Mod Project Announcement - The Speculative Physics Alternatives Mod!

[Specialist290]

So over the past few weeks, I've been brainstorming for a little project, and I think I finally have the concept nailed down enough to go public with it.

Realism has been a topic of perennial interest to the Kerbal Space Program community, sparking many bright and ambitious mod-makers to create mods tailor-made to cater to the interests of like-minded players. Among the fruits of their labors have been such immediately-recognizable mods as Ferram Aerospace Research, Deadly Reentry, TAC Life Support, and many, many more. However, in the midst of all this emphasis on realism, one particular part of the fanbase -- and, in my opinion, a rather significant group -- has been entirely neglected. What is available to those intrepid souls who wish for less realism, whose preconceived notions of the structure and operation of the Universe run contrary to not only the plethora of realism mods available, but to the very structure of the stock game itself?

To that end, I am unveiling the following project:

The Speculative Physics Alternatives Modification

A Bold New Direction in Realism Mods

The goal of this project will be to apply the philosophy of the "realism mod" in a fresh, new, and exciting direction: A detailed, fully-realized model of the Kerbal universe as it would look with less realism.

"But what does this mean to me, the player?" I hear you asking. Well, here's a list of some of our nifty new features:

• A Kerbocentric Universe!
  The first change is the most fundamental -- rather than the Sun, the planet of Kerbin will be restored to its proper place at the center of the universe. No more will you have to worry about silly "phase angles" in order to make interplanetary travel a reality!
  
• Kerbin is Flat!
  The other fundamental change to the location and nature of Kerbin. Rather than a sphere, the new Kerbin will be a flat disc, held up by four elephants mounted on the back of a turtle, which is itself mounted on the back of another turtle, etc. New procedural generation techniques will ensure that, for eager celestial explorers, it really is "turtles all the way down."
  
• New Orbital Mechanics: Deferents and Epicycles!
  Rather than simply leaving everything to the universal laws of gravitation - which result in unsightly and flawed elliptical orbits - we have elected to nest the planets within an intricate system of fixed aetheric spheres to ensure that the planets orbiting Kerbin all move in a complex interaction of perfect, aesthetically pleasing uniform circular motions. Every planet now occupies a fixed point within its own epicycle, a perfect sphere that rotates about a central point at a given rate; in turn, the epicycle itself is affixed to a larger sphere known as a deferent, which rotates around Kerbin at a constant rate.
  
• Nature Abhors a Vacuum!
  It's already been touched on somewhat, but this mod will introduce a new and unique element known as aether as a foundation for its unique mechanics. As mentioned above, aether is the foundational component which makes up the various epicycles and deferents to which the planets and their moons are fixed; while diffuse enough not to pose a serious navigational hazard, this aether will exert a uniform neutralizing effect on all inert bodies, meaning that any body that comes to rest within a particular sphere will eventually come to rest (relative to the epicycle or deferent within which it is contained) and rotate at a constant rate in a circle relative to the center of whatever sphere it is resting in. This means that now, all spacecraft will require sustained thrust to travel long distances over long periods of time, such as for interplanetary travel. On the other hand, it should make maintaining constellations of satellites much easier, as all craft in orbit will eventually reach an equilibrium state in a perfect circular orbit around a particular point if not otherwise acted upon.
  There is one major exception: The outer shell of the Kerbin system will not be composed of diffuse aether, but rather a solid crystalline structure that blocks out all light except at particular points (i.e. the stars). Explorers lucky enough to reach a star rather than crashing into this solid shell will find themselves in a new and exciting realm composed entirely of pure elemental fire.
  
• Kerbonaut Skill Levels and Phrenology!
  Finding the stock system of experience growth too slow and grindy for your liking? You'll be pleased to know that we plan on replacing this system entirely with one based on the principles of phrenology, where every skill is linked to a particular sector of the brain. Rather than spending hours grinding away your kerbonauts' experience with long and tedious missions, you can now quickly and efficiently by dropping them onto their heads at high speeds in order to stimulate the appropriate cranial regions.
  
• ISRU and the Philosopher's Stone!
  One of the problems with most models of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) such as those provided by Kethane and Karbonite is that they don't really add anything especially new to the game; instead, they mostly focus on providing support for existing spacecraft and infrastructure. With that in mind, our mod promises to integrate an exciting new feature to motivate the player by providing substantial new rewards for fully exploring the possibilities: Alchemy.
  Each planet will be associated with a particular rarefied pure elemental essence, which can be extracted and shipped back to Kerbin for analysis and distillation. Once a particular element's properties are known, it can be distilled into an elixir that provides a special buff when fed to a kerbonaut. The lowest-tier elixirs provide simple, basic buffs such as permanent speed increases, or "transmutation" (allowing them to passively generate a small yet constant amount of Funds for your space program); however, elixirs can be mixed to produce new recipes, which unlock new abilities such as telekinesis (think of what you could do with the benefits of the Kerbal Attachment System without actually needing all those winches and grapples!), clairvoyance (allowing your kerbonaut to conduct Crew Reports without ever leaving KSC), and the ability to propel oneself through space using only sheer mental willpower. Furthermore, unlocking the final elixir recipe allows you to view special endgame content prepared especially for this mod:
  
  

Craft the Ultimate Elixir to transform one of your kerbonauts into a vessel for the Great Kraken, allowing him to break the bonds between reality and the Dreamlands and usher in a new era in which all of kerbalkind can revel in mad, unfettered, hedonistic debauchery! I can feel the lidless eyes of the denizens of the Great Abyss upon me, compelling me to awaken the Old Ones! Join us! Jooiin usss! Ia! Ia! Ph'nglui Mglw'nafh K'rk'en Pol wgah'nagl fhtagn

(Note: Still taking suggestions for features!)

(Concept art gallery in progress; watch this space!)

[NathanKell]

My good friend, I think you are selling yourself short. Why give in to the "realism" crowd with your admittance that this model would be less realistic? Why, Famous Scientists can't even agree on the structure of the universe. and if this mod helps teach the controversy I am all for it.

[Master Tao]

Finally! A modder who understands what solar wind really means.

Can we get aether sails and windvane parts?

[sjwt]

I am honestly applied at this,

with a game that has such a solid grounding in physics and the real universe, and you start on a mod like this and fail to including Homeopathic fuel and oxidizer mixes.

how about setting it up to pay your Alchemists to mix down your fuel and oxidizer, making it 100 times stronger, this can of course be done upto 12 times.

[Specialist290]

I am honestly applied at this,

with a game that has such a solid grounding in physics and the real universe, and you start on a mod like this and fail to including Homeopathic fuel and oxidizer mixes.

how about setting it up to pay your Alchemists to mix down your fuel and oxidizer, making it 100 times stronger, this can of course be done upto 12 times.

D'oh! I'll have to remember to add that to the final release.

[AmpsterMan]

i prefer a a flat kerbin because a flat kerbin is easy to go off into space i go up and not worry about turning and then the mun is also flat so i can land easy on it.

[Supernovy]

This should be stock.

I can't believe it isn't in already.

[Red Iron Crown]

I hope you consulted with a real phrenologist when working out that part, it's serious business and will be very jarring if not done just right.

[goldenpeach]

finally someone who really understand the level of realism KSP should be!

[GreenWolf]

Ah, so this is the April Fools Day joke.

Good one, guys. Haha. Very funny.

[rabidninjawombat]

Ah, so this is the April Fools Day joke.

Good one, guys. Haha. Very funny.

Joke!? Pffffftt!

This is gonna be an awesome mod! im really looking forward to this

[Specialist290]

I hope you consulted with a real phrenologist when working out that part, it's serious business and will be very jarring if not done just right.

What, do you take me for someone who doesn't do their research?

finally someone who really understand the level of realism KSP should be!

This is gonna be an awesome mod! im really looking forward to this

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

[Whirligig Girl]

You guys know it's not April 1st EVERYWHERE, right?

Incidentally, I do actually want to see a mod that makes some of these features a reality. As a joke, of course. And the hand-drawn avatars are rather hilarious indeed.

Edited April 1, 2015 by GregroxMun

[nightingale]

Query - does your roadmap contain anything about pastry felines?

[Whirligig Girl]

After thinking about it this is actually a really good idea and should toatly be made into stock.

[Sampa]

Interesting...gonna hold off on any opinionated comments this close to april 1st and all the mess that comes with it.

[Climberfx]

Hey Specialist, you already lost your mind!

A good joke, sure.

Miss you man.

Cheers!

[smjjames]

Ah, so this is the April Fools Day joke.

Good one, guys. Haha. Very funny.

That plus the crayon drawing avatars and comic sans text, which is just silly, and yeah the OP is silly too.

[SpaceLaunchSystem]

Funny idea, but I wouldn't download it.

JUST KIDDING! TOTALLY DOWNLOADING IT WHEN IT COMES OUT!!!

[goldenpeach]

you know what the mod miss? sickness. I want my kerbals to have a cold, or some other small sickness.

[Specialist290]

you know what the mod miss? sickness. I want my kerbals to have a cold, or some other small sickness.

Knew I was forgetting something! Thankfully we can probably integrate the four humours into the Alchemy system.

[tygoo7]

This mod sounds awesome! I can't wait to use it! Have you thought of adding power-ups that are randomly spawned around the system?

[Woopert]

Looking forward to trying this. Always been waiting for something this realistic in KSP.

[lurkoholic]

For players with KIS installed, there should be early tech dowsing rods to find the "elements".

[Specialist290]

For players with KIS installed, there should be early tech dowsing rods to find the "elements".

Not a bad idea. I'll certainly bounce it off KospY and see what he thinks.

While I'm at it, I might talk to Starwaster about adding support for caloric fluid to Deadly Reentry as well.