fins, some form of manned or unmanned command module, a simple Science experiment, and the usual struts and girders. Parachute optional. From there on, different paths of progress would be laid out for the player. Stronger SRBs for more oomph, or liquid fuel engines for more precision? Manned or unmanned flight? Recovering your craft or sending it into the wide, wild yonder? Airplanes or rockets? Interplanetary flight, or LKO space stations? Advanced vacuum engines or powerful lifter engines? Unlocking a part in one node would subsequently lower the cost of other nodes containing the same part, to the points of nodes being unlocked for free if every part in them is unlocked through other means. This way, you might accidentally unlock unmanned launch technology while working on a manned space program, or rudimentary aircraft while unlocking advanced rover parts, but that's just engineering in a nutshell. Sooner or later, you'll find yourself with the parts and tools required to do something completely different from what you intended. Several of the branches would eventually merge in certain aspects. For instance, no matter whether you picked unmanned or manned exploration initially, you would progress through the same nodes for fuel tanks, engines, stabilizer fins, decouplers and suchlike. Propulsion technology doesn't depend as much on payload, the lower stages would have to be pretty similar no matter where there are Kerbals on board or not. What originally gave me this idea was playing through Career mode and realizing that I had to unlock three or four different nodes before I could build a working 2.5 m lifter. You get the fuel tanks in one node, the engines in another, adapters in a third and decouplers in a fourth. What if there was a node that had all the parts you needed for a rudimentary 2.5 m rocket, but which didn't offer any variety with regards to engines nor fuel tanks? With a "tech web", this would be the case. You could rush to build a basic 2.5 m booster stage, or unlock a variety of engines, fuel tanks, adapters and decouplers node-by-node and eventually combine them into a more capable booster. Likewise, you could concentrate on aircraft if you so wished, without swimming through an ocean of rocket parts to get there. Or vice versa. Using a "tech web" instead of a tech tree would make the research and parts unlocking aspect of the game a lot more flexible, and cater to a variety of different playstyles from the beginning. The initial node would be rather costly, say, 100 Science points, to encourage players to pick and stick with a specialization rather than spending all their points unlocking rudimentary parts for every purpose. Players would, of course, start with 100 Science points to unlock their first node, but have to earn their Science after that. That being said, since the initial nodes would all contain mostly the same parts, starting anew in a different branch would be dramatically less expensive after a while. What do you think? Is this a thing in some mod tech trees already? I kind of suspect it is, but if so, I'd like to see it spread further. Laying down several paths of progression would do a lot to allow different playstyles with the same tech tree, without overwhelming the player with choices. I think it's an idea worth looking into, at least.

Image - Example comparison of the proposed modules, to show how I imagine their size. I've had this idea developing in my mind for quite some time now, and I think I'm finally ready to present it in its complete form. This proposal would make significant changes to the way science works, but mostly by adding new things. Science collection in general will feel very familiar to KSP players, but it will be more streamlined and balanced, and make more sense. More total science will be available to collect--I won't show a revamp of the research tree but I'll touch upon some ideas to expand it and make room for the science without adding a ton of new items. All of your data collection science will revolve around a base set of experiment types: Crew Report EVA Report Surface Sample Goo Study Materials Study Thermometer Reading Barometer Reading Seismometer Reading Gravometer Reading Early in the tech tree you will unlock all experiment types in their most basic form, you can easily have them unlocked before you leave Kerbin to go to the Mün or Minmus, but later you will unlock better versions. These may allow you to collect a larger percentage of the maximum science on the first try but they will not increase the maximum amount of science you can get from any given experiment type in any given collection region. This means that if you send out a long mission early in the game, that mission can carry all of the important scientific instruments you'll need along the way. It would be great to take advantage of higher technology, but it won't be mandatory. Just like now, each experiment type/biome combination will have its own maximum cache of science. For instance, there's a limit to how much science you can gather from performing goo studies while landed on the Mün's midlands, which is separate from the science you can gain from thermometer readings while landed in the Mün's midlands, or from goo studies while flying over the Mün's surface. Scientists can increase the science gathered when you collect data, and can slightly increase the maximum science you can gain from an experiment in any given location, but the scientist must be the one performing the experiment to get the bonus. Any science processing unit can be used to increase the transmit value of experiments (except crew/EVA reports which already transmit at 100%) and any kerbal can operate these facilities, but scientists increase the bonus transmit value. No matter what, there will always be a good margin of science you can't get without returning the experiments home, but with a sufficiently large processing array and well-trained scientists, you can become able to transmit the better majority of the science. Data Collection Experiments Here I will list each experiment type along with details and tentative numbers about its maximum yield, transmit value, and some suggestions for later tech upgrades to the collection units: Crew Report: Base maximum value: 6 Transmit value: 100% Recover value: 100% EVA Report: Base maximum value: 8 Transmit value: 100% Recover value: 100% Surface Sample: Base maximum value: 60 Base transmit value: 12.5% Max transmit value: 25% Recover value: 50% A kerbal can carry a 1kg sample of regolith which has a recovery value of 50% of the maximum, and this takes up space and adds mass to the capsule it is stored in. Returning more surface samples from the same biome gives much less science--you have to take home a whole ton of material to get the full 100%, but you can make it to 75% by bringing back just 100kg. Later in the tech tree you will unlock a surface collection unit which can collect the surface material rapidly and can store 100kg of surface sample, and then a storage tank that can hold a full ton of surface sample material and maybe a larger tank that can hold several tons--if you were to gather from multiple biomes. Surface samples provide a way to get extra science from the same places you've already been to. It's generally a lot more productive to explore new places for science, until you start to run out of places to explore. Also, they have the largest gap between maximum transmit value and potential recovery value, so they are your biggest incentive to bring the experiments back home. Goo Study: Base maximum value: 15 Base transmit value: 20% Base processing bonus: +50% Max transmit value: 60% Base recover value: 66.67% The Mystery Goo Containment Unit, like other material-based experiments, has a low base transmit value. It is best recovered. There is a diminishing return on how much of the max you get for recovering it--the first one gives 2/3rds of it, and packing a few extra goo units can squeeze a bit more out if you're willing to run multiple goo experiments per biome. Later in the tech tree you'll unlock the Mystery Goo Habitat, a larger and heavier unit which has more and more lively Mystery Goo inside, and is better for study. The Habitat returns for 100% recover value in one try, and yields half more transmit value, 30% of the max up from 20% but has a much larger transmit size in MITs. Materials Study: Base maximum value: 50 Base transmit value: 15% Base processing bonus: +25% Max transmit value: 45% Base recover value: 50% The Science, Jr. unit offers your first mobile research lab, and these will become a staple for squeezing out as much research as possible from any biome, but they are also the heaviest module to tug around. Initially it recovers just 50% and you can run several to increase the recovery, but it would take an exorbitant amount of Sciences, Jr. to reach 100% due to the diminishing return. However, with just a few you can get significantly higher than 50%. Later in the tech tree you unlock the Science, Sr. which is a much larger 2.5m in-line lab with a base recovery of 80% and a base transmit value of 24%. You can get close to 100% total recovery with just a few of these, but they are a lot bulkier. The Mobile Research Laboratory is a late tech tree unlock, it's a huge 3.75m unit which can perform a materials study at 100% recover or 30% transmit value, it can collect and store some surface material, and it is able to process experiments to increase their transmit value. Finally, it can clean out experiments, including itself. Takes three kerbals to run it at max capacity, but it can run with a minimum of one kerbal. Temperature Reading: Base maximum value: 8 Base transmit value: 50% Base processing bonus: +50% Max transmit value: 100% Base recover value: 100% Pressure Reading: Base maximum value: 12 Base transmit value: 50% Base processing bonus: +50% Max transmit value: 100% Base recover value: 100% The thermometer and barometer are lightweight instruments that can gather a bit of useful data. They have the highest base transmit percent, making them especially useful for missions you aren't returning home, or for when you didn't bring enough instruments for every area you're going past. Later in the tech tree you unlock an infrared scanner and an atmospheric analysis module, these are the advanced versions of these experiment types, and they both have a base transmit value of 75% but a much larger transmit size. I am eliminating the existing atmospheric scan experiment, as I am wrapping it in with the barometric scan, making them the same base experiment. Seismic Reading: Base maximum value: 25 Base transmit value: 40% Base processing bonus: +50% Max transmit value: 100% Base recover value: 80% Gravity Reading: Base maximum value: 25 Base transmit value: 40% Base processing bonus: +50% Max transmit value: 100% Base recover value: 80% The Seismic Accelerometer and Negative Gravioli Detector are very small and light like the thermometer and barometer but they have a much larger data size and transmit at only 40% initially. Later you unlock the larger Seismograph and Negative Gravioli Scan Array, which have a base transmit value of 60% and will always recover for the full 100%. You can alternatively set an accelerometer running at a landed craft/base, or set a gravioli detector running on an orbiting craft/station, and have it gradually increase its recover value over time, to eventually reach 100%. Lab Processing of Data Processing labs can process experiments, increasing their transmit value. They can also clean experiments. These units can be operated by any kerbals, but scientists are able to squeeze extra transmit value out, in addition to their overall science bonus based on their level. The Mobile Processing Laboratory (2.5m) and the Mobile Research Laboratory both have the full processing functionality, but the smaller Mobile Processing Unit (2.5m, much shorter) is only able to process for half the bonus. It is much smaller and lighter, however, and thus can be good to bring along if you can't spare as much mass for your trip. The more kerbals you have working on processing, the faster it'll get done. As long as there is one scientist in the crew, you'll get the full scientist bonus, but the extra based on the scientist's level is taken from the highest level scientist in the crew. The small MPU has room for only one kerbal, but it's still faster than the other units because it doesn't process the data as far. Scientists also make the labs run slightly faster. Kerbal Scientists The full processing value increases the transmit value by 50% over base, but a scientist will get a base 75% increase to transmit value at level 0. At each higher level, a scientist gets +5% processing transmit value, +3% to all science gathered, and +5% faster processing lab operation speed. For example, a level 4 scientist gathering a materials study (Science, Jr.) from the Mün's lowlands: The multiplier for this biome is 4x, so the base 50 on materials study gives us a base max of 200 science for this experiment in this location. The true maximum is 230 with a max-level scientist. The module has a base transmit value of 15% and a base recovery value of 50%. The scientist increases the recovery by 12%, to 56% or 112 science on the first try. It will transmit for only 33.6 science, but we can process it higher. A non-scientist processing the experiment in a full-scale station would get it up to 42 science, but our level 4 scientist can process to +95%--however the materials study experiment type only processes half as high, so our scientist can process it up to +47.5%. The scientist would also add a 12% value to the experiment, but it already has a 12% bonus modifier applied to it since the same scientist gathered it in the first place. The final transmit value is 49.56 science, about a quarter of the base max for recovery. The same scientist could transmit for a higher value on the same experiment if a higher tech module was used to collect the data initially. A change to experience gain: Scientists now gain experience by performing experiments. Each experiment performed in each region gives them experience, and they level up by performing enough experiments in enough different areas. They can reach max level by running experiments only on Kerbin, but there are higher multipliers on more distant worlds. Also, kerbals will gain half of their field experience while still on the mission, applied at KSC midnight. They must return home to gain the other half, but they can level up during long missions. Expanding the Tech Tree I had an idea to both stretch out the tech tree and also give the player more options to begin with: provide more of the important types of modules earlier in the tech tree but have later science improve the designs. Important structural elements should be provided early on, allowing you to construct a spacecraft of any shape you wish, but later research could unlock upgrades to the same shapes, making them lighter and stronger. Even large engines should be available pretty early in the tech tree, but later research would unlock more efficient and powerful engines. Later fuel tanks could have a smaller dry mass fraction, or contain advanced fuel that increases engine specific impulse. Wing surfaces could become lighter and stronger as well as gaining a higher lift rating. Early photovoltaic panels could be stationary, and later panels would rotate to track the sun automatically. Later docking ports need not only be larger, but can also have a stronger grip and be thinner/lighter/more durable. And as I have talked about above, the science experiments are all available early in the tree, but have later variants that improve them--though it is possible to get all the science with the starting experiment units. Changing the tech tree in this way would give the player more freedom early on, and would allow players to plan ahead in their space program rather than forcing them to build crap spacecraft that are quickly made obsolete by new science unlocks. One thing that bothers me about KSP is that I have to explore first before I unlock the parts I need for exploring. I want to build my spacecraft, then send it out on a grand mission, and have that grand mission benefit my space program. It doesn't feel right when I have to unlock the whole tech tree just to prepare for launching my grand mission.

Even though KSP is an absolute amazing game, I would (at this stage) like to see a greater hand in the research aspects. The ability to actually design a rocket and its capabilities would be excellent, I think. To decide what kind of fuel flow versus power output versus price versus fail rate. This could be for many of the modules. Command modules with greater battery life at a cost of propellant or price tag. Construction materials that question price over durability or even the number of hard points for adding other modules. If a player doesn't want to construct their own KSP produced products, they could always default to the many companies eager to peddle their wares to them.

So i have 398 Research points and no idea what to spend it on. Any suggestions? Here is an image of my techtree as it currently stands. Everything to the right has not been researched and everything to the left has been.