Liz

I appreciate the thoughtful responses. If Kerbal Space Program is a niche game for the elite then its a niche game for the elite. That certainly wouldn't be a calamity. Though it would be unfortunate for those who have no ambition to be elite space pilots but would still like to play around in (virtual) space. And yeah, this suggestion isn't just "add autopilot". Its more like, "you might want to consider making your game playable for a wider audience, and automated flight planning and piloting features would absolutely do that". One particular reason I think automated flight planning and autopilot functions need to be in the core game, as opposed to available only as a mod, is that some aspects of the game are inaccessable to people like myself without them, such as the Scenarios (including the new ARM missions, which are simply out of my reach at present). Really, I can't do much without MechJeb. Even with that mod doing anything successfully is still a huge challenge. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds themselves in this position. Another reason is that MechJeb may not always be available. I don't know how dedicated (long-term) the developer(s) of that mod are, but what happens if they drop off the face of the earth? The next update of KSP becomes unplayable for a huge amount of people. But, again, if its a niche game for the elite then that's what it is. I just hope the developers decide to include non-elite space enthusiasts to thier target audience too.

The real issue is this I think: Do the developers want this game to be popular (it is and will continue to be), or do they want it to be Minecraft popular? If its not accessible it will never become the worldwide sensation it has the potential to be. If its not easy to play for those who want to just have some idle fun you're excluding a huge market. I get what you're saying too MKI, about the thrill of figuring it out yourself and of being able to accomplish those really difficult tasks. But I think even with a flight helper/autopilot there is going to be plenty of opportunity for people who want that experience to have it anyway. There just needs to be an option to turn that stuff off. Those who want that challenge will turn it off, and those that don't will still be able to play the game... without having to search for a mod to make the game playable for them (playable out of the box is always better, naturally). I've seen flight simulators that had a whole bunch of realism settings that could be turned on or off. That was great because some people really got into the challenge and thrill of being able to fly a plane with full realism on, and other people, like me, would be totally incapable of getting the plane off the ground with full realism on... and totally uninterested in spending the time required to learn how. What would have happened if the developers of those games had included no such options? Letting people choose how they want to play a game and what kind of experience they want to have with it is essential to making a game interesting for the widest possible audience.

Dear Kerbal Space Program Developers, First of all, what a super-cool concept for a video game!! You've created an enchanting space experience with plenty of challenges for those who enjoy figuring out the intricacies of actual space flight, and plenty of awe-inspiring moments for anyone who can manage to get a ship into space. However, for those of us who aren't all that interested in the learning the relatively deep levels of space-related science and math required to be able to do anything beyond building a ship and watching it crash, the game is prohibitively daunting. Some form of helper tool is required to make this game accessible to people other than space math/science enthusiasts. MechJeb does that very well. I'm sure there are tons of kids out there, as well as plenty of adults, who would love to play this game but can't really do much without first spending days or weeks studying actual space flight concepts. I know I'm not inclined to do that, but I still love the awe-inspiring experience of sending a ship into space. The realism of Kerbal Space Program is great, but without some kind of helper like MechJeb it requires actually learning real space science. That's not within everyone's capabilities or interest. You game is not accissible to those other than space science enthusiasts without such a helper. I think it is noteworthy to mention that through using MechJeb I ended up learning some of the basic spaceflight techniques required to do a few things, such as doing a Hohmann transfer and setting up a rendezvous with another ship in orbit... things I would have never figured out on my own without some serious dedicated research, something I would not have done. No, I would have simply never learned that stuff and stopped playing Kerbal Space Program altogether. And now that I know how to do that stuff, thanks to MechJeb, I can challenge myself when I'm in the mood and see if I can do it without the flight planning tools or autopilot. Without that basic knowledge of how to do those things I wouldn't have a clue where to even start. So I strongly suggest that something like MechJeb (a flight helper/autopilot tool) be added to the core program in order to make your wonderful game accessible to anyone who is not already a hardcore space science enthusiast. MechJeb does a great job of making the game accessible, so why not just make that an official included part of Kerbal Space Program in the next update... seems the simplest solution to me. MechJeb also has several very useful information panels that would be great to have as standard components to the game. The layout is very good just the way it is. Also, if you do add what I am suggesting to the game it should probably be something that's available right away in career mode. Otherwise you make career mode inaccessible (those who need the flight helper won't be able earn upgrades if they can't do anything). I don't think it should be a part either (like it is in MechJeb). It should just be a standard interface tool. And you could have a check box in the options menu to turn it on and off. Many people will certainly prefer to do everything on thier own too. If nothing else, do it for the children! :)