Astronauts experience tree

[Aladran]

A suggestion that I think would add more depth and attachment to our Kerbals.

Give them an experience tree that gives some perks when those Kerbals are in command of a ship.

Exemple

+X% Fuel Effeciency

+X% Torque Force

+X% Rover speed

Etc...

They would gain Experience while performing some kind of activity, and once back to the space center we could convert this experience into perks and use this experienced kerbal on other missions.

[Algiark]

Weird, because all of those perks are not determined by the astronaut's skills, but the engineer's.

[Aladran]

Any ideas of any perks that could be related to the Pilot experience?

[Stargate525]

well, most space missions DO have a flight engineer... so efficiency and torque could be astronaut based (I fully believe that the Kerbals are silly enough to hand over richness mixture to an actual person). For scientists, maybe a bonus to science value of collected samples and EVA reports? Pilots... torque would work there too as an abstraction of piloting ability.

[UberFuber]

Technically, beside science experiments, KSP don't have much that astronaut skill would technically matter.

However, here's some possibility for astronaut experience.

1. Science - An obvious one. Astronaut can receive science experience. Improved science experience provides bonuses to science recovery to transmission and lab processing.

2. Physical Fitness - As current, may allow Kerbalnaut to run/climb faster or hold on to ladders better (can resist more changes in acceleration). In future, if Kerbalnaut can "blackout" due to excessive Gs, can improve the amount of Gs a Kerbalnaut can withstand (so you can go for a faster re-entry into atmosphere without worrying about your Kerbalnaut passing out and you losing control of the spacecraft).

[Kegereneku]

Long ago the devs said something about training them to pilot.

So their ability could be things like "prepare a rendezvous" or "docking the ship", or more basically "Burn through that maneuver node" (which they would do with mechjeb's precision)

More crazy and supposing it's even possible, we could have them drive rover for us over long distance (while we do experiment or else), to bad it certainly wouldn't be possible to do without player-focus.

[Stargate525]

I just thought of one. Science skill for the science lab: speeds up processing.

And yeah, training kerbals to perform basic automation would be amazing. Need to run a set of supplies up to your station? Order a launch while you mess about on Duna.

[ToteBaggs]

See now this is something i can get behind, as a sub tree form surviveabiltiy and controll mixed,

Though not just skill perks like fuel usee, and torque abiltiy,

but also some EVA pack equipment with in-suit battery use, I figure, custom the pacs before launch with 1 or 2 change out tools in storage in the crew capsule.

like larger thrusters at cost of EVA fuel burn,

a pack built for gathering energy, (in case of panel breakage)

one for transmitting EVA data, maybe worth one or two EVA reports.

multiple research/experiment pack. Transferable to other experiment pods, combining goo canister experiment with science jr. pod possibilty for generating more science there i think as well,

divergent type of helmets, Ex:

fishbowl (see 60's cosmonaut),

tinted head,

vizor helmet, (pretty much current helmet)

high impact,

Video recorder,

Manipulators:

crabclaw (High lift and grip),

doc-oc manipulator(reach and dexterity with separate control scheme when activated),

grasp o tron (Basic utility pincher),

glove (tool use)

grapple: launches 50 meter of cord at a target with magnet or physical grapple to reel self in.

boots:

jump boot, for high gravy planets,

lead boots for light gravy planets,

neutral boots for average EVA's

suits:

EXO: strength booster to allow kerbals to potentially right their ship part by part up to normal gravy situations. 2 minute duration

jump suit, : easier to reahc higher but less over all energy/power in the suit cause loss of weight

tank suit: tough suit made for taking falls.

wheelie butt: kerbal suit doubles as immediate form of small rover faster travel along terrain uses RCS thrust to move.

just my two cents.