"Plan Kappa" - A KSP graphic novel (Jeb is back in Chapter 53! Well, kinda.)

[passinglurker]

Woo! page turn bait! literary cliches! "It was all a dream" tropes!... are poise and stary's from kuzzter's universe? she seems surprised by the use of a mk1-2 was she expecting the mk3 cockpit used on the hummblebee or something?

[Noname117]

Well, this is getting interesting. We have Kerbals coming from different timelines as decisions are made to change them. I just wonder where their former selves are in the current timeline...

[Parkaboy]

Woo! page turn bait! literary cliches! "It was all a dream" tropes!... are poise and stary's from kuzzter's universe? she seems surprised by the use of a mk1-2 was she expecting the mk3 cockpit used on the hummblebee or something?

Nope, it was more like someone today would be surprised to see an Apollo CSM in space, rather than a more modern design like a Dragon or Orion capsule. She isn't a Kuzzter character, since Kuzzter's Kerbfleet universe isn't the future of Plan Kappa's universe, but rather more like a separate timeline.

[Starhawk]

Yeah, I know that was a cheap narrative trick. I couldn't resist. Sorry. I promise not to do it ever again! Next time someone dies in the story, it will be because I screwed up a mission and will be for real!

I also forgive you.

That was wonderfully played.

Happy landings!

[smjjames]

Alternate branching timelines abounding!

[Thegamer211]

Tedusday*

[Mister Dilsby]

Tedusday*

No, no, the multiple Tuesday references were shoutout enough. Though if anyone would be allowed to 'borrow' Kerbfleet characters it'd be Parkaboy.

[Parkaboy]

No, no, the multiple Tuesday references were shoutout enough. Though if anyone would be allowed to 'borrow' Kerbfleet characters it'd be Parkaboy.

Give me some time to establish my characters a little better and we can have a crossover!

[GDJ]

" It appears those two are not from the same timeline as Glery, from a future where Jeb lived and went to Duna. I wonder what this could mean..."

Q

He's always mucking around with time and such. He's a wanker.

[Scotius]

All is forgiven That was an excellent plot twist. *tips imaginary hat*

[Deddly]

I'm surprised the "do you really want to know? I'll tell you" line didn't give it away to you guys

[Kagame]

*repeatedly kicks OP in the head for that narration trick*

That being said, I look forward to reading more of this wonderful series. Most excellent.

[Terwin]

I'm surprised the "do you really want to know? I'll tell you" line didn't give it away to you guys

That made it seem very likely that the death scene was an alternate universe flash-back, but I could not find a visual cue that there was such a transition so I was not certain either way.

[Commander Zoom]

See also the bit in True Lies where Ahnuld fantasizes, briefly but vividly, about just reaching over and breaking someone's neck.

[Deddly]

... Or the end of Dumb and Dumber where he kills the boyfriend

[Parkaboy]

New chapter!

[Sharkman Briton]

I'd suggest less amounts of reading, that got a bit boring after a while, loving the story so far though.

[Noname117]

This is such a nice way to implement the stranded astronaut contracts into the story. I'm still quite curious as to how this story will progress.

[Mister Dilsby]

Ow my brain indeed So the really interesting nugget here is that all the stranded ones are from the SAME DAY, alternate timelines. And as we know, that one day is pretty close to the end of Year Three in which Kerbin explodes. Also we know the future can be changed--wondering whether the combined forces of all time and space will be enough to stop whatever destroyed the planet or not.

Using the letters is a good way to break up what would have been a somewhat quotidian sequence of launches and missions. I generally choose not to show 'minor' launches, but as the whole 'countdown to disaster' thing is a major theme I don't see how you could avoid it. So, yes--tell the character story in parallel with the launches to keep things moving.

[Parkaboy]

I'd suggest less amounts of reading, that got a bit boring after a while, loving the story so far though.

That won't be the usual format, don't worry. I just wanted to give a few important tidbits while also developing Phoice's character. A lot of this backstory grew organically from the game, as I tried to fit everything that was happening with my plans, but it's mostly that: backstory. It's important because it will affect the way some characters behave futurely.

Ow my brain indeed So the really interesting nugget here is that all the stranded ones are from the SAME DAY, alternate timelines. And as we know, that one day is pretty close to the end of Year Three in which Kerbin explodes. Also we know the future can be changed--wondering whether the combined forces of all time and space will be enough to stop whatever destroyed the planet or not.

Using the letters is a good way to break up what would have been a somewhat quotidian sequence of launches and missions. I generally choose not to show 'minor' launches, but as the whole 'countdown to disaster' thing is a major theme I don't see how you could avoid it. So, yes--tell the character story in parallel with the launches to keep things moving.

Yeah, I wanted to give an overview of every mission, but the least important ones don't need to have much detail, since they're not very important for the plot. It may seem as a lot of reading, but it's actually less boring than the alternative, which is going through all these missions where nothing really happens.

[Deddly]

I agree with Kuzzter, the letters were a nice touch and far less boring than a report about all those similar launches.

One thing bothers me though: by launching from the runway, you bypass your own limitations. Surely the runway would also need refurbishing - probably even more than a launchpad designed for such stresses?

[nightingale]

If you hadn't already hooked me and I saw this comic first, I might've said, "bleh, wall of text". But it was a fabulous read, and I think it provided some great character development for Phoice on top of blowing through the grindy launches. That being said I sure wish there was some Texture Replacer in play or something like that to be able to more easily tell the characters apart.

[Mister Dilsby]

One thing bothers me though: by launching from the runway, you bypass your own limitations. Surely the runway would also need refurbishing - probably even more than a launchpad designed for such stresses?

Could get VERY interesting if a plane is coming in bingo fuel--and finds a 180t rocket rolled out in the middle of the tarmac: **SKKRRT Ahh, Kerbal Two Niner, please divert to VAB helipad, over **SKRRRT**

[Parkaboy]

I agree with Kuzzter, the letters were a nice touch and far less boring than a report about all those similar launches.

One thing bothers me though: by launching from the runway, you bypass your own limitations. Surely the runway would also need refurbishing - probably even more than a launchpad designed for such stresses?

It's a bit like cheating, yes, but remember this is a career save. I couldn't launch that ship from the runway if it hadn't been upgraded earlier to be able to bear the ship's weight. I haven't used the runway in a while, and during that time I managed to upgrade it to tier 2 and still respect the 30 days wainting period before using it.

The self imposed rules are there to make stock mechanics seem more believable from an in-story point of view, not just as game rules. So if I'm launching from the runway, I should treat it as if the set up for the launch took days, and therefore the runway couldn't be used by planes during that prep time.

[Starhawk]

I enjoyed that a lot.

Very interesting ideas and very well told.

Thanks, and...

Happy landings!