Career Mode: Government vs Corporate

[spinomonkey]

Basically a friend and I thought this:

At the start of a new career mode game you'd choose what kind of Space Agency you'd want to be based around. Government or Corporate.

A Government space agency would receive bonuses to research. While a Corporate space agency would receive bonuses to currency.

Gov Agency's could then sell research for additional currency and Corporate Agency's could buy research to keep up with tech.

Of course, this really could be a powerful tool during a multilayer game (or even against an AI?). Players could buy and sell technology to achieve their goals either united or in opposition.

[jwenting]

useless. And wouldn't work like that.

Government agency you get credit for filling out all the right forms at the right time.

Corporate you get credit for meeting your goals.

[RSwordsman]

useless. And wouldn't work like that.

Government agency you get credit for filling out all the right forms at the right time.

Corporate you get credit for meeting your goals.

A little bit dismissive, don't you think? It is safe to say NASA and SpaceX have two very different approaches and infrastructures, and so set a precedent for meaningful choices when it comes to KSP gameplay styles. I think giving players the choice of public or private space program with bonuses to one or the other resource would be pretty cool. It could even go beyond just "research or currency," but also the type/frequency of missions that would arise in contracts. Government agencies would be given more of the big missions- traveling to other worlds, etc. because they are not for profit and can apply tons of resources. Private firms, while being theoretically just as capable, are more efficiency-oriented because they have a bottom line, meaning they will send up smaller missions for compensation and maybe throw in a little research on the side.

Point being, it has my vote for a nifty feature down the line.

Edited February 15, 2014 by RSwordsman

[rkman]

useless. And wouldn't work like that.

Government agency you get credit for filling out all the right forms at the right time.

Corporate you get credit for meeting your goals.

I guess that explains NASA's budget cuts: they did not fill out all the right forms in time, they met goals instead.

[Master_Evar]

useless. And wouldn't work like that.

Government agency you get credit for filling out all the right forms at the right time.

Corporate you get credit for meeting your goals.

Sounds a little bit negative, don´t you think? I think it could be pretty cool with different companies, and that they have different bonuses. And would make the future multiplayer mode more interesting, and competitive, and you can also make sure that you can keep going easily, cause you might be good at making small rockets, that cannot sadly make much science, or good at making rockets which can give you much science, but they will be big and expensive.

[Doozler]

I was thinking about this: with any government / large organisation if you don't sepnd the budget for a project it gets reduced for the next project. SO how about you get a fixed amount to spend on an contract. If you underspend you can't save it up, but have to prendit on things like statues, gold paperclips and diamond toilet seats for the Space Center?

[CsendesMark]

Interesting, but civil companies couldn't "start" a space-program on their own from the beginning!

Early rocket developing needed far more money than private companies could finance. You have to take that to account!

[jwenting]

Interesting, but civil companies couldn't "start" a space-program on their own from the beginning!

Early rocket developing needed far more money than private companies could finance. You have to take that to account!

hmm, not quite. Oberth, von Braun, Goddard, and others worked independently. While they didn't reach orbit, with corporate funding rather than government funding they could have. They were just too early to the game to generate such, there as of that time being no corporation in need of space launchers.

Now, with geolocation services, telecommunications, and many other things, that market does exist. Only reason it didn't exist at the time was lack of electronics and power sources that could make satellites viable.

Then of course there's Burt Rutan and his Spaceship 1 and 2, with plans to make an orbital TSTO using funds generated from using SS2 commercially.

And many others.

[Ascension Islander]

Why not have both?

The first missions will be government-funded "for kerbalkind!" style missions, such as landing on the mun and such. Later missions will be commercially-funded, higher paying, and more specific (and therefore more challenging), such as, "we need you to map the southern pole of Bop and report back any concentrations of [resource]"

[Strikerklm96]

Maybe we can have a plugin: If you chose Corporate, you have to play RollerCoaster Tycoon till you have enough funds to start up the space program, upon which they are transferred over, and then play from there. If you choose Government, you have to play SimCity till you have enough funds. I'm kidding.

I actually do like the idea though, and this could play into the "Competition" idea, in that who you are competing against changes.

[Minarkhaios]

....

Government agency you get credit for filling out all the right forms at the right time.

...

we should merge "kerbal space program" and "paper please".

[CsendesMark]

hmm, not quite. Oberth, von Braun, Goddard, and others worked independently. ....

They might started independent... and Goddard and Braun were awful great minds, but they needed tons of money for all the research, ...and who were happy to pay that?

For Braun the German state/army was the first sponsor, then he became needed for the USA, so it's government became the new sponsor.

Korolev? He also became very precious for the Soviet. Why? Same as for the others: "Package" delivery!

Rockets were for weapons firstly... and currently mostly too.

And so many private companies like how much? ?2~3? which are capable conduct actual orbital flight (and how many flights been conducted by them? ..not much).

How many governments? RSA CNSA can only do spaceflights. NASA ESA ISRO, Iran and the Koreas can launch satellites.(and these had several thousand successful launch in +50 years)

You can argue with me, but facts are stubborn 8)

[spinomonkey]

Eh I think we all need to take a step back and remember one important fact: this is still just a game. There's a lot based around fact, but there's a lot of liberties taken as well.

EDIT: And, this is a game based around green men on a make believe planet, the science may be founded in fact, but Kerbin history doesn't really exist. If it makes fun gameplay, it makes fun gameplay. Because the point could always be argued, 'well maybe on Kerbol independent companies did become successful in space flight'.

Edited February 16, 2014 by spinomonkey
Expanded thought

[jwenting]

For Braun the German state/army was the first sponsor, then he became needed for the USA, so it's government became the new sponsor.

von Braun's first rockets were launched as part of a German amateur rocketry group, before it was disbanded when the government banned private rocketry research...

That was funded privately, the government at the time had no interest, and did rather well (they didn't reach orbit, but they did develop something that could go up quite a ways and fly down range quite a bit as well, could have been used as a mail rocket to the German islands for example with a better guidance system.

When private research became impossible, he made up this fantastic story about rockets being able to be military weapons and approached the government, not thinking it'd ever work but might trick them into giving him money to continue his work on future space launchers now that private funding was cut off.

[CsendesMark]

von Braun's first rockets were launched as part of a German amateur rocketry group, before it was disbanded when the government banned private rocketry research...

That was funded privately, the government at the time had no interest, and did rather well (they didn't reach orbit, but they did develop something that could go up quite a ways and fly down range quite a bit as well, could have been used as a mail rocket to the German islands for example with a better guidance system.

When private research became impossible, he made up this fantastic story about rockets being able to be military weapons and approached the government, not thinking it'd ever work but might trick them into giving him money to continue his work on future space launchers now that private funding was cut off.

What about our current time?

No big wars, no big conflicts, no ban on rocket designing (in the EU and USA at least), lots of rich companies, still only a handful of private space programs...

The difference between amateurs and professionals is the big deal of €$£! That's all I say.

For Braun, the price to send Buzz and Niel to the Mün, was the same price as their weight in gold.

How many great mind out there today, who might develop a good space-vehicle, but have no money?

You will know about them when they became a member of the "big company" who grant them the necessary founds, became famous, and you can read their bio, ...and how they started as an "amateur".

[LexiSilva]

we should merge "kerbal space program" and "paper please".

Glooooryyy to Artsoo-KERBIN! Don't kill me mein Jeb!

In serious news, I think that you shape your program this way by accepting certain contracts already. You already choose to do either research or money, based on which contracts you do!

[Deta]

Eh I think we all need to take a step back and remember one important fact: this is still just a game. There's a lot based around fact, but there's a lot of liberties taken as well.

EDIT: And, this is a game based around green men on a make believe planet, the science may be founded in fact, but Kerbin history doesn't really exist. If it makes fun gameplay, it makes fun gameplay. Because the point could always be argued, 'well maybe on Kerbol independent companies did become successful in space flight'.

Agreed this a game, a very fun game and having a choice gives the game even more replay value, but again we are still on .23 the next patch .24 could change everything and 1.0 could be a completely diff beast. the way each of us chooses to play the game differs, I'm trying the ground approach (nothing above 69km)trying to get all kerbin biomes done before I go above 69km. Now is the way I'm playing the "GAME" wrong? "hey noob just use that mod"(unmanned something redoes the tech tree), I did try it and I liked it but I wanted to use stock for My GAME, I do have a modded game save but we're here to test(play) the stock. After 1.0 who knows, SQUAD does but their wanting a stable game and so do I.

Even a failed launch yields new data.