"There's no easy way to say this."

[Alshain]

1 minute ago, tg626 said:

Crap... Does this mean no "stock bug fixes"?  I really like that parachute mod to prevent canopy clipping, and the tweakables...

The parachute module was added to stock in 1.2

[tg626]

Wow... how did I miss that!?!  

 

[Diche Bach]

I'm curious, what do folks actually know about this "Squad" thing, i.e., the actual owners of the IP and publisher of the game?

[Camacha]

It seems this is the equivalent of a rocket blowing up on the pad. We will just need to see how this ends.

[CobraA1]

7 minutes ago, Diche Bach said:

I'm curious, what do folks actually know about this "Squad" thing, i.e., the actual owners of the IP and publisher of the game?

They're a marketing business based in Mexico. They actually had nothing to do with developing or publishing games until they allowed Felipe Falanghe (a.k.a. "HarvesteR") to write Kerbal Space Program.

Edited October 5, 2016 by CobraA1

[Diche Bach]

23 minutes ago, CobraA1 said:

They're a marketing business based in Mexico. They actually had nothing to do with developing or publishing games until they allowed one of their employees to write Kerbal Space Program.

Interesting . . .

If they really do "interactive services [for] customers like Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Samsung and Nissan" then it may be that KSP is small beans, sadly. Which might also mean (possibly) that they don't really take that much interest in the vision of the game or the ethos of the community that has emerged around the game. The fact of so many of the games most notable developers departing abruptly, and in particular this most recent mass exodus of some of the most remarkable developers makes it difficult to dismiss that possibility.

Would be a shame if they let KSP go down the tubes, but I fear that is a real possibility at this point. If "they," the decision makers at Squad don't really 'get' game culture, and don't have respect for game developers, modders or gamers, and don't see the sort of bottom line they expect, then you cannot really blame them for acting like business people. But it would be a shame nonetheless, KSP is a special thing and I think it has a lot of potential that has yet to be realized, both aesthetic and fiscal.

 . . . welp, I just hope everyone who has been involved has gained what they need to move on to even bigger success.

Edited October 5, 2016 by Diche Bach
typo

[Wallygator]

I always enjoy watching a real-life company managed in the classic "Gomez Adams" style.  

Let's see what happens in the next few months.

[CobraA1]

14 minutes ago, Diche Bach said:

If they really do "interactive services [for] customers like Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Samsung and Nissan" then it may be that KSP is small beans, sadly.

That said, if you go to Squad's website, they give you a menu to go to either their marketing website, or to Kerbal Space Program. KSP has been a pretty successful game in its own right, and it has been (so far) treated as practically a second branch of their business. That said - with all of these developers leaving (including the founder of KSP), there may sadly be a ring of truth to what you are saying.

[Spartwo]

5 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

If it ends with 1.2 and we get decades of mods?

I'm cool with that.

Letting modders finish the game has kinda been the last two updates so sure.

[Diche Bach]

The amount of money that Fortune 500 firms throw at contractors to do stuff like "interactive entertainment" might shock you. I did a bit of work for some Fortune 100s right out of grad school. I was basically attached to a contract firm that had oversight on a project and I was providing more-or-less "ethnographic expertise" and data analysis. I was poorly paid compared to the junior level contract workers and I made about $30,000 U.S. in the span of 12 weeks. Now granted that 12 weeks were mostly 12 to 16 hour days, and the social and political dynamics of it were "icky" beyond compare, not to mention the 'feast and famine' dynamics of the contract work cycle. Pressure cooker is an apt descriptor. I certainly would not want to make a regular living that way. Memory is a bit fuzzy, but the most junior person from this contracting firm that I worked with, was making $125 per hour and they paid for her weekly flights from DC to Atlanta, and the firm she worked for were probably netting another $100 per hour from the client.

[Frozen_Heart]

I'm not surprised. I've seen it happen many times and the signs that KSP was coming to an end started popping up a year ago. 

Doesn't matter though. Despite all its flaws it is hands down the best game i have ever played or am likely to play, and nothing held me hooked for even close to as long as this one did.

[TheDestroyer111]

8 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

I'm surprised that this was posted on Reddit an hour ago and hasn't been reposted here yet.

submitted an hour ago by NathanKellRSS Dev/Former Dev

All good things must come to an end, and so it is for us. It is time for each of us to move on from Squad. Kerbal Space Program is an incredible game and has truly been a joy to create. We have greatly enjoyed working together with such a tightly-knit, professional, and talented development team, and with such a wonderful community. Over the last update cycle we’ve taken KSP to new heights and achieved great things with such a small team. We’ve finished work on update 1.2 and when Squad releases it, it will be a product of which we can be truly proud. We hope you share that opinion and we hope you enjoy playing it as much as we loved creating it.

Thank you all for the incredible community support. So long, and thanks for all the snacks!

Signed, in no particular order, your Kerbal developers Mike (Mu), Bill (Taniwha), Nathanael (NathanKell), Sébastien (Sarbian), Jim (Romfarer), Brian (Arsonide), Chris (Porkjet), Nathan (Claw)

 

Looks like he messed up his calendar and thinks it is April Fools today. 

Just look at this. He gave no details. His tone looks so fake. All the staff are still there http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/staff/. Nobody posted anything on the forum until a random player who is not staff noticed this (@5thHorseman). He didn't even clearly confirm that the others are also leaving. This is fake 

[CobraA1]

18 minutes ago, TheDestroyer111 said:

Looks like he messed up his calendar and thinks it is April Fools today. 

Just look at this. He gave no details. His tone looks so fake. All the staff are still there http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/staff/. Nobody posted anything on the forum until a random player who is not staff noticed this (@5thHorseman). He didn't even clearly confirm that the others are also leaving. This is fake 

@5thHorseman referenced this reddit post, which appears to come from a dev. The community manager confirmed it. It's possible they just haven't updated the staff directory yet.

Edited October 5, 2016 by CobraA1

[tater]

Wow. That's a particularly stellar group of people leaving.

[manaiaK]

"Management issues high up".

There's an old saying, older than me: you join a company, but leave a manager. I haven't found an exception yet.

[Wallygator]

I find it interesting that the reddit post occurred first (Based on my checking - could be wrong), followed an hour later by the announcement of 1.2 release date, then finally the reposting of the reddit onto the forums an hour after that.  Sounds fishy. (Note; If I got the timing wrong due to various systems in various time zones, etc, then I will correct this post - however, the lack of coordination still stands)

If this was an organised preplanned departure of a group of contractors, one possible better way to execute this would have been the 1.2 announcement first, followed quickly by the staff announcement which would have been slightly reworded to link very tightly.

It is what it is, but I do wonder why it was communicated like it was.

Frankly, if squad wants the community to stop wondering if things are screwed up, then they might start thinking about communicating it in a manner that clearly shows that it isn't.

Edited October 5, 2016 by Wallygator

[Sandworm]

2 minutes ago, Wallygator said:

I find it interesting that the reddit post occurred first (Based on my checking - could be wrong), followed an hour later by the announcement of 1.2 release date, then finally the reposting of the reddit onto the forums an hour after that.  Sounds fishy. (Note; If I got the timing wrong due to various systems in various time zones, etc, then I will correct this post - however, the lack of coordination still stands)

If this was an organised preplanned departure of a group of contractors, one possible better way to execute this would have been the 1.2 announcement first, followed quickly by the staff announcement which would have been slightly reworded to link very tightly.

It is what it is, but I do wonder why it was communicated like it was.

Frankly, if squad wants the community to stop wondering if things are screwed up, then they might start thinking about communicating it in a manner that clearly shows that it isn't.

Imho this seems planned to do maximum damage.  Look at the date.  Look at where the christmas sales rush will be.  This update is for all intents and purposes done.  Had everyone left last month, 1.2 would have been pushed into the pre-Christmas update.  Now pushing it to pre-christmas isn't an option as everyone has already played it.  It's out there and wont generate any new news/reviews/sales if delayed further.  No doubt squad was prepping for some new eyecandy before christmas, probably in the form of a graphics update.  But with everyone gone, the likelihood is Squad won't get anything together for months.  So this seems timed to do maximum financial damage ahead of the holiday sales rush.

[CobraA1]

I'm going to make a note here that RoverDude has been making the rounds on Reddit noting that he's been treated pretty fairly by Squad and has no problems with them. He just has a full time job elsewhere.

He also makes a passing mention to KSP being a contract situation, which leads me to think that most of the employees were hired under a temporary contract, and perhaps the contract ended. Maybe they were just temporary hires for 1.2?

Edited October 5, 2016 by CobraA1

[Sharpy]

26 minutes ago, Wallygator said:

If this was an organised preplanned departure of a group of contractors, one possible better way to execute this would have been the 1.2 announcement first, followed quickly by the staff announcement which would have been slightly reworded to link very tightly.

 

Unless that release date was the last straw, somehow a point of conflict.

[KerbMav]

18 minutes ago, Sharpy said:

Unless that release date was the last straw, somehow a point of conflict.

Maybe.

Someone up to date with how the bug tracker is clearing?

[Superfluous J]

46 minutes ago, CobraA1 said:

I'm going to make a note here that RoverDude has been making the rounds on Reddit noting that he's been treated pretty fairly by Squad and has no problems with them. He just has a full time job elsewhere.

I feel inclined to point out that RoverDude isn't in the list of developers who left.

[StainX]

Please, don't let this be as sad as it seems.

KSP is such a great thing, and with that i mean the game as a whole thing, with the nice and helpful community, the devs that listened, the hard work the modders put in it.

I just hope its not the end.

[Bomaye]

I think, and I'll be precise THINK, after reading this, that many people have very limited knowledge about work, deadlines and what is demanded from you.

[Carraux]

I really doubt that they left because their contracts ended or the job was done. Two points are against this:

1. It is highly unlikely that coding, art, Q&A and all other departments have their job done at the very same time. I have never seen this (and I am in software development business for about 25 years). Usually artists go first and the last who are leaving are bug tracker/coder and the testing team.

2.If there contracts would have ended as usual this would have been announced here in the forum and/or on Squad's other sites. That these developers have choosen to use a platform outside the control of Squad says everything. Additionally, there was no public statement from Squad explaining this matter.

This was the choice of the developers only, this was not mutual.

[DunaRocketeer]

All good things and all that...

Very sad to see the majority of the team leaving, but that doesn't mean that KSP is ending - it's not like we are no longer able to play it. If 1.2 is good and stable, just mod it up to where you want the game to be and call it 'finished'.

I'm still coming up with new mission ideas and new vehicle designs, and I don't think that will ever end. The devs have created an awesome platform with which I can indulge in my favourite interest, and for that I thank them.