New mission types

[kiwiak]

Lets think of new mission types for modders to use. Or even squad? Probably not..

I will add interesting ideas to OP post.

- Space tourism - fly over specific biomes. Passenger must survive. Specific g-force limit cant be exceeded.

- Probe missions - explore specific region of solar system with probe. There cant be manned pod on board.

- Long term probe mission - probe must stay active specific amount of time in some region of solar system (for uxample mun surface). If probe is shut down due to lack of power by more than x% of time spent here, mission failure (remember to keep enough batteries)

- Satellite launch - launch satellite to specific orbit

- Rescue kerbal - but sitting inside game spawned ship. Ship is non controllable, player needs to dock it

- Rescue kerbal - sitting inside game spawned, malfunctioned lander on surface of some body

- Rescue kerbal - sitting inside ship with decaying orbit!

- Study old probe (game spawned) landed on some body (Surveyor inspired)

- Study anomaly

- Drive rover on surface of body from biome a to b, or just some specific distance. Manned or unmanned.

- Deliver supplies to game spawned space station. Rise its orbit.

- Service game spawned satellite

- Deliver new module containing specific parts to game spawned space station.

- Bring back specific amount of kethane (or other resource) from specific body for research on kerbin

- Put base with specific parts on surface of body and keep it manned for x amount of time

- Re-visit base that you used previously but this time bring new specific parts with you and put them nearby (some science sensors for example)

- Scansat mission - scan specific body, or specic part of kerbin using some special sensor - for example some oceanology institute want to measure depth of kerbin oceans

- Asteroid redirect mission - capture steroid and put it on specific orbit

- Save the world - asteroid is on collision course with kerbin, change its trajectory

- Deorbit debris (claw might be usefull for this) - this might use game spawned debris - or your own debris left in orbit

- Test engine - with requirement that it must run continuously on certain altitude span, for example from upper atmosphere to vacuum

Unique missions (like stock "reach orbit"):

- Galileo type - put probe deep into jool atmosphere

- Grand tour - visit all jool moons with same command pod (same lander)

- SSTO - reach orbit and land vessel with all parts from launch present

- Dock in orbit

Edited July 20, 2014 by kiwiak

[Vanamonde]

This suggestion for mission types has been moved to Suggestions & Development.

[r4pt0r]

Heres an idea i had, got the inspiration from the galileo probe.

Transmit science from inside Eve SOI

Transmit science from inside Jool SOI

Transmit science from inside Tylo SOI

Transmit science from inside Val SOI

Now that sounds like a 3 star contract to me.

the idea being you can brute force your way to all those, or you can learn gravity assists by playing with the maneuver nodes.

EDIT: op the idea is a contract to enter multiple planets soi's, like the start of the galileo mission, not dive into a gas giant like the end of it lol

Edited July 19, 2014 by r4pt0r

[ixolate industries]

Instead of using game spawned space stations for deliveries why not use ones that have been placed in orbit by the player? The same could go for the surface bases too.

[CaptainTurbomuffin]

Yes, we need more missions that can be done by spamming the same vehicle. For example, NASA's STS had 135 flights. In KSP, for my 6 missions done around Kerbin orbit, I used 6 different vehicles. Of course this is good, the game is about building rockets.

But in a harder mode, where you couldn't earn so much money so easily, you'd need much more missions, and if re-entry heat is added, every well-desgined shuttle or spaceplane would mean a good profit.

So yes, I would like a harder mode, where your most effective vehicle would mean the main money source.

[comicbstudeo]

i think there should be ones to launch another company's payload into orbit (either very specific orbit or very heavy payload for dificulty)

[Cerebrate]

Dekesslering -

A contract which pays you for a mission which leaves less debris in orbit at its end than there was when it started. Go out there, find your trash, and either drag it into a decaying orbit or bring it home for recycling (which pays a bonus). (Or, I suppose, recycle it by hooking it up to a space station or something else non-debris-like - I don't think the contract should care _how_ you cleaned up orbit, just that you did.)

[CaptainTurbomuffin]

i think there should be ones to launch another company's payload into orbit (either very specific orbit or very heavy payload for dificulty)

Agreed, but what you mean under 'other company?' something wich is not the R&D? just launch payloads to orbit, or connect'em to space stations, and get paid. After doing it a few times, you will have enough founds for a bigger project, such as Jool. Using shuttles and spaceplanes will come handy for things like this. And than have the giant rocket to Jool, and the torrent of research points. rom that have better tanks, better shuttles and spaceplanes, and orbit more and heavier payloads, or even take them to places like Duna. Than have an even bigger rocket to don't know, maybe to Eve. Would you like a hardmode like that?

[jxi24]

One question before I specify these ideas. Does anyone know if it is possible to create a mission that limits the allowed cost or dV of a rocket? Because I feel a lot of those visit all these different places could be done if you accumulate enough funds and then build a huge rocket.

If so, what about something similar to the Voyager mission?

-Limit it to a dV or cost that would prevent you from doing all of it, forcing gravity assists

-Fly to a bunch of planets

-Leave the Kerbol System

[pellinor]

What about missions that destroy parts?

"splash down this tank at 50-70m/s"

"overheat this engine"

[Empiro]

- Study old probe (game spawned) landed on some body (Surveyor inspired)

- Study anomaly

- Drive rover on surface of body from biome a to b, or just some specific distance. Manned or unmanned.

I'd love to see a combination of these, as well as missions requiring lots of precision I'm thinking something like:

- Crash a probe weighing at least X tons travelling at least Y m/s (and optionally for a bonus payment: to within Z km of some spawned beacon (maybe flags can be used?)). The weight and speed restrictions make it hard for you to just have a single "mothership" that drops pieces off.

I'd also love to see some complex, multi-part missions have have a clear logical goal and progression:

- Land some esoteric scientific equipment X (it can be big, heavy, expensive and otherwise useless) to within 10km of some spawned beacon

- Run test / scan using the equipment

- Randomly generate a handful of new beacons nearby within a few km, and require you to bring a different piece of heavy equipment (like a drill) to extreme precision (like with 5 meters) of those locations.

- At any of the locations, have a chance of "finding something really interesting", which generates a new mission that asks you to bring the sample back -- again, the sample should vary in mass (from very light to extremely heavy), but it shouldn't always happen (so always bringing along a huge return lander is wasteful). If you bring it back, you should get tons of science (but maybe very little extra money, so you have to decide if it's worth it or not).

The combination of: the weight of the equipment, precision at which you must place it, and the fact that you have to do this 2-3 times make it natural for you to want to use a rover. However, if you're badass enough of a pilot and bring along lots of extra fuel, you can also do small rocket hopes. I generally like giving multiple options and ways of doing things, and I don't like arbitrary limitations or requirements (for example, the rover mission mod requires you to be touching the ground as you travel, which I don't like).

I don't think it's possible within the game at the moment, but if you can generate unique equipment names and ids (perhaps using the same hilarious contract description generator), you also force players to have to launch a new rocket for each mission, which prevents them from doing cheese like leaving a Kerbal somewhere to plant a flag now and then.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Empiro

[peadar1987]

What about missions that destroy parts?

"splash down this tank at 50-70m/s"

"overheat this engine"

Super idea!

[xcorps]

Spending limits.

Land three kerbals on Minmus flats in a capsule, perform 5 different experiments and return. Do not exceed 75k funds on the rocket.

[Tsynique]

"Put a satellite with parts X, Y and Z above planet P in a geosynchronous orbit"

[Kenobi McCormick]

How about more rover oriented stuff?

* Build a pickup truck and use it to carry a science probe <insert distance> meters from the lander on <insert orbital body>

* Build a science van, land it on <insert orbital body>, and do science at <insert number> points <insert distance> meters from the landing site.

* Build a mobile base on <insert orbital body>

* Build a fuel truck to carry fuel from lander to stranded one on <insert orbital body> and successfully refuel it.

[bitbucket]

I think a few things as simple as performing a specific experiment type in a specific place (i.e., seismic sensor experiment on Mun's midlands) would fit in well enough with the current framework. Even sample return missions would at least give an incentive to bring something back.

[saabstory88]

Seeing Kenobi McCormick's avatar makes me think about having cheap rocket challenges. Those could be fun (and funny) missions.

[Sirrobert]

I am very much in favor of missions that are actually possible to fail, rather than just expire because you didn't bother to do them

[Snillum101]

I am very much in favor of missions that are actually possible to fail, rather than just expire because you didn't bother to do them

+1 to this! I think a good way to balance this with difficulty would be to make failure a possibility for 2 and 3 star missions but not for 1 star. That way players who maybe are struggling are able to take on contracts that they can complete but there is still a challenge for more experienced players.

[Sky_walker]

I am very much in favor of missions that are actually possible to fail, rather than just expire because you didn't bother to do them

I'm yet to have that happening. Deadlines are so long, that you will eventually do the contract anyway - even solely because of boredom. I never, ever approached deadline of a contract.

[SunJumper]

My ideas:

[TABLE=width: 500, align: center]

[TR]

[TD]Contract Name

[/TD]

[TD]Prerequisite

[/TD]

[TD]Pass Condition

[/TD]

[TD]Fail Condition

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Land at X location on Y body

[/TD]

[TD]EVA on Y body

[/TD]

[TD]Land within R km/m of the coordinates

[/TD]

[TD]Crash within R km/m of the co-ordinates (ie, the root part is destroyed)

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Flyby of X body

[/TD]

[TD]Achieve orbit around different body ^{(note 1)}

[/TD]

[TD]Complete a hyperbolic trajectory around the body ^{(note 2)}

[/TD]

[TD]Crash into the body

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Impact X body

[/TD]

[TD]Flyby of X body

[/TD]

[TD]Impact the body. Vessel has no crew.

[/TD]

[TD]Miss the body

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Impact X body at Y location at Z velocity

[/TD]

[TD]Impact X body

[/TD]

[TD]Impact the body within R km of the co-ordinates with a velocity of Zkm/s and a certain allowed error (ie +-10%)

[/TD]

[TD]Miss the body, or impact outside the co-ordinates, or impact with too much/too little velocity

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Rescue X person or group of people from the surface of Y body

[/TD]

[TD]Land on Y body twice

[/TD]

[TD]Return X people to Kerbin

[/TD]

[TD]Kill at least one of X people

[/TD]

[/TR]

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[/TABLE]

Note 1: The prerequisite body would be an easier to reach body. For example, achieving orbit around Minmus would unlock the Duna Flyby/Eve Flyby mission

Note 2: I'm not sure how the system should behave if you land or achieve orbit around the body, as you technically outperformed the contract. The contract giver would be surprised, not annoyed, most likely.

[larkvi]

I like a lot of the ideas proposed in this thread. Contracts as currently implemented feel flat and repetitive.