Annoyance/Suggestion - Rocket Development

[Drewpan]

Hi Guys,

Had a friend visit over the weekend who was keen to look at BASPM and we started talking about a few things.

One thing that I had noticed but hadn't really thought about was Launch Vehicle development in that when I need
a new Rocket to lift bigger payloads I end up buying a brand new rocket program, where as in reality almost
all of the Launch Vehicles used were later developments of previous designs. While I might get a development bonus
because I have a fully developed predecessor rocket there are some Programs in the game that just don't make any
sense.

I have been doing a little research and will give an example.

The Atlas LV-3A was an Atlas D with an Agena second stage. Highlights of the launch history were that it launched
Mariner 2 and the Ranger family.

The Atlas LV-3B was the same Atlas D with no second stage that was man rated.

Herein lies the problem - If I have researched a man rated Atlas D, why do I have to research the same launch vehicle
with a different second stage - surely I just have to research a MUCH CHEAPER second stage. Also, how about
researching the basic Launch Vehicle, then researching the Man-Rating separately? This would make more sense.

Another issue is with the Titan.

The Titan was a separate Missile Program as a backup in case the Atlas Program failed. The different variants went
along the lines of:

The Titan I was the ICBM version and the Titan II was the basic Man-Rated version of the Titan family. The Titan III was
simply a slightly developed Titan II with optional SRB Strap ons, and the Titan IIIB used an Agena D second stage. The
Titan IIIC in the game used Large strap on SRBs.

So here is this issue again of paying for development of a new Rocket Program, when in reality I should be researching
the basic Booster, a Man-Rating and SRBs.

How do we fix this? Well how about this suggestion -

The original BARIS did actually use SRBs and such like so why not follow that path? (No I do NOT want to copy and make this
game BARIS 2) How about this -

Research basic Launch Vehicles and give R&D bonuses where appropriate for tech already researched.

Redstone
Basic Rocket with Research Bonus to Juno II and Jupiter C.
Cannot fly alone unless mated with Jupiter C or Juno II
Man-Rated version is expensive and can be used alone.

Jupiter C
Developed version of Redstone. Cannot be Man-Rated.

Juno II
Developed version of Redstone. Cannot be Man-Rated.

Atlas
Basic 2nd generation ICBM
Research Bonus for Man-Rating if Redstone Man-Rated and R&D > 80%

Altair
Primative SRB. Required for later SRB development. (Shuttle or others perhaps?)

Agena
2nd stage booster that may be used with Atlas or Titan.
Development to use for unmanned Docking Target/EVA. (Man-Rating equivalent?)
Remains in Orbit for 2 Seasons and can be reused by multiple Missions in that time.

Centaur
2nd stage booster that may be used with Atlas or Titan (or Shuttle Satellite launches if the game goes down
that path).

Titan
Basic 2nd generation ICBM
Research Bonus for Man-Rating if Atlas Man-Rated and R&D > 80%

Saturn I
3rd generation Launch Vehicle
Research Bonus for Man-Rating if Titan Man-Rated and R&D > 80%
Research Bonus if Juno Program still exists (this is the payoff for paying maintenance on the Juno
Program for most of the game)

Saturn II
2nd stage booster for Saturn I. Can lift but must be Man-Rated seperately
Research Bonus for Man-Rating if Saturn I Man-Rated and R&D > 80%

Saturn IV
3rd stage booster for Saturn I and becomes the Saturn V when mated to Saturn I and II.
Can lift but must be Man-Rated seperately
Research Bonus for Man-Rating if Saturn II Man-Rated and R&D > 80%

I am fully aware that Development is in late stage, but I think that the above system is not really very different
from what already exists, is far more realistic and flexible than the current system, and allows greater freedom,
flexibility and development of the game later.

I will leave it to the Forum and Developers to comment. I hope I haven't opened up a can of worms.

Cheers!

Andrew (Drewpan)

[Nacho84]

Hello Andrew,

Thanks for the feedback. I think your suggestions make sense but, as you say, at this stage of the development process introducing such a change is like opening a can of worms. I'll add this thread to our backlog. Obviously I cannot promise this will be implemented for release, but I'll certainly revisit this thread once the game ships and see if it makes sense to include this change in a post-release update.

Cheers,