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[Rocket In My Pocket]

Career mode, In fact I didn't even consider buying the game till it was added.

I know it's not perfect by any means, and it definitely needs work but starting with all the parts unlocked just isn't my thing, I enjoy taking contracts and working my way up the tech tree while upgrading my facilities.

Some of my fondest Kerbal memories are from completing a particularly hard or even ridiculous mission. Some of my favorite craft were designed to be used on only a single mission!

Haters gonna hate but career mode is where it's at yo.

(Begin long rambling posts about what you don't like about career mode/why you don't play it below)

[Pecan]

1 hour ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

(Begin long rambling posts about what you don't like about career mode/why you don't play it below)

Hehe.  It's good for what it is but it is what it is and one size never fits all.  I'm happy, I have an imagination of my own and can follow it in sandbox.
I think it's probably fair to say career is 'the' game, it's just not one I enjoy playing - most linear games suffer the same way - and too many extraneous complications, right from the start, to be good for beginners, who first need to learn how to fly and build.

[Fearless Son]

Career.  I find the limitations of funding fuel my creativity.  It gives me concerns like, "How cost-effective would this launch be?" and "What should my next big space center upgrade goal be?"  That in turn is fodder for my imagination for challenges I impose upon myself.  

[ForsakenVoyager]

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Edited July 19, 2016 by ForsakenVoyager

[pasukaru76]

I played science mode at first, because at the beginning I wanted two things: learn the game at a nice pace, and build cool rockets. I did not want to worry about funds. Once I had unlocked the whole tech tree, I started a new game in career mode. I like doing contracts as they often make me do things I might not have thought of otherwise.

[WuphonsReach]

I'm also a "sandbox on a budget" (i.e. Career but with changes), I run "Moderate" difficulty, but give myself 5000 science and 500k funds to start.  That jump-starts me into the middle of the tech tree, with a few choice building upgrades.  There are also mods out there which pay you per quarter, or let you swap money/science with a penalty.

(I don't enjoy starting a career from scratch for the Nth time.  But sandbox mode is too wide open.)

If I've been playing a particular version of KSP for a while, I'll give myself more money/science at the start so that I can skip deeper into the tech tree.

[Francois424]

As game type I always pick career.
Then I save it, and edit it with notepad.
I give myself 10'000'000 kerbucks.
I upgrade every buildings in the KSC to maximum.

Ready to play.  So you could say my game is a Science mode with contracts, and a lot of starter funds even after upgrading everything.
So I don't HAVE to do contracts, but the odd mission that I take I enjoy 100%. 
Oh and the money does run out eventually if you never do any contacts.

That's how I get my maximum enjoyment in the game.  I also did the above but giving me 50k science to unlock everything then remove the exceeding science back to zero
That allowed me to play sandbox and have all the features, including science missions just for fun ("How much can I reap from a Jool-5 mission with the best technology available?")

[Inverurie Jones]

Career. I don't find it enough of a challenge otherwise.