What else should be breakable, so engineers can fix it?

[Rook116]

I'm an engineer. I like to think I am a magician.

[thereaverofdarkness]

Overheating engines could first reach a damaged state which reduces their thrust and structural integrity, and only if they heat a bit further will they explode. That way if you turn em off right after that, you can have an engineer repair them. Wait too long and they explode (melt?).

[The Yellow Dart]

How about, any time a solar panel touches anything, including the ground or a kerbal or another spacecraft, it can no longer use sun tracking, until repaired by engineer. A full break is still irreparable (unless they implement a "spare part" gameplay element). Other than that, the only thing I would say needs a damaged state added is engines, and maybe SAS and reaction wheels could break if being used in very high G's.

Edited December 28, 2014 by The Yellow Dart

[Dunbaratu]

Instead of random chance of failure, which I agree with SQUAD is a Very Bad Idea, you can still have deterministic failure conditions in which the conditions vary by several settings. For example, you can have the crash tolerance of rover wheels be improved/degraded by the Engineer level of the Engineer who fixed them. It's still deterministic, but based on a value that can change based on in-game activity. I also think that something akin to kerbal attachment system should be in stock so that Engineers have more to do - it would be thematically perfect if an Engineer could attach struts but nobody else is allowed to.

[dcline]

SOLAR PANNALS! I just ran into mine docking and I really wish they could be fixed!

[Torquemadus]

I wouldn't be surprised if engineers are needed to service drilling rigs and mining equipment for the upcoming in-space refuelling feature. They might also be needed to service life support systems if these are implemented in the future.

[JTG]

Tanks could be punctured if hit hard enough by a sharp end of an object

Windows could be shattered if the capsule gets hit too hard

RCS tanks, if punctured, would cause the ship to spin around

Stuff like motors for landing legs and solar panels would wear out after too much use

[Renegrade]

How about, any time a solar panel touches anything, including the ground or a kerbal or another spacecraft, it can no longer use sun tracking, until repaired by engineer. A full break is still irreparable (unless they implement a "spare part" gameplay element).

Unless they go for a KAS-style experience (would be nice if they did, but that's a fair amount of work), I don't see why engineers couldn't just fix completely broken retractable panels as long as the little stub remains.

Until and unless we have a KAS-style patch, we can simply assume that, like with parachutes, landing legs, or wheels, the engineer has the spare parts required in the capsule. Y'know, like the flags, or EVA fuel.

As it stands, I generally don't bring engineers along at all unless parachutes are involved.. If they could fully fix solar panels, I'd at least stock one on my usual orbital stations, if only as a safeguard against EVA or docking derpage.

[Karlos]

The new update introduces the engineer skill and its ability to repair certain broken parts. So far, engineers can repair: parachutes (or rather repack them after use), landing legs and wheels. What else should be breakable, so engineers can fix it?

I've had a few 'accidental' parachute deployments in space, where obviously the parachute doesn't actually deploy, but is no longer seated. It's not 'broken' as such, but does need to be repacked if you want to use it for later activation through the normal staging process. It would be cool if an engineer could do a space walk to reset or repack them.