Too Many Contracts?

[DelayedReaction]

First of all i'd like to say a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Squad for dragging KSP kicking and screaming into Beta, big Kudos to you all.

I've been playing KSP for somewhere in the region of 12-18 months on and off, the implementation of the contract system a while ago was awesome but I personally have noticed that there seems to be an awful lot of contracts offered to you at the start of the game.

The first 2 contracts are easy enough, launch a ship and reach a minimum altitude of 5000m, from then on though (in my opinion), the amount of contracts that get offered to you seems a bit extreme, all these parts need to be tested with varying conditions which is all well and good. but after patting myself (somewhat sarcastically) on my back for completing the 2 easiest contracts in the game, the sheer amount of contracts on offer felt a bit overwhelming.

I understand that you pick and choose the contracts that you want to do and leave the ones you don't want to do but... I dunno, it just felt a bit overwhelming.

None of this is going to stop me from playing the game, but I wondered if anyone else had the same feeling of drowning in a sea of contracts?

[CaptainKipard]

I think a good rule of thumb should be to never let the list become scrollable at the lowest common screen resolution. The brain can handle things better when you can see everything at a glance.

Also some background colour coding could be nice, to differentiate different types of contracts. Same reason. Brain.

Edited December 16, 2014 by Cpt. Kipard

[Ziff]

Also some background colour coding could be nice, to differentiate different types of contracts. Same reason. Brain.

http://i.imgur.com/AMxgawO.png

That is absolutely genius. It's very easy on the eyes. Very easy to visually sort out the difference between a 'test' contract and a 'survey' one or otherwise. Hey, you're pretty good at understanding how brains work. Think about this one.. The brain named itself.

[biohazard15]

I think a good rule of thumb should be to never let the list become scrollable at the lowest common screen resolution. The brain can handle things better when you can see everything at a glance.

Also some background colour coding could be nice, to differentiate different types of contracts. Same reason. Brain.

http://i.imgur.com/AMxgawO.png

Color differentiation of contract types is absolutely genius, man!

I also like that contracts choices - it tells you to actually test your hardware before going to space.

[Dunbaratu]

They also desperately need to SHOW YOU the part they're talking about in the part test contracts. Don't just say "oh, you need to test the ABC123XYZ engine at this altitude and this speed", but show the icon of the part, and its info panel - the same icon and info you see in the VAB editor - so people know what you meant. Many people play the game visually and don't have the part title's memorized. After a while, which engine is which, and which decoupler is which, gets a bit blurred.

And it's important information to know. There's a big difference between accepting a contract that says "test this 1 ton engine in orbit" versus one that says "test this 4 ton engine in orbit". And it's a difference you need to be aware of before you commit to it.

[RainDreamer]

Kind of like contract window +. You can click an icon on the contract and it takes you to the exact part you need to include.

Gotta wait till that catches up with 0.90

[CaptainKipard]

They also desperately need to SHOW YOU the part they're talking about in the part test contracts. Don't just say "oh, you need to test the ABC123XYZ engine at this altitude and this speed", but show the icon of the part, and its info panel - the same icon and info you see in the VAB editor - so people know what you meant. Many people play the game visually and don't have the part title's memorized. After a while, which engine is which, and which decoupler is which, gets a bit blurred.

And it's important information to know. There's a big difference between accepting a contract that says "test this 1 ton engine in orbit" versus one that says "test this 4 ton engine in orbit". And it's a difference you need to be aware of before you commit to it.

Yes. Best to put it in a tooltip, so there's no clutter. The necessary code already exists in the editor.

[DelayedReaction]

They also desperately need to SHOW YOU the part they're talking about in the part test contracts. Don't just say "oh, you need to test the ABC123XYZ engine at this altitude and this speed", but show the icon of the part, and its info panel - the same icon and info you see in the VAB editor - so people know what you meant. Many people play the game visually and don't have the part title's memorized. After a while, which engine is which, and which decoupler is which, gets a bit blurred.

And it's important information to know. There's a big difference between accepting a contract that says "test this 1 ton engine in orbit" versus one that says "test this 4 ton engine in orbit". And it's a difference you need to be aware of before you commit to it.

I agree with this, although you can bring the contract up in the VAB editor to see the name of the part, but being able to see it at the time you accept the contract would be helpful in some situations.