basic.syntax

A memory leak, which sounds like something is losing memory - kind of means the opposite. It happens when a piece of code allocates or reserves a section of memory to do something, but doesn't return that memory to the place it came from, after it's done. It can be a very small amount, escaping notice in the short term. The next time that piece of code gets run, it allocates or reserves a new section of memory, causing KSP's overall memory consumption to increase. Leaks are plugged by carefully going over the code, understanding what it does and how long it should need to hold onto something - to make sure each code routine frees the memory it reserved, each time it has finished running.

But, it wasn't a simple prank. It was an extraordinarily detailed one, with some elements based on community requests (automatic cross-posting of squad info made in other media.) I fell for it. I didn't expect ALL the elements would happen, plans change with feedback - and the feedback was ferocious. The furor only calmed down once it was made clear that it WAS a prank, and no such thing was going to happen.

I have to go with "just right." Personally, I would like some more details and "good complexity," but I think it would hurt KSP's wider success if it got too complex or too technical. PC Gamer declared the biggest enemy (problem to solve) in KSP is... gravity. (Click link and check out #21. Click the < back arrow at the top, less clicking to go in that direction.) That is where the majority of KSP players sit. Getting into orbit, then landing somewhere, is challenge enough to the largest part of KSP's audience. Squad has resisted adding detail for the sake of having detail, or even "too much" realism. KSP intentionally just takes us "close" to an air and space flight experience.

Now that I know what you go through, I will celebrate your efforts even more That took close to four hours of pausing, and going back, and noting the words down, then rewinding it again because I forgot a word... and then making it nice with italics and formatting to try and capture HOW Max said things. I was hitting refresh on the forums while I was doing it, waiting to see if an OWK post, or someone else would appear - I would have stopped, then. So consider this a "guest host" effort, for this week When OWK is on a roll, the job gets done, in record time

The way you wrote this immediately reminded me of the story of how the Infinity car brand was introduced to the world. The first commercials were the exact same thing, only at ground level. They showed the experience of moving along scenic roads, without a car. Someone observed at the time: "I don't know what this ad does for Infinity, but, the sales of rocks and trees went up overnight!"

I've made long-form transcriptions of important feature related questions and answers, trying to keep words inside quote marks as accurate as possible. Many Um's, Ah's, and aborted phrases have been kindly knocked out with "..." (While doing this, I discovered how quickly Selective Hearing can move words around, so I would NOT be surprised if I slipped up on a few, hopefully small, things. ) If it's not in quote marks, it is a partial quote or paraphrase of what maxmaps said, in general. Stuff in [brackets] are my (basic.syntax) comments. Squadcast Summary for 2015-03-20 - Watch it here! Max apologized for a delay to the start of Squadcast, he was checking over the contents of his place following a moderate earthquake in Mexico City. No harm done! So, on with the show. Last time, Max's KSP career was running low on funds, so, its time to finish a Mun satellite launch contract. No manuever nodes this time, going to do it the old fashioned way 02:50 Feature announcement - 1.0 will have new IVA's. An excellent job by Frizzank, who is showcasing the work here. 04:00 "It's been a couple hectic weeks at Squad. we've been working hard on getting the update out. And although we've been doing our best to listen to you guys, and to see where we can have a better release... Now, I know we talked about reducing the number of features in order to actually give proper time to bug fixing and all that, but I want you to know that none of the things that have been shared with you so far, as far as our dev blog goes, and any progress shots you have seen - none of them are even remotely at stake. We're talking about very small features that have been kind of just recently been added into the Plan... like, I am not 100% sure that we can put in the UI elements that we want to do for the Kerbal skills, so you can see delta-v for example, that kinda stuff... is, ah, we are currently considering it..., it's looking like... a no. " 05:00 "A couple weeks ago I believe, I tweeted about having a crystalized release date... that looked like this is very much The One, and it's going to happen, and that's IT... [pause] We listened to you guys, and decided to further extend our test cycle to make sure that release date is... Agh! Here's the thing... it kinda sucks that I can't tell you WHEN it is gonna be... but, we are pushing the release date a little further back. Not like a "full release" date back, but a little bit back. " [based on hand gestures, lol... I think the unspoken intended release date was pushed out by some number of weeks, not months.] 06:10 "I totally adore and endorse Kasper's early April 1st prank on the forum update... OH MY GOD so many people got so upset. I personally thought it was SOO obvious no one would fall for it, but I 'm kinda amazed and disappointed at you guys. You actually believed we would do that to the forums?! Are you HIGH?! No guys, we are certainly not doing that to the forums, the premiums... Here's the thing, we kinda went, well, Kasper went through everything the KSP forums community dislikes about other communities that discuss KSP, and kinda condensed it together, so we had stuff like..." [What's happening on screen interrupts that line of thought, Mun collision alert! Need to shift to an Equatorial orbit. NOW it's time for maneuver nodes ] 08:30 "Also a shout out to the people from KSPTV [...] Our community needs more love, we've been kinda getting way to into the actual developing on the game, and we've neglected people who have been supporting us from the beginning, so therefore, we are adding a bunch of stuff in this update that will, kinda, at least attempt to make up for some of it. 09:45 [twitch question from or about modders] "So yes, we have a bunch of stuff to make up for you guys... you'll see once actually 1.0 comes out all the cool stuff we've done with help from modders, and to make modder's lives easier. And hopefully it can be at least a good point to start a conversation, I think." 11:00 [twitch question: Multiplayer progress in 2015?] "Well, ideally we want it to BE in 2015, but, its a beast of a task, we're still working on it, we have great progress, but nothing we can fully show yet." 11:30 [ What's up with this satellite contract? Checking back at KSC, Max remembered accepting the contract, but it dawned on him that he had rolled back to a previous save state, where he hadn't accepted the contract! Face, meet palm. Something about a Win8 upgrade, and pulling down an older steam cloud save. The last 10 mins of getting to the Mun - just went down the drain. I think we've all done stuff like that ] 11:50 [twitch question: so, is Multiplayer confirmed for 2015?] "Multiplayer confirmed for ... as soon as it's done." 12:40 [twitch question: has Max tried Cities: Skylines?] "No, but I plan to this weekend, 'cause I've heard it's really good." 12:50 [twitch question: Unity 5?] "Yes, we are running internal tests on Unity 5. It's looking promising, but also... it kinda looks like every time... how to put it... like, there's a lot that CAN happen with Unity 5, but the work we have shown [internally] so far, is that it can... just about IGNITE the computer it is running on." [Think he is suggesting stuff like KSP getting bogged down, GPU/CPU overload.] "We are absolutely committed to getting to Unity 5. It can't happen this release cycle ... the timeline simply doesn't pan out for the amount of work it has to be, the same goes for the 64-bit update [client] but yes, we absolutely want it in." 14:00 [ Shifting back to the game session, and lack of funds, Max brings up a new Strategy ] "If this were 1.0, we could go back here to our strategies, and try the new strategies that give you, ahh... not a GREAT deal, I'll be honest, they're not meant to replace the other ones, but, you can choose a strategy that will give you an economic return in any currency you want, immediately. That's what we are currently running in the [internal] builds. We're playtesting them to see how they work out. " 15:00 [twitch question: giving copies of 1.0 to reviewers?] Max talked about getting a ton of feedback on the subject, still looking into it. 19:20 [twitch question: rovers?] "There are plans to do something fun with rovers, they are kinda cool toys, and I think we can show something cool with them." [interpretation: Eventually. Nothing was shown today.] 19:30 [twitch question: can Max name three bugs that have been fixed by anyone?] "I know Mu has touched about... something in the lines of, I think 12 to 15 memory leaks... do those count?" [Yay!] 20:30 [twitch question: where to host a Kerbal Kon?] No matter where it is hosted, it will be far from someone. Maybe based on players choosing to say where they are, we could graph and average every player's location and come up with a good location, but I'm going to guess it would be somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean... give or take. [so, what about the moon, that is far away FROM EVERYONE!] "You are... full of wisdom ;)" [what about Australia] Max said that Australia is/was ranked number three in regards to sales, lots of KSP fans - but hasn't seen regional stats in a while, it could have moved. None the less, "Down Under is certainly HIGH on the list!" 22:40 [Max put the career game on hold, and went to sandbox to build something more fun, that could grab a class C asteroid.] "If this were the [1.0] beta build I could totally go click-click-click and build myself a fairing, but... I can't right now. I keep looking for UI elements that don't exist ;)" 24:20 [Max can't stop smiling about this] "Kasper has put me in a very awkward position.... where I have NO idea how to out-do that [forums prank] for [the real] April 1st... if we have TIME to do an April 1st kinda thing, 'cause all of our pipelines are super tight right now." 26:10 [twitch question: why the resource map view layout was changed from the original version?] "The original version... I believe is one that NovaSilisko came up with, um, we thought was a cool version, like, its very, very much in-depth, but, its kinda so in-depth, that it stops being user friendly... it adds... our game..., if you want to say that our game suffers from something, and I'm not going to say this is something people are going to agree with, but more from in the general game design stuff, .... it can be said to suffer from, it is from... incredible complexity. And, that resource system, while solid, it was also incredibly complex, to the point that it would have just made it... so that people who already having problems playing KSP, would have had just a litany of more problems." 27:10 [twitch question: Science of the Spheres, NovaSilisko's project?] "I haven't had the time to test it, but, if he is half as dedicated as he was to KSP, that game is going to be A Monster!" "Nova is very talented, and I'm certain ... once he gets that done... he will usher in a new era. Like... he has a bunch of great ideas, and I'm certain Science of the Spheres, once he gets it completed to a state where he wants to show it to the world, the world will be richer for it." 30:50 "OH! There was a bug in animation, where Kerbals plant a flag, and it kinda goes through their helmet, and we fixed that little clipping thing." "...a polish thing that definitely needed to be dealt with." 31:20 [twitch question: new atmosphere?] "We are not in a position just yet to show you how it works out, but you are certainly going to get a lot more videos than usual on the new update." 32:10 [twitch question: Clippy Kerman?] "We'd absolutely LOVE a picture of Clippy Kerman ;)" [That refers to the "April Fool's day" forums prank.] 33:20 [twitch question: since there are more airplane parts, would you consider having Firesplitter, like propeller engines stock, as well as more types of jet engines?"] "We're not 100% sure on where... how we would add more stuff to the tech tree in at least 1.1 or 1.2, but its not outside of the realm of possibility. We're kind of giving a quick look at the tech tree this time around, nothing major, we're trying to make sure that it just makes a little more sense. ... We wrote a new tool, that lets you modify the tech tree on the client, and have different tech trees within different save files. People no longer have to break their game in order to modify the tech tree. 'cause that was kinda crazy." [Note: this was discussed at length in Devnote Tuesday here. It's a modders tool, right now being used for Squad's internal testing of changes to the tech tree, for 1.0.] 35:00 Long talk about a bunch of twitch questions about testing, opening up their internal testing to the public, same stuff that has been discussed over and over, in these forums. 38:40 [twitch question: Where do Kerbals live?] "Our internal joke, is that Kerbals live underground. They kinda have to, because the space program has driven the entirety of Kermanity, underground ;)" 46:00 "Thank you for watching Squadcast - I love doing it for you guys. those last two weeks without you, sucked. The first I was too ill, the second one I was too busy, but this one I was like, MAN I have get home in time, I have to do Squadcast... and then, getting here, earthquake happens! .... Yeah, there was a little earthquake happened here in Mexico City, it just happens every now and then, it freaks a lot of people out... to me, i've been around them so long, that, it's just like ... 'OH, I guess the GROUND is moving,' you go through the house, make sure your gas lines are ok, your pipes are ok, that your building is in... proper structural condition... and, then you move on with your day. In this case, I was like 'Aha! not even God can stop this show today!' This would have been the perfect moment by the way, for my internet or power to cut down." 47:30 [twitch question for modders: with Frizzank's new IVA's, will there also be more stock props to choose from when assembling IVA's?] "Yes! Frizzank made a bunch of new props, (he reused a couple 'cause he's an efficient kinda guy,) but most of everything is new..." 50:50 [twitch question: new tagline for 1.0?] We have something internal, but we have to go through proper tests to make sure it is the right tagline, so... nothing [official to announce] just yet. [speaking only for himself] "I have considered some silly things like "KSP 1.0: 'this is only the beginning' ... 'a new beginning,' 'a new start,' but that gets kinda ruined because i'm a big fan of Arrested Development." 52:20 New IVA's presentation 58:00 Next week on Squadcast: Female Kerbals! "Just being themselves, in the game."

I think Squad's release planning train started up about a month ago: external business partners have been told when to expect 1.0. We have no idea how many folks need to know, or the different lead-times they require, in order to have their part of the 1.0 puzzle ready all at the same time. Players who's purchase of KSP is relatively small by comparison, are going to have to wait additional months for a few things getting cut, instead of waiting for the entire thing for some unknown amount of additional months. Pushing the date out now might cause a feeling of relief in the forums, but it would probably cost Squad whatever down-payments they've made to external partners to get stuff ready in time for 1.0, more payments to hold that work in storage, reprint anything that had a date printed on it - another kind of mess. So far, this message is consistent: Squad's not stopping work on KSP after 1.0, and 1.0 is going to happen. I also think that if they DID hold KSP back to finish off the entire list of already announced features, anticipation for a super amazing release would probably exceed what they can deliver and cause the forum reaction: "we waited until August... for this?" I'd like to get 1.0 out and over with, so I can reset my anticipation and expectations, for v1.1. I agree that different Squad folks posting in their own words in different places, has lead to some consternation. But, the alternative could be worse: ONE designated spokesperson. Posting a day or more after any question comes up. Because The Committee has to weigh each word. So, nobody else saying anything, except in carefully edited Devnote Tuesday articles. ("but... that's not what I want, they just need to phone or instant message each other to get on the same page." Well, they thought they WERE saying reasonable things, and sometimes over-reactions happen inside companies, and the result is public info blackout.) I interpret Max as saying that "everything" that is not going to get cut, should be fine, because they have been doing internal QA on internal development builds all this time, and have scheduled their longest ever Experimentals testing phase. We were warned that "stuff can happen," in the January Beyond Beta announcement: "As always, we ask you to please keep in mind that the items above are not a commitment on our part. Plans can and do change as development progresses, and this update is no different."

One more idea for science lab: I think it needs a tank (or compartment) labeled "mystery goo." We carry that stuff all over the solar system

Very nice work! I have two requests: 1. Could we get some more diversity in the cockpit computer displays? The same "K-OS error" screen appears all over the Mk3. I'd like to see a startup screen, some command line stuff, maybe some C# code in one, for variety. 2. Science Lab: I love the separate labels for "tests" and "tubes"! But players will think of the lab's main in-game purpose: cleaning experiments for re-use. Would you consider re-labeling some of these "compartments," to refer to cleaning supplies? Brooms, dustpans, Jeb's old socks (if people would understand these are being used as cleaning rags, lol) - maybe references to major brand cleaning products - use Proctor and Gamble website for inspiration - many of their brands are international

I worked in a large company that published a regular newsletter, and a special edition on April 1. It was full of inside jokes that worked well while the company was relatively local, but, as it grew and hired more people from other countries, the newsletter that followed the April 1 edition had to include more and longer explanations. After a certain point, the work of responding to all the feedback exceeded the benefit of a few laughs in the home office, and they stopped doing special editions for April 1.

Thanks Kasper, for your reply here! The "proposal" was additionally effective, b/c forum readers have requested some kind of automatic cross posting of Squad info from other media.

Yes, something this hot-button shouldn't require folks to do math. "These awesome changes to this forum, requested by everyone on reddit and twitter, will go live on April 1!" And even after that, it was written with such good detail, that I'd probably fall for it.

Now hoping that Kasper intended this for April 1, but pushed button early by accident.

What happened to proposing big changes like this, and asking for feedback, well in advance? No long form posts? Pay to search posts? While I would agree some posts would be better after a little editing, 140char just so it works well with twitter, goes too far. Devnote Tuesday in 140 chars? Probably not, that will be an Article of some kind, but our replies will have to be 140. Folks will have to make a separate reply for each topic discussed, if they have anything more substantive to say than "Feature X sounds great - can't wait!" KSP will need a new third party forum similar to this, to fill the void.

Devnote Tuesday for the 17th revealed the beginning of work on memory optimization, conversion to compressed DDS image textures. If the preliminary testing goes well, there's hope for the memory situation in 1.0.

Since they plan to continue improving KSP after 1.0, they ought to be happy to continue accepting our bug reports for 1.0 and beyond. If Max were to describe Squad internal testing process, and it sounded good, the next question is "why does x, y, z bug exist?" That could start a messy new line of discussion about x, y, z bug, and I think katateochi is right to conclude that discussion of test process would fit better in another thread. Testing is not the weak link in the chain; developer time is. Dropping a previously announced feature or two will make me sad, but if that opens up more developer time for bug fixing, the end result will be better for it. Nothing new here, this happens all the time in software development

Changing course now after all the release planning meetings Maxmaps has referred to in previous devnotes, would be bad. Testing and QA have reported tons of bugs... it seems to me the problem has been the constant push forward takes time away from fixing those reported bugs. They also knew they would change how some systems work, so spending hours sorting through a reported problem with a system due for complete overhaul would be a waste. (The sad part for players is living with those bug(s) for the months it takes the new system to be developed.) Now that they are locking down on features and probably cutting a feature or two until 1.1 - Squad developers can finally spend some time sorting through already reported bugs. Testing is not the weak link in the chain! (I'm encouraged also by talk of texture loading optimization via DDS, which should help with a long standing complaint about memory consumption.)

It appears this thread has run its course.

Yes, in a sense. Folks ask in these forums for features and improvements to KSP all the time... they don't care what Squad calls it. But no, in the sense that reasonable people are willing to wait. Squad has decided a 1.0 date. My choice of words wasn't the best. I wanted to drop that recent quote in here, it reminds us that all declared-finished products are the result of compromises, KSP won't be an exception.

Another company is facing similar questions. A long "early access" cycle, folks clamoring for release. (But not quite the same situation, because the current version of KSP is widely available.)

I think they are reading this feedback to decide what already announced features are the most important to players for 1.0, and polish those, possibly dropping something from v1.0 to v1.1, that is lower on most people's lists. I doubt any new, unannounced feature that players are asking for here, will get added. 1. Aero and related features are a huge, necessary change to the game, and my top vote for spending "quality time." 2. ISRU would be nice, but if Squad needs more time to test and refine Aero related features, I can wait until 1.1.

That Neil and Buzz both landed a tin can on the moon, done right the first time, with no reverts possible, is KSP on "iron man" mode

You have a couple specific directions in mind for what can be done in the time available. Where's the poll? 1. Lock features to the "beyond beta" announced list. 2. Test / Fix 3. Optimize

I also wish for a feature like this, but we only have a general idea of the workload that Squad employees are tasked with, based on Devnote Tuesday reports, don't know if the idea came up in meetings, was discarded or pushed down the priority list, and/or any reasons why. A mod maker focuses on their feature of choice, for as long as they enjoy doing so. With luck, we should see some improvements in 1.0 if they can quash some memory leaks, and hopefully more improvement with the strongly rumored move to Unity 5, after 1.0.

All will be revealed, more patience is required until the transfer window is reached. RL doesn't include timewarp feature