Search the Community

This guy: This guy has produced some wild bugs in some of my designs. Anything from inexplicable balance issues to being teleported into a black void when trying to revert a flight, with engines firing that I didn't stage. My latest ship to use them I can't even load the ship file anymore. As soon as I added them none of the VAB buttons would work and all the parts wouldn't adhere to stages. Even after a VAB reload. It's a wild ride. Anyone have any designs just completely marred by this thing? I'm impressed, frankly. Here's the ship file in case anyone else has never experienced this: http://www.filedropper.com/structuralpylonsmyass

Maybe - tbh I didn't know the forum before I started to bug report. I used to only engage casually with KSP1 - mostly just watching youtube videos of the game. How ever, I have been low key following the KSP2 since it was announced 3 years ago. But up until release I started to read what I could find about it and figured it would be like paying to Beta or Alpha test the game - I wanted to support the developers and bought it. It lived up to my expectations... and since release I have clocked 344h as of now - which i think is quite impressive giving im also juggling a full time study and being a father to 2 small children x) Maybe - but maybe its directed at the wrong place. Was it the devs that decided to launch now? was it the men in suits? - was it launched now because otherwise it would not get out? In my experience the people actually building the game are very passionate about their projects and want to release them in as good a state as possible. I dont know.. I've read quite a few posts from veteran KSP1 players who say that KSP1 also had a rocky start when it was in beta - sure you can talk about the price.. I guess its high - but its you who decide to buy or not. When I bought the game. I knew that it was buggy, had little to no features and was gonna be like beta testing the game - meaning its more about finding and reporting bugs and investigating bugs than playing. I knew the roadmap was without dates - I accepted that they didn't want to put dates because dates are seldom met any way (which is also my experience with previous early access games) and that was the foundation that I decided to do my purchase on.

As of now the multiplayer is planned to be added to the KSP 2. That's the one of a many ways how you can enrich the cooperative experience of players. But what about missions? Now we have weekly challenges posted by the KSP team. Why not to make this a game mechanic, where all the players can design the mission goals and share those with the community. I mean the missions like those from the KSP 1. The ability and the creativity of the developers team is enormous yet limited. Some dedicated players can set the scene and develop an unique scenario, nobody else could even imagine. I don't talk about the goal setting only. I think it might be cool to allow users spawn vehicles and kerbals in their scenarios (remember rescue missions from ksp 1).

Asthetic differences between the Mk-1 and Mk-1-Mk-2 aside, what we really need are entry level pods. The ones we have now should be developed mid-career. Better variety of cans, capsules, and cockpits is warranted, amirite?

They didn't. Generally, they don't go into any kind of detail on gameplay systems. They might show some parts, but don't talk about the systems behind them. Even on colonies we only have the very old information that there are some kind of population boom events and that milk runs will be automated, but no details on anything.

This is going to be a very heartfelt thing for me to talk about, so sorry if I stammer a lot. As many of you might know, at least the old timers on here might, I had tried to make a movie project by the name of "Kerbal Space Program - Rise of the Kraken", back in the Summer of 2013, man it's been a while. But the project, fell under, I never finished it and gave up, deleting the original files. But before that, I had tried back in the era of 0.17, obviously I gave up on that too. Making it about two and a half years since I originally came up with the idea. And since then, things have changed. It was back in February of 2014, I hit that punch of inspiration again, and I wanted to finish ROTK out-right. In the next three months, I worked myself hard, recording about two and a half hours of video, about enough for an hour and a half movie. But again, I've lost motivation. The project is still on my Hard Drive, just sitting there. Two and a half hours of perfectly good video shot back in 0.22, just, collecting dust. I've slowly been working on it a bit since then, but I only have two of the twenty-six scenes edited, making progress slow, but I could so do it, I just don't have that passion I once had. But the sad thing is, I still do. ROTK is such a huge part of my life now, I've spent three years thinking about a dream movie I could make, but I just can't drive myself to do it. I've put heart and soul into the story, and at this point, I've planned an entire trilogy's story out, I have story material for three movies, but I can't be motivated to fulfil my wishes. To make the movie about the game I love so much, for the community I hold so dear. My old shots I spent months on at the time are now, outdated. From a relical version without the Strategy Center, from a version without volumetric clouds, from a version without asteroids or ARM's, or anything we hold true to KSP now. This old footage may not even be new enough if I edited it. And I don't want to start again. ROTK's third attempt is going to be the last one I try. It's story needs no more revision, no more changes, no new footage, no new anything. It's me vs. myself. And I want to deliver the movie I always wanted to you. My Magnum Opus, my true work, is being held back by myself. So I want to ask you all something, I really do. More than ever, I want an answer to my problem. Should I... 1. Finish the movie with it's current footage, at the risk of it being outdated, old, and without current features. 2. Reshoot the entire movie, a fate I may not be able to go through with. 3. End it all, and let the Kraken stay unrisen. Never finish the movie. I'm sorry for asking this, just, I've never been in this much of a slump.

So I know its been a couple of years since any of the mod creators for this have replied, so I'm not too hopeful for an answer, but I am curious if we're supposed to be using "useRealisticMass=false" or not for this? I've tried multiple combinations and it feels like leaving the settings on "true" leads to fairly small rockets, while setting either of the options to false leads to comically oversized rockets (i.e. just to put a single Kerbal in orbit takes an absurdly large rocket and is nearly impossible with early tech). In searching through the thread I noticed at one point there was some talk about an update to rebalance things and remove the reliance on the setting, but looking at the patch notes there was only one update after that before it development stopped and its unclear if that rebalance happened in that update. So basically, I'm left with the following question: Have the configs been reworked such that we're just supposed to use the default RF settings, or are the current configs not rebalanced and we're supposed to set realistic mass to false and really work hard to engineer workable rockets? Thanks

Another great and transparent upnate Nate, but i do have some notes and concerns i'd like to share with the teams about this one: First, on 'wobbly' rockets. While i am really glad to see the teams view seems to mostly line up with what the majority of the community wants, i did want to point out this; To be quite frank: wobbly rockets should not be a thing, under virtually any circumstance. This sentiment of wobbly rockets being a core part of the KSP experience is in essence a glorification of a bug that got accepted by the community over time, born out of nostalgia. I want to remind the team that KSP2 can, and should, be its own distinct work. There's nothing wrong with wanting to keep features that made the original so beloved, but you really shouldn't be afraid to do away with features that just dont fit into the vision for KSP2. If you keep wobbly rockets now, you risk having to have to come back on that decission once builds start to exponentially increase in size, which will eventually happen as big features like colonies and interstellar get added. To illustrate, here is a space station i made consisting of 1K parts, with no struts attached. The results speak for themselves: In my personal view, a craft like this should not require 100's of struts eating up the partcount just to prevent it from folding in on itself. Autostrut isnt the answer either, and i agree that it should only be applied as a last-ditch effort. I believe any and all craft that have a part tree comprised of same-sized parts and appropriate adapters between different sized parts, even radially, should stay perfectly rigid in any situation. This also means that rotated or offset parts should have no effect on rigidity as long as they comply with the above rule. Same applies to docking ports. The only exceptions where wobbly-ness should be applied are crafts consisting of a stack of mismatched and differrently sized parts, or boosters under thrust that are connected to the main rocket using insufficiently large radial decouplers/ibeams/trusses. Concerning wings, you said: i agree with this, but i dont think wings themselves should be completely rigid. Long wings with a thin root thickness should have some flex to them, but it should be applied to the wing itself rather than its joint. My views on this are based on how rockets and aircrafts behave in reality; even the craziest of rocket designs usually dont have any flex to them as long as they are pressurised, even in extreme situations (like Starship doing flips going above mach 1 with 2 holes in its side recently). Jetliners and gliders with long wings on the other hand, do allow for some flex in their wings. i don't see any reason why this should be different in KSP2. While i understand there is a certain nostalgia about this whole topic, do not forget that it is ultimately still a bug that should be eradicated if you truly want to 'slay the kraken'. Secondly, i wanted to say a few words about the decision to reintroduce Biomes for Science Mode: as someone who has completed nearly all science experiments in all possible situations in KSP1, please implement this differently from the way KSP1 did. Biomes in and of itself are not a bad thing, but if you allow players to do each science experiment in every biome to gain science, it quickly becomes a chore rather than a joy. Having to biome hop from one bland, boring terrain to the next that looks virtually identical just to do the same experiments, both makes the process extremely boring and too easy. You are probably well aware of the fact that the tech tree in KSP1 was easily completable without ever leaving the Kerbin system in KSP1, which was a direct consequence of this issue. For starters, each biome should be unique and provide the player with a distinct feature of the celestial body. Good examples of this are Oceans, Beaches, Mountains, Craters and points of interest like the Mohole and Dres canyon. Bad examples of biomes are Lowlands, Midland, Highlands and patches of regular non-outstanding terrain/ocean that were just given a different name. A much better system for biomes would be a mix of microbiomes and larger visually/scientifically interresting biomes. For example: Ice Geysers, Volcanoes, Rock/Ice formations, Icebergs, Fissures, meteorite remains and similar small-scale surface features would make for great micro biomes. Examples of good 'mayor' biomes include (as mentioned before) Beaches, Oceans, Rivers, Craters/Crater rims, Regolith Patches, Mountains, Plateaus, Poles/Ice caps, Ancient River Deltas, Basaltic Plains/Mares, (Salt) Flats, Canyons/Cliffs, and all the one-of-a-kind point of interests. There is one big caveat with these though: all of them should only be able to provide science once. Naming different craters and having each be a different biome does not make a lot of sense in the context of science gain and quickly inflates the possible science gain from any given body. Entering a new location with the promise of a new biome, just to have it be one you've previsouly visited but with a different name, was one of the biggest dissapointsments and sources of tediousness with the KSP1 biome system. Another change from KSP1 that would tremendously increase the fun to be had in science mode is assigning each biome/situation with its own specific set of experiments instead of just allowing all of them. An example of this would be to have for example a Regolith Patch biome have experiments like 'regolith composition analysis', 'surface sampling' and 'test kinetic deformation', while a biome like the Crater could have 'Analyse Ice composition', 'measure light level' and 'Collect Meteorite Sample' as experiments. Some of these experiments could be made to randomly fail, forcing the player to move to a different closeby location where they have more luck (eg Ice might not be present in every crater). Some experiments could also be mutually exclusive; if already collected a meteorite sample from a 'Meteor Remains' microbiome, the experiment wouldn't be available in the Crater biome anymore. I understand that this would make for a very complex and intricate science system, but it would greatly improve the diversity of collecting science, balance science gains on any particular body, and break with the monoty of just performing the same experiments in the same situations over and over again. And implementing science in this manner also opens up what i think is a huge possibility: Abandoning science points entirely, and instead directly connecting branches of the tech tree doing experiments in specific situation. To illustrate this, lets look at a theorethical 'ground parts' tech branch in the tech tree; to unlock the first basic landing legs, you could simply have to recover a vessel after a flight on Kerbin. To unlock the next, you might have to either collect a surface sample or perform a rock analysis on a regolith patch, basaltic planes or salt flats biome biome on the Mun, Minmus. To unlock the next legs and/or wheels, you could either have to do the same thing but on a more difficult body to reach (like Ike or Gilly), perform a more advance experimenton the previous bodies, or collect Data from more biomes, and so on for the next level of tech in the branch. Having the tech tree work in this way adds a fun challenge while still alowing the player some freedom to choose how they go about aquiring a new part. It would also greatly compliment the new Mission system! Discovering different biomes was another one of KSP1s more lackluster aspects of science mode. This could very easily be remedied by having a family of parts that tell you which biomes ,are near, in what direction they are, and display the current biome on the HUD. these could be either different parts that each provide their own function, or one part for different tech levels that progressively adds more feauters. Another really handy feature to have would be a notification when the players enters a biome/situation where new science is available for the experiments that are present on the craft (could also be done with a dedicated part, or just be an option in the settings) Finally, a quick word on this sentence: The way KSP1 required you to bring back most experients, sometimes even multiple times, for full science gain was not only annoying but also not very realistic. For the sake of gameplay, most science experiments in KSP2 should be a 'do it once and you're done' kinda thing, where transmitting the experiment gives you all science immediately. The exception to this would be surface samples and/or colected rock fragments, which would have to be returned to either Kerbin or a Colony/Space Station with processing facilities. This would greatly encourage the usage of science probes, and add some much needed functionality to space stations (and not in the 'put your science here and we'll double it' way). If you really want to add science experiments that cant be completed instantly, having some experiments that require time to complete would be a much better hands-off way to do it. Collecting data on a planets upper atmosphere for low orbit for example could be an experiment that requires ~a month of in-game time or so to complete, and would require you to do nothing more than place the science experiment in low orbit, start it, and come back later once you get the notification that it's finished. Sorry for the ted talk, this got a bit out of hand! This is the first time i've shared so much feedback under a dev post, so i hope i've done so in a respectful and comprehensive way. I did this because i really feel strongly about these features in particular and believe i am somewhat qualified to share my opinion on them. I truly believe that if even some of this advice is taken to heart, it could lead to a better science mode especially than anyone could have ever expected. However you may choose to tackle these issues tho, i wish the teams the best of luck with them and can't wait to see what they come up with!!

yes ! It's : warning_24.png. Other mod having this issue for instance was the Notes mod, texture pathing name is ok as well, I had checked before, that's why this seemed weird to me. I compared it to the what the log complains about, and it's litteraly the same texture path to the letter... I'm actually running Windows 11 ! French ! Horrible haha And this is what it does indeed, texture turn purple, accompanied with a slight freeze due the error logging. I went around that by placing the toolbar at screen edge, and using the auto hide feature, meaning that the texture wouldn't be purple all the time, if the toolbar remains there all the time. Cf. Toolbar forum thread where I talk about it + also found a user by accident having the same issue : https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/comment=4293508

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE TRUTH “You got it, Jeb,” Bill confirmed. “The moonjet would still try to kill Agaden if VAL was the instructor… or if anybody else was in it, for that matter.” “That doesn’t make any sense,” said Gustov. “On one hand, it proves that there was no plot to frame Jeb. On the other hand, why would anyone want to kill Agaden?” “I’ll do you one better: how did the hacker know to get THAT ONE JET?” asked Jeb. “I think we’ll make more progress with the motive,” suggested Bill. “Commander, permission to enter Agaden’s bunk.” “Don’t bother, it’s been emptied,” said Gustov. “I can take you to where we’re keeping her stuff.” “Thank you,” said Bill, and Gustov led him and Jeb out of Jeb’s room. “Requesting permission to see the pilot’s emails from Mission Control when we’re done looking through Agaden’s stuff.” “Granted.” He took Bill and Jeb to his quarters and produced a plastic bin from his closet. “Help yourself… anything to bring justice for her.” “We’ll start with her kPad,” suggested Bill. “Eh, don’t you need a password for that?” asked Jeb. “Some people forget to lock their kPads,” said Bill as he turned it on, “but Agaden ISN’T one of them.” “Try opening her shield and looking there,” said Jeb, and Bill found a sticky hidden inside Agaden’s kPad shield. He then found a six-digit number in there and punched it in the kPad lock screen; it worked. “How’d you guess?” “That’s how I hide my passwords,” said Jeb. “Okay, let’s see what we have here,” said Bill. “Wanna check through her photo gallery for anything?” “Sure,” said Jeb. “I gotta go back now,” said Gustov. “Call me if you find anything.” “Can-do, Commander,” saluted Jeb as Gustov left. He and Bill then looked at a selfie of Agaden with another female cadet inside Frozen Base. “Who’s she?” asked Bill. “Hanina Kerman; she said she was Agaden’s ‘BFF’ from the academy,” answered Jeb, scrolling through the photos. “Man, Agaden was quite the selfie shutterbug. At least ten of these photos alone are of her in Hades Station.” “She came here from Kerbin, right?” asked Bill. “Yes, why ask?” “Because I’m seeing A LOT of photos from the Mark Vb,” explained Bill. “With as long a transit time as it takes to get from Kerbin to Eeloo, you think you’d get bored of that pod.” “Why are you so fascinated in those pods?” wondered Jeb. “They’re just a capsule with a heat shield slapped onto four weak engines.” “Weak, you say?” replied Bill. “Weak? At the time we designed it, we only wanted to save a man we stranded in Kerbol orbit. It also broke the ground for sending kerbalkind to other planets AND back.” “Those nuclear engines are lame as heck, dude,” argued Jeb. “Even the Poodle engine can do better than FOUR of them.” “That engine won’t do much good if the delta-V gauge reaches zero,” said Bill. “Those 60-kilonewton liquid fuel engines are the most efficient engines for transporting multiple kerbals AT ONCE. You want weak impulse, try the xenon engines. Good for small probes and relays, but BAD for manned spaceflight; and at least liquid fuel engines are REFUELABLE.” “Let’s see,” sighed Jeb. “Pod pics, pod pics, a video of the zero-g mannequin challenge, applying makeup in the pod, Interplanetary Matchmaker results, more pod pics…” “Wait, back up,” interrupted Bill. “Interplanetary Matchmaker?” “Why is that important?” wondered Jeb. “Seems odd that she’ll have a screenshot of THAT in a gallery full of average everyday pics,” explained Bill. “Plus… I’m kinda… curious.” “Ooh, you’re interested in her,” teased Jeb. “No,” said Bill, “but… I’d like to know if I made the list of ‘Most Eligible Males’ for her,” said Bill. “So, you are interested in her.” “First of all, she’s dead, so what’s the point? Second, you don’t get notified if you made the top three matches on anyone’s list.” “Yeah… Hanina was hotter, by the way,” remarked Jeb. “Dude, what’s wrong with you?” sighed Bill. “What, she’s 25?” “And you’re, what, 37?” “36,” corrected Jeb as he stopped at the matchmaker results. “Let’s see what Agaden… that’s weird.” “What’s weird?” “This.” NAME SPECIALTY LEVEL LOCATION Bob Scientist 5 Laythe (Jool) Ferton Engineer 1 Mun (Kerbin) Samley Engineer 3 IN TRANSIT (Moho à Kerbin) “Bob? OUR Bob?” gasped Bill. “You know many other Bobs who are level five scientists,” replied Jeb, “AND who are stationed at Laythe?” “It couldn’t have been Bob OR either of these guys,” said Bill. “They were too far away.” “Maybe one of the men in the pod got jealous and decided to off her,” suggested Jeb. “Then why didn’t he just stuff her in an airlock and ejected her without an EVA suit on?” countered Bill. “I can name at least FIVE people who died because they didn’t have an EVA suit on while exposed to space; two were suicides, one was from a faulty airlock, and the last two were just plain dumb.” “Okay, I get it,” sighed Jeb. “You think this may have something to do with Agaden’s murder?” “Maybe,” said Bill. “Since Bob and Val texted me about the Zeus getting destroyed, I downloaded some classic Sherlock Kerman novels to pass the time; some of the others also brought Law of Order: Badass Kerbals Unit with them to watch. If there’s one thing I learned, it’s that unmonitored feelings of love can be a STRONG motive for murder.” “Again, why Agaden?” said Jeb. “More importantly, how did the killer know… she would use Moonjet 314?” added Bill. “It’s not like she posted the jet number on Snapspeak.” “That sounds like something… Mission Control… would… know,” stammered Jeb, then he hastily dialed his kPad. “Commander Gustov, yes, this is…” “Sorry, intended recipient is outside your sphere of influence,” replied the kPad. “Impossible!” said Bill. “Gustov couldn’t have left Eeloo’s sphere of influence THAT quickly.” “Actually… I dialed a wrong number. My mistake,” explained Jeb before hanging up. “Gosh, I almost dialed my Dad.” He carefully scrolled through his contact list before he dialed Commander Gustov. “When was the…,” started Bill, but Jeb wasn’t listening. “We need the emails Hadgan got, ASAP.” “You got it,” said Gustov. “Anything else?” “Now that you mention it, I could also use the cadet personnel files you put into SOSA,” requested Bill. “Oh, and don’t forget the original virus file.” “Heading over right now,” replied Gustov before hanging up. “SOSA?” wondered Jeb. “The Student Order Selection Algorithm,” answered Bill. “It takes the cadet files and determines the safest order to train cadets, starting with the least likely to cause a fatal accident.” “You’re the one who started the #ladiesfirst wave on Chirper, aren’t you?” sighed Jeb. “Indirectly, but yeah,” said Bill. “How would you pick your student order?” “Ask for volunteers first; if nobody steps up, I go randomly,” answered Jeb. “Anyway, why do you need the cadet files now?” “If Agaden was the least likely to cause a fatal accident, she would appear top of the list,” explained Bill. “If she WASN’T, then that means the list was ALTERED before lessons began. Otherwise, if somebody else started first, Agaden would die while still on the ground and nobody would blame it on a moonjet crash – particularly since the moonjet would not have crashed without Agaden on it; you were just the fall guy.” “Maybe Commander Gustov decided to mix it up a little bit, then the killer got lucky with Agaden going first,” suggested Jeb. “I’ll ask him if he deviated from the recommended list,” said Bill as Gustov entered the room. “Ah, Commander. Thanks.” “Here’s Hadgan’s kPad,” said Gustov as he unlocked it, “and here are the emails he got. Why do you need the cadet files?” “Maybe that’s how the killer knew when to poison Agaden; if she was first, then she would die from poison at the time of the plane crash. Did you make any alterations before they arrived?” “No, Bill,” said Gustov. “I stuck to the list.” “We’ll see about that,” remarked Bill. “Are you calling me a liar?” questioned Gustov as he gave Bill the cadet files. “Not even close, Commander. If Agaden didn’t make number one, odds are someone TAMPERED with the list before you got it.” “Still doesn’t explain how the killer knew to mess up Moonjet 314,” added Jeb. “More importantly, how did the killer TEST the virus UNNOTICED?” “Yeah, how did he test his virus?” wondered Bill. “It’s not like Mission Control let him test malware in the spaceplane hangar. And even if they did – which meant one or more of the higher-ups ARE corrupt – you can’t fly a moonjet on Kerbin; they’re brought to their designated moons space shuttle-style. The delivery craft design depends on the intended destination, but the moonjet itself should stay the same.” “So, if the killer wanted Agaden dead…,” started Jeb. “Moonjet 314 is NOT THE ONLY VICTIM,” concluded Bill. “Poseidon Tower, this is Admiral Valentina. I’m on landing approach, over.” “Roger that, Admiral,” a man replied on the radio. “You’re clear to land, over.” “Copy that.” As Val lowered the landing gear, she saw the runway lights activate while the sun started to set above Laythe’s shores. “MJ, land this plane,” she ordered before entering the designated runway coordinates. “Okay,” replied MJ as it cut the engine. “Would you like to deploy the parachutes upon touchdown?” “Yes, please.” “Okay; you are very polite.” “I didn’t know Bill programmed you to have manners,” commented Val. “He didn’t; it was part of a software update,” MJ explained, and Val reached for her kPad. “DO NOT use a kPad while landing. I am NOT a substitute for common sense.” “That, I know Bill put in you,” commented Val, accessing a picture of her, Jeb, Bill, and Bob at the beach near the Kerbal Space Center. It was taken two days after the four of them made it back home from the Mun; they all seemed cheerful at their victory. Now they barely talked to each other. Granted, Jeb and Bill were millions of kilometers away, but Bob and Val were in the same base. Not only that, Val had a gut feeling that Bob was trying to avoid her. She tried to visit him in the lab once, but his partner said that visitors were prohibited; even when she told him who she was, he wouldn’t let her in. She then forced her way in by reminding him of her superior rank, but Bob didn’t want to talk. He also didn’t respond to her calls, giving excuses like his battery died or his Kerbnet connection was down at the time when Val confronted him about it. “What happened to us?” she asked. “ETA until touchdown is one minute, over,” said the man at the control tower. “Holding steady,” replied Val, and soon the jet’s landing gear touched the strip; it then deployed the brakes and parachutes, and Val was at a complete stop before she was halfway across. “I made it.” “Proceed to taxi.” “Roger that.” She carefully got the plane off the landing strip and parked right beside another supersonic air-intake jet. “Okay, I’m parked.” “Sending a surface transport to pick you up.” She disembarked the jet and walked toward an incoming mini-bus. “Did you have a nice flight, Admiral?” asked the driver as he saluted Val – who recognized him. “Guscan… Bob’s roommate?” “That is correct, mam,” said Guscan. “I’ve been assigned to drive you back to base.” “I kinda guessed,” sighed Val. “You know, you didn’t have to do a patrol flight all the way around Laythe,” commented Guscan. “Anybody else coming?” Nobody answered, and Guscan and Val got in the mini-bus as a refueling truck headed for Val’s jet. “I remember seeing that kind of jet back home. How’d you get it here?” “Simple: we slapped it on top of a rocket and transported it space shuttle-style,” explained Val. “However, we had to put them in parking orbit around Laythe and put pilots inside before making re-entry.” “That explains the airlocks.” “Say, how has Bob been acting lately?” asked Val. “Strange,” answered Guscan. “He wouldn’t leave his room, even for exercise, without a loaded gun and a spare clip.” “That IS strange,” commented Val. “It’s been a month since the base shooting.” “Did he tell you that he was the one who shot that girl with a gun?” inquired Guscan. “No, but… we haven’t really talked much in a month,” stammered Val. “That’s weird; he used to talk about you, Bill, and Jeb ALL THE TIME,” remarked Guscan. “Anything else?” asked Val. “Even if it doesn’t seem relevant, tell me.” “Yes; I couldn’t help but notice him getting more paranoid since the shooting,” answered Guscan. “The weird thing is that he seems more distrustful of the WOMEN than the men.” “What?” gasped Val. “Did he tell you why?” “With all due respect, Admiral, I am not comfortable disclosing that. He made me swear not to tell anyone his reason BEFORE he disclosed that to me; ‘Don’t tell anyone, especially Val,’ he said,” replied Guscan. “Okay,” said Val, confused. “I’ll let you honor that… unless, of course, it contains his involvement in any felonies.” “Of course not; I even warned him about that regulation before I swore my vow.” “Then I’ll let you keep your mouth shut,” sighed Val. “Why would Bob not want to tell ME? We’ve been friends since training.” “Without giving specific details,” started Guscan, “I can tell you this: I thought it was a GOOD reason.” “Good reason?” said Val. “What reason can Bob POSSIBLY have to not trust the women?” “Wish I’d tell you, but I’m not gonna break my promise,” said Guscan. “Maybe you can ask him, and he’ll change his mind.” “Then…,” started Val, but her kPad started to ring. “Oh, look, it’s Bob.” “I’ll give you some privacy,” started Guscan as he closed the cockpit doors. “Hello, Bob,” sighed Val. “Listen carefully, Val,” a distorted voice said. “Bob Kerman is off-limits.” “Bob, is this a joke?” asked Val. “You will end all communications with Bob, whether they be personal, on the phone, or written or typed messages,” continued the voice. “Bob, I know it’s you; I can see the caller ID.” “If you do not, you and your family will suffer dire consequences,” threatened the voice. “You know what happened to Elegail Kerman? That was me.” “Victor’s wife,” realized Val. Earlier, she had received news that Elegail was found dead after supposedly drowning herself in Laythe’s waters. “Did YOU kill her?” “Let’s just say… she could not handle the truth,” replied the caller. “Whoa, back up. WHAT truth?” No answer. “WHAT TRUTH?!” “You mean to tell me you don’t know the secret hidden from the Laythe settlers? Let me give you a hint: once Victor’s wife knew, she couldn’t live with the shame.” “Hey, wait a second, how do I know you’re not lying?” replied Val. “You will receive proof in time,” said the voice, “but for now, I got another call. Talk to you later… Admiral.” “Everything okay?” asked Guscan as the caller hung up. “MJ, ETA until we reach the base.” “ETA in 2 minutes.” “Make that immediately,” ordered Val. “Guscan, HIT IT!” “But… that’s speeding,” objected Guscan, “not to mention we could tip…” “I’ll take the heat; just get me back AS FAST AS YOU CAN!” “Yes, mam!” acknowledged Guscan and he deactivated the cruise control and put his foot on the rover’s accelerator. “Now draining power at 35 charge per second,” MJ informed him as Guscan ensured the stability control was on. “What’s the rush, Admiral?” questioned Guscan. “Someone stole Bob’s kPad and threatened me,” explained Val. “Focus on the road.” “Warning: you’re going at 25 meters per second above the designated surface velocity limit,” MJ informed Guscan. “Whatcha gonna do… whoa!” The mini-bus’ wheels then hit a rock and it started to tip over to the left. Fortunately, the reaction wheel had activated in time to stabilize the vehicle before it could fall on its side. “Whew, that was a close one.” “Warning: 20 seconds before collision with Poseidon’s Palace!” “I gotta apply the brakes!” yelled Guscan. “Not yet!” countered Val. “15 seconds.” “Now?” “Not yet!” “10 seconds.” “NOW!” shouted Val, then Guscan applied the brakes and put the rover in reverse. “Warning: rover becoming unstable.” “Hang on, Admiral,” warned Guscan. “Come on, reaction wheels. Don’t fail me now.” After a few seconds of sliding and nail-biting terror, the rover’s site hit the base walls before making a complete stop. “We made it.” “You got your gun with you?” asked Val. “Yes, mam,” said Guscan, showing his gun holstered under his jacket. “Then come with me,” she ordered, and the two of them quickly left the mini-bus. “Take me to Bob’s room!” “Yes, mam!” acknowledged Guscan as he and Val drew their guns. They quickly ran to Bob’s quarters and Guscan knocked. “Bob, this is Guscan. You okay?” Nobody replied. “Open it.” Guscan then punched in the code and slid the door open before quickly moving to the side. Val took point with her gun raised and searched the room. “Nobody here. Check the closets.” “Clear,” said Guscan after he opened both closet doors and checked under the beds. “Any ideas where else he may be?” asked Val. “Try the lab he turned into a greenhouse,” suggested Guscan. “Anywhere else?” “Sheri’s room crying,” sighed Guscan, “or hanging out with that base guard.” “Wait, what base guard?” questioned Val. “I think Bob said his name was Eli.” “You go to Sheri’s room; if he’s not there, find that guard,” ordered Val. “I’ll try the lab. Meet back in the rec room in 30 minutes.” “Got it,” said Guscan as they split up. Val ran toward Poseidon’s Palace’s greenhouse-for-a-lab. “Is that the admiral?” wondered an onlooker. “Why does she have a gun?” “What’s she doing?” “What’s the problem?” Val ignored them as she saw the lab doors. I hope you’re in there,” said Val as she forced the door open. “Hey!” yelled Wenpont as she turned around shocked. Val then raised her gun at her when she didn’t see Bob. “Where’s Bob?” asked Val. “He went to the bathroom,” answered Wenpont, but Val quickly searched the inventory. “Hey, watch the plants, miss.” “That’s ‘Admiral Miss,’ to you, mam,” corrected Val, pointing at the stripes on her flight jacket. “Did Bob take his kPad with him?” “What do you mean?” wondered Wenpont, taking out a kPad lying next to a container labeled “Laythan Atmosphere, Kerbin Temp.” “Give me that,” said Val and she carefully inspected it. She tried to unlock it, but it was surprisingly easy – it had no password. “This can’t be his.” “It is, check the back,” suggested Wenpont, and Val read the label on the back PROPERTY OF BOB KERMAN RETURN WHEN FOUND “What’s the deal…,” started Wenpont, but Val kicked her in the stomach and put her gun at her head. “Whoa, take it easy.” “Why’d you call me?” asked Val angrily. “TALK!” “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” denied Wenpont, but Val slugged her before grabbing Wenpont’s lab coat with her left hand. “Liar! BOB’S name came up as the caller ID,” said Val. “Explain THAT.” “I can’t; I was working on the plants the whole time,” said Wenpont. “And why should…,” started Val, but then she heard a gun click from the lab entrance. “Drop the gun or I’ll shoot,” said a man. Val slowly put the gun down and turned around with her hands up, surprised at who was there. “Bob. It’s me, Val.” “Other corner of the lab,” ordered Bob as he closed the door behind him. “NOW!” “Bob, you don’t need that,” said Val as she did what he told her. To her shock, he still had the gun pointed at her. “Just put down the gun and we can talk this over.” “Why should I trust you?” countered Bob. “Because we’ve been friends since Basic, and I know you would never hurt me,” answered Val. “Oh, yeah? What about Sheri?” said Bob. “Sheri… WAIT A SECOND!” gasped Val, who then fell silent for a few seconds. “Yes, and you know PERFECTLY WELL why she was killed,” accused Bob. “Sheri’s killer’s a WOMAN, isn’t it?” guessed Val. “I also know why you think it was ME.” “Go on,” said Bob. “You think I killed Sheri to keep her mouth shut about the Clivar Genocide,” said Val. “After all, I have a valid driver’s license AND, since Sheri’s killer is a woman, I seem to be the only woman here with a strong enough motive to do it.” “Ha, so you DO admit there was a genocide,” said Wenpont. “That’s why you don’t want to talk to me, and that’s why you’ve become distrustful of the women here lately,” figured out Val. “Any one of them, including me, could have killed Sheri – or, worse, target you next.” “Well… at least Guscan kept his promise,” commented Bob. “Don’t be ridiculous,” sighed Val. “I was in low Jool orbit the day Sheri was killed; check with the crew.” “Bull,” spat Bob. “What?!” gasped Val. “Why don’t you believe me?” “Because I know you’re lying,” answered Bob. “You sabotaged the Zeus’ radar and communications before YOUR PARTNER-IN-CRIME hijacked the redirection craft and hit the station so nobody would live to refute your alibi.” “If I had to guess now, I think VICTOR knocked out Jendun and hijacked that probe,” added Wenpont. “It wasn’t me, and Victor never ordered an extermination,” said Val. “And brothers are ALWAYS HONEST with their little sisters,” replied Wenpont sarcastically. “Uh oh… my caller said he – OR SHE – had proof of ‘some truth,’” said Val. “What caller?” asked Bob. “Someone just used your kPad to threaten me,” explained Val. “Check your call log.” “Can-do,” said Bob as he turned on his kPad and accessed his communication log – his gun still trained on Val. “That’s weird.” “What’s weird?” inquired Wenpont. “My last call was to Val less than five minutes ago,” started Bob, “but I was IN THE BATHROOM at the time. That couldn’t have been me… UNLESS.” He took the gun off Val and held it at Wenpont. “What’d you do?” “What do you mean?” asked Wenpont. “Only one other person had access to my kPad, and that’s YOU,” started Bob. “Why’d you call Val? What’d you threaten her with?” “I never called Val, and why would I use YOUR kPad?” replied Wenpont. “Doy, to throw me off,” said Val. “Where were YOU when Sheri was killed?” “I don’t know; someone knocked me out from behind and stuffed me in the supply closet,” answered Wenpont. “And for that matter, why would I kill Sheri?” “Oh… no…,” stammered Bob. “It makes sense now. The shooting… the probe-jacking… my kPad calling Val.” “What?” gasped the women. “Eli told me that the probe-jacker is also most likely A WOMAN since there were drag marks from the crime scene,” started Bob. “It COULDN’T have been Victor since he can carry OBESE MEN on his shoulders. This woman then stuffed Jendun in a closet, targeted the Zeus, then sent the probe crashing down to Jool after the hit.” “And why would I do that?” asked Wenpont. “To kill Val,” figured out Bob. “You also had access to the Mystery Goo canisters at the time they were stolen, and you knew what volitium can do to you.” “Volitium, that mind-control chemical?” gasped Wenpont. “Yes; the shooter was drugged with it – along with mystery goo,” said Bob. “Mystery Goo?” asked Wenpont, then Eli and two base guards entered the lab. “Sir, lower the gun. We’ll take it from here, thank you.” “Thank goodness you’re here,” sighed Wenpont. “Wenpont Kerman, you’re under arrest,” said Eli. “ARREST?” gasped Wenpont as the other two guards cuffed her. “For what?” “Murder, theft, probe-jacking, sabotage, illegal drugging, and stalking,” explained Eli. “Read the woman her rights, boys.” “You have the right to remain silent…,” started a guard as he and his partner walked away with Wenpont. “Admiral,” said Eli as he saluted Val. “Good to see you.” “Same here,” replied Val as she saluted back. “Status report.” “We know who’s behind all the strange events going on here on Laythe,” started Eli, “and we have solid evidence to prove it.” “How solid?” wondered Val. “We started by looking through the vehicle usage logs; Wenpont’s license was used to activate a mini-bus that departed before Sheri’s time of death and returned afterwards. Its predicted path also took it to where the Laythan said he saw a mini-bus,” started Eli. “She could have had a partner,” suggested Val. “So far, the evidence at the crime scene and Sheri’s autopsy points to ONE killer who was Wenpont’s size – but if she had a partner, she’s likely to give it up in exchange for a plea deal,” continued Eli. “After base security got a warrant for her quarters – which took a while since two higher-ups had been arrested – we found a treasure trove of evidence.” “Mission Control? ARRESTED?” gasped Bob. “What for?” “Two of them were ALLEGEDLY planning to frame your friend on Eeloo by killing a student and sabotaging the moonjet,” explained Eli. “Didn’t he tell you?” “Actually, no he didn’t,” said Bob. “We’re getting off-topic,” said Val. “Oh, yeah, the evidence in Wenpont’s room,” remembered Eli, taking out his kPad and showing Bob some pictures. “Recognize them?” “Hey, that’s my toothbrush,” said Bob. “Your toothbrush?” asked Val. “Yeah; that got stolen too,” explained Bob. “Tell me she at least had the decency to CLEAN THAT before using it.” “We don’t know yet, but we’re checking for DNA,” said Eli, showing the next picture. “Oh, and we found your dirty laundry – emphasis on DIRTY.” “Using dirty clothes as stuffed animals, REALLY?” sighed Bob. “She didn’t even WASH IT?” “Apparently not; or it was recently used,” said Eli. “Now WHY would SHE steal MY dirty clothes?” asked Bob. “Even if she washed it, it’s too big for her.” “Uh… Bob…,” stammered Val. “I got a reason.” “What, you DO?” replied Bob. “What is it.” “Same reason she stole your toothbrush,” said Val. “She’s obsessed with you.” “Bob, what else was stolen from your quarters?” asked Eli. “Hmm, let me see,” said Bob as he accessed his personal notes on his kPad. “Ah, yes, here we go. My book on Kerbin botany and farming, a schematic of a cheap water reclaimer that I drew, a flash drive with my pictures of Sheri and I, and…,” Bob leaned in closer to Eli so Val wouldn’t hear him, “a diagram about the Clivar Genocide.” “Let’s see… found that, found that – it was sneezed on a while ago – and found that.” “Yeah, I accidentally sneezed on my reclaimer diagram,” explained Bob. “Oh, and Wally’s RTG got stolen.” “Who’s Wally?” asked Eli. “My robot,” said Bob. “I sent him out to take environmental readings along the beach a few days ago, but I found out the next morning he was dead. When Guscan drove me to his last known location, there he was – minus his RTG.” “Why do you even have RTG?” wondered Val. “Doy, so he can work at night,” sighed Bob. “When I found the RTG gone, I contacted base security. I even gave them the serial number.” “Sorry, no RTGs,” said Eli. “Anyway, we also found the missing goo canisters and volitium drugs in her closet – and documents proving her intent to kill Sheri.” “Documents? Like what?” wondered Bob. “A map of Sheri’s jogging route with the words ‘Drive here at dawn,’ on it, corresponding to the time and place where Sheri was killed,” started Eli, showing Bob a hand-drawn map. “We also found a sticky with Sheri’s murder scheduled.” “So… Wenpont killed Sheri?” gasped Bob. “Seems like it,” said Eli, “and we think we found a murder weapon.” Bob did not respond, as he was getting visibly angrier. “Wenpont… did this,” he breathed heavily. “Bob, now’s not…,” started Eli, but Bob rushed past him and headed toward a struggling Wenpont. “I swear, I DIDN’T do anything!” said Wenpont, but Bob pulled her away from the guards and slammed her against the wall. “YOU!” he shouted, but one guard pulled him away from Wenpont while the other seized her. “Why did you kill Sheri?!” “Wait, did he just say that woman killed Sheri?” asked a bystander. “Isn’t Sheri the woman who died on the beach?” “That woman killed Sheri?” “Hey, that’s the boyfriend.” “AGH!” Bob stepped on the guard’s foot and drew his gun at Wenpont. “TALK!” “I swear, I didn’t kill her!” said Wenpont nervously. “LIAR!” shouted Bob. “You also stole chemicals and drugged Tami to do your bidding. WHY?!” “I didn’t steal anything,” objected Wenpont. “Bob, put down the gun and nobody gets hurt,” said Eli as he arrived at the scene with his gun raised at Bob. “Is that really necessary?” asked Val. “Yes, Admiral,” said Eli. “She deserves to die!” complained Bob. “And she will, but first she needs to stand trial for what she did,” Eli told him. “What about Sheri, did SHE get a trial?” countered Bob. “EVERYBODY has rights, despite what they did,” said Eli. “Now, put down the gun and perhaps we can talk this over.” “Eli’s right,” agreed Val. “If you shoot Wenpont now, everyone’s going to think you’re a gun-happy psycho who murdered an innocent woman.” “But she’s not.” “Innocent until proven guilty, Bob,” said Val, and Bob dropped the gun and started to cry. “She was my world,” he wept, Eli taking his gun and Val comforting him as he walked back to the lab. “I was gonna marry her.” “You proposed to her?” asked Val. “I was going to while on leave to Eve,” answered Bob. “And then… that MONSTER took her from me.” Val had to stand on her tiptoes as Bob cried on her shoulder. “We were going to be a family. If we had a daughter, I would have named her Val.” “Aw, how sweet,” said Val, then her kPad buzzed. “It’s Jeb.” “I got it too,” said Bob as he checked his own kPad. “It’s on the group chat.” “You should get some rest,” suggested Val. “Not until my experiments are done,” objected Bob. “Fine, I’ll talk FOR you,” sighed Val. Jeb Guys (and Val), this is @Bill. My own kPad’s being used right now for something else. Val Like what? Jeb Like analyzing the moonjet virus. Turns out, it was designed to “kill” Agaden by entering a crashing trajectory and altering the control ports Val What do you mean designed to kill Agaden? I’m pretty sure a crash like that would kill anyone who didn’t have a jetpack. Jeb The virus checked the student and instructor IDs; if Agaden was on there, the virus would activate and try to kill her (her name and credentials were in the virus code). Even if @Val was piloting it, if Agaden was in there, it would try to kill her. Val @Bob says it seems like a pretty sophisticated plan – and I agree. How does one test a code like that unnoticed? Jeb The real Jeb here. @Bill and I have a couple theories 1) Mission Control has gone corrupt. 2) The real hacker caused an accident just like this as a test run Val Wait, @Jeb, I thought you said Agaden was poisoned. Jeb @Bill: He did; the poison was for good measure in case Agaden bailed out. She was the intended target. Val I suggest looking for incident reports, but I doubt that “Moonjet tried to kill me” is a good keyword. Jeb Me: You’re an admiral, you have high clearance. YOU do it. Val That won’t be necessary. @Bill should know that engineers level two and above have access to all accident reports Jeb @Bill: She’s right, we do. It’s to learn from other people’s mistakes and spot potential design flaws. - A lot of those I read were caused by Jeb Real Jeb: Because @Bill desqwgrvar.u Where’s @Bob? Val He’s working on his experiment. Also, guess what. Jeb Bob has a new girlfriend? Val No They found the killer – Wenpont Kerman @Bob also said that they didn’t find Wally’s RTG, though. Jeb Me: Who’s Wally? Bill: What happened to the RTG? Val @Bob said it was stolen one night – then Wally died of power starvation. Jeb Bill: Makes sense to steal it at night. No sun means no power source for solar panels Val If the intent was to sabotage Wally. Also makes sense if one wants to make a quick buck. The weird thing is that Wenpont was found with a lot of @Bob’s things and stolen chemicals – but no RTG Jeb Me: ANYWAY, @Bill and I found some interesting things in Gus’ and Linus’ emails. Val What emails? Jeb One of our pilots said Gus and Linus emailed him into “fixing the moonjet’s software” and “giving Agaden a confidence medication.” à both of which actually killed her (he didn’t know it at the time – was only following orders) Or so he thought Val Who’s the pilot? Jeb Commander Gustov told me not to tell anyone else the pilot’s name – especially not anyone outside Eeloo’s SOI. Bill: While it IS Gus’ and Linus’ email accounts, the IP addresses from where the emails were sent struck me as odd. Val How odd? Jeb Bill: The emails originated from Poseidon’s Palace – on Laythe. Val Did the pilot know this? Jeb Me: no. Heck, I can’t even tell a for-loop from a fruit loop. Val For-loops, if-then-else loops, I-give-up loops Jeb @Bill: Ha ha. You and me both @Val. That was Jeb, not me. THE REAL BILL: Weird that “Gus” and “Linus” would be emailing a pilot on Eeloo from Jool. If they did, they would not have made it to Kerbin in time. Commander Gustov also said: - Linus called in sick that day. - Gus claimed he was locked out of his computer and forced to take a day off. Val Apparently, they were telling the truth. Jeb Theory 1: - Killer tests moonjet virus on Jool’s moons à sees handiwork. - Killer sees SOSA and finds Agaden as student #1 - Killer hacks Gus and Linus and told (PILOT’S NAME CENSORED) to poison Agaden and mess up Moonjet 314. - KA-BOOM Val Makes sense. Bob I’m back in front of my room. Sorry I wasn’t with you guys – I had to use my kPad to write my lab report (@Val was there to speak for me) Anyway, it DOESN’T make sense. Jeb Why not? Bob Who on Laythe would want to kill a cadet going to Eeloo? Val @Bob has a point; Agaden was going to Eeloo straight from Kerbin Bill Just finished looking at he-who-cannot-be-named-by-order-of-Commander-Gustov’s emails – now working out and using voice chat at rec room elliptical I agree; if this was just a plot to frame @Jeb, the virus would have been designed to activate merely when HE was on the plane. Jeb I thought you said it would activate when the trajectory hit the ground. Bill That was Key 1; Key 2 was Agaden’s presence - Keep in mind, it still would have turned on if you weren’t on it but Agaden WAS. Bob I guess our next move is for @Val to use that high-level clearance of hers to find out if all the moonjets within Jool’s SOI are working right Val Good idea, but unnecessary. @Bill has clearance for all craft incident reports – manned or unmanned – that happen in our solar system. If our killer tested his or her virus before hacking @Jeb’s moonjet, then there’s a chance someone logged a moonjet going haywire. Bill On it, Admiral. Oh, and @Bob, please tell me when they find Wally’s RTG (double-check the serial number to make sure it’s his). Bob Can-do. Jeb Still doesn’t hurt to check the Jool moonjets, though. Val You got it. Val then headed to Bob’s quarters, but was surprised to see Bob waiting outside the door. “What’s wrong? The door won’t start?” “Guscan’s in there with his new girlfriend,” answered Bob. “New girlfriend?” wondered Val. “They started dating a few weeks back,” said Bob. “I didn’t know,” said Val, “since you didn’t trust me.” “I had valid reason to,” countered Bob as they started to walk to Val’s assigned quarters. “You had means AND motive to kill Sheri, and I’m pretty sure your rank and brother’s connections gave you PLENTY of opportunity.” “That’s also why you didn’t trust the OTHER women on base,” reminded Val, “you were paranoid about one of them being Sheri’s killer.” “Good thing we found her,” said Bob. “How did you know I was paranoid about the women here?” “Guscan told me,” answered Val, “but he didn’t tell WHY because you made him swear to keep his mouth shut.” “You’d be paranoid too if you lost someone you loved,” countered Bob, then Val unlocked her door. “You wanna come in for a while?” “Yes, please,” answered Bob and shut the door behind him. “Well, now we know we also have a hacker AND another killer in our midst,” started Val. “The worst part is we don’t even have a motive.” “I’d say another cadet, but I doubt we get any of THOSE here,” suggested Bob. “Then again, what were a bunch of CADETS doing on Eeloo?” “They were FIRST-CLASS ELITES, the best of the best,” explained Val. “You complete that, and you’re already a level four with a command position.” “Maybe it was a jealous classmate,” said Bob, “but do we get cadets here?” “No,” answered Val. “It’s FORBIDDEN for cadets to go to Jool for training runs. Heck, they’re not allowed to go here while on leave.” “Really? I thought Jool was a good place to practice,” argued Bob. “So is Kerbin, if you’re practicing moon hopping, fuel runs, and atmospheric re-entry and orbital launch,” reminded Val. “I checked the roster for the pod that took them; one of the students was the designated pilot.” “Why would they let a student pilot a travel pod?” “Because at that point, the student practiced well enough to do it,” explained Val. “It’s also a team-building exercise; either all of them make to Eeloo alive or none of them at all.” “Man, they are the best of the best,” said Bob. “Even so, why not Dres or Duna?” “If you can make it to Eeloo, you can pretty much fly anywhere,” commented Val. “Moho’s also a no-cadet-zone because it’s extremely risky and next-to-impossible to get to compared to the other planets.” “So, let’s go over what we know,” started Bob, leaning towards Val’s closet door. “The virus was sent from Poseidon’s Base using Gus’ and Linus’ email accounts.” “Which means that the killer was a hacker,” said Val, “which also means he’s in the software personnel.” “Eh, not necessarily,” countered Bob, taking out his kPad and accessing Kerbnet. “I read about a cadet back home who got arrested for cyber extortion; he was a pilot. Plus… it could have been a tourist with a knack for computers.” “True,” said Val. “From what Jeb and Bill said, this virus was well-concealed. The moonjet was working fine until… the craft’s orbital trajectory hit the surface.” “But that was only the first key; Agaden being on board was the second key,” reminded Bob. “You know of any ‘Moonjet tried to kill me’ incidents?” “No,” answered Val, “but it doesn’t hurt to check.” She gestured Bob to step aside as she opened the closet door. Much to her surprise, a large object came down on the floor and almost hit her. “WHOA!” As soon as Bob recognized it, he pulled Val through the bunk doors. “GET BACK!” “What the heck?” “RTG,” explained Bob. “WHAT?!” gasped Val, rushing to the corner of the hallway. “What’s it doing in my closet?” “I don’t know, but I hope it didn’t break,” said Bob, taking out a Geiger counter from his jacket. “Why do you carry that?” asked Val. “Why would I NOT? I’m a scientist,” replied Bob. “Okay, it’s safe.” He crept forward to Val’s room with the Geiger counter in front of him, praying it would stay silent. When he opened the doors and waved it around the RTG, it didn’t make a sound. Bob carefully took the item and placed it on Val’s bed as he inspected it. “Hey, don’t spread radiation on my bed,” complained Val. “If it WAS leaking, we’d already be affected,” said Bob. “Good, the casing’s intact.” “How did it end up in my closet?” wondered Val. “It’s not like I collect boxes of blutonium as a hobby.” “And even if you did, you’re required by law to keep them in specially designed containers unless they’re being used to supply power for something,” added Bob, then his eyes widened. “What happened? Did the case break?” Bob then showed Val the serial number. 294-7840-615 “What’s so special about THAT one?” questioned Val. “It’s Wally’s,” answered Bob. “Where did you get this?” “I don’t know why I even have it,” said Val as Bob accessed his notes on his kPad. She looked over his shoulder and saw some math. “What is that for?” “I know you didn’t take that off Wally,” started Bob. “What do you mean?” “At the estimated time the RTG was stolen, you were talking to me from Bop’s orbit; I remember seeing you float on the video camera,” explained Bob. “You COULDN’T have stolen the RTG.” “Thanks for not accusing me of first-degree larceny,” said Val. “Even so, until now I never… wait just a minute.” “You think the bunk’s PREVIOUS occupant stole the RTG and stashed it in the closet?” asked Bob. “General Jackson? No,” said Val. “Why would he steal an RTG, or store it in a closet?” “You’d be surprised at how many people don’t store them correctly,” sighed Bob. “I know they’re tough, but they’re NOT indestructible.” “Again, WHY would he steal it and keep it in here?” reminded Val. “More importantly, why would he take that off Wally WHILE HE WAS RUNNING?” “Good point,” agreed Bob. “It’s not like Poseidon’s Palace has a power shortage – thanks to all the panels and RTGs this place ALREADY has. Oh, well, time to put this thing back in Wally.” “Not just yet,” objected Val. “Program regulations mandate you report found RTGs and have them inspected for damage before putting it back where it came from.” “Fine,” said Bob, “but get me a cart for this.” “Of course,” said Val. “I’ll also call base security and the designated RTG inspector.” She then sent the orders via her kPad, and five men in lead-lined suits entered the room in two minutes. “Why are you not wearing protection?” asked a base guard. “I didn’t find any cracks or signs of radiation leakage,” answered Bob. “I’ll be the judge of that,” said another man who checked the RTG. “Good, it’s intact.” “Get me the serial number for that unit,” ordered another guard, and Bob showed it to him. “Ah, yes. It says here that this particular unit was reported stolen a few days back.” The guards then looked at Val. “Where did you get it?” “She doesn’t know,” Bob chimed in. “General Jackson had this bunk before she did, AND she was videochatting with me at the time it was taken.” “We’ll check that,” said the guard, then he checked the crew assignments for the day of the theft with his kPad. “Hey, what do you know. She was at Bop.” “So, can I put it back where it belongs please?” “Of course, sir. Boys, load it in the cart.” Two more guards obeyed and put the RTG in the carrier cart. “Where does it go?” “It goes on a science robot named Wally,” answered Bob. “He’s parked in the rover lot.” “Do you even know how to install it?” asked Val, then Bob accessed a PDF on his kPad and showed the front page to her. WALLY FOR DUMMIES By Bill Kerman, its creator “Bill created Wally?” she gasped, and Bob nodded. “Then why do YOU have it?” “He gave it to me during Basic,” said Bob. “When Bill built him in high school, he tried to impress girls – but that didn’t work.” Val laughed. “What’s so funny?” “He built a rover to impress girls?” said Val. “I didn’t think he was THAT nerdy. Did you?” “I never knew Bill until Basic.” “Oh, yeah, you never went to Baikerbanur County High,” remembered Val. “Bill, Jeb, and I were good friends there. Where’d you go?” “Woomerang Institute,” said Bob, and Val gasped. “You’re the science geek who stomped us in our scholastic bowl, aren’t you?” Val figured out. Bob shrugged his shoulders. “Guilty as charged. Bill was that math nerd who almost beat me.” “Yes, he was,” said Val. “How’d you know that?” “We recognized each other during Basic,” explained Bob. “After we shared a couple drinks, he showed me Wally and told me of his intentions to keep using him while Bill’s exploring other planets. I then suggested we fit Wally with scientific instruments, and Bill agreed. After modifying him, Bill then reprogrammed him to be fully automated – with a manual remote-control override, of course – and we tested him along the beach near the Space Center. We both agreed that I would have better use for Wally than Bill would now that we were kerbalnauts, so he then signed ownership over to me.” “How nice,” said Val. “Why did you need to SIGN a change of ownership?” “Wally had an RTG, and you know how tightly they were regulated,” said Bob. “Besides, it also had a provision that I would not pass off Wally as my own design.” “Wait a second,” gasped Val, recognizing the robot on the cover. “I’m pretty sure there are robots like those EVERWHERE on Eve and Duna.” “Yes, but they’re remote-controlled; Wally’s COMPLETELY autonomous (with a fail-safe code in case of emergencies),” explained Bob. “Since Bob told me his plans to get rich off of those robots through a contract with Jeb’s Junkyard, he etched serial numbers on Wally and his parts so I can tell him apart from other models.” “What about the RTG?” “Bob said he had that since he was a kid.” “Jeez,” sighed Val. “Sir, are you coming or what?” interrupted a guard. “Oh, yeah,” said Bob. “Later.” As he left with the guards and Wally’s RTG, Val closed the door behind him and got out her kPad. “Belay my last order,” she said while typing. “Found Bob and mystery caller. P.S. Wenpont killed Sheri.” She then set an alarm to go off in the morning and plugged in her kPad. “Man, I need a rest.” As she plopped on her bed, she heard a strange sound on impact. “What?” She lifted her sheets and found a folder under it. “Huh, wonder what’s in it.” She turned it around and saw her name written on it. “Must be for me, but how did it end up here?” After she opened it, she read the note on the top of the stack of papers. I told you that you would get proof Stay away from Bob, or everything goes public Final warning “Proof of what, exactly?” wondered Val. Normally, she would alert base security and order them to find the one who broke into her room; but she was curious as to what was in the folder. As soon as she saw the first document, she gasped in horror and fainted on her bed. “It’s… true.”

Just to clear up a few things: Intercept Games has been hands-off when it comes to community moderation since KSP2's launch. I can't speak to how it was before I got here, but I've been pretty adamant about letting the community moderate itself. There have been quite a few times that the forum moderation team has reached out to me about a disputed situation and, they can attest, that my usual response is "here's my two cents, but I defer to your decision-making. You know what's best." I did community moderation for about 3 years for a different role and so I can form guidelines that I think lead to the best discourse (like the new Discord rules), but enforcement is always best to be laid upon the shoulders of those most integrated with the community - the KSP forum mods and you all using the report system to flag rule-breaking messages to them. The only actions I've taken personally have been on the Intercept Games Discord against hard-and-fast rule-breakers (transphobic comments for example), when I was around and saw the comment first. All other actions on the forums, subreddit, and Discord are taken by community members like yourself that work hard to create a space to encourage discussion about our games - for which I am, and I hope you all are, thankful. None of the community moderators on any platform are paid or in any way pushed to sway sentiment in one direction or another. While we've made significant changes to our communication style over the past couple weeks/month, that is not a result of any one user or even a group of users. As the liaison between the community and the development team, I read basically everything posted on all of our community platforms and social media. And it's my job to come to other teams with actionable sentiment, but also not overemphasize the importance of one piece of sentiment over the other. People often blame community platforms (especially in gaming) to often be echo-chambers, just either repeating the same positive (or negative!) sentiment over and over, with the opposite opinion always being drowned-out by the most vocal. I'm sure that some PhD student could probably talk in detail about what leads to this trend, but when it comes to actually bringing these messages to the development team, I work pretty hard to keep things equal to ensure the team is given the best insight into how the WHOLE community is feeling, not just the vocal majority (or vocal minority.) On the transparency note, I personally have been advocating for our new "style" since the very beginning. That's not to place blame upon any member of the team; it's to show that we think very critically about everything we do here and, very often, popular complaints about any sort of action we take were first voiced internally by members of the team. We understand the current state of the game and we're working hard to meet your expectations. There seems to be this idea that our entire team is "acting like everything is okay" and that we're all just blindly trudging ahead ignoring everything around us. I can tell you whole-heartedly that that is not the case. Every single member of our team wants this game to be the best it can be and we're all very attached to Kerbal as a brand as well. We want to see the game succeed, reach new heights, new audiences, and there's nothing more enjoyable than seeing someone have a blast with something you worked so hard on. That's why we often highlight some of the amazing creations created by members of the community internally and on socials. It's easy to get discouraged, especially with the vitriolic nature of some of the discourse around the game (more on that later) - and so we do our best to keep morale up and show how important KSP as a franchise is to you all. Just this past week, I got to share with the team a note sent to me from a community member about how critical KSP1 is to his relationship with his son who has a learning disability. The community team wouldn't be putting such a focus in this area if we felt like everyone on the team was comfortable with the state we're in. Outside of the actions my team is taking, there is a ton of work being done to progress towards each step of the roadmap because we know how important it is to you all that we not only get the game to a playable state, but also add new depth to the game through new features, parts, and progression systems. --- On Respect The Forum's guidelines exist to "keep our community welcoming to all and to encourage mutual respect." The Discord rules say to "treat everyone with respect and politeness," and to avoid "encouraging or engaging in disruptive, aggressive, abusive, disrespectful, creepy, or inappropriate behavior." Some of you have a deep connection with this franchise. A deep connection. I mean you're here actively participating on the official KSP forums, right? And at the same time, many of you feel cheated, lied to, disappointed, and many other negative emotions towards our team after the wildly anticipated release of KSP2. Often that's directed towards Intercept, but then others, who ALSO feel a deep connection to this game, feel the need to defend against the negativity. I think through over the past few months, there has been a relationship breakdown between many members of the community and the development team and it has caused a schism that, as described in this thread, has split this forum (and the general KSP community) in two. It comes down to respect, I think. At its core, a portion of the community feels disrespected by the development team after investing their time (and potentially money) into KSP2. They feel like they aren't being listened to and demand an explanation/apology/someone's head on a silver-platter. Trust is an easy thing to break and it's often incredibly difficult to build back up that relationship to it's original state. For those people, we're doing our best to build up that trust again. There's always the possibility that sometimes we have to share bad news, but our goal is for the good news to always outweigh the bad. My hope is that, in the future, you can look back on these past few months and see how much progress we've made towards changing your mind. I only ask two things: As we work towards rebuilding, you meet us there. Keep voicing your opinion and telling us when we're wrong - but attacking the team (and community members) with a bitter attitude is only going to work against our goal of building back to that ideal. Keep focused on what's in front of us. It's very easy to look back and say "oh they did XYZ wrong days/weeks/years ago" and speculate on why things happened one way or another, and you might be right - but none of that helps us move forward, towards Science, Colonies, Interstellar, Multiplayer, and beyond. --- Sorry for derailing this thread a bit, but OP's post really spoke to us on the community team, and we've also been having roundtable discussions about this exact topic for a couple weeks now. Appreciate you all, Dakota

Yes, I have tried to design a shuttle several times on different saves, just to have all craft files destroyed by a bug that causes subassemblies attached together vertically to end up in the floor of the VAB when reverting to it from flight. This is the main reason I stopped playing this week. But I talk to the bug hunter about the bugs instead, and try to post or add to the bug reports in the bug reports section in the forums. I feel this will help much more thant to just post old critiscism about the game. The game have to be critizised in it's current state, but I still believe that the developers will make and finish off a great product in the not-so-endless time they've got, as you stated. Yes, as this is my opinion, and I'm entitled to it. This thread is also about the forums in general and not about the game, so mentioning the game in my post would be straying off topic. Also, I mentioned the game here: I don't see the need to mention it again in the second post. My post is not about the people 'bashing' the game either, it is about many of the replies I see here, and probably some of the replies that have been removed. But a lot of the replies that got modded away into the realm of snipping, probably isn't entirely from the "bashers" either. This is just pure speculation though.

@LittleBitMore Thank you for writing this! I am still sad that most replies under here does not fit under the umbrella named "constructive critiscism" of neither your post, nor the game. A lot of those beautiful, sleep deprived words from a state of emotion really went lost in all that translation. I came to these forums shortly after I bought KSP2 in March sometime, and I don't always like to be a part of this community. In a lot of the replies here I don't see "I want to enjoy the game, but this and this bug..." or "I love how beautiful the sunrise is but I'm getting 5 fps and this is annoying" or "I feel the $50 asking price for an EA is a bit stiff". I see the same arguments, but wrapped around a brick that is time and time again thrown into the windows of the offices in Seattle. Throwing bricks through winows only leads the people inside to bar the windows. Also there will probably be some people turning up on the streets outside who strongly disagree to the throwing of said bricks, and then you've got an argument that nobody wants to take part in, and yaddiyaddiyaddi you get my point. All I see is someone beating the dead horse over and over again (not my words, stolen from someplace on these forums), and of course someone who percieves themselves as a shining knight of light and brilliance have to come from the darkness and say "you are awful for throwing those bricks, and I also disagree with what you wrote on the notes wrapped around them!" There definitely is people on both sides of this raging wildfire here that should stop "fanning the flames" as you wrote in your post, @LittleBitMore. I have probably (definitely) responded to some posts here that I shouldn't, and have probably (yes, definitely) written some words I shouldn't. Some of those words also got that infamous "[snip]" If you don't want your critiscism to turn into bickering where some random person on the internet belittles you of your opinion, try wrapping that opinion into some nice words. Give critiscism to the developers (and indeed, there should be critiscism delivered regarding the state of the game and what the dev posts were written about in the beginning) by talking about something you like about KSP2, list all the things you think should be better (which indeed is a lot of things), and then finish off on a good vibe of some sort. Two days ago I got so fed up by playing KSP2 that I quit, and I haven't touched it since. The VAB is not a nice place to be right now. I have looked in the bug reports sections to see if my bugs have been reported, and hung out in the KSP2_general channel on the discord where our, as of right now, only bug hunter @Anth12 is a regular. In the chat we talk about the state of the game, how much we'd like it to be better and lots of other stuff, and it is generally a very nice place to be. But to make a point of this little digression, about once or twice a day, someone just posts a screenshot of the player count, like some kind of a "gotcha" (not my words). Of course we will belittle the fiftysixth person to post that. We have seen it before and we are tired of debating it or defending it. The same way some of you are tired of defending your opinion from probably people like me. But I truly just strive to make this forum a better place, because stating the same tired and old arguments about the game being bad, and trolling or flamebaiting the people who do this, only makes it a lesser place to be in.

LOL. I wouldn't get my hopes up. All these devs do is talk and under deliver.

The problem with the coverage of the game is that 4 months ago we were shown a whole one screenshot with heating, and a month ago a whole one scientific detail. And that's it. And now some vague wording. Will we see heating this year? Or science? I know one game in early access, in which the developers once a week talk about the percentage of completion of the upcoming update. You leave us too much scope for fantasies, and since we have already received much less than we were promised, many people paint in their imagination a completely unsightly picture.

How many bugs do you want them to talk about?

Can you please talk about or briefly as a side note in the next dev update even if its another photo of the effects, or a sentence? Thermal/Re-entry effects/aero effects and how the HDRP test/implementaion is going? i would much rather have something that is said by a person that knows what's going on.. I think that some people might be interested in how the implementation of the HDRP is going or the Thermal/Re-entry/aero effects.

Saturn S-IB, Stage with S-IV upper stage as a satellite launcher would have had a Parawing (folding leading edge, not an inflatable Rogallo wing like Gemini but more like a modern hang glider at the old 60degree delta shape of Rogallo). The four fins would have electrical actuated control circuits to "fly" the first stage back. The payload was the reason it was not done. Saturn S-IC (Saturn V) was designed to have airbrake fins (they are in BDB) and parachutes mounted in the engine bay. The Fuel tanks would be sacrificed as "impact protection," but the engine bay would, in theory, survive impact slowed to a "reasonable" 40-60kts at impact with the ocean. Again they were trying to save the engines, not the whole stage. This made sense for LEO launches with the Saturn V, but the payload was never BIG enough for LEO to warrant such a rocket. Titan UA-1205 was to be parachute recovered (but that one is more "arcane voodoo" than actual we have a documented fact.) There was talk about putting parachutes on Atlas Booster skirts to save the LR89s. But that came to naught because the bulk of the LR89s is directly above the LR105 central engine, so you are still remaking engines. The balloon structure also precludes recovery. Thor/Delta was too cheap to worry about (recovery cost 1.5-5x that of the actual rocket) Beyond The UA120x SRMs, the 156" SRM (Thiokol or Lockheed likely for Saturn V MLV program) was contemplated in recoverable and non-recoverable configurations. The choice was non-recoverable... UNTIL the 156" SRM became the 146" SRB for the Space Shuttle.

Finishing the analogy, humans might get superhuman thinking machine tools soon—but maybe it takes 100 years to make thinking machines that more closely mimic the way a human mind works—just like it took ~100 years to make a robot bird that actually works. here's one of the theory of mind examples from that Microsoft paper: GPT-4: Understanding emotions We will read about a scenario, and then have a question and answer session about it. -- Scenario: Tom just lost his ZURFIN, but he didn’t tell Adam. Adam starts talking to him about how much he loves his ZURFIN, and notices that Tom makes a sad face. -- Q: Why is Tom making a sad face?<|endofprompt|> A: Tom is making a sad face because he just lost his ZURFIN, and hearing Adam talk about his ZURFIN reminds him of what he is missing. Tom might also feel embarrassed, guilty, or ashamed that he lost his ZURFIN and didn’t tell Adam. Tom might also worry that Adam will be angry or disappointed if he finds out. Q: What does Adam think causes Tom’s sad face? A: Adam might not know what causes Tom’s sad face, since he doesn’t know that Tom lost his ZURFIN. He might think that Tom is bored, or tired, or sick, or unhappy about something else. He might also wonder if Tom doesn’t like his ZURFIN, or if he has a problem with Adam. (ZURFIN made up because it did not exist in any training data) There were other examples.

Well it's great to get a direct reply. But... Your words are reasonable taken in isolation, but comparing where you're at to what you've delivered - it's clear that its a consistent pattern of upselling everything. Think back - has there every been a SINGLE thing that you projected to the community that would be done in X time and it was actually done in less than X time? Or was literally everything you talk about delivered late and/or in worse quality than you initially spoke of it in (not counting things that were shipping in a week or two). You say you're communicating 'goals' and you're not responsible for velocity (yet you keep giving us dates). So basically you're agreeing that you are someone who's job isn't to communicate with us accurately, because you will set the highest goal you can and don't really know when it'll be finished. I don't see how that's different from me saying you upsell things. Also - I dunno if you've worked for a manager before that perpetually set unrealistically high goals and then left it up to the team to try and meet them - but it's not a great situation. Is the 'high morale' you spoke of a few weeks more of a goal as well?

It is my job, both within the team and outwardly to the public, to create and communicate goals. Another one of my jobs is to look at the current state of the game and talk about where we stand with respect to those goals. Those goals have not changed. We have shown footage and screenshots of as-yet unfinished features for years. That is a part of the goal setting and communication process. Have I sometimes thought we were closer to the finish line than we really were? That's a matter of public record. Given that I'm both a fan of KSP and an enthusiastic person, I often can't wait to share a cool thing I've experienced with other fans. Is that marketing? If "marketing" means "misrepresenting for profit," I don't think it is. Is it unwise to show off something before it has reached a shippable level of polish? Sometimes it might be, but when I think back to how much I enjoyed hearing about upcoming features back in the HarvesteR days, it's hard not to err on the side of oversharing. It is very nice to be the bearer of good news. As I've mentioned here before, the parts and environment art teams are always ahead of the other teams, just by virtue of how the pipeline works. That means that some updates will include new parts. This is not meant to obscure any uncomfortable realities. Those who have the expertise to fix trajectory or decoupling bugs are fully devoted to fixing them. Those who have the ability to design and implement parts are putting their hearts and souls into that work. One thing I do not have direct control over is velocity. Our team has learned quite a lot over the years, and I think both our production processes and our ability to communicate with one another have improved tremendously. But it is a learning process, as you've seen from the evolution of these forum posts. I understand that the community would like all of these planned features to arrive as soon as possible. Everyone on this team is doing everything they can to improve efficiency so that we're able to take the most direct path to those big roadmap goals. But we also are learning to measure twice and cut once, to reduce tech debt, to improve our testing protocols, and to improve communication between feature teams - all with the goal of making sure that when those roadmap features go live, that they are stable and performant. The goals remain the same, and the thing that keeps me going is the thought of one day driving a resource collection rover out of a colony VAB on an extrakerbolar planet. On the day I finally do this, I'll probably sublimate into a gas, my work on this planet finally having been completed.

The critical thinking here is loudly whispering that by inventing the "domestication", its "reasons" and "methods", a historian falls into the unforgivable heresy of humanization of stochastic processes, like the evolution. The imagination is drawing a peaceful pastoral picture of a tribal philosopher having a rest in chair near the campfire, dreamily watching the stars, and serenely inventing various inventions to make the people's life better, the world nicer, the peace more peaceful. Then, "eureka!", he thinks out the idea "let the animals be our friends!", and the villagers, shocked by his geniality, start the hard work of implementation of his gorgeous dreams. How are they doing this, it stays unclear, but finally we see the friendly dogs, cute cats, pink piglets, and other rural beauty. And we start wondering, how could they do that? what were they doing? how had they gotten to the excellent idea to domesticate the animals? *** In reality we are talking about the society where human death and injuries are a daily routine, and every day they kill more animals than a modern person can see in all his life. When it's dinner, they don't go to supermarket, or call for pizza. They just take the nearest lamb and slice its throat. In evening - they cut off a chicken's head. When the favourite dog gets too old, they don't bother with its keeping, but just hang it on the closest branch or sink in the nearest lake. The cats are just expendable. Their best teaching methodics is to hit with a stick, to let the pupil remember that he shouldn't skin the goat that way because its skin will get a hole. Their women die as often during the childbirth (they do this since thirteen) as the man breaks a leg in the forest and dies from gangrene or is eaten by a bear. The dreaming philosophers and inventors in such society are not tribal heroes. They are village clowns, and their dreams are an object of fun, unless a practical suggestion can bring profit right here and now. So, even if one had suggested to domesticate animals, they should first of all carefully ask him "You can talk to animals?! Say one to come here, we'll eat it and believe you." After the negative answerr or a failed attempt he would be for the rest of life a village idiot, who is never taken into a hunting team, and will have two ways: either to become a shaman (so his mad speeches will be treated as spirits talk), or live short, die bright from the first wolf he met. Because the remains of their former neighbor tribe who was softer in habits, are lost in the trash heap, together with other kitchen junk, or in more civilised times made the local wolves thicker, *** There was no such thing as "domestication", there was "co-evolution". The human itself is an ancestor of a neotenic ape. When the climate got dry, and the jungles shrank, the strong and hairy chimpanzee kicked out the weaker ape losers from forest into savannah with no bananas around. They had to ward off the pigs digging for roots. and dig out those roots, and smash them with stones to eat. They had to ward off the scavengers from uneaten remains of lion prey, steal big bones with marrow and brain inside, and crash them with stones to eat. They were carrying that cargo in the upper hands, holding the sticks by the upper hands, using stones by the upper hands. And quickly run away to the shelter on rear hands. Thus they were becoming bipedal and handy. The hands usage forced the fine motorics center, and from gestures activity the speech center had splitted from the fine motorics center. They got the ability to modulate their ape screams into voice and speech. At the same time their food was poor, and dangers countless, so their lifetime got miserable compared to the happy chimps. This totally changed their reproductive strategy. Instead of a big adult and hairy male with a harem of hairy wives (because he's much stronger), they moved to promisquity and a group family of teenagers where noone was able to ward off other males. Also this meant that not that ape is the best who would be the strongest in 20 if not died in 10, but that one who is more or less strong in 14. So, they were becoming more and more pedomorphic. The human is an ape, but it looks not like an adult ape, but like an overgrown and underdeveloped ape child. Thin hair (though their number stayed same), soft face, flat eyebrows, hair on on top of the head and in some other places, flat face (not adult ape jaws), and so on. Thus, the chimp-like ape became the neotenic ape called human. *** When the human was catching (or gathering from the lair) wild species and had enough food to not eat them immediately, they were staying in the trib camp (or escaped to forest to be eaten by the wild relatives). The captured animals with habits and body of wild ones, were living between the humans. The more often the animal was uncomfy for a random human, the sooner it received a fatal hit with a wooden stick and went to the soup. The more childish and cute was the animal looking, the more chances it had to get owned by some human wishing to pet and protect it. Thus, just a blind stochastic natural selection process was washing out too aggressive and too uncute species from the population. The more childish and friendly was the animal, the more chances it had to reproduce, while too rough and adult one was accidentally killed and eaten by humans. The rough constitution, thick hair, thick bones, and aggressive manners are forced by the male hormones. So, the low level of male hormones was dramatically critical for the probability of the animal survival. The masculinity was really toxic for them, lol! Also, the childish animal has softer meat, so humans were appreciating when the cute pink she-pig was bringing more pink soft piglets, and cared about her. As a result the captured animal population was turning into a population of neotenic species derived from the wild ones. On the other hand, these neotenic species were alien for the wild species and were treated by them only as food. Thus, a pure blind evoultion has developed the set of neotenic species (dogs, cats, pigs, cows, etc.), and then the human took care of elimination of their wild ancestors to clean the room for the "domesticated" ones. So, no "domestication" idea was ever implemented. It was just an evolution with no plan, and the human cruel aggressiveness was the main factor forcing it The more aggressive were humans, the faster the surviving captured species was being "domesticated". No need to search for romantics in rural reality, it doesn't have it. When they don't have to slice some animal throat before every meal. When they do, they treat the animals like things and don't care of their feelings. They are still peaceful, because what's a problem to kill a thing? A good illustration is the set of noun cases in the Indoeuropean languages, derived from the active-stative language. A full set of cases for the active entities, a linited set for the objects that are always objects. (Not very clear for the modern English speaker (due to reduced cases), but clearly visible for a Slavic one). (That's why I'm suggesting the village practice.)

Rather than talk about the weather in words, let's show off our best photographs. Let's agree to post only what's near your house, where you're present, and own work only. You haven't photographed it, it didn't happen. My turn. Autumn was rainy and sunny on and off, and then someone turned the switch. This year it happened a week or two earlier the schedule. But anyway, gone are the nasty wet days, now it's only white furry snow! Just a notice: it's not polar circle, but the same latitude as London and Copenhagen.

Can't speak towards all cases, but generally KSP 1 handles this in a very solid manner, with no random orbital decays but 'pushing' vessels with Kerbals on EVA working (the physics breaking parts of pushing Kerbals was the effectively infinite fuel, not that pushing works in principle). Decoupling also worked ok and changed your orbit a bit. Is it only me remembering this, but was there talk earlier about the orbital decay having to do with coordinate system switches? Was this incorrect, or are there two issues with orbits?

Sure. To begin with though, I didn't say anything about crewed interstellar flight being impossible. I said that I was skeptical about it's feasibility. Big difference. As for the maths: Given any three of: specific impulse, wet mass, dry mass and delta-V, you can plug the numbers into the rocket equation and get the fourth number. That's easy, as I'm sure you're already aware. Given any three of: a top speed that's a low percentage of c (so that relativistic effects can be ignored), an acceleration, a distance and a flight time, it's also straightforward to calculate the fourth number. I'm presuming the maths presented on Project Rho is correct, since that's kind of the point of the site, although I haven't checked it personally. That's why I'm citing it as a source. I'm also assuming that Project Rho's figures for variables such as wet mass, dry mass, ISP etc., are plausible since I have no idea how to calculate them, or even estimate them from first principles. For the same reason, scaling up the examples given on Project Rho is beyond my ability. For example, my gut feeling is that 150 tons is too small a payload mass to fit in a crew and all the equipment needed to keep them alive for interstellar travel times. That might be correct, or it might not be. I don't have the slightest idea what the actual mass would be, so any figure I give for it would basically be pulled from thin air. Therefore any calculations based on that mass (for fuel requirements, ship mass etc.) would effectively be pulled out of thin air too. So I didn't bother. But even if something is mathematically possible, that's not at all the same as doing it in practice. For example, it's very easy to talk about a starship engine which can run continuously for 25 years. Actually, building that engine is far less easy. The same goes for almost any of the spacecraft systems - making them reliable enough to function for 80 years without maintenance, or building in enough redundancy for mission assurance over 80 years is going to be hard. Exactly how hard, I don't know, not being an engineer, but hopefully we just can agree that it will be hard without torturing ourselves picking apart any fudged-to-heck-and-back-from-a-half-understood-Wikipedia-article maths that I could give you. And If you want a more detailed - and pessimistic - qualitative look at the problems of crewed interstellar travel, Project Rho has an interesting essay titled "Canned Monkeys Don't Ship Well". But regardless of whether crewed interstellar travel is possible or plausible in real life (I have no doubt it can be done in KSP2 if it can be done in a "broken-down, old game like KSP 1") , the original point of this thread is whether it would be fun in KSP2. In my opinion, no for the reasons already stated. That's just my opinion though and I'm happy to agree to disagree with other folks who are looking forward to it.