Gaming The Kerbal Space Program - Version 1.2.x

[Ark]

It seems that forum & servers problems are consuming a lot of the team time, skills and resources, which is somewhat a pity.

Yeah, those guys had some pretty big problems thrown at them with the Steam release. I ran a small Invisionfree board with a couple other people about 8 years ago and we would have browned our shorts if we had to deal with the forum catastrophe they just went through. We literally wouldn't know where to begin. :lol:

KSP has pretty much replaced Orbiter for me right now. Just discovered Kethane and KAS.

 

[N_Molson]

KSP has pretty much replaced Orbiter for me right now

I try to resist as much as I can and force myself not to use addons (well, except Kerbal Engineering Redux which gives vital informations for rocket assembly - that could be done with paper and a calculator but well... - ).

But I fear that the more features there will be, the harder it will be to overcome that resistance. Terrain and collision detection are already quite a dream that became true... Things like reentry heat, fairing, resources mining, carrer mode will be awesome.

And some day, someone will sell a mega-addon pack with the "real" solar system, real rocket, spacecraft, and satellites parts and astronauts that have faces looking like the true ones, terrain from elevation maps retrieved by satellites etc... I fear that day !

 

[Ark]

Ha, much like Orbiter, the addons are the best part. I would have quit ages ago if I could only use vanilla parts.

 

[BruceJohnJennerLawso]

KSP has pretty much replaced Orbiter for me right now. Just discovered Kethane and KAS.

Meh, you'll be back

KSP is really cool, but once you've flown a few missions, you've kinda seen it all. Orbiter is much better to me, because you can do literally anything in it, as sci-fi or realistic as you like. KSP by contrast almost feels "forcibly silly"

 

[SolarLiner]

And the way KSP handle aerodynamics doesn't satisfy me enough. I know there is FAR but, just to point. And I think I'm a pilot rather than a designer, because I end up with anything that can go beyond Minmus. Well ...

The fact that 400+ parts makes CPU running of the computer is bad. They will fix that, but I think that Unity is not a good choice for physics-heavy games. Surgeon Simulator 2013 is perfect for Unity

I visited every planet in Orbiter, done several runs to the ISS, gone into GEO above a wished location (and I don't know how I did that) and done a two burns Earth -> Moon Earth with landing at launch location. And I am currently sitting on the bottom of the Cang-Fu crater, on the Iron Hill base.

In KSP, well, I have built my space station, I got to Mun and Minmus and then nothing.

 

[Hielor]

They will fix that, but I think that Unity is not a good choice for physics-heavy games.

I definitely agree with this. Unity is great as a starting platform for a lot of things, but KSP has already had issues with it and had to put in silly workarounds. For large scale realistic physics things, Unity isn't the best choice.

 

[Ark]

I definitely agree with this. Unity is great as a starting platform for a lot of things, but KSP has already had issues with it and had to put in silly workarounds. For large scale realistic physics things, Unity isn't the best choice.

Well, we've been waiting on Minecraft to get out of Java for years now, so I don't think I'll be holding my breath for any major engine improvements.

 

[Hielor]

Well, we've been waiting on Minecraft to get out of Java for years now, so I don't think I'll be holding my breath for any major engine improvements.

Java's a programming language, not an engine...

With a well designed program, switching from one engine to another is a relatively straightforward process that can be done incrementally over time.

Switching from one programming language to another is a whole 'nother ball of wax and isn't usually feasible for projects of decent size since it basically means re-writing everything from scratch.

 

[N_Molson]

Still, the great strenght of KSP is that I'm very often thinking "if I'm trying to put those engines with those tanks and those boosters..." while I'm trying to get asleep :lol:

 

[Urwumpe]

Still, the great strenght of KSP is that I'm very often thinking "if I'm trying to put those engines with those tanks and those boosters..." while I'm trying to get asleep :lol:

That is still harmless compared to orbiter add-on making though. I think about baroswitch configurations under the shower... "If I arm the baroswitch at 50 kPa and permit parachute deployment by altitude at 70 kPa, what physical quantity can I use for triggering parachute deployment for shallow trajectories that never exceed 50 kPa? dP/dt? "

KSP has still a long way to go to become that nasty. And I already think of the more worse nastiness... could a DSL for Orbiter add-ons make sense...

 

[N_Molson]

I think about baroswitch configurations under the shower... "If I arm the baroswitch at 50 kPa and permit parachute deployment by altitude at 70 kPa, what physical quantity can I use for triggering parachute deployment for shallow trajectories that never exceed 50 kPa? dP/dt? "

:rofl:

 

[Alfastar]

Well, I don't think that KSP will replace Orbiter ever (Well, it begin for my be fearful if that ever happens) because the most KSP players will just launch a Mk1 pod to Duna with a big (ugly sometimes ) rocket. KSP stays KSP, and I don't think it ever become something what become close to Orbiter. Look to the planet size already. Jool (Gas giant in the KSP solar system) is just almost even small as Earth!

KSP is more for the lolz, Orbiter is far more serious and harder.

Time to jump back to the DG-IV and going to Mars...

 

[HarvesteR]

Well, I don't think KSP will ever replace Orbiter. I wouldn't like it if that happened either.

Orbiter is unique in that you can find yourself thinking about a derivative of pressure for triggering parachute deployment on shallow entry trajectories. KSP isn't meant to give players that sort of experience, it's meant to be a more lighthearted seat-of-the-pants type thing.

See the first post on this thread:

This game is not meant to compete with Orbiter, mind... that wouldn't be a good idea anyway, to compete with a freeware simulator with 12 years of development on it... This is meant to be a different take on space games, it's not a full blown space sim, but it's not your average space shooter either. At best, I hope this can be a stepping stone for people to get into Orbiter. At worst, I hope it's at least somewhat entertaining. :lol:

Personally, I think there is plenty of room for both.

Cheers

 

[Urwumpe]

I think the last promise of your post has been 100% full-filled.

It absolutely is a more lighthearted approach to spaceflight simulation, and that is the charme of KSP.

 

[Alfastar]

Well, I don't think KSP will ever replace Orbiter. I wouldn't like it if that happened either.

Orbiter is unique in that you can find yourself thinking about a derivative of pressure for triggering parachute deployment on shallow entry trajectories. KSP isn't meant to give players that sort of experience, it's meant to be a more lighthearted seat-of-the-pants type thing.

See the first post on this thread:




Personally, I think there is plenty of room for both.

Cheers

Very nice told HarvesteR, thanks. And lets hope that 0.20 become awesome and the DLC's become even more amazing :thumbup:

I don't need to ask to you and the rest of the team to promise that, it become every time just more awesome

 

[Pipcard]

Orbiter is unique in that you can find yourself thinking about a derivative of pressure for triggering parachute deployment on shallow entry trajectories.

But I'm not an advanced aerospace engineer yet, so I wouldn't find myself thinking about that when developing add-ons.

When making a rocket, I only think about the relatively simple things like dry massropellant mass and specific impulse as opposed to things like expansion ratios.

 

[kamaz]

I've spent a couple of evenings on the game and this is my opinion so far:

- The rocket building part is cool, fun and addictive.

- The flying part is a major pain due to lack of suitable navigation tools. I'm supposed to put a protractor on the screen to measure angle between planets? Really?

 

[Codz]

There is an addon that automatically calculates that.

http://kerbalspaceport.com/protractor-for-ksp-0-18/

 

[mojoey]

There is an addon that automatically calculates that.

http://kerbalspaceport.com/protractor-for-ksp-0-18/

Or use Mechjeb.

 

[BruceJohnJennerLawso]

Or use Mechjeb.

Ive always thought that mechjeb was evidence of a bit of a problem in the KSP community. I dont have an issue with using autopilots in KSP or Orbiter, but I can remember people saying things like "I couldn't do anything in KSP without mechjeb". That would seem to imply that they didnt learn much of anything from using the program, kinda disappointing, but hey...