Kerbal Space Program suddenly became personal

[AlamoVampire]

Ok, to our dear moderators: This is a KSP related post/thread, but, I am not entirely certain if it fits THIS particular home on the forum, if I have misplaced it, please, locate it in the proper location.

 

Ok, to start, I have played this game for what seems like eons. Well, since the Steam release of 0.21. This game has always captured my imagination and allowed me to go on fantastic voyages. Today however, as the subject line would hint, became more than personal for me. See, almost 1 year ago, I lost my cat of nearly 20 years <as in, had she lived just 60 days more she would have made her 20th birthday> and I requested the aid of a fellow player while watching Das Valdez to help making a flag to immortalize my dear kitty. He succeeded in spades and for almost a year now, her image has flown with me on every mission. Today though, with the use of the Kerbal creator tool in the alt-f12 menu, I generated a kerbal with my name as a pure lark. I did not expect what happened to me during a quick mission to a station I am building. I flew up an antenna to the final lift/orbital ops stage for my station <forgot to put one on during the VAB time lol> so I could deorbit the stage after removing it from the station. I got the antenna installed using KIS/KAS, and returned my engineer to the ship. I decided to take my kerbal bearing my name, my real name that is, on an EVA. I flew to just a few meters off the station and my ship and just hovered. I panned the camera around to see my kerbals face, and thats when it hit me. In the same moment I saw my kerbal grinning like an idiot I saw on my EVA pack my flag. There in all my beloved kitties glory she was on my back, sitting almost on the same shoulder she would ride as we walked around my house during her long life. Few games have the power to reduce me to tears, but, in that one moment, that one SIMPLE moment, a kerbal with my name on it, on EVA with my beloved kitty riding with me reduced me to tears, and even recalling it for this post has done so again. I now wish to share with you an image of that moment:

and just so shes easier for yall to see, here she is, her name is Pumpkin. God I miss her. I hope, I truly hope for each and everyone of you, this game provides an equally powerful moment for you.

[Vanamonde]

That is a pretty cat.

[AlamoVampire]

14 minutes ago, Vanamonde said:

That is a pretty cat.

Thank you! She was by far a sweet heart. I miss her soooo badly. 

[Dafni]

That was a touching read! Intense emotional KSP moment right there, thanks for sharing.

This game is wonderful, it brings so much different nice things to so many space enthusiasts all over the world. Gotta love KSP, and the community in here too.

[AlamoVampire]

@Dafni I am happy to share. 

[Mako]

Made me tear up just reading your post. It sounds like Pumpkin had the best friend in the whole world and a wonderful life. I wish you many more moments of remembering fond memories of such a special family member.

To Pumpkin and non-human family members everywhere: we love you and thank you for everything you do for us.

@AlamoVampire - Thank you for sharing this moment with us.

Kerbal Space Program - Thank you for inspiring special moments of all kinds for so many people.

[lodger]

@AlamoVampire - I know how you feel, dude! I played many, many hours of KSP with our former cat Shiva overseeing mission progress and watching my every move. Then, one day, she had to leave ... 

Edited April 4, 2017 by lodger

[vsully]

Aw. Sorry about your cat. Good read though.

[TheKosanianMethod]

This one the best things I've seen on these forums.

I can't think of anything else to say.

[klesh]

I'm going to pet my cat extra today.  Thank you for the reminder.  

In honor of Pumkin the catstronaut, I will make a kerbal (I didnt know you could!) of my cat Sampson, he is definitely a space cadet already.  

[Champ]

My cat has watched me play KSP for enough time I think she would now be able to plan a Hohmann transfer ^^

[Martian Emigrant]

Hi.

 

Thanks for sharing a moment with us.

 

My current cat is only 6 yrs old. She sleeps on my lap while I play.

I cover my lap with a furry comforter while at the PC and she goes between them (The lap and comforter).

Right now she is under my bed covers but she will show up and ask for affection.

 

ME

[Red Stapler]

Thanks for Sharing....KSP is awesome, not many games can connect on an emotional level like this one when you 'accomplish' something really cool (be it mission based or otherwise).

Edited April 4, 2017 by Red Stapler

[AlamoVampire]

@lodger Id like to think our furry friends are still keeping an eye on us and our missions

I would like to thank all of you for such kind words and warm thoughts! 

Edited April 4, 2017 by AlamoVampire

[ZooNamedGames]

I can easily understand your emotions as you write this since back in February I lost my girl of 5 years (short to us, but for her she set was the oldest). She was a show quality Flemish Giant rabbit and she had been my special girl for 5 years. As my family always joked, I didn't adopt the rabbit, she adopted me. We formed a very close bond from the very moment I met her and I stayed close to her for 5 years. In those 5 years I entered a new school (private high school), and it saw me past through several online communities, one of which was this very community.

Being a giant, her lifespan was shortened. Granted living 5 years for a giant is most definitely living out her lifespan seeing as despite our best attempts the majority don't make it that long. So I am extremely grateful to have had her as long as I did. However she started to drop off in December, and slowly we saw her slip as she fought with breast cancer (yes rabbits can get breast cancer). In the months that followed we saw her constantly struggle with varying ails however she kept coming back from them however in late January she got to the point of critical and needless to say by this point it was wearing on my soul to see her in this condition. She was my best friend and it hurt to see in that bad a state.

About 3 weeks after she started to get critical, we lost her during a night to multiple organ failure (we had done everything we could up to that point and there was nothing we could do). It was a stale morning and to be honest I likely won't ever recover from it since of how hard a bond she made. Thankfully my parents surprised me with a professional portrait of her back in her better years and I'm so glad to have it. You said Alama that writing your post brought back tears; so is this.

Tears don't do justice the love and amount of caring and emotion we tie to these animals. I just wish I had something that would leap to me as so touching in KSP as well...

That said, go get your self (and me too) a tissue and go climb a mountain on Kerbin and claim it in her memory. She may be gone from your shoulder, however she is not gone from this world. Nor is the love and caring you and she had.

if nothing else; I made a Imgur community post about my rabbit, and if nothing else, maybe their kind words can help you too as they did me:

That said and done; go prosper. Your too wise a man to waste this time. Prove to her memory that you are as good as you can be. Don't hold back, don't stop yourself. Climb the next mountain on Kerbin or on Earth and prove that you are strong.

"It is logical to grieve... I have been and always shall be... your friend. Live long... and propser"

- A man much greater than I, Leonard Nimoy

[AlamoVampire]

@ZooNamedGames Im so sorry to hear of her loss. She is gorgeous!

Where ever we go, what ever we do, they shall forever walk with us. Our little furry friends stay an all too short time on our Earth, but their memory, their impact shapes us all for all time. 

[monstah]

I'm old enough to have been through a few pets, mostly cats. It's always sad to see them go, but each time it's also a little lesson in non-attachment. You will never forget them, but in time the pain will go away  

[Red Stapler]

Man, now you guys have me missing my Netherland Dwarf rabbit....Oreo.  He was such a ball of energy as well as a trouble maker.    I was impressed at how smart he was (never had a rabbit as a pet before). 

I'm going to have Mr. Jebs plant a flag on the Mun for him tonight.

Edited April 5, 2017 by Red Stapler

[Nansuchao]

@Starwaster would be proud of this.

[Starwaster]

@AlamoVampire Sorry for your loss

I definitely know what it's like having lost my Melificent just over two years ago now. And working at a cat sanctuary, there's been several cats that I've grown attached to that I've had to say goodbye to as well as two dogs in the past ten years...

[AlamoVampire]

@Starwaster  Sorry to hear about your Melificent. Would that they could stay longer than they do.

May they all greet us again one day after we cross the rainbow bridge to join them.

[Fearless Son]

Aww, I know how you feel.  Out house hold has a kitty named Pumpkin too!  And just last November we lost one of our cats, Horatio, who was just a few months past his twentieth birthday.  Years ago, I lost my childhood cat who lived to be twenty-two!  

Cats really do seem to get sweeter and more affectionate in their old age.  

[Captain Vlad]

I'm a cat owner.  You damn near made me cry.  Awesome post.

[AlamoVampire]

@Fearless Son 20 years full of purrs and love! We shall always take them our voyages  

[AlamoVampire]

I wish to again extend my appreciation and warmest thoughts to all who replied to this thread as well as all of our beloved pets who have left us, who still are with us and those yet to join our hearts and homes.