Career / Scenario Gameplay Suggestion

[DOOM89]

I just had an idea for the upcoming career mode and thought it would be awesome if you started the game with nothing more than a launch pad, you take contracts to launch satellites ect to earn cash, then once you get enough cash you can build more buildings like the tracking station and vab ect...

Also i think it would be cool if you could build a R&D Building for making new and more advanced parts and a factory for building the parts and eventually build yourself a fully functional space center with factories, R&D labs, astronaut complexes, a visitor center to earn extra cash, ground based telescopes, use the R&D lab to make space telescope parts, the list goes on.

Let me know what you think or just tell me if this has already been suggested

EDIT: I also think there should be different tiers of buildings, for instance a tier 1 launch pad can only launch small rockets with unmanned satellites, then tier 2 is the small one-manned spacecraft and eventually tier 3 would be the big multi-kerbal crewed rockets for interplanetary missions or something close, the different tier factories and R&D labs would build bigger parts and research faster as their tier increases.

Edited August 1, 2013 by DOOM89
Had extra things to add

[Beeman]

I really like the idea of upgrading buildings and kind of suggested it in another thread(though as a side-note to the topic in that thread).

However, I don't really know if starting with just the launch pad is quite how career mode is going to work. I suppose I can see it making sense if the first couple missions are tutorial missions, but then...you'd wind up doing the same boring launches every time you screw your budget and have to start over. It'd probably just be better(and more than likely what they're planning) to just start with all the buildings, limited budget and missions where you have to build your own rockets to launch things. Though it'd be cool if missions gave you a premade payload for some private contracts, maybe...and you had to build or reuse a decent lifter.

[DOOM89]

I really like the idea of upgrading buildings and kind of suggested it in another thread(though as a side-note to the topic in that thread).

However, I don't really know if starting with just the launch pad is quite how career mode is going to work. I suppose I can see it making sense if the first couple missions are tutorial missions, but then...you'd wind up doing the same boring launches every time you screw your budget and have to start over. It'd probably just be better(and more than likely what they're planning) to just start with all the buildings, limited budget and missions where you have to build your own rockets to launch things. Though it'd be cool if missions gave you a premade payload for some private contracts, maybe...and you had to build or reuse a decent lifter.

The Contracts would pay a set amount for taking the contract which would be paid regardless of a successful launch but would pay a nice bonus for completing it so you would make money off every contract, i could see there being various contract difficulties from very easy to very hard, the very easy ones would cover the costs of the launch if you fail and pay a nice fee for completion but the harder ones would pay less of a start fee but would pay significantly more on completion, and each contract would give you a set launch vehicle to use or you could use your own. i dont like the thought of starting the game with every building because that would be less things to work for. so by starting with a tier 1 launch pad and by taking contracts you can build a better launch pad or a tier 1 VAB to build small unmanned launch vehicles ect...

[Scoundrel]

I'm starting a rumour that the Devs specifically stated that career mode will start with much more primitive parts and buildings:

• The VAB and SPH will be old cardboard boxes duct-taped together and decorated with glued-on macaroni and sparkles.

• The first rocket will be made from 2l bottles of Kerba-Kola, with Kermentos as the oxidizer.

• The first satellite will be made from old batteries, a bent coat hanger, two barbecue spatulas and will use duct tape for struts.

• Your first mission will be to get that satellite past 30km altitude, whereupon you will unlock the first crew capsule: a garbage can with a hatch made from a screen door, piloted using old Kertari game controllers, and using a kerbil in a kerbil wheel as an early reaction wheel.

Obviously they'll add more but that's as far as they got before they passed out.*

*I swear this is all true, except for the stuff I made up.

[rakutenshi]

I'd be happy with a budget implementation, and a list of goals/milestones as an interim campaign placeholder. Each goal/milestone you check off increases your per-launch budget/number of flights simultaneously active.

[Beeman]

I would actually love it if we started with cardboard computers in the tracking station and mission control building and other such silliness...then as you progress in technology, everything becomes cleaner and more advanced looking. That's basically how I suggested it in the...chalkboard thread, I think.

Anyways, to the doom person, we'll have plenty of stuff to work toward. They've already got resources, more science stuff, repairing and potentially life support(at least very simplistic life support) all percolating in their minds right now. We're also going to work off of a technology tree, unlocking bigger and better parts as we progress...not to mention the fact that we'll have to use the observatory to /discover/ all the planets before attempting to travel to them.

So starting with just the launch pad and practically forcing us to run the same handful of tutorial flights every time we make a new game for whatever reason is just tedious. Doesn't add much to the progression, just makes the introduction grating for anyone who's already done it.

I do still like the idea of upgrading your buildings as you go, either directly via pouring funding into them(for added functionality or precision as the case may be) or indirectly by simply climbing up the tech tree. So with any luck, we'll see that in some way, even if the only visual changes are made on the interiors of each building.

[Dotower]

I think that we are beginning to need a kind of "motivation", goals to achieve and constraints in accomplishing tasks.

In my opinion it would be extremely stimulating to have space services to develop and build up.

A great starting point could be "populating" Kerbin: creating cities, countries, thus technological needs!

Satellite communication systems (for Kerbin customers, interplanetary spacecrafts, bases on other planets), GPS, Kerbinstationary satellites, scientific observation probes, various constellations of satellites, etc.

Of course, all this would perfectly fit and develop with research and (I hope soon implemented) economy. The idea of accepting contracts from privates, companies and space agencies looks great!

In a less near future some AI opponents could be added. These could be the seeds for starting space races and competiton.

Another good and helpful feature would be allowing the possibility of "record" a space mission (spacecraft+launcher, ascent trajectory, orbit insertion, phasing maneuvers, rendez-vous approaching trajectories) and then automatically repeat it whenever needed. For example, I really wished something like this when building a couple of space stations.

But maybe this should be written in another topic.

I apologise for being a little bit confusing, but I hope my opinion will be helpful.