How many Kerbal years to compleat the tech tree?

[bonyetty]

I am attempting to completing the tech tree in the shortest game time possible so I can try to beat that time in each up coming update. Currently I have about 5 tech nodes to go and am about 5 Kerbal years in for 0.23.5.

As the title says I'm curious how long it takes the average Jeb in Kerbal time to compleat the tech tree?

BTW had a quick look for a similar thread,so if there is one, point me prograde. Thanks

[Cirocco]

I completed my tech tree fully after a trip to Duna I believe, so I'm guessing around year 3. But if I'm not mistaken if you farm efficiently enough you can complete the entire tree without ever leaving Kerbin's SOI (minmus especially is a science treasure trove) so you could (I think) theoretically do it within the year.

[maltesh]

I usually complete the Tech tree before going to any other planets. Since I do generally include a minimal-fuel hop to just outside the Kerbin SOI for "High over the Sun" science, and that takes about 10 days round trip, I've generally completed the stock tech tree inside of 20 days.

I'd say it's certainly possible to get the tech tree Completed before the first Moho Transfer Window on Day 5, you'd just have to head more aggressively for destinations than I typically do.

[r4pt0r]

if you launch multiple missions just 10 minutes apart then you can empty the mun/minmus science reservers super fast.

just launch when the previous mission is transfering

[bonyetty]

Thank for the advice. But I just get too impatient and curious. I have a crewed orbiting lab station around Kerban,hum is it "The Mun" or just "Mun?, Minimus, Ike, and Eve. Now I'm just struggling to get fuel to the Ike and Eve stations as quick as possible without burning all the dam fuel getting there. To get the fuel there quickly I didn't wait for alignment and now have an empty tanker in Eve orbit and another empty tanker on escape from Duna. My only aircraft is over the eastern sea crash landed. Now I have to get the Koys back first. Note to self buld tankers that do what they are supposed to and then (thanks departed C7) on to aircraft to explore Kerban and not beyond. A few Kerbal week or so and I should be done. Or not BOOOM. Poof!

Still curious to hear title question from others.

[Kasuha]

I think I had 56 days in my 0.23.5 Career run when I completed my tech tree. And I was lazy and did not milk Mun and Minmus thoroughly enough and I even ran one asteroid mission to get the last tech node open.

[magnemoe]

Tend to start with two suborbital missions to get the base, then often one orbital mission and a Mun flyby (might get into orbit too)

Then two missions to Minmus, first to get all the science equipment second to get most parts, after this an rover to Mun to sample 6 biomes. This will give enough science to get all parts.

You could send anoter rover and a lander who dock and refill to get the rest of Mun science.

The most time consuming part here is the two minmus missions.

Benefit of Minmus is that you can jump your lander around in the low gravity sampling up to 8 biomes in the first mission.

[Fendleton]

My current run is about 5 or 10 years in, and I'm not finished yet. After glitches killed a total of THREE science-spamming Mun/Minmus missions that would have easily completed the tech tree, I decided to cut back on that stuff and start sending probes around the solar system. That takes a long time, but it's made good progress. A few gravity-scan spammers later, a captured asteroid or two and some great lessons in delta-V management and I've only got 3-4 nodes left to buy, multiple probes orbiting close to Kerbol, and my ultra cheap 'this will never work' probe to Duna is heading for interstellar space having made a flyby of Jool on the way. I actually think this is a far more fun way to do it, although that's mostly because the glitches that killed my Mun/Minmus crews were infuriating. Nothing like having the terrain not load in, causing the pod to explode when it hits the surface.

My record is probably about 40-60 days, with science-spamming on Minmus and the Mun. Once you've got the orbital lab, orange tank, and basic docking gear you can basically get everything really quickly, with a few breaks to replace landers with upgraded versions with better instruments. With careful work, you could easily do it in under a week if you tried hard enough.

[Frank_G]

A few days when looting science, about 3 - 6 years when actually playing the game in missions and setting personal goals. I prefer and recommend the second version for fun and real earned rewards. Looting science is like clicking monsters dead in diablo... Simply boring.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Frank_G

[Lilleman]

@Franck_G: I was thinking the same thing until I found out you can assigne them to an action group. I usually put everything that can be done without an EVA in custom action group 1. It saves a lot of mouseclicks.

Otherwise, I manage to complete the tech tree within the first year. TAC Life support and Alarmclock really put some time pressure for me (this bring a new gameplay, gotta love those).

[Frank_G]

@Franck_G: I was thinking the same thing until I found out you can assigne them to an action group. I usually put everything that can be done without an EVA in custom action group 1. It saves a lot of mouseclicks

I did not mean the mouseclicks. The thing itself is boring like hell, when you just fly a mission for maximum points and doing your standard science procedure. I find it much more pleasing and interesting to say, i want atmospheric data from Laythe and then design a thing that skims through the atmosphere instead of landing a complete science set and just click through the stuff f.e.

[Lilleman]

My bad, I was thinking about mouseclicks because of the comparison with Diablo.

Totally agree here, the game might use some "original" ways to collect science.

[severedsolo]

Agree about the science collecting, it does get repetitive, especially if, as I did in my current game, you launch 15 Mun landers to collect science from each Biome. - then the same again with another 9 Minmus landers. (I know, I could use a rover, but then you have to get a space lab out there etc.)

I'm currently on Y2 D272 and have completed the stock tree, i have a couple of mod nodes to unlock, but it's more than possible to fill the tree without ever leaving kerbins SOI. (I did, I admit leave it once, to gather some high sun science, but TAC Life support makes interplanetary missions difficult). To be honest, I could have done it quicker with interplanetary missions, but as I'm using RemoteTech I had to wait to unlock some longer range

[EdFred]

I launched 3 rockets in various inclinations at Kerbin. One being sub orbital, one getting low space science, and one getting high space science, and collected whatever science from the biome I landed in at Kerbin. From there I launched 15 back to back to back missions to Mun, (each launch about 10 minutes after the previous one) with whatever science projects I had available at the time. 15 ships simultaneously en route to Mun. Landed them all, collected science, and then 15 ships en route to Kerbin. Boom! Science. Then did the same thing with each Minmusian Biome.

When all the ships returned from Minmus I had finished my tech tree and over 3000 extra science before the end of Kerbal day 28.

Edited June 16, 2014 by EdFred

[7499275]

Personally I never use career mode, yet at least. I'm waiting till we have budgets and contracts. Then it will be worth it in my opinion.

Untill then, I'll stick to sandbox making weird flying machines!

[Tortoise]

Thank for the advice. But I just get too impatient and curious. I have a crewed orbiting lab station around Kerban,hum is it "The Mun" or just "Mun?, Minimus, Ike, and Eve. Now I'm just struggling to get fuel to the Ike and Eve stations as quick as possible without burning all the dam fuel getting there. To get the fuel there quickly I didn't wait for alignment and now have an empty tanker in Eve orbit and another empty tanker on escape from Duna. My only aircraft is over the eastern sea crash landed. Now I have to get the Koys back first. Note to self buld tankers that do what they are supposed to and then (thanks departed C7) on to aircraft to explore Kerban and not beyond. A few Kerbal week or so and I should be done. Or not BOOOM. Poof!

Still curious to hear title question from others.

Just a tip,

In your thread title you misspelled "complete".

And also its "Kerbin", not "Kerban"

And I thibk you meant "boys" not "koys"

And also its just Mun , the exact name is what you see when you hover over it.

And the time really depends on how much effort you put.

[ArmchairGravy]

As has been said, you can fully unlock with just Kerbin, Mun and Minmus biome exploration which can be knocked out fairly quickly especially if you spam missions. I get bored with hitting the same place over and over, so I've been playing one flyby each to Mun and Minmus, one landing each, and then a Duna return to finish the tree.

[L3GO]

At the moment im doing a Lets play series and im completing science on kerbin before adventuring out into space.

[SkyRender]

My current record is around 30 Kerbal days, with 2 launches. Launch 1 goes out to Minmus and exploits the infinite EVA fuel oversight to get EVA reports and surface samples from all of Minmus' biomes, and launch 2 sucks the Mun dry of all possible science.

[Epthelyn]

It took me, recently, 74 years, 2 months and 6 days.

That was, mostly, because I used the save for Sandbox and rarely use the 2.5m probe cores so never really bothered to collect enough science to get them. A manned mission to Moho and back got the last few hundred I needed.

[Aethon]

I usually complete the Tech tree before going to any other planets. Since I do generally include a minimal-fuel hop to just outside the Kerbin SOI for "High over the Sun" science, and that takes about 10 days round trip, I've generally completed the stock tech tree inside of 20 days.

I'd say it's certainly possible to get the tech tree Completed before the first Moho Transfer Window on Day 5, you'd just have to head more aggressively for destinations than I typically do.

Pretty much what I do. In my current 'unfortunate restart' save, I just completed the tech tree in time for the second Moho window. I think it's day 15 or 17 (earth days) yr. 1. This took quite some time in real life however, in the two days it takes to get to Minmus, I can do all the biomes on Kerbin.

I hate time warping huge swaths of time away, so tried Kerbal Alarm Clock on this play through and it's a godsend. With it, I have a 'timekeeper' craft near the launchpad (KSS Scapegoat) which has all the planetary transfer windows as well as all asteroid SOI changes on its' head. KAC allows me to run, six or seven missions at a time. Still waiting for my 'High over the sun' sci probe to leave Kerbins' SOI.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Aethon

[EdFred]

Pretty much what I do. In my current 'unfortunate restart' save, I just completed the tech tree in time for the second Moho window. I think it's day 15 or 17 (earth days) yr. 1. This took quite some time in real life though. In the two days it takes to get to Minmus, I can do all the biomes on Kerbin. I hate time warping huge swaths of time away, so tried Kerbal Alarm Clock on this play through and it's a godsend. With it, I have a 'timekeeper' craft near the launchpad (KSS Scapegoat) which has all the planetary transfer windows as well as all asteroid SOI changes on its' head. KAC allows me to run, six or seven missions at a time. Still waiting for my 'High over the sun' sci probe to leave Kerbins' SOI.

It took me quite a bit longer than 2 days to get to Minmus. For some reason 8 days rings a bell.

[BudgetHedgehog]

Try 4 hours real time, no cheats:

I don't know how long that was in-game though. EDIT: Looks to be about 6 and a quarter years.

Edited June 16, 2014 by ObsessedWithKSP

[Aethon]

It took me quite a bit longer than 2 days to get to Minmus. For some reason 8 days rings a bell.

Sorry. Not clear. I mean the two days flight time to Minmus. Technically what I do is get some easy stuff near KSC. My standard sci pod has 4 goo and 4 sci jrs, as well as whatever other sci stuff is unlocked, so I only have to visit a biome once.

I unlock enough tech to orbit (High/low Kerbin), then while 2 Mun and 2 Minmus (High/low Minmus/Mun) sciflybys and a Sun scipod are en route (Managed beautifully by KAC), I can visit all biomes on Kerbin, upgrade tech, and then ship a first Minmus landing. While this is en route, I can send a station to Mun ( with Sci lab ) and get all Mun equatorial biomes. By the time I get a station to Minmus, I only need a couple of flat landings to complete the tech tree. IRL though this probably took a month, what with living and all that.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Aethon

[EdFred]

Sorry. Not clear. I mean the two days flight time to Minmus. Technically what I do is get some easy stuff near KSC. My standard sci pod has 4 goo and 4 sci jrs, as well as whatever other sci stuff is unlocked, so I only have to visit a biome once.

That's what I meant too. I thought it took ~2 days to get to Mun and ~8 days to get to Minmus. Then of course 2 days and 8 days back respectively.