Puddle Jumper

Except for the Mun launch site. I’d really like to have that one!

Easy, turn up the gravitational constant a notch. I've seen many people wonder about the "pocket-scale" solar system of Kerbal Space Program. The idea and its implementation are not completely perfect, but most of what you see in behavior regarding physics in KSP is easily understood if you remember that (a) the real-life laws of physics apply but (b) the gravitational constant of the Kerbol system is higher than it is in our universe. Never did the calculations myself though, so I don't know the exact value of the gravitational constant. Nor do I know if the makers of the game intended it that way or if it is just a coincidence. Regardless, if you keep this fact in mind, it's likely not necessary to fantasize about a higher density of astronomical bodies. If you want some fun read about a more extreme example of a universe with a higher gravitational constant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raft_(novel)

You clearly haven't read even the last two posts.

Funny idea, but I think it has two major problems. From a more physics standpoint I'm pretty sure this setup will kick out most planets out of their regular orbit eventually. From a gameplay perspective I'm not sure the game supports changing seasons although that could be changed of course.

In the end, the biggest problem with adding a planet is that the system is more or less filled out. The inner Kerbol system has no realistic room for more planets except for maybe a trojan dwarf planet. Adding a second gas planet will mean either adding it outside Eeloo's orbit or making Eeloo a moon. The second option will have severe consequences for save games, while the first option will make it slightly boring as all moons will be frozen worlds.

Because you have more room to stuff planets in.

I'd definitely like a second gas giant. But even better I'd like to have a second star, making the whole system a distant binary pair. I realize travel times would suck because any realistic star would have to be at least 5 times farther away than Eeloo, but how cool would it be to explore a second solar system?

Yeah, I guess it shouldn't be a problem to have different settings in that respect. Maybe one can have different settings making a trade-off between realism and graphics demands. A binary system should be a good idea as well. Even trinary or quaternary systems should be possible, although travel times in these systems would consequently rise as well. For even a binary system to work the orbital axis of the second star would be about five times the size of Eeloo's orbit.

Ah, federal land. I recently watched a YouTube-video about it. Never delved into the subject before, but apparently you guys have land (sometimes quite a lot of it) that's not owned by the state but by the United States as a whole. We don't have something analogous here in the Netherlands. I guess that is an oddity that arises when you have a federalized country.

Alabama, like a lot of US states it is much bigger than my beloved Netherlands. You do have only 5 million people in it though. What do you need all that land for?

Oh, wow, that's kinda awesome, especially since I completely made it up myself. Who is that guy anyway? Every time I read an awesome idea about Kerbal Space Program that never happened his name is somehow attached to it.

Yeah, you can imagine my joy when I thought I saw a tiny dot on the Mun from orbit and discovered an Easter egg. I thought it was nothing or a glitch or something. Still curious I decided for a landing just for the heck of it. Turned out I found Armstrong memorial without even knowing it existed. Still one of the most awesome moments in the game I have had so far.

Well, there are several biological justifications for why Kerbals can survive extended space travel like they do. Hibernation, regeneration, most of them not even that far-fetched. The question I would like to answer is: Why do they have these biological traits in the first place? Oké, my theory. Kerbals are descendants of a long gone spacefaring civilization which after a big societal collapse is now once again setting their sights on the stars. Hey, those monoliths were built by someone.

Damn, that's awesome. They are indeed larger than I thought they would be. Gilly almost as large as Luxemburg. Not bad for a big potato.

I think the physics are okay as they are now. The visuals could be better though. I especially miss cloud cover. Seeing cloud cover in Kerbal Space Program makes the planet feel much more like an actual planet. Ascending above the clouds makes the planet feel much bigger for some reason. I guess it has something to do with distance perception. I never use mods, but seeing Kerbin-videos on Youtube with cloud cover makes it so much more beautiful.

I partially agree with you, but I think priority should lie with things related more to spaceflight like clouds. Also, not really related to realism, but every time you hit atmosphere at Kerbin the music cuts out. I really would like to have the option to let that happen when I hit the atmosphere of another body, like Duna or Laythe. Especially Laythe was weird to me, flying in an atmosphere with an airplane while having space music. Really got me out of the flying mood.

Yes, already figured that one out. Thank you guys for your help! Holidays are over though, so don't hold your breath waiting for me to try things out.

Oké, that all sounds more promising. I already use Steam Cloud on Windows, and Windows only, and that works fine. So, well, I might give it a shot after all.

Every school who calls its teachers supervisors should not be allowed to call itself a school.

Good schools work this way.

Oké. What kind of setup do you use? I use a MacBook Pro 2018, with Touch Bar and of course the latest MacOS. Oh, and do you use cloud synchronization? Any indication whether using cloud synchronization works alright across MacOS and Windows?

Thank you, but whether it works on Steam is exactly what I want to know. I bought it on Steam and I use cloud synchronization on it, so I need to use it that way.

Ah, yes, I know what the game is about. A colleague of mine is really into Fallout and I remember him not being pleased.

Apparently the reference flies over my head. My only mantra in KSP is "moar rockets"!

I'd like to view Kerbal Space Program as science fiction. Science fiction can be graded in hardness scales. The higher it gets in the hardness scales, the more realistic and internally consistent it gets. Link for those interested: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness You can try to explain the scales of KSP by fooling around with the gravitational constant. Other things like re-entry heating are a bit more difficult to explain with realistic physics. All in all, in every science fiction work except the hardest ones you have to have some kind of suspension of disbelief to truly enjoy it. I am a world builder myself and in my experience the best world building is done by sticking with known physics, and when you deviate from it, you try to deviate from it in the least complex way (like changing a single fact of physics) and rigorously thinking through all the consequences. When you do that your work becomes believable, internally consistent and suspension of disbelief becomes easier. As a world builder I see KSP as a fairly consistent and believable piece of art. It cuts a few corners here and there, but it does it all in the spirit of playability instead of laziness.