Rover-only "Survey" contracts?

[biohazard15]

Currently, the objectives can mess up (and, according to several sources, this is intended) - you can get "Do an experiment at altitude of X" and "Do an experiment while on surface" in one contract.

Thing is, in pre-0.90 FinePrint these were two different contracts - fly-bys and rover surveys.

So, a question - how do I make myself a rover-only contract, without "flying" parts?

[Anquietas314]

The idea with the contracts as they are now is to give you the choice of how to approach it. You can use a rover, but you can also use a spaceplane or do suborbital hops on Mun and so on.

There are a few (rare) contracts that are exclusively surface-based, but if you want to "make" a contract like that you would need to make a mod. The Contracts Configurator mod should let you make them using just text files, but I don't know if it allows you to be this specific.

Yep, you can do it, see below.

Edited January 1, 2015 by armagheddonsgw

[biohazard15]

What I want is basically the old, pre-0.90 FinePrint rover survey contract. Land a rover and drive it around. No flying, hopping or spaceplaning involved. If it involves disabling the "flying" objective completely, it's fine - I'm suck at spaceplanes, so I rarely attemp these fly-bys.

I'm pretty sure that it can be done in FinePrint's CFG (which is now the stock CFG for contracts), without Contracts Configurator, but I'd like to get some guide on it.

[bdito]

I've had a land-only (ie, rover) survey contract. They're not very common but they're out there.

[Reactordrone]

Seizmic survey contracts will be ground only and you should be getting them once you unlock the accelerometer in the tech tree.

[technion]

What I want is basically the old, pre-0.90 FinePrint rover survey contract. Land a rover and drive it around. No flying, hopping or spaceplaning involved. If it involves disabling the "flying" objective completely, it's fine - I'm suck at spaceplanes, so I rarely attemp these fly-bys.

I'm pretty sure that it can be done in FinePrint's CFG (which is now the stock CFG for contracts), without Contracts Configurator, but I'd like to get some guide on it.

I'm currently doing a contract that involves a seismic sample at four points on Duna. It doesn't have to be done with a rover, but it seemed like the most fun way to do it, and probably the only legit reason I've ever had to actually make a rover.

So these contracts do get generated.

[nightingale]

The idea with the contracts as they are now is to give you the choice of how to approach it. You can use a rover, but you can also use a spaceplane or do suborbital hops on Mun and so on.

There are a few (rare) contracts that are exclusively surface-based, but if you want to "make" a contract like that you would need to make a mod. The Contracts Configurator mod should let you make them using just text files, but I don't know if it allows you to be this specific.

This is what a "Visit 3 random waypoints on Kerbin" contract would look like with Contract Configurator:

CONTRACT_TYPE
{
// Unique name of the contract (required)
name = WaypointGenerator


// Contract text
title = Visit Waypoints
description = A more detailed description of the contract. This is where you come in.
synopsis = Visit the waypoints in the contract.
completedMessage = You've visited the waypoints!


// Target Celestial body - controls where the contract must be completed, has some automated
// effects on numeric parameters (increasing science, etc.)
targetBody = Kerbin


// Contract rewards
rewardFunds = 10000.0
rewardScience = 100.0
rewardReputation = 10.0


PARAMETER
{
name = VisitWaypoint1
type = VisitWaypoint


// Index of the waypoint in the WaypointGenerator behaviour.
// Default = 0
index = 0
}


PARAMETER
{
name = VisitWaypoint2
type = VisitWaypoint


index = 1
}


PARAMETER
{
name = VisitWaypoint3
type = VisitWaypoint


index = 2
}


BEHAVIOUR
{
name = WaypointGenerator
type = WaypointGenerator


// Use this to generate a waypoint with random coordinates
RANDOM_WAYPOINT
{
// The name of the waypoint - displayed on the marker
name = A waypoint on Kerbin


// Body for the waypoint - defaulted from the contract if not
// supplied.
targetBody = Kerbin


// The number of waypoints to generate.
// Default = 1
count = 1


// The icon to use when displaying the waypoint. At the moment
// (0.90), this can only be icons under Squad/Contracts/Icons.
// Perhaps that will change in a future release.
icon = thermometer


// The altitude of the waypoint.
// Default: A random value between 0.0 and the atmosphere ceiling.
// If there's no atmosphere, then always 0.0
altitude = 0.0


// Whether the waypoint generated can be on water
// Default = true
waterAllowed = false


// Force the waypoint to fall along the equator. For boring
// contracts.
// Default = false
forceEquatorial = false
}


// Use this to generate a waypoint with random coordinates, but near
// another waypoint.
RANDOM_WAYPOINT_NEAR
{
// Body for the waypoint - defaulted from the contract if not
// supplied.
targetBody = Kerbin


// The number of waypoints to generate.
// Default = 1
count = 2


// The icon to use when displaying the waypoint. At the moment
// (0.90), this can only be icons under Squad/Contracts/Icons.
// Perhaps that will change in a future release.
icon = thermometer


// The altitude of the waypoint.
// Default: A random value between 0.0 and the atmosphere ceiling.
// If there's no atmosphere, then always 0.0
altitude = 0.0


// Whether the waypoint generated can be on water
// Default = true
waterAllowed = false


// Zero based index of the waypoint to generate near. Must be a
// waypoint with index < this waypoint. Start counting from the
// first waypoint in the BEHAVIOUR, and count 1 for each value of
// the count parameter (if it exists).
nearIndex = 1


// Maximum distance in meters from the 'near' waypoint.
nearDistance = 25000.0
}
}
}

If this is the route you want to go, and you want something with a little more meat to it (ie. doing stuff at the waypoints), then let me know and I can show you some other stuff. Or feel free to browse the documentation, in particular the Parameters page.