[PC - Indie] Kerbal Space Program

[Flare]

A game I have been spending way too much time on these days , wanted to post much earlier but I wanted to get a suitable screenshot first, took a while getting there



I think you will agree its worth the wait

Title: Kerbal Space Program (Early access - Alpha , still in development phase )

What is it ?

In brief its a sort of serious space program simulation but at the same time is not too serious and has comical elements to take away the serious business aspect of simulations.
At the moment there is no mission or task for the players (coming soon) so the player just messes around with unlimited funding and all the parts immediately available for use as you see fit.

What can you do ?

Build and launch rockets, orbit the planet of Kerbin, put up space stations in orbit, dock with stations in orbit, fly to the Mun (moon), fly to other planets in the Kerbol System, build spaceplanes (and try get them to orbit or dock with stations)... with just the stock game (none modded), but mods then add more stuff to keep you busy.
Some mods add a whole new resource you can scan for and detect on planets and moons, which you can then mine for and turn into fuel to power your space program (getting a Kethane mining operation going on the Mun can supply fuel much easier than laboriously hauling it out of the dense atmosphere and heavy gravity of Kerbin ).
Mods add ability to scan planets for height maps and other data, others add life support requirements, change atmosphere behaviour for planes, add airships (big balloons), add robotic arms and servos, more parts to make your rocket / plane more pleasing to the eye, space station parts, base parts to make bases on the Mun or even other planets... and more, the mod scene is absolutely bustling.

It does rely on you to use your imagination to provide goals and missions at this stage.

How is the game ?

Currently it is playable and fun but has serious issues, is resource intensive and can make the toughest CPU's cry if your projects get too large. There is also issues with odd behaviour, and physics going mad (quicksave is your friend).
Graphically its not bad but pop in is common, textures show seams, laggy animation at times. The game can have some awesome screen shot moments and isnt ugly.
Sound is pretty limited to dull music and to engine noises, some effects like explosions and stage decoupling but not much on the audio front, not really a bad thing.
Controlwise the game plays best on a Mouse and Keyboard, Flight stick and gamepad support is sketchty at the moment.

Is it fun ?

Yes and no. It can eat up hours of your time happily designing all sorts of stuff, but can also provide a lot of frustration when things dont work and some current limitations on the building aspect of the game prevent some ideas, or physics play up and cause issues with your designs (most of the time in heavy gravity areas like the home planet Kerbin).
It is challenging (without cheating or getting mods to do the hard parts) to master aspects of designing and piloting, docking alone is a sod to get to grips with and is a slow and careful procedure, but VERY satisfying when you get it right... that first landing on the Mun is surprisingly intense for such a title.

Should I buy it ?

If you enjoy tackling a game that is challenging but open in scope and lets your imagination loose, if you are happy to set your own goals and limits, and have a lot of patience (space isnt all that exciting, mostly bursts of tension with a lot of mundane and a sudden dollop of satisfaction in achievement)... yes, it isnt even that expensive but offers literally hours of potential entertainment... and the game isnt even finished, lots still to come.

I wouldnt get this game if you dont have much time, or if you dont enjoy open ended games and prefer quick bouts of fun.
It doesnt have any Multiplayer, or plans for Multiplayer and wont add weapons or alien races (other than the Kerbils).
It is closer to a simulation than a arcade game, and as such does require some learning and researching on your part.

The game is also prone to odd issues and crashes (though my experience has been crash free, just some odd physics behaviour and occasionally a craft design will get messed up when moving from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the Launch Pad... messing up the craft save file).

I personally am enjoying it, despite the bouts of frustration, the sheer scope of the title is enough to keep me busy for a long time... and then there is the mods to explore.
Worth the price and there is a very OLD demo available at the homepage (IIRC).

[ListerofSMEG-2]

I've been playing this for months since v0.13 - The demo is now at v0.17 IIRC

The full version is now updated to v0.20 and has come on leaps and bounds over the last 12 months with Steam greenlight too

A thoroughly absorbing game which as said above, frustrates & yet is enjoyable in equal measures.

I have only managed to get to the Kerbin equivalent of the moon (Mun), Mars (Duna) and Minmus & it took me weeks of designing & re-designing a ship with sufficient payload yet light enough to actually lift off the pad & get into orbit.



Proper space physics work well here with Hohmann transfer orbits & gravity.

You can build massive structures, moon-bases, lunar rovers, etc All good fun



Buy it while it's still cheap!

[Shuriken]

Highly worth the money. Considering the upcoming features it's a steal

[Binerexis]

I've been tempted to get this but I have a feeling that it'll be played once and then gather dust.

[Flare]

Nab the demo, its old and lacks a fair number of critical features but still allows you to at least build rockets that can get you a Mun landing.

See Manley's youtube vid...

[youtubeHD]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7xXh5pwvY20[/youtubeHD]

I give up with embedding... click the url ya lazy so and so
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... xXh5pwvY20

Get the Demo :

https://www.kerbalspaceprogram.com/download.php

Demo does lack one extremely crucial and insane feature, the dreaded Kerbil killing Spaceplane Hangar... these craft almost always look cook and sleek, make cool screaming noises with ramjets and rockets, and nearly always blow up in a spectacular manner on the runway...rest of the time they blow up 20m off the ground

Try the demo, its a limited and rough idea of what to expect but very roughly its what you would be doing when you begin KSP anyway... build basic rockets, kill Kerbils on the launchpad, build more rockets, kill Kerbils 100m from the launchpad, build more get further and further...then learn how to set up orbits around Kerbin, getting rockets back to Kerbin (and live Kerbils in the pods).

*note: The demo does not support Mods.

[Shuriken]

It is a bit niche, but everyone should definitely try the demo. I can't wait for the new aerodynamics in the next update, planes that actually fly the way they're supposed to!

[Flare]

Aerodynamics ? I thought they were just sorting out the ASAS and SAS (stopping the ASAS going mad, and stations shaking themselves to ...unplanned disassembly status, and planes wobbling and refusing to let you fly them with the ASAS locked in).
I didnt see where they mentioned changing the aerodynamics... makes sense if they did though the planes behaviour is a tad primitive without the FAR mod on.

[Shuriken]

It's part and parcel with the work C7 is doing on it

I think it's mostly to do with part rigidity though, since it was the flapping that was the problem lol

[Flare]

I am disappointed no one commented on the UKCS flag planted on the Mun ... after all that trouble I went through to get a lander there for that screenshot.

My bad actually, I took so long as I cant build simple stuff, each time I am in that VAB my 'simple' designs suddenly blow up into huge monstrosities barely recognisable in shape or form... and not likely to get into orbit let alone the Mun. I had to force myself to keep my ship strictly to the mission requirements (no Jeb I cant add the jacuzzi on this flight, and no extra supply of whiskey this time either).
The ship and lander I used in the end was over complicated but did the job... had way too much fuel in my transfer stage when I ditched it to crash into the Munar surface.

[Shuriken]

lol all I've done since the latest patch was put a buggy on the moon with outdoor seats XD

Sadly it's on the opposite side of the mun to where my other lander got to lol. I know what you mean about the VAB though, I tend to think "I need more thrust, more thrust needs more fuel, more fuel means more struts!"

[ListerofSMEG-2]

I am disappointed no one commented on the UKCS flag planted on the Mun ...

I'll see your Mun landing flag and raise you a Duna flag......

Challenge

How far from Kerbin can you plant a UKCS flag in the Kerbol system peoples???

[Shuriken]

Bonus points if anyone gets one on a monolith!

[Templar+]

Awwww looks awesome i'd get it if i had the time to play it maybe at the end of the month.

[Binerexis]

Ok, I got the demo and I still feel mixed about it. It seems to be quite fun and like I could make some mega progress if I put my mind to it but I'm struggling. Maybe it's just in the demo but with the Stages group, they all activate at once even when put in separate stages. Sometimes it works, often it doesn't. I also find myself stuck, frequently asking myself,"OK, what now?"

[ListerofSMEG-2]

Dont try and build an interplanetary mega-ship straight away.

Start small with small orbiters, learning the game mechanics simple staging.

Then build a few more fuel tanks & engines on & see if you can get to the mun - then go large!

Always secure things with strut connectors too

[Flare]

Thats sounds odd Bin, the stage system is a bit clumsy when adding things automatically but pretty basic to shuffle things about... in the VAB when you are nearly ready got to the launchpad just check the staging, and drag the elements around as you expect them to fire off, click on the + or - to add or remove stages, mouse over the element to see the part flash on the ship (or mouse over the ship part to highlight it in the staging column).
It is possible to change the staging at the launch pad but those changes wont be saved, only when in the VAB and you save the craft.

Did you watch the video I (tried to embed) posted a link to ? Manley has a decent tutorial specifically for the demo...takes you from creating a craft to landing it on the Mun in one short video.

As for myself, I aint up for any flag planting competitions yet... man trying to get the hang of none assisted docking still, didnt help my 'cool and fancy ' spacecraft handles terribly and the RCS is not balanced.
Oh just need to translate down a bit and left and I am there...spinny spinny spin spin nooo I want to go down what why am I flying away stop with the spinning oh man now I am even further away than when I finished the rendezvous... salted with a lot of choice words that dont bear repeating.
My simple training craft practically docked itself compared to this [bleep]... and that took 1 and 30 min to complete the dock.

I tried making some rovers as well for fun but ended up messing about and built drag racers with parachutes to slow down and everything... completely forgot my plans to dock my 'bus' to the station to prepare to de-crew and de-orbit the station... I wanted to put up a improved version to fix up some of the issues the current one has.
I also planned to mess about with the kethane mod and put a detection probe around the Mun to locate some Kethane to make fuel a bit easier to get to orbit....

... but drag rovers was too much fun, and yes I put a drone on it not a live Kerbil, I aint that cruel.

[Shuriken]

lol Bin, I felt the same way. It wasn't until I was force-fed the full version that I was totally convinced. At the moment the only reason I'm not playing more is because compared to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU_y0Z6md3k

The planes are WAY more insane/suicidal. Why I've settled on trying spaceplanes is a little mystery, but I Tend to go huge when trying rocket missions and end up crushing my stuff under its own weight

[Binerexis]

Tell you what, I'll be at i49 for the day so if any of you guys are there with the full version of the game, you can try to sell it to me

[Cap'n Neuro]

Just stick nothing but fuel tanks to everything.

I care not who explodes, so long as there's fire.

[Flare]

Gah, I hate it when a game initially is fun as hell but when you dig deeper the crap becomes more obvious each time...

After wasting a stupid amount of time playing around with designs of my rockets, I can only conclude the game is a bloody mess.
The physics are a joke... my latest lifter, I can ADD 13.5 tonnes to top of the bugger and it flies, but make it 2m higher at the top than it is now no matter how light the structure I add actually is and the craft falls apart on the launch pad...WTF ?!?
Change a strut placement on a upper stage to stop the craft from spinning like a deranged spinning top, and the lower structural pylons suddenly lose there ability to hold the side boosters... WTF ?!?
Strut the engines to the small grey tanks to stop the engines doing the samba on the launch pad... and the engines fall off instead ... WTF ?!?

Its like trying to stop leaks in a dam wall with sticks, only to find out later the cause was the fact you failed to shut your bedroom door is causing the dam to fall apart.

Game reminds me of an old toy I had, a set of balls with magnets in them (Clickets I think they were called), building stuff with these balls was possible but they were not structurally sound... seems the rocket parts physics wise are round balls with magnets to connect to each other instead of large tanks and engines... a whole stack of round balls with magnets.

I highly suggest anyone considering this title to wait and see how the developers sort out these issues before picking it up, its very annoying as it stands to try build anything OTHER than a trashcan with rocket engines.