Career mode and early steps.

[GoSlash27]

On 8/17/2016 at 0:35 AM, magnemoe said:

Tend to not mess around to much with science on KSC outside of recovering pods with material science and goo from runway and launchpad, if I need more I tend to make an roller two pods with two material labs in center can be rolled off the runway and up on the crawlway to get more science. 

I tend to do the opposite. If I want a lot of science in minimal real time, I tend to go for orbit early. If, OTOH, I want to get lots of science in minimal "in- game" time, I hoover up all the science I can get from Kerbin itself. KSC science yields lots of tech nodes and doesn't actually take a lot of time or effort if you use a jet cart. getting all of Kerbin's biomes isn't all that difficult or time- consuming once you have the early jet aircraft tech.

If you're trying to catch the first Duna transfer to scour Ike, it's worth it to develop lots of tech at home in the early going. Mun is a (roughly) 3 day round trip and there's nothing on Kerbin that takes 3 days to get to.

Best,
-Slashy

[Laie]

If you want to optimize science per in-game calendar time, you have to scour the space center for science.

If you want to optimize for real-life wall clock time, it's better to leave Kerbin ASAP. Orbit beats surface, and Mun beats Kerbin by a lot. Of course, this means leaving "a lot" of science unrecovered by the wayside, something I personally find hard to do.

As for the grind, there's mods to help with that. "For Science!" is one, and there's a Kerbokatz utility too.

[Aegolius13]

A few money-related tips I've come across:

-As mentioned above, satellites are extremely lucrative.  Develop a basic satellite that can be launched as cheaply as possible, and modify it as needed when a contract asks you to bring a particular instrument.  Once you get them, the Ant and the Spark can be used to make extremely light, high delta-v stages that are very cheap to launch.  The other upside of satellite contracts are the repositioning missions.  Since everything is already in orbit, they're free!  And if you plan your maneuver carefully, you can often do these with a single burn (hint: you have to do it where your current orbit touches the new orbit, if such a place exists.  Then don't be afraid to use radial maneuvers in addition to the usual prograde/retro/normal).

-Tourist contracts can be very lucrative as well, especially when you can combine and economize the itineraries as discussed below.  

-LKO Kerbal rescue missions can be achieved with a basic pod + probe core orbiter, which should cost well under 10k funds once you get the Terrier or Spark.  They pay well but, more importantly, save the expense of hiring new Kerbonauts (which increases as your roster gets bigger).  The same craft design can also be used for missions to take a single tourist to orbit.

-Keep an eye out for contracts to build something you want anyway.  Even if you build something a lot bigger than necessary for the contract and spend more than the contract provides, it's still free money.  

-Also keep an eye out for contracts you can accomplish with virtually no expenditure.  Satellite repositioning is a big one, as mentioned above.  Launchpad tests are easy, almost instant money.  Splashdown tests can usually be done with one Flea and one parachute.  "Transmit science data from orbit" is a great freebie.  Planting a flag on the Mun is no problem if you already have a Mun mining ship.  

 -In order to get more of these lucrative contracts, try not to to keep your active contracts totally filled up.  Consider passing on a contract, even a high value one, if you're nowhere near being able to start it (say, sending stuff to Duna if the launch window is still a year out).  A similar one will probably come around again by the time you're ready.  Similarly, upgrade mission control relatively early to raise your contract limit.  Check back every few days for new contracts if you don't like the current options.

-Whenever possible, try to accomplish multiple contracts with a single launch.  For example, the standard "space station" contracts (5 kerbals, antenna, docking port, power) can be achieved with a variety of ships, even if you have no intention of leaving the ship as a station.  Maybe pick up five tourists, build a ship to take them or orbit, and do both the station and tourist contracts at once.

-Keep stages as small and simple as possible, so you'll spend less of fuel and engines to haul them up.  Thanks to the exponential nature of the rocket equation, a tiny bit of weight saved on the payload can make a huge difference in total size and cost.

-Get good at building on the cheap, especially for quick missions.  Even a few hundred funds saved per part quickly add up.  SRBs are your friend for launch stages.  Small hardpoints are much cheaper than decouplers.  Explosive decoupling is an option for inline boosters.  The Mk 1 pod is a lot cheaper than the lander, is only a bit heavier, has better torque, etc.  Heat shields are generally not necessary for LKO reentry with the pod, and even lunar reentry if you're careful.  The HECS is a good, cheap core that can do the most important SAS job (hold prograde for launch).   

-On the flip side, reusable craft can save a lot in the long run.  So it may be worth spending more on a ship that will meet your needs for a while.  Rather then sending a new Mun lander each time, consider leaving a reusable lander in orbit, and bringing kerbals and fuel to it.  As time goes by you'll develop a more robust infrastructure, with space stations, ISRU refueling, shuttles, etc., so all you may need to pay for is getting Kerbals to orbit.

-Practice landing as close to the KSC as possible to maximize the refund on your parts.  The Trajectories mod is very useful for this.  

-If you can, try to land with your expensive (but light) science instruments rather than ditching them on the final stage.  But don't go overboard designing elaborate, heavy methods to protect them.  Mystery Goo tends to blow up but it's pretty expendable.  As noted above, it's even better to leave those instruments on resuable craft.  

-It's not really an early game tip, but SSTO planes are stupid cheap for transporting Kerbals to LKO.  Like 1000 or 2000 funds to lift 4-6 kerbals, if you can get back to the runway (you're only paying for fuel, and jets are very light on fuel).  Don't be afraid to spend money on an SSTO you can fly well because if all goes as planned, you'll get all part costs refunded.  

 

 

 

[GoSlash27]

 In addition to the above, I'm a big fan of rescue contracts. You're basically getting paid handsomely to add experienced kerbals to your roster.

 I'm also big on satellite contracts, but always read the fine print before accepting them.

Edited September 4, 2016 by GoSlash27