Does anyone else find it hard to actually finish a game of KSP

[LORDPrometheus]

I started playing back in the first week of .19 so while I'm not a KSP old timer I have plenty of experience. Back then I could play for hours on end (partially due to not using many mods) because it was so exciting and just a simple sandbox where anything was possible. I have always run by the adage of mod it until it crashes and play KSP at the edge of workability. Thankfully an SSD install and the aggressive active texture reduction mod lets me load back quickly. However whenever I start a new career save I wind up loosing interest around the time I've finished a Mun landing. It's not that I don't like the game or even get board it just almost feels like KSP has lost some of its Novelty and sheer fun. Now I can't just send rockets around I have to manage science AND finances don't get me wrong I love the features band am aware sandbox mode exists but i just feel like the game is a different one know. I can't even finish a tech tree anymore.

I was just curious if anyone else has the same feelings.

[Alshain]

I find it very hard to finish a game, because there is no end. However, I do not lose interest after a Mun landing.

If you are bored, I reccomend moving on. You can always come back later.

[eddiew]

One does not simply 'finish' KSP Personally I like to play in rounds, with a different mod set up and goals to declare completion. Although so far, KSP versions have come up and relegated each one to the scrap heap before I'd actually got there My 0.90 round lasted about 12 weeks before I finally filled out the tech tree and called it quits (10% science return, many science mods...).

My advice is to initially examine your mod loadout, and the things you actually did last time you played. I find it very easy to pick up a heavyweight mod because it looks great, and then not use it at all because I don't actually have any interest in what it does If you're bailing out often, it's worth shuffling around and bringing in more of the things you do like, while abandoning the things you never actually used - and of course, check whether there's things you've never tried doing.

When you've done that, it's important to determine your goal. It's easy to end up thrashing around aimlessly and giving up when you don't know what you were aiming for in the first place! Goals might be;

- Return a surface sample from every landable body.

- Return a surface sample from every biome of every landable body (best accompanied with very low science gain, and possibly some high tech engines for Eve)

- Create a permanent surface base on every landable body (best accompanied by a life support mod)

- Visit all bodies with an SSTO.

- Max the tech tree (recommend very low science gain to make this one last)

- Collect 1 million units of Karbonite in an orbital station around Kerbin.

- Give Kerbin 5 new moons from class A-E asteroids.

- Accomplish a grand tour.

- Transport 100 colonists to Laythe and/or Duna.

...I'm sure this forum can supply more ideas

Adding rules and restrictions can, perhaps counter-intuitively, help a lot too. E.g...

- No manned landings without a manned orbital mission, and probe landing mission first.

- No more than one probe lander on any given body. Subsequent missions must take a crew.

- No nervas (makes you really rethink your designs for efficiency!)

- No kerbal left behind!

- If it would fit inside a cargo bay, it goes to orbit in an SSTO.

- Never use the same vessel twice. Always design something new and shiny for the mission!

- Always take a rover, just in case.

- Accept every contract, unless blatantly impossible.

...etc.

That, and... take breaks It's totally fine to wander off from KSP sometimes and play other things. In fact this may be a great time to do it - 1.0 doesn't feel so far away, and a few weeks break may bring you back with renewed vigor once it hits. Personally, I'm into Cities Skylines at the mo, but I know full well I'll swing back to KSP at some point ^^

[Red Iron Crown]

I've never finished a game of KSP, hope I never do. Whether playing sandbox or career there is always more to do, if that "more to do" is unappealing to you then I don't know what to tell you.

[FOARP]

I started playing back in the first week of .19 so while I'm not a KSP old timer I have plenty of experience. Back then I could play for hours on end (partially due to not using many mods) because it was so exciting and just a simple sandbox where anything was possible. I have always run by the adage of mod it until it crashes and play KSP at the edge of workability. Thankfully an SSD install and the aggressive active texture reduction mod lets me load back quickly. However whenever I start a new career save I wind up loosing interest around the time I've finished a Mun landing. It's not that I don't like the game or even get board it just almost feels like KSP has lost some of its Novelty and sheer fun. Now I can't just send rockets around I have to manage science AND finances don't get me wrong I love the features band am aware sandbox mode exists but i just feel like the game is a different one know. I can't even finish a tech tree anymore.

I was just curious if anyone else has the same feelings.

I was getting close with my 0.25 game, until that got nuked by the update to 0.90 - everything I'd previously launched before the update became uncontrollable, including the mission to Jool I'd put vast amounts of work in to. Now I can't be bothered to start again (I refuse to play a game in which Kerbals get killed, and they will die if I try to carry on my 0.25 game) until the game at least reaches a stable 1.0

[Lord Aurelius]

I did a full career game once (in 23.5 or 0.24 I think), all stock except for mechjeb (flying everything by hand gets really tedious and I'm not a great pilot). My definition of a full career game is to unlock the tech tree (after that it's really just sandbox).

In general though, I'm terrible about starting careers and not finishing them. It's a combination of the terrible game balance in stock (ridiculous building limitations and upgrade costs, nonsense contracts, poor part placement in tech tree, among other things) making stock unplayable for me, and my favorite rebalance (SETI) being in a fluid state of development so I end up restarting frequently with the updates.

Once things stabilize after 1.0 (I still hate calling it that, realistically it's more like 0.27), I would like to sit down and do a proper career, there's some neat contract packs available now that give something to do in career beyond the tech tree before it just becomes a sandbox.

[worir4]

End? There is no such thing! (until the entire population of kerbin is killed in rocket explosion). Once i have done most of the stuff such as build a space station and Mun bases, i blow them up! Don't you guys just love watching large things explode?

[r_rolo1]

Just a not so rhetorical question: How does one end a KSP game?

[r4pt0r]

I get to the interplanetary stage, few missions to jool and duna, then they start talking about the next update and I stop playing and wait for that. The issue is I stop playing months in advance. but I think after 1.0 there should be no save issues with future updates, and no big changes to the core game, so I can carry the same save onwards forever.

[LABHOUSE]

End? There is no such thing! (until the entire population of kerbin is killed in rocket explosion). Once i have done most of the stuff such as build a space station and Mun bases, i blow them up! Don't you guys just love watching large things explode?

No, I enjoy making very detailed bases that I spend hours making in the VAB, but never get flown.

[Slam_Jones]

Can't finish the race if there ain't no finish line...

[RainDreamer]

Well, there is no real finish to this game, but I find that I am kind of stuck similarly to early human progress at the moment, never went further than the Mun and still building my network of satellites and space stations.

[tater]

I have yet to end a career except when a new version comes out (or I start a new, modded version), but OP has a point for a few main reasons, IMO.

1. The game's only psychological reward system is unlocking the tech tree. Most of us play on for other reasons, and some even make the claim that that is when the game begins---which I think is wrong just from the standpoint of "reward." You'd then have to set your own reward, unprompted (or tracked) by the game to "get all science in the Kerbol system" or something. That might be a sensible addition by the devs, a counter of your science vs a total (is there a fixed total?) Then at least there would be a counter to watch, even if it has no reward in game.

2. KSP, unlike many games gets easier, not harder as you play. Landing on the Mun with part count/mass/cost constraints is considerably harder than landing on the Mun after you have unlocked the tech tree. The only possibility of "failure" in a KSP career is in the very early game, in fact. Once you've upgraded the VAB and pad, you are on a path to have more funds/science than you can spend.

3. World quality. Face it, right now the Mun is the most interesting body due to the landscape. They need to doll up all the worlds so that they have interesting features and hazards at the scale size to make landing require at least looking around a little.

The counter is likely that things like Eve return, etc, are difficult, and they are, but it's just the expense of funds/time at that point to figure them out, and you should have trouble with neither due to #2, above.

I think that this is just the reality of things. Mars is more difficult than the Moon only because of human issues (life support) or time delay (probes). Since LS and time are meaningless in KSP, that makes increases in difficulty based upon distance similarly meaningless (the one way to make the later game a little harder is basically not considered important enough to add).

[Yakuzi]

I have the same problem as OP and believe it's due to a lack of exploration and feeling of achievement with career and science (unless you like grindfesting). Sure, you can grind your way into having all the funds and science to go anywhere in the Kerbolar system through some non-immersive contracts, but why should you when there's no incentive to explore apart from "haven't been to Dres yet, I should prolly plant a flag there". Why visit duna when it's pretty much like the Mun with an atmosphere a bit further away from Kerbin? In my opinion this is the most important thing lacking in KSP, and in all honesty this should've have been addressed long before adding KSC building upgrades/kersplosions/MK3updates/Kerbal skills/cinematic clouds and definitely the barn.

Maybe things will change slightly with ISRU, however, without any reason to stay longer on a planet (e.g. exploration, actual science, construction or other incentives), I'm afraid career mode will almost be as boring as it is now.

EDIT: In all honesty, I was looking forward to beta so we could advise Squad how to optimise career and make it more immersive/interesting. Still looking forward to playing 0.27, aero overhaul ftw!

Edited April 17, 2015 by Yakuzi

[FOARP]

I have yet to end a career except when a new version comes out (or I start a new, modded version), but OP has a point for a few main reasons, IMO.

1. The game's only psychological reward system is unlocking the tech tree. Most of us play on for other reasons, and some even make the claim that that is when the game begins---which I think is wrong just from the standpoint of "reward." You'd then have to set your own reward, unprompted (or tracked) by the game to "get all science in the Kerbol system" or something. That might be a sensible addition by the devs, a counter of your science vs a total (is there a fixed total?) Then at least there would be a counter to watch, even if it has no reward in game.

2. KSP, unlike many games gets easier, not harder as you play. Landing on the Mun with part count/mass/cost constraints is considerably harder than landing on the Mun after you have unlocked the tech tree. The only possibility of "failure" in a KSP career is in the very early game, in fact. Once you've upgraded the VAB and pad, you are on a path to have more funds/science than you can spend.

3. World quality. Face it, right now the Mun is the most interesting body due to the landscape. They need to doll up all the worlds so that they have interesting features and hazards at the scale size to make landing require at least looking around a little.

The counter is likely that things like Eve return, etc, are difficult, and they are, but it's just the expense of funds/time at that point to figure them out, and you should have trouble with neither due to #2, above.

I think that this is just the reality of things. Mars is more difficult than the Moon only because of human issues (life support) or time delay (probes). Since LS and time are meaningless in KSP, that makes increases in difficulty based upon distance similarly meaningless (the one way to make the later game a little harder is basically not considered important enough to add).

1. Visiting planets and retrieving science from them should feel like more of a permanent accomplishment (statues to Kerbonauts or something?)

2. Big new challenges are need. Basically the only way I can see of introducing these is a new gas giant.

3. There needs to be procedural craters/landscape for all planets/moons just as there is for Mun.

Finally, you're right that there needs to be Life Support in-game somehow. It just shouldn't be so limited as to be totally restrictive.

[Camelotking524]

Have you visited all the easter eggs? Pretty much during .18 thats drove my game for a long time.

Now that I mention it, I might go put a flag on each of the easter eggs. If only I could pull myself away from the SOIF M&B warband mod.

[Gerandar]

End? There is no such thing! (until the entire population of kerbin is killed in rocket explosion). Once i have done most of the stuff such as build a space station and Mun bases, i blow them up! Don't you guys just love watching large things explode?

once you've landed on all the bodies, put space stations around all bodies, landed a spaceplane on all bodies and so forth your pretty much done.

[noobsrtoast]

bored and ksp never end up in the same sentence, ever, sorry to say

[monstah]

I share the OP's feeling. I still love the game, sometimes I load it just to see some of my favourite ships floating around and listen to SPACEWHALES while I do something else, but I've also lost some of the novelty of trying something different (a feeling along the lines of "It's farther away, but it's just the same thing").

Just a question to the OP: Whats an SSD install?

- - - Updated - - -

3. There needs to be procedural craters/landscape for all planets/moons just as there is for Mun.

More varied landscape would DEFINETELY make my day

[noobsrtoast]

if thats all there is to the game for you, i feel bad for you

- - - Updated - - -

Can't finish the race if there ain't no finish line...

so true

[djnattyd]

I have 3 separate installs. One with Outer Planets, MKS/OKS and Karbonite. One with the Kerbin 365 mod and one stock. Each offers a different game to play.

Do I launch a base building mission to Urlum?

Do I spend time designing a craft capable of launching from a 3.2x Kerbin and fly to the Mun 3.2x further away than normal whilst dealing with the restrictions thrown up by Hard Mode?

Or do I just go full fat vanilla cheesecake and abuse the stock aerodynamics in sandbox mode?

KSP is one of the rare games that actually gives that kind of choice and if all else fails... Well I have 62 other games in my Steam account and have a 1/3rd completed Homeworld Remastered game to complete as well as an X3: Albion Prelude career to complete.

I can assure you that they don't hold my interest the way KSP does.

[Wjolcz]

<this post was a derp, sorry!>

Edited April 16, 2015 by Veeltch

[Red Iron Crown]

^^ Wrong thread, Veeltch?

[Greenfire32]

Probably nobody has money for that. But I've seen an Angry Bird toy on ISS. Why wouldn't NASA take a Kerbal to space? They got that colaboration thing after all, right?

....wut?

^^ Wrong thread, Veeltch?

I'm thinking so, lol

On topic:

I, too, find that career mode fails to capture my interest and often revert back to sandbox after like an hour or so.

[Wallygator]

Finish a KSP game? Not sure I've made it the real beginning yet...