prototype parts

[pellinor]

Some thoughts on science and experimental parts.

* Say I get a test contract for a turbojet. Then I could build a whole fleet of planes as long as the contract is active. However, afterwards I'm not even allowed to put a plane in the hangar for refueling, because the part will magically vanish. This feels strange.

* When I research a new part, I typically only need a small number of them. Like the first pair of docking ports for that mun/minmus hopper.

* Later at the end of the tech tree, I would be happy to spend large amounts of science for minor things. I'm equipped and motivated to do more science missions, but have nothing to spend the results on.

=> I suggest that a contract gives a finite number of prototype parts, which can be recovered even after the contract is finished. This could be one engine, or a pair of docking ports. When all are destroyed without doing the test, the contract fails.

=> Make those parts available at the time when you would research their tech node today, and make the tech more expensive so it is unlocked much later. So where today you research LVNs and then send a manned jool mission, you would instead use an experimental LVN to send it and still have plenty if things to spend the mission results on, like unlocking the LVN as a standard part.

This would make the science game last longer, while introducing new parts at the same rate as today. It would be possible to build ships with all the parts in the game, and still have something useful to do with the resulting science.

Edited July 23, 2014 by pellinor

[pellinor]

Opinions, anyone?

For me, the access of new parts is a main motivation to do test contracts. I'd imagine making this mechanic an important part of the tech progression, focusing test contracts on parts that are not available yet. Of course this would also make test contracts less optional than they are now. I'm aware that now everyone likes them.

[Rusty6899]

Personally, I reckon that construction would be better done on an inventory basis rather than design-then-pay basis. Obviously, it would be set up so that craft construction would be largely identical, but you would be able to store parts from test contracts and use them as long as they were recovered.

It also would make testing contracts more difficult as you could be given a small number of parts to perform a test, meaning that you only had two or three opportunities to complete the contract. Successfully completing a contract could reward you with a few of the parts to your inventory.

I think this would work best if items could be bought and sold for the same price, and recovery costs were determined by mass and distance from KSC (with all parts returned to inventory), rather than a recovery value determined by distance from KSC and value of the parts on the craft.

I think it would also be an improvement if you were given specialised parts for specific missions, for example you could be given some landing struts with the "Explore Mun" contract if you haven't researched them yet.