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One of the more recent strategies available in the Admin building is the "Leadership Initiative". In a nutshell, it puts a premium on rewards from exploration and milestone gains but reduces the rewards from contracts. One of the effects it grants you is a "50% Science to field work gains." So my question is what all qualifies as "field work"? Obviously, conducting an experiment, taking a surface sample, or making a crew/EVA report is all field work, but what about science points gained from the Mobile Processing Lab? Does this count as "field work" since science data processed in the lab is derived from those experiments/samples/reports? I've been eyeing the Leadership Initiative coupled with Patents Licensing as an alternative method to fund my space agency's budget. This is how it would work, based on a 100% commitment to both strategies: 1) I land a lab in a biome on Duna for example. I run a full suite of experiments, and then process them in the lab for data to conduct research on for a lengthy period of time. 2) If lab research generated is considered "field work", than generating 500 points of science in the lab would be boosted to 750 points of science (from Leadership Initiative) after transmission back to Mission Control. 3) Patents Licensing strategy would then convert those 750 science points to 77,838.75 This way, Mobile Processing Labs that are placed throughout the Kerbol system would be generating a steady stream of revenue, with a boost given by the Leadership Strategy. The research revenue would be more reliable than the contract slot machine, if I'm calculating all this correctly. However, due to the penalties the Leadership Initiative puts on Contract rewards, it takes away the big pay-off contracts that are thrown at the player. Anyone care to comment? I've played around with strategies before, but I'd be interested to hear other ways players use them to fund their space programs. Think this would work, or anyone have better ways to fund their space programs?

One of my favorite improvements of 1.0.x (not sure it was in 1.0) was the milestone program that allowed players to have a separate source of funding from contracts for simply boldly going where no kerbal had gone before. Sometime since then (I think with 1.1.0) Squad added the "leadership initiative" which allowed players to greatly emphasize this part of the game (warning: there is a stiff reputation requirement to use these. I basically decided that 80% was as high as I could get it). At this point expect that hitting as many milestones as possible is critical to your funding. So how do you get milestones? And is there a "milestone dance" similar to the "science dance" of doing a crew report, EVAing, taking the data out, putting the data in, shaking the data all about and taking (and resetting where appropriate) all the other science on you spacecraft? So far I've noticed some odd ways that KSP throws milestones at you: Sending a spacecraft there [a new soi/planet/moon] (obvious) Sending a kerbal there (another obvious one) Planting a flag (the game likes flags) Doing a spacewalk/EVA (don't forget this one, especially if you have modded the "science dance" out of your game) Doing a crew transfer (as far as I know, this gives big rewards just for changing seats. Bring along at least two crew compartments. Have to test command seats). Doing a rendezvous (not sure how far you have to be apart. Presumably far enough that "[" and "]" don't work. Might take longer to knock out than all the rest combined. I think I've only received the reward by doing a real rendezvous). Doing a docking (just decoupling and rejoining from 8m was enough. Probably can get away with it a lot closer) Starting a spacestation (yes, I got an extra hefty reward by decoupling and rejoining two connected parts. They both had crew facilities, different names, and were launched separately. No idea what the real requirements are). Yes, there are all those distance/height records. You aren't likely to start the leadership initiative before getting all of them. So: is there an easy/known way to maximize the milestones once you get to a new planet/moon/soi? Am I missing any, and are they otherwise easy to snatch up? Obviously, you want two separate crew compartments, and likely two parts with docking ports (don't be surprised if the crew compartments should separate as well). So far, KSP/Kerbal milestones don't seem to be showing up in google very well. One difficulty I have is that I haven't been able to see my old milestones. They don't show up in the contracts building (I thought they used to, even with the milestone switch). The don't show up in the science building either. I'll have to check my files as well, but everything seemed to be working fine in 1.1.3, but no means of seeing my milestones (to point out how big the rewards are and how you absolutely need two crew compartments in your early spaceships to a new soi/planet/moon).