The Kerbal Factor.

[Lachned]

Not doing any (voluntary) one way missions is the reason that Duna is the farthest I got so far! I actually had to do a rescue mission for the rescue mission on my first visit to duna...

[boomerdog2000]

I generally double or triple check the delta-v numbers before any interplanetary mission and always have twice as much space as I have kerbals for long duration missions. It can make ship construction a bit more annoying but I refuse to stuff my kerbals in a pod for 2 years.

[Bothersome]

It's all fun and games right now. But if Squad were to implement some type of learning for these kerbals, some kind of neural simulation processing that would really put them into the AI catagory, people would really try to take care of their Kerbals because each one would be unique. Especially if they learned anything based on missions or training they had been on.

For an example of how you can make neural connections (as a simulation) check this web page. Of course, that page is not really learning anything, only evolving to the next generations. But the connections of how things can be made to respond is what is important. Learning involve something making new connections without having to have an offspring to do it.

This game has so much potential for doing all sorts of great things and capturing the hearts and minds of a very large audience. If the kerbals had some form of AI growth that the players contributed to, people would probably get really attached to them like pets.

Thoughts, comments, criticism?

[Smidge204]

It's all fun and games right now. But if Squad were to implement some type of learning for these kerbals, some kind of neural simulation processing that would really put them into the AI catagory, people would really try to take care of their Kerbals because each one would be unique. Especially if they learned anything based on missions or training they had been on.

I don't think you'd need to go to that extreme - a simple stats system would be enough. Stats cold be either passive/automatic, or you get stat points for the player to distribute like in an RPG.

Bonuses for having experienced pilots/crew could give better returns on science, more reliable repairs (requires repairs not having 100% success rate), maybe even slight bonuses for control and fuel efficiency because an experienced Kerbal pilot would be able to affect these things. Imagine having incentive for a three-Kerbal crew: One expert pilot, one technician, one scientist.

Kerbal fame, based on mission quantity and duration, could help raise funding for more missions in career mode.

...but a stats system alone would be enough to get players more invested, even without any bonuses whatsoever.

=Smidge=