Operational & Advanced Earth Observation Programs#2692
Operational & Advanced Earth Observation Programs#2692WithCrow wants to merge 12 commits intoKSP-RO:masterfrom
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When in doubt, just use Sounding Payload as a stand in for an experiment. SAR's are pretty heavy (>250kg for Seasat, >1800kg for the shuttle based SAR), hence the 350 Sounding Payload |
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I've added more contracts to both programs. EOS2 requires five and EOS3 seven launches to complete. As they reflect Skopos1 & 2 respectively, I think this aligns pretty well balance wise. I might add a disclaimer in the program description that these programs require certain tech nodes (Lunar Science for EOS2 & Deep Space Science for EOS3) as they reflect late 60s & mid 70s era EO satellites respectively. The KH-7 (PH04) launches allow for a pretty good optional type contract for EOS3, but as EOS already uses the PH03 experiment, I can't add anything new on that front. I don't want to add contracts that can be completed with the exact same design one made for a prior program, at least not as a required contract. |
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I've added some repeatables using the contract structure from the Corona repeatables - so I hope these all work. The counts here are based on how many launched IRL (well, halved for the pair launches), which I might tweak in the future - 12 Midas launches are pretty overkill. For EOS2, these are:
For EOS3:
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I finally got around to playtesting these and all contracts work fine. However, the funding is not sufficient. I used a 1965 era Titan II + Agena as the base, which required around ~400 engineers to operate. In terms of funding, that's a cost of 200k per year, which the current program would not provide. Due to this, I've increased it to 1,000,000 (roughly 300k per year of operation for a 3.5 year program). For EOS3, I assumed an even costlier LV, so the funding was increased to 1,500,000. Based on feedback in the #ro-general chat, I also changed the funding curve to be flat for both programs. |
WithCrow
changed the title
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I initially drafted a 'modern' EO program as a fourth and final program, but I decided against it for now. In terms of gameplay, it simply does not offer enough new challenges other than just heavier launches (KH-11, heavier GEO platforms, etc.) and the problem is that the interesting experiments are spread out over far longer stretches than before. That also means that this PR won't require any new experiments and is otherwise a 'clean' addition to the mod. |
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Playtesting this on a Normal difficulty save. I took this immediately after finishing EOS1 without realising that it required Lunar Science (1967) - the disclaimer you mentioned earlier would be quite helpful. That said, I feel like the tech gate (1967 D:) makes it difficult for EOS2 to act as an alternative to Skopos1. Skopos1 only requires 1961 tech, (possibly 1964 if you really want Solar TL4 first). There are some other factors that weigh the balance in favour of Skopos imo, but I'm going to actually play through the current version of the program first before I comment on that. |
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I want to clarify that while the original wording was a bit off - this is not really an alternative to Skopos but more an additional (instead of 'alternate') path. Regarding the tech gate: Currently the programs are better when done not concurrently with Skopos but in succession (EOS1 -> ECA -> Skopos1 -> EOS2 -> Skopos 2 -> EOS3 -> Skopos3, for example) as they all occupy a single slot. All that's missing now is a GNSS program line and the triad of Earth system satellite would be complete... |
| title = Carry film from Improved Film Camera | ||
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| { | ||
| MODULE | ||
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| name = Experiment | ||
| experimentID = RP0photos3 |
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Either the title is wrong or the experiment is wrong.
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(RP0photos3 is Photography 4)
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Great catch, thanks - should be High Resolution Film Camera
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This PR aims to add two Earth Observation programs reflecting Vela, Nimbus, Midas and OGO for the Advanced Earth Observation Program and GEOS, GOES and ERTS for the Modern Earth Observation Program. The funding & duration is identical to Skopos 1 & 2, allowing an alternative path of Earth system operations for players.
Not all experiments could be matched 1 to 1 to the real counterparts (no gravimetric experiments, for example) and there is definitely more that can be done with this. Neither program currently has optionals, but as all of these programs were a series of launches, each can be implemented as such.
I would kindly ask for a review, as well as general suggestions on what more could be added.
Disclaimer: I have not had the chance to playtest this (yet), but as all of the contracts follow the same format as already existing contracts with no new things being added, this should be stable.