Hi All, My name is Gent Harris

[Gent Harris]

I just discovered this game after reading a news story where Elon Musk endorsed it, hey I gotta check this out!!!

I was born in 1957 and have always been in love with the space program but never had the opportunity to participate.

I just started Friday and I love it so far!!!

One question and I think I know the answer, in the tutorials I'm able to collect surface samples but starting from scratch in career mode

it seems that I can't?

And when I try to EVA in space it says I need to upgrade my astronaut facility??

This is making it tough to gather much science, but I have been able to do some contracts and get some funds??

Any tips would be welcome!!

Glad to be on board this looks like an awesome forum!!

[Norpo]

Welcome to the forums! I haven't played career mode much (I mainly test out ideas in sandbox) but I think I can answer your questions.

Surface samples and EVA capabilities require a building upgrade (which can be done by right clicking a building, there should be an upgrade button). Offhand I think that because they involve kerbals on EVA, they might require astronaut facility upgrades.

Building upgrades cost a lot of money, though, so you may have to do a lot of contracts (especially in hard mode) before you have enough.

You'll also find that other things (there are limits on how heavy you can build a rocket on the launch pad, certain tracking capabilities, like maneuver nodes, which are very helpful) also require building upgrades.

The in-game tutorials don't cover too much, so as further reading I recommend the official wiki, very helpful if you're wondering about specifics of say, a specific planet, or part. (They also have tutorials, which are very helpful for early goals, such as getting to orbit, landing on the Mun (moon), etc.) http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Main_Page

or if you prefer videos, Scott Manley has excellent informational/good videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/szyzyg including tutorials for more advanced topics, like docking, landing on other planets, etc.

And if you can't find any tutorials to help you in a specific case, or just need help, the gameplay questions forum is always happy to help. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/forums/15-Gameplay-Questions-and-Tutorials

I hope you have fun playing Kerbal Space Program! (And remember that the game is very much still in progress, so there will be bugs and balance issues, but hopefully they should be far and few between.)

[Starwhip]

Yes, update 0.90.0 now requires you to research EVA suits by upgrading your Astronaut Complex. So, stuff like satellite deployment contracts are the name of the game until you've got the EVA capabilities, whereupon you can get EVA reports and surface samples.

(Yes, the Elon Musk thing has been spreading like booster fuel, hasn't it? )

Hello, and welcome to the (indeed, awesome) forum!

[Gent Harris]

Thank you Norpo and Starwhip, that's exactly what I thought was going on.

I have spent more time watching Scott's great videos than I have playing the game so far LOL.

I may have to start over AGAIN as I think I wasted some funds in the admin building for a fund

raising campaign that should have went to building upgrades.

Not a big deal I have only played 2 days and know how to do some of the contracts much easier.

Thanks again for the help!!

Gent

Edited January 13, 2015 by Gent Harris
added Starwhip to the thank you

[Dispatcher]

Welcome, Gent! Good luck with the game and here at the forums!

[michaelsteele3]

Welcome to the KSP Community, Gent! Have fun!

[Specialist290]

Welcome to the forums!

It looks like you've already been taken care of by some of our forum veterans as far as your questions go, but while I'm here, since you're new you might want to take a gander at the Drawing Board, which is conveniently linked through my signature. I've been trying to collect some of the best user-made KSP tutorials and resources out there and putting them all in one place precisely so that users (especially new ones) can quickly and conveniently find something that can help them learn how to get the most out of their game.

Also, if you have any further questions, feel free to ask; as you've seen, we have quite a few knowledgeable regulars who are eager to share what they've learned with other players.

Hope this helps!