What to do once you've completed the tech tree?

[Pecan]

Yes, I can. The existing tech-tree has a couple significant flaws, mainly involving the delay in getting any kind of unmanned probe core and battery, but most of it is just fine...

Thank you for a detailed and well-explained post, I shall bear your points in mind next time I'm arguing against the tech-tree.

[magnemoe]

The tech tree is just a beginning, you can fill it confertable with 4-8 launches, in 0.24 its even easier as you get lots of science from testing parts and often access to useful parts for testing early.

Afterwards you continue like in sandbox but has the bonus of getting science from exploring and doing contracts.

[randomness5555]

Try some of the challenges on the forum, IN campain mode. Limited funds could make some quite a lot harder

[Odielthen]

Try some of the challenges on the forum, IN campain mode. Limited funds could make some quite a lot harder

The challenges sub-forum is the best collection of stuff to do in KSP in my opinion. The stuff in there has inspired many hours of enjoyable frustration!

[eataTREE]

When I finish the tech tree in a save, I think "Oh thank goodness, now I can use the parts I really want instead of having to jury-rig some complex combination of other parts to get the same effect". The point of the game is not "finish the tech tree", the point of the game is "explore space". Which is easier with more tech than less.

[iPeer]

Whenever I complete the tech tree I actually try to get as much excess science as I can. It not only gives me a reason to keep playing, but also gives me a reason to go everywhere in the game.

[MarvinKitFox]

Try some mods! FAR, Deadly Re-Entry, etc. add a little more difficulty to whatever you do; B9 and such give you a lot more flexibility as far as design goes; Kethane (my new favorite) gives your Space Program a whole new purpose and allows you to refuel anywhere you have a base.

Alternatively, try finding the Easter Eggs. Capture as many asteroids as you can find and put them all in orbit around Kerbin. Land on the Mun with as small a rocket as possible. KSP is a sandbox game, so come up with your own challenge!

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THIS.

Personally, I added challenge/difficulty.

1) Dispose of your time-machine and eternal life elixir. Apply some Kryptonite.

i.e. stop using quicksave -> oops -> quickload, try again.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/60181-Disabling-quicksave-quickload-and-revert-flight-in-a-campaign

2) Install FAR for more real aerodynamics.

3) Install TAC, because your now-mortal kerbals need to breathe.

4) Install deadly reentry, because face it, slamming into the atmo at warp7 should *hurt*, not just make harmless fireworks.

5) Install RemoteTech2, because your now-mortal Kerbals have lost their omniscience and infinite telepathy. Now you need to use feeble *radio* communications to talk between planets.

If you think you are tuff, you might give BDSM. erm, BTSM a try. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/61632-0-24-2-Better-Than-Starting-Manned-Career-Mode-Redefined-%28v1-626-Sep-4th%29?highlight=BTSM

It makes you actually feel *proud* to complete the tech tree. Heck, it make you feel proud to just get to orbit!

[SelectHalfling0]

Put stations and bases and send missions to every body. I finished the tech tree after only visiting Mun, Minmus, and Duna. That left alot for me to do.

[qromodynmc]

Send all your funds to arge department,Design something awesome.

[Tingjonki]

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THIS.

Personally, I added challenge/difficulty.

1) Dispose of your time-machine and eternal life elixir. Apply some Kryptonite.

i.e. stop using quicksave -> oops -> quickload, try again.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/60181-Disabling-quicksave-quickload-and-revert-flight-in-a-campaign

2) Install FAR for more real aerodynamics.

3) Install TAC, because your now-mortal kerbals need to breathe.

4) Install deadly reentry, because face it, slamming into the atmo at warp7 should *hurt*, not just make harmless fireworks.

5) Install RemoteTech2, because your now-mortal Kerbals have lost their omniscience and infinite telepathy. Now you need to use feeble *radio* communications to talk between planets.

If you think you are tuff, you might give BDSM. erm, BTSM a try. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/61632-0-24-2-Better-Than-Starting-Manned-Career-Mode-Redefined-%28v1-626-Sep-4th%29?highlight=BTSM

It makes you actually feel *proud* to complete the tech tree. Heck, it make you feel proud to just get to orbit!

I have all those mods already

Id love to be able to increase the TAC consumption rate by x2 or x3 as it feels too easy to get like 10 years of life support without refueling but Im not sure how I can do that. Id like for manned missions to take actual commitment so there'd be a reason to send probes but TAC consumption rates are just too low

EDIT: I looked up BTSM and it looks cool but the no mod compatibility is a deal breaker

Send all your funds to arge department,Design something awesome.

funds is my limiting factor actually, which is why it'd be nice to be able to convert all my excess science to money so that there'd be an incentive to gather more science

I just want an actual reason to gather excess science

Edited September 8, 2014 by Tingjonki

[Bothersome]

When I finish the tech tree in a save, I think "Oh thank goodness, now I can use the parts I really want instead of having to jury-rig some complex combination of other parts to get the same effect". The point of the game is not "finish the tech tree", the point of the game is "explore space". Which is easier with more tech than less.

That is an excellent point.

The problem is that Kerbals want to go and explore but the "Space Administrator" has already explored it in a previous game. This is why we need some random solar system we can warp/jump/gate to, so we can continue the explore thingy.

[bitbucket]

Finishing the tech tree isn't the end. It's the beginning!

People who complain there's nothing left to do once everything is unlocked are seriously lacking some imagination.

[Superfluous J]

Finishing the tech tree isn't the end. It's the beginning!

People who complain there's nothing left to do once everything is unlocked are seriously lacking some imagination.

No. They just want to play a different game than you want to play. Don't assume that the only people who want constraints on the game are hampered in some way.

[Nicdanger]

Play like we've always done in Sandbox: set our own goals and meet them. Don't need a game to dictate what you do next, or would you prefer to be spoon-fed?

The first time I played thru career mode I finished off the tech tree with a very ambitious (at least for me at the time) mission to Jool that involved 5 separate probes gathering science from Jool and 4 out of 5 of its moons. Then landed Bill and Jeb on Duna and Ike, built a few space stations, messed around with space planes, ect, ect. Then I added a bunch of difficulty mods and started over. Then added more and did it again. Currently working on a "Better Than Starting Manned" play thru and having as much fun as when I first found this game. Why? Building insanely huge things in space is pretty cool but once you've got the basics down exploring the kerbol system is (to me) less of a challenge and more a time consuming chore. Stuff like BTSM adds depth and challenge in a way that exploring the last bits of the vanilla KSP experience just won't do for me.

Now I may think my way of playing KSP is better than yours, but I respect yours enough to not question your maturity just because I like rocky road and you like cookie dough. Food for thought.

[Norcalplanner]

Do some challenges. I'm a big fan of Ziv's Jool-5 challenges.

And if you're running out of funds, then work on making more efficient spacecraft. When I started career in 0.24, I originally just built the same kind of rockets I had built previously, which ended up being a very inefficient way of doing things. Now I have a ship with a tiny lander and a tug to move it around that can go almost anywhere in the system (only Tylo and Eve are off limits) for less than 200K funds. See how many S1 SRBs you can use, since they're really cheap for what you get. And try to make an SSTO tanker so you can refuel your orbital fuel depots for barely more than the cost of fuel. Don't have any orbital depots? Put some up. Try putting one around the mun or minmus and filling it with kethane-sourced fuel.

[1of6Billion]

Build permanently manned bases on other bodies. No more need for return missions.

[bitbucket]

No. They just want to play a different game than you want to play. Don't assume that the only people who want constraints on the game are hampered in some way.

I'm quite aware people have different preferences. Some people just want to min/max science, some like building crazy awesome ships, some like to tinker and experiment, some enjoy working under limits, some like pushing limits, some just want to retire in the sandbox and goof around. When a fanbase grows sufficiently large and diverse enough, it becomes impossible to please everyone in it, and it's only a matter of time before you get in-fighting over who plays it the "right" way when there isn't one. *coughminecraftcough*

Sorry if I came off being critical, I'm just an old fogey who grew up in a time when differing opinions were at least tolerated. It's a fault of mine to assume people have thicker skin, and one I really need to deal with, when in this day and age many people would rather see someone who doesn't see eye-to-eye silenced rather than agree to disagree.

I do see a lot of lack of self-direction in the younger generations, though. Can't really blame them, when they cut their gaming teeth on glowing checkpoints and flashing objectives and achievements for every little task; essentially a constant stream of positive feedback. It's as if when they hit the final goalpost and credits don't start rolling, they're lost on what to do next.

[MisterDoubleSevens]

complete the tech tree with space planes.

That was actually done a while back: The Wrong Brothers.

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And now for my suggestion:

Make a roleplay save. Build stories for your space center, for the companies and countries represented by all the flags you've no-doubt got, for the Kerbals and the spacecraft themselves. Don't just go to Duna because "science" or "funds," go to Duna because your Kerbals want to explore Duna!

In other words, look at the After Action Reports section of the forum... and imagine the entire game like one big AAR that you're in charge of.

[regex]

I do see a lot of lack of self-direction in the younger generations, though. Can't really blame them, when they cut their gaming teeth on glowing checkpoints and flashing objectives and achievements for every little task; essentially a constant stream of positive feedback. It's as if when they hit the final goalpost and credits don't start rolling, they're lost on what to do next.

I wouldn't say it's generational, necessarily, it's just that when a fan base gets to a certain size you're going to get players who can't really self-direct no matter how old they are or what games they've played prior. What kills me is people who think that sandbox play involves nothing but building enormous things in space; as if people never created and followed a plan before career mode was written... Fact is, some people need to be guided through the game to have fun and that's okay, KSP caters to that now, to some extent, but at the end of the day it's a sandbox-style game and you will eventually have to set your own goals, whatever those may be. If that goal is to restart and go through the tech tree yet again, so be it; whatever's fun for you.

[tater]

I for one like career games, and I don't think it's generational, or lack of self-direction (I grew up playing space games on hex boards (or traveller space combat with a grease pencil)). I like limitations, so the current career mode is pretty "meh," but with a good one, I think I'd enjoy such a mode.

A really good campaign game, even with a very open-ended world like KSP, allows the player to do what they like, but within sets of constraints. In a tactical combat game, for example, a campaign/career really exists to set up plausible engagements to fight that are not scripted: "I finally found an IJN warship, and I was OTW back to Pearl with only 2 fish left! Argh!" It's tougher in KSP to come up with a good career system.

Within current scope, the real limitations would be financial, assuming they ever make money matter (it's impossible to struggle as far as I can tell). In a more open-ended career system, I'd like to see resources (yeah, I know) because I think for a later-game point, that would become the whole point. It's not visiting space only for "science," but to exploit it because at a certain point, that's how thou justify it, economics. They can slam this in via "contracts" to build a habitat someplace, but it's not the same as building a universe (solar system) that has something useful if you wish to find it… or not, it's a choice, but it requires a sufficiently complex game world.

I could imagine a sort of "hard" (plausible) science fiction version (a paid add-on?) that takes off from KSP, and is the "Kerbal: Final Frontier." Such a game would include resources, and might start with a few colonies as starting points.

[SorryDave]

I usually just save my favorite designs and start a new science or career mode.

Each time I play a little differently, currently I am playing science mode and trying to unlock as much as possible using just EVAs and crew reports only from space.