Why is KSP so fun?

[RainDreamer]

No, really. Why is it fun? I feel enjoyment from playing it, and thus I can conclude that it is fun. But if I were asked what makes it so fun for me...I am kind of stumped. "Everything" is not an acceptable answer in these cases, because it is not really helping the person asking the questions. So I kind of have to break this weird sense of fun into something more precise.

Just what kind of dark science is in this game that makes it so fun? How many sacrifices SQUAD has made for the dark overlords to achieve this?

Why is this game fun for you guys?

[Red Iron Crown]

My default post when this sort of topic comes up:

There's a lot of things going on that make it my favorite game:

- The only limit is your imagination. There's not a single best way to play KSP, you are totally free to experiment with unusual play styles without much in the way of penalty. Want an all SRB space program? Go ahead. Want to make planes and just fly around Kerbin? Fill your boots. Start a colony on Laythe? Have fun with it. Build replicas of real life rockets? You can do that, too.

- There's always more to learn. I've played for about three years now, and I still learn things all the time that make me better at KSP, as often as not from some new poster here who's been playing for a month. I don't know that any other than a very elite few can say they are fully expert at all aspects of KSP with nothing left to learn.

- It's different. As the investment to create games gets higher and higher, companies are less and less likely to take chances on game genres that aren't already established. So we get Shoot People in a Slightly Different Way 5, Drive Really Fast in Photorealistic Cars 4, and Endorsement-filled Professional Sports Game 2015. KSP is fresh, and engages parts of the gamer mind that the repetitive other genres do not.

- It's SPACE. I've loved space exploration since I was in grade school, a game that lets me be the rocket scientist, mission controller and the astronaut is incredibly appealing.

- It's cerebral. KSP appeals to the intellect in a way most games do not. There is a delay of gratification that makes your accomplishments more satisfying. It takes smarts to do well in KSP, not just the quick reflexes and relentless practice that most other games reward. It doesn't dumb down difficult concepts to make them easier, it challenges you to figure out those difficult things.

- It's customizable. Don't like some aspect of KSP's gameplay or wish there was a certain part in the game? I'd give long odds that some modder has felt the same way and made a mod for it, likely thinking of things you didn't. Want more data for design and flight? Mods. Want hyper-realism and greater difficulty? Mods. More eye candy? Mods. Beautifully crafted replicas of real rockets? Mods. ISRU or theoretical propulsion systems? Mods. Your mix of mods can make the game just about perfect for you.

- It keeps getting better. Each new release adds more features and bugfixes, and mods keep getting more refined and capable. I took a break from KSP for a few months in late 2012, when I came back to it the game had changed considerably for the better.

- It has a great community. For all that KSP is mostly a single player game, the level of interaction I've experienced in KSP's community is well above any other game's community of which I've been a part. People are incredibly helpful when a player is trying to get over the initial hump of difficulty or otherwise struggling, they congratulate each other on their accomplishments, and there are tons of high quality tutorials, videos and other community-generated content out there.

[EdFred]

Why is a tree good? How is a rainbow made? How does the posi-traction on the rear end of a Plymouth work? It just does.

[micr0wave]

i can't put my finger on it, but it's one of the very few games that make me say "whoah, awesome" even after months and months of playing it

[regex]

The basic idea of KSP, building and flying your own rockets (and now, other craft), is awesome. Well-made sandboxes are incredible for player expression. What makes KSP really fun is that it is (mostly) highly moddable, which means you can tailor the experience to what you want to see and do regarding spaceflight.

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

Well, different people will have different preferences. The thing that makes KSP fun for me, is that 1% of the time when I complete whatever mission I set out to do. And that's because I was involved since its inception, from planning, to building, to flying.

And when I finally make it, it feels sooo nice. All my ideas, that decoupler I decided to put there, that engine I tested before using it on the ship's last stage, those struts, that RCS I put there thinking on that maneuver I planned to do when arriving at X point "6 years into the future", all of that falls into place for a "hell yeah" moment.

In other words, it makes you feel smart even when what you did is mediocre at best.

[SkyRender]

Why is a tree good?

Because it has a healthy root system and steady access to sufficient water and air that are not overly polluted.

How is a rainbow made?

Water vapor hanging in the air is hit by sunlight at an angle that causes the light to refract in a manner similar to that of a prism.

How does the posi-traction on the rear end of a Plymouth work?

"Positraction", more technically limited-slip differential, works by utilizing fairly complicated machinery to sense when one or more wheels has lost grip with the road and adjusts the grip on the remaining wheels to compensate.

Why yes, I did completely miss your point entirely on purpose. Not knowing and being unknowable are quite different things. My own reasons for loving KSP are many, but the big one is that it doesn't abuse the randomizer to compensate for a lack of complexity in design systems. This makes for far more predictable, consistent, and interesting mechanics.

[Sᴄɪɴᴛɪʟʟᴀᴛᴏʀ]

It gives you the freedom to run your own space program as well as the freedom to design, build and launch your own rockets. If you find any one of those things fun then THAT is why you will find KSP fun.

For me, its the advanced Newtonian physics system and the sense of wonder I get from exploration.

[lordlundar]

I would say a couple of reasons:

1. It's largely unique. Yes there's other Space Program simulations like Orbiter and there's space ship construction games Like Space Engineer but those rarely allow the freedom that KSP has while maintaining the simulation concept.

2. It's constantly entertaining. How many people will say when they screw up "eff this! It's too hard and I'm done!" pretty rare I would imagine and it's more likely you're in a giggling fit before realizing the mistake you made. It's challenging without being frustrating.

[EdFred]

snipped

You obviously never saw that movie.

[Renegrade]

Well, one thing that really struck me is the first time I got into space, that eerie space music started playing, and I was floating in a most peculiar way.. that pretty much hooked me. There are other things, many other things, but that was basically the point at which I was sold on it.

Now I use any old excuse just to be out there floating around Minmus or such

...Shoot People in a Slightly Different Way 5..

Hey now, Shoot People in a Slightly Different Way 5 was EPIC. You can now customize the color of the crosshairs on your advanced sights (ACOGs and such), the grenades have ambient occlusion, and the knife kills involve 5% more blood! It's totally worth sending your firstborn and $79.99 (or about $200 CDN after ham-fisted conversions)! I mean, what would I do if I couldn't shoot Derkaderkastanians with a pink crosshair, or blow up Russians with grenades that have ambient occlusion in their ridges? It would be like playing SPiaSDW4, which everybody knows is SO last week.

(Please ignore the bugs with spawning inside walls, incorrect kill cams, cover not working properly, DRM claiming your valid install isn't and reformatting your hard drive, and reloading causing all of your ammo to disappear. These are minor glitches and will be fixed later this year in SPiaSDW6.. err I mean a totally free DLC that costs $49.95...err I mean a patch.. yeah, that's the ticket..).

[Motokid600]

Probably because when I was a kid my favorite games were Tycoon and builder games. Armored Core of all games may be the sole reason I'm so attracted to KSP.

[AbacusWizard]

For me, it hits a lot of the same awesomeness buttons that Dwarf Fortress does. Wide open sandbox with plenty of freedom to set your own goals; extreme learning curve leading to versatile capabilities; the opportunity to make ludicrously elaborate plans and watch with joy as they come to fruition or fail hilariously; and actually learning fascinating and useful stuff through my fun (minerology and medieval industry from the one, and orbital physics and astroengineering from the other).

Also, since I teach physics for a living, KSP means I get incredible amounts of synergy between my job and my hobby. Playing KSP gives me a better intuitive understanding of orbital mechanics, opportunities to use what I already know, incentive to learn more, and ideas for examples to use in my classes.

[MarvinKitFox]

KSP is fun because it allows the Adventurer, The Builder, The Tinkerer and The Scientist in each of us to work together to achieve their Dream.

(and have a lot of fun in the process)

It allows us to Boldly go where our Imagination has never Gone Before.

========

Today we lost one of the founding Icons of the Space Dream.

Live Long and Prosper, Spock, Wherever your journeys may lead you.

In Memoriam:

Leonard Nimoy March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015

[Ten Key]

If I really had to boil it down, I would say there are two basic reasons. . .

First, while some games offer a workshop where you can tinker, and many games provide opportunities for adventure, KSP is one of the rare games that offers a deep and rewarding workshop and then hands you the opportunity to take your creation on an exciting adventure. There is magic in that.

Second, KSP is a surprisingly deep game, and there are many, many different things you can spend your time on. When I start to get bored with one activity, there are plenty of other things to move on to. Even if I've already done something, by the time I circle back to it I've been away from it long enough to where it's interesting again. For me, KSP has achieved a closed "boredom loop".

[pincushionman]

Several years ago, I was a contributor to an open-source space combat / trading (read: Elite clone) game called Vega Strike. I remember one message board discussion regarding realism or the lack thereof in one particular aspect (and it could have been one of several features). I made a long-winded argument about how realism got in the way of gameplay; the important thing for Vega Strike was in establishing "believeability" by maintaining consistency in the rules applied to the behavior of player- and NPC-piloted ships.

I maintain that I was right - people don't come to Vega Strike for the realistic space simulation.

Yet here I am, playing a game where not only is realism - or at least realism-close-enough - a key feature, it's the lynchpin. Ten years ago I would not have expectd that.

[zarakon]

Spaaaaaaaace!

Explooosssiooonnsss!!!

[inigma]

Why is it so fun?

This:

Edited February 28, 2015 by inigma

[DDay2021]

For me it's fun due to the challenges. It's open ended so I can do what I want, I have to design, build, test and fly; and when things go wrong, I either have to fix them and relaunch or launch a repair / rescue mission which starts all over at design. If that gets too repetitive, I can add mods like FAR, NEAR, TAC Life Support, Remote Tech and probably a few more to make it more challenging.

[kelvindeschutter]

its depens on it for some its the challange to go to other planets and for others its just the funn messing around

[Bill Phil]

What was fun for me, was the learning curve. I really wanted to accomplish things like landing on the Mun. But when you get too good at the game, it loses that appeal. That's why I'm excited about the new aero update. It's time to re-learn some stuff.

I enjoy learning, at least when it's not monotonous. But, there's not much else to learn. Sure, landing on Tylo, or a precise landing on Laythe, but why would I do that?

The only real thing I have yet to do that is a big accomplishment is complete the tech tree. But I don't play all that often because my hardware is not all that good, and can't really handle it.

[Kerbojet]

Why does anyone like anything?

For me at least it's all my favorite things. It's aerospace, building, simulation, constant challenges, and just a little bit of crazy. Why I like those things, heck if I know.

[keeper]

I've restarted this post 3 times. For me this question is impossible.

I like flying games, and building games, and strategy games and simulation games. (minecraft asside) i've never done ALL together before.

Those niche games where things turn out "epic" from total simplicity. Thats my fun.

Being proper happy when (computer performance aside) a hugely massive and complicated ship works.

Everything about this game. (comp performance aside) Its all fun. I like watching other people play this game.

Heres my top 10 fun points:

Building

Testing

Re-building

Launches

Re-launches

Kerbal Space Center

Stage seperations

Stage seperation gets 2 on my top 10

Career mode

Quick saves

Mods

Engines

docking

manuver nodes

Bob

Landing legs

Science

Moons

Updates

Game mechanics

Mechjeb

(Loading screen EDIT) RCS thrusters

Wow, i gotta go play now. Nice one.

Edited February 28, 2015 by keeper

[pxi]

I've said before, I don't consider KSP to be a 'fun' game in the conventional sense. It's highly challenging, and delivers a huge sense of accomplishment from scaling the learning cliff.

Playing it is deeply satisfying, which is very, very close to 'fun' for most intents and purposes.

[Aragosnat]

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Jebidiah. Its 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no Kerbal/Kerman has gone before.