obney kerman

There are a lot of the same types of parts, but they're not 100% identical. Engines, for instance have new plumes, new models, and nearly all of them have been functionally changed at least a little (e.g. vector got its thrust decreased, NERV had its thrust and ISP both buffed, poodle gained a little thrust but lost a little ISP, etc.) The parts that are the same are stuff like fuel tanks, trusses, etc. which would be a waste to redo completely (and even then we get new stuff like LH2 tanks). Nothing is 100% identical that I've seen.

Good news! Automated supply routes for colonies have been confirmed for a while now, so you'll only have to do each resource delivery grind once. Maybe P.A.I.G.E. can have a line or two about being the one flying those missions once the colony update drops.

This may be a controversial recommendation, but I would advise against doxxing yourself. Also, if we get too far into the discussion of the true "price of entry", we're probably just going to reinvent Marxist economic theory. I wonder if a version of the Vimes' Boots allegory would work for a gaming PC...

Please google the difference between objective and subjective. Objective is by definition not influenced by feelings or biases on either side, and I think we're all pretty biased here. I do want KSP2 to succeed, but I can acknowledge the issues with bugs and missing features while still being hopeful, and I do think that it's not any less than KSP1 (or at least, any losses are made up for by all the gains). And yeah $50 is a bit overpriced, but with how many AAA games are even more expensive than that these days, it honestly could be worse. I, for one, will run the game at greatly reduced settings on a 1070 TI and enjoy it all the while.

Apt use of quotation marks around "objective" there; if that question was any more leading it'd be a road sign. I really don't see what about the new game is 'less' than KSP1, aside from a few things that have been promised to be patched immediately after release (heating mechanics, autostrut, etc). And those are all pretty small compared to the overall picture of what the game has to offer.

Oh WOW, that's a lot in a short span of time. Well... lots of bugs to start, but I kind of expected that, and some performance issues but it should be fine. They've talked a lot about plans to fix them, I'd honestly expect half the bugs we've seen in the videos from this event to just not even be there at release, or be dealt with in the opening few weeks. I LOVE the new stock chatterer, that should add a lot of life to future missions. I love the new VAB, with the ability to actually plan out DV requirements, and make subassemblies that work, and properly search for parts. Honestly, from the start I knew it'd be a few weeks or so before I got to play, just because of scheduling stuff, so I'll probably get there just in time to be able to play with re-entry heat and proper maneuver nodes. Looking forward to the 24th!

Others have mentioned the VAB, but also: new and bigger parts (from crew parts to cargo bays to new engines to nuclear reactors), new maneuver system that lets electrical propulsion be viable, proper tutorials, new system for different fuel types and associated mechanics, graphics that I still think look good regardless of all the debate, somewhat less kraken-ness, new UI, new music, procedural wings, etc etc.

I'm very conflicted about names, but I have plenty of ideas. Druyan, to be accompanied by Sagan. Also, Dahlia. Maybe something like Long Memory. Definitely a few other references to sci-fi I like, and for a more simple one, Weight.

I wonder what the stock options for customizing your EVA suits will be. Will we get different design templates to pick from? Maybe changing the colors, just the same as with proper ships? If it's at all possible, I want to give Kerbals different suit stripes for different occupations. Assuming occupations still exist...

I'm probably first just going to scroll through everything in the VAB and look at all the new parts, trying out the new building system and reading new descriptions. For a first mission, I'll probably go visit Duna using some of the new nuclear and/or electric engines, or maybe do a Constellation Program stye Mun mission, with a somewhat-accurate replica Orion and Altair. Never did get around to doing the latter in KSP1, so why not now?

Navball has that nice ground-to-sky contrast, and seems to have found a good happy medium of cluttering. The other elements look good too, I'm excited to play with them.

That's true, fair. I was just saying that in the two cases we've seen, the reactor is on the opposite side of the vessel, with a lot in between it and the crew, either in terms of space or just fuel tanks. It's possible that there just hasn't been a need for full-on massive shields like we've seen on interstellar ships yet.

We've seen other ships using this kind of reactor without a shield other than just fuel tanks, so maybe it just only gives off a bit of radiation, enough for either a bunch of LH2 or a Rockomax brand adapter and the inverse square law to take care of. Note also the second reactor in the generators tab of the VAB, which is two sizes larger. What we've seen in action isn't yet at the upper limit of radiation considerations, and that limit will only go up more once fusion drives start getting added.

I believe that new engine is the Labradoodle, the new 3.75m equivalent to the Poodle and Terrier. We'll probably have other sections for pure jet engines, xenon engines, nuclear thermal rockets, SRBs, and maybe, just maybe, an Orion or two.

This ship is powered by a nuclear reactor (at the bottom right), which is being kept at a safe distance from the habitat on the opposite side of the truss (and hey, I think that's our first look at the revamped hitchhiker!) We saw it in the VAB a couple times being assembled. It took me a second to realize what I was looking at, but it was this shot that made me figure it out after I went back and looked closely: it's a replica of Francisdrakex's design for the Hermes spacecraft featured in The Martian:

Alternatively, playing KSP2 together sounds like a good date to me.

It looks like an album cover. I love it.

Can't wait for the resource update to add Spice to mine on Duna. Remember to walk without rhythm when you go on EVA!

True, but the KSP1 ramjet doesn't have the option to switch to a non-afterburning mode, which is why even when spooled down you still get the afterburner effects. That change opens up a ton of possibility for more efficient (and realistic!) ramjet powered SSTOs.

Enough about clouds, I want to talk about that plane. Look how they've semi-smoothly merged two separate mk2 fuselage sections with the wing! Look how they can apparently toggle the afterburner on the ramjets now! It looks smooth and well-defined in a way that's hard to make in an SSTO in KSP1, especially with that kind of shape.

The issue is... with patched conics, lagrange points aren't really necessary? The main appeal of them is gravitational stability, which we have by default in all orbits, so... why would we need a complicated and difficult system like this?

I really don't want to jump in on the graphics debate, but my 2 cents are that I do feel pretty wow-ed by a lot of what's been shown to be coming this February. Looks aside, we get the new UI, new sound design, mechanics like constant thrust and easier VAB construction, all kinds of new tech, redone planets (Dres has rings!) and maybe (and this is a BIG maybe and I won't be disappointed if it doesn't come true,) a whole new addition to the Kerbol system. Graphics have never been my top priority anyway, and the screenshots we've seen look like they're definitely good enough for me.

My guess is there was no need for the 1.875m size from Making History (at least in the eyes of the devs), but given the larger and larger ships we're going to be making in KSP2, 5m and larger parts were more of a priority. Also, I'd be willing to bet that 2XL and 3XL are more for interstellar stuff than anything else.

I mean, definitely not everything on the first release. It'd be interesting to spread it out: add more capable nuclear and/or electric drives along with the science update, early fusion drives with colonies, and once interstellar comes out we get larger scale fusion drives along with, say, more efficient Orion drives (thermonuclear perhaps?), torchship-style interplanetary fusion engines with higher thrust but less efficiency than their interstellar counterparts, etc.

My guess is we get orion right away, along with some other advanced engines more suited to interplanetary than interstellar (more nuclear engines, magnetoplasma rockets, MAYBE some early fusion drives but I doubt it). Interstellar would be when we start getting huge Daedalus-style fusion drives with ISP in the millions and not just tens of thousands. Side note, just realized Orion is the perfect drive system for getting off Tylo. Huge thrust AND efficiency on a moon with high gravity and no atmosphere!