Remove Plant a Flag Mission or make a one-shot (exploration item)

[WanderingKid]

I know Fine Print is coming in .090, but the procedural basis of the current contract system has a remarkably easily abusable loophole.

"Plant a Flag on X"

If you've got a Kerbal at X, you can just decline bad missions (like test underwater seamonkeys splashed on Moho) until this repops. Then, transfer to ship, pop out, plant flag. Recover Flag. Repeat for endless science and profit.

Science and what not missions at least usually require you to do something, even if it's transmit some of your current data. This is infinite. You can, in theory, clear the entire tech tree in a single Mun landing on hard.

I recommend either this become an exploration mission (so, a one-shot mission, like 'Explore the Mun') or have some kind of limiter on it. Say: can only come up once every 250 Prestige Points or something. At least it's not quite as abusable that way.

The other option would be to have to carry the flag from base up there, but I'm pretty sure that you don't have an internal parts thing right now for Kerbals to carry around.

[Vallius]

Alternatively, maybe you shouldn't be able to cash in flag planting more than once per biome. Now that all bodies are getting biomes, perhaps the mission objectives could include that detail. This lets players still plant more than one flag, but forces you to at least move to a different location on the moon or planet before trying to grab another chunk of change.

[Kerbart]

Thank you for pointing this out. I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned before!

[Nemrav]

Yes, once a biome is probably the best chance.

[Joonatan1998]

The same problem with the "transmit science" contracts, I understand wanting to give satellites a purpose, but with the current system where you can just go trough contracts until you get the one you want it is very exploitable.

[WanderingKid]

The same problem with the "transmit science" contracts, I understand wanting to give satellites a purpose, but with the current system where you can just go trough contracts until you get the one you want it is very exploitable.

Satellites usually won't help you here. I'm not sure about you, but science and the tech tree are pretty binary for me. Either A) I'm soaking every last inch of science out of a mission right up front to help with the next one, or I don't bring any science tech along. Leaving behind a satellite for the occasional science item is usually wasteful to me. There's almost no repeatable science in orbit that a satellite would be able to do. Goo/Mat bays need cleaning, EVA requires a Kerbal so that has to be manned, and the only low/high Biome in orbit item is Graviolis. I suppose you could use that for it, or go out of your way and put each experiment in its own return vehicle somehow and drop one off at a time for the contracts, but it's at least finite.

[LethalDose]

I know Fine Print is coming in .090, but the procedural basis of the current contract system has a remarkably easily abusable loophole.

"Plant a Flag on X"

If you've got a Kerbal at X, you can just decline bad missions (like test underwater seamonkeys splashed on Moho) until this repops. Then, transfer to ship, pop out, plant flag. Recover Flag. Repeat for endless science and profit.

Science and what not missions at least usually require you to do something, even if it's transmit some of your current data. This is infinite. You can, in theory, clear the entire tech tree in a single Mun landing on hard.

I recommend either this become an exploration mission (so, a one-shot mission, like 'Explore the Mun') or have some kind of limiter on it. Say: can only come up once every 250 Prestige Points or something. At least it's not quite as abusable that way.

The other option would be to have to carry the flag from base up there, but I'm pretty sure that you don't have an internal parts thing right now for Kerbals to carry around.

Totally support this. I would just make it the fifth step on any exploration contract, in addition to the four we already have

OR

Set the contract to request the flag be planted in a particular biome.

I'll repeat my previous similar suggestion that contracts request specific science experiments from specific biomes, instead of the generic "science from space" we get now. Someone pointed out this would require mapping or some other in-game tool to indicate biomes, to avoid forcing users to go to the wiki or other websites for biome maps. However, I don't see that as different from the current situation where we have to use maps or mods to find the biomes on the Mun or Minmus for science farming.

[cicatrix]

I think it's a perfectly valid contract (it shouldn't bring you science though). I think of it as an advertisement. Imagine, you landed on the Mun and planted a banner: Drink Koka-Kola. That's why you are paid

[WanderingKid]

I like the idea of the mission. It gets you paid for bringing another science lander somewhere to drop into a different Biome if you're running tight on cash (quite possible for newer players). So it's a great way to pay for a second science lander's lifter, assuming you recover most of the lander portion back at Kerbin near KSC.

There really needs to be a way to enforce a 'new mission' for it though. Even a 'Drink Kerba-Kola' sign would need to be transported up there. I doubt they left with 40 or 50 blank flags and an inkjet onboard.

[RainDreamer]

I think it is valid, but...it has to be more specific. Likely the implementing of fine print is also for this: All flag planting missions, after the first one, will have a specific coordinate to them. Players have to go to that specific location to plant that flag for it to counts. That way people can't just pull flag up and put another one down again and again, yet can still make use of flag planting as a mission.