1.0 is actually a great update!

[micr0wave]

The 1.0 is great. There are quite a couple things to relearn for some, and i really like the huge number of subtle changes that got sneaked in and nobody talks about.

For example, people moaning about ladders coming too late, well, adapt or die, you can easily climb on a plane by just climbing it. You can climb flags, tear them down again and so on.

Go, play the game, discover it again, let there be a patch or two (whoever has seen a bugfree 1.0 software may rise his hand), then you can start to moan about whatever there might be to moan about.

Just my two ..err.. roots ?

[stibbons]

I'm challenging you on hiding your concerns behind a big white wall on a random forum thread. How much of that did you write on an official bug tracker where people might take it seriously?

[Jovus]

I doubt anyone (at least those with a background in software development) expects a bug free version 1.0

...

1.0 is a fantastic update and the new features make it a rounded game worthy of its 1.0 designation. The bugs, on the other hand, make it feel as this should have been 0.95 or .99

• 
  

Indeed. In my previous job as a QA and black-box tester, I would have labeled Valentina exploding and the heat shield CoM offset as Can't Ship Release, and many of the overheating-during-previously-normal-flight issues as Critical.

Doesn't make it not a great release. What it does make it is in need of at least one more pass of bug-fixes before it gets shoved out of the shop into the real world.

[Kerbart]

I'm challenging you on hiding your concerns behind a big white wall on a random forum thread. How much of that did you write on an official bug tracker where people might take it seriously?

Because they've already been reported about a thousand times and there was no need to discuss them in this thread. It's more a pre-emptive strike against a "what bugs?" reply.

[panzer1b]

Gotta love them dragless rockets!

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MACH 4 and UNDER 6 DRAG!

[stibbons]

You pre-empted claims you did nothing by.. doing nothing. ok

[Javster]

I really dislike this update and I'm willing to be vocal about it..... Everything good about the game was changed/broke.... there are so many bugs, two new (very large) changes that didn't get implimented right and have no place in a "full game" update.... Is anyone else thinking SQUAD is rushing to finish KSP because they're going to lose funding? Cause it feels like they really messed up on this update....

They were in Alpha for years, Beta for one update, then suddenly BAM! release. Seems obviously rushed to me...

[SpaceXray]

For all of the people complaining about the update"

Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth and thank Squad for working hard for months to pack so many new features in one update.

The new system will grow on us pretty quickly, and it's not like 1.0 wasn't supposed to change the game. It did so dramatically, and in a good way. Now it behaves like a real space game and also more like a proper flight sim.

There are so many great and cool features, you should forget the fact that most of your craft are broken.

[locustgate]

Just because you're not an aerospace engineer does NOT mean that aerodynamics update was implemented wrong. Quite the opposite, it proves that the people complaining about it..are armchair scientists who know NOTHING about aerodynamics and love to pretend they do.

All I know is now my planes fly like my paper airplanes do.....well actually better seeing as I never can get a paper one to fly more than a few feet.

[Galileo Kerbonaut]

The more I am getting used to the new aerodynamics the more I am starting to like them. I have been playing KSP since 0.19 and never used FAR so needless to say I was having hard times in 1.0. My rockets were flying all over the place, spinning out of control fast and even getting in to orbit was a daunting task. But figuring out WHY my rockets were (sometimes are) dancing around like crazy, was (is) a very fun process.

This version has brought back to me what I love in KSP in the first place: figuring things out you don't (fully) understand. Sure it was a huge letdown and a very humbling (little frustrating) experience to drop down a few skill levels, but once you start figuring the changes it also gives a tremendous feeling of satisfaction.

[Joonatan1998]

I agree, there are some bugs, and some design decisions I (and aparently many other people) find strange, but that is mostly pretty minor things. (and for each decision there are also people who like it.)

-Aerodynamics are great.

-Resource system is good. (simple, gives the game its first important time based mechanics. (the first scanner is about the only thing I don't like, but that is pretty easy to roleplay untill someone makes a mod.))

-Re-entry heat... is a bit weird, but works.

-New parts. (the large xenon tank...)

-rebalancing not perfect, but much better than it was before.

I expected a lot more bugs, glitchyness and all other kinds of failure.

Reduced my list of "must have" mods a lot. (but may still install them, just can play without.)

Edited April 29, 2015 by Joonatan1998

[KerBlammo]

1.0 is a great update IMO. The new areo is a big improvement. It seems to me that most of the "problems" are just people having to relearn how do things a differ way than before.

Of course there is room for improvement (I am a bit concerned about the over heating of the nuclear engines given that there is no dedicated radiator part, and I do think that the maneuver node UI is need of an overhaul) but I am very happy with this update and am enjoying re-learning how to make a decent launch vehicle and get into orbit as efficiently as possible.

[DunaRocketeer]

How did that heatshield mass bug not get caught by the supposedly excellent QA team? What the hell is going on with the parachutes? Why are the rapier engines constantly glowing? Why do landing gear wheels not rotate? Why are LV-N's damn well near unuseable without mucking up your ships with jury rigged heatsinks?

Etc etc etc

This was meant to be the most bug free version yet, and it's turning out to be just as compromised. I'm sorry I just can't get over how blindingly obvious the heatshield bug is, I mean you just can't miss it.

Squad was told that going from beta to gold in such a short time would be ill advised, and it turned out exactly as many expected. I wasn't one of those people, but that faith has been dashed.

Oh, and the game is going to get crucified by reviewers for fixable graphics shortcomings.

[RedDwarfIV]

Why are the rapier engines constantly glowing? Why do landing gear wheels not rotate?

That one I can answer. Basically, it's glowing because it will glow as long as the engine is hot, not just when you're firing it.

As for NERVAs, it's definitely pretty annoying, but I've figured at least one way around it so far (without using 'radiators' at that.)

[n.b.z.]

My opinion: 1.0 is great!

Mind you, great does not mean perfect, there are definitely issues that need to be fixed, but overall I'm wildly excited.

Heatshields are a blast (once they are fixed). Played around with direct aerocaptures of a lander on Duna with a wide-arsed heat shield made from one large piece and four medium ones protecting radial protrusions on the lander. Added 2 airbrakes near the top of the lander for braking finetuning... much fun was had and more will come.)

Observation: ALL parts are ablative. If they get too hot, they will ablate off your craft.

I feel like an idiot when trying to make spaceplanes. Not that I was an expert for these before, but I managed to go to Minmus, or build one that could reach 100km LKO, return to KSC, and then repeat that with the remaining fuel. Now with 1.0, I built a relatively large monster that just manages to get to LKO and back, even with the cargo bay empty.

My gut feeling so far is that spaceplanes are more about flying a very precise profile than SPH skills. They are difficult for the same reason that makes them unfeasible in the real world: in order to attain high speeds from air-breathing engines, you are forced to spend a long time in atmosphere at high speeds. If the air is dense enough for intakes to work at all, this automatically means that heating is at extreme levels. That means that the most efficient ascent profile is likely to include the element of heating up the craft to just below the onset of part ablation.

By the way, when I learned spaceplanes in the old KSP syrupsphere, it was the same: flying a proper profile was at least as important as the plane design itself.

It's good that planes are no longer some miracle machines that feel like cheats due to having magical powers. Also, the aero at low speeds, when fooling around the KSC (or the mountains), feels awesome. Flaps and airbrakes: yay! And the visual effects around a rocket fairing at max-Q are just marvellous.

And my new best friend are service bays. Sooo nice.

[locustgate]

- (the first scanner is about the only thing I don't like, but that is pretty easy to roleplay untill someone makes a mod.))

Already is one scansat.

[Wayfare]

1.0 is a fantastic update and the new features make it a rounded game worthy of its 1.0 designation. The bugs, on the other hand, make it feel as this should have been 0.95 or .99

My thoughts exactly. I'd go a bit further and say that this update is not worthy of being labeled 1.0. Too many things are left unfinished to consider this product ready for release. Off the top of my head:

- The tutorials are clunky, text-based things that exist outside the main career mode and do not cover more advanced concepts like interplanetary maneuvers, the lab module or resource harvesting.

- There is only rudimentary audio in the game. A voice volume slider exists while there are no voices. Many, many parts, actions and events are completely silent.

- Rovers have very little purpose. Biomes are generally too far apart to make ground-based exploration practical. Plus they're still a hassle to drive, especially in lower gravities like Mun or Duna. Yeah, I know. I forgot about rovers too.

- Many mechanics are undocumented. How do you transfer resources and crew? What do pilots, scientists and engineers actually do? What are biomes and how do you find them? Subassemblies? Offset / Select Root tools?

- Get out of your pod, retrieve data, store data, get back in so you can create a new crew report. This shouldn't be necessary.

- A whole bunch of new tweaks, features and mechanics have just been implemented. People are already breaking them left and right. This should have been done in Beta, not Release.

- There's no way to win. That may be a design decision, but it's certainly debatable.

I think my main beef is with the tutorials. They're nice and all, but very 2005. A modern game of this complexity should explain new concepts as and when they appear, making the tutorial an organic part of the game experience. The early game especially should be paced so that basic mechanics can be quickly understood through a natural flow. Right now the game basically throws you in the deep end and KSP is simply too dependent on complicated ideas for that to work. Having a lively community and awesome Youtube-base certainly helps (thanks Scott) but really, this stuff should be contained in the game itself at least at a basic level. Remember how weird orbital mechanics seemed until you had them explained to you? Yeah, I forgot that too.

In my opinion, what KSP really needs now is two or three experienced game designers. Preferably outsiders. People who know how to balance and pace gameplay and how to set up a new player experience. People who will point out all the little warts and wrinkles that the devs as a team and we as a community have grown too accustomed to to recognize. People who will put their foot down and say: "Enough new features, let's fix up what we have and make an actual game out of it."

That said, I'm perfectly happy with 1.0 as an update. It has tons of cool new stuff and it has rekindled my interest in KSP. I can't wait to build a sprawling Mun base with resource mining and refining facilities and a science lab, much like I did in the old days but now functional! And hey, for the hundreds and hundreds of hours I've sunk into this game it is still some of the very best money I ever spent!

Edited April 29, 2015 by Wayfare

[Joonatan1998]

Already is one scansat.

Scansat can scan the new resources?

It hasn't yet updated. (adding the new system probably takes time.)

Edited April 29, 2015 by Joonatan1998

[fakerussiandude]

I agree, the update is absolutely amazing, but I have one question because I'm not sure if I am the only one with this issue. For some reason I can't edit the persistence files with custom kerbals anymore. When ever I add a kerbal now, it just deletes them once I start up the game.

[regex]

As for NERVAs, it's definitely pretty annoying, but I've figured at least one way around it so far (without using 'radiators' at that.)

LV-Ns should actually have their heat production value dropped from 240 to 100 (this has been suggested to the devs already, I think, through the proper channels). This will make a single LV-N quite usable, if still a bit hot, and make multiple LV-Ns much more feasible without wing "radiator" spam (although you will need some radiative parts). We should hopefully get some dedicated radiator parts, perhaps with an emissiveConstant around 0.96 ~ 0.97, basically graphite levels. For reference, wings are 0.95 and engines are generally 0.8. Something else that helps are parts with a lot of mass to soak up that heat allowing the LV-N to burn longer (with reduced heating this will work even better). Sure, you still have to dissipate all that heat, but you can delay having to do it. Gigantors are also great for dissipating heat, although you do need to watch the heat because they're more fragile than wings; I like them stuck to the high-mass parts as radiators while using wing parts on the LV-N attach part.

[Hotblack Desiato]

This update has added so many features. I have noticed that many people have been a bit critical on several features. Fairing confetti? Be glad we have fairings at all, and I believe Squad has already mentioned they will be improved. No Aero Graph or delta-V? Was said in the AMA that they will both be added in the future, and if I remember correctly Delta-V readouts were not even originally planned to exist! Also on rockets flipping out of control, maybe try and turn them more smoothly, and remember that huge fairings on the top can be bad! These features may seem to have broken things (such as SSTOs), but the truth is that we need to learn to adjust to the new mechanics. Of course it may seem difficult, but only because we have had the broken "aerodynamics" for so long. Rocket science is not just about having enough fuel and thrust, you need an aerodynamically stable rocket.

This is just a friendly reminder to not be upset with the devs and enjoy this wonderful update.

yes, you are right. KSP 1.0 is in a situation that they have delivered a qualitiy within their initial final release, which you won't get at most of the other computergames. usually, games aren't really enjoyable before 1.1 is out (just like windows, which is only usable after service pack 1).

but with this release, they added a bunch of new features. features, which would be really fine on their own. but a lot of players do know the mods where those features first surfaced. and since those features evolved over the past 2 (or even 3 years), they are mostly better than the stock system. stock aerodynamic is nice, FAR/NEAR is better. Stock reentry heat is nice but complicated, deadly reentry is better. stock-fairings have a nice system and the auto-opening in VAB is really decent, yet procedural fairings is simpler and has this autostrut-feature. and then there is still no lifesupport-system, whereas players can choose between several different systems as mods.

and then there are the rocket-nerfs. honestly, they hurt a lot. especially the vacuum engine nerfs, I do fully understand that a vacuum-optimized rocket engine should be terrible under atmospheric conditions. but they are bad in space too (I consider an ISP below 360 in vacuum as bad). the only reason for that could be, that they expect players to set up a pit stop on minmus, for refuelling of further exploration, or that they should hunt for asteroids.

so there needs to be something done in this game... (I guess, I might be continue using near future propulsion, because those engines are energy-hungry, but have an incredible ISP).

[klgraham1013]

For example, people moaning about ladders coming too late, well, adapt or die, you can easily climb on a plane by just climbing it. You can climb flags, tear them down again and so on.

I'll say it again. Do not excuse bad design because their is a work around. First it was "jet pack up", now it's going to be "climb up", instead of simply putting a ladder on it.

- - - Updated - - -

Just because you're not an aerospace engineer does NOT mean that aerodynamics update was implemented wrong. Quite the opposite, it proves that the people complaining about it..are armchair scientists who know NOTHING about aerodynamics and love to pretend they do.

Can I go on record as an armchair scientist who likes the new aero?

[InterCity]

As I said before, I think that from the dev's POW, as well as newcomers'; KSP 1.0. is one of the best updates there was. For us, old players who have known KSP with the old mk3 capsule and launch tower, not so much. There's just so many things that have completely changed; making old wolves feel like total newcomers and going through significant portion of the learning curve again. That said, what we knew about physics, especially aero and reentry is wrong and everything needs redesigning now. I struggle myself to make a SSTO, while before I made a full space station using nothing but SSTOs. Objectively, there are several things that could be done better, several bugs and several not-quite-finished features, but still nothing out of norm and I expect all of the above to be addressed in a hotfix. Despite that, what we've got in form of KSP 1.0. is a remarkably good indie game, albeit lacking polish.

Regarding the bad attitude toward QA and testers, I think that the team was doing all they could, but those picked for QA do not represent the "average KSP joe" and things that QA team likes may not be received well by other people. Then again, most peeves about KSP are just a matter of personal opinion.

TL; DR: Well done, Squad. 1.0 is definitely one of the most awesome things I've played since Banished and Cities: Skylines (And those games are pretty dang good). I'm looking forward to see more 1.0s

[MaxxPower]

I'm a big fan of all the part and physics updates (yes, even the new aerodynamics).

On the other hand, i really dislike the grindy progression in career mode.

[A_name]

I'm working on a 100 ton to orbit design where the payload will go in a 3.75m base aeroshell.

How do you make a 3.75m aeroshell?*

*I asked this in another thread too, but in case you don't go back there.