Career Mode too easy/short?

[Duke-49th]

Is it just me or does anyone else think too that the carrer mode is too easy or too short?

Im really not a pro. I still fail many times when I try to land anywhere. Im not good with managing fuel.

But still - after 4 flights in carrer mode I have more than the half of the needed science points. I dont need to explore much to finish the science and have all parts.

Im not sure how and when the economic will be implemented. But please dont make it so easy like with science points. Income or points is too high.

I make a poll to see if Im right. Maybe the beginner will say noooo...too difficult. But I doubt.

Or maybe the tree could be extended. So you not research 4 parts in once. Maybe always only 1 or 2. Or maybe the starter parts are more weak and less. Soemthign like that. In short: Rebalance.

Maybe it is also possible to add difficult settings like easy/medium/hard.

Sorry if that discussion/poll is on any other part of the forum already..I didnt see one.

Edit: Im too fast click "save" when I add the poll. I set it to 0 days. Maybe a moderator is able to change it? I see no way how. Should be 7 or 14 days or something like that.

Edited October 23, 2013 by Duke-49th

[Kerbonautical]

Is it just me or does anyone else think too that the carrer mode is too easy or too short?

Im really not a pro. I still fail many times when I try to land anywhere. Im not good with managing fuel.

But still - after 4 flights in carrer mode I have more than the half of the needed science points. I dont need to explore much to finish the science and have all parts.

Im not sure how and when the economic will be implemented. But please dont make it so easy like with science points. Income or points is too high.

I make a poll to see if Im right. Maybe the beginner will say noooo...too difficult. But I doubt.

Or maybe the tree could be extended. So you not research 4 parts in once. Maybe always only 1 or 2. Or maybe the starter parts are more weak and less. Soemthign like that. In short: Rebalance.

Sorry if that discussion/poll is on any other part of the forum already..I didnt see one.

I'm pretty sure this has been done, but yes it is currently short. Bear in mind of course that this is only the template for one feature of career mode though. Currently Career mode is basically Sandbox with some unlocks to earn. I'm not sure how easy it would have been to me a few months ago though. To fill up the tree I landed and returned from The Mun, Minmus, Duna, Ike, Gilly, Dres and Vall. I'm sure there are easier ways but it took me a fair while considering it's the only element of career so far.

[NASAFanboy]

Is it just me or does anyone else think too that the carrer mode is too easy or too short?

Im really not a pro. I still fail many times when I try to land anywhere. Im not good with managing fuel.

But still - after 4 flights in carrer mode I have more than the half of the needed science points. I dont need to explore much to finish the science and have all parts.

Im not sure how and when the economic will be implemented. But please dont make it so easy like with science points. Income or points is too high.

I make a poll to see if Im right. Maybe the beginner will say noooo...too difficult. But I doubt.

Or maybe the tree could be extended. So you not research 4 parts in once. Maybe always only 1 or 2. Or maybe the starter parts are more weak and less. Soemthign like that. In short: Rebalance.

Sorry if that discussion/poll is on any other part of the forum already..I didnt see one.

What I suggest is not going Rambo and landing on Duna with the first flight. I restrict myself to orbital flights until I get a three man pod, then restrict myself to cislunar flights until I get the NERVA.

[Sean Mirrsen]

The correct choice is missing from the poll. "The Career Mode is currently incomplete and will be more fleshed out in the future."

[Rickenbacker]

I agree, it's too easy and too short. But that's to be expected, this is only the first incarnation, and it's still missing the economy bit, plus other future surprises such as skill development, resource management etc.

[antb0y]

It seems easy because you more or less already know what you're doing, have probably put ships into orbit and to other planets and all that. Easy science points.

A beginner will still have to figure all that stuff out.

And like Kerbonautical said, it's only a template. What we see now is probably nothing like the career mode Squad plans for the future.

[Scotius]

Science is just a first building block of Career mode. And i have a suspicion it will be expanded greatly in upcoming updates. Things to come still include resources, economy, maybe crew management/training. And i'm pretty sure there will be more planets and parts implemented. So no, i'm not worried about Career lenght. And let's not forget mods When Tech Tree editor will be available to modders, we will get more science than we can imagine

[Garek]

For me, career mode is actually a challenge, but mostly because I roleplay that you shouldn't send a lone Kerbal in a single capsule far across space. I would have liked to have the three-man pod for my Mun landing, but that's simply not practical if you want to go to space instead of farming Kerbin. In my opinion it's actually too hard to get to stuff like the three man pod, while parts for nice interplanatary missions (e.g. more habitat/logistics parts) which would be nice for higher-tier science simply aren't in the (stock) game yet. So at the moment, it's okay, but it needs faster access to 3-man and 2.5m parts and more parts for the higher tiers in future versions.

Edited October 23, 2013 by Garek

[Superfluous J]

Gotta love it. Half the people think it's too easy and short, and half the people think it's a horrific grind to get all the science necessary to progress as far as they want.

And of course there's the half I'm in that is waiting patiently to see what career mode is actually going to be before we decide on anything.

[Torham234]

Somehow you have completely omitted the fact that each part on the tech tree has got a purchase cost. This implies that some future mechanic will require you to :

A: earn money

B: develop the new parts, even after unlocking them with a tech tree.

Further more, each part even in the assembly building has got a display with a cost and Quantity in stock included.

What is the point of this poll again?

[Duke-49th]

I'm pretty sure this has been done, but yes it is currently short. Bear in mind of course that this is only the template for one feature of career mode though. Currently Career mode is basically Sandbox with some unlocks to earn. I'm not sure how easy it would have been to me a few months ago though. To fill up the tree I landed and returned from The Mun, Minmus, Duna, Ike, Gilly, Dres and Vall. I'm sure there are easier ways but it took me a fair while considering it's the only element of career so far.

The correct choice is missing from the poll. "The Career Mode is currently incomplete and will be more fleshed out in the future."

Yes yes...you're right. But honestly I dont know how much. And with economics (need of buy parts etc.) I'm sure it will be more difficult. But how about the length of the carrer?

And...if someone has a link to blog entries about planned features for the carrer mode I would be happy about. I dont see any. Or I am too blind :-)

Btw...I did not visit all those plantes now. Im not Scott Manley Minmus was my last (and first flight out of orbit of kerbin) target. And I earned more than 450 points...not sure how much exactly. Maybe until the carrer mode is complete or has a lot more features and goals - it could be balanced to make it harder for now..and with more things to implement, some values could be re-balanced so it is easier again. I hope its clear what I want to say^^(english is not my mothertongue)

And thanks for the answers. Im not whining or something like that I just ask as I want to know what you guys think. May you guys know more than me and could tell me^^ Or maybe a Dev can say something about future plans.

[Torham234]

And...if someone has a link to blog entries about planned features for the carrer mode I would be happy about. I dont see any. Or I am too blind :-)

Planned features

You are welcome.

[Jean Deaux]

When I first started career mode I was flying through the points, snagging 80-200 points per mission. I hit a bug that kept causing the spaceplane hanger to lockup when I used it so I had to completely uninstall the game and re-install so I chose to start over with career mode and see how much faster I could blow through it. Oddly enough, I'm finding it harder to gain science now even though I'm visiting more places and doing more tests in a single trip than I had before, often yielding only 20-60 points per mission. So either my first round of science was bugged and giving me uber score or maybe my second attempt is bugged and giving me lower score. But at least my spaceplane hanger works again!

[Maxander]

To many bits still missing to start locking down features and tweak it to give the challenge needed to make careermode into what i hope is to be a 100 hours+ of fun.

[Kerbonautical]

Yes yes...you're right. But honestly I dont know how much. And with economics (need of buy parts etc.) I'm sure it will be more difficult. But how about the length of the carrer?

And...if someone has a link to blog entries about planned features for the carrer mode I would be happy about. I dont see any. Or I am too blind :-)

Btw...I did not visit all those plantes now. Im not Scott Manley Minmus was my last (and first flight out of orbit of kerbin) target. And I earned more than 450 points...not sure how much exactly. Maybe until the carrer mode is complete or has a lot more features and goals - it could be balanced to make it harder for now..and with more things to implement, some values could be re-balanced so it is easier again. I hope its clear what I want to say^^(english is not my mothertongue)

And thanks for the answers. Im not whining or something like that I just ask as I want to know what you guys think. May you guys know more than me and could tell me^^ Or maybe a Dev can say something about future plans.

I think I see where your coming from now. Yeah they probably could have bumped up the costs of items quite a bit but I think a number of players may be put off by the immense difficulty spike in a game that's already fairly complex as it is. Personally I think difficulty levels would have been a good way to manage the Science point management and keep all fans happy. However the parts list itself does still feel a little bit small, I don't know how much the list is expected to expand in the future though.

My main let down was that I misinterpreted the intention of Science quite a while back so I expected something different. Personally I figured the science would provide better explanations in greater detail about surfaces etc and I had also confused unlockable items with refinable technology, so I was expecting progression in each items statistics. I still think it's a great update though

[Duke-49th]

Somehow you have completely omitted the fact that each part on the tech tree has got a purchase cost. This implies that some future mechanic will require you to :

A: earn money

B: develop the new parts, even after unlocking them with a tech tree.

Further more, each part even in the assembly building has got a display with a cost and Quantity in stock included.

What is the point of this poll again?

The point is just my personal curiosity to see what other players think. Both...beginner and pro player.

Again..Im not complaining. You guys are here and there correct with pointing me to keep in mind that there will be more things that will implemented. Like economy.

But still if that is coming it can be balanced the way that you can complete the career too fast. - That can happen if the income of money is as easy as of scince points. I hope you get my idea.

If even the beginner say "its too easy" - then it should be clear that even with more features are in, it should be a bit harder in general or smaller steps to finish the career. Maybe Im unimaginative, but I see no kind of endless game after career with any serious reason. For example...in X-series after the campaign you can continue build up your stations, being a trader and buy ships and stuff etc. pp. - it becomes boring anytime too. But you have kind of goals.

With the end of the career in KSP you simply have the game like the sandbox mode.

Btw..I took a look again to the Wiki entry about planned features...but nothing about carrer...is there nothing officially about career plans?

[alacrity]

i find it a little on the easy side but as stated several times, this is only the beginning, with money management, the first day launch to duna is no longer going to be possible. When consumables like air and food enter the resource tree, strapping twenty engings and fual pod to a 1 man capsule won't work. When the science work is stretched to take actual time and some figuring out it will be less point and click.

Honestly any tiered game can be grinded through, but with all the tangents that are possible a player could spend weeks digging up through the ranks of tiered improvements.

I will enjoy watching as the equipment changes and the order of discovery evolves. (solar cells tier 3??? really??)the really advantage of the tiered system for us players is that it gives the Squad gang a ladder to hang new kit on.easier to day "This foes that, and those do as well, but on a huge scale... maybe a middle ground tech piece should be slipped inbetween those two levels.

[RocketPilot573]

I think here is why so many people think that it is too easy: From what I have seen, it looks like everyone just makes some gigantic rocket on their first mission, and then fly it to the Mun and Minmus. This results in the tech tree being completed in like 2 missions. However, imagine that your space program has a budget, and that the Kerbals don't just magically know how to land on the Mun from the get-go. That's what I'm doing, my first mission was a flight to the upper atmosphere, and then a suborbital mission. Now, I've done like 15 missions, yet I'm still only half done. So basically, just wait under money and missions are added.

[allmhuran]

For my first mission, I got 1662 points (video link in signature)

I am about to launch my second mission, which will easily max out the tree (several times over).

However, I do not think it is too short. The tech tree right now is not everything there is to ever come with career mode. In 0.22 you can think of it as a way to more gradually introduce new players to all the parts. Therefore it is not really intended to be difficult for experienced players, and as such I have no complaint. It its current form, in the current version of KSP, given its current purpose, the difficulty seems about right.

[sanoj688]

This topic should be locked.. what point is there discussion something that will change anyway. Or change it so it creates some constructive criticism for the devs.

[malkuth]

Hard to judge something like this when its not done. I mean I think Sandbox is to easy.. LOL

[regex]

With the end of the career in KSP you simply have the game like the sandbox mode.

Not really. Career mode will eventually have other features to make it more of a challenge, but the tech tree is not one of those features. In fact, the tech tree was sold to us as an introduction to the parts for new players, not as a feature to challenge experienced players. So long as Squad views and balances it in that light money will have no real meaning to the tree, even if you have to unlock parts with money (introduction that relies on two resources, one of which is scarce, is hardly introduction, it's just bad gameplay).

Bottom line: If you want the tech tree to be a challenge you should mod it.

[Merinsan]

The correct choice is missing from the poll. "The Career Mode is currently incomplete and will be more fleshed out in the future."

That's the option I was looking for to.

The only reason it's called career mode is because that will be career mode when it is finished. So far it's not finished, so this poll is kind of meaningless.

[boomerdog2000]

Agreed we really can't judge it until it is more complete.

[The Jedi Master]

It would seem I'm the ONLY one here who thinks it's way too hard. There really isn't much you can do with the starter parts. Even with some advances, it's still tedious. And the science costs tend to lean on the expensive.