Domonian

Fair enough. I also figured heat could play a bigger role in a planes performance, either by changing the performance in relation to current engine temperature (idk if that's realistic, I've never really explored that topic) or by general overheating and destruction of parts. In KSP1 it just seems like I could push a plane as fast as the engines allow, which is generally pretty dang fast already. I'm not sure if there is a relation between Mach-optimized air intakes and air compression, but I figured air density of the atmosphere would play a major role in both aerodynamics (duh) and the viability of ram/scramjets. I don't know if there is a limit to how MUCH air could actually be pushed into an intake built for hypersonic speeds, but when it comes to KSP, more is better, right? I'm finding that there's just a lot more to air-breathing engines than I originally thought, and a lot of it I don't really know about. Balance via drag on intakes is a bit silly, I'll admit, but balance via engine and airframe overheating, engine thrust, fuel usage, and overall size of atmospheric planets are what I think could be explored more to allow for scramjets and ramjets to have a place in the game.

Maybe instead of nerfing engines themselves, changing efficiencies at specific speeds for engines and air intakes could be a decent compromise. Possibly increasing drag values for intakes as well, so even if you have a powerful engine, the reduced efficiency from low-speed optimized intakes (as well as the drag at higher speeds) would limit the top speed severely. That might open up room for high-speed optimized intakes and engines, such as ramjets or scramjets. The scale of KSP is still an issue, but reducing the max speeds of traditional turbine engines and intake combinations from KSP1 might help as well. Ignoring mods, its always possible that they may add a planet so massive that, provided it has an atmosphere, hypersonic aircraft are not only viable, but required if you want to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time. Just a few thoughts of mine. I'm still an advocate for these types of engines being in KSP2, but I understand that there simply may not be any room (literally and figuratively) for them.

I can agree that KSP1 aerodynamics and atmospheric flights aren't... good. Some things are too fast while others are too slow, its just all over the place sometimes. Hopefully KSP2 has a more well-rounded and consistent atmospheric and aerodynamic system, and maybe we'll see stuff like ramjets or scramjets for true hypersonic flight. I know I'll be spending most of my time in atmospheres where jet engines work, since that's what I enjoy most.