Kerbal Space Suit Progression

[Bej Kerman]

Just now, kspnerd122 said:

Perhaps Heat Resistant suits would be nice for exploring scorched worlds covered in seas of lava, along with suits that are capable of increasing mobility, Bipropellant jetpacks perhaps

Not once has it been explained how this is satisfying gameplay wise or why just grinding for the tech to build a rocket isn't enough. I'm not putting suggestions down, I'm explaining that just saying "what if we had to grind for X to explore Y after already grinding for Z to make it possible to tediously develop rocket W to get there?" does not make for a very convincing suggestion. I'm sure thought is solely being put into the novelty than the inherent pointlessness of adding arbitrary brick walls to a game that already has you spending days or weeks building and flying missions in addition to the time you spent getting the parts to mount a mission, or even just how these things impact gameplay when the player isn't directly interacting with them. Maybe just leave suits out of progression completely or stick to bonus upgrades as opposed to progression barriers?

[Heretic391]

We can have custom suit costumes like pikakcu 

 

[pandaman]

16 hours ago, Bej Kerman said:

Not once has it been explained how this is satisfying gameplay wise...

We all find different aspects satifying in different  ways.  The same could  be said about many aspects of upgrading 'normal' tech...  Engines, Ladders, wheels, bigger parachutes  etc.  that you need to develop in order to explore different environments.

I certainly don’t think it's a big deal, and I think more than one or two 'specialist' suits would be overkill.  But the concept of needing to take a specialised piece of kit (suit in this case)  to fulfil a certain  task (EVA underwater, or in extreme heat)  is not really different gameplay wise to taking a thermometer to measure temperature, or a parachute to land on Eve.   No, it doesn't add a lot, but it does add a little bit more 'flavour'.

[Bej Kerman]

1 hour ago, pandaman said:

but it does add a little bit more 'flavour'

Are you sure it'd add flavour, or is that just how the idea plays out in your head? Not an accusation, I promise, I just want to remind everyone that there's such thing as people who suggest things for games, get what they wish (whether they were listened to or found a mod) and seeing the idea in action, realise it is not at all what they thought it'd feel like.

[pandaman]

 

14 hours ago, Bej Kerman said:

Are you sure it'd add flavour, or is that just how the idea plays out in your head? Not an accusation, I promise, I just want to remind everyone that there's such thing as people who suggest things for games, get what they wish (whether they were listened to or found a mod) and seeing the idea in action, realise it is not at all what they thought it'd feel like.

Well, not flavour in a taste sense obviously.

See it more of like a specialised tool that you need for certain tasks.

and with it not being 'standard issue' or an automatic upgrade (which would be pointless) it would make the environments you need it for feel a bit more special. 

Certainly not something I would get excited about, or at all upset if not included, 

[cocoscacao]

Everybody forgot one thing. How would that be incorporated with colonies? I guess kerbals will have some work to do outside of "space houses". Monitor mining equipment, make zen gardens with the sand from duna, etc... 

Interesting to ponder upon, but more thought would be needed to incorporate it properly. 

[Bej Kerman]

3 hours ago, pandaman said:

Well, not flavour in a taste sense obviously.

I know

3 hours ago, pandaman said:

See it more of like a specialised tool that you need for certain tasks.

That's what I'm saying

3 hours ago, pandaman said:

and with it not being 'standard issue' or an automatic upgrade (which would be pointless) it would make the environments you need it for feel a bit more special. 

And is that just how the idea plays in your head? I am just saying, instead of focusing on how special you think it's going to make those places feel, why not also play in your head the thought of forgetting a required space suit and not realising until you've already landed, and how devastating that'd be for such a tiny thing to ruin possibly hours or days of nannying a slow-to-turn mothership. How does that near-to-negligible benefit of certain places feeling more special justify another weak link in the chain of decisions you make when designing a mission? The only way I would (begrudgingly) accept this is if it's automatic like the Mission Control upgrades of KSP 1.  The flavour you describe, that other people might not agree on, might not necessarily even outweigh the detriments in the first place. All I'm saying is that the cons ultimately decide if the pros are worth anything and that the usual pattern of suggestions I see for any game is that people will go on at length on the novelty or flavour of their suggestions instead of how it might be a detriment to the game, instead of doing a proper assessment of the impacts of certain features. I merely want to be a reminder of that fact, I'm not saying this suggestion has 0 merit, I'm saying there are cons being ignored because people think ideally that it'd just be a nice bit of flavour when there's a lot more going on with the consequences of seemingly minor suggestions. I only go on at length so my exact thoughts are being articulated and I hope I succeeded in that.

[pandaman]

28 minutes ago, Bej Kerman said:

3 hours ago, pandaman said:

 

And is that just how the idea plays in your head? I am just saying, instead of focusing on how special you think it's going to make those places feel, why not also play in your head the thought of forgetting a required space suit and not realising until you've already landed...

Which is no different to forgetting batteries, parachutes, solar panels, ladders, comms, science experiments  etc.  Obvious stuff that you will need to take with you in order to do the job you are going for, any one of which, if forgotten, can ruin your day.

I do understand your point, and I don't fully disagree, it is an 'extra thing' to think about and take along after all, and I can see why it may not appeal.

But that's the mission planning and design process, decide what you want to accomplish, work out what you need to take to achieve it and plan accordingly.

[Royalswissarmyknife]

I feel like this is a good idea with modifications

Maybe just for science mode

you start off with a suit that cant eva

get one that can but is clunky at it

then you get magnetic boots and can go eva on atmosphere less body's

then you can eva anywhere

just as a extra incentive to unlock the tech tree and forces you to plan what to research more

[pandaman]

8 hours ago, Royalswissarmyknife said:

I feel like this is a good idea with modifications

Maybe just for science mode

you start off with a suit that cant eva

get one that can but is clunky at it

then you get magnetic boots and can go eva on atmosphere less body's

then you can eva anywhere

just as a extra incentive to unlock the tech tree and forces you to plan what to research more

I think a little differently, though not massively.

Rather than it being a simple blanket 'upgrade' to the standard suit that gives extra capabilities to everyone.  I would envisage upgrading as you suggest, to the point where the 'standard' EVA suit is the current one, but without a jetpack as a standard attachment.  Essentially as in later KSP1 with the inventory system.  

Everyone has an EVA suit so they can walk around most planetary surfaces or do tethered EVA in space, but you can save weight by only taking jetpacks or parachutes etc for the few that will need it if you wish.    

There is also the opportunity to develop specialised suits for harsher environments and, like jetpacks, you decide how many to carry depending on your plans.

These wouldn't be assigned to any specific crew, they would be in the inventory and available to all to use as required.

Yes it does add some complications and fiddliness, but no more than KSP1s inventory system.

[Lowi_Sace]

10 hours ago, pandaman said:

Everyone has an EVA suit so they can walk around most planetary surfaces or do tethered EVA in space, but you can save weight by only taking jetpacks or parachutes etc for the few that will need it if you wish.

would be cool. But also of you progress with the tech tree it will gain function and become lighter/more flexible. maybe stuff like the suit in the picture 

 

10 hours ago, pandaman said:

There is also the opportunity to develop specialised suits for harsher environments and, like jetpacks, you decide how many to carry depending on your plans

yeah like specialised suits fot lava planets, very thick atmosphere (like eve) of jigh radiation (close to sun)