The Space Race (The Glue of Career Mode)

[Insomn]

I imagine a way to make the game a bit more competitive would be to set up a space race between you and another faction of Kerbals across the globe. The Russian Kerbals, if you will. Piloted by a sort of mech-jeb and difficulty-adjustable, there will be a list of goals which will award points based on difficulty but also bonus points for beating your opponent, as well as recruits with better stats etc. Since there's the problem of getting stuck in a ten-year mission around the Sun and losing the game while in 100,000x warp, these goals will pretty much just be activated in order based on the mission plans that you set up in the control room before hand, and this will start the clock. This will provide incentive to use the control room and more points are awarded when you complete a mission within the parameters you have set yourself. When you create a mission your Mech opponent will have a launch date to try and make the same goal (difficulty adjustable). You will not get all the details except maybe its basics. Also, nothing stopping you from sabotaging their missions, which I imagine could be a lot of fun (if you like killing Kerbalnauts). However, there could also be a couple easter-egg missions where you actually have to come to their aid and help them with a rescue mission*, which will make them an ally and give you an R&D multiplier and maybe a couple secret parts. You might even be able to pay them to conduct missions alongside you, if you need them to help you with a station build, and maybe co-operative play could get you a little bonus as well. Just dont expect them to be able to lift your Orange-tank-array with any success.

This is an idea that really interests me. The game can get a bit lonely.

*I imagine you could have a text feed that updates you on your opponent's progress, and once in a while you'll see rockets that blew up on the launchpad, but sometimes you'll see "kerbalnauts trapped in space, running out of air" If you go to the mission control center you can plan a "rescue mission", which will then give you full disclosure on the specs of the craft, including available docking ports and you can see it on the map, interact with it if necessary. Make sure you bring extra seats!

Edited September 4, 2013 by Insomn

[shand]

i think squad have said a definate no to there being an opponent to beat.

there are multiple issues - not least of all: what vessels would they fly? then there's the currently unresolved issue of having more than one active vessel on one machine (hat tip to some interesting client-server mod work)

further the missions will (as i understand it) be dynamically offered, you wont get an offer to go to duna before you've managed to get to the mun. (i think thats what you were alluding to?)

all that said: once career mode is settled and finalised, a mod or offical add-on adding a "space race" could be feasible. but i would hate it to be in the stock/vanilla game.

[Insomn]

I suppose that the vehicles could be kind of made up, only existing in text form or as flags, but the ships are not really there until you say, made a mission to sabotage, or rescue, then the game could just *put* something there.

And I was thinking more along the lines of, whenever you pick some goal, your opponent would create a mission to keep up with you. This could be in whatever order you want. If your space program goes on a 50-year hiatus your opponent wont just continue colonizing the solar system. All it is is just a little storyline that kind of gives you a nudge. Because you might see that your opponent planned a launch the same day that you launch, but then maybe they blow up. The game would only register you as "losing" if you really ****ed up and aborted several missions, maybe. Then suddenly your see that a red flag is already on the Mun. You could still do it and get points, just not the glory. Or you fail the mission twice and you are afraid that your opponent will skunk you, so you go to mission control and create a sabotage mission, the game will pick from a few stock parts, like a Mun orbiter, and just PUT it there, for you to crash in to within a certain time frame before it simply disappears. If you do this, you will set your opponent back a few stages, and you can still win.

I hope this makes it more feasible without also taking away the interest.

Edited September 4, 2013 by Insomn