Suggestion on Career money/economy

[lazarus1024]

Instead of having a method to earn money and bank it, as well as possible penalties associated with ship that fail, how about having a set budget per launch?

So as you achieve various goals, you get your budget per launch increased by your Kerbal overlords.

Get to orbit, have your budget increased per launch. Recover a capsule for the first time and get your budget increased. Transmit science from a probe and get your budget increased. Orbit the mun, budget bump. Land on the mun and EVA with a kerbal, budget increase. Return said kerbal from the mun to Kerbin and get a budget increase.

Etc, etc.

That way there are no penalties for failed launches (which I think could cause a lot of problems, even with experienced players) and may, to a limited degree, prevent some really ridiculous launcher designs (in career).

It also removes time from being any kind of factor in earning money.

[Seret]

prevent some really ridiculous launcher designs

But we like ridiculous launcher designs!

[Kasuha]

I like the idea. However, there's one catch: Really large and costly ships can be built from small and relatively cheap parts by docking them in orbit.

So you might need fixed budget per mission and after each mission the universe is cleared until you finish career mode. You could perform multiple launches per mission as long as you stay within the budget.

[Karriz]

I like the idea. However, there's one catch: Really large and costly ships can be built from small and relatively cheap parts by docking them in orbit.

So you might need fixed budget per mission and after each mission the universe is cleared until you finish career mode. You could perform multiple launches per mission as long as you stay within the budget.

I don't really understand why such a limitation would be needed. Players should be free to build massive space stations and bases even in career mode.

[lazarus1024]

I don't really understand why such a limitation would be needed. Players should be free to build massive space stations and bases even in career mode.

Its part of the reason I didn't mention a limitation on docking/per mission. Just a per launch limitation.

If you have a limit per mission, its likely you'd never be able to build good sized space stations or bases at any point. Or if you could, ridiculous 1,000 part launchers would very much be possible.

I am not opposed to ridiculous launchers, I just think that their place is more in sandbox mode than it is in career.

Also juggling a mission based cost limit might be darned hard to do. You'd never be able to do anything permanent and so on.

Though I suspose, I could see a "method" whereby you are limited by the total cost of your space program. Launching and losing missions costs nothing. However, for every in existance ship (outright debris doesn't count) it counts against your total space program budget. So if you have 50,000cr worth of ships, stations and probes out there and your budgetary limit is 50,000cr, if you want to launch another ship, you'll have to recover/end something to get the budgetary money back to launch something else. That or earn more budget through accomplishing a goal.

That said, that'll neve really limit "ridiculous" designs, but it could also be a method that could work.

[meyst]

That's an interesting idea, I don't know if the game is set up to track how many total launches you have made and what would be involved in doing that.

I think another interesting option is to add a node in the science building to the left or above the starting parts that a player could hit to convert science to more money for parts. Would be interesting to give players the choice of 'more parts' and 'newer better parts'.

[Lord Orion]

Lazarus has a point here accomplishment should equal budgets! But the ever expanding budget makes for little realism and feels just to simple of a balance. Make the budget based on a simulated Public option like NASA today. Get a kerbin into orbit take a publicity photo get more budget. Use the achievements like those found in the mod of the same title to spike interest in your space program. Commit to a achievement or program (like Apollo, or Constellation)

On the flip losing space craft or worse kerbals can dent budgets even ground projects/programs. Random events of space races, rescue, missions, challenges, war (not in space) or outreach campaigns to educate and stimulate interest http://mobile.geek.com/latest/252570-kerbal-space-program-gets-a-nasa-backed-asteroid-wranging-expansion would be incredibly immersive.