Flash-back. Harvesters first unveiling.

[Talavar]

 On my normal rummage of the web for epic new mods, I just happened to find this old post by harvester on the Orbiter forums. Orbiter was my first love ..
http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?s=fc386076b9f0d214c1d89c8b5615c705&t=22998

[Guest]

Someone should find the thread where Harv is talking out his idea for a game; gives a great perspective on what KSP could have been: a forgetable arcade game.

[r_rolo1]

You mean this one, Regex?

And from the responses below, you can find this gem:

Quote

(...) real orbital mechanics are way too complicated for the non-enlightened to grasp (...)

Thankfully Harv changed his opinion in between

 

[Guest]

Yeah, that's the one.

[Talavar]

 

1 hour ago, r_rolo1 said:

You mean this one, Regex?

And from the responses below, you can find this gem:

Thankfully Harv changed his opinion in between

 

 Dear lord, KSP was pointed in the direction of a face-plant at the beginning. "PULL UP JEB!!"
  I'm glad he changed his outlook on things.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Talavar

[Scotius]

It's funny, considering how many people got a hang on orbital mechanics thanks to this game As far as layperson can actually do this without extensive math courses thrown in - of course. But at least we actually can understand what "prograde", "retrograde", "ascending\descending node" etc mean.

[Hysterrics]

Wow, when KSP was just a game in discussion. This game came along way.

Now we just wait for someone to post their idea for a game on this forum, sit back and watch it become successful.

[r_rolo1]

Well, don't get me wrong: I agree with Harv that Real orbital mechanics ( with n-body physics and even relativistic corrections ) is hard, hard enough that pretty much every RL space mission has a scheduled correction burn somewhere even if to correct calculation errors, but the conic patched and Keplerian physics KSP uses is reachable with the use of high school maths and physics ( I know, because I've used them to ilustrate some physics in tutoring ) and some heuristics can be developed if you have acess to the right information ( like the classic "to get to the Mun, burn when it rises above the horizon" ).

That said, I have to thank Harv for one of the more forgotten pieces of UI in the game for making orbital mechanics more understandable: the manouver node ( and the proximity to target marckers ). Without it , going to the planets or even docking would be excruciantingly hard tasks ( like anyone that played KSP 0.15 or SimpleRockets will tell you  ) ...

Edited January 19, 2016 by r_rolo1
Added self plug :P

[Guest]

Echoing r_rolo1 (in a way), my call for that thread was not to shame Harv but to illustrate KSP's history.  You could also take it as a lesson that vetting your idea to a few people before you begin working on it is generally A Good Thing.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

What a close shave KSP had:

Quote

...and I feel that ultimately, there is more potential for fun in a 2D game...

 

[Tourist]

Awesome! 

I think its interesting to see how a project evolves during its life-cycle. I think it is clear that KSP is a project where the developers have grown more and more ambitious as the project has gone on. If you read the link regex referred to and  r_rolo1  posted, you'd think initially Harvester was originally thinking of something like simple rockets on IOS. A long way from where KSP is now. Clearly their confidence and ambition has grown, and I think there are signs they are getting more ambitious still. And this is a good thing.  

 

[Mikki]

I used to surf this forum too... Great man this Harvester  As i discovered Orbiter many years ago, i thought there should be once a (fun-) game based on orbital mechanics... better than ever... cool find! 

[OrtwinS]

Reading that thread is very entertaining and educational!

Very interesting to read why (and how) certain features were implemented.

 

Too bad the suggestion of a movable nav-ball never made it.

[worir4]

And that thread is how i discovered KSP! 

Imagine if KSP was a 2D game.... I think it would not have become as popular as it is today.

[Red Iron Crown]

20 hours ago, r_rolo1 said:

You mean this one, Regex?

And from the responses below, you can find this gem:

Thankfully Harv changed his opinion in between

 

That kinda reads like a description of the mobile game Space Agency, which is mildly amusing but nowhere near the depth of KSP. So thankful it didn't play out that way.

[Hary R]

55 minutes ago, worir4 said:

And that thread is how i discovered KSP! 

Imagine if KSP was a 2D game.... I think it would not have become as popular as it is today.

That's basically simplerocket, I like that game but compared to KSP, it's to simple.

It's a good thing that KSP have become what it is, a very good space  simulator. and a good thing that harv change his mind about orbit mechanic.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Hary R