Which planet is the most base-worthy?

[Wjolcz]

I always wanted to go for a fully-sustainable Laythe polar base in the career. With at least a station/mothership in the polar orbit, ISRU converter, an air-breathing exploration aircraft and a cycler SSTO. It would be on one of the poles simply because it's easier to land a plane and drive rovers there.

I never completed it though, because I tried to do it in stock career mode. I got discouraged pretty quickly by the science grind and the sillyness of the tech tree.

[vger]

I feel like a troublemaker right now, so I'm just going to point out... most of the items on that list are not planets.

However, I've always had a weird obsession with remote frozen locations, so Eeloo gets my vote.

[WillThe84th]

1 hour ago, Veeltch said:

I always wanted to go for a fully-sustainable Laythe polar base in the career. With at least a station/mothership in the polar orbit, ISRU converter, an air-breathing exploration aircraft and a cycler SSTO. It would be on one of the poles simply because it's easier to land a plane and drive rovers there.

I never completed it though, because I tried to do it in stock career mode. I got discouraged pretty quickly by the science grind and the sillyness of the tech tree.

Yeah, I'm with you in that, whenever u try to create a base in career mode, I always get discouraged because of the time it takes just to get to the point in the tech tree when you can start a base. 

[luizopiloto]

Laythe have Ice-caps on the poles... big and flat... perfect to land Spaceplanes with cargo ramps...

[KerikBalm]

I've been keeping the same save going since 1.0... and maxed out the tech tree long ago in career...

Duna is the only place i have a well developed base. I have some stuff on the surface of Minmus, some old stations in orbit around mun and minmus... but nothing compared to the stuff I have in the Duna-Ike system... My laythe colony is shaping up nicely though... or it will once all the flotilla gets there. I just can't find the motivation to make a base on Mun or Minmus... especially Minmus...I can make a quick jaunt there and back whenever I want... in a SSTO...

When I go to another planet... then I need a base/enough assets to provide all the capabilities i may need for contracts or personal whims, because it may be a long time before the next transfer window arrives, and even longer before what I launched during that window arrives...

My minmus/Mun bases are just ISRU tankers... My duna base has a surface rover, an ISRU tanker, a surface hab/research base, an aircraft (mods for electric propulsion), an ISRU craft (well, its on highlands near the lowlands where my base is, because the lowlards have no ore in my game), a 3 kerbal spaceplane VTOL lander, a moded Xenon ISRU craft... in orbit I've got two space stations with research labs, habitats, docked tugs including docking port adaptors and claws, Ike ISRU, Ike lander & surface hab... etc

Mun: just a big ISRU craft with about 6 orange tanks worth of fuel capacity

 

As for laythe: design stuff that can land on water... and there's no need to go to the poles

[Wjolcz]

10 minutes ago, KerikBalm said:

As for laythe: design stuff that can land on water... and there's no need to go to the poles

AFAIK you can't use ISRU on water, so no refuels for you! Or did something change in the latest patch?

[KerikBalm]

Well, I land on the water next to the land, and "taxi" on to the shore.

[magnemoe]

Minmus is the obvious one for resources, Gilly, Ike and Bop / Pol is also recourse places. Gilly is pretty funny in it self.
Duna is an pretty fun place same is Mun. 
 

[JuN'']

I'd had quite the success with Vall. It's gravity is managable, it's position close to both Tylo and Laythe makes is easy to use them for gravity assist, and it's orbit goes mostly within Jool's equator. I tend to fool around the Jool-System a lot, so having an easy-access-base is invaluable to me.

[Jetski]

Interestingly you can harvest Dirt in the oceans of Laythe if you have MKS Lite

[CG_Kerbin]

Guys come on Rep the gilly for life...! 

But on a serious note id say laythe of minmus for me.

[ProtoJeb21]

I would say that Dres is the best place, strategy-wise, to put a base. There are multiple biomes for SCIENCE, lots of flatish places to land, and more natural resources than most other bodies in the system. Dres is also great for an interplanetary refueling station, podraces, and rover competitions.

Next to Dres, I would say Duna and Eve. Both are SCIENCE and resource-rich planets that have all sorts of kerbal-killing "FUN" challenges to overcome. I'm sure Bob will like to go to Eve, wouldn't he?

[Superfluous J]

Planet: Duna. The others are either lonely (Eeloo, Dres and Moho have no moons) or difficult (Eve) or impossible (Jool) or you already have a base there (Kerbin )

World: Minmus. Refueling, easy gravity well, and great height to get a nice slingshot (with full tanks) around Kerbin to other worlds.

[Tw1]

It really depends what you want from a base. It's it for launching new missions, a scientific outpost, tourist destination, or a permanent colony? Or is your only concern costs of setting up? 

I like my Mun bases, as they feel classic sci fi, and you can rover there. The tidal locking makes the day night experience so unlike that here on earth. 

I like Minmus because it's so beautiful, and easier to land and launch from, and makes for interesting base designs when you consider working in low gravity. (though the longer orbital period makes interplanetary less simple.)

Laythe makes most sense as the start of a true second home for the kerbals, for obvious reasons, and the length of travel time forces a higher degree of independence than one closer to home. 

Moho has plenty of launch windows and short travel time, but that transfer delta V and levels of solar exposure? I think not. 

Eve? Hard to get off, risk of atmosphere and ocean contamination... Probably not. 

Duna- has atmosphere, possibly water, resonable to get to and back? Sounds alright. 

Dres.... Takes a while to get to, similar to the Mun but colder... Not the most interesting a choice, though theo is the  resources.. 

Eeloo is pretty similar, but with even more delta-v and time to get there. 

 

Edited June 14, 2016 by Tw1

[X-SR71]

Not a base per se, but I like to send relatively small unmanned extractors (drills + ISRU) to various points on planets/moons. They work like small gas stations.