Tell your story. How did you get to KSP 1.0

[Ival70]

I think I first dabbled around with a demo .19 and tried a docking trainer, I thought I would never get anywhere with it and left it alone.

Much later I tried in .22 and dabbled with building a craft and was hooked. I am now with .90 and will not go to 1.02 until it is fixed, I am not having any fun with too many glitches/bugs that don't allow me to use the mods I have with .90.....

Which mods do you use? I would think nearly all of them have updated by now.

I heard about it on FARK when the story broke about paid DLC and SQUAD said that people that bought the game before a certain date (about 2 weeks in the future at the time) would never pay for any DLC but that ones that bought it after that date would get free updates but at some point they may have to pay for major DLC.

I downloaded a copy, tried it and immediately bought the game.

Less than four weeks later I had landed a kerbal on every body in the game as the first challenge I saw was the grandmaster challenge and I didn't realise how hard it was supposed to be. AFAIK I was the very first person to plant a flag on every body in the game (except Jool and the Sun of course) as I had kerbals already on their way for the challenge when the update happened where we got flags. I remember I did that challenge in about 4 days of hardly any sleep playing about 14 hours a day (sometimes more). Kerbal Alarm Clock was my friend then.

After that I did my first docking and thought that was a major challenge compared to just landing somewhere. I got to the point of docking large portions of stations before I realised the game had RCS. Docking seemed really easy after that...

At a guess I would say that I played over 300 hours in the first month of owning the game. It stayed around that level for about six months. I've probably played 3000 hours+ by now.

Ha, RCS really helps, though now you are probably not too worried if you ever run out of the stuff! One time, while bringing a crew transport to a station, I somehow managed to get a rendezvous so good that I didn't use any fuel docking. Haven't managed to do it since. :/

I don't even want think think about how many thousands of hours I've spent..

From what I recall, I discovered KSP from one of Nerdcubed's videos (if you don't know who he is, look him up.) He did a video where he showed 7 free games and one of them was the early early KSP demo. This was probably back in late 2011 or maybe earlier. I downloaded the demo and I fell in love. Shortly thereafter, I bought the game. So I've been with the game for a REALLY long time.

You mean this video?

After a friend of mine showed me Danny2462, I got the game in .25. I was instantly hooked although the first week was spent on trying to get to orbit. And blowing everything up.

You managed to get to orbit AND blow everything up? I only managed one of those things my first time playing. I'll let you decide which one...

[11of10]

I remember, long time ago, that a friend told me about this game where you launch little green men into space (almost his exact words) and I remember thinking about some children's game, and saying "Pfft, where's the fun in that". Fast forward a few years, I somehow stumbled upon KSP (maybe literally StumbleUpon, don't have a clue) and staring thrilled, for that was just what I wanted! A day of demo later, I bought the game on Steam, and here I am. Of course, I'm still to go anywhere else but Mun/Minmus, and still haven't done much more than fooling around LKO, but... well... that's it!

Edit: Just realised I haven't said when I actually got it: August 2013.

[Windspren]

I found a mention of it while playing SimpleRockets on my iPad. It was version 0.23.5. When I first got it I put the engine and the parachute in the same stage, classic noob style. I haven't ever watched a KSP video (I am more crazy then Jeb) but managed to successfully rendezvous not to long ago. I have done a 3 kerbal landing and return on the Mun. I haven't yet even sent a probe to Minmus, and have no idea how to do an interplanetary transfer.

[quixoft]

I heard of it about a year ago from a co-worker but I didn't have the time to start a new game and forgot about it. A friend on Facebook a couple weeks ago recommended it again so I grabbed 1.0.2 off Steam and haven't looked back.

It's a great game albeit a bit crashy. Of course my rocket designs are a bit crashy as well so I really can't complain too much!

I'm a software developer so I'm already digging into mods to see if I can come up with anything interesting.

[Macdaddy42]

I was strolling around the interwebs looking for some space games that were not just ANOTHER crappy 2D space shooter with a complete lack of realistic physics and the entertaining capacity of 20mins. I ended up finding KSP .20 (and orbiter) and have never looked back. (I didn't even try the demo it looked so good I just opened my wallet straight away.)

[SaturnianBlue]

I was randomly searching around the space simulator areas on wikipedia, and so I found ksp (still 0.13!)but my computer couldn't really support even the .13 demo, so I played around in .10.2, but my interest in KSP has varied a lot, but I was able to get the game in 0.90 beta... Got it in the beginning on 2015.

[kmMango]

This was back around 0.20. I was looking into space sim games and saw KSP. I downloaded the demo and liked it, but didn't want to spend 20 bucks on a game that I thought I'd get frustrated with in a week, judging from the rage getting to the Mun for the first time in the demo generated in me. I stopped playing shortly after 0.21 released.

A few months later, I saw the game pop up in my Steam recommendations. After watching some videos of 0.23 gameplay, I bought the full version in January 2014. Been with it ever since.

Edited June 1, 2015 by kmMango

[SkyRender]

Long ago, back in the mists of October 2011, I happened upon a video by a fellow calling himself Maxwell Adams (formerly the unofficial leader of a Let's Play group called the Freelance Astronauts). He showcased KSP in a video, and did a good job of selling the game as being a fun little diversion to toy around in. Having just recently played Just Cause 2 for the first time, I was quite fond of the idea of being able to wreak havoc with poorly-built rockets, and since it was free anyway, I downloaded it. Within maybe a week or two, the Mun was added to the game, and I discovered Scott Manley by accident in looking up videos on how to get there. The game stopped being an explosion simulator and started becoming something to properly challenge myself with at that point. Not too long after that came 0.13, and the announcement that 0.14 would be the first paid version of the game. I liked what I saw, and where the game was going, so I made the plunge. I'd spent plenty more than what I paid for much worse games, that's for sure!

I've been through a lot of phases with KSP since, and done just about everything that can feasibly be done in it at one point or another. Of course I'll take a break from it to play something else for a while from time to time (currently on a brief hiatus for, interestingly enough, a replay of Just Cause 2), but I always come back to the little green men and their do-it-yourself approach to space flight.

[Mighty1]

Someone commented about KSP on space.com and I had a look at it. I downloaded the pirated version 0.18 and played it like mad. When 0.19 came out I decided that this game, that a small "no name" company in Mexico is making with a small budget, is more awesome the any of the games from the big studios and I shouted at Humble Bundle: "Take my money"

[Bev7787]

You managed to get to orbit AND blow everything up? I only managed one of those things my first time playing. I'll let you decide which one...

Let me guess... You blew up

[justspace103]

Around the time of 0.14 (i think it was early summer of 2012), i was very bored after playing SPORE by maxis and i looked up "rocket space simulation". the first thing that came up was KSP, but i decided it was stupid and i kept looking. i couldn't find anything else so i got the 13.3 demo. i played it for a week or so until i had to get to camp. when i got back, 0.16 came out and i started to find KSP youtubers like kurtjmac and Scott Manley. I bought the game and i've been loving it since

[HoloYolo]

0.23. First game I bought on Steam. Still love it and I have 907 hours on it today.

[dudefinal]

I got interested in KSP after getting Simple Rockets on my Iphone. I wached many YouTubers play it and finally decided I wanted it for my birthday. Shortly before my birthday I was talking to one of my friends on steam about how I wanted this game. He said that he had bought two copies of the game for a contest I think and he said that I could have the extra copy as an early birthday present. I was humble and said that he didn't have to but he insisted. He gave a copy of the game and now it is my favorite game ever!

I think the version was 0.21 or 0.19.

Edited September 2, 2015 by dudefinal

[Just Jim]

I'm a latecomer, my daughter's boyfriend introduced me to KSP early this spring, when it was at 0.9. I was instantly hooked and absolutely love it. But I'm a little sad I missed out on the early days.

[NathanKell]

Saw it talked about on RPS for a while, but held off buying until after I graduated. That was wise. Been hooked ever since. .20 on.

[Axelord FTW]

Someone from Squad was relentlessly shilling KSP on /v/ back in July 2011.

Played pretty intensively for maybe a bit less than a year (until June 2012) and then I burned out.

I played for maybe a week or two in 2013 but I let it go pretty quickly. I think because not enough had changed even though by that time mods were starting to pour out for KSP.

In early september 2014, I came back on board and I've been playing pretty consistently since.

Now, I'm playing the waiting game because of how much grief the thermal system is bringing me. Spent a week trying to fix/workaround a nasty overheating bug and I don't think I'll find one. I'm stuck waiting for an official fix.

[Superfluous J]

Based on my purchase date (My memory is foggy) I bought the game when it was 0.20.1. Shortly after 0.21 (and 0.21.1) came out, and I spent that entire version learning as much as I could. By the end of it, I had gone interplanetary, set up a Kethane refinery, and the last thing I did before 0.22 (Like, literally, the night before) was return my last Kerbal from Moho so I could close the save and never go back.

When 0.22 came out, I started my first "Bases" series on YouTube, and while I don't do that series anymore, it did last all the way through 0.23.5. When 0.24 came out, I started Kerpollo, and pretty much did a major series for every version since, up to the present where I'm doing the KSP Contractor series in 1.0(.whatever). I'm already planning my 1.1 series, which may end up being a Kerpollo-type series, back in Science mode for old timey fun.

[nalfz]

Looked at it ages ago, landed a capsule on water

Came back ages later, they fixed the water (now it just blows up everything in a ten mile radius)

[MaxwellsDemon]

I'd been fiddling with (and enjoying) Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Manager, and my google searches kept coming up with Kerbal results... so I investigated, and here I am! (It's a very different thing than BASPM-- I very much enjoy both, for different reasons.)

[Robotengineer]

I got the game 1-2 weeks before .23 came out (IIRC), so I learned most of the game playing .22.

[severedsolo]

My friend recommended it around about 0.18 (I think? I remember docking was definitely in the game, it was just after the whole "DLC" controversy). I took one look and went "well that looks like the stupidest game I've ever seen."

Then I downloaded the demo, played a couple of tutorials. Here I am 2 years and >2000 in-game hours later.

[Nori]

I honestly don't recall how I ran across the game. I believe I saw a couple people mention it on various forums and finally got around to looking at it. Initially I thought it sounded kind of blah. But I took the plunge one day and bought it. Pretty sure that was 0.16. I've played every update since.

[Kuansenhama]

I first saw it on Youtube when someone was talking about .19. I downloaded the demo and (sadly with, very few hilarous early game rocket crashes). I remember my first rocket was the MK1 pod with an MK16 chute, 3 FLT-200 tanks and one LVT 30. No decoupler though. I later bought the full game, and played all of the tutorials multiple times. I also watched some SM when I wanted to make a space-plane. In .90 i discovered the glory of mods, and here I am today...

[CaptainApollo]

My story with KSP is a little interesting. About a year and a half ago I became very passionate about spaceflight, and began finding as many space sim games as I could. I got Orbiter 2010, and a few other games that are not very well known at all and are hidden in the deepest parts of the web. Then I watched a video on KSP, downloaded the demo, gave it a try, (this was in early 2014) but I am sad to say that I only gave it a very brief chance and then I dismissed it, thinking it silly or something like that. Huge mistake. About a year later, when KSP was newly released and in 1.0.2, people began talking a lot about it. I downloaded the demo for another try, and bought the game a few days later. I loved KSP and have played it daily whenever I can ever since. The only regret? Not finding it even earlier than 2014, and if I did, giving it another chance. Oh well, I'm happy I found out its true potential now.

[Randazzo]

Having burned out on EVE online and Planetside, I sought another game to occupy my time. I initially purchased Elite: Dangerous and spent a couple of weeks playing that, but then KSP was suggested to me. I had seen it a few times but didn't think it was my kind of thing; Seemed like it would be too difficult to really enjoy and I'm leery of "indie" (Why you ask? Because the majority of them are terrible and never get finished) titles. It was on sale however, so I bought it in December of 2014.

Long story short, I've never stuck to a primarily single-player game this long before. I still actually want to play KSP every day, even if it's only for one launch, and I haven't played Elite since.

TLDR; It was on sale.