The No Contract Career Challenge

[Superfluous J]

 

The No Contract Career Challenge

You may not accept any contracts from Mission Control
Yes, this includes the gimme "Do science on the launchpad" contract.
NONE CONTRACTS
You can only make money from auto-completed contracts.
(Though you may get help from the Administration Building)
The Goal: Upgrade every building in the Space Center to Level 3

Rules:

Rules? There are no rules! Actually, there are rules.

1. Stock functionality for science, funds, and reputation amounts gained/lost is a MUST.
2. Stock functionality for upgrading buildings is a MUST. You cannot use any mods that change the prices for buildings or upgrade them without the stock purchase upgrades.
3. You can have mods that automatically collect currencies (mostly science) but you cannot add opportunities to gain currencies where they do not exist in the stock game. So no extra science parts, and no achievement systems that grant funds or rep.
4. If you have ANY mods that change gameplay in ANY way (yes, this includes KER and Trajectories) then you will be in the MODDED category. Visual/atmospheric mods that do NOT affect gameplay (like Chatterer and EVE) are fine, and you will still have STOCK status.
5. Play on any mode you'd like, however this challenge is really intended for NORMAL mode. State what mode you're in, and if you're in CUSTOM explain what settings made it custom.
6. And don't just make a custom game with maximum funds and minimum costs.
7. Feel free to add any restrictions you'd like, such as no Science Lab, no Strategies, etc. I'll note them on the Winner's Board when you complete the challenge.
8. Not a rule, but more of a note: Some of the Admin Building strategies can make this challenge easier, so much so that I'll be noting on the winner board if you used it or not. I did, so don't feel judged or anything

No points, just kudos for completion. This is a large enough endeavor to reward completion in any form.

---- PARTICIPANTS -----

This is the list of people playing, but who have not yet completed. Please correct any mistakes I put here so I can put you accurately on the Winner's board.

• @Scarecrow71 Modded Normal mode with MechJeb and various other common QOL mods. Plan A is no strategies. Check out the thread here.
• @Superfluous J (Me again!) Modded Normal mode, most notably ForScience to collect science without thinking about it.
• @Watermel00n Stock Normal with some nasty personal restrictions and a thread right here.
• @Death Engineering Stock Custom (Mostly Normal) with some self restrictions to make it harder than is typical. Read about it all right here.

---- WINNERS -----

1. @Cunjo Carl is our first winner! Stock Normal mode with the "Leadership Initiative" Admin strategy.
2. @Human Person Modded Custom mode, mostly Normal but disabling Kerbal XP (so everybody is fully leveled up from the start?) and maximum G-forces. Self-imposed no admin building rule. Converted ore to monopropellant to make the final money.
3. @5thHorseman (Me!) Modded Normal mode using Kerbal Environmental Institute and ForScience to make science gathering happen entirely automatically. Used all 3 "get more money" admin stategies and also sold thousands of Science points for cash at the end to finish up.
4. @dvader Modded Custom mode, mostly Normal but with G-force limits. Used ForScience and AlwaysAllowActionGroups to remove some grind. No science lab, ore conversion exploits, or admin strategies.
5. @Kergarin Stock Custom mode, mostly Normal plus "require signal for control", "plasma blackout" and all pressure/g force limits activated. Fully reusable space program for 0 waste (except fuel). No admin strategies.
6. @purpleivan Modded Normal. No admin strategies used. Check out his thread "Out of Contract" here.
7. @ralanboyle Modded Normal. KER and ForScience, most notably. Ended with a Jool 5!
8. @xendelaar Modded Normal. KER and MechJeb (unused). No strategies or Breaking Ground science. He has his own thread for the challenge.
9. @RoninFrog Stock Normal. Lots of recovered boosters and an epic twin Jool 5 dance with two ships that I'd never, ever want to dock once. little alone over half a dozen times.
10. @king of nowhere Stock Normal Mode with some harsh constraints and 3 missions in total to complete the challenge. See the thread here.
11. @18Watt Stock Custom (mostly Normal) with a great thread starting here.
12. @18Watt (again!) Stock Custom (mostly Normal) attempting to not use the MPL for science. And here's the thread start.
13. @TheFlyingKerman Stock Custom settings that are "Normal with action groups" and a thread right here for it.

---- THE ROGUES' GALLERY -----

This list is for those who decided to take this basic idea in a different direction.

• @bayesian_acolyte RSS and stock parts. Which I thought was impossible WITH contracts. Check out his thread here.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Superfluous J

[Superfluous J]

Thanks to @Cunjo Carl, @dvader, and others here's some ways to get cash. You get these without accepting contracts.

(Copied from this post here)

World's First Funds

Right at Home Goodies First launch, science & recovery 6.4k total Speed records (9.6k each)  25, 80, 250, 790, 2500 m/s Distance records (9.6k each)  1, 3, 10, 32, 100 km Altitude records (9.6k each) .5, 2, 7, 22, 70 km Depth records (9.6k each) First Splash: 4.8K First surface return (from orbit?): 1.4K

Kerbin Goodies Reach Space 16k Orbit Kerbin 24k Spacewalk 12K Escape Grav Infl. 6k Return from Kerbin orbit 24k Leave Kerbin SOI 26.5k Sun Flyby 38k

Mun Goodies Flyby 26k Science 12.5K Orbit 25k Spacewalk 15.6K Suborbit 26k Landing 31.2k Walk 12.5K Flag 12.5K Escape 18.7K Rtrn Flyby 26.0K Rtrn Orbit  25.0K Rtrn Surf  31.2K

Minmus Goodies Flyby 29k Science 13.9K Orbit 27.8k Spacewalk 17.4K Suborbit 29k Landing 34.8k Walk 13.9K Flag 13.9K Escape 20.8K Rtrn Flyby 29.0K Rtrn Orbit  27.8K Rtrn Surf  34.8K

* Some values from v1.0.5 are mixed in, but I don't think those particular ones have changed.

World's First Funds for Other Planets

Planet Multipliers varies  -  Kerbin 1.04  -  Mun 1.16  -  Minmus 1.52  -  Sun 2.24  -  Moho 1.76  -  Eve 2.00  -  Gilly 1.76  -  Duna 1.76  -  Ike 2.00  -  Dres 2.00  -  Jool 2.48  -  Laythe 2.48  -  Vall 2.48  -  Tylo 2.48  -  Bop 2.48  -  Pol 2.96  -  Eeloo ~32.5  -  Total

Funds per Record 25k  -  Flyby 12k  -  Science 24k  -  Orbit 15k  -  Spacewalk 25k  -  Suborbit 24K  - Atmo Flight 30k  -  Landing 12k  -  Walk 12k  -  Flag 18k  -  Leave SOI 25k  -  Return Flyby 24k  -  Return Orbit 30k  -  Return Surf 24k  -  Rendezvous 16k  -  Docking 36k  -  Station Star ~328k-352k  - Total

You also get cash for finding anomalies, though not much. So if you know where they are, landing near one when you were going to land anyway is a good idea. A dedicated mission to find a Mun arch is not.

Edited September 19, 2020 by Superfluous J

[Superfluous J]

(Hey if nobody else wants to, I'll keep going my own self)

https://imgur.com/gallery/DFg5x

This time It's a quick Mun flyby, mostly to earn the money to upgrade Mission Control and the Tracking Station, so I'll actually be able to use Maneuver Nodes and Patched Conics on future missions.

[MarvinKitFox]

Ok, so by your example, the correct way to do this challenge is to:

1) locate a mod that gives oodles and oodles of noodles worth of FREE science.

what happened to:

22 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

Rules:

Rules? There are no rules! Actually, there are rules.

1. Stock functionality for science, funds, and reputation amounts gained/lost is a MUST.

2) claim win?

 

Sorry, count me out!

Edited February 16, 2018 by MarvinKitFox
lousy cheater

[Superfluous J]

3 minutes ago, MarvinKitFox said:

Ok, so by your example, the correct way to do this challenge is to:

1) locate a mod that gives oodles and oodles of noodles worth of FREE science.

You may misunderstand the science I gained. It took no work, but with menial, unchallenging work I could have gotten it all the same. The mod allowed me to get the science but it came from the stock game.

Blame KSP for giving you hundreds of science points on your front doorstep, not the mod. Or my challenge.

[MarvinKitFox]

Just now, 5thHorseman said:

You may misunderstand the science I gained. It took no work, but with menial, unchallenging work I could have gotten it all the same. The mod allowed me to get the science but it came from the stock game.

Blame KSP for giving you hundreds of science points on your front doorstep, not the mod. Or my challenge.

Ok, so how about I use the plugin "Notepad" and set science=100000000000 ?

 

[Superfluous J]

Just now, MarvinKitFox said:

Ok, so how about I use the plugin "Notepad" and set science=100000000000 ?

 

If you do not see the difference between that and this, then I can't convince you.

As someone who has gone around the KSC dozens of times to collect science, I can attest to its presence and ease of capture.

I can also attest to its not helping you buy building upgrades.

[Blasty McBlastblast]

I'm making an entry for this challenge, but have started a mission thread so as not to clutter things up too much 

I'm really enjoying things so far... at first I didn't think there would be enough rewards to make a career economical, however normal difficulty is very forgiving and things are generally making a profit (for now!)

The unexpected challenge-within-the-challenge is realising that you need to do something different every flight in order to get ahead! 

Edited February 18, 2018 by Blasty McBlastblast

[Cunjo Carl]

Hey! I've got the World's first funds values, which will probably be handy for folks getting in to this:

(EDIT: Removed chart for clarity. It was missing a few things, which I brought all together just a few posts down)

 

The funds for other planets are the same as Mun/Minmus just with a multiplier. I could probably dig up the values from an old save if desired.

Best of luck, everyone!

 

My progress so far:  I flew 2 quick hops across KSC with partially loaded fleas to get the thermometer/barometer and then the science bay. One more hop to get liquid engines, and then I built this two-stager to take Bob up to high orbit. Funds were so short I had to scrimp on fuel to get it out the door! For the orbit I thought about going polar for science, but kept it equatorial so I could land by KSC. To my surprise I got 9.5k back on this 14k rocket, so I'm glad I did! Net so far: ~250k funds & ~400 science. Next trip will be a Mun suborbital flight. After that maybe a Minmus biome crawler? Man, surface samples feel impossibly far away right now

 

Edited February 19, 2018 by Cunjo Carl

[Superfluous J]

3 hours ago, Cunjo Carl said:

Hey! I've got the World's first funds values, which will probably be handy for folks getting in to this

Sweet, though there are more than that. You also get funds for leaving and entering SOIs for the first time, and returning home from for the first time. Not 100% but I think you also get a little for the first flag planted.

[Toastie_Buns]

I'd be tempted to restrict admin building use. I used it to nuke my reputation in return for funds because I forgot to set reputation at the start of the game and was surprised at how much you get for nuking rep. So this challenge is kinda like my usual game! (except now I'm untrustworthy with buckets of funds!)

I usually roll my eyes at people nitpicking challenges, now I feel bad D: Just a heads up I guess?

 

[Cunjo Carl]

On 2/19/2018 at 2:55 AM, 5thHorseman said:

Sweet, though there are more than that. You also get funds for leaving and entering SOIs for the first time, and returning home from for the first time. Not 100% but I think you also get a little for the first flag planted.

How on earth did I miss those. Was it something from v1.2 when I took my data? Maybe I just truncated it for space? Regardless, thanks for the catch. Updating!

World's First Funds

Right at Home Goodies First launch, science & recovery 6.4k total Speed records (9.6k each)  25, 80, 250, 790, 2500 m/s Distance records (9.6k each)  1, 3, 10, 32, 100 km Altitude records (9.6k each) .5, 2, 7, 22, 70 km Depth records (9.6k each) First Splash: 4.8K First surface return (from orbit?): 1.4K

Kerbin Goodies Reach Space 16k Orbit Kerbin 24k Spacewalk 12K Escape Grav Infl. 6k Return from Kerbin orbit 24k Leave Kerbin SOI 26.5k Sun Flyby 38k

Mun Goodies Flyby 26k Science 12.5K Orbit 25k Spacewalk 15.6K Suborbit 26k Landing 31.2k Walk 12.5K Flag 12.5K Escape 18.7K Rtrn Flyby 26.0K Rtrn Orbit  25.0K Rtrn Surf  31.2K

Minmus Goodies Flyby 29k Science 13.9K Orbit 27.8k Spacewalk 17.4K Suborbit 29k Landing 34.8k Walk 13.9K Flag 13.9K Escape 20.8K Rtrn Flyby 29.0K Rtrn Orbit  27.8K Rtrn Surf  34.8K

* Some values from v1.0.5 are mixed in, but I don't think those particular ones have changed.

World's First Funds for Other Planets

Planet Multipliers varies  -  Kerbin 1.04  -  Mun 1.16  -  Minmus 1.52  -  Sun 2.24  -  Moho 1.76  -  Eve 2.00  -  Gilly 1.76  -  Duna 1.76  -  Ike 2.00  -  Dres 2.00  -  Jool 2.48  -  Laythe 2.48  -  Vall 2.48  -  Tylo 2.48  -  Bop 2.48  -  Pol 2.96  -  Eeloo ~32.5  -  Total

Funds per Record 25k  -  Flyby 12k  -  Science 24k  -  Orbit 15k  -  Spacewalk 25k  -  Suborbit 24K  - Atmo Flight 30k  -  Landing 12k  -  Walk 12k  -  Flag 18k  -  Leave SOI 25k  -  Return Flyby 24k  -  Return Orbit 30k  -  Return Surf 24k  -  Rendezvous 16k  -  Docking 36k  -  Station Star ~328k-352k  - Total

EDIT: Due to new world's firsts being discovered (thanks @dvader! ) there is much more money available than we talked about in the following. Good news!

In versions previous, everything has just scaled based on multipliers, so it's easy to know how much you'll get before you go. I just rechecked the planet multipliers, but haven't rechecked all the situations. Maybe someone could coroborate or point out problems as we go? This means, without strategies, we can get ~8M funds from World's firsts, and I think upgrading the whole facility takes something like 6.5M? It's close at any rate. I think the Leadership strategy will be a must, but I'm going to see if I can do just that one and nothing else.

 

Edited February 26, 2018 by Cunjo Carl

[GKSP]

Before that post, I was going to ask how you get funds without contracts.  Thanks.

[Superfluous J]

So @Cunjo Carl from what I can see, there is a total of 31 times 252k funds, not counting aerodynamics stuff (for simplicity). That's 7,812k funds, or probably (Once you add atmo stuff) right around 8 million funds. Enough to unlock everything, but you need to do a lot. Exactly what I was hoping. I was pretty sure the funds were available after doing my Gilly mission, but it's nice to have the math

[TheFlyingKerman]

One should be able to get some funds by visiting places like the crashed UFO.

[Blasty McBlastblast]

@TheFlyingKerman is correct, visiting an easter egg counts as a milestone!

Spoiler

we have discovered....

• an abandoned island airfield on Kerbin (4,800 funds)
• some desert pyramids on Kerbin (4,800 funds)
• an abandoned space centre on Kerbin (4,800 funds)
• a vessel of unknown origin on Kerbin (4,800 funds)
• the memorial of a legendary kerbonaut on the Mun (16,640 funds)

I'll soon post my today's missions where Val and Jeb visit some easter egg sites, once I manage to get everyone home safely that is!

[Cunjo Carl]

3 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

So @Cunjo Carl from what I can see, there is a total of 31 times 252k funds, not counting aerodynamics stuff (for simplicity). That's 7,812k funds, or probably (Once you add atmo stuff) right around 8 million funds. Enough to unlock everything, but you need to do a lot. Exactly what I was hoping. I was pretty sure the funds were available after doing my Gilly mission, but it's nice to have the math

Totally, and one item to add is that the leadership strategy significantly increases returns from World's Firsts. The biggest troubles with it are that it's 1: expensive and 2: has an insane minimum rep requirement beyond 50%.

I sent Bob out for a Mun walk, and now a drive around Minmus. With the funds starting to roll in, and before gearing up for Duna, I'm trying to decide if I want to get Tier 2 Science or VAB first... it's really a tricky decision. With science I could get deltaV saving things like a command chair, but with the VAB I could get lovely things like landing legs and asparagus stages.

   
  This booster has an unexpected 'weight savings' feature where the tailfins blow off at 20km.             Turn out the lights! There wasn't room in the part budget for batteries so Bob's steering in .05G

[Superfluous J]

25 minutes ago, Cunjo Carl said:

Totally, and one item to add is that the leadership strategy significantly increases returns from World's Firsts. The biggest troubles with it are that it's 1: expensive and 2: has an insane minimum rep requirement beyond 50%.

Also, good luck gaining an insane (or even a sane) amount of rep when you're not taking any contracts

[Superfluous J]

18 hours ago, Toastie_Buns said:

I'd be tempted to restrict admin building use. I used it to nuke my reputation in return for funds because I forgot to set reputation at the start of the game and was surprised at how much you get for nuking rep. So this challenge is kinda like my usual game! (except now I'm untrustworthy with buckets of funds!)

I usually roll my eyes at people nitpicking challenges, now I feel bad D: Just a heads up I guess?

 

No problem with the nitpicking, though I found that nuking rep for funds was not all that lucrative, and I could not really use it regularly because - with no contracts to do - the game was very stingy with rep. How much were you getting? And were you on Normal mode?

[Human Person]

I'll join the challenge too!

I play in Normal settings with a few changes:

-Disabled Kerbal XP

-Enabled Max G-Forces (and put it to 0.60, just for fun)

 

Thinking of making a separate thread in Mission reports too like @Blasty McBlastblast, or should I not?

[Superfluous J]

9 hours ago, Human Person said:

Thinking of making a separate thread in Mission reports too like @Blasty McBlastblast, or should I not?

Welcome to the challenge! I don't mind either way, I like a busy thread but will read external ones too.

EDIT: By the way, this is my TEN THOUSANDTH POST.

10,000. Man. That's a lot of thousands.

Edited February 21, 2018 by 5thHorseman
OVER 9000!

[dvader]

Yes, I'm in. This sounds fun. Like the Cave Man but different...

If I understand the rules correctly, any mod that gathers science without modifying the amount is OK? I'm thinking of using For Science! to avoid some of the grind. I'd also like to use "Always Allow ActionGroups" if that's OK. But, I'll compensate with G-limits for parts and Kerbals

I never really liked the MPL since it is just too powerful so I might try to go without it this time. But, I reserve the right to change my mind... Also, no strategies. I never liked them either.

 

[Human Person]

Settings: normal with small tweaks in advanced settings

Mods: Yes: Mechjeb, Trajectories and other info and visual mods. no part mods

I will not use the Admin building

 

1st Flight is trivial. Messed staging up though

Spoiler

 

Science gained: 30 

Funds: 74k

 

2nd flight:  SSTO rocket to orbit and back. landed west of the KSC continent. Took me 2 tries

Spoiler

 

Science now: 92

Funds: 237k

Edited February 20, 2018 by Human Person

[Superfluous J]

34 minutes ago, dvader said:

If I understand the rules correctly, any mod that gathers science without modifying the amount is OK? I'm thinking of using For Science! to avoid some of the grind. I'd also like to use "Always Allow ActionGroups" if that's OK. But, I'll compensate with G-limits for parts and Kerbals

I use for science myself so yes it's okay. And changes to settings are fine. On the winner list you'll be "Modded Custom" with a note that the customization made the game harder.

Edited February 20, 2018 by 5thHorseman

[MinimalMinmus]

It's kind of a "reverse caveman". It looks fun!

I may try, one day or another.

I'd see difficulty levels, too.