Bug #5059
Incorrect contract description
0%
Description
I accepted a contract stating "Rescue XY, who is stranded in orbit around Kerbin." only to discover that XY was in fact orbiting the Mun and by orbiting I mean two hours away from collision.
So the contract was if not impossible to fulfill at least wrongly labeled.
(It might be that XY was initially orbiting Kerbin and got captured by the Mun before I accepted the contract. In that case a simple solution would be to exclude certain "unsafe" orbits from the contract generator.)
History
#1
Updated by Kasuha almost 9 years ago
Updated by I think the real problem is that randomly generated contract orbits don't respect Mun presence. I had to deploy several satellites on collision course with Mun, too, and these were also called 'Kerbin orbit'. In your case, the game likely also generated random point in that orbit that by chance happened to be inside Mun SOI.
I believe a check should be added to the orbit generator to make sure it is a safe stable orbit, i.e. does not intersect trajectory of any of other bodies present in the SOI. Regardless of purpose for which the orbit is generated.
#2
Updated by Squelch almost 9 years ago
Updated by - Status changed from New to Not a Bug
- % Done changed from 0 to 100
Some contracts may be generated that are very hard. They are rare, and they are not obligatory.
Safe zones could be put into place, but this isn't as expedient as it may first seem. Jool has many unsafe zones around it, and should be considered danger territory. Once a player is accepting contracts around Jool, they are likely to be fairly experienced, so would be or quickly become aware of the pitfalls. Should more experienced player be denied these challenges?
The result is a design decision after much debate.
We are not obliged to accept all contracts, and probably shouldn't. In those rare occasions where a hard contract is generated in early game, it serves as a reminder that space is hard, and the best laid plans are not infallible. A rescue mission may come at any time, but as in real life, we may not be prepared or able to actually do anything about it. While we may know of missions beforehand and can plan contingencies, this is not the Kerbal way.
The forums are the best place to discuss this matter.