A few ideas

[Halo_003]

Okay so both of these actually pertain mainly to rovers/robotics, so bear with me here. As it stands there is not much point to rovers with the .23 updates. Here are some of my thoughts on it.

One option may be to have rovers able to perform science that would be too complex or dangerous for a Kerbal, such as a laser drill to take subsurface surveys for example. Explaining why it's too dangerous for a Kerbal is easy, radiation, heat, toxins, flying microdebris, etc. Another could be that the experiment requires very precise measurements, beyond what a clumsy Kerbal could manage.

As for actual parts:

1. A robotic arm, coming in 3 sizes(2m, 10m, 20m lengths for example), capable of fixing parts and taking surface samples could be extremely useful. As far as controls, WASD and SHIFT/CTRL should easily be able to control it, as it should react exactly like a Kerbal on EVA would. Essentially the point would be to have it be modular, with different heads. Kerbals could place the heads on the arm, swapping them out as needed. (i.e., to assist with docking, a magnetic head could be attached to help reel a ship in.) Other options could be a surface application, such as on a rover where a laser could be attached, or a shovel, to take samples or perform science on the surface of moons or planets.

2. Some new, smaller LED powered lights could be really useful for tiny rovers, as the larger lights are often way too big to logically place on the rover. These could be more energy efficient as well as of smaller size however.

Not parts now, but another feature.

One I feel would be really cool is a mapping attachment for satellites, which can scan a planet in a 2d readout. The point of that would be to allow for slightly more precise landings or targets for ground based operations. It could be linked to a button when in map view, and when clicking a location on the 2d map, have that set as your target in Map view. It could also give coordinates, but the main idea I had was the target setting of specific coordinates.

Any feedback is appreciated, this is just some ideas I had while playing.

Edit: I realize that the arm idea could be taken as on the list of what not to suggest, but was unsure because it's a specific part, mainly the reason I suggested it is that it could be used for science/rovers at least in a small form with the modular head idea. (http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/36863-What-not-to-suggest)

Edit 2: I know the arms are in other mods, but I haven't seen one able to perform science or use interchangeable parts(heads).

Edited December 24, 2013 by Halo_003

[KasperVld]

The robot arm is indeed covered by the what-not-to-suggest-list, so please limit discussion to the second idea

[Iansoreta]

The robot arm is indeed covered by the what-not-to-suggest-list, so please limit discussion to the second idea

Ok, that maybe part of what not to suggest list, but is anyone going to close this thread? I don't want anyone to suggest something that shouldn't be suggested or included by game developer for any reasons.

[r4pt0r]

i support a stock version of satellite scanning. it encourages using satellites, and could easily be tied to a contract (i.e. scan&map 90% of planet/moon ______)