Better Kerbal Skills.

[CyberOwl]

I’ve had a few thoughts about the skill system for kerbals.

Of course the devs would have to iron out all the details, but here goes...

The biggest change would be to engineers, so I’ll start with them.

Besides fixing things, mister Scott spent a lot of time trying to get more power and speed out of the Enterprise. So...

The engineers new main job, instead of repairs would be a type of "resource manager".

At levels 0 to 5, he might reduce the use of electric power by 5%, 8%, 11%, 14%, 17% and 20%.

At levels 1 to 5, he might reduce the amount of fuel and oxidizer used by 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%.

At levels 1 to 5 he might increase active thrust by 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%.

Of course the engineer would still make repairs, just a bit differently.

Repairs would be one of three levels of magnitude - minor, moderate or major.

Minor repairs at level 0, moderate repairs at level 2 and major repairs at level 4.

Or maybe: minor - level 0, moderate - level 1 and major level 2 or 3. ?

Repairs would also require "spare parts". How many that are needed for a repair would be determined by the magnitude of the repair.

Each command pod would carry a limited amount of "spare parts", and of course the Mk-I would carry the least and the Mk-III would carry the most.

Extra "spare parts" could also be carried in a cargo bay, if one is available.

Repairs also take time to complete, with minor repairs taking the least amount of time and major repairs taking the most time.

The amount of "spare parts" and time required to complete a repair would decrease as the engineer levels up.

This new repair system could also lead to new repair contracts, that would be similar to a rescue mission but you go up to repair disabled ship so it can safely land.

Also at level 0, the engineer can gain no science form scientific equipment, Science gained from contracts, crew reports and EVA report are unaffected.

At level 1 the engineer ( the pilot and scientist also ) have completed their basic astronaut cross-training and can now use the scientific equipment to gather full science and use SAS systems for basic craft piloting.

Pilot - Only a few tweaks

Level 0: No science from scientific equipment, Science gained from contracts, crew reports and EVA report are unaffected. / No repairs.

Level 1: Full Science from equipment / Can effect simple repairs.

Level 3 - 5: Use less RCS fuel by 3%, 6% and 9%?

Scientist

Level 0: Can gather full science form all available sources. / No SAS / No repairs.

Level 1: SAS usable / Can effect simple repairs. / Can identify currently occupied bio (this could be displayed at the bottom of the resource tab/window or maybe next to the nav ball?)

Level 2: Can determine, but not identify, if a different bio is nearby and can give directions to it.

Level 3: Can now identify a nearby bio and give directions.

Level 4: Same as level 3 but at a greater range.

Level 5: Same as level 4 but at a greater range.

All other abilities remain the same.

Edited December 25, 2014 by tetryds