KSP 0.90 Career Kickoff Guide (from normal to hard difficulty)

[Yemo]

Hello,

with upgradable buildings and the rebalanced economy, difficulty (cash shortage) has increased.

This guide specifically addresses the cash/science problems when starting a new career, not the game mechanics itself.

A)

Information are essential. Download and install Kerbal engineer mod and Kerbal alarm clock. You can do without, but it is like repeatedly running against a wall (might be fun for a few tries, but usually leads to headaches after a while) instead of using the door.

Choose your contracts carefully in terms of reward and costs (funds/time/difficulty).

Combine contracts for missions and decline useless ones to get others for no costs.

You have 4 missions in the beginning: Launch, 5000m altitude, leaving atmosphere and orbit.

It is important to understand that very profitable altitude missions for 11km, 22km, 33km and 56km will be offered, if you do not reach those altitudes before you get the missions!

To maximize profit you can do them seperately. Do not overshoot the target altitude by too much, limit fuel and/or retroburn!

1) Contracts for liftoff and 5000m

2) Contract for 11000m

3) Contract for 22000m

4) Contract for 33000m

5) Contract for 56000m and for leaving atmosphere

6) Contract for reaching Orbit (which can be done without facility upgrades and only 20 science, as shown in D)

C)

If you cant do a Mun landing without maneuver nodes and patched conics, save your money for the tracking station and mission control upgrade.

On hard mode, science is much more abundant than funds (totally imbalanced), so it might be easier to do the mun mission with 200-245 science invested, than to do it with upgraded launch pad, see E).

D)

For science, concentrate on the lower branch "Basic Rocketry", "Survivability", "Science Tech".

The science (Crew reports/EVA reports/mystery goo) you get from the Launch pad/flying at low and high altitude as well as the immediate surrounding biomes (shore, grass, water) should be sufficient.

E)

To lower costs (funds and science), minimalistic/mission built vessels with proper TWR settings (visible through Kerbal engineer mod) are recommended.

Those are the 5 basic low cost designs I used, complete with dV, costs (funds and science) and max altitudes, all usable without facility upgrades:

https://imgur.com/gallery/xSaSJ

There is quite a lot you can do without upgrading VAB and launch pad, this is my entry for the 0.90 Mun Science Challenge:

F)

Being out of funds is not the end, just cancel your contracts and take new ones, there is no debt.

If you dont have suitable contracts available, just decline the ones which are offered.

If there are too few offered, you might want to warp forward a day.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/87138-failing-contracts-unlimited-funds

Good luck and have fun!

Edited January 5, 2015 by Yemo

[Pecan]

<redacted - thread title edited>

Edited December 22, 2014 by Pecan

[Yemo]

@Pecan: Thanks, didnt check the title again.

[Bandock]

I have one good addition for your guide Yemo. That addition deals with certain kinds of contracts that have very low payout, yet are difficult or outrageous to pull off successfully. Instead, you take a doable contract as well as some other contracts to make sure you are not in the red (more expense than the amount you get paid for even a combination of contracts).

Example: You take a solid rocket booster contract that offers very little in Kerbits where you must splash down. While not impossible, it certainly is a hard contract for a low payout part testing contract.

[SRV Ron]

For the six altitude contracts, restrict your ships to four basic parts,

1. MK-1 Command Pod

2. MK-8 Parachute

3. RT-10 SRB rocket engine

4. TR-18A Stack Decoupler once you have earned 5 Science Points to unlock Tier 1 parts.

Tweak fuel and thrust to achieve those goals without exceeding the altitudes to the point where you lose the next contract appearing. You can combine the Leaving Atmosphere and 56,000 meter altitude contracts into one flight.

Land close by in the ocean so you can recover one RT-10 SRB intact.

[SRV Ron]

You will need to upgrade the Astronaut Complex before you can EVA to take the data from the Goo and Science pods on your Mun Hopper.

[Yemo]

@Bandock:

Thx, added a bit on contracts.

You will need to upgrade the Astronaut Complex before you can EVA to take the data from the Goo and Science pods on your Mun Hopper.

Corrected, thx. Mixed up descriptions for the designs in the imgur album and the Science Challenge example.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Yemo