Kerbal Space Program

[TheGodBen]

Anybody else given this game a try? I played the demo before and got a few rockets into orbit, but I just bought the full version the other day and am having a blast (sometimes literally) trying out new designs for a successful Munar mission.

If you don't know what the game is, it's a sandbox space exploration game where you design your own rockets and spacecraft and try to achieve your own goals. You have to account for weight, thrust, balance, drag, structural integrity, fuel, and orbital mechanics to get your little Kerbals into space and back to planet Kerbin safely. Right now the main goal is to land safely on Kerbin's two moons, Mun and Minmus, but you can do anything you want, such as putting space stations into orbit, or building planes capable of transcontinental flights. It's still in alpha so it's a bit buggy, but they're adding features all the time, and the next update is going to add a bunch of planets to the solar system so that there's more to explore.

I performed my first attempt at a Mun landing last night with this rocket, getting prepped for a night launch.



Here's the ship after achieving orbit of Kerbin, preparing to slingshot to the Mun.



Here's my Munar lander in orbit of the Mun, with Kerbin off in the distance.



Sadly, the landing didn't go as planned and it tipped on its side, breaking off the crew capsule. Bill Kermin becomes the first Kerbin to walk on the Mun...



...but he's trapped there forever.



Unless I choose to send up a ship to rescue him at some point. I should probably practice landing the ship first though.

[Peak]

Not really my type of game. I do watch all the KurtJMac-videos, but it's a bit to much of simulator and not enought of a game (yet?) for my taste.

[Mr Silver]

I like the idea of the game, but I'm not digging the Blender style graphics. For me personally, anything that deals with space flight should feature cutting edge graphics. A simulator especially, although Microsoft are leading the simulator race with their "not-exactly-ultra-realistic" Flight Simulator series.

[TheGodBen]

Peak wrote:

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Not really my type of game. I do watch all the KurtJMac-videos, but it's a bit to much of simulator and not enought of a game (yet?) for my taste.

I'd say it's a good balance of simulator and cartoony fun. You can do the complicated stuff like landing on the Mun and all the planning and testing that goes along with that, or you can just build crazy rockets and planes and see if you can make them work. Here's a silly example of a rocket-powered helicopter thing that I saw on the forum.

Admiral M wrote:

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I like the idea of the game, but I'm not digging the Blender style graphics. For me personally, anything that deals with space flight should feature cutting edge graphics. A simulator especially, although Microsoft are leading the simulator race with their "not-exactly-ultra-realistic" Flight Simulator series.

It's an indie game being developed by a half-dozen people in Mexico, the graphical quality is going to be closer to Minecraft than Halo. And keep in mind that the planet Kerbin alone is over 1,000,000 km² and you can land at any point on it, and it's planned for there to be about a dozen planets and moons in the game for you to explore. The textures aren't going to be the best quality, but that doesn't in any way detract from the fun of the game or its challenge.

That being said, the 0.17 update that's coming out sometime this month will allegedly improve the graphics a bit.


I finally managed a successful Mun landing last night, and I had just enough fuel left over to return somewhat safely to Kerbin.

[Saturn0660]

I downloaded the demo of it yesterday. I'd have to say i'm hooked on this game. However, i'd like to see what buying it give me over the demo. But a few screen caps.

Moving along.


We have a problem.


Punch Out Punch Out....

[TheGodBen]

Saturn0660 wrote:

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I downloaded the demo of it yesterday. I'd have to say i'm hooked on this game. However, i'd like to see what buying it give me over the demo.

The retail version gives you more places to go, more tools to help you get there, and more to do when you arrive. The demo only has two worlds, Kerbin and Mun, while the retail version was just updated and now includes 5 planets and 8 moons to explore. The retail version has about 5 times as many parts as in the demo, including larger rockets, landing gear, and jet engines so that you can design space planes. The retail version also includes the ability to control the rocket from the cockpit, and go on spacewalks with your crew (which is a lot of fun when combining jet packs and low gravity). There's also a bunch of graphical improvements and bug-fixes and physics tweaking. Eventually, they plan to include a career mode where you'll have to worry about budgets and limited parts, as well as an expanded solar system (they're planning more planets as well as asteroids, comets, rings, and so on), and docking.

We have a problem.

You definitely have a problem when Jebediah starts freaking out.

Here's some pics from my first trip out to Duna (the Mars stand-in).

This is my ship. It wobbles like crazy getting into orbit, but it just about manages.



Here it is in orbit of Kerbin.



The view from inside the capsule as the sun sets.



Kerbin and Mun in the distance as I head out into interplanetary space.



113 days after lift-off, I finally approach Duna and its moon, Ike.



In Duna orbit.



Jebediah Kerman becomes the first Kerbal to set foot on Duna. Here's hoping he has enough fuel to get back.



And here's a bonus picture of my first successful landing on the tiny ice moon Minmus.

[Unicron]

What OS does it run on? I don't buy that many games nowadays because they're formatted only for PCs, and I'm far too lazy to worry about emulating a Windows type extra OS just to play them.

[Saturn0660]

Mac and PC both

[Saturn0660]

I love this game.. A few more pics to post.

It happens.


On my way to the sun.


Just about as close is I could get to the sun with the fuel I had.

[Robert Maxwell]

So did they end up disintegrating?

[Saturn0660]

Oddly enough no. Nothing happened. Other then getting stuck in that solar orbit.

I need more fuel and see if you can ""land"" on the sun.
However, not sure you can. when i check my orbit it showed me going right through the star. When i was getting close i couldn't control the ship(whipping around) so who knows.

Someone else try it and see if you can even land there.

[Robert Maxwell]

Why would you need more fuel, though? Wouldn't the sun's gravity pull you in? Wouldn't your velocity toward it be maintained, even without fuel?

Seems like an odd physics model.

[TheGodBen]

Saturn0660 wrote:

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I need more fuel and see if you can ""land"" on the sun.
However, not sure you can. when i check my orbit it showed me going right through the star.

Yeah, the sun doesn't have a surface or proper texture in the demo, it's just a white thing that you can float through. In the most recent version it has a proper surface with dynamic sun spots and solar flares, but you can't land on it because your ship explodes if you get too close.

Robert Maxwell wrote:

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Why would you need more fuel, though? Wouldn't the sun's gravity pull you in? Wouldn't your velocity toward it be maintained, even without fuel?

Ah, but you're in orbit of the sun, in order to crash into it you'll need to decrease your orbital velocity to zero or thereabouts. That requires a lot of fuel because once you escape the gravitational influence of planet Kerbin, you'll still be orbiting the sun at roughly 9,000m/s.

Seems like an odd physics model.

It attempts to simulate real orbital mechanics but it can only simulate gravity from one body at a time, so if you're going to the moon then once you reach the moon's sphere of influence you are no longer affected by the planet's gravity. It's a bit unrealistic but a necessary sacrifice to allow the game to run smoothly.

[Robert Maxwell]

Ah, it seem to have not "clicked" that he was orbiting the sun. Good point!

I guess that's better than a direct approach.

[Saturn0660]

Ya, i'm not sure i said i was in a solar orbit first. Alas, no crashing for my. As i'm still on the demo.