Kerbal Training

[Praetorian]

How do you train up your Kerbals for the few few levels? do you have a certain regime?

[Slam_Jones]

Best routine I've used is as follows:

Low Kerbal Orbit

Mun Orbit

Minmus Landing/Flag Planting

Pop outside Kerbin's SOI for a brief second

Return to KSC

This will bring your Kerbs up to Level 3 (beyond that, levels are irrelevant)

Landing on Minmus instead of Mun saves dV.

[FlipNascar]

Best routine I've used is as follows:

Low Kerbal Orbit

Mun Orbit

Minmus Landing/Flag Planting

Pop outside Kerbin's SOI for a brief second

Return to KSC

This will bring your Kerbs up to Level 3 (beyond that, levels are irrelevant)

Landing on Minmus instead of Mun saves dV.

+1; It's the most efficient way to level them up. And the Minmus dV savings are certainly worthwhile, means you can do this whole jaunt with minimal tech unlocked too. It's gonna be a fugly rocket, but it's gonna work.

[Geschosskopf]

Best routine I've used is as follows:

Low Kerbal Orbit

Mun Orbit

Minmus Landing/Flag Planting

Pop outside Kerbin's SOI for a brief second

Return to KSC

This will bring your Kerbs up to Level 3 (beyond that, levels are irrelevant)

Landing on Minmus instead of Mun saves dV.

Hehehe, I did a tutorial on that very training program. Glad to see it still meets with approval .

[sj176]

I just send them to a orbital base for a while and then shuttle them back.

[zarakon]

This will bring your Kerbs up to Level 3 (beyond that, levels are irrelevant)

Is that true for the scientist bonus?

My level 4 scientist skipped level 3, so I don't know if it changed since then, but her science bonus is now 120%

[Geschosskopf]

Is that true for the scientist bonus?

My level 4 scientist skipped level 3, so I don't know if it changed since then, but her science bonus is now 120%

Scientist's buffs cap at Level 4. HOWEVER, that's irrelevant because you can only get a Kerbal to level 4 by returning him from the SOI of another planet. Which means you'll have finished the stock tech tree before then, at which point scientists become redundant. Now, if you've tweaked the tech tree somehow, or have weird-science mods that add teirs, then you still need science and there's a point in having high-level scientists out among the other planets. But otherwise, no.

Pilots are redundant after you get a probe core that has SAS. Scientists are useless once the tech tree is done. Engineers, however, are always useful and level 5 engineers get buffs to mining.

[AmpsterMan]

This version has been the first version I have played with any seriousness in QUITE some time. I have been strugling leveling my non-pilots because I have become dependant on that sweet, sweet, mainain heading SAS. I was actually under the impression that Engineers are the least useful. Is it a case of Pilots and Scientists being a form of First Order

. That is, Engineers get relatively better only later on in the game?

[Starhawk]

That is, Engineers get relatively better only later on in the game?

I haven't tried any serious resource extraction yet, but if the engineers' efficiency bonus is worthwhile that could make them very valuable in the later game.

Happy landings!

[Xavven]

This version has been the first version I have played with any seriousness in QUITE some time. I have been strugling leveling my non-pilots because I have become dependant on that sweet, sweet, mainain heading SAS. I was actually under the impression that Engineers are the least useful. Is it a case of Pilots and Scientists being a form of First Order

. That is, Engineers get relatively better only later on in the game?

Engineers will shine late game when ISRU becomes a part of your program.

Regarding training, I found out that flag planting gives no more experience than simply landing on the body (at least in 1.0.2). No need to flag spam.

[zarakon]

you can only get a Kerbal to level 4 by returning him from the SOI of another planet. Which means you'll have finished the stock tech tree before then, at which point scientists become redundant. Now, if you've tweaked the tech tree somehow, or have weird-science mods that add teirs, then you still need science and there's a point in having high-level scientists out among the other planets. But otherwise, no.

Well, maybe if you absolutely suck Kerbin, Mun, and Minmus dry for every little bit of science that they have to offer. Even then I have a hard time imagining finishing the tech tree without going interplanetary

I'm using stock, abused polar orbits to get EVA reports above all the Mun/Minmus biomes, and got surface data from a bunch of them too. I just did a Duna+Ike return mission for a boatload of science, but I STILL need 8500 more to finish the tree