Better method for granting 'Explore X Body' contracts

[thereaverofdarkness]

In the current release (0.90), you get explore contracts by completing previous explore contracts, and visiting a planet/moon before its explore contract shows up can cause that contract to never show up, and possibly ruin further explore contracts. Also, many times when you are ready to go somewhere, your explore contract has yet to show up and the game is unclear on how you are to go about getting that contract.

My suggestion is to first make all explore contracts available from a separate menu, so you can accept them at any time. Second, entering the sphere of influence of a planet or moon should make its explore contract instantly pop into your main available contracts list rather than causing it to never show up at all. Third, I would change the order in which they show up in the list from the current fairly linear fashion to a more branched model:

After you successfully launch a ship into the air and beat the 3000 meter record, you get the Mün and Minmus explore contracts.

After entering the SOI of either the Mün or Minmus, the Eve and Duna contracts will show up.

After leaving Kerbin's SOI, all planet explore contracts show up.

If you accept a planet's explore contract, its moon contracts will all show up.

And all of these explore contracts should exist in a section below or above the randomly-generated contracts, separated by a line to make it easier to sort between the two.

This could develop further into a system of projects that you complete only once each per game, and these would be separate from the randomly-generated contracts. Here are some rough ideas for projects:

1.) build a fueling station in Kerbin orbit with a docking port and at least 720 liquid fuel and 880 oxidizer

2.) dock two craft in space

3.) bring a ship to orbit with 40% or more fuel/oxidizer mass, and which has LN-N(s) for propulsion, and a mobile lab -- good for later use to go to another planet

4.) catch the first Duna Hohmann Transfer window (with a very vague estimate given for leave time, and some basic instructions)

5.) aerobrake at Duna and enter into an orbit or land (project only verifies that craft entered atmosphere and then either went back to space or landed without being destroyed--the rest is for the player to discover)

6.) land an air-breathing plane on Laythe

7.) various projects to discover various anomalies (with very rough estimations as to their appearance and location--the Kerbals picked up something on scans?)

Edited January 3, 2015 by thereaverofdarkness

[Bill Phil]

Maybe have the explore contracts for Mun and Minmus occur once you've obtained orbit.

[thereaverofdarkness]

That's how they already happen. I wanted them to come earlier because sometimes (a lot of times) I'm ready to go before the game thinks I am. By lowering the bar for starting these contracts, players are allowed to start large missions earlier, if they feel like it. Or maybe just making them all available from a separate menu is enough.

[Bill Phil]

Or have them all on a "background" contract. It gives you money when to do it and tells you about it through some other feature...

[NERVAfan]

I agree you shouldn't "lose" explore contracts by getting somewhere too early.

[kriseric]

I completely agree that this needs to be addressed. I had a couple of fun fun career mode runs, but got bored of always visiting Mun - Minmus - Eve - Duna in that order. What about Dres, Eloo and Moho? Those contracts never appeared for me.