Kerbal Sea Program?

[Draconiator]

I was originally going to post something else entirely, which I'm still going to do after this one...

...but do you think Squad should make this? The concept would be a heavily modified KSP, but no planets, and just Mun and Kerbol as scenery objects because it would focus on the seas and lakes of Kerbin - and you would have this MASSIVE underwater world with tons of interesting things. Inland lakes would have more interesting things because you would have to build a rover to get a submarine there, or maybe a rocket designed for getting places quickly with the sub as the payload, but your oceans would be full of amazing things too. You still would have missions, but they would be like "Recover an ancient drool bowl of King Kerbanuken XVII", or "Bring us a specimen of the Giant Kerbtopus"

,,,I'd buy it, they say the oceans are the last great unexplored biome on Earth, so I would think this could fly.

[victory143]

Perhaps. Many a time I have attempted to sail under the ocean using rockets.

[Moesly_Armlis]

Release the KRAKEN

Soon^tm

[John Nowak]

Yeah, especially if it got into issues like decompression.

I visited the museum in Woods Hole. The details of how a submersible like Alvin works is up there with the details of how Apollo worked.

It would be a very different game with very different challenges, but I'd love to play it.

[Orionkermin]

I'd enjoy it. And somewhat related, you should take a look at another early access game called subnautica. It doesn't allow you to build submarines like KSP or anything, but it is all set underwater and exploration is a key theme.

[heng]

problem i see is complexity...

with kerbal _space_ program all you had to model accurately was orbital mechanics, and even there liberties were taken (e.g. no lagrange points). atmospheric models used to be very rudimentary - now slightly better - but still sufficient for our purposes. no weather, no wind. but hey, who needs this in a space simulation...

but as soon as you developing a physics oriented underwater game...

Haloclines/Thermoclines There is suddenly sound!

Currents A static waterbody would just feel like a very soupy space...

Wildlife Not a single spot where you will find a magic boulder, but schools of fishes roaming around.

Waves Just look at the "Physical oceanography – Waves and currents" list of topics. Just look at it.

Tides probably the easiest of the list to model.

And lets be honest. All of the above need to be addressed at least on an acknowledging level in a game serious enough about physics to carry the "Kerbal" name.

Edited June 10, 2015 by heng

[RainDreamer]

The depth of the oceans is almost an alien world in itself. Though I wouldn't be interested in it. Space is the frontier I enjoy to explore.

[John Nowak]

problem i see is complexity...

Right, exactly. Sea Program would need to have very detailed maps of a big chunk of ocean floor, or at least a way of generating it on the fly and allowing the player to revisit the same place later.

Square miles of rock and grasslands is fine for the Space Program, but once you start talking about visiting an underwater environment... you need a much higher level of detail and interactivity.

And I'd want to see some interconnectivity between the games. Drop a space probe in the ocean, it sinks, you recover it with a submarine...

[Legendary Emu]

The ocean is weird and creepy. All the weird creepy messed up fish things you find when you go really deep into the ocean really turns me off. But it would be a really neat game to play, if done right.

[heng]

This looks promising:

Abzu

[Yukon0009]