How To Make Money In Kerbal Space Program

2 hours ago, The Dunatian said:

I should clarify. Facilities such as the VAB, launch pad, and tracking station aren't needed in early career. Mission control, R&D, and the astronaut complex are worth upgrading in early career but not necessarily needed.

I'm afraid I almost completely disagree with you. VAB and R&D are the only ones there that aren't critical path early upgrades for my careers, as the R&D upgrade opens up my midgame, and I typically don't need VAB until I start goofing around with rovers or biome hoppers, which I prefer to do in midgame when I can get surface samples and upgraded wheels. I should probably note I play Hard Career almost exclusively, so it's not like these are cheap or something.

Upgrading Mission control early lets you get more contracts at once, which helps with launch efficiency, so I typically upgrade that first thing.

Upgrading Astronaut complex during your first orbit lets you EVA for both World's First contract completion as well as additional science. This speeds up your science gathering considerably. This is usually my second upgrade, and also typically done as soon as possible.

Manned Mun landings are near impossible without an upgraded pad for heavier rockets, which is where World's First contracts typically go after you've done a flyby/orbit. 18 tons is enough to pull off flybys and a minimalist orbit, but not landing and return. Somewhere around my fifth or sixth World's First launch goes to the Mun in a typical career. First does the launch/liftoff, second does suborbital/orbital. While up there I'll usually get EVAs and science from Kerbin orbit contracts. Next one is typically a flyby and science of Mun, fourth is (usually) the orbiter and return, which I'll do by using the free return flyby and braking at Periapsis to barely get an orbit, fulfill, then burn again for the free return. By 5 or 6 I'm typically landing there, it depends on how the RNG is behaving that run, so around then I want the Launchpad upgrade.

Mission Control and Tracking station need to be upgraded each once for Maneuver Nodes, which are such a quality of life upgrade for me I want them very early. They also help tremendously once you are putting up satellites and for rendezvous with lost kerbals, which I go after very quickly so in some ways I suppose it is what you define as 'early career'. Rescues and OKTO sats putting up the CommNet are still very much part of my 'opening moves' for my early careers and are my counter to the early funds grind.

Because of these considerations, I'm typically upgrading KSC very quickly during the early game. I personally ignore the Spaceplane Hangar, Runway, and Administration until mid-late game simply because until I get Panthers the SPH is pointless for my playstyle and I don't use the administration building until science is completely maxxed out.

I believe our playstyles may be very different in this case, but this wall of text was primarily to show there are different approaches to getting career done efficiently.