Space Program, Historical Framework, Research Goals, a plugin to tie it together

[autumnalequinox]

(I realized I posted this in the wrong area and any continued discussion will be moved to the plug-in development sub-forum, with a link here)

As I begin to try to relearn how to code with modern languages (i stopped back in '00) and need some projects to keep my interest, I have been tossing around ideas for plugins that may be useful. My background is mostly in economic simulations, which I excelled at creating when I was 14 and even made some for school projects later on. As the new career mode opened up the flood-gates for some true space program sim mods (Kerbal Construction Time, Dang it!, the venerable Final Frontier, Mission controller, fine print, etc) I have been considering creating plugins to expand on the Space Program management side.

The Concepts:

Scientific Goals

Having major scientific goals on individual worlds/moons that become accomplished after studying enough biomes (possibly with custom biomes support) and generating enough research points at a specific world. Each one will have one or more major questions to be answered... such as "Did Duna harbor past life?" or "Does Laythe have current life?" possibly with some randomization involved. These questions would allow targeted research missions to have more purpose, and the rewards could be cash, reputation (which I want to expand on), additional research, or a possible new value I have thought of adding... Prestige.

Space Program Bureaucracy

Ok, so many of us play KSP to avoid the nitty gritty of dealing with public relations, congress, etc.. (to build our DREAM program, without idiots changing things). But in a hardcore career game, sometimes it may be fun to deal with the bureaucratic side of running things. This could be tied to the contract and Scientific goal system. Either it would turn reputation into a value also representing public interest, or adding a new value, such as Prestige, or Public Interest (PI). Public interest would essentially increase by completing contract goals and scientific goals, and decrease over time (think Apollo 11 as completing every goal, and then the other Apollo missions working against a slow decrease of interest). Decreasing interest would impact budget (annual budget, another possibility) or reputation. It would encourage a few "Bam, WOW, SCIENCE!" missions between building the 4th com sat or launching the 5th fuel pod.

Both of these concepts would be somewhat dependent on Kerbal Construction Time, which extends the game's time-frame in a way to require things like annual budgets and degrading rep/prestige.

In addition, the possibility of an annual report, detailing missions completed/failed during the year, kerbals lost, science gained, and cash granted. Possibility of adjusting things each year, such as percentage of budget spent on research, development, or operations.

Effectively, this plugin would be designed to tie together many others (Final Frontier, KCT, etc) under a single framework. It would not require any of them specifically, but work better with them.

Additionally, random events could be added. Gus Kerman may die in a tragic accident during the year, or a space race could heat up with the Kerbiet Union (generating additional funds), or a vicious Kongressmen could try to shut the program down, stirring up distrust. These could be simple decision nodes, limited to the annual report, that may affect the future of the program.

And specifically, it would be designed primarily to enhance the career mode, and designed to provide a Historical Framework to the game. I want the player to feel like they are nurturing their space program through ups and downs, failures and triumphs, losses and gains, and by the end.. feel like they played out the alternate history of space exploration of an entire planet. The ultimate feature would be to take all the event recording the game does, along with any screen shots taken, and allow a historical log to be created and shared with the community.

This may be a bit too ambitious for someone who hasn't written code in nearly 10 years, but if it gives other, more talented individuals a good idea or if anyone else thinks this could be fun, let me know. I may try to tackle this concept in small portions, tying it together later or collaborating with others. It frightens me a bit that this may interest some, but I think I need some pressure to get motivated

Edited August 23, 2014 by autumnalequinox

[autumnalequinox]

I am writing up a full outline for the goals of this plugin, what dependencies it may require, and the basic functions that it will perform. I will post it here later, hopefully with enough detail that others can get ideas from it or it could be crowd-sourced into something decent.

[Idrryl]

Wow, that sounds absolutely amazing man! I do like the idea of those events, it would add more depth to the career mode. Unfortunately I can't help you with programming but I could be a tester if you require one. Kudos to you

[autumnalequinox]

Thanks for the support. I'll keep you in mind! If this ever gets anywhere

Unfortunately I spend too much of my limited free time playing and may get distracted. I have almost finished a rudimentary outline, however, which will approach this progressively.. starting with simply the annual report (with budget) and yearly events. If I can get that much coded then the tough part will be working with other modders and integrating functions together. I've dreamed of KSP having a strategy element since I started playing, and it would be kewl to add a new sub-style of gaming. Soon it will be.. pilot, builder, and bureaucrat!!