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    Maxmaps

    The 0.25 Plan

    By Maxmaps, in Developer Articles,

    Hey guys. It’s time we show you our grand plan for update 0.25.

    Now, we want to make something crystal clear before we carry on. This is a plan, and to borrow a quote from military history; No plan survives contact with the enemy. The enemy here aren't mongol hordes, chichimeca raiders or Ghandi’s nuclear missiles (Civ 5 bitterness aside). The enemy are bugs. The enemy are features ending up not as cool or fun as they were on paper. Or art assets more complex than drafted or code conflicts. Thus, we have to adapt. Maybe a feature is cut, or a new one pops up. Or the plan for something goes into a radically different direction.

    I’ll give you a small example. The game mechanics planned for the Admin Facility in were originally far simpler (somewhat similar to the Market from Age of Empires) and not very interesting overall. We redesigned them into a proper gameplay-enhancing set of mechanics that we are confident will be much more interesting than what we had before, which wasn’t much more than a UI to convert one currency into another. The bottom line is, things change, so please don’t take this list as is and understand that our ideas are likely to continue evolving. This list here has merely our current goals at the time of this post.

    So, without further ado, here’s the (current) plan:

    Administration Building
    A new facility at KSC which will allow you to choose from a set of Strategies to boost certain areas of your space program, usually at the expense of some other area. Start an Unpaid Internship Program to increase your Science gains at the cost of Reputation, or take up an Open Source Technologies Initiative to boost your Reputation gains at the cost of decreased Science rewards. All these combinations will be possible using Strategies, along with many more. Also, Strategies are fully mod-enabled and new ones can be added very easily. Just keep in mind, however, you can only take up a limited amount of strategies at a time, so choose wisely.

    New effects
    We’ve done a huge overhaul on particle and sound fx. We’ve got much better-looking and better-sounding explosions and rocket effects coming.

    Spaceplane Part Overhaul
    We are adding several new parts, along with the integration of fan-favorite mod Spaceplane Plus.

    Accessibility improvements
    More markers on your navball and a pointer to where your node is?A way to transfer Kerbals without them leaving their craft? A button to push your thrust all the way to 100%? We’re adding all that.

    Kerbal Experience
    Recovering Kerbals will now reward your reputation based on where they’ve been (and what they’ve done there), and their accomplishments will be stored in persistent ‘career’ logs for each crewmember.

    Difficulty panel
    We’re setting up a much needed Difficulty Options panel, to allow you to set up the game to your liking. Does reverting flights make everything too easy? Try disabling that to see what playing with no room for error feels like. Are you constantly broke without cash to continue? Give yourself some extra boost off the start by increasing your starting Funds. The list of tweakable options goes on, but you get the idea.

    Classified
    You’ll have to wait for this one a bit longer. If we had our way, we would tell no one about it and just let you guys discover it through gameplay with hilarious results.

    So there you have it. That’s our grand plan for 0.25. We are doing our best to bring all this to you, and hope you will be understanding if it changes a little on the way.


    HarvesteR
    After the last upgrade to our build pipes, I realized that this is a side of the project that very few people get to see, and that seemed a shame, since it's taken a considerable amount of work to develop and put together, and I thought it could be an interesting thing to showcase.

    I put together this chart which shows what happens when we generate a new build of the game. Each supported platform is color-coded, and the file formats are represented by different line styles.:




    This entire process is automated, driven by two 'Jenkins' continuous integration systems on the two build servers. These allow us to set off builds very easily. We push commits up to the git repository, and the build servers pull the latest state of the game (on any branch) and take it from there.

    The whole process takes about two hours to complete for a full release deployment that is meant to go public. For QA or experimental builds, we skip as many steps as possible, and that time is reduced to about 30 minutes.

    This system has been evolving and being improved continuously whenever we find ourselves having to do repetitive work to get builds out. It's been growing and being upgraded for almost two years now.

    The more keen-eyed readers will probably have noticed that the pipeline is incomplete. There are a few channels that don't cover every platform. For instance, the patcher doesn't yet support win64, and there is no installer for Linux. The pipeline is an evolving thing, and we continue to add things to it whenever we get a chance, or necessity dictates.

    The latest addition was related to the 'big download server'. Previously, the transferring of build files from the main server up to the download server was done manually. This process was automated now, and both 0.24.1 and 0.24.2 releases have been done without us having to do the FTP uploading ourselves.

    Anyhow, this is our build pipeline. Hopefully you'll find it interesting. It's quite a step up from the early days, back in versions 0.8 or thereabouts, when all of this was done manually.

    Cheers
    HarvesteR
    Hi again,

    I'm sure most of you have noticed a mildly infuriating bug related to right-clicking parts after yesterday's patch... So did we. It was fortunately a simple fix, and we've got a hotfix patch available now.

    Here's the changelog:



    ============================ First Contract (v0.24.2)

    HOTFIX:

    * Fixed a critical issue which prevented opening the right-click menus for several parts.




    As always, the latest version is available on the download page at the KSPStore, or an automatic update will be headed your way if you're on Steam.

    Happy Launchings,

    Cheers
    Maxmaps
    Hey guys! I am happy to share some exciting news - at least for me, anyway. I'm now producer for Kerbal Space Program . You’re probably wondering what a producer does in a video game studio and
    does a great job at explaining the general idea of the position. Think of me as a hub for the team, where information will flow in and out and my job is to is to maximize (get it?) efficiency and make sure everything is working according to plan. And when it’s not, I’ll be integral in helping assure we adjust and make sure the entire team is comfortable with the changes.

    Plus, being a producer for KSP presents several unique opportunities, since you guys get to play the game while we’re making it. My background in PR means we can (responsibly!) up the level of transparency, show you more stuff we’re working on without putting unnecessary stress on the developers, and my ties to the community mean I have a constant stream of feedback from fans and modders that will enhance KSP on the way to the mythical 1.0. So expect to hear a lot from me in the future!

    You probably have some questions, and since I want to answer as many as I can and as visibly as possible, feel free to join me this Monday, July 28th over at http://www.reddit.com/r/games for an AMA at 1:00 PM EST.

    HarvesteR
    Hi,

    We've just released a small revision patch for KSP, version 0.24.1.



    This patch contains several small and some not-so-small fixes, tweaks and minor improvements, as well as a few things that were requested by mod-makers.

    Here's the complete changelog:




    ===================== First Contract (v0.24.1)

    Bug Fixes and Tweaks:

    Parts:
    * Fixed a relatively serious issue with module loading which could result in missing modules if loading old craft.
    * O-10 Maneuvering engine scaling was off. Engine rescaled to proper size (smaller).
    * Fixed an issue with propellant-defined resource flow modes which prevented some configurations of Vernier engines from working correctly.
    * Fixed an issue with some decoupler modules failing to apply ejection forces when activated.
    * Fixed missing FX components on root parts after resuming a saved game or reverting.
    * Fixed a potential issue with the internal maths in ModuleRCS, which could result in odd RCS response from center-aligned or stack-mounted RCS modules.

    UI:
    * Fixed an issue with the App Toolbar where mod apps wouldn't display/hide properly at the VAB.
    * Fixed an issue with custom staging icons and switching vessels.
    * Fixed an issue where the Messages Dialog in the VAB would drift out of place when discarding many messages.

    Contracts:
    * Fixed a bug in Rescue Kerbal contracts, where rescue by means of external seats or claws wouldn't complete the contract.

    Tutorials:
    * Fixed a save-related bug which made the Orbiting 101 tutorial impossible to complete.

    Flight:
    * Fixed vessels not leaving 'pre-launch' condition during take-off roll.
    * Fixed a very annoying and potentially destructive bug where approaching another vessel could mess up your control state.

    Game Balance:
    * Tweaked costs for several spaceplane and aerodynamic parts:
    - Advanced Canard: 900 -> 800
    - Standard Canard: 1500 -> 720
    - Delta Wing: 500 -> 680
    - Swept Wing: 500 -> 620
    - Wing Connector: 500 -> 560
    - R8 Winglet: 500 -> 640
    - Structural Wing: 500 -> 540
    - Aerodynamic Nose Cone: 680 -> 240
    - C7 NCS Nose Cone: 680 -> 320
    - Rocket Nose Cone (large): 1000 -> 450
    - Standard NC (small): 680 -> 180

    Modding:
    * Added IPartCostModifier interface, to allow part modules to tweak a part's cost.




    As always, you'll find the new patch over at the KSP Store in zip or installer formats, or if you're on Steam, you should be auto-updated shortly (assuming you haven't turned off automatic updates, in which case you probably know what you're doing).

    Happy Launchings!

    Cheers
    HarvesteR
    Hi,

    As i'm sure you all know by now, KSP:First Contract, or 0.24.0 is live now, so while you're downloading, you may be interested to read about everything that's been done on this update.

    I've compiled a pretty comprehensive changelog this time, going over all of our logs to make sure I didn't forget anything. Usually we only talk about the highlights of a release, but this time, we ended up with a list of changes so large, I thought it worthy of being showcased here. Plus, if your download is still not finished, it's something to do while you wait.

    So, here is the complete changelog for the KSP v0.24, 'First Contract' update:



    ChangeLog:

    ======= First Contract (v0.24.0) =====================

    New:

    * Currencies:
    - Added Funds and Reputation as new Career Mode Currencies.
    - Funds are required to launch vessels.
    - Part Costs are now in use in Career Mode.
    - Resources like Liquid Fuel and Mono Propellant now have costs of their own, which figure into the cost of a launch.
    - Tweaking a part's resource sliders in the Editors will adjust the cost of the vessel accordingly.

    * Mission Control:
    - The Mission Control Facility is now active in Career Games.
    - Mission Control allows you to select Contracts, review them, and either accept or decline them.
    - Added Gene Kerman as advisor in the Mission Control screen, ready to give his opinion about what you're doing.
    - The Mission Control screen also features an 'archives' tab, where you can review previously-completed contracts.

    * Contracts:
    - Contracts require you to complete objectives, in order to gain Funds, Science and Reputation
    - Once accepted, contracts must be completed before the deadline expires.
    - Contracts will fail if the deadline expires or if some critical parameter fails (like killing a Kerbal in a mission to rescue him).
    - Added procedurally generated 'mission briefings' for contracts, which may even make sense sometimes.
    - Contracts come in three levels of Prestige ("Trivial", "Significant" and "Exceptional"). Higher levels offer greater rewards and are usually more ambitious.
    - Reputation regulates the amounts of each level of contracts on offer.

    * Early 'Starter' Contracts:
    - First Launch: Launch any vessel.
    - Altitude Records: Set a new altitude record.
    - Reach Space: Escape Kerbin's atmosphere
    - Achieve Orbit: Achieve a stable orbit around Kerbin.

    * Dynamically Generated Contracts:
    - Part Test: Perform a test of a part in a specific location, situation and within given flight parameters (when applicable).
    - Collect Science: Return or transmit any scientific data from a specific location.
    - Rescue Kerbal: Rescue a Kerbal who is stuck in orbit.
    - Plant Flag: Plant the Agency's flag on the surface of a given location.
    - Explore: Complete several exploration goals for an unexplored location.

    * Agencies:
    - Added Agencies, which offer contracts.
    - Each agency has its own personality traits, which affects the generation of the contracts they offer.
    - Agency Logos added from the winners of the Community Logo Design Contest.
    - Clicking the agency logo in the Mission Control screen will display extra info about the Agency.

    * Vessel Recovery:
    - Recovering vessels now refunds you for the value of recovered parts and resources.
    - Recovered value varies based on distance from the Space Center. Land at the Runway for 100% value.

    * Space Center:
    - Added a universal time clock to the KSC scene UI.
    - Added a Pause Menu to the KSC scene, instead of leaving to the main menu immediately on pressing the Quit button.
    - The KSC Pause Menu allows saving and loading with a custom filename.

    * UI:
    - Added new UI Toolbar, which exists in all game scenes and is mod-friendly.
    - Added new UI Widget to display state of ongoing Contracts in Flight, KSC and the Construction Facilities.
    - Added new UI Widgets to display the current amount of Science, Reputation and Funds.
    - Added Messages UI App, shows messages about contracts and such.
    - Redesigned the Resources Panel from flight as a toolbar app, overhauled panel graphics.
    - Overhauled the old 'Science Summary' dialog into a complete 'Mission Summary', displaying information about recovered Experiments, Parts and Crew.

    * Parts:
    - Added new "Vernor Engine", a very powerful RCS module powered by Liquid Fuel + Oxidizer.
    - Added new O-10 Maneuvering Engine, a low-thrust main engine powered by Monopropellant.
    - Gimballing Engines now respond to roll input.
    - 4x Engine Cluster and RAPIER Engine have gimbal roll authority even if stacked over the centerline (due to multiple nozzles).

    * Builds:
    - Added Windows 64-bit executable.

    * Tutorials:
    - Added several new tutorials.

    * Game:
    - Added 'Science' Game Mode, where Science is the only currency and Mission Control is closed (as in pre-0.24 'Classic' Career).

    Bug Fixes and Tweaks:

    * Flight:
    - Asteroids are now able to collide with other asteroids.
    - New launches now start with throttle set to 50%, like in the old days.
    - Saving restriction when throttled up removed.
    - Timewarp restriction when throttled up removed. Engaging time warp now automatically cuts throttle.
    - Improved logic for detecting a vessel in 'orbiting' situations.

    * Editors:
    - Fixed a bug in the editors where dragging a part off the ship and deleting it straight away would not generate an undo state.
    - Fixed a bug where ctrl+clicking over a part in the build area would not reveal the part in the parts list.
    - Orientation of VAB scenery rotated so spacecraft orientation is consistent at launchpad.
    - VAB Flag moved to the opposite wall.
    - Redesigned the Parts List UI 'Footer' section.

    * Tracking Station:
    - Fixed a bug where map objects were created but never removed, leaving dozens of 'leaked' objects behind.

    * Space Center:
    - Launchpad and Runway Launch Dialogs now show vessel costs.
    - Added 'Edit' Button to Launch Dialogs, which takes you to the VAB or SPH to edit the selected vessel.
    - Launch Dialogs and Craft Browser now allow selecting vessels with 'invalid parts' (for editing).
    - Added new Pre-Flight Checks to prevent launching vessels containing invalid parts or with costs exceeding available Funds.

    * Solar System:
    - Kerbin's Solar Day is now exactly 6 hours long (sidereal day is now 59 seconds shorter).
    - Slight optimization to Kerbin, Mun and Eve surface shaders.

    * Parts:
    - Resource flow mode can now be defined for each propellant on Engine, EngineFX and RCS Modules in the part config.
    - Previously useless Engine Nacelle and Radial Engine Body parts repurposed as air intake + fuel tank combos.
    - Tweaked Costs for almost every part.
    - Tweaked Mass for several parts, especially spaceplane fuselage sections and structural components.
    - Fixed a potentially gamebreaking issue when activating a Separator if it was the root part of a vessel.
    - Fixed a bug where some particle FX (mainly on newer engines) would cause a stream of errors when the vessel was unloaded with the FX active.
    - Fixed a bug where StrutConnectors could cause hierarchy issues if linked in certain configurations.
    - ModuleRCS can now use multiple resources.

    * Tech Tree:
    - Revised R&D node layout so 'control' type nodes have a more logical progression.
    - Moved basic RCS parts to tier 4 (from tier 5).
    - Added more connections into aerodynamic parts from other nodes on tiers 5 and 6.

    * Progress Tracking:
    - Fixed an issue introduced in 0.23.5 where unowned vessels could complete progress nodes.
    - Fixed AltitudeRecord progress node (now used for contract generation).

    * Crews:
    - Fixed crewmembers not being properly flagged as dead if their vessel was destroyed while unloaded.
    - Crewmembers are now keyed by name in the roster, and can properly be added and removed.
    - Added reputation reward and penalty for recovering and killing crewmembers.
    - Added new unique names for Kerbals, suggested by the Community Logo Design Contest winners.

    * Misc:
    - Fixed issue with persistence when reverting to flight.
    - Added rich text support to several UI text fields.
    - Fixed several cases of texture point-filtering issues resulting in crooked text.
    - Fixed potential crash related to reentry FX on Linux when no depthtexture hardware support is available.
    - Overhauled all UI screens and text. All text fields using Arial font now use proper Calibri.
    - Exposed Gameplay difficulty options to the Alt+F12 Debug Toolbar.
    - Updated Credits Scene.
    - Fixed permission issues with KSPLauncher which prevented it from properly launching the game on Linux.
    - Messages displayed on the upper-right corner in flight are now displayed above the crew portraits instead.
    - Removed a 'rogue' tooltip from the Staging Reset button at the VAB and SPH.





    Hey, you read through the whole thing! congrats! (or sorry for the slow DL speeds).


    Have fun!!

    Happy Launchings!!

    Cheers
    Rowsdower
    Kerbal Space Program, the award-winning, indie space agency sim game from Squad, is launching its latest update, Kerbal Space Program: First Contract, as part of its active development cycle. This major release, numbered 0.24, is a substantial advancement in the game’s Career Mode, which challenges players to run a space agency. It is also the first time the game offers a 64-bit version for Windows via STEAM and the KSP STORE.

    Players will now have the opportunity to take on Contracts, manage Funds, a new in-game currency that allows players to buy rocket and plane parts, and earn Reputation for their efforts. Reputation is raised for completed contracts and bringing Kerbals back in one piece. Failing missions, or gasp, blowing them up lowers Reputation.

    "First Contract is a massive step forward for Career Mode. Finally, we're starting to paint a clear picture of our original vision for the complete thing." creator and lead developer Felipe Falanghe said. "Although there is still a lot to add on future updates, the new Career features should help new players pick up the game in a much more structured manner. One of my favorite aspects, is how it's added new challenges for even the most veteran players. We've found ourselves here, building contraptions we have never had the need to build before, and actually discovering totally new, fun ways to play the game."



    <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/54fDJKgjUrs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


    Contracts are offered based on a player's Space Program's reputation, which starts off at neutral. After an initial set of starter contracts, dynamically generated contracts are created in three levels of 'prestige', Trivial, Significant and Exceptional. Reputation regulates the amount and level of offers that are available. Contract types include:


    Testing Parts: Perform a test of a part in a specific location, situation and within given flight parameters (when applicable). Collecting Science: Return or transmit any scientific data from a specific location.
    Kerbal rRescues: Rescue a Kerbal who is stuck in orbit.
    Planting the Flag: Plant the Agency's flag on the surface of a given location.
    Exploring the Solar System: Complete several exploration goals for an unreached location.



    Contracts are found in the new Mission Control building, which was previously not an interactive part of the Kerbal Space Center. Players can accept or decline contracts, offered by companies, institutions and other Kerbin entities, or Agencies. Contracts are generated by a context-aware system, which takes into account a player's in-game progress. Signed contracts come with a deadline, so players must finish their objectives in time.

    Players will also find new engines, updated parts and vessel recovery, which means you can reclaim the value of landed parts and any resources they contain, in the update.

    Happy Launchings!

    Cheers
    Rowsdower
    What is KSP: First Contract?
    This is a new update to Kerbal Space Program, also numbered 0.24, as each update to the game has a number attached to it. It is free for existing players and new players will install this version when they download the game.

    When is it coming out?
    We're crunching the last few issues as we speak. It's been a game of whack a bug that we're just about ready to win.

    What are the main features of KSP: First Contract?
    The biggest update to KSP is the inclusion of Contracts to Career Mode. Players will choose available contracts in Mission Control, earning three in-game resources:

    Funds: Kerbin’s very own currency. Science: This was already in-game, and it is how you unlock new parts in the game’s tech tree. Reputation: Just like on Earth, companies that stay on budget, on time and avoid any um, complications, will see their reputation grow. This means better, more rewarding contracts. Fail to complete your contracts, miss deadlines or lose Kerbalnauts and your reputation will suffer.


    What are the smaller features of KSP: First Contract?
    We don’t like to think of there being small features, especially when new UI (user interface), rocket parts, updated parts and update Tech Tree are among them. Read more HERE.

    What bugs were fixed in KSP: First Contract?
    Ted: One of the big bugs of 0.23.5, the size 3 decoupler causing crashes or StackOverflowExceptions is fixed in 0.24. As well as asteroids being tweaked so that they collide into each other. We’ve had a vast number of other bug fixes on the way, such as stack separators being able to be root parts and thus causing krakens. There are too many to list, unfortunately, but hopefully you’ll notice that your ‘favorite’ bug is squashed.

    HarvesteR: During these experimentals, we’ve been finding new and old bugs and fixing them as usual, but we really have fixed a larger-than-average number of very old bugs this time. I think this is partly because the Contracts system led us to work on areas of the game that hadn’t been looked at in a while, and possibly because we are nearing some stage of development where things are starting to come around full circle. We’ve caught bugs with parts, with Kerbals, with fuel flow - some were as old as 0.14 in fact.

    Why did this update take so long to develop?
    Like several other features in the past, we’ve been working on the Contracts system in the background for several months already. In fact, We’ve started work on Contracts early this year. However, there is a big difference between a functioning game system and a fun gameplay mechanic. This is why we needed to take our time on this one, to make sure the contracts were not just working, but were also a fun addition to gameplay. That plus the extra time needed to polish and bugfix added up to a pretty massive update, indeed. We’re very happy with the results we’ve achieved now and everyone who’s worked on the update or tested it agrees it was time well spent.

    What did testing involve?
    This time around, we were not just hunting for bugs, we were also listening to every bit of feedback from the testers about game balance, which is something that you can only improve by playtesting, and required a lot of careful adjustments of hundreds of values. We’ve already tweaked parameters on over a hundred parts, if we're not mistaken, correcting inconsistencies and making sure their values make sense for what they are. We’ve also had to do multiple iterations for balancing the rewards (and penalties) of the contracts themselves, to make sure they reward you consistent amounts for what they’re asking.

    Will the update break my saves?
    Ted: I’ve tested 0.23.5 saves here and they’ve upgraded fine. However, please do note that they were stock saves, modded saves might behave differently. Furthermore, because of the way contracts are implemented, they’re appropriately generated for an existing save so the upgrade should be seamless.

    Harv: Keep in mind, however, that due to a small bug in the progress tracking system in 0.23.5, it’s possible that some contract offers on those saves may not reflect your actual progression (offers being more advanced than your achievements would warrant). This has been fixed on 0.24 and should not happen on new saves. It should only be noticeable on saves where very little progress has been made (as in not even reaching orbit).

    How will budgets and contracts work?
    Players will be budgeted based on their funds so they’ll need to take contracts with missions they can afford to accomplish. Contracts will have varying deadlines but all of them will be offering a chance to acquire Funds, Science and Reputation. On accepting, many contracts also give you a Funds advance, which should come in handy if you’re running so low on funds you can’t afford even to launch the next mission.

    Are contracts available outside of career mode?
    No, Contracts are a keystone feature of Career, and it wouldn’t be Sandbox mode if you had to do contracts there.

    Will “classic†(0.23-style) career mode be an option?
    Yes. This was something we managed to get into the update at the very last minute, but we felt it was essential to still allow the game to be played in the way people have gotten to know it. When starting a new game now, you’ll see three game modes: Sandbox and Career, which we already know, and ‘Science’, which has the Contracts, Funding and Reputation modules disabled, so only Science is active. This makes the game function in a 0.23-style mode.

    What is the name of the money currency?
    Funds. We’ve gone over many, many ideas for what to call them, but nobody wanted another ‘K’ name, and all the suggestions were, well, not good. One of the QA Testers came up with the fan theory that they’re called Roots (given the symbol). That one was actually not that bad, but they’re really just called Funds.

    Who are these companies giving out contracts?
    The biggest names in part production in Kerbin as well as civil societies and scientific organizations.

    Will contracts and science interact?
    You can receive science rewards for completing some of the contracts. Gathering more science won’t directly change the contracts offered, though unlocking new parts with the science will. Some other contracts will even ask you to perform experiments, so you can even get science while completing contracts sometimes.

    How is reputation earned/lost?
    You can earn Reputation by completing contracts and recovering Kerbals. You lose it by failing contracts and killing your Kerbals.

    What happens if I run out of money?
    The best "ekonomists" (rimshot here) in Kerbin have claimed that it’s technically impossible to run out of money, though I’m sure people will still manage it. As you are given advances for contracts and you are constantly offered new contracts, you should be pretty safe.

    What happens if I choose not to take a contract?
    The contract will simply expire after a certain amount of time and you will be offered a new one after some time.

    Are there refunds?
    No refunds! All sales are final, especially at Jeb’s Junkyard and Spaceship Parts.

    Do contracts expire?
    They do indeed. Note that you have two ‘expiration dates’ for contracts. The first is the actual date which is when the offered contract expires. The second is the deadline, which is when the contract must be completed by.

    Can the manufacturer logos be modded and customized?
    You can edit a config file for the Agencies that allows you to customize the mentality of the Agency and the logo that it uses.

    Are Contracts moddable?
    Yes. it actually went through several rewrites to make sure it was fully moddable and that any ideas were possible within the system. You can add new contract types and create lots of interesting interactions.

    What else is moddable?
    You can add new agents and new mentality types, new parameters (objectives) for contracts, relationships between agents, company backstories and more. You can even add in your own logos As usual, we want to give you as much creative freedom as possible.

    What types of contracts are there?
    There are five types of contacts, after you get through the initial series of contracts.

    How many times can a contract be taken?
    Technically, only once, since each contract is uniquely generated. However, the game will continuously generate new offers, and with the exception of very basic contracts like ‘first launch’ and such, most other contract types will be offered again and again in some form or another.

    Does it cost funds to recruit and train Kerbals?
    Currently, Kerbals don’t cost any Funds to recruit or train. This is a planned feature for an upcoming release however.

    Can we spend reputation on anything?
    Not yet. Reputation does affect the difficulty and amount of contracts that you may be offered, though. On later updates, we do have plans to make currencies interchangeable for one another, at varying degrees of efficiency (depending on your economic situation).

    If I stage a part on ascent, can I recover the Funds for it if I attach parachutes?
    Unfortunately, you can’t currently recover Funds from debris that were destroyed by the game for going out of the active physics range (>2.5km). You can only recover parts which are attached to the vessel you’re recovering, so reusable spacecraft are a very attractive prospect, for the same reasons as in real life. The more parts you can land back, the less you have to spend to re-launch.

    Also keep in mind that the farther away you land from KSC, the less Funds you’ll get back from your recovery efforts. Stick a runway landing though, and you’ll get a full 100% of the value back of all surviving parts.

    Can you lose anything from killing Kerbals?
    You will lose Reputation for killing Kerbals, although new applicants are still as eager as ever to participate in the Space Program.

    Will the mission control building be accessible in sandbox mode, or will it be locked like the R&D facility?
    Just like R&D, it’s closed in sandbox mode.

    What will the new parts do?
    There are a couple new parts added to this version : “O-10 Monopropellant Engine†and the “Vernor Engineâ€Â. The first one is a small single-nozzle motor that consumes monopropellant but responds to the main throttle input instead of RCS. The second one is also a small engine, it responds to RCS input but it consumes liquid fuel plus oxy. They are very useful for stabilization purposes, more control authority on heavy launchers, and simpler propulsion systems for small vessels in deep space.

    What are the new tutorials and how are they different from the old ones?
    All of the older tutorials are still there, but most have been revised, for example, the Mun Part 1 tutorial now includes a crash course on Maneuver Nodes, the flight tutorial now walks you through a simple flight and the recovery mechanic. There are a few new tutorials, To The Mun Part 2 now actually exists, it explains how to get from the Mun back to Kerbin, a tutorial that explains the basics of science is also there, and there’s also a new two part tutorial on asteroid redirecting.

    Will fuel and oxidizer have their own costs independently of the parts which use them?
    Each Resource has its own cost in Funds, which means you can decrease the amount you're spending on a vessel by using Tweakables to lower the resources you’re carrying.

    Is it true that KSP: First Contract is in 64 bit for Windows?
    It is true!

    What does 64 bit do?
    Ted: The 64-bit build allows the game to address more memory that it previously could. Now, you can load up more add-ons than you could before and (hopefully) KSP should stay stable.

    HarvesteR: Please mind that the Win64 executable does have bugs of its own, and platform-specific bugs are for the most part, Unity bugs, not KSP bugs. That means every unity game probably also has this bug, and it means that we can do very little about it from our end, other than wait for a fix on the next unity version. We’ve tested the Win64 version quite thoroughly though, and the issues we’ve found are very minor and not commonly reproduced.

    If I already own the game, what do I need to play the 64 bit version?
    Ted:You need a 64-bit Windows machine, that has 4GB or over of RAM (otherwise, there’s little use in running the 64-bit version). You’ll also need a dash of perseverance as the 64-bit build can still be a bit grumpy when it comes to some issues. If you’re on Steam, the win64 executable will be downloaded alongside the win32 one automatically.

    Samssonart: One more thing here, if you want to use the 64 bit version for the KSP Store distribution, you will have to download and install it manually, the patcher doesn’t support “cross-updatingâ€Â, you can backup your saves and use them in the 64 bit version though, that much shouldn’t be a problem.

    Why was 64 bit implemented only after the hack was discovered by the community?
    Ted: We often have a lot in plan for KSP, but get our priorities on the ‘fringe features’ from what the Community is currently interested or vested in. So when the Community is very interested in something like 64-bit builds, that allows us to take a look at what we have in plan and see what can be moved around to accommodate the new interest.

    Harv: The fact that there was so much interest in a win64 version of the game that a community hack was invented led us to reconsider the priority for a win64 version. It was planned, like Ted said, but not scheduled until later. The community hack showed us that the demand for it was much higher than we thought, so we set aside some time to rig up the build pipeline to produce win64 builds for this release already.

    What’s next for KSP and when might 0.25 be released?
    As usual, the next release will be out whenever it’s ready. For the most part, though, we plan on continuing to improve on the recently added Career Features, add the still-pending bits to make Career gameplay more complete, and we’re also working on a few other things, which we’ll talk about later.
    HarvesteR
    UPDATE: Click the photo above to watch a special video preview for what you can expect in Kerbal Space Program: First Contract!

    Hi again,

    As I mentioned in this week’s dev blog, we've got quite a bit of stuff done in the game to list there, so here's a new update on some of the things you can expect for Kerbal Space Program: First Contract (update 0.24).


    * Contracts:
    You probably know about this one already. The Mission Control Facility at the space center now lets you take on contracts to earn Funds, Science and Reputation.

    * Budget Essentials:
    Career Mode is greatly expanded now by the addition of Funds and Reputation. Funds are required to launch vessels, and reputation is earned (and lost) by doing contracts (or failing them). In this release, your reputation is already used to regulate the level and amount of contracts offered you. Lower reputation means fewer and less prestigious contract offers, while high reputation means more and more ambitious proposals.

    * Vessel Recovery:
    Vessel recovery is also making its first appearance. Although still not complete, the new recovery system now lets you reclaim some of the cost of all landed parts, and any resources they still contain. The Science Summary Dialog of previous versions has been overhauled to also include information about recovered parts and crew.

    * New UI Toolbar:
    User interfaces in the game have been vastly overhauled, but the largest addition is the new app toolbar, which can be seen in most scenes now, and holds buttons to flip between the messages, resources, currencies and contract panels. Also, it's mod-friendly.

    * New MonoPropellant-Powered Engine and LFO-Powered RCS Thrusters:
    The O-10 MonoPropellant Engine is a standard engine linked to main throttle controls, but powered by MonoProp. The Vernier Engine, conversely, is a Liquid Fuel+Oxidizer powered RCS unit. These should be interesting new additions to the stock parts set.

    * Revised Tech Tree Layout:
    To better fit the new engines above, we've updated the tech tree, giving the 'flight control' type nodes a much more logical progression, and added new paths to expand your way through the tree more freely.

    * Repurposed Engine Nacelle parts:
    Those grey, largely useless engine body sections are now given new purpose as combination air intake + fuel tank units, making them a lot more useful for building spaceplanes.


    There are many more features, tweaks and fixes all around, but these are the highlights.

    All in all, I'm very glad we decided to push this update further. The difference between the state of the game now compared to when we were doing the first round of experimentals is huge. It's definitely safe to say it was time well spent.


    Cheers
    Rowsdower
    We've all waited long enough. It's finally time to start revealing the winning logos that will become official and represent the in-game companies as of update 0.24. We received a few hundred entries from throughout the community, viewed them all and somehow managed to whittle them down to the few that were ultimately chosen for inclusion in the update. After a bit of a polish, the final logos were ready for placement, starting with the ones below and continuing throughout the week.




    Originally submitted by I_killed_Jeb


    Originally submitted by @JaytheRobot and Jack K.


    Originally submitted by Ruben F.


    Originally submitted by Dent


    Originally submitted by Sli


    Originally submitted by Dent


    Originally submitted by Suwa


    Originally submitted by Simon B


    Originally submitted by Mind


    Originally submitted by Chris R.


    Originally submitted by Jaysef


    Originally submitted by Sido


    Originally submitted by Walker W.


    Originally submitted by Chris R.


    Originally submitted by Jan


    Originally submitted by Malcom M.


    Originally submitted by someone who didn't fill out all their info. Is it you? PM me with proof if it is.


    Originally submitted by Adam K


    Originally submitted by Pomeroy


    Originally submitted by Phlex


    Originally submitted by @JaytheRobot


    Originally submitted by Boris B.


    Originally submitted by Snow Leopard


    Originally submitted by Allison O.


    Originally submitted by M1nD


    Originally submitted by Andrew B.


    Originally submitted by M1nD


    We'd like to thank every single person who sent in their images. We had a seriously hard time choosing our favorites and an even harder one picking the final ones to be included with 0.24. We had many sleek, professional looking entries, some cool clip art stuff and even a fair number of hand drawn entries. All were considered on the same plane and we were highly impressed by the amount of talent and passion each person had put into their submission. We're proud of the work everyone did. The combined efforts make this yet another reason why the KSP community is considered the best out there.
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