Is it better to start playing this game in Science mode or Career mode?

[Drewskii]

title

[Chibbity]

Depends on the person I suppose.

I prefer and recommend Career mode myself.

Both modes require you to earn science and unlock the part tree so it really boils down to if you want the extra structure that the missions provide, and the extra work of upgrading your buildings and managing your funds somewhat. (Money is typically not an issue in Career past the early game anyways.)

[RoofCat]

I would go for the full package and thus career. In the long run though the difference won't be too big. Soon enough you will have 10mio cash and all science in the world. So it is sandbox anyway.

That's the reason I prefer as much gameplay details as possible at least at start.

[Astronaut]

Career. Important decision is made early, as it ends up your favorite game mode for most of your time. It's the entire package anyways.

[Astronaut]

I usually play like this: No reverting flights, quicksaving or loading, no missing crews respawn, no extra grounstations, kerbals level up immediately, (i would play with part pressure limits and g-force limits, but there is a modded moon that has a very high atmospheric pressure and if I turn part pressure limits on, I'll never land. So if I can't turn part pressure limits on, why turn part g force limits on? also when hovering over that option it says will parts fail when in dense atmospheres/deep underwater but the pressure remains the same underwater or so. Wish it would be fixed.), kerbal g-force limits, no extra groundstations, all rewards and penalties are set to 100% or left to default, probes require signal for control, all comms are left to default, enable kerbal experience, no stock vessels, destructible structures, sometimes - entry purchase required on research, 0 starting funds, 0 science and reputation, and all part upgrades applied when unlocked tech nodes, and I turn on terrain scatters to 50% and use SVT to make the solid.

[MasterFeed]

Career might be an extra challenge but I think if you start Science, you will regret not going for career.
Its not that much harder..

[strask]

Originally posted by SingerHao:

Its not that much harder..

I don't consider Career to be ANY harder than science, it's simply got more to do and thus is more engaging.

[PyroMancer]

I think Career mode is better for the same reason science mode is better than Sandbox.

Sandbox you get everything and can build whatever. But that is actually boring and overwhelming if you are not already very familar with the game.

Science mode is the early access mode when all you had was collecting science. So you start off unlocking the parts slowly overtime and learn about what each do. But in the end you unlock everything and just use the best parts.

Career mode adds money to the mix and now just because you unlock something doesn't mean you can build a massive rocket which can be very impractical if you don't know what your doing as bigger doesn't always mean better, especially if you are not getting more delta-V out of it.

The result is career mode has you working to build rockets to achieve goals which unlock science but also doing them on a budget. But you'll also need to do contracts to earn money to do some of that science. You can also adjust the settings at the start to change how much science and money you get from missions. This can make things more or less challenging as it effects how much you get in return.

Lowering money income for mission means needing to make sure ships are even more economical but can also lead to a bit of grind. Lower science income means you won't be able to easily unlock all the tech within Kerbin's orbit and moons you'll have to venture out more.

Personally I prefered to do carrer mode and I used a mod to setup timers for intercepts/burns. And I tried to play the game as close to real time as possible in terms of what was going on. And what I mean by that is if a trip to one of the other planets was gonna take a month I didn't just fast forward it a month. I setup the timer and then went back to Kerbin to plan my next mission. I was often running contracts around Kerbin and it's moons while I had other ships enroute to other planets since you don't need to watch them the whole trip.

This I found made the game feel more real as everything doesn't just stop for months/years because one mission is being run. Also it means no loading back to launch if something goes wrong like I miss a window or misjudge the fuel I needed. I even used the mod for food/water and made sure the Kerbals had plenty. Also had mod for mining/refueling so I could seutp refueling stations.

Even had a 2 year mission out Jool during which time I had don't enough missions in the inner solar system that I had all the tech unlocked and several refueling stations setup along with satalites orbiting most inner planets and their moons.

[The_Mell]

Science mode for new players was and is my suggestion.

Sandbox just overwhelms you with parts.
Career can be frustating with its funds which need to be aquired and managed. For someone still learning basic flying (like launching, orbiting, transfering, landing and returning) the mission system can lead to deadlocks or at least situations of long boring grinds, because you cannot realize (or even do because of your lacking skill) simple missions to earn funds and incorporate them into your flights.

Go Science mode, learn the basics, land on Mun, Minmus and maybe something beyond, and then you should be ready to enjoy Career.