Testing Parts Contracts Worthless?

[SAI Peregrinus]

Start game. Earn some money from contracts (first ship tends to be a hex-pod roller for ~60 science, then do a Munar orbit & return for flight #2.) Set the funds-> science admin strategy at 80%+, then build a small recoverable testing probe (Mk 1 fuselage for jet fuel, 4x radial intakes, 1x probodyne okto, 1x basic jet engine, 4x radial chutes) stick the part to be tested on top, and do tests. 4-6 tests later, the entire tech tree will be unlocked. Set the science-> funds strategy to 100%, and you're now playing sandbox.

[BDelacroix]

I find if I can do multiples on one launch it is much better than a one off. Unless I happen to be doing the one off for some other reason anyway.

Also, on the ground or even splashed down are ok.

[Frank_G]

Well, early in career those contracts can really do the trick... getting a "Test that decoupler" when you havent one available can mean the breakthrough to orbit (unless you prefer the stacked SRB method, which i personally dont like).

[LethalDose]

A good way to test a lot of small engines and decouplers (and chutes, if you're brave) in flight over kerbin is to use a small aircraft to test the parts. It's much easier to hit particular speeds at a given altitude in level flight than it is in verical flight with a rocket.

Building a plane for this is even easier now with cargo bays since test engines can be placed in-line.

Plus, after the part is tested, you can turn around and land the plane on the runway to fully recover your funds.

I'm kind of surprised no one else has recommended this in the thread yet...

[merendel]

Depends on what it's doing. Several of them are unrealistic, like testing the BACC at 60km. Who's going to cart a giant SRB to 60km to run a test? Not me. Sadly I get that contract a lot.

That ones not that hard actualy. tweek it to empty fuel. The BACC, while still deadweight isnt that heavy when empty and isnt that hard to put it into orbit if you really wanted to. The contract comes back valid even if the engien never actualy fired off because you didnt give it any fuel. You could even do it with a spaceplane. Just build the plane around the empty BACC and turbojet up to haveing an AP high enough and not even leave atmo.

[Javster]

Pad tests for engines are fun, unless you get your whole contract window filled with them.

[zeel]

Don't forget that if you take the contract for a part you don't have you can use it in any craft you want. In some situations it may be convenient to take one just for the temporary part.

[juanml82]

Don't forget that if you take the contract for a part you don't have you can use it in any craft you want. In some situations it may be convenient to take one just for the temporary part.

Absolutely. This is specially nice for things like the nuclear engines. Unfortunately, the part contracts don't include the fuel tanks for the engines, so you can't use that for ion engines.

[Superfluous J]

A good way to test a lot of small engines and decouplers (and chutes, if you're brave) in flight over kerbin is to use a small aircraft to test the parts. It's much easier to hit particular speeds at a given altitude in level flight than it is in verical flight with a rocket.

Building a plane for this is even easier now with cargo bays since test engines can be placed in-line.

Plus, after the part is tested, you can turn around and land the plane on the runway to fully recover your funds.

I'm kind of surprised no one else has recommended this in the thread yet...

I hadn't gotten around to it, though I'll admit I don't bother a lot anymore because nobody comes back and says "I tried that and loved it!" so it felt like I was just talking into an empty room Nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks that's the absolute best way to do in-atmo part tests.

[ArmchairGravy]

I only do equipment tests if I feel I can meet the parameters easily. Reading that fine print is key. Is it a run test or staging? If it's the latter use an action button on it to force the staging. I do the equipment tests early, then the science at x later after I've got my satellite fleet working.

[possum]

I don't mind doing tests. I found it to be a easy way to earn some funds, if done carefully. Parachute test I will not do, ever. They all end in disaster. I do a minimum of 3 test per flight when testing, it saves on launch costs.

[Vallius]

Really depends on your difficulty settings. I started a new game in hard mode, and saw contracts promising 7 funds, 0 science, and 5 prestige to test a part in the upper atmosphere. Just imagine the conversation they had with Gene Kerman.

Gene: "So let me get this straight. You want me to test this 1000 Fund engine, going at 400 m/s, at 8,000-10,000 m."

R&D: "Yes."

Gene: "For.... 5 funds if I succeed, 7 prestige and no science."

R&D: "Mmmhmmm."

Gene: "And if we fail, we have to pay you 12,000 Funds?"

R&D: "That's right."

Gene: "Well, I'll run this by the boss. But tell you what, don't call us. We'll call you."

R&D: "Wait! Wait! I'll give you an advance to carry out the test. Will 2 Funds sweeten the deal?"

Edited October 13, 2014 by Vallius

[Kerano]

Start game. Earn some money from contracts (first ship tends to be a hex-pod roller for ~60 science, then do a Munar orbit & return for flight #2.) Set the funds-> science admin strategy at 80%+, then build a small recoverable testing probe (Mk 1 fuselage for jet fuel, 4x radial intakes, 1x probodyne okto, 1x basic jet engine, 4x radial chutes) stick the part to be tested on top, and do tests. 4-6 tests later, the entire tech tree will be unlocked. Set the science-> funds strategy to 100%, and you're now playing sandbox.

I've noticed the same problem with the funds/science conversion. The rates feel like they are out by at least a factor of 10 from where they should be. It would be much better to have around ~300 funds -> 1 science rather than ~30 funds -> 1 science; and likewise it would make more sense to have 1 science -> ~100 funds rather than 1 science -> ~10 funds.

A good way to test a lot of small engines and decouplers (and chutes, if you're brave) in flight over kerbin is to use a small aircraft to test the parts. It's much easier to hit particular speeds at a given altitude in level flight than it is in verical flight with a rocket.

Building a plane for this is even easier now with cargo bays since test engines can be placed in-line.

Plus, after the part is tested, you can turn around and land the plane on the runway to fully recover your funds.

I'm kind of surprised no one else has recommended this in the thread yet...

For me I still much prefer to use rockets for part tests. Planes take a lot more time to achieve a given altitude and speed than rockets, and can't be timewarped to a quick landing with a parachute after the test like a rocket. So in terms of game time efficiency, it's worth my while to just strap some parts to a few boosters and shoot them up in rapid succession. Funds are the easiest currency to earn, so losing a few hundred or even a few thousand by using a rocket instead of a plane is not a big deal after the first few missions.

Empty it.

You can regulate the amount of solid fuel through twakeables in the editor.

Empty SRB is almost like a balloon - large, but light Quite easy to carry. I strap two symmetrically to my sounding rocket. Fly up, then trigger them. Easy money.

That's a good idea, thanks for the tip. My personal challenge at the moment is "accept and complete every contract that comes up", so this will definitely prove useful.

Edited October 13, 2014 by Kerano

[Thanny]

Each individual part test often doesn't justify launching a whole rocket, true. But take a whole bunch of them, and try to squeeze them all into the same flight. And beyond that, try to make the flight useful for your own ends. You do a half-dozen part tests on one flight, and the rewards add up pretty quickly.

[TheSaint]

I'll take them if they fit into my current launch schedule, with a preference given to science points early on. Testing parts on the ground is easy, testing parts in orbit is usually pretty easy. Atmospheric tests are usually too much of a pain to deal with.

[[email protected]]

Some of these contracts are a bit nuts. Like testing parachutes at 24KM at unrealistically slow speeds or carrying SRB's up to ridiculous heights at high velocities before activating them within a 1500 meter altitude range. In order to complete some tests I have to climb up at snail speeds while for others I have to roll over early and burn for the horizon at crazy low altitudes. I try to do them all though, which results in some hilarity, and frustration.

I think an improvement could be made to the contracts by have a negotiation slider on each one, easing up the difficulty but reducing the rewards, especially the reputation, as you effectively say "Hey I'll test your SRB, but I'm not hauling it up to 60km to do it, and yea I'll test that parachute, but I think I'll wait until the capsule is NO LONGER ON FIRE before I trigger it."

[Captain Vlad]

I think I look at this from a different angle. I look at some of the smaller contracts and think 'how could I do this so cheap I can MAKE it profitable?'

For really small parts, like separtrons, I often just slap one on a mission I was sending up anyway, for example.

[PB666]

Download a xenon harvestor mod, convert hv into fuel, solve two problems at once.

[Beowolf]

I'd been using Captain Vlad's approach, above. I'd try to take a part contract for every launch I was going to do anyway. I look at the requirements and pick one or more that'll work with my upcoming flight. Sometimes, I can get a whole string of them with appropriate altitudes and speeds. Once I got seven parts tests on a single launch, including two in-orbit and one after splashdown.

In 0.25, parts test science output can be way overpowered. My last game (on hard), I took only 10% in "Outsourced R&D", and finished the tech tree without ever leaving orbit. It was all parts testing contracts for science and rescues for money. Shortest career game I ever played, too. I'll have to try going higher to see how crazy it can get. It got pretty boring even at 10%, unlocking several new techs for every launch.

[Reactordrone]

Apart from testing the launch clamps on the Mun I've accepted and completed every contract that's been offered. I find them a good challenge and a good learning tool for building small and efficient parts testing rockets. After a while your contracts board gets filled with exploration contracts and the parts tests get few and far between but they're still a fun diversion while you wait for a landing site to come into daylight or a launch window to come up.

[Commoble]

I like the weird contracts, they can be challenging and it's a new way to play the game. I'm currently building a probe to toss a big ol' LFB out of Kerbin's orbit (while recovering the expensive boost stages I need to get it up there).

[psyper]

I was a little bit miffed at the parts contracts when they first come out and then I read this post (interestingly the example pics are planes LethalDose) and it occurred to me that we do silly tests in very strange situations irl - testing a part outside of its normal use window may sound strange at first but then when you realise they want to see how the part tests outside of its use margins it becomes realistic - I've seen a few people post silly tests like testing solids in high atmosphere and testing aircraft undercarrages at splashdown. Perhaps the kerbal engineers want to see what the isp of a solid fuel rocket is at different altitudes or they want to test how a landing gear reacts to the salt in the water when being used - I'm sure I saw some videos of people creating seaplanes so having it tested out in the ocean isn't a silly suggestion. Now I see all these part testing contracts as testing the limits of the parts themselves - what happens if the explosive bolt on the decoupler don't work in Duna's atmosphere - best go and check it out...

Most of the smaller contracts like testing a decoupler while landed I do when I'm sending cargo up anyway - its basically reducing the cost or even making a profit in some cases for a mission I'm already undertaking - if they need an engine test on mun and I've got a supply run pencilled in for the mun I take the engine on a docking port with me and once the test is done I undock it while taking off to reduce debris. If I can I try and group several contracts together to get the most money out of a single flight - my highest has been 11 contracts in 1 mission! I've also been creating a thread where I post all of my contract solutions and if you have any of your own please feel free to add them to the thread - I'm trying to build up a few ideas for anyone who is a bit lost on how to solve any of them.

Theres a few posts here regarding the lack of contracts that make you explore or actually have a mission like objective - I cant recommend the FinePrint mod enough for this. It includes missions like create moon and planetary bases, space stations, asteroid deflections, and includes some of the 'investigate anomaly in this location on the mun' contracts that were requested on this thread. The rover missions on kerbin are awesome - I never knew the level of detail outside KSC until I installed this mod - little streams, mountain ranges, lagoons and tidal pools, I even visited the meteor crater island and went for a swim after the mission was completed!

Lastly, one thing I think is really silly about the contracts is the one to rescue a kerbal in lko. I realised from this thread that its really there to teach you to rendezvous and I've had a couple of these where I've now built an ssto specifically for rescuing kerbals in lko and bringing them back to the runway which has been a lot of fun but squad - wouldn't it seem better if the kerbal was in a mk1 capsule... at least that way we can say that his ship was involved in an accident and his capsule has no parachute or deltav to get in to the atmosphere and land safely.. just sayin'

[nine_iron]

I work to try and do 3 at once, it makes for a fun mission planning.

Doing one at once is worthless, 3 at once is fun!

[arkie87]

The way i see it, part contracts are useful in two ways:

(1) They give you early access to parts in the tech tree that you havent unlocked, perhaps making bigger/better missions possible earlier on in the game

(2) They give you extra funds and science. Even though right now, in my experience, as long as your first few missions are relatively successful, you will never be strapped for cash, I think a few failed missions should seriously deplete your cash stores, and so, you might have to resort to contract fulfillment/part tests to gain some funds so you can retry that failed mission to Jool etc...

As it stands now, i dont really do them unless they can be easily integrated into a mission (like any "test landed at Kerbin" contracts or use X rocket, where i was going to use X rocket anyway). Also, rejecting contracts and letting them re-spawn tend to increase payout if the contract was spawned earlier on in the game. I also think the current way of "testing" parts via staging is stupid (i like the "run tests" button better) since you can bypass this method by putting the stage to trigger late and manually activating the engine if you need it for liftoff. For instance, if it wants you to test one of the 10m rocket engines in orbit, you dont need to build a large lifter to lift the rocket engine into orbit first. You can use the rocket to get into orbit by manually activating it, and save the "staged activation" for when you reach the test conditions.

[Blind Dead McJones]

Landed at Kerbin tests are basically free money. If you have a rocket that you can quickly add the required part to, you can often fulfill a contract in less than two minutes.