Missions in Career Mode

[MGyver]

I'm not sure how much of this that the devs have already decided on, but here's what I'd like to see for some of the career mode missions:

• Missions come with a fixed budget, ie: $6,000,000 from a private Kerbin company to design & launch a probe that orbits [this] and measures [that].
  
• The more cost effective you are, the more you profit, ie: spent $5,000,000 on that successful probe launch? Profit $1,000,000!!
  
• $ can be used in conjunction with science points to buy new parts, hire legendary crew members, or to build ships for special missions
  
• Missons increase in difficulty and payoff by using a 'behind-the-scenes' leveling system. More successful missions means bigger contract offers.
  

Thoughts?

[fatfluffycat]

...........................

This is planned already....I think

[Force21]

you can already see the prices of each part, they display ranged from around the $1000s and are in grey lettering visible in the research building with I think cc after the number.

[HoustonWeHaveAProblem]

I can't wait to get this feature. The science points are a great new addition but there are issues with the way they're handled so you can sit and resend data from one spot without returning your kerbals. Also, there are no specific science missions - I had to figure out that different locations reward additional points but there is no way to look at the map and see the different locations or chart whether or not you've been there other than planting a flag. (Sorry for probe landers). Specific commercial missions will be great - really looking forward to them.

[Zamaszysty]

You already have this kind of progression system that has a form of "missions", but it's not made in a dumbed down way of quests that say simply "do a surface sample of the Mun". Instead of that You get much smoother experience as the science system requires You to go on and do more challenging things. You will not be able to do any advanced thing at all if You don't go to more exotic places, so once You run out of science to harvest from local environ ment, Your mission is "Go further, fly faster, observe more" and after a while You will again run out of "content" You could do with orbiters, so after orbiters You are forced to create landers, after landers You need rovers to move to another biome, after these, You again have to advance and send a manned mission out there to get samples etc.

IMO this is a looooooot better than just being punch in the face with a fetch quest "bring us lunar soil". This is not something I would enjoy by any stretch of the immaginatio as it's restricting and limiting instead of encouraging more creativity and exploration.

BUT,

With what You just said here ... I think there is a lot of space for STORY mode that would do that. And I would agree that such missions would do pretty fine in the story mode as You would require to follow a story with these quests putting You on rails in terms of "what to do" and "where to go". In every other case having these missions would ruin the very best thing about KSP, and that is freedom.

[MGyver]

you can already see the prices of each part, they display ranged from around the $1000s and are in grey lettering visible in the research building with I think cc after the number.

Yeah I noticed that while playing after I started this thread. Some are really pricey, too (ion engines)!!

[MGyver]

You already have this kind of progression system that has a form of "missions", but it's not made in a dumbed down way of quests that say simply "do a surface sample of the Mun". Instead of that You get much smoother experience as the science system requires You to go on and do more challenging things. You will not be able to do any advanced thing at all if You don't go to more exotic places, so once You run out of science to harvest from local environ ment, Your mission is "Go further, fly faster, observe more" and after a while You will again run out of "content" You could do with orbiters, so after orbiters You are forced to create landers, after landers You need rovers to move to another biome, after these, You again have to advance and send a manned mission out there to get samples etc.

Yeah I like the idea of open-ended exploration for the Advancement Of Science and I think that it should be the core of the game. I'm talking about something separate: taking on occasional private contracts in order to fund the Advancement of Science missions.

[UnknownOrbit]

Ohh i wanna try writing a mission.

Hi this is the Kerbin research company and we want you to send a probe to Duna for every experiment done youl be rewarded.

Mission requirements:Get unmanned probe to Duna,Take atmosphere samples,Take gravitation samples,Take tempareture samples.(reward 2.000.000$)

Bonus :Build a two stage lander,Take surfurs sample,return to Kerbin. (reward 1.500.000$)

This might look crappy but i enjoyed writing:D

[ak267]

You land on one moon or planet to find an anomaly to discover a door....

[Nobody]

When missions come I think they should be divided into 2 groups.

Corporate contracts: Essentially what the OP is describing where your given a budget to get their job done and you keep any leftover money as profit. The better you do the more interesting the contracts get.

Examples:

• Kerbal News Network wants a broadcast satellite(supplied by them) put in orbit.
  
• Kerbal Mining Company wants you to design and deliver a mining camp to Duna.
  

Government orders: The government gives you an annual budget and a list of objectives to accomplish. The government will let you do as you please but they want results so your budget for the next year depends on what objectives you got done from the last year. As with the corporate contracts if you do a good job the objectives get harder.

Examples:

• Get a kerbal in orbit.
  
• Achive orbit of (insert body).
  
• Land and plant a flag on (insert body).