Multiplayer

[discoreeper]

Did anyone think of KSP servers which can hold multiple players controlling different vessels and Kerbals?

[Snark]

Hello, and welcome to the forums! 

Moving this suggestion to Suggestions.

4 hours ago, discoreeper said:

Did anyone think of KSP servers which can hold multiple players controlling different vessels and Kerbals?

Yes, it's one of the most-suggested features in the history of the game, people have been talking about that for years.  There's a mod, "Dark Multiplayer" (often referred to as DMP), which provides some multiplayer functionality.

It's never been implemented by Squad, nor have they given us any hints that it's coming.  That doesn't stop quite a few folks from wanting it, though.    There are some interesting design problems around the idea of multiplayer as it relates to KSP (for example, "what do you do about timewarp?"), but there's already plenty of discussion about that in the many other multiplayer threads out there, so I won't go into it here.

[Zeiss Ikon]

1 hour ago, Snark said:

There are some interesting design problems around the idea of multiplayer as it relates to KSP (for example, "what do you do about timewarp?"

This, to me, is the killer for multiplayer KSP.  Just going to the Mun (really, even an LKO rendezvous, if you didn't launch into a close orbit match) requires time warp to avoid taking up huge amounts of time (typically Munar intercept time from transfer burn is in excess of 4 hours, and LKO rendezvous from random positions is likely to require several orbits, i.e. multiple hours, to get an encounter without expending huge amounts of dV).  But if Player One warps while Player Two is still setting up his transfer burn node, what happens?  I don't think this problem can have a solution that will be widely satisfactory.

I'd prefer to keep KSP one of the few games that can be fully enjoyed without even an internet connection -- I can install on my laptop, and (providing I have an external cooler or don't mind intermittent maddening slowdowns as the machine throttles clock speed for cooling) play for months in the boonies, as long as I have electric power (even a low power inverter for a car's 12V outlets -- need not match the 90W suppy it takes to run and charge simultaneously) to charge the machine's batteries.  Very few other games I've enjoyed over the past thirty years have combined this quality with the engagement and replay ability that KSP offers.  I think the last ones that came close were Doom, Heretic, and Hexen (very similar low-graphic DOS FPS), which all had optional LAN multiplayer capability.  I don't see any reason to entertain the possibility of ruining KSP by trying to force it into the multiplayer mold.

[kartzull]

18 hours ago, Zeiss Ikon said:

I don't think this problem can have a solution that will be widely satisfactory

The way Dark Multiplayer manage timewarp is that only this user is time warping, and then others player can synchronize with the player.

[razark]

On 4/2/2018 at 6:05 AM, kartzull said:

The way Dark Multiplayer manage timewarp is that only this user is time warping, and then others player can synchronize with the player.

And some people dislike this method and would prefer others.

[Greenfire32]

On 4/1/2018 at 4:24 AM, discoreeper said:

Did anyone think of KSP servers which can hold multiple players controlling different vessels and Kerbals?

Literally the most talked about thing ever, yes.

On 4/1/2018 at 8:43 AM, Snark said:

There are some interesting design problems around the idea of multiplayer as it relates to KSP (for example, "what do you do about timewarp?"), but there's already plenty of discussion about that in the many other multiplayer threads out there, so I won't go into it here.

Probably the smartest thing to do when it comes to this issue. This is a huge can of worms that almost never ends in happy people all around.

On 4/1/2018 at 10:23 AM, Zeiss Ikon said:

This, to me, is the killer for multiplayer KSP.  Just going to the Mun (really, even an LKO rendezvous, if you didn't launch into a close orbit match) requires time warp to avoid taking up huge amounts of time....

Oh no...stop...before you open the can of worms....

On 4/2/2018 at 5:05 AM, kartzull said:

The way Dark Multiplayer manage timewarp is that only this user is time warping, and then others player can synchronize with the player.

oh god it's happening...

4 hours ago, razark said:

And some people dislike this method and would prefer others.

noooooooooo

Edited April 3, 2018 by Greenfire32

[razark]

Just now, Greenfire32 said:

Oh no...stop...before you open the can or worms....

oh god it's happening...

noooooooooo

Oh, come on!  We haven't even talked about specifics, and why each method is horribly bad.

 

 

Yet.

[Warsoul]

For the Time Warp issues; the solution is simple; Play with friends on One Ship at a time ! Your rocket can hold 4 kerbals ? Then you can Coop with 3 friends. We all Warp together ! It's simple enough to be implemented in the next Update. Sincerly; i don't know why Squad didn't implemented that Solution yet.

 

Maybe i know why ! They keep it for Kerbal Space Program #2 !

If you want a Coop soon; push really hard for that solution with many signatures in a WorldWide Petition !

(For the ones who gonna say; Playing on One Ship will be really Dull, not if we split task and controls (Staging, RCS, SAAS, Fuel Transfert(Manually), Sciences experiments(realtime with minigames),etc)

Anyway, it's better than nothing and it will be usefull for Docking (can split into multiple vessel inside a 50km radius) or for recording movies with a player dedicated on filming the best shots.

Edited April 4, 2018 by Warsoul

[razark]

21 minutes ago, Warsoul said:

Play with friends on One Ship at a time !

I can see problems with trying that style.

For example: What happens when the ship stages, leaving 3 players in one part, and 1 player in the other?  You end up back at the impasse of timewarp again.

 

 

Footnote 1: See, now we have.

Edited April 4, 2018 by razark

[Warsoul]

19 minutes ago, razark said:

I can see problems with trying that style.

For example: What happens when the ship stages, leaving 3 players in one part, and 1 player in the other?  You end up back at the impasse of timewarp again.

 

 

Footnote 1: See, now we have.

Look at my new Coop Topic ! They are teleported back into the Player 1's vessel.

 

Edited April 4, 2018 by Warsoul

[razark]

29 minutes ago, Warsoul said:

They are teleported back into the Player 1's vessel.

Four players, three seats.

 

Moving discussion to the new thread.

Edited April 4, 2018 by razark

[Wjolcz]

MP in KSP won't work. It's been discussed many times. So many threads were created. Why do we have to do this again?

However, would MP make sense in a game about airplanes with one world to fly around and without time warp? Yes. I would buy that in a heartbeat. Especially if it had Kerbals. I like them. Even though they don't do much a good game needs a mascot of sorts.