Reputation specific to corporations and organizations

[samstarman5]

I have seen a number of threads where a number of players state that in career mode, and even science mode, that completing the tech tree is the endgame, regardless of how many worlds are left for them to discover. I am rather sympathetic to that, as in my current career playthrough, I am at the point where I will likely cap off my tech tree with one successful trip to Duna. So what else could there be for us to strive for, other than raw exploration (and prospecting, for us miners)?

There is a classic game I enjoy, and even still boot up now and then, called Freelancer. It is a rather fun 3D space combat game with a pretty solid storyline in which you gain new and better ships and challenges over time, with a bit of free flight between the story missions. One of the best things about the game is when you finish the story, and it tells you to 'Get a Job.' That's it. The world is yours to explore as you see fit. All gates but for a couple story-specific open, and a lot yet to explore. That part alone gives me goosebumps in the game, maybe even more than seeing what the final chapter in the story offers. I am fairly sure I have logged more gametime doing that freemode with each playthrough than I have in the earlier levels while playing the story. You can be an honest trader, a bounty hunter, a pirate, a smuggler, or just an explorer. It helps that everything you do affects how factions in the game relate to you. Working with the bounty hunters can actually get you in hot water with the main factions.

I see a lot of symmetry in that game's philosophy as I do in KSP. The tech tree is the storyline, and finishing it is just the beginning of so much more. When you unlock that final tier, there should be a prompt, 'Get a Job.'

That gets me to thinking, maybe there is a missing ingredient which we do have the foundation for in the many corporations present in the game. Maybe what we need is not an overall reputation, but reputation with corporations and organizations individually. Taking and completing contracts for a corporation earns you rep for that corporation alone, with maybe lesser rep with those who work with that corp. It can also lower rep with other businesses who are in active competition with that corporation. How might that affect you besides getting offered fewer contracts by corporations you are low in rep with? Part costs, for one. Get on the bad side of Rockomax, and suddenly your Mainsails are costing your space program maybe twice the price. Want to get on the better side of Rockomax? Retrieve 1000 ore off of Eve(because they like the almost flourescent purpleness) for a smaller paycheck. Meanwhile, Kerbodyne's parts are close to 30% off and they and their subsidiaries offer you some extra funds for their contracts.

That is just an example. But that might just be the ticket to help add that flavoring to what happens after the tech tree is finished. Getting to 100% reputation with a corporation can offer you more efficiency in the parts that they sell. For example, getting in the very good graces of Rockomax gives you an engine with the power of a Mainsail but the ISP of a Skipper. It doesn't have to be offered for a discounted price, though. Rockomax isn't just about to just hand their super-secret prototype to just anyone for free.

There is my suggestion. It does offer a new endgame beyond the tech-tree, along with new challenges for the player in their quest to explore/exploit the solar system that Kerbin abides in.

[CaptainTurbomuffin]

I didn't get it properly. Reputation specific to corporations is one thing, end-game is another. If you have a good reputation, and specific parts are cheaper or better for you, wouldn't that mean that getting science and funds is easier? Than what's this end game doing here? Personally, I would like to recieve torphies for different achievements. Maybe posters or medals in the astronaut complex, that can be earned by exploring different worlds.