The tips and tricks to contracts.

[Starwhip]

There are several bits that I have noticed so far pertaining to the completion of Contracts. If you are asked to test a part, say, the BACC SRB on a sub-orbital trajectory, but have no need to light said SRB at that altitude, simply empty it of fuel. The game still counts the staging of the empty booster as a valid test. Keep in mind that this also works with jet engines (No intakes necessary), the Launch Escape System, and even normal engines. If you activate a part, that is all that counts, and if you want you can then decouple it.

A second thing: It is a good idea to have a very efficient craft of some sort that can make it to orbit with the fewest stages dropped. fairly early on. If you are instructed to go to the Mun, the next contract will most likely be to plant a flag there, so keep that in mind If you had to spend on the second mission (like I did) a non-reusable launch vehicle, it will be much less cost-effective than, say, an SSTO that could go to the Mun, or at least to an orbiting refueler station. The same goes for all of those "rescue this random guy in orbit" missions that pop up every other day (I'm looking at you, Kerlington. What are you testing behind the scenes?) If you've got an SSTO, the profits are 100% - fuel spent. That is, if you stick a runway landing.

And last but not least, get a pencil and notepad, and write down the specs of all the contracts you have. It is a lot easier than looking at them in that tiny little window. Also write down the funds and rep and science gained from each one. That way, if all else fails, you can go for the one that will save you the most. Try to complete as many as you can at the same time. I've found that I build stuff that looks like

all the time. I'm not proud of it...

And so far that's all I've noticed. If you've seen something that I have not, feel free to add onto this thread.

[Uncle Mort]

Make sure you check for the "run test" option.

[SkyRender]

Another useful tip: Mission Control updates missions available in real-time. If you complete a milestone (ie. enter the SoI of the Mun or Minmus) before it would normally be unlocked, go back to the Space Center and check Mission Control again to get a slew of new contracts relating to that newly-reached body. No need to end your current flight or launch a new one!

[No one]

Have a "base" (One Kerbal+One command pod, also you should really make sure they have a way of eventually getting home even though you'll never bring them home) on every body you visit where they're likely to ask you to plant a flag. Then getting money is as easy as accepting the contract, going to that base, EVAing, and planting a flag. Also have a probe/ship capable of transmitting science orbiting every body where they're likely to ask you to get science from space.

Also, SRBs are cheap. Very cheap.

[Godot]

There are several bits that I have noticed so far pertaining to the completion of Contracts. If you are asked to test a part, say, the BACC SRB on a sub-orbital trajectory, but have no need to light said SRB at that altitude, simply empty it of fuel. The game still counts the staging of the empty booster as a valid test. Keep in mind that this also works with jet engines (No intakes necessary), the Launch Escape System, and even normal engines. If you activate a part, that is all that counts, and if you want you can then decouple it.

...

You can, in fact, instead also keep all fuel in the booster and manually activate it via right clicking. This way it can do some work and still will remain in the stage system.

The only important thing is, to keep it atached to your spaceship (after it burned out) and activate the stage with it when all prerequisites are met.

And last but not least, get a pencil and notepad, and write down the specs of all the contracts you have. ...

Or use a laptop besides your main compi and write them down in Excel ...

for me it is:

Altitude min/max, Speed min/max, Reference body, Other Prerequisites ("Orbit", for example) and Funds earned

(Science and Reputation aren´t so important for me in order to decide which contracts I do together, therefore I don´t write them down)

Also, with regards to reusability:

It pays to keep the parts attached to your spaceship until deep into descent ... if you separate them at maybe 10km altitude or less, chances are good that they will stay within 2.5 km (and stay reusable) ... at the moment (due to the fact that the Recovery system is a little bit buggy insofar as it seems to give you much more funds than the parts are worth) it is well possible to recover 80-95% of the costs of the spacecraft if you and your parts land near KSC)

(of course you shoudln´t forget to attach enough parachutes to said parts)

[EdFred]

Or use a laptop besides your main compi and write them down in Excel ...

for me it is:

Altitude min/max, Speed min/max, Reference body, Other Prerequisites ("Orbit", for example) and Funds earned

(Science and Reputation aren´t so important for me in order to decide which contracts I do together, therefore I don´t write them down)

Or just look at the requirements under the contract icon in the upper right corner.

[Esme]

Or just look at the requirements under the contract icon in the upper right corner.

-which I didn't find easy to use in situations where I had more than one contract on the go. It's a nice idea, but needs a little work to improve usability. IMHO.

[Godot]

Or just look at the requirements under the contract icon in the upper right corner.

Just as Esme said ...

it is rather a PITA to use this for planning and building.

With an Excel chart I have all contracts below each other and can decide:

1. Which Contracts go well together

2. How should I do my staging (especially as sometimes you find a common denominator for several stages so putting several test parts into it makes sense)

3. When should I release each stage

The upper right corner popup window has been only useful in flight to me, in order to ensure that really all rpeconditions are met ... and has been totally useless for building/stage planning

Aside from this my Excel list also helps me decided which contracts can be done in a single mission (without any other contract) and which give so little money, that they absolutely must be combined with other more lucrative missions (you can lose money by doing contracts, if you don´t plan acordingly )

Edited July 19, 2014 by Godot

[Frank_G]

Another useful tip: Mission Control updates missions available in real-time. If you complete a milestone (ie. enter the SoI of the Mun or Minmus) before it would normally be unlocked, go back to the Space Center and check Mission Control again to get a slew of new contracts relating to that newly-reached body. No need to end your current flight or launch a new one!

Thank you! Very useful tip!

[redmario14]

Probes seem to be about half the cost of manned vessels, although the batteries and solar panels might cost extra. From what I've seen, probes seem to be better for part testing contracts, because you don't have to worry about crew survivability, and you can do all sorts of crazy unsafe things in order to make sure the contract is completed no matter what.

[Torham234]

You don't even have to really be penny pinching with the funds. I have been steadily going through the research tree and the contracts. I only take the more sensible/profitable ones and I still have extra 2 million (!!) on my account. So far I have only done stuff around kerbin system, so I am going to blow some of this extra cash on a manned return mission to the Eve System.

[Tex_NL]

Don't waste parts on collecting Kerbin Biome data.

Go biome hunting with a plane when you get the necessary parts. Instead of recovering it at a distance fly it back to KSC, land (or park) on the runway and recover for a full 100% refund. It will only cost you some cheap fuel.

[SkyRender]

I should note that the real-time Mission Control updating applies with first landings too. Before you have one of your Kerbals plant the first flag on the surface of a body, return to the Space Center and get the flag-planting mission for that body. Spares you a second trip out, and gets you an instant influx of funds and reputation too!

[Hidden Gunman]

Tip: Ramjets.

On smaller craft, especially for the rescue missions and other kerbal system contracts, a couple of those on a small rocket will get you up and away at a pittance of the cost of other gear.

[EdFred]

-which I didn't find easy to use in situations where I had more than one contract on the go. It's a nice idea, but needs a little work to improve usability. IMHO.

Just as Esme said ...

it is rather a PITA to use this for planning and building.

With an Excel chart I have all contracts below each other and can decide:

1. Which Contracts go well together

2. How should I do my staging (especially as sometimes you find a common denominator for several stages so putting several test parts into it makes sense)

3. When should I release each stage

The upper right corner popup window has been only useful in flight to me, in order to ensure that really all rpeconditions are met ... and has been totally useless for building/stage planning

Aside from this my Excel list also helps me decided which contracts can be done in a single mission (without any other contract) and which give so little money, that they absolutely must be combined with other more lucrative missions (you can lose money by doing contracts, if you don´t plan acordingly )

Meh, works fine for me. The VAB has the contracts in the lower right corner - which is easier than ALT+TAB back and forth between Excel (or whatever).

[superm18]

When in-flight you can pause the game and then scroll the contract menu

[MarvinKitFox]

Dont be afraid to use the big guns.

It is easier to SSTO a rocket with SLS motor on it, and have it return to land on the runway, than it is to build and fly a true SSTO spaceplane.

Yes the SLS rocket is horridly expensive. About 120000 for just the launcher!. but you get all of it back except the fuel.

[SkyRender]

This one was discovered by a few forum members, but really should be mentioned here: if you place a probe core in low orbit with the bare minimum of power generation, antenna, and a thermometer, you can spam "collect science from space around (body)" contracts to your heart's content by beaming back temperature readings over and over again. Contracts for science from space around Kerbin are worth ~30,000 Funds each, Mun ones 60,000 each, and Minmus ones 72,000 each, and all of them give absurdly good reputation, so it's worth it to set one of those up at least in Kerbin orbit as an easy way of generating Funds as needed.

[Concentric]

Carefully look at the speed/altitude requirements before accepting a contract. Some of these are utterly ludicrous, and if you think you can't reasonably complete it, decline it. Typically, a replacement contract will appear almost immediately.

Contracts from some companies reduce their rewards the longer you take to complete the contract. Waiting for deadline is not necessarily a good idea. Accept contracts you think you'll start on soon.

Get good at Kerbal rescue missions - even if you don't fly-back, a cheap, disposable standard rescue mission ship makes money hand over fist, particularly if you do some part tests along the way.

If you are doing a part test on an engine and it doesn't have the "Run Test" option (or that doesn't work), that doesn't mean that you can't activate the engine beforehand. All it means is that you can't activate it by staging beforehand. Action groups and the context menu are fine. Even if the engine is already active, it counts. If the throttle is cut, it still counts. If there's no fuel, it still counts. You can stage engines before you need to use them by putting them in their own stage and assigning their toggle to an action group. Move the stage into the right place in the order (in flight if need be), stage for the test and disable immediately with the action group. Later, when you need the engine, just use the action group again.

If testing some things that don't need to go to orbit, tilt west a little to come down over KSC again. Also, the runway is a big, easy target even for vertical return ships, and gives the full 100%.

Also, note that higher end part-test contracts often have a substantial science reward. That aside, deliberately putting off completing a contract in order to keep the experimental part around for use is also valid.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Concentric

[magnemoe]

Probes seem to be about half the cost of manned vessels, although the batteries and solar panels might cost extra. From what I've seen, probes seem to be better for part testing contracts, because you don't have to worry about crew survivability, and you can do all sorts of crazy unsafe things in order to make sure the contract is completed no matter what.

Probes is also 100 kg or less, for atmospheric tests I tent to use small probes down to a 48-7S and a 45 liter tank, larger for some of the larger stuff, this keep the fuel cost low and it all land back at KSC.

For orbital and other body tests its smart to bundle it on an mission, they are not as time critical as the 200-300 m/s at 8-9 km stuff.

Leave an cash cow probe with a solar panel, a battery, thermometer and an antenna in low orbit everywhere for science reports. Might be smart with an small manned base for flag planting.

[magnemoe]

It might be smart to deploy some cheap pods with two life belt tanks a 48-7S, two solar panels, some struts of landing legs, they can be parasite cargo on large launches and is nice to pick up kerbals in orbit.

[SerhumXen]

You can activate an engine in staging, deactivate, create a new stage, move the engine to that stage, and activate via staging if the run test option isn't available and you want to use the part before hand and didn't set up the action groups.

[Franklin]

This one was discovered by a few forum members, but really should be mentioned here: if you place a probe core in low orbit with the bare minimum of power generation, antenna, and a thermometer, you can spam "collect science from space around (body)" contracts to your heart's content by beaming back temperature readings over and over again. Contracts for science from space around Kerbin are worth ~30,000 Funds each, Mun ones 60,000 each, and Minmus ones 72,000 each, and all of them give absurdly good reputation, so it's worth it to set one of those up at least in Kerbin orbit as an easy way of generating Funds as needed.

I imagine this will get patched sooner than later. Those remaining spammable science parts have been due for a tweaking as it is.