Kerbals Gain Experience In Any Class

[kerdansig]

Hello,

I have been playing KSP pretty heavily since .25 was released. I am really loving the new update, but I do have a suggestion I think would improve the game quite a bit. I want to be able to choose how my Kerbals progress through the classes. I want them to all start with no experience in any class (or randomly start with some experience in one or more classes). I want them to gain experience in the classes that they are used for. So if I use Bill to pilot my ships, Bill gains experience as a pilot. If I also use Bill to perform science experiments, Bill gains experience as a scientist. And if I also decide to use Bill to repair a ship, he also will gain experience as an engineer. Same goes with any Kerbal.

So if I want Bill to be a jack of all trades, he can be that. If I want Jeb to specialize just as a pilot, he can do that. Etc. I feel this would add more depth to the classes, and especially with career mode, it won't hurt the player early on.

[harlikwin]

I made the same proposal in this earlier post.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/103963-Kerbal-abilities-and-XP

[Anquietas314]

I made the same proposal in this earlier post.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/103963-Kerbal-abilities-and-XP

Eh, technically your suggestion was a little different and covered a few different things. This seems to be more along the lines of each kerbal has 3 separate experience bars - one for each class - that can all get to level 5....

[kerdansig]

Eh, technically your suggestion was a little different and covered a few different things. This seems to be more along the lines of each kerbal has 3 separate experience bars - one for each class - that can all get to level 5....

That's right. I would be happy even if it was capped so a single Kerbal couldn't get level 5 on all three classes. Maybe make the main class capable of going up to lvl 5 and the off classes max out at lvl 3 or even 2. Or no cap. I'd be fine either way. I just feel that if I'm piloting a craft with a scientist, he should eventually learn how to do SAS and hold basic maneuver positions. And vice versa for the other classes.

[Anquietas314]

That's right. I would be happy even if it was capped so a single Kerbal couldn't get level 5 on all three classes. Maybe make the main class capable of going up to lvl 5 and the off classes max out at lvl 3 or even 2. Or no cap. I'd be fine either way. I just feel that if I'm piloting a craft with a scientist, he should eventually learn how to do SAS and hold basic maneuver positions. And vice versa for the other classes.

Yeah, that would at least make a little more sense than the current system. How would you handle training scientists and engineers though? Considering scientists currently don't really have an activity - probes can operate science instruments - and engineers start off completely unable to fix anything. I guess you could put kerbals to work in a science lab to train them as scientists but that'd be quite a bit of work (they need something to process after all)

[Carmoldu]

I like that each kerbal is assigned to a role because this introduces gameplay in the form of having to find out how to carry one of each in a mission. The "danger" in what you propose is that you will just need to train out a kerbal and max him in all classes and you won't need anyone else. Having different roles introduces a challange. (just my opinion though)

[Carmoldu]

it's not about realism, its about gameplay in my opinion, it just forces you to use 3-kerbal cabins, specially for those interplanetary misions, which makes the game more challenging and entretaining (at least for me).

[Anquietas314]

I like that each kerbal is assigned to a role because this introduces gameplay in the form of having to find out how to carry one of each in a mission. The "danger" in what you propose is that you will just need to train out a kerbal and max him in all classes and you won't need anyone else. Having different roles introduces a challange. (just my opinion though)

Considering the amount of effort it seems to take to train kerbals (planting a flag on the mun isn't even enough for level 2), that seems perfectly fair. As long as each class is sufficiently difficult to train (perhaps a little easier than it is now) it should be fine

[Carmoldu]

I know what you are saying but I don't totally see it hahaha I don't know, I still think it adds gameplay. Maybe if you just couldn't max out everything would be better (each kerbal can only level up 5 times, hence you can just unlock 5 habilities, for example) this way you could choose between having a kerbal which knows lots of things but little 'bout them or/and highly specialised kerbals, which wouldlead to a combination of what's now and what you say. (Does it make any sense? hahaha)

[Anquietas314]

I know what you are saying but I don't totally see it hahaha I don't know, I still think it adds gameplay. Maybe if you just couldn't max out everything would be better (each kerbal can only level up 5 times, hence you can just unlock 5 habilities, for example) this way you could choose between having a kerbal which knows lots of things but little 'bout them or/and highly specialised kerbals, which wouldlead to a combination of what's now and what you say. (Does it make any sense? hahaha)

To be honest, by the time you maxed out a kerbal, you'd have probably completed the tech tree anyway, unless going to another planet is an instant level 5 or something. That leaves engineers which, unless you're especially prone to crashing very gently, aren't that useful; at least not yet. Assuming they become much more useful in the future, chances are they would (conceptually) share some skills with pilots.

[Carmoldu]

Maybe you are correct, I hadn't have the time to play enough to see how difficult leveling up is :$