Share your career settings!

[Wjolcz]

Just in case someone is wondering: This is not one of my rant threads. I want to actually enjoy this game for once.

So I was thinking recently about starting a new save. Throw the Historical Tech Tree (and some other essential mods) into the game and set the science output to 0% and funds output to higher than average. That way I will be able to "buy" the tech nodes (not really tho, but it's the closest I can simulate it in the stock game, will probably need to cheat in extra cash to upgrade the Admin Building first), simply by exchanging money for science whenever I find a need for a new node.

Yeah, I know it took me a while to realize that I can do that. I'm not a smart man.

I know @regex has some stock presets he enjoys. Knowing that he is an RSS fan I'd like to have a go at them myself. So do you guys have some settings you particularly like? Maybe they have some pros and some cons? Please share them either by posting a screenshot or simply saying what you do in order to enjoy the career mode.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Veeltch

[Superfluous J]

I don't do RSS, but I've been having fun in "mostly stock" with the following:

Hard mode (I found that the science and money gains are about right for me, and I don't even pay attention to rep so don't really care. I found that under 60% feels way too grindy, and over feels like I'm cheating).

Then I change:

Quickload/revert, turn back on. I mean come on.
Resource Abundance back to 100%. Seems like more grind otherwise.
Starting Funds $0. Just a tiny little extra challenge at the start.
Decline Penalty 1 (It's 3 on Hard. I prefer 0 but actually find I like the incentive not to play roulette. You win this round, Squad)
Turn on Part and Kerbal G limits, and part Pressure limits.
Always Allow Action Groups ON. I'm trying to re-train myself to actually use them.
Plasma Blackout ON.
Range Modifier back to 100%, actually 101% because the slider won't go exactly to 100%.

This, along with Automated Science Sampler, makes for a nice early career. I've gone all the way to Duna with it and been pretty happy.

[Sharpy]

I've challenged myself with 'direct connection to KSC' - no extra stations. The probes have a limited control without connection though - I wouldn't think retracting the antenna meaning bricking the probe to be fun. Other than that, pretty standard. I *like* the science system, so I left it on defaults (although I mercilessly exploit mods that willy-nilly threw in OP parts into the middle of the tech tree; a probe core with full SAS on Okto level? Why not?). Also, dear Kerbodyne, please don't expect any results of your Vector engine test in suborbital Minmus flight anytime soon

 

[regex]

Well, since you asked...

My current career is, I think, using 80% funds and rep, 50% science, 100% penalties, 3 rep per rejection, 120% heating and 50% resource abundance (I don't mine, so there's that), all gee-force mechanics, kerbals leveling automagically, no plasma blackout (because it affects launching and I manually launch everything), and 100% on the commnet sliders. I use all commnet stations because building relay networks is stupid (although I might put a geosynch relay up to handle launches, which is usually what I do in RO/RSS).

This resulted in a bit of a slump which required two Minmus biome hopping expeditions and some random contracts, but I'm now in the "doors blown wide open" phase and heading to Eve and Duna.

E: And I see you're quoting my playing of RO/RSS in terms of my stock play. Here's the thing though, playing RO/RSS doesn't really mean you're playing a harder game. Sure, you have limited ignitions and rarely can throttle engines and things like that but it's not really harder, there's just more to consider. Launches are longer which means your initial orbit can be much more precise even without throttling, making things easier than stock, but you don't have magical reaction wheels so you always have to remember RCS, and then there's space TWR which I prefer low in stock and high in RSS for reasons of precision and timeliness respectively, etc... I like detail, which RO provides over stock, but I don't exactly think it makes me a more hardcore gamer.

Edited October 18, 2016 by regex

[Chabadarl]

2 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

Always Allow Action Groups ON. I'm trying to re-train myself to actually use them.

Is that a new setting on 1.2 or did I miss something? I will love that.

 

 

While I am here, I suppose I can share my settings:

I play with Remote Tech to slow down my unmanned expansion and with TACLS to limit my manned explosion...

I start with 5000 science. I limit the science reward to something between 50 or 70%. So unlock first tier instantenously. I get some basics contracts and first stone and unlock the second tier with almost all of its tech nodes. I used to diminish the reward for money too. But as I tend to restart a new save often, I don't want to be slow down too much by money so I can rapidely take big projects.

 

Then I start expanding  trough the system taking contracts to finance my madness plans for Kerbanity and having a hard time unlocking the last tier because I lack science rewards.... 
This setup makes me fell like the modern space compagnies. The basic tech is available nowadays but funds and high tech is the graal... Then it's a question of imagination for big project... I will transform a planet into a farm for 1.2.... with as much greenhouse as possible to make sure no kerbal will suffer from hunger again...

 

[septemberWaves]

Usually I don't do a career in the intended way. I'll usually make it so that it's essentially a sandbox game with contracts and science, by maximizing starting resources and gains, and minimizing losses. In 1.2 however I plan to do a career game that's actually somewhat challenging, once all the mods I need are up to date.

[Superfluous J]

4 hours ago, Chabadarl said:

Is that a new setting on 1.2 or did I miss something? I will love that.

Yeah, people were (read: I was, and a couple others as well) that paywalling them behind VAB upgrades that are otherwise mostly useless for a long time in career was encouraging us to just not ever use them. By the time we unlocked them, we weren't even thinking in that realm anymore. It's in the advanced settings I think.

[Ciro1983811]

5 hours ago, regex said:

no plasma blackout (because it affects launching and I manually launch everything)

Nope! During last couple of prerelease builds the system was changed in the way that it will blackout only during reentries and not during ascents (tried it today)

[Guest]

☑ Sandbox
☐ Science
☐ Career

[Draco T stand-up guy]

When I start a new career (happens fairly often) I click on the Hard button and then make a few changes:

• Give myself 500k funds - allows me to update a couple of buildings straight off the bat
• Give myself ~2000 science - give me the entire early tech tree available with the base building
• Set science and money rewards back to 100% - at 60% I find the game too slow
• Turn pressure and g-forces on
• Require signal for control - Yes, I have lost ships and tourists when the ship has gone into one of the many blindspots that the DSN has around Kerbin LKO

Basic tab:

Advanced Tab:

[Hodari]

Start with Normal difficulty, Kerbals level up immediately, pressure and g limits on, always allow action groups, require signal for control, plasma blackout, Vacuum occlusion modifier to 1.00

Current playthrough is using Unmanned before Manned, TAC Life Support, and Bluedog Design Bureau along with a few visual mods.  Will add KER once it's updated as well.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Hodari

[regex]

46 minutes ago, Ciro1983811 said:

Nope! During last couple of prerelease builds the system was changed in the way that it will blackout only during reentries and not during ascents (tried it today)

That's cool but I can't imagine the blackout being long enough to even be immersive. vOv Don't really see a need for it but I'll definitely use it in RSS.

[Francois424]

I started a new career at default difficulty, with these changes :

• Giving myself 10'000'000 Kerbucks to unlock all facilities.  I want a career with missions and dealing with funds, but not spend time to unlock all buildings.
• Decline Penalty Zero for contracts.
• Signal required for control
• Occlusion Modifier maxxed (1.10) as signal passing thru a planet/moon irks me to no end.
• Might reduce Range modifier if Kerbin-ground-based antennas reaches too far down the line.  What is the use of a DSN if Kerbin, naked, can reach to Eeloo ?
• Kerbals level-up immediately (I loved that mod "Field Experience", not about to ignore it when it becomes stock).

It's my first game, I might tweak the numbers more if I am displeased with something

[Wjolcz]

Spoiler

Here are my settings for the "Scienceless Mode". I have the Historical Tech Tree, Field Research Contracts Pack, KerboKatz Small Utilities (for science-cash exchange widget), and Monthly Budgets (+ some essential extras like KIS/KAS, KAC, KER, etc.) and still waiting for Strategia to be updated. The science rewards set to 10% make the experiments kind of symbolic in usage, but can't do much about that (not until someone creates a proper experiments-for-rep mod).

So yeah, it's pretty fun and balanced so far. Still not what I wanted, but close enough. Will make a thread about it, just in case someone else would like to play the game the way I do.

EDIT: Oh, and by the way, I think I have disabled contracts funding. I recommend doing that because otherwise you might end up with the maximum amount of money (from contracts' rewards) even before the end of the month.

Edited October 23, 2016 by Veeltch

[Goddess Bhavani]

I like the different ideas here all aligned to individual preferences of gameplay and realism. 

 

I just installed 1.2 and immediately started off with adjusting Hard mode with: 

 

- 80 percent science and funding 

- plasma blackout and g/pressure limits on

- no revert or reload

- partial probe control on no signal 

- reentry heating 110%

I didn't notice revert was disabled until it was too late, Valentina and Jeb both died, the latter accidental because he snuck aboard an unmanned sub orbital capsule test that was not meant to be recoverable, the former because I was too rusty being away for a year. 

I hastily enforced a strict regimen of simplistic design and unmanned testing, helped along by the Sounding Rockets mod. 

By the time I went for orbital flights, every rocket design flew automatic gravity turns with no control input after ignition, and return probes likewise have enough passive stability to handle themselves on limited probe control. 

Also, along with the "no control" theme I used SRBs for first stages.  It's all fun and games until the uncontrolled stack with no abort mechanism starts flying horizontally at Mach 2 just under the cloud level...  

I have lost up to half a dozen rockets due to user error, keyboard failing mid flight  (loose usb plug), and not knowing the Level 2 launch pad will absolutely destroy spawning without a gantry. 

No refunds. 

Edited October 23, 2016 by pandoras kitten

[Draco T stand-up guy]

22 minutes ago, pandoras kitten said:

and not knowing the Level 2 launch pad will absolutely destroy spawning without a gantry.

Haven't had that happen and the launch pad is the first thing I update - can't do much with only 18 tonnes and my first launch is to orbit getting the first four contracts (the second thing I update is the admin building) in one go.

[Goddess Bhavani]

I use BACC SRBs as the first stage of small sats and manned orbital capsules. Each time I spawn in a BACC stack it gets thrown on its side. It would be funny to watch the dancing rockets but for the no revert option... 

 

No issue with that design on the level 1 pad. 

[Wjolcz]

Here's something in case anyone's interested:

 

[paul23]

I'm constantly rebuilding my difficulty for "balancing", so that I keep having to go through difficulties to make a profit from contracts. (Yet this also means updating some less profitable contracts to give either a good chunk of science or more become profitable).

 

I'm basically playing with TAC, RemoteTech (with delay enabled), KerbalConstructionTime - but made life easier with the mods "stage recovery" and "mechjeb". Started as "hard" but with reverting and quickloading, and science and reputation rewards reduced to 10% - and money to 20%. Finally I wrote my own plugins for modulemanager to allow finetuning of balancing:

stock balance - Fuel more expensive, some missions slightly more money. 

TAC balance - More weight on all containers, way less stuff can be placed in them.

[Geschosskopf]

On 10/18/2016 at 6:52 AM, Veeltch said:

So do you guys have some settings you particularly like?

I'm a sandbox guy at heart.  However, I enjoying having to build my colossal space empires on a somewhat limited budget, and I like to get science points even after I've finished the tech tree.  So the only reason I play career games at all is for those 2 purposes.  But life only begins when the tech tree ends, so I can then use all the top-shelf parts to build my colossal space empire.  Thus, my objective is always to blow through the tech tree as rapidly as possible, and I therefore use pretty easy settings.

• 200% rewards for science, money, and rep.  This is rationalized as being heavy government subsidies.
• Destructible buldings, permadeath
• Quicksaves and quickloads (because the game crashes)
• Don't need communications for control, because I set my games in the present day or near future, not the past, so I have autonomous vehicles.
• When available, I use CustomBarnKit to set the price of hiring Kerbals at a constant $10,000.  After all, they're totally unskilled so why should they cost as much as a Jool-5 mothership?  Besides, I refuse to play the silly "rescue roulette" thing, hoping to get the sort of Kerbal I need at the moment.  I've got better things to do with my time.  When CustomBarnKit is not available, I use Kustom Kerbals to make what I want for free.
• When available, I use FieldExperience so Kerbals can actually get OJT and be useful without having to come home.  Because most of them, being permanent colonists, aren't ever coming home.  I think this might be an option in the game now---can't remember.

[suicidejunkie]

13 hours ago, Geschosskopf said:

• When available, I use FieldExperience so Kerbals can actually get OJT and be useful without having to come home.  Because most of them, being permanent colonists, aren't ever coming home.  I think this might be an option in the game now---can't remember.

Have a science lab on site, and kerbals can be promoted inside.

[NSEP]

I never allow stock vehicles, i like to build things myself.

[Thrawn889]

im using the 'normal' mode atm. with KER, KAS, KIS and Planetary Bases INc oh and i use For Science (very useful mod cause i never know when i can do new science or not..) 

On this ive been to the Mun and Minimus and im 75 days from Duna orbit (not sure i can land or not XD)