Customizable EVA Suits

[Carl Sagan The S Stallion]

EVA suits, as we are all well aware, are designed in KSP to provide your Kerbonauts comfort and protection in a variety of hazardous conditions. From death's cold embrace in the depths of space to the hellish heat and pressure of Eve, your Kerbonauts never have anything to fear.

I am here to change that fact. I propose a second science tree and a separate construction interface.

All that must be done is to mosey your way down to your local research labs and use your science points to research and develop new EVA items like RCS thruster packs, oxygen packs, parachutes, etc. This research tree could be like a mini rocketry tree, where each tier costs less science than its rocketry counterparts.

Once you have unlocked what you need and want, you could then tab over to a suit design, where you select the best tools for the job in space. Some things I recommend: a backpack slot, chest slot, helmet slot, and general clothing slot. Each of these slots can be filled with attachments.

For example: Jebediah Kerman is going to fly his hypersonic jetplane, but he is concerned about bailing out if things go down (which we are all sure it will, to some degree), so he equips his backpack slot with a parachute pack and customizes his uniform to make him look like a true BadS .

Another example, you might ask? Sure thing: Bill Kerman is going to space. He needs to go on EVA while in Kerbin orbit. Bill equips an RCS theuster backpack into his backpack slot and equips a tether rope to his chest (which he can alter the size through the R&D lab) for infinite oxygen but limited mobility.

Another example? Fine: Bob Kerman is going to land on Mun with his rover. Because there is no oxygen on the Mun, he equips an oxygen respirator to his chest, which he can refill by going over to his lander capsule or boarding his rover. Because of the Mun's small size and lack of metals at the core of the Mun, he equips weighted boots to his feet slot, which will help keep his weight on the Mun down (for ease of use, you can adjust these weights before launch). Due to the threat of nightime landing on the Mun, Bob also equips his helmet with a flashlight that has a narrow, but long field of view. If he were conducting EVA in orbit, he might want a wide, but short, field of view. Because he wants to stay in contact with mission control at all times, Bob eqiups his personal radio pack so he can transmit all those EVA reports.

Now, I know what you're all thinking: OP, this is an amazing addition and a testimate to your brilliance and fashion choices, but how will I equip my Kerbonauts with this technology? Never fear! You simply make your way over to the training center and build your suit. Equip your suits with the right tools for the job!? That's what it's made for! Put hot rod flames on my suit so I look dashing while flying into the sun? Sure. Mod the suit designs in the program files so my Kerbonaut is covered in pink fluffy unicorns? Sure, if you're into that.

Once you've completed your design, you save your suit as whatever you want to save it as. Before launch, you can set your Kerbonauts' EVA suits so you can prep them for a mission. You can select from your saved uniforms or make one of your own again.

Like it? Hate it? Please comment below about concerns and changes and I will be sure to check them out.

[M3tal_Warrior]

Sounds good, but quite some work to implement - I guess Squad will wait with this suggestion, although I really like it.

[Nicholander]

This. Is. AWESOME!!!

I think someone really should make a mod that does this!

[Tex]

I believe there are already mods for it; however, I don't feel like digging up the links right now (it's meh bedtime )

SQUAD may or may not put in customization, but don't really expect it until the game is 1.0 and higher, because it's one of those things that aren't very important in the scope of game development.

[MajorThomas]

Fun ideas.

Carl Sagan the what...?

[nli2work]

TextureReplacer allows customization for Heads and Suits. and a few other things as well.

[LethalDose]

Great idea, except for the "separate tech tree". Just integrate it all in one tree.

[Carl Sagan The S Stallion]

The reason why I don't like the combination of the tech trees is that the different tools are for different types of uses. After sitting on the idea for a day or so, I realized that this different tree would have to cost less in science than the main tree. It wouldn't make sense to pay 160 science for an enhanced respirator and boots.

Some additional ideas I came up with was the default suit.

From the start, your EVA suit has a standard helmet with no real features. Some future helmet unlocks might include a sun shield to give more science during daytime EVA (you won't want the sun in your Kerbal's eyes, would you?), helmet lights for enhanced vision and more nightime EVA science, and heat treated helmet which protects your Kerbal in reentry.

As for your backpack, you have an RCS pack that is really weak and inadequate for use even on Mun. Later enhancements may include a "backpack 2 and 3" slot that is basically a fuel, oxygen, or radio pack on either side of your main pack. Other enhancements may include better thruster packs, parachutes, as stated in my original post, and the last enhancement, a rebreather. Keep in mind: these side tanks could be combined, so you could have a radio pack and an oxygen tank, or an RCS tank and an oxygen tank, or even two oxygen tanks or two RCS tanks. Parachutes and rebreathers, however, are large packs that take up the main slot.

Then comes the chest rig. The chest rig includes an oxygen respirator that holds about 1 minute of oxygen or have a tether that provides infinite oxygen supply, but severely limits mobility down to 5 meters in any direction from the capsule. Later enhancments include longer tethers, up to 100 meters, or longer lasting, but not infinite, respirators, going up to one hour of oxygen.

Then comes the legs slot. The legs slot includes a default setup that has no advantages. Later upgrades include weighted boots, cushioned boots (which lessen impacts, each new one improving on the last; can be used on higher gravity worlds like Eve, Laythe, Kerbin, and Duna), and spring boots (that enhance your jump height).

As for suit customization, there could be suit designs that are default and edited. You can add new suits like you could add flags.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Carl Sagan The S Stallion
Spelling

[M3tal_Warrior]

Why even a tech tree? Science doesn't work that way IRL.

[Carl Sagan The S Stallion]

Well, this would fit the current career mode. If you were playing sandbox mode you could get all the parts you would want and need.

[Drachma]

This could be made a mod if not added I'll wait and see