KSP and science gathering and points rewrded

[Jasonjason]

I think the science gained should be 100% no matter what kind of experiment and whether transmitted or returned to Kerbin.

Crew reports are 100% returned or transmitted why not the others? The Apollo and other space missions in real life all transmissions were and are important, the most insignificant thing added to our understanding of humans traveling in space or enabling future manned and unmanned missions to be succesful.

Instead of diminishing returns there could be a random percentage of failed transmission if the object is to reduce science gained. But if a transmission is succesful it should be 100%.

Imagine if the MSL Curiosity could only send one transmission for each experiment? That would be considered a waste and no one in their right mind would back the expenditure for such a mission. The temperature recordings are ALL useful and it can drill and send results more than once. Magnetics, moister, CO2, and other gases, etc. etc., each and every transmission is useful.

I think the way science is gained has to be rethought in order to make the game more realistic in terms of science gathering, the changes made in version .23 were a step back in my opinion.

What is your opinion on this issue?

[vexx32]

Not all data can be transmitted. Some knowledge can only be gained if one has physical access to the original material or footage. Video footage may be necessary, which could be transmitted, but will be very likely to arrive back on Earth in very poor quality due to signal loss. I'm not much of a rocket scientist, but I think they'd agree that it's better to have physical first-hand access to the information than have to transmit it across the solar system.

[Chaia]

I think only data based experiments should be 100% transmittable i.e. temperatue scan or something. But physical experiments like goo should still need to be hauled back to kerbin

[Ralathon]

The puny science instruments we can send to other planets are simply no match for our massive laboratories on earth. Things like spectrometers and sample analysis are much MUCH more accurate when they're done here on earth. So surface samples, goo samples and material bay samples shouldn't have 100% transmission values. I would agree for the small experiments though. Maybe make it so the lab boosts them to 100%, it doesn't make much sense that you have to bring them back.

Also, realism does not equal fun. In reality you have to waste hundreds of man hours to simulate trajectories, this isn't much fun. KSP is first and foremost a game and a space sim a distant second. If you make every science transmission viable you're just going to end up with transmission spam again, which wasn't a whole lot of fun.

[xnorb]

Absolutely no to random failrate ... I don't want to plan a mission go through the thrill of getting there

just to have my transmission fail just because a PRNG decided so.

On the base topic: Returning your rocket and your Kerbal pilot should be rewarded.

I can't see how you reward this without higher payout for returning.

Btw, you seriously come up with the realism argument ?