I thought I knew the kinds of stories that would come out of Kerbal Space Program’s newest expansion, Making History. Now that KSP’s legendary modding community has access to all the scripting and planning tools it could ever need, I was sure we’d see recreations of the doomed Apollo 13 mission, recreations of Apollo 11’s historic moon landing, and probably even an interplanetary trading run inspired by the sci-fi TV show, The Expanse.
It seems foolish that I never saw The Martian coming. Author Andy Weir’s story of a lone NASA astronaut stranded on Mars is a perfect fit for the focused, real-world-adjacent rocket physics of KSP. Using the new mission planner, KSP forum member Mikki recreated the drama of The Martian for brave Kerbals to suffer through. Behold: The Dunatian.
A lot of really bad stuff happens to Kerbals in their pursuit of interplanetary glory. Burned, frozen, squished, smashed, pulverised—Kerbals die in many different ways, but they carry on, unfazed. At the start of The Dunatian, though, I swear that Bill is looking terrified. He’s been left for dead on Duna, the KSP solar system’s Mars analogue, and his crew and his ride home are months away, nearing the end of their tragic voyage back to Kerbin.
The mod kicks off right there, and there’s an immediate laundry list of things that need doing. Controlling Bill, I potter around in rovers, managing their limited batteries and trying to figure out a way to survive the cross-Duna road trip that I know (spoilers!) is coming for me at the end of the mission.
KSP isn’t just an astronaut sim, though, it’s a space program sim, and playing The Dunatian gives me a whole new level of respect for the tertiary characters in The Martian: the NASA administrators, the Jet Propulsion Lab engineers. At any time I can jump away from Bill—which is good, since the main threat to his life is two years of crippling boredom—and manage the other missions that I’m juggling. I could have been designing my own ships for these flights as well, but frankly this mod would have taken me years to finish if I’d gone down that road.
Luckily, the mod’s author included some gorgeous pre-made spacecraft for each flight in the mission, so I was able to spend my time piloting instead of building.
The multiple flights I’m juggling basically follow the plot of the book: Bill’s departed crew are coming back for him in their interplanetary vessel, and they need to resupply without slowing down into a gentle low-Kerbin orbit. I’m busy prepping that resupply flight and running through the intense mental maths involved in making an orbital rendezvous happen between two craft on dramatically different orbits. My supply probe ends up matching speed with the huge NASA ship, and I pipe over gallons of fuel as the exhausted long-range crew and the little robot probe rocket into interplanetary space together.
While I’m stressing out about that, I also launch a long-range supply drop full of snacks to keep Bill alive for a few years until help can arrive. Seriously, I don’t care that this is fictional: NASA should be very proud that someone even imagined that they could pull off this many impossible tasks at one time.
Rendezvous
Real-world physics—or something close enough for government work—has always formed the backbone of KSP’s challenges and the thrill of its successes. I think the Apollo astronauts landing on the moon was pretty amazing, but it wasn’t until I breathlessly landed my own KSP lunar lander that I felt how amazing that journey was. I mean really felt it, down in my guts. In the same way, playing The Dunatian gave me an interactive, bone-deep connection to a story I’d already experienced through a book and a movie.
While driving across the featureless, desolate landscape of Duna, I started getting bored and picked up speed, trying to make the drive finish faster. I was going beyond a safe speed, and it wasn’t long until a bump and a skid sent my precious rover rolling over, spinning parts loose and bouncing along a gentle trail of explosions until Bill was dead. I’d read and watched about The Martian’s main character’s incredible self-discipline, but for the first time I was being asked to exhibit some of that same patience myself. It’s good thing I’m an unrepentant save-scummer, or The Dunatian would have been a short book, ending with a rover crash in chapter three.
I’ve spent a few hundred hours playing Kerbal Space Program over the last seven years, but even in my experienced hands the demands of rescuing Bill from Duna had me trying and failing for several hours. Long-time players of KSP can expect to finish The Dunatian in around five hours. Fresh new pilots should probably avoid this mod entirely.
Recreating favourite pieces of fiction in a game mod is far from an original concept, and when I started playing for this mod I expected to spend my time celebrating a detailed historical re-enactment. I really loved The Martian, but I wasn’t prepared for The Dunatian to make me love it more, and in a new way.
Learn more about Kerbal Space Program's The Dunation mod over here and check out our own list of best Kerbal Space Program mods.
Kerbal Space Program is rapidly becoming a more expansive and complex rocket simulator and that’s helped alpong greatly by Kerbal mods. With the launch of Kerbal Space Program 1.1 the game has leapt forward, but as well as Squad’s own stellar work, there’s also an enthusiastic community of modders constantly pumping out their own brand of features and enhancements.
New clouds, better physics, catalogues of new rocket parts. You name it, and within reason, it probably exists somewhere in the Kerbal SpacePort add-on repository. But without a guiding hand it’s difficult to know where to begin. So I offer you mine. My guiding hand, that is. Take it, hold tight, and let’s fly, like a cosmic Peter Pan, through the magical world of Kerbal Space Program mods.
Better Atmospheres
Kerbal’s default atmospheres are fairly boring things, a flat layer of cloud cover that helpfully vanishes as you rise through it before turning back into a low-res coating of mottled grey from space. Better Atmospheres does exactly what it says on the meticulously detailed tin, adding more detailed cloud cover not only to Kerbin, but to any other planet lucky enough to have a shred of gas enveloping it.
Distant Object Enhancement
Most planets are visible from Earth without a telescope, appearing as starlike dots in the sky. In fact, the word ‘planet’ comes from the Greek word for ‘what the heck, that star is moving around’. The Distant Object Enhancement mod draws this aspect of reality into Kerbal, rendering distant planets and moons as tiny dots with their flares intact. Other objects such as ships and anything else you fling into space will also be visible from a greater distance, which might not seem like a big deal, but really enhances the spectacle of the early stages of docking with satellites.
KSP Interstellar
Arriving before Kerbal Space Program received its recent expansive First Contract update, KSP Interstellar introduced a giant tech tree of new engines and fuels and other custom parts, which you’d unlock by exploring the solar system and setting up permanent bases in orbit around and on the surfaces of other planets. The technology you discover is all roughly rooted in real world science, with things like anti-matter engines available to players who can progress far enough.
Deadly Reentry
In the real world, or off of it, one of the trickier aspects of space travel is descending from a nice cold orbit back into the atmosphere without exploding. Hitting the sky at around 15,000mph tends to make air get rather hot, so considerations must be made for the angles and velocities at which you sluice into the big blue. Deadly Reentry is another well-titled mod, introducing to Kerbal Space Program this concept of careful returns to terra firma. Improperly shielded or over-exposed parts will be destroyed by the intense heat of a sheer reentry, while planets with heavier atmospheres become even more challenging to touch down on.
MechJeb
Named after the space program’s pioneering kerbonaut, Jebediah Kerman, Mechanical Jeb is an auto-pilot system capable of managing almost all of the most common space maneuvers. Assuming you bolt the MechJeb panel on to an appropriate craft (it’s a physical attachment), it can lift off into orbit, circularise that orbit, transit to and from moons and planets with ridiculous precision and even safely land at your chosen landing site without you ever having to lay a finger on the keyboard. Whether or not this powerful auto-piloting tool can be considered cheating is up to you, but if you’d rather not let your CPU have all the fun, you can manually pilot while still using MechJeb’s helpful auto-positioned maneuvering nodes, which simply inidicate when and where you should be firing your thrusters. That’s probably how real astronauts do it, after all.
ISA MapSatBest Mods For Ksp
This satellite mapping tool lends some purpose to your expeditions by allowing you to create topographical maps of planets and moons. Attach the dish to a probe (be sure to add a solar panel, as the scanner creates a small electrical draw, and a battery to keep it ticking over in the dark) and launch it into orbit around your preferred rock. As long as you’re within 500,000km of the planet’s surface, you’ll start gathering raw data about the geography below. ISA MapSat will also highlight any objects detected on the surface, whether it be the smouldering debris of your failed attempts to land there, or something more ancient.
Update: It seems ISA MapSat is no longer supported. Helpful commenter Mighty Gaz suggests looking to the very similar SCANsatmod instead.
Procedural Fairings
Kerbal Space Program’s aerodynamics aren’t, by default, all that punishing, which means you can launch rovers and complex objects into orbit on the tops of rockets without needing any sort of protective, streamlined casing. But, while naked machinery will survive the upwards journey, it’s certainly not a pretty sight. Make all of your rockets look like sleek dildos with the Procedural Fairing mod, which creates custom shielding on the fly to surround your rocket-mounted probes and other assorted crap you want to fire into space. As a bonus, the animation when the fairings break away to reveal your rocket’s hitherto shielded innards is spectacularly melodramatic.
Kethane Pack
The enigmatically promoted Kethane Pack turns Kerbal Space Program from a sandbox into something resembling an actual game by randomly scattering deposits of valuable kethane all across the system. To find it you must first launch kethane prospecting, expeditionary probes to analyse the planet’s surface for seams, before embarking on ambitious mining projects, sending a ship fitted with the required tools to extract the precious, fictional gas. You can convert the stuff into fuel to supply distant refuelling stations and enable more convenient exploration of the farthest reaches of the Kerbol system. Seriously, watch the trailer.
B9 Aerospace Pack
This extensive collection of new parts for Kerbal Space Program includes a selection of beautiful new cockpits with full interior modelling, a wide variety of new jet engines allowing for better spaceplane construction, parts that enable things like vertical take off and landing, as well as a host of pre-built example ships. Variable geometry wings and intakes mean you can tweak prefab parts to fit your ship designs with exact precision, which is ideal for players who’ve moved beyond simply trying to keep their craft intact and airborne and want to build something that looks like it’s just fallen out of Babylon 5’s prop designer’s handbag.
Mods! Mooooods. Find more of them at the Kerbal SpacePort or on the forum, yeah?
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram
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'How hard can rocket science be, anyway?'
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Kerbal Space Program is a game about a green humanoid species known as the Kerbals as they start a space program. Superficially similar to Orbiter, the difference between the two has been likened to the difference between making to-scale miniatures for architectural design and playing with LEGO bricks with rocket fuel in them, which you then hurl with glee at your sister.
The game offers three game modes to suit your style of play. Sniper ghost warrior 3 savegame. The first is little more than a sandbox. You're set loose upon a space center complete with a vehicle assembly building and a launch pad, a bin full of rocket parts, ground personnel composed entirely of yes-men who build and wheel onto the launch pad anything you design no matter how crazy it is, and some astronauts to crew your creations. The second version is Science, in which you have to conduct experiments in order to unlock various piece parts, as you start off with just the very basics. The third mode is full blown Career mode, and you have to juggle a budget, job offers, your Kerbalnauts and conduct Science similar to the Science mode (which used to be the old Career mode, prior to 0.24). Essentially, you have to manage the entire Space Program. The number of parts has risen dramatically in later releases, and the community is already cranking out fanmade addons at an impressive pace on top of that.
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After four and a half years of development, version 1.0 was released on April 27th, 2015. This version, on top of taking the game out of Early Access, added the last gameplay mechanics that were left to implement: Aerodynamics, heating, fairings, resource mining and, last but not least, female kerbonauts. The game is still being developed, though, and is currently in version 1.7.
Its official website and download location is here, and a trailer for the game can be found here. Starting with 0.19, it's also available on Steam. It was ported to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in July 2016, and a Wii U version has been announced.
In 2017, Kerbal Space Program was purchased by Take-Two Interactive. The game's terms of service were changed to reflect this in early 2018, with all users having to accept the new terms in order to continue accessing the official site and the latest updates.
Advertisement:This game contains examples of the following:
Modded GameDue to the vast community, modding tools, and easiness, there are plenty of mods that greatly changed how the game functions from stock. Listed below are some examples:
[ Revert to Vehicle Assembly ]
Index
Kerbal Space Program, commonly abbreviated as KSP, is a space flight simulationvideo game developed and published by Squad for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. In the game, players direct a nascent space program, staffed and crewed by green humanoid aliens known as 'Kerbals'. The game features a realistic orbital physics engine, allowing for various real-life orbital maneuvers such as Hohmann transfer orbits and bi-elliptic transfer orbits.
The first public version was released digitally on Squad's Kerbal Space Program storefront on 24 June 2011, and joined Steam's early access program on 20 March 2013.[1] The game was released out of beta on 27 April 2015. Kerbal Space Program has support for user-created mods that add new features, and popular ones, such as those for resource mining and context-based missions, have received support and inclusion in the game by Squad.[2] Notable people and agencies in the space industry have taken an interest in the game, including NASA.[3][4]
In May 2017, Squad announced that the game was purchased by video game company Take-Two Interactive, who will help support Squad in keeping the console versions up-to-date alongside the personal computer versions. An Enhanced Edition was released on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in January 2018 by Private Division, a publishing subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive. A DLC pack called Making History was released on 8 March 2018.[5] The expansion contains many parts inspired by those used in various rockets such as the Soyuz spacecraft and the Saturn V. In late May of 2019, Squad released the Breaking GroundDLC pack, which included servos, pistons, redesigned space suits, and experiments which can be deployed to earn science over time. [6]
Gameplay[edit]
A rocket (preloaded ship 'Kerbal X') sitting on the launchpad with the Vehicle Assembly Building and Mun, Kerbin's nearer moon
In-game Kerbals, female on the left, male on the right, standing on the launchpad
The player administers a space program operated by Kerbals, a species of small green humanoids, who have constructed a fully furnished and functional spaceport called the Kerbal Space Center (KSC) on their home planet, Kerbin. Despite being shown as cartoonish beings sometimes lacking common sense,[7] Kerbals have shown themselves capable of constructing complex spacecraft parts and performing experiments to realize their scientific goals.
Players can create rockets, aircraft, spaceplanes, rovers, and other craft from a provided set of components. Once built, the craft can be launched by players from the KSC launch pad or runway, or other launch pads and runways around Kerbin, in an attempt to complete player-set or game-directed missions while avoiding partial or catastrophic failure (such as lack of fuel or structural failure). Players control their spacecraft in three dimensions with little assistance other than a stability system called 'SAS' to keep their rocket oriented.[8] Provided it maintains sufficient thrust and fuel, a spacecraft can enter orbit or even travel to other celestial bodies. To visualize vehicle trajectory, the player must switch into map mode; this displays the orbit or trajectory of the player vehicle, as well as the position and trajectory of other spacecraft and planetary bodies.[8] These planets and other vehicles can be targeted to view information needed for rendezvous and docking, such as ascending and descending nodes, target direction, and relative velocity to the target. While in map mode, players can also access maneuver nodes in order to plan out trajectory changes in advance.
Missions (either player-set or assigned 'contracts') involve goals such as reaching a certain altitude, escaping the atmosphere, reaching a stable orbit,[9] landing on a certain planetary body, capturing asteroids, and creating space stations and surface bases.[10] Players may also set challenges for each other on the game's forums, such as visiting all five moons of Jool (the in-game analog for Jupiter), or use mods to test each other's spacecraft in air combat tournaments.
Players are able to control in-game astronauts, known as Kerbals, who can perform extravehicular activities (EVA). While on EVA, Kerbals may use their EVA suit propellant system to maneuver in space and around craft and space stations, similar to the use of NASA's Manned Maneuvering Unit. Actions that can be performed while on EVA include repairing landing legs, wheels, and parachutes. Kerbals can also collect material from science experiments, allowing them to store data inside the ship's capsule. During an EVA on any solid planet or moon, a Kerbal can place a flag or take a surface sample.
Historical spacecraft can be recreated and their accomplishments mimicked, such as the Apollo program, the Mars Science Laboratory rover, or the International Space Station. Players may install mods which implement destinations, weapons, rocket parts, and goals, such as attempting challenges in a real-scale solar system. Mods can also add informational displays showing craft and orbital statistics such as delta-v and orbital inclination. Some mods have been added into the game officially, due to popularity. For example, resource mining, in order to obtain Ore for refining into resources such as fuel, has been officially implemented from a popular mod.[11]
As of version 1.7, the major celestial bodies in the game in order of their proximity to the parent star, the Sun, are Moho, Eve, Kerbin, Duna, Dres, Jool, and Eeloo (respectively analogs of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, and Pluto). Community modifications are able to expand this planetary system to include analogs of the missing outer planets, as well as fictional bodies and faraway exoplanet systems.
Game modes[edit]
The player starts a new game by choosing one of three game modes: sandbox, science, and career mode.[12] In sandbox mode, players may attempt to construct a suitable vehicle for any desired project without penalties for failure and entirely user-assigned missions. Many players have constructed unrealistic spacecraft in this mode, such as impractically large, complicated, or expensive rockets. This mode is also frequently used to create replicas of real-life aircraft, rockets, trains, boats, cars, and other types of vehicles.[13]
In science mode, the initial selection of parts is limited. More complex parts can be unlocked in the Research and Development building by advancing 'science'[12] with various experiments on Kerbin and elsewhere throughout the solar system. This mode was designed to ease new players into the game and prevent them from getting overwhelmed.
Career mode extends science mode by adding funds, reputation, and contracts. In order to build and launch new rockets, the players must complete contracts, earning funds to pay for the necessary parts. Reputation affects how many contracts are given to the player; less reputation leads to fewer, lower-quality contracts. Declining a contract will reduce the likelihood that a contract of the same type will appear later. Simultaneously, players must upgrade buildings in the space center to unlock new features such as improved tracking, higher spacecraft mass limit, larger part count limit, and increased available contracts.[14]
Currencies[edit]
There are three 'currencies' in Kerbal Space Program: Science, Credits or Funds, and Reputation. Although credits are the in-game analogs of money, Science and Reputation are referred to as currency as well. In Sandbox mode, no currencies are available, as there is no need for them. In Science mode, only science is available. All three currencies are available in Career mode.
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Science is gained by performing experiments or crew reports. The experiments can only be turned into Science through either transmissions via antennae[12] or recovery of a craft on Kerbin. Recovery of an experiment is worth more science than transmitting it. Each time an experiment is turned into science, it is worth less science the next time it is recovered, until it is worth no Science at all.
Funds, or credits, can be obtained in two ways: One; completing contracts by various agencies, and Two; by exploring new celestial bodies (in which a record-keeping society rewards you with a few thousand funds). The Kerbin World Record-Keeping Society does have contracts; however, the rewards for exploring celestial bodies are not contracts. Contracts are accepted through the Mission Control building in KSC, and are completed during flight.
Reputation is gained through successful missions, and lost through failed ones. It is essentially how safe Kerbals believe it is to fly on your spacecraft. More reputation results in better contracts.
Physics[edit]
While the game is not a perfect simulation of reality, it has been praised for its accurate orbital mechanics;[15] all objects in the game except the celestial bodies are simulated using Newtonian dynamics. For instance, rocket thrust is applied to a vehicle's frame based on the placement of force-generating elements, and joints between parts have limited strength, allowing vehicles to be torn apart by excessive or misdirected forces.
The game simulates trajectories and orbits using patched conic approximation instead of a full n-body simulation; thus, it does not support Lagrange points, perturbations, Lissajous orbits, halo orbits or tidal forces. According to the developers, implementing full n-body physics would require the entire physics engine to be rewritten.
The in-game astronauts, Kerbals, are physically simulated. Hitting an object with their feet will cause them to tumble.
Some celestial bodies have atmospheres of varying heights and densities, affecting the impact of drag on wings and parachutes. The simulations are accurate enough that real-world techniques such as aerobraking are viable methods of navigating the solar system. Aerobraking, however, has become a much more difficult method of velocity reduction since the full 1.0 release due to improved aerodynamics and optional heating during atmospheric entry. In-game atmospheres thin out into space but have finite heights, unlike real atmospheres.
Kerbal Space Program alters the scale of its solar system for gameplay purposes. For example, Kerbin (the game's analog of Earth) has a radius of only 600 kilometres (370 mi), approximately 1⁄10 that of Earth's. In order to compensate for the gravitational consequences of this size difference, Kerbin's density is over 10 times that of Earth's. The planets themselves are also significantly closer together than the planets in the real-life solar system. However, there are mods that port the real-world solar system into the game with accurate scaling, environments, and additional parts to make up for the extra power requirements.
History and development[edit]Pre-development[edit]
Director Felipe Falanghe was hired by Squad in April 2010. At the time, the company did not develop software.[15] According to Falanghe, the name 'Kerbal' came from the names he gave small tin figurines he installed in modified fireworks as a teenager. In October 2010, development on Kerbal Space Program was authorized by co-founder Adrian Goya but deferred until Falanghe had completed his projects.[15]Kerbal Space Program was first compiled on 17 January 2011. The game's first public release, version 0.7.3, was on 24 June 2011. The game entered beta on 14 December 2014, with version 0.90, and was released out of beta on 27 April 2015.
Alpha[edit]
Version 0.7.3 was the first public release of Kerbal Space Program, and was released on 24 June 2011. It was downloaded over 5,000 times. The version lacked many features present in later versions, such as a stability assist mode. Kerbin did not rotate, and the sun was simply a directional light source. There were no fuel flow mechanics, no control surfaces, and no other celestial bodies. Later versions added additional planets and moons, as well as the ability to load and save collections of parts, known as 'subassemblies'. Tutorials were also added at this stage.[16]
Version 0.24, titled First Contract and released on 17 July 2014, added the contracts and reputation system to the game's career mode; however, players were still able to play career mode without these features in the new science mode. Contracts reward the player with currency and reputation. Funds can be used to purchase rocket parts, and reputation results in better and more lucrative contracts.[17][18]
The final alpha release, 0.25, included a new economic system, and a major rework of aircraft components.[19]
Beta[edit]
Version 0.90, nicknamed Beta Than Ever, was released on 15 December 2014.[20] This was the only beta update for Kerbal Space Program. Featuring extensively rewritten code for the editor, it introduced the ability to sort parts by several characteristics and to assign parts to custom categories. Players could now offset parts, including into empty space. Career mode featured building upgrades; only the creation of small rockets with low mass and a part count is initially supported, but the player can upgrade each of the facilities to increase size limitations or unlock other capabilities.
Release[edit]
Version 1.0 was the first full release of Kerbal Space Program. It was nicknamed We Have Liftoff! and released on 27 April 2015. Version 1.0 completely overhauled the flight and drag model for a more realistic simulation, now ignoring drag on rocket parts which were occluded from the air flow. It also allowed for body lift, so that parts that were not specifically designed as wings (such as structural panels) could still generate lift. 1.0 added shock heating and heat shields, making atmospheric entry much more dangerous, as well as air brakes and procedurally generatedfairings. All parts received internal modeling. Resource mining was added to refine into fuel or monopropellant. 1.0 also brought several improvements to Kerbals, who could now have various specializations. For example, 'Engineer' Kerbals are able to repair wheels and landing legs. Female Kerbals were also added to the game.[21] Version 1.1, nicknamed Turbo Charged, was released on 19 April 2016, almost one year after the last major update. The game engine was upgraded from Unity 4 to Unity 5, resulting in a massive increase in performance, as well as a stable 64-bit client, removing memory constraints caused by too many mods being installed. Much of the game was rewritten to accomplish this.[22]
Squad released Version 1.2, nicknamed Loud And Clear, to upgrade the game from Unity 5 to 5.4 and introduce performance and minor gameplay improvements. The patch entered experimental testing on 6 September 2016 and was officially released on 11 October 2016. Its main new features include communication satellites, relay systems, and KerbNet.[23]
Version 1.3, nicknamed Away with Words, was released on 25 May 2017. Unlike its predecessors, this version lacks significant gameplay and performance changes, instead focusing on the localization of the game to Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese.
Version 1.4, called Away With Words Mk-II, was released on 6 March 2018. it expanded the range of supported languages by adding translations to French, Italian, German, and Brazilian Portuguese. The Making HistoryDLC (see below) was also released alongside this update and added a new mission creation system along with a new set of parts.
Version 1.5, nicknamed Dressed for Success, was released on 15 October 2018 along with an update for the Making History DLC. It added new internal and external suits for Kerbals along with capability for putting Kerbals in command seats inside the vehicle editor, and visual changes for parts.
Version 1.6, nicknamed To Vee or not To Vee, was released on 19 December 2018 along with an update for Making History DLC. It added a delta-v readout for every stage in the editor and in flight, along with capability for removing helmets on EVA, and visual changes for parts.
Version 1.7, nicknamed Room to Maneuver, was released on 10 April 2019 along with an update for Making History DLC. It added a precise maneuver node editor, more in-depth orbital information to the in flight UI, a ground level mode for the in flight altimeter, and visual changes for parts.
Other updates, Take-Two Interactive ownership[edit]
On 27 January 2014, it was revealed that Squad was working on an education-themed version of the game entitled KerbalEdu in collaboration with TeacherGaming LLC, creators of MinecraftEdu. It has since been released and includes an improved user interface for easier data gathering and summary, pre-made lessons that focus on certain constructions, options to use the metric system, and a 'robust pedagogy' that includes information outside of the game that ties into its content.[24]
Squad has also made an Asteroid Mission Pack, with full support from NASA. Released on 1 April 2014, it is based on the real-life initiative to send humans out to study asteroids.[10][25]
The majority of the game's music was provided by royalty-free composer Kevin MacLeod, with the rest of the soundtrack having been written by Squad's in-house composer Victor Machado. The game's main theme was composed by lead designer Felipe Falanghe and arranged by Machado.
On 5 June 2015, it was announced that Kerbal Space Program was being ported to the PlayStation 4 by Flying Tiger Entertainment. In August 2015, it was announced that Xbox One and Wii U ports were also in development by Flying Tiger Entertainment.[26]
The game has since been released on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but Squad has been quiet regarding the announced Wii U port. In January 2017, one of Squad's developers had finally broke the silence on the official forums, and admitted that despite initial enthusiasm to release the game on the Wii U, they claimed that various 'external factors' has forced them to reevaluate supporting the console. They added that additional details will be announced at a later date.[27]
On 17 March 2017, Squad announced a full expansion for the game; called 'Making History', it would be paid and contain new features. These new features included Mission Builder, which would allow players to create and edit their own missions that players could complete by launching and operating various rockets and ships in the game, and History Pack, which would provide designed missions simulating important historical space endeavors that have been completed in real life. Squad announced on 7 February 2018 that the expansion would be released on 13 March 2018.[28]
Squad announced in May 2017 that Kerbal Space Program has been acquired by publisher Take-Two Interactive; this acquisition does not affect Squad's development or plans for the game, and will continue to offer free DLC, and with Take-Two's help as a publisher, better support Kerbal Space Program on consoles to keep those versions to-date alongside the personal computer ones.[29]Kerbal Space Program will be one of the first titles published under Take-Two Interactives's 2017-launched Private Division, a publishing label aimed to support mid-sized development studios.[30]
Reception[edit]
The public alpha and beta releases were well received. Many publications have spoken positively of the game, praising its replay value and creative aspects, including Kotaku,[42]Rock, Paper, Shotgun,[8][43]IGN,[44]GameSpy,[45]Eurogamer,[9]Polygon,[15] and Destructoid.[46]
In May 2015, PC Gamer awarded Kerbal Space Program 1.0 a score of 96 out of 100, their highest review score of 2015.[47] They praised the 'perfect blend of science and slapstick', as well as the sense of accomplishment felt upon reaching other planets and completing goals.[36] IGN has praised Kerbal Space Program's ability to create fun out of failure, saying that 'By the time I finally built a rocket that achieved successful orbit, I had failed so many times that in almost any other game I would have given up completely.'[13]
In their review, Edge thought that 'The magic of Kerbal Space Program is not just that it manages to be both a game and a simulation, a high-level educational tool and something that is fun to simply sit and tinker with. It's that, in combination, these qualities allow for a connection with real history and real human achievement.. Its ultimate promise to the player is not that you'll crack a puzzle that has been set by a designer, but that you'll crack a puzzle set by reality.'[33]
Commercial[edit]
In the hours after its Steam early access release on 20 March 2013, Kerbal Space Program was one of the platform's top 5 best-selling games, as well as the best seller on Steam for Linux.
Squad has also released physical merchandise such as clothing and plush toys. In March 2015, Squad and 3D printing service Eucl3D announced a partnership that would allow players to order 3D printed models of their craft.[48]
Scientific community[edit]
The game has crossed over into the scientific community with scientists and members of the space industry displaying an interest in the game, including NASA[3][49], SpaceX's Elon Musk,[50] and ESA. Squad has added a NASA-based Asteroid Redirect Mission pack to the game, allowing players to track and capture asteroids for mining and study. Squad has also developed an official mod for the game centered around observing and tracking threatening asteroids, named 'Asteroid Day'. The mod was developed in partnership with the B612 Foundation.[51] Some parts from this mod outside of core functionality were added as part of the release of the 1.1 update, with full integration of the mod to stock game being the version 1.3.
References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kerbal_Space_Program&oldid=904038606'
An add-on for Kerbal Space Program (KSP) to enable the use of a virtual reality headset (HTC Vive, Windows MR, Oculus Rift, etc), as supported by OpenVR. Supports in-flight IVA, and room-scale VAB / SPH.
FOLLOW the Install Guide, as there is a little bit more setup compared to other KSP mods.
Built for KSP v1.7.1
This is a WIP mod to allow the use of the HTC Vive (and any other HMD supported by the OpenVR SDK) in KSP. The primary focus is for use in IVA, and can also be used to walk around inside the VAB or SPH (room-scale).
IVA in VR puts you inside the cockpit of your craft. You can look around (and walk around if you have the physical space around you). Currently, it is possible to interact with cockpit instrumentation provided by the RPM mod (see note below); I am actively working on adding more immersive features for the cockpit (more coming soon!). The goal is to replace the use of the keyboard and mouse entirely with interactive cockpit controls (buttons, switches, control sticks, throttles, etc.)
Room-scale VR in the VAB and SPH allows you to walk around inside the building and see your craft at a 1:1 scale.
It is possible to get 90 FPS by following the Performance Tips below.
You may experience random crashes while using the mod. You have been warned.
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VR will only work with KSP using Direct3D 12, i.e. you need to use the
-force-d3d12 flag on the executable. It will not work if you try to run KSP normally. To enable the Direct3D 12 flag, create a Shortcut to either KSP.exe or KSP_x64.exe , and on the shortcut Properties, append -force-d3d12 to the Target. Follow the Install Guide if you're having trouble.
RequirementsInstallation & Usage
For installation instructions, see the Install Guide.
For instructions on how to use the mod, see the User Guide.
For guidance on compiling this project and other project documentation, see the Build Guide
Known Issues
Actually there's a lot of issues, but this one is noteworthy: when I run KSP with KerbalVR, the part icons in the VAB/SPH appear blue! Hwo to fix!!1??1???
Well this problem is not my fault, but there's a fix. You need to download this fix, and place it in your
GameData folder like any other mod. You can read more about it here and here.
RasterProp Monitor
There is experimental support for VR interaction with RPM. See the User Guide for more details. Note that using RPM may hinder performance in VR (lower FPS).
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![]() VR Cockpits
A set of VR-ready cockpits is provided by the KVR Pods mod.
Performance Tips
For best performance, go to the Settings menu in Kerbal Space Program, and under the Graphics tab, set:
It is important to set V-Sync and Frame Limit as described above so that the Vive is able to render the game at 90 FPS. Experiment with the rest of the settings as you see fit.
The Render Quality seems to have a large impact on performance; if it is set too high, you may experience erratic flickering while in VR (see issue 21).
Tested System Configurations
I'm developing this mod with a Vive / Core i5-6600K / GTX 1070. Other systems have been tested by users, as described below:
Hardware
Drivers
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