Career + (Probably a good mod idea)

[The Optimist]

The stock progression in career is rather boring. You do some science around the space centre, get some engines and fuel tanks, collect more science, until you get enough tech to have a little more fun. Well, that's rather unrealistic and overly simplified. May I propose.. Realistic progression.

At the start of the game, the player begins with almost nothing. The KSC is just a dirt runway, a few shacks, and a aircraft hangar with some old parts inside. At first, the player's only way to earn money and research is from fundraising and purchasing from larger firms, respectively. However, over time public interest declines and so does your income.

At first, the space program only has access to the smallest engines and parts, so the main methods are much more basic. For example, the first high altitude science experiments will be carried out by weather balloons with barometers strapped to them.

Parts will be purchased and rockets will need to wait until their components arrive and until they are assembled.

Reputation is more important now, as the fundraising projects are completely dependent on it. Achieving records will, if it doesn't already, give the player small amounts of reputation. Reputation losses are directly related to the size of the space program; the crash of a small, 1000 dollar solid fuel rocket will matter much less than the crash of a similar rocket by a larger space company. Of course, you can try to cover up some of your mishaps, but doing so will name all of your rockets after Russian presidents and 'secretaries'. Of course I'm kidding about that part, but bear with me.

After you launch your first functional craft, two companies will come to you. First is Jeb's Junkyard, which sells you some of its own parts and also manufactures your lower-tier unlocks. The second is the KSC's own Research and Development division, which at first is your only source of researching new technologies. 

Science is completely redone. No longer will you get fistfuls of dirt and use them to develop nuclear engines. Instead, your data collected is analyzed, and will boost your public opinion if anything interesting is found, such as the presence of x on the surface of y. High end researching tools may also be able to directly boost the current research speed, but this is unlikely. Gaining research is now primarily obtained by two ways: Lab research and Field research. Lab research is passive, and it only focuses on one research node. Field research is done by running a engine and running field tests onto it. Sometimes, a test may reveal imperfections in the construction of the engine, and even offer insights into how future technologies could be modified according to the discoveries. The modified engines are now able to be installed on future craft. 

All engines and most other parts have a prototype that is provided when their research is half done. The prototypes will be essentially a stripped down version of the real part. Research at this point must(?) be done by running the engine in different modes, while running tests on them. The data collected from here must be crunched by the R&D division, or a third party willing to do so. Researching parts won't be from specified nodes. Instead, the player has to choose 2-3 keywords to plan the subject. The actual part being developed is still somewhat random, and it will only be unveiled when the prototype becomes available.

Time would matter more with life support, which makes it more important to grab a good planetary encounter when it comes by. By default, timewarp should only be possible at 15x < when there are no research projects or events going on.

 

Edited December 17, 2015 by The Optimist

[tater]

A more realistic progression would require making a goal, then inventing the tech to achieve that goal, not collecting planetary science to magically make a new rocket engine. It would require an entirely new career paradigm.