An open letter to the developers of Kerbal Space Program.

[Tang_Titan]

You can also rest assured knowing that every one of us has read your letter now, and I'm fairly sure I speak for everyone when I say it was truly moving. This goes well above and beyond what we set out to do when we first started this project, and I really can't express how it feels to know something we've done has had such an impact on others.

I'm very glad to hear KSP has had such a positive effect on you.

All the best, from the entire KSP team.

Cheers!

Its says your a KSP Dev under your name so that must mean my message really did make it to the Devs as I had hoped. I am so glad you guys got to read it and that you now know that you aren't just making a game but your giving people hope and an escape. People keep trying to say that video games are art and they are but they can be so much more.

They devs probably just set out to create a game that was fun. But now its being used as an educational tool and I read somewhere that even NASA is looking into the game. KSP has become so more than a game where you launch goofy green guys into space and laugh hysterically when your poorly constructed rocket flies apart and explodes spectacularly. I am ecstatic that I was able to get this across to the game devs. Like I said games and this one especially are so much more than entertainment or art. They are inspirational, therapeutic, and even life changing I am living proof.

You guys gave me hope and inspiration. I have an IQ of 140 and have been wasting away in my home. Now I feel invigorated. I feel like I can take on the world again. One day I might land a real probe on a celestial body someday. On that day I'll be wearing a KSP shirt instead of a .... sci-fi woman shirt that starts a internet feminists meat grinder.

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Hi there Tang_Titan,

It's hard to express how I feel after reading your letter. A disease like yours is a great injustice, and most of us will (thankfully) never have to deal with that. Your post is extremely inspirational and I'm very glad KSP has pulled you out of a rough patch. May you enjoy the game for a very long time to come, and if you need anything feel free to contact me.

Anything you say? How about getting the devs to name something after me?

I heard they are adding a planet with a bunch of moons. How about planet Tang or one of it moons named Tang. That would be an awesome name for a celestial body. My IRL name is Benjamin Lee maybe you could do something with that. Or a part or engine made by Tang Industries. Just a thought I'd really appreciate it. I'd be thrilled to touch down on planet Tang. Come on guys what do you think? Up vote for moon or planet Tang. I'm sure its inline with KSP humor to fire your rocket at Moon Tang get it?

Come on guys Likes for Moon Tang.

[Tang_Titan]

What a great letter! Thank you for sharing that.

To be honest whenever I see a subject with “An open letter to Squad†or something along those lines I cringe because it usually is some request for 64 bit/n-body physics/anything on the “do not suggestâ€Âlist. To see something like this instead put a smile on my face and made me feel better about Monday!

I am new to the forum but is there really that many people posting an open letter thread only to complain about the game?

[Red Iron Crown]

I am new to the forum but is there really that many people posting an open letter thread only to complain about the game?

It happens, and frequently enough that it's kind of the expectation when seeing a thread title like this. It was a pleasant surprise to read this one.

[GarrisonChisholm]

It does happen from time to time. I am not knowledgeable enough to truly say, however many folks use a lot of mods or perhaps a combination of mods that cause crashes, and a some folks feel (rightly or not) that it should be addressed by the Devs without fail. I would hazard to note however that due to the sheer popularity and success of the forums, one can perceive that the number of "silent" satisfied customers far out-weighs the disappointed.

Ninja'd by RIC- couldn't have been a better guy...

[upsilone]

What a moving letter. But I am sure many of us can associate with you.

Personally, I was always a physics fan, but a series of events led me down a path that prevented me from working in my favorite sector, Aerospace.

I went through severe family problems during my last year of highschool, which made me fail maths in high school. I was always good at Physics' theories, but always had issues learning maths, mainly because my maths teacher was really not fit for the job, and since half of the Physics curriculum requires one to calculate stuff, I passed that with some pretty average scores too.

My poor maths grades got me rejected from a couple of colleges I wanted to go study aerospace engineering at, so I decided to join the military and become a fighter pilot. My Asthma is what quashed those hopes, and I ended up working in security shortly after I got discharged.

When I began seeing posts of a friend playing the demo version of KSP, I gave it a try myself, and fell in love with the game. I have gained a much more profound visual understanding of the Physics I learned in School (understanding is one thing, seeing is another!) and the thrills I had when I was able to reach milestones (orbiting Kerbin for the first time, Landing on the Mun for the first time, successfuly accomplishing a docking in space for the first time) were some of the best I had in my entire life.

I have now signed up for an adult learning course in Maths and Physics to learn/re-learn what I gave up at school, and am planning to try entering the engineering program at my local university once again, with the hopes to finally work in my dream sector.

[Tang_Titan]

What a moving letter. But I am sure many of us can associate with you.

Personally, I was always a physics fan, but a series of events led me down a path that prevented me from working in my favorite sector, Aerospace.

I went through severe family problems during my last year of highschool, which made me fail maths in high school. I was always good at Physics' theories, but always had issues learning maths, mainly because my maths teacher was really not fit for the job, and since half of the Physics curriculum requires one to calculate stuff, I passed that with some pretty average scores too.

My poor maths grades got me rejected from a couple of colleges I wanted to go study aerospace engineering at, so I decided to join the military and become a fighter pilot. My Asthma is what quashed those hopes, and I ended up working in security shortly after I got discharged.

When I began seeing posts of a friend playing the demo version of KSP, I gave it a try myself, and fell in love with the game. I have gained a much more profound visual understanding of the Physics I learned in School (understanding is one thing, seeing is another!) and the thrills I had when I was able to reach milestones (orbiting Kerbin for the first time, Landing on the Mun for the first time, successfuly accomplishing a docking in space for the first time) were some of the best I had in my entire life.

I have now signed up for an adult learning course in Maths and Physics to learn/re-learn what I gave up at school, and am planning to try entering the engineering program at my local university once again, with the hopes to finally work in my dream sector.

I use to think I was bad at math, then I met a teacher who told me no one was "Bad" at math they just hadn't figured out a system that worked for them. After a few sessions with my teacher after class in which we didn't even do any math problems she just showed me several different ways to learn math I figured out the best way for me to learn. I started making straights A's after every exam after I started my new way of studying. Most people try to memorize the rules and operations and for many people that works, however in my case I am a more abstract and creative person. Like I said many people just try to memorize all the steps. But with my learning style she told me that I was the type of person that needed to know the how a problem works not simply how to do the problem. An analogy would be that many people would memorize the instructions to build a Lego castle, but in my case I needed to know how each Lego piece fit together and then build it up to the castle. My learning style is great because once I figure out a set, formula, equation, etc.. I could then apply it to all kinds of different problems whereas the "memorize" type of learner would have issues everytime they come across a strange problem even though you solve it like all the others because it looks different it throws them for a loop and they get those "weird" problems wrong.

So in my case she suggested using an online program. I can't remember the name, but it worked almost like a tutorial for a video game. Lets say I wanted to learn factoring. The program would break the problem down into its fundamental steps. So rather than the traditional see the question figure it out write down answer formula that almost all teachers and textbooks use. This program would ask for you to complete the first step analyze the answer you put in if it was right you moved onto the next step if it was wrong a window would pop up showing you exactly what you needed to do to solve the first step. Then it would move onto the next step. I would only have to do maybe 10 problems before I mastered it when I used to do 100 problems and still get C's on my tests.

I started to learn by "understanding" math rather than "memorizing" it. I also watched a lot of math tutorials online so I could learn from a bunch of teachers that had different teaching styles. That's how I went from being a D math student to an A math student doing half the work. Maybe you could try learning this way to see if it helps and if I remember the program name I'll PM you with the name. I hoped I helped you out with your Math problems, LOL pun intended.

[maceemiller]

Wow, what a read. When I fly tonight I'll have you in the cockpit with me for a quick visit to the Mun whilst watching Kerbin set on the horizon. Stay safe pilot

[Tang_Titan]

Wow, what a read. When I fly tonight I'll have you in the cockpit with me for a quick visit to the Mun whilst watching Kerbin set on the horizon. Stay safe pilot

You don't pilot rockets in KSP my dear sir. You glue your balls to the seats and pray to God that the Kraken doesn't decide to throw your Heavy Launch Vehicle through the old interplanetary wood chipper along with your nice new shiny space station sections.

[Endersmens]

Its says your a KSP Dev under your name so that must mean my message really did make it to the Devs as I had hoped.

Harvester is the creator of the game. The game was his idea, and he is the lead developer.

Also, about your moon request, I do believe KasperVld meant more along the lines of different needs. (I.E. someone to talk to, help with the forum, help with the game) While naming a moon after you would be pretty cool, I don't think that was entirely the direction he was going with that statement. (although I would support a moon called Tang, that's actually a decent name anyways! And the story would be awesome. )

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You don't pilot rockets in KSP my dear sir. You glue your balls to the seats and pray to God that the Kraken doesn't decide to throw your Heavy Launch Vehicle through the old interplanetary wood chipper along with your nice new shiny space station sections.

That is the single best quote I have ever read on this forum.

[Tang_Titan]

Harvester is the creator of the game. The game was his idea, and he is the lead developer.

Also, about your moon request, I do believe KasperVld meant more along the lines of different needs. (I.E. someone to talk to, help with the forum, help with the game) While naming a moon after you would be pretty cool, I don't think that was entirely the direction he was going with that statement. (although I would support a moon called Tang, that's actually a decent name anyways! And the story would be awesome. )

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That is the single best quote I have ever read on this forum.

Feel free to use it as a forum signature. I definitely wouldn't mind being well known on these forums I plan on getting a more involved in the KSP community. I would put it on my own sig but that would just make me look pompous.

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I had heard there was supposed to be A LOT of moons so I didn't think it would be much to ask to name one after me although I was being sarcastic when I mentioned it but sarcasm doesn't translate well through text.

I also wanted to swing by an idea of having "one" of the moons actually being 3 smaller moons orbiting close together and naming them after the 3 stooges. It would make it a major challenge to land on one of them and it totally fits with the humor of the game. I should probably start a new thread of people coming up with wacky ideas like my 3 stooges moons for KSP.

Honestly what I really would like from him is give me some advice or point me in the right direction for making mods for the game. I have always wondered what programs people use and the processes involved in making those mods I have a ton of ideas for KSP.

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Hi there Tang_Titan,

It's hard to express how I feel after reading your letter. A disease like yours is a great injustice, and most of us will (thankfully) never have to deal with that. Your post is extremely inspirational and I'm very glad KSP has pulled you out of a rough patch. May you enjoy the game for a very long time to come, and if you need anything feel free to contact me.

To Harvester I think an apology is in order.

I wanted you to know I was kidding about the whole you naming something after me. Endersmens pointed it out in the post I just wanted you to know I was being sarcastic. I didn't want you to think I was trying to take advantage of your hospitality.

I intend on getting very involved in the forum community and try to encourage some more..... constructive criticism for you and your team. I meant everything I said about how much this game means to me and how much it has helped me. I guess I just take it personal when I scroll through the forums and people complain seemingly to no end about trivial things. Instead I am thinking about starting up a series on thread in which people will be encouraged to come up with strange and goofy ideas for the game which is one of the reason why so many people love KSP in the first place its goofy factor. I want to do this for you and your team as a way of trying to pay back everything Squad has done for me.

My first idea I believe I have already mentioned a trinary moon cluster each named after one of the 3 stooges. It would be humorous and extremely challenging to land on. The two best thing about KSP humor and difficulty. I noticed you haven't posted on the tread so I hope I didn't offend and chase you off. You maybe busy which I hope is the case because that means your hard at work making even more wonderful and exciting ways to blow up our Kerbals.

I would like to take you up on you offer for advice if it still stands. Anything you can point me to in order to learn how to make mods specifically parts for KSP would be appreciated. Please keep in mind I am flat broke so hopefully you can think of some free software I could use.

I am a solo player no more Tang Titan has officially joined the Kerbal community.

[Captain Vlad]

I.....

P.S: You seem to have taken my heart and moved it.

He's a KSP player. He knows all he needs to do that is boosters and some struts.

[Randazzo]

He's a KSP player. He knows all he needs to do that is boosters and some struts.

Mine is typically well protected by a fairing, but it just blew apart like a potato chip.

Amazing post. Thanks for sharing with us.

[Endersmens]

Mine is typically well protected by a fairing, but it just blew apart like a potato chip.

Amazing post. Thanks for sharing with us.

I can't even.

Tang__Titan, no need to apologize. It's just the truth that sarcasm doesn't translate well into text. We've had some issues with that on this forum before, trust me.

[NecroBones]

I gave +1 rep right after the thread started, but I thought I'd come back and say something too. As someone who had a long-term battle with depression (for different reasons), I can certainly say congrats on finding a way out! Sometimes that's the kick in the pants that we need-- finding the right thing to get excited about. There's a lot that you can do in the space industry without being an astronaut. And these days, thanks to KSP and and a variety of online communities and resources, you can be an "armchair enthusiast" to a much greater degree than ever before. When I was a kid, it was books or nothing. So I chose nothing (sadly). And now, thanks to KSP, I've taken it upon myself to learn more about space and physics in the last two years than I did in the previous forty, even though I've always been an enthusiast to some degree.

I have an idea to suggest though-- Have you considered going to Space Camp? They have an adult program at the Huntsville Alabama location (the main Space Camp facility). I went twice at the high school level (about 25 years ago), and it was awesome. I'm tempted to go back and try the adult program at some point. It's not overly expensive, but it's still something to do after getting a steady income.

Congrats on returning to school too!

I can't even.

It's just the truth that sarcasm doesn't translate well into text. We've had some issues with that on this forum before, trust me.

That's true of any online community. Tone doesn't translate to text well, unless you know the person's writing style very well, and even then it's still lacking.

[Specialist290]

I realize I'm a bit late to the game here, but Tang_Titan, I want you to know that your open letter just made my day. I confess my particular condition isn't nearly as severe as yours, but I know the feeling of having your heart set on a particular future, then having those dreams and ambitions dashed seemingly beyond hope by circumstances beyond your own control. Kerbal Space Program struck the same chord with me that it strikes with you, and that to some small degree it probably strikes almost everyone who becomes a fan - the idea that, even if only vicariously, we can cut loose the ties that bind us to this planet and find ourselves a place among the stars.

At any rate, I applaud your decision to continue your life and education, and I hope you never lose hope in what the future may hold in store

[Raptor9]

@Tang_Titan Awesome post, truly.

[Dman979]

Well, I thought my reasons for wanting to go into Aerospace Engineering were good... but wow.

I hope I get to work with you, Tang_Titan: you seem like a great human being.

[Sanic]

 Right in the feels!

[The Flame Cat]

On 11/10/2015, 1:24:42, Tang_Titan said:

 

I heard they are adding a planet with a bunch of moons. How about planet Tang or one of it moons named Tang. That would be an awesome name for a celestial body. My IRL name is Benjamin Lee maybe you could do something with that. Or a part or engine made by Tang Industries. Just a thought I'd really appreciate it. I'd be thrilled to touch down on planet Tang. Come on guys what do you think? Up vote for moon or planet Tang. I'm sure its inline with KSP humor to fire your rocket at Moon Tang get it?

Come on guys Likes for Moon Tang.

I vote for Moon Tang! I (kinda) know how you feel. This game got a Mars base sent to NASA made by me =) I hope it gets used. I do feel that the fact that you take less medications is better. It's a sign of health and pills are unnatural. Now, send up a space station!

[adsii1970]

On 11/10/2015, 1:28:18, Tang_Titan said:

I am new to the forum but is there really that many people posting an open letter thread only to complain about the game?

Tang, I would like to say that I've gone back and read your initial post several times and am speechless each time I read it. Since you've shared your story, I will share mine. In 1989, I joined the U.S. Army, with dreams of doing a six-year enlistment, then attending the United States Naval Academy with two goals in mind - to fly F-14s until I hit Lt. Commander, and after that, apply to be an astronaut. One of my life's ambitions was to either be a test pilot for NASA or to be a member of a shuttle crew... anything beyond that would have been gravy.

And as I shared in a forum tread I need to revitalize after the conversion to this new forum format, life happened. I sustained injuries in the line of duty (2 separate combat tours) that not only left me unqualified to continue my chosen enlisted career choice of an Army Ranger (I was no longer medically cleared for airborne or air assault status), but almost ended my enlistment early. I was able to finish my enlistment, but in 1997, was medically discharged for injuries sustained in the line of duty. Six months before that, the U.S. Navy had already informed me that my application for the Naval Academy had been voided because I could no longer meet the physical complications. My dreams of being a pilot and eventually getting into space officially ended.

After the medical discharge, I attended Northwestern State University but because of brain damage, decided to get a degree in History rather than pursuing my love of science. Although the degrees were not that difficult, I felt that I took the easy way out rather than pursuing my true passion, astronomy and space exploration. KSP has given me the opportunity, through Jebediah and the gang, to actually explore space. Sure, my craft may not be up to the standards of some, my approach to astro-mechanics may be rudimentary at best, but it does, as you have shared, fill a need to heed to the calling of all pioneers and explorers - to venture into the unknown realm of space, even if it is only contained in the inner workings of my computer.

Again, I echo Tang's sentiment - thanks for a great game and a great community of KSPers...

And yes, Tang, there are those that actually do nothing but complain about every aspect of the game. Unfortunately.

Edited December 2, 2015 by adsii1970

[Hysterrics]

Great post, but

On 11/9/2015, 7:33:15, Tang_Titan said:

all NINE of them yes I said nine PLUTO deal with it I.A.U

Seriously? When are people going to let go the fact that Pluto is not a planet. I don't see any reason why people still say it is. Hell, I don't understand why there were protests about it. It's honestly ridiculous.

Other then that great post.

[BrutalRIP]

wow seriously am i the only one that felt like crying  reading this?? 

id bet not

[n.b.z.]

4 hours ago, BrutalRIP said:

wow seriously am i the only one that felt like crying  reading this?? 

No. And I'll say it: I cried.

Given how relatively widespread depression is, the statistical chance is that there are several members of this board who understand the true meaning behind the words "2 decade battle with depression".

I googled the OP's disorder, and it sounds like an absolutely awful hell, but I can only imagine the ordeal. However, I know depression, and about the importance of having at least something that can distract or console you, something that may still give you a sense of influence or accomplishment.

Something that you are still able to like at all.

Tang_Titan: all the best for you, and your studies. From the bottom of my heart.

[Devric]

" I am currently mulling over the idea of saving up for an Oculus rift when I discovered that mod for KSP. the game would be absolutely amazing with VR and I would finally be the astronaut soldier from my childhood."

 

Come on Squad...give the guy a set of  Oculus Rift! Or maybe organize a Christmas Special where a certain percentage of your income from one or several items from your webshop goes towards a set for him. That way the whole community (which I think is the greatest out there) can contribute.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Devric

[Mjarf]

KSP is definitely a unique game, I have never played anything else like it and I can see how it can give you so much when you dreamt of becoming an astronaut. Your story is touching and shows how sometimes a game can be more than "a waste of time for kids". I don't have any crippling diseases and I have a relatively comfortable life, but KSP still gives me so much. Whenever I'm in a bad mood or feeling down watching Jeb's stupid grin when launching an over-engineered hodgepodge into orbit definitely puts a smile on my face again.

I would love to see an improved "Nerv" type engine from "Tang Industries" in the next update.