The Kerbal Franchise - Other "Kerbal ____" Games

[wumpus]

On 11/1/2016 at 7:32 AM, Curveball Anders said:

There are already many good realistic flight sims (X-Plane and FSX comes to mind) and we don't need more games with weapons.

IMnvHO.

There was already a perfectly good space simulator (that to this day is likely more realistic than even RO).  Not only that, Harvester originally announced his plans on the Orbiter forum.

I'd assume that any Kerbal Air Program design would follow the "lego based" aircraft design (although presumably redesigned for aircraft) and allow such direct modification with ease.

Anybody play  "simple planes/simple rockets"?  How simple are the simple planes, and would they scale into 3d?

[steuben]

Kerbal Monopoly

Kerbal Life

Kerbal the Flamethrowa. The kids love that one.

[Jefzor]

2 hours ago, FullMetalMachinist said:

Simple Rockets is what you're looking for. Granted, it's not KSP, but it plays just like what you want. 

Cool, I'll definitely try that. 

[Wjolcz]

On 08/11/2016 at 8:17 PM, wumpus said:

Anybody play  "simple planes/simple rockets"?  How simple are the simple planes, and would they scale into 3d?

I have SimplePlanes. It's actually 3D and pretty fun to play, but lacks a few things. The maps are kind of limited and the dogfights are kind of meh when you play on mobile. Maybe it's better on PC.

Even though SimplePlanes has that LEGO and KSP-ish vibe to it, I'd still love to play a Kerbal aviation game. Maybe it's the art style that SP lacks. Maybe it's the kerbals themselves. Dunno. But it could also be a great opportunity to implement that story aspect everyone keep asking for. IMO IL-2: 1946 had some great story missions. Kerbal Aviation Program could easily do the same to tell the story of the pre-spaceflight times.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Veeltch

[Rath]

A KSP aviation game would be great.

[Sneaky Bstard Sword]

On 10/30/2016 at 6:21 PM, regex said:

Honestly they could just plop Kerbals into any old game and make something of it. Personally, I think they'll try selling the IP and company like Pearson did with Minecraft after a few more updates, and retire to Patogonia to live like kings.

You mean Mojang? I'm pretty sure Pearson is a textbook company. 

[regex]

14 minutes ago, Sneaky Bstard Sword said:

You mean Mojang? I'm pretty sure Pearson is a textbook company. 

Pearson as in Notch, Markus Pearson, the guy who sold his company (Mojang) and IP (Minecraft) for some 3 billion USD.

[Wjolcz]

A Mad Max-like game with KSP's editor. Build a car, pick the engine and the fuel, spawn somewhere on a big desert (or even a whole deserted planet), drive around, find bases and forts, upgrade your stuff encounter or avoid other people.

Or maybe we should wait for the multiplayer (whenever that happens) and the ability to lock certain parts and just mod it the way we want it. I start to think any game with KSP's editor would make it at least 50% cooler and fun.

[Spacetraindriver]

Currently watching "Selection Process" for the millionth time. What about a Kerbal Trainee Tycoon? You would build a training center for recruits, and when they're trained you send them off to the KSC to get money! And you use that money to upgrade various facilities to make more money!

Edited January 3, 2017 by Spacetraindriver

[StrandedonEarth]

Kerbal Rocket Factory would be a great add-on for KSP. Early pre-release versions had something like "Qty Available" (sorry I don't have screenshots handy right now, and my older copies are on an ext HDD in a box somewhere) on the part description windows, pre-set to 9999, so apparently that was an early concept for the game. Start off with basic factories for 1.25m engines, tanks, aero, capsules/cockpits/crewable parts, and electrical/electronics. As tech progresses, the factories can be upgraded to add more production lines for 0.625m, 2.5m, and 3.75m parts, or solar panels and better probe cores for the electronics factory. This would dovetail with the addition of something like Kerbal Construction Time, so you could request the factories to produce x number of a given part, for a given cost, hopefully before you miss the launch window to Eeloo. Discount for larger production runs, of course. Then, when you build a rocket, the parts are already paid for, but assembly may cost extra. Recovered parts are added back to the inventory for free! Ok, maybe a nominal refurbishment fee. With extra coding the refurb fee could go up the more the part gets cooked during re-entry. As a bonus, brand new parts are guaranteed not to fail, while used and/or non-refurbed used parts may have a chance to randomly fail. Refurb would improve the reliability, possibly to new levels.

As for a stand-alone version, there must be a way to make something like Kerbal Rocket Tycoon or Kerbal Space Tycoon. Not quite sure how the gameplay would work for that though.

[Codraroll]

World of Kerbal Tanks.
With rocket engines, if you so wish.

[White Owl]

Count me in for Kerbal Airplane Program / Kerbal Flightsim!

Yes, I know about the current flightsim titles; actually spend more time in X-Plane nowadays than KSP. But I have always been frustrated by how few flight simmers have any interest in fictional vehicles and/or fictional settings. I can't fathom why anybody would want to pretend they're flying a tranquilized skywhale (airliner) in a straight line from point A to B and back to A over and over again, very very slowly turning only when the imaginary voices say you have permission... but apparently that experience is what a majority of flightsim fans want.

But KSP fans, aha! Turn this bunch loose with a build-your-own air travel system, and there is absolutely no predicting what fun ideas you'll come up with. Whether the results are ugly or sexy, practical or fantasy, I guaran-damn-tee it won't be boring!

I've always wanted to simulate worldwide air travel incorporating hypersonic and suborbital craft along with more conventional air traffic, with every single vehicle designed by players. It may technically be possible to create something like that in X-Plane... but most X-Plane players simply aren't interested in trying anything new or experimental. They like their tubeliners, and see no reason to change.

[evileye.x]

Kerbal survival game. When you need to get food, keep your kerbals warm, mine rocket fuel, metals to craft parts.

 

[NSEP]

For a new Kerbal game?: Just like @Veeltch and @White Owl, a flight sim. I would love to see something like that.

For a new space game?: Just combine Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Manager with KSP/RO/RSS/RP-0 and boom!

 

[Wjolcz]

Can I dream a little more? I know it's more of a "wish list" type of post. Anyway, If I see a kerbal flight sim game this is how I'd imagine it:

Vessel Builder/Editor:
-Procedural piston engines: you pick the type of engine (inline/V/boxer/radial/Wankel/turbojet/turbofan/ramjet/small rocket engine) and "stretch" it. Stretching the engines adds pistons and length (thus power) but also weight and fuel demands.
-Additional engine modules: radiator, supercharger, booster injection (WEP for piston engines and Wet Mode for jets).
-Procedural wings, procedural tanks

World elements:
-Full-scale planet (preferably Earth-sized Kerbin)
-Multiple starting points (aircraft carriers, military bases, civilian airports, and maybe even private airports for high rank players?)
-Interesting geological features (deep canyons, high mountains, natural bridges, rivers, lakes)

Gameplay features:
-Multiplayer with optional PvP mode. That way people who would want to fly airliners would be indestructible and people who would want to dogfight would be able to do so on the same server (much like the GTA V passive mode works).
-Missions: these should be sorted by themes (record breaking, military missions, recon missions, scientific missions, civilian transport missions, cargo missions, refuelling missions). The record breaking should probably be global, which means if someone breaks the Mach 1 record then someone else has to break Mach 1.5 (or sth like that) and so on. These would probably have to reset from time to time to give others a chance to earn reputation points/XP/whatever it would be called. EDIT: Maybe there could be some sort of domination challanges? People would go over a region, loitter for some time and then that region would change it's colour to the player's team colour? That could be pretty fun and always a reason to come back to play the game again.
-Money: used to build/modify aircraft and buy private airports/carriers.
-Event creator: Races! is a great example of such feature. Especially combined with the VesselMover.
-Kerbal outfit customization.
-Ranks/Titles: based on the player's achievements he/she earns titles. If the player is more of a military person then he's more likely to earn "Military Pilot" title. If the player prefers racing events/missions then he's more likely to earn "Racer" title. Maybe the outfits could be earned this way.

Think about how GTA V incorporates multiplayer challenges, events and missions except in a more appropriate and peaceful world of kerbals.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Veeltch

[Matuchkin]

On 11/1/2016 at 7:32 AM, Curveball Anders said:

There are already many good realistic flight sims (X-Plane and FSX comes to mind) and we don't need more games with weapons.

IMnvHO.

And there is also Orbiter. So now what, no more KSP?

Also, you don't need more games with weapons, but I would personally think it would be cool if we can design our own realistic fighters, with actual systems involved.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Matuchkin

[Arugela]

On 10/30/2016 at 6:21 PM, regex said:

Honestly they could just plop Kerbals into any old game and make something of it. Personally, I think they'll try selling the IP and company like Pearson did with Minecraft after a few more updates, and retire to Patogonia to live like kings.

Don't they have to develop to like version 2.4 or something because of the Christmas sales a while back?

Edited January 14, 2017 by Arugela

[Wjolcz]

On 14/01/2017 at 9:11 PM, Arugela said:

Don't they have to develop to like version 2.4 or something because of the Christmas sales a while back?

What do these two things have to do with each other?

[Arugela]

I thought it meant they were going to be developing free for a while and then possibly doing DLC's. AKA they were going to be putting stuff into this game for a long while before doing a KSP 2. Outside of KSP 1 2.0 of course...

Edited January 19, 2017 by Arugela

[Mister Dilsby]

Well me, I'd like a Kerbal Sail Program. One that modeled wind, weather, aero/hydrodynamic forces, rudder and sail controls as failthfully as KSP does for space physics--that is, mostly accurate, except where it isn't fun. Imagine building out your hull, adding masts--deciding whether to keep it simple, or go for broke and make a full-rigged three masted double-decker monster. Adding MOAR STAYS! when your brig gets dismasted in a stiff gale. Endless Forum threads on the hull speed formula...how close a lateen can lie to the wind compared to a square-rigger...how much ballast per square meter of sail is REALLY needed with such-and-such a keel shape, and why can't we have procedural rudders already?

[KSK]

15 hours ago, Kuzzter said:

Well me, I'd like a Kerbal Sail Program. One that modeled wind, weather, aero/hydrodynamic forces, rudder and sail controls as failthfully as KSP does for space physics--that is, mostly accurate, except where it isn't fun. Imagine building out your hull, adding masts--deciding whether to keep it simple, or go for broke and make a full-rigged three masted double-decker monster. Adding MOAR STAYS! when your brig gets dismasted in a stiff gale. Endless Forum threads on the hull speed formula...how close a lateen can lie to the wind compared to a square-rigger...how much ballast per square meter of sail is REALLY needed with such-and-such a keel shape, and why can't we have procedural rudders already?

I sense some good-natured ribbing there but... that sounds surprisingly fun!  Especially if it was all nicely animated so you get to see your fearless kerbal sailors clambering all over the rigging. Throw in a procedural map generator to go with the default Kerbin map, so that it becomes a proper exploration game, beef up the graphics a bit so that it becomes a pretty exploration game with other places to visit on Kerbin and yeah... I'd buy that! Lots of scope for a career mode as well and PvP if that's your bag.

Edit:  And you just know that somebody would make a Pirates mod anyway, whether or not there was any official PvP. Featuring Black Jeb - scourge of the seas. Arrrrrrr!

Edited January 20, 2017 by KSK

[Mister Dilsby]

1 hour ago, KSK said:

I sense some good-natured ribbing there but... that sounds surprisingly fun!  Especially if it was all nicely animated so you get to see your fearless kerbal sailors clambering all over the rigging. Throw in a procedural map generator to go with the default Kerbin map, so that it becomes a proper exploration game, beef up the graphics a bit so that it becomes a pretty exploration game with other places to visit on Kerbin and yeah... I'd buy that! Lots of scope for a career mode as well and PvP if that's your bag.

Despite the fun tone I was entirely serious--sail power fascinates me! And there really is no such game out there that I know of that's anywhere close to a true building/sim. Tempting to think of it a mod within the current KSP framework, but I'm not sure it's possible. Each sail is essentially a flexible airfoil, its characteristics changing as a function of such things as the degree of fill, angle to wind, sag due to gravity, tension on the sheets, etc, etc. You'd have to have some kind of finite element solver for each on. And I haven't even mentioned wind and wave...anyway, if such a game ever could be made, heck yeah I'd buy it  

[cantab]

Kerbal motor racing game would work really well I think. Car design would be somewhat simpler and more accessible than airplane design (which is actually rather complicated), and it would well continue the tradition of crashes and crazy contraptions. Though I think the game would do well to distance itself a little from the likes of Mario Kart - Kerbal racer should have realistic physics and driving behaviour and eschew random weapon pickups but let players put weapons on their designs.

For something different, how about Kerbal mining? Something where you get to design heavy mining machinery and dig through the ground with it. I think again there's lots of potential for awesome and creative contraptions along with the inevitable spectacular failures. Although success might be a bit less directly visible, maybe it would need a well-developed tycoon/economy aspect to the game so you can see how much gold and diamonds and whatever you're extracting and how rich you're getting. It would certainly be near-unique, I don't know of any other game with a remotely realistic take on modern-day mining.