KSP as a full fledged hobby!!

[autumnalequinox]

Anyone ever get the feeling this game has become a full fledged hobby?  I mean that includes reading deeper and deeper spaceflight articles (including scientific paper abstrats and exerpts) and obsessing with space in general (depending on the strength of one's current level of obsession with the game).  

It's almost a weird sub-niche between model rocketry, building models, and playing with CAD programs or something.

[pandaman]

Now you mention it...  Yeah. 

[StainX]

Yup, now not only spacy stuff fills my mind, but also a lot of technical.

Ideas like building a Hydrogen Generator and replace the propane in an gas barbeque grill, so no more dry stakes!

Or like building a low cost mini gas turbine...

But yeah, i also started to watch a lot of science and space videos, the geeky kind of stuff... 

 

Edited July 12, 2016 by StainX

[kBob]

Well I've sure been reading papers with funny looking equations and, dang, even plugging in numbers . OP:  I think you've described it quite well.

[Wolfdog]

I can't take any other space game seriously anymore. No man's sky might be good, but I will prpbably we frustrated with being able to simply fly towards planets Having said that, I watch Neil De Grasse and Michio Kaku every single day since I bought KSP.

EDIT: Also, browsing the forums is an addiction of mine.

Edited July 12, 2016 by Wolfdog

[Archgeek]

Fun fact, the editor (VAB/SPH) basically is an almost full-featured CAD program, just with kind of a lot of primitives and no scaling by default.

The game really is a full-fledged hobby -- I recently broke the spreadsheet line.

[Gargamel]

1 hour ago, StainX said:

Yup, now not only spacy stuff fills my mind, but also a lot of technical.

Ideas like building a Hydrogen Generator and replace the propane in an gas barbeque grill, so no more dry stakes!

Or like building a low cost mini gas turbine...

But yeah, i also started to watch a lot of science and space videos, the geeky kind of stuff... 

 

Check out Colin Furze's youtube channel.  He's made a turbojet out of scrap, and does a bunch of stuff with gas in general.  He's a bit bonkers, so beware.  

[Red Iron Crown]

Hobby? It's a lifestyle.

[Majorjim!]

I have thought of it as a hobby for years now. My advice is to have a second hobby that produces 'solid' real world objects too. For the life balance. Plus you cannot beat holding something you made in your hand with the promise of having it with you all of your life. And no I don't count 3D printed crafts.

Edited July 12, 2016 by Majorjim

[liquidhype]

Hobby, lifestyle, obsession. I don't really know what to call it at this point. It's taken over my life

[klgraham1013]

If you've been playing the same game for 4 years, I'd start calling it a hobby.

[Curveball Anders]

1 hour ago, Majorjim said:

I have thought of it as a hobby for years now. My advice is to have a second hobby that produces 'solid' real world objects too. For the life balance.

Does a garden count?

 

[Majorjim!]

Just now, Curveball Anders said:

Does a garden count?

 

Of course!

[Mike Mars]

Except for golf, it is my most enjoyable way to pass time.

I do watch space related programs and documentaries, and read science related articles both for education and inspiration.

MM

[eddiew]

I've always been a little space obsessed, tracked Cassini, New Horizons and Juno from launch to arrival, and kept tabs on most major missions - so it's more that KSP gives a bit of embodiment to that hobby

[timmers_uk]

KSP rekindling an interest in space resulted in my joining the British Interplanetary Society (http://www.bis-space.com/), and as a result have this year attended a number of talks on various space related subjects, and will be going to their annual conference next week with 3 days of talks, so for me its kindof traded itself up into a broader hobby I guess.

Edited July 12, 2016 by timmers_uk

[Tyko]

It's actually a really cheap hobby. My last one was flying RC Helicopters - this lets me build and crash things without the real world expenses of paying for replacement parts 

[MaxwellsDemon]

16 hours ago, autumnalequinox said:

Anyone ever get the feeling this game has become a full fledged hobby?  I mean that includes reading deeper and deeper spaceflight articles (including scientific paper abstrats and exerpts) and obsessing with space in general (depending on the strength of one's current level of obsession with the game).  

It's almost a weird sub-niche between model rocketry, building models, and playing with CAD programs or something.

I think my wife would prefer the term "obsession."      What she doesn't understand is how nuts I've been about space exploration since I was first able to read... it's neat to be able to play in that sandbox, so to speak!

ETA:  I got heavily into Orbiter a few years back, but while technically terrific, it lacked the kind of try-and-fail-and-enjoy-the-fireworks-then-do-it-again factor, if you know what I mean.   Things either worked or they didn't.  KSP's more fun.

Edited July 12, 2016 by MaxwellsDemon
Added comment

[Sheppard]

Of course! For Science!

Edited July 12, 2016 by Sheppard

[Glaran K'erman]

13 hours ago, Archgeek said:

Fun fact, the editor (VAB/SPH) basically is an almost full-featured CAD program, just with kind of a lot of primitives and no scaling by default.

The game really is a full-fledged hobby -- I recently broke the spreadsheet line.

The spreadsheet line, much akin to the Karman line for hobbies.

[cubinator]

Well, I've always been obsessed with space. KSP brought out the engineer in me some, I guess. I love making myself challenges, building and designing machines to accomplish them, testing them, refining them, and finally completing my goals. I also really want to go to space, so this is great for the interim. I consider myself an engineer and a scientist, by personality.

[Robotengineer]

10 hours ago, Red Iron Crown said:

Hobby? It's a lifestyle.

Lifestyle? It is life. 

[autumnalequinox]

10 hours ago, timmers_uk said:

KSP rekindling an interest in space resulted in my joining the British Interplanetary Society (http://www.bis-space.com/), and as a result have this year attended a number of talks on various space related subjects, and will be going to their annual conference next week with 3 days of talks, so for me its kindof traded itself up into a broader hobby I guess.

This sounds so awesome I am jealous.  I live down the street from one of Aerojet's research facilities (they do development not testing there, meh, but it's literally 5 mins away) and have been looking into doing a tour.  I want to ask if there's a "hardcore nerd" version of the tour.

14 hours ago, Majorjim said:

I have thought of it as a hobby for years now. My advice is to have a second hobby that produces 'solid' real world objects too. For the life balance. Plus you cannot beat holding something you made in your hand with the promise of having it with you all of your life. And no I don't count 3D printed crafts.

I also build PCs (working on transforming an acquired slim client into a linux driven super smart-TV module right now).  It's interesting because ever since KSP I feel I have a more "engineering" mind now.  Stuff just comes to me easier.  I was previously a bit of a klutzy-ditzy type when it came to hardware.  Now everything just "flows".

Oh and I don't like the stereotype that women are naturally "bad" at engineering and math but we just often approach it differently.  I'm not sure about others but by essentially attaching a "puzzle game" to engineering challenges I sort of overcame a bit of the stereotype myself (honestly it may have been self-imposed).  I wonder if others have discovered the same thing.

Edited July 13, 2016 by autumnalequinox
spelling ugh

[klesh]

14 hours ago, Majorjim said:

My advice is to have a second hobby that produces 'solid' real world objects too. For the life balance.

 

There you go with that real world again, Jim.  You probably want them to go outside too, huh?

[cubinator]

13 minutes ago, klesh said:

 

There you go with that real world again, Jim.  You probably want them to go outside too, huh?

Yeah, to look at the stars.