Players walk in EVA-gear all the time. I figured-out that in the future, players would get that gear off them, and walk in regular space-clothes. Like those:
http://www.instablogsimages.com/images/2009/03/18/wakata-on-iss_XPtBt_5965.jpghttp://iss.jaxa.jp/kids/en/life/images/2_2.jpghttp://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:E7D5F9jaloOl_M:http://s88.photobucket.com/albums/k166/suzymchale/eneide/eneide07101.jpg&t=1http://www.spacekids.co.uk/spacesuits/images/crew.jpghttp://www.nasa.gov/images/content/118034main_hassman_iss_briefing5_med.jpgAm I right?
BTW: Astronaut doesn't just start-off their career on Mars base. They start in other missions like: oppurtunity orbital flights, lunar mission, shoutle mission, space-station mission, etc..
Badges:
http://www.spacekids.co.uk/spacesuits/images/patches_big.jpgMaybe it would be nice to allow players to determine what they'r avatar previously have done.
Even better idea: career builder.
It's a generator program that create's your character's basic statistic's, specialization and abilities that he has.
You select what he has done in the last 10-20 years (depending on player, and his specialization), and basing on that the program creates various avatars.
You could start from high school, go threw your graduation, end-up in beying an expert in some speciality, and then join space-program. Do some missions, and finally...join Mars Colony.
For instance - character: Name Age: XX
Stage #1: Uniwersity / Engeneering & Polytechnic / Military
Stage #2: Graduation, next step.
Stage #3: Graduation.
Stage #4: Expertize.
Stage #5: Space programe joined.
Stage #6: Mission 1
Stage #7: Mission 2
Stage #8: Mars Colony
(NOTE: In europe all degrees look's like this:
3 years for
1st degree.
2 years for
2nd degree.
3 years for
3rd degree - and you'r a
doctor. After that thing's get complicated, depending on the country, person and what he's studying. In most countries (for instance: Germany, Poland, French, Russia), doctor must first make a Habilitation (
Doctor Habilitate) and after that, he can become a profesor. I know that in UK there are "
higher doctorates" instead of "Doctor Habilitate" but from what I know - they are basicly the same thing)
For instance:
Name: Marco
Age: 35 (I'am 23 btw :-P)
I picked Uniwersity career. I picked "Biology". I selected I started studying in 2030.
I typed the name of my uniwersity (anyone can type what they want, like MIT, Yale, Hogward etc..)
I picked that after 5 years I starded studying "Astronomy" and ended it in 5 years. (typed again the name of the uniwersity).
Next I picked "graduation in: biology". I typed again the name of the uniwersity.
After 4 years I graduated to doctor.
I selected my speciality "Astrobiology". I typed some random information about what I have done in that time. I selected the date at which I ended it (the longer the better for that particular ability). I could have picked-up another close related speciality (like botany, space-medicine, etc.) but insted I selected that this is the year I aplied to space-programm (select which one), that has taken me 2 years of training.
Next I picked-up the remaining years and filled them with: 1-year orbital space mission, and 2-year lunar mission.