Buying map zoom… With Science!

[tater]

Right now, map zoom is limited to a POV at some altitude… It's what, 70 km? 80? I can't load up and check right now. When landing, or doing a contract that requires landing at some precise location, you can't really see what is going on.

How about science from orbit buys map view improvements? Ideas suggesting using something like scansat to unlock the map have been proposed, and that would be preferable, but this is a simple solution if Squad is unwilling to do the other.

There are a few possible ways, the first is the simplest, but I don't like it as much:

1. Spend science points, buy map POV height decreases. For X science, the map view POV altitude drops by 1km down to some minimum alt for map view. Perhaps the cost, X, might be a complex cost such that as you lower the map view altitude, subsequent reductions cost more science.

2. Same as #1, but science points are changed such that they have a tag for what world they were gained at for this purpose. You can spend Mun based science to reduce the map height restriction on the mun, Dres science to reduce the height on Dres, Duna science to reduce the map height on Duna, etc. So any science you do on any world helps build your map of that world, allowing more precise mission planning as it relates to the surface.

3. Contract/mission reductions. In this method, the map view apparent altitude reduction would be a reward for achieving a specific mission goal (contract, though again, I hate that word WRT pure science missions, so I will say "mission" for "contract"). Missions would be created for each that are like what we have now for visual survey, but would have points to be crossed all over the globe of the world. Completion of a given mission of this type would reduce the apparent map height POV by some number of km. Lower altitude scans might be required on each subsequent scan mission until moved to whatever the minimum alt is.

Any of these methods helps with the surface collection missions, or seismic surveys, etc, because you can more precisely deliver your craft from orbit. It also helps with later game precise landings at bases.