Why i don't like not-early carreer

[Champ]

Hi.

I always play in carreer mode, but i really think carreer mode could be improved. The early carreer is good : you have to play with limits (part count, weight, dimensions, budget, etc), and this is fun (i still have to build a manned ship that can land on the mun and return to kerbin with less than 18t and 30 parts).

But very quickly, you have no limits at all : part count, weight, dimensions are no longer a problem (VAB lvl 2 + launchpad lvl 3 is enough for everything i need). There is just money. And the money thing is bad.

You just put a probe on orbit around mun, minmus and kerbin, and a probe landed at minmus and mun, and then go to the contract building : reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, accept "science from space around minmus", reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, accept "science from space around mun", reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, accept "science from surface of mun", reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, accept "science from surface of minmus", reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, accept "science from space around kerbin", then go to your different probes, fullfill those contracts, and back to the contract building : reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, reject contract...

The "get money" thing is just not fun. And money is very quickly the only difference between "science mode" and "carreer mode".

I could restrict myself to "only one of the 'science from space around XXX' contracts", but the problem is still the same : reject contract until you get the "put satellite on an equatorial orbit around XXX" (maybe 4 or 5 of them), then fly it, then back to the "reject contract, reject contract, reject contract, accept that contract you want" thing.

The problem is i don't even have to build economic ships : i can build overengineered monstrosities, and just do a little more of these "contracts" to get the money to launch it. So, in reality, even money is not a limit. The only limit is "how much do i accept to grind before i can launch that mission"

There are some ways to (partly) fix this problem i can imagine :

- more/different building tiers : part limit = 30 for VAB lvl 1, 255 for VAB lvl 2 ? This is bad. I NEVER build ships with more than 255 parts. Part limit for VAB lvl 2 should be around 90, in my (not-so ?) humble opinion. This would give a reason to evolve VAB to lvl 3 (other than custom action groups), and would get the part-count problem back to business, which is good. Same problem with the launchpad's dimensions and weight limit.

- change the contract system. For example, change "land on Duna", to "land on Duna and come back to kerbin with a manned ship costing less than XXXX kredits". This would make me HAVE TO build economic, not just "i don't care about economic ships, i'll just grind a little bit more". Also, the game should not consider the "science from space around kerbin" contract fullfilled when the data i send have absolutely no scientific value (no science point).

- An on-the-fly contract editor. Like : "i am gonna do a mission that will land on duna, land on ike, and get back to kerbin, please generate a contract asking to do all of it and calculate the reward accordingly to the difficulty of the contract"

Can you imagine other ways to fix the mid-and-late-carreer problem ?

Are there some mods that could fix that problem that i did not consider ?

How do YOU fix that problem ?

[Red Iron Crown]

Moved this over to Suggestions and Development Discussion as it's not really a question about how to do things in game.

[Champ]

Thank you Red Iron Crown. Sorry for the mistake

[Stoney3K]

I agree here. The first part of career is challenging in its limits but excruciatingly boring in its contracts offered ("Orbit Kerbin", "Take tourist on a suborbital flight"), while the later stage has more interesting contracts which can be accomplished no matter what because there are hardly any limits.

And when the endgame is concerned, career is pretty much a glorified sandbox if you complete enough contracts and therefore get an endless pit full of money.

[TrooperCooper]

I suggest you take a look at the "Better than starting manned" mod. Its been a while since I played with it. But it is supposed to offer a much tighter gameplay...

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/61632-1-04-Better-Than-Starting-Manned-Career-Mode-Redefined-%28v10-01-Aug-19th%29

[Torquemadus]

I use custom difficulty settings to improve the challenge of career mode. Even on so called "hard" difficulty, the restrictions of the early game are all too easily overcome. Harder settings are needed.

By greatly decreasing the rewards of contracts, I force myself to get by with less money, less tech, and less building upgrades. Careful planning is required to allow multiple contracts to share the same launch to offset costs.

This approach is fun if you have the inventiveness to overcome the restrictions. If not, it will turn into a grind as you struggle to make money.

[Farex]

I support this. Currently I'm doing a career with only 20% science gain. This adds tension all right (and reason to actually explore kerbin).

[322997am]

Yeah, after you went to Duna and Ike the game becomes boring. But the only fun thing that comes in the endgame that is different is your laythe expedition with a plane

[Champ]

I suggest you take a look at the "Better than starting manned" mod. Its been a while since I played with it. But it is supposed to offer a much tighter gameplay...

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/61632-1-04-Better-Than-Starting-Manned-Career-Mode-Redefined-%28v10-01-Aug-19th%29

I'll take a look at it.

I thought this mod was just a new tech-tree with probes coming before pods. Did not think it was actually intended to balance carreer mode.

Any other suggestions ?

[MalevolentNinja]

I'll take a look at it.

I thought this mod was just a new tech-tree with probes coming before pods. Did not think it was actually intended to balance carreer mode.

Any other suggestions ?

My suggestion would be don't exploit the the system and then complain it is broken...

Seriously. I don't think anyone would claim KSP is bug free. You found an unintended way of exploiting the game mechanics. Of course it is going to ruin the balance of the game. So don't do it. Or do it but realize the effect it will have.

Add your own rules on top of what the game gives you. For example, "I will accept every contract the game gives me and never reject a contract."

Edited September 30, 2015 by MalevolentNinja