Kerbin time or Earth time ?

[Jacke]

I started playing KSP with version 0.23, when the only time was Earth time.  I can't remember exactly when, but the KSP Wiki article on Time says in the very next version, 0.23.5, Kerbin time was introduced.  I've used Earth time for decades before KSP and I baulked at the shift.  At least times could be stated in hours without confusion.

But now I wonder about switching to Kerbin time, 6-hour sidereal days and 426 days per year, as opposed to Earth time's 24-hour solar days and 365 days per year.

So what time scale do you use?  The default Kerbin time?  Or the more familiar Earth time?

[The Aziz]

I mean, why would I use Earth time and have 3 sunsets per day?

[RealKerbal3x]

Kerbin time, because it adds to the immersion.

[Greenfire32]

it takes some getting used to, but Kerbin time. I like my days to start with a sunrise and end with a sunset.

Edited September 20, 2018 by Greenfire32

[Tyko]

I use 24 hour clock because I'm playing in a 2.5x scaled system and there's currently no way to sync all the mods I use to a non-standard 10 hour clock. So I either have multiple sunrises in a day or a sunrise every few days. At least KAC, TWP, USI-LS, Precise Maneuver and other mods all agree on what time it is. That's way more important for play-ability than counting sunrises 

Edited September 20, 2018 by Tyko

[Laie]

Kerbin time, because that was the default when I started.

13 hours ago, Greenfire32 said:

I like my days to start with a sunrise and end with a sunset.

The silly part is, they don't -- the Kerbin day is as long as one full rotation of the body, but doesn't consider that the body is going around the sun. So you have 427 solar days for every 426 calender days.

EDIT: well, that wasn't quite right...

Edited September 21, 2018 by Laie

[Jacke]

50 minutes ago, Laie said:

The silly part is, they don't -- the Kerbin day is as long as one full rotation of the body, but doesn't consider that the body is going around the sun. So you have 427 solar days for every 426 calender days.

Err...with Kerbin, like Earth, rotating in the same direction as it revolves around Kerbol, solar days are longer than sidereal days.  With Kerbin's calendar days being sidereal, that must mean the year is 426 days on the calendar (plus half an hour, apparently) but only 425 Kerbol rises.

[HansonKerman]

6 hours ago, The Aziz said:

I mean, why would I use Earth time and have 3 sunsets per day?

Also it kinda adds to the immersion: it’s cool that there’s a Kerbin time

[adsii1970]

@Just Jim and myself actually spent considerable time mapping out the Kerbin year. We used Kerbin time and based it on the Mun... What fun that was! Oh, and in Kerny's Journal, I still use that system... So in case you're wondering...

[Superfluous J]

I've played so many days where a day is not a real day, a year is not a real year, etc. It seems weird to think of *this* game (over all the others) in Earth time.

[OhioBob]

9 hours ago, Laie said:

The silly part is, they don't -- the Kerbin day is as long as one full rotation of the body, but doesn't consider that the body is going around the sun. So you have 427 solar days for every 426 calender days.

That was true at one time when the game was still in beta, but not anymore.  The game calendar uses solar days, which are exactly 6 hours long.  Kerbin's sidereal period is approximately 5 hours, 59 minutes, 9.4 seconds.  Accordingly, the sun rises at the same time every day.  There are 426 solar days in a Kerbin calendar year, and 427 sidereal days.

What is out of sync is the start of a new year in relation to the stars.  Kerbin's orbital period is about 426.09 days, so that means Kerbin hasn't quite completed a full orbit when the next year begins.  To correct for this, Kerbin should have a leap year about every 11 years.  But since it doesn't, the stars that illuminate the night sky on new years day will change over the millennia.  This would be more of a problem if Kerbin had seasons, because the start dates of the seasons would change over time.

[Mahnarch]

The folks that do the Martian stuff down at NASA live(d) on Martian time - so they can take advantage of the solar panels and stuff.

 

I think it fitting to do the same.

[Kerbart]

44 minutes ago, Mahnarch said:

The folks that do the Martian stuff down at NASA live(d) on Martian time - so they can take advantage of the solar panels and stuff.

 

I think it fitting to do the same.

If memory serves my right they quit that practice as it was (a) impractical for those with a family life and (b) exceptionally unpleasant even for those who lived by themselves as it effectively put them in a continuous jetlag.

People living on a martian clock is manageable but not while living on earth.

I might be wrong though.