Science system changes

[Shark4558]

​Hello, yesterday i played in the science mode in KSP.

and I found it a little "drop apparatus, score points, earn points and unlock more pieces," so I came up with a way to change the system of science by one more useful.

science system is changed, instead of numbers that allow access to technologies, science is divided as follows:

the tests done on another planet, are used to track the performance of some part as a engine, for example a pressure experiment Mun will used to determine if the wings are useful (not obviously), while the same experiment on Duna serves to know that the wings will underperform and should be improved (make them lighter and less resistant ,but using the normal wings is allowed.)

sample reaction testing (reaction of various types of samples) are those to determine not only the composition of the atmosphere, also it serves to know what happens in the short term with some kind of specific material, for example a sample of metal in Eve oceans is destroyed in a short time, which shows that a metalic lander will suffer the same fate if it falls into the oceans of Eve.(later you can develop a material that survives the exposure to the Oceans of Eve)

the same thing applies to a wing made for Duna, used in Eve..., it is usually destroyed if it goes fast,due to the weight/hardness ratio.so you can also create a strong wing but a little heavier than the normal wing.

the science system i propose allows us to make a piece more customizable, adapting to different environments, and also shows us the consequences of using the wrong piece in the wrong environment (the previous example).

another thing that should be added is research in the field, because flying an aircraft loaded with sensors (to know the behavior) dune and then read the data back in Kerbin is one thing, and quite another to control the aircraft Duna with live readings of atmospheric pressure and to enhance research data.

research in the field greatly accelerates the development of parts, because the data can be processed quickly, and if you want to know something, it's just a matter of turning on the plane and fly near the base in Duna.

This way the Science feels more active, instead of using a Goo canister and earning points ...

I think I should give a few examples.

i have an aircraft in Kerbin,it flies well, but when I get to Duna, it had a poor performance, but from the data collected in the flight, I noticed that the wings had much weight and the shape was not the best,so i used a modified wing, a more lightweight and aerodinamic wing, it worked very well in Duna,with the great disadvantage of not being able to resist high pressures (Eve)

But here comes the dark side,

if I use the mentioned wing in Eve, if the plane goes very fast, it will Snap violently,so i have to go slow in Eve, hence I learned that I should use a heavy and strong wing to fly very fast in Eve.

if you have some ideas to improve my suggestion,or feedback, I'll be happy to hear it!.

[Pthigrivi]

So I like your thinking and I get what you're after but you're asking for some pretty big changes. For instance it's not really accurate to say a part is better on Duna or Eve, just some might have better TWR or Isp or lift rating, so it's pretty hard for me to see how you would unlock hundreds of parts in this way or what the intuitive reason you would need to say go to Ike to unlock this or that ladder would be. The points, while general, offer a flexible way to navigate a tech tree that most gamers are familiar with.

I personally tend to think the issue isn't with the tech tree, but with the clicky nature of conducting science itself. I could see, for instance, the barometer paying out in science not just for being clicked in this or that biome, but for how great a swath of air it passed through while continuously running. I could also see having an entire air column measured unlocking a pilot's ability to predict flight paths in atmo and aerocaptures for that body. But as far as linking part unlocks to very specific tests I worry you could end up with a lot of grind and many, many one-off missions with not a lot of reward.