The new colonist Kerbals

[nikokespprfan]

Let's say I have built a space station or ground base (which is in and on itself not very uncommon in this game). It looks fantastic, I have put in alot of work, but so what. A base is for kerbals to live in, so lets get us some kerbals...

Yea, that is where the problem comes in... see kerbonauts cost funds, and if you have something like an ISS-deravative, that it doesn't only costs funds, but it also costs a lot of funds. This is because hiring new kerbals gets exponentially higher. So if I play in career, I won't be able to crew the base unless I put all other missions to a stop (so all the availeble kerbals can live inside the base). ANd lets be honest, the fact that the kerbals are there, inside your craft, going on your missions, is a thing that makes a lot of missions (possible the entire game) a lot more interesting to do. Just the simple fact that they exist, taht you can interact with them and so forth, is very valueable.

Tourists would not have the problem of becoming exponentially more expensive, hell, you get money for using them on your missions. But you have to be lucky to get kerbals that wanna go where your base is, and they gotta go home at some point. And besides, if there are tourists, and when you eventually can built self sustaining bases, then there is that next logical step..

colonist kerbals. These kerbals are basicly tourists that want to stay places permanently. You do not have to hire these kerbals, as you get them via contracts, and you don't have to bring them back home. So everything is good as long as you give them their snacks (if you have those kinds of mods). They however could learn more sills as they level up, like extending solar panels, beiing able to go on EVA or eventually use a jetpack. This is so you can have them perform the most basic base-maintaining tasks.

And I all here you screaming: doesn't civillian poulation do this? Yes, yes it does. But as I said earlier, this game would be a lot less interesting if it weren't for the kerbals that go along with your journeys, that explore what you explore, and they do that by visually existing inside your craft. The colonists of civillan population do not do that, they're... well.. they are a list of numbers, basically. They are there, maybe, but they don''t live in your base, but in their own special parts and you never get to see them. In short the system is very abstract and far from the player. (No offence to the maker of civillian population.)

So this is a stock suggestion AND a mod request: make Kerbal colonists a class.

... Please?

[Wjolcz]

Ooooh, finally an idea that makes stranding kerbals fun. I like it!

But we would need stock life support first. Trying to keep them alive would be fun. I also like the idea of gaining skills with time and becoming somewhat lesser astronauts.

Add KIS/KAS for advanced base maintenance and it gets even better!

[CaptainTurbomuffin]

I'd like not to recieve, but post tourist contracts. You build an awesome space-hotel, for example, and you start advertising it. Based on the conditions (is it on an awesome place?) and the ticket costs determined by YOU, customers will come, you shoot'em up! and after they've been there for a time, send another passenger craft to return them. And the next season comes! This way, you could have a more... valid reason to build and VISIT space stations, at least once per year.

[Wjolcz]

I'd like not to recieve, but post tourist contracts. You build an awesome space-hotel, for example, and you start advertising it. Based on the conditions (is it on an awesome place?) and the ticket costs determined by YOU, customers will come, you shoot'em up! and after they've been there for a time, send another passenger craft to return them. And the next season comes! This way, you could have a more... valid reason to build and VISIT space stations, at least once per year.

I like this post. Though I think the advertisement should as simple as possible. Maybe you pay once and based on how much you paid there's interest based on that.

[nikokespprfan]

But we would need stock life support first.

Maybe as an official mod made by squad, but fully stock would IMO not be a good idea, as now you can choose a LS system -out of the array of mods- that matches your KSP skills.

[Wjolcz]

Maybe as an official mod made by squad, but fully stock would IMO not be a good idea, as now you can choose a LS system that matches your KSP skills.

What's so skillful about having life support in stock? With appropriate tools it wouldn't be hard at all. An alarm clock that reminds you to send supplies and a slider with a number of crew members that would give you the time of how much the food would last for them. Those two would be more than enough to have fun and stock life support.

It would be just another resource consumed based on time and the number of crew on board.

Edited September 9, 2015 by Veeltch

[Rath]

Time based gameplay is something KSP sorely lacks.

[nikokespprfan]

Just wondering, could you make a new kerbal class without the need of a plugin? If so, I might consider making it happen myself.

[nikokespprfan]

I added a poll so people without any feedback that just want to sit here and agree (or disagree) can voice their opinion.

[Grumman]

I like the idea, and I would also not make them work exactly like Tourists. Instead of just being ballast, I'd give them the limited ability to do work.

For example:

Level 0: Tourist, but can go on EVA.

Level 1: Counts as a level 0 Engineer, but can't provide control to a ship.

Level 2: Counts as a level 1 Engineer and level 0 Scientist, but can't provide control to a a ship.

Level 3: Counts as a level 2 Engineer and level 1 Scientist, and can provide control to a ship like a probe core does (meaning they need radio contact with someone who knows what they're doing).

This way, you could have colonies that actually do things like operate greenhouses or science laboratories.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Grumman

[nikokespprfan]

I like the idea, and I would also not make them work exactly like Tourists. Instead of just being ballast, I'd give them the limited ability to do work.

For example:

Level 0: Tourist, but can go on EVA.

Level 1: Counts as a level 0 Engineer, but can't provide control to a ship.

Level 2: Counts as a level 1 Engineer and level 0 Scientist, but can't provide control to a a ship.

Level 3: Counts as a level 2 Engineer and level 1 Scientist, and can provide control to a ship like a probe core does (meaning they need radio contact with someone who knows what they're doing).

This way, you could have colonies that actually do things like operate greenhouses or science laboratories.

The idea was to give them some ship-controlling abilities. And I think I'd be cool that they could gain XP by learning from the masters,(without having to leave the colony they live in). MAybe you could learn them to become engineers, of scientists or pilots and then recruit them. maybe.