I'm a noob, but isn't the 'outsource R&D' ridiculously OP?

[Atheistic_Logic]

I just got 4000 science from my orbiters around mun, duna, minmus and kerbin. I mean, using the contracts 'science data from X' --> 35% with this strategy = ~4000 science in 2 minutes

It must have been noticed by others too... disregard if old, sorry

[Masetto]

I just got 4000 science from my orbiters around mun, duna, minmus and kerbin. I mean, using the contracts 'science data from X' --> 35% with this strategy = ~4000 science in 2 minutes

It must have been noticed by others too... disregard if old, sorry

I'd say the repeat "science data" contracts are what's really OP here. The fact that you're able to convert some of the contract reward is just an extra bonus.

[Stratoroc]

With a few mods that have expensive parts funds becomes the bottle neck. I have a handful of tech nodes researched without a single part funded because some of the tier 3-4 nodes have 30-40k worth of parts. I suspect the contracts weren't balanced for difficulty settings where parts don't need to be purchased in the RnD facility.

[Tw1]

I am hoping that it isn't that these things are crazy OP, but that they have big plans for science points in the future. Something beyond the tech tree.

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With a few mods that have expensive parts funds becomes the bottle neck. I have a handful of tech nodes researched without a single part funded because some of the tier 3-4 nodes have 30-40k worth of parts. I suspect the contracts weren't balanced for difficulty settings where parts don't need to be purchased in the RnD facility.

I agree with this. I can unlock the whole tech tree within a few missions, but purchasing all the parts I need will cost me millions.

[Jas1126]

I am hoping that it isn't that these things are crazy OP, but that they have big plans for science points in the future. Something beyond the tech tree.

I too hope this is the case. Considering that the tech tree can be completely unlocked with just the Kerbin system (even before the updates), it seems to me that adding biomes to other planets will leave us with ten of thousands of unspent science points.

[Vallius]

Alternatively, SQUAD might be planning to do one of two things. They could either nerf science rewards, or make part unlocks become much more expensive.

[ArmchairGravy]

Erm, don't use it?

I know that's not what you want to hear, but for those of us who've ground out that dang tree for a year now, it's a godsend. I almost wept with joy when I had the tree completed without having to visit Mun and Minmus over and over...and over. It's nice to visit Duna with a ship that has all of the goodies, instead of using that trip to get them.

[SkyRender]

The easiest way to fix the brokenness of Outsourced R&D is to go into the GameData/Squad/Strategies/Strategies.cfg file and add an extra 0 after the . on the minRate and maxRate for it (so 0.0027778 and 0.00347 respectively). That drops it to a much more reasonable level of reward. I also suggest doing a similar thing for Appreciation Campaign, and boosting Fundraising Campaign and Patents Licensing by adding a 0 to the end of their values. Doing that should more or less balance the game's currency exchange out.

[SamSilver]

I posted about this yesterday on the Suggestions and Development Discussion board:

http://http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/96804-Outsourced-R-D-balance-issue

I love the idea of squeezing the cost of my ships a bit in exchange for extra science, but I didn't like the fact that accepting a bunch of mission advances at once would instantly give me hundreds of science points. It's a great concept, but I guess that some tuning may be in order