KSP on PS4 and Xbox One, how will it work?

[JacksRage]

To answer the original posters question... From what I've seen and read from events like GDC the controls work well and don't take too long to get the hang of. As a console player I should have no problem, but for our PC players here who don't use a controller it might take a bit longer to get the feel for it. Same could be said for me if you gave me a keyboard and mouse. 

 

Also. I'll just drop this here too...

 

 

[Planet Destroyer]

Wish they could put KSP on Xbox 360.

[Madrias]

I could see KSP with a controller (which, lets face it, is basically what a PS4/xBox One verson of KSP would be) being rather fun, honestly.  One, you'd have proportional controls for yaw, roll, pitch, as well as a fairly-decent amount of buttons to work with.  (I'm assuming that both consoles have analog lower triggers, which would allow for yaw control, leaving the left thumbstick controlling roll/pitch)  Buttons underneath the thumbsticks... Well, right thumbstick's your camera, so perhaps have it be reset camera in external view (or possibly toggling camera mode) and when in IVA view, have that be your "Push button to Zoom" key.  Stage could be one of the 6 action buttons (ABXY / PS standard 4, plus shoulder buttons).  Mode switch from roll/pitch to Translation could be on one of those action buttons.

Realistically, the only thing I see being potentially problematic on Consoles is that they'd need to have a mostly-finished and bug-fixed version ready to rock.  While most of us on PC have been playing since very early on, and we're more tolerant of bugs, glitches, Kraken attacks, etc., I don't expect our console-using friends would be too fond of losing a save to the Kraken.  Especially because of how hard it is to do backups on a console (Is it hard?  Haven't used a console since the PS2, and before that, the Nintendo 64.)  So they'd need to have most of the big bugs stomped out, the balance just about spot on, or at least close enough, and at the same time, have enough to the core game that console players don't get bored trying to figure out how to make their plane fly, or how to get their rockets off the launchpad.

Actually, that brings up a good point.  KSP's a semi-hardcore simulation game.  It is rocket science, and the learning curve is, well, it's a sheer cliff in front of you, and you're rushing toward it at 100 m/s.  Sure, those of us who have been here a while know what it's like, what to expect, but what about Average Joe back at home, just got in from work and is sitting down to play a nice relaxing game.  One, the learning wall is hard to overcome.  Two, some of the things done in KSP are exciting (making orbit your first time, orbiting the Mun or another planet the first time, your first ever rendezvous and docking,), but the majority of your time spent is either in the Assembly Buildings (making your rocket/plane), or spent staring off into space while burning toward your intended target.

Plus, there's not much to do once you're on another planet.  There's not much excitement in "I landed on the Mun!" past the first few steps and the mild rush from your first landing without air.  Then you wander around, collect a surface sample or two from the nearby biomes, and then head back home.  Then you figure, "Well, I'll try dropping a rover somewhere next" only to realize it's just about completely worthless, because the two things that give you good easy science value (Crew Report and Surface Sample) aren't available on the bucket of bolts you've dumped somewhere.

Now, I'm not saying KSP's a bad game.  I'm just wondering if it's the right game for the middle of the living room.  I think one of my friends said it best after watching me play for a bit on my desktop, and I think he may have been butchering someone else's quote from somewhere:  "KSP seems to be a game built around long periods of boredom punctuated with brief moments of panic, hilarity, and explosions, all at about the same time."  Now, I understand, KSP's a sandbox game at its core, and that there's no way to play it wrong, but at the same time, I don't know if the TV's the right way to experience it.  I might be wrong.  In fact, I probably am.

But my point is, I think the consoles are a good thing for KSP, and I'll list the reasons why below.

 

1: Less reliance on mods to fix problems.  Consoles will need to have these problems nailed to the floor by the time they get KSP.

2: Less relying on mods to fill gaps in technology.  Let's face it, how many of us have at least one good-sized parts pack in our KSP designed around something we favor?

3: Better Controller Support.  Not that it's bad as it is, but it could be better.

4: Optimization.  Consoles aren't exactly known for being the most powerful hardware known to man.  KSP will have to be optimized to run smoothly on consoles, which means any semi-punchy desktop PC will end up benefitting as well.

5: More people playing KSP.  Sure, we'll have people flooding the forums for a while doing the typical "I can't make it to orbit, can someone help?" threads.  But with people playing KSP, and our fairly sturdy community, built on helping each other, they'll soon get the hang of it.

[Majorjim!]

On 06/08/2016 at 11:18 PM, JacksRage said:

To answer the original posters question... From what I've seen and read from events like GDC the controls work well and don't take too long to get the hang of. As a console player I should have no problem, but for our PC players here who don't use a controller it might take a bit longer to get the feel for it. Same could be said for me if you gave me a keyboard and mouse. 

 

Also. I'll just drop this here too...

 

 

LOL "It's coming out this year".. So It could be another 6 months away.

 I can see the controller working well in flight. In the editor not so much.. It's a mouse pointer controlled by a thumb stick.

Edited June 13, 2016 by Majorjim

[magnemoe]

25 minutes ago, Majorjim said:

LOL "It's coming out this year".. So It could be another 6 months away.

 I can see the controller working well in flight. In the editor not so much.. It's a mouse pointer controlled by a thumb stick.

Editor and clicking on stuff like science equipment to do science will also be an problem. 
Letting us setting action groups in flight would be even more useful on console. Also for stuff like solar panels and radiators. 

[Vaporized Steel]

I'm not sure because I don't use gaming consoles.

But I'm very certain that on the PS4 there is a "Jebediah trophy".

[DD_bwest]

i play mostly console, infact the only game i really play on PC is this but have well more then a thousand hours lol  with how comfortable i am with a ps4 controller, i am still very nervous about attempting to play using it.    I am still crossing my fingers they will have mouse and keyboard support like some other ports have been.  FTE said they were looking into it a couple months back.   They've also been revealing trophies weekly for a bit now.

also, I asked on FB yesterday about e3  and apparently they are showing it to the press closed doors this week, so hopefully we should get a few articles soon about how its looking.