Did you try the demo first or buy the game?

[fyrgeit]

.

[Dman979]

I tried the demo first, all the way back in 2013. Then I bought the game, and the rest, as they say, is history!

[adsii1970]

I found the demo on Steam, downloaded .18. Went to the website listed on the Steam page and bought .22 from the Steam store. A few weeks later, it appeared in my Steam store page for a $5.00 green light special, so I bought it, wondering if it  would be different than my KSP store copy. And the rest, they say, is history...

[Vanamonde]

The title of this thread has been changed for clarity. 

[Geonovast]

Jumped right in.  I was always intrigued by the game's mentions in xkcd, and finally decided to look into.  About 5 minutes of looking at a Google image search for KSP and realizing there was a native Linux version, I didn't hesitate to buy.  Hooked the first time I hit the space bar, even though I had ZERO clue what I was doing.

[Mahnarch]

I downloaded the demo and played for an hour.

 

After I figured out the staging (chutes opening on launch) I purchased the game from the store.

That was two days before the asteroid capture launch (0.23?)

[Superfluous J]

Tried the demo, got hooked, wondered if it was worth the money, decided to do a mun-land-and-return mission from scratch and if I was still into the game after that, I'd buy the game.

2 days later I bought the game immediately after exiting the demo with my pod splashed down on Kerbin.

[linuxgurugamer]

I saw this on twitch, and decided to buy it at that time. that was almost 4 years ago

[Tyko]

I tried the demo and was not impressed.

I spent a couple of hours figuring out how to build a rocket and learned about TWR and DV. I realized that in order to play at a higher level than blind trial and error I'd have to do a lot of math.

So, I deleted the demo with no plans to go back to it. It was only a few weeks later that a friend told me about KER. I installed KER, gave it another go and fell in love with KSP.

Edited September 13, 2018 by Tyko

[Gargamel]

I tried the demo back when it was only a one version release behind the alpha.  Bought it right after that.

But why would anybody want to play the demo after purchasing the full game?

[LaydeeDem]

I bought the game before an official demo existed.

[Val]

Moved from Gameplay Questions.

[Chel]

I got the demo first, loved the concept, and bought the game. Best $35 spend ever!

[Atkara]

Went straight for the game, when 1.0 came out. Not a blind decision however, since I had already watched a number of videos and livestreams.

[purpleivan]

16 hours ago, Dman979 said:

I tried the demo first, all the way back in 2013. Then I bought the game, and the rest, as they say, is history!

I bought the DLC and that was Making History

[Just Jim]

Demo, right after version 0.9 was released. I spent like 3-4 days trying to land on the Mun, but every time my landing legs gave out...
I got so mad and frustrated (in a good way) I knew this game was a keeper, and I had to own the full version, just so the Mun wouldn't win. 

Edited September 15, 2018 by Just Jim

[Tonka Crash]

In 2007 I dropped PC games entirely and switched to Xbox 360 and later Xbox One, so, I tried the Xbox version first. I thought the game was exactly what I was looking for, but the controller scheme was painfully awkward. I tried the demo on my work laptop and didn't seem like it would tax low end graphics cards like found in 2-5 year old laptops. Also, it was a vast improvement over the console port and allowed mods, so I bought the game later that day. I played for about a week on a 5 year old laptop I had at home before buying a new PC after getting tired of laptop cooling fans whining at full speed. My Xbox hasn't been turned on since early June.

[swjr-swis]

The second option needs rewording, or it doesn't make sense: it should probably be 'bought the game and skipped the demo entirely". Why would I need to try a limited demo when I already had the full game?

Edited September 15, 2018 by swjr-swis
I "don't sense" at 3am...

[Slam_Jones]

KSP was one of the few games that I didn't realize I needed until I saw it on Steam for the first time.  I had no idea that space exploration and spaceship building would be something I could put so much time into.

At this point, it's one of my most played games ever, with over 1500+ hours put into it.

[pandaman]

Resisted getting the demo, as i was pretty sure i would like it after hearing my kids and work colleagues talk about it, and was afraid of spending too much time on it, and cash was very tight too so I didn't want the temptation.  Eventually curiosity got the better if me, and I got the demo - and spent too much time on it - so pondered carefully over whether I could justify spending the sum that v18.3 was, and bought the full game.  Best value purchase ever.

[SiriusRocketry]

I got the demo as an eight year old in 2011, IIRC it was the ancient pre-cost version (0.9, 0.10?) and loved it. (Despite being terrible) However I soon forgot about it and was caught up in the console hysteria surrounding the PS4 a couple of years later.

Near the end of 2016, around September, my friend told me about a game he bought last month called 'Kerbal Space Program' a semi-realistic simulator of spaceflight... I couldn't really remember the game, and despite being a huge space nerd, didn't think it was too interesting. 

My friend was persistent, however, and sent me the download link for the 1.0 demo, which I decided to download and play. Despite the large difficulty spike and cumbersome part selection, I enjoyed it immensely and succeeded in shooting a Kerbal to the Mun's surface in late December (Jeb never returned).

In February 2017, I saw KSP on sale for NZ$17.99, down from $41.99. I bought, it, fell in love despite having a potato laptop, and began to play. 413 hours, a new (but not much better laptop) and almost two years later, here I am.

KSP has helped me through some tough times recently, and despite the burnouts and the lag, it is the greatest purchase I have ever made. So thanks to SQUAD for creating a beautiful, upbeat and insane game that is still as fun now as it was in 2011.

Thanks for reading and sorry for the novel.

[roboslacker]

Neither, I first played the full version for free using my brother's copy through steam family sharing. He later gifted me a copy so we could do DMP together.

[Opus_723]

I tried the demo, got a crew capsule stuck in orbit, then designed my own 'claw' out of extendable landing gear, rendesvous'd and 'docked' with no RCS, just a terrier and a reaction wheel....

After spending hours accomplishing that, did some googling and learned that the full game had docking ports and RCS and IMMEDIATELY BOUGHT THE FULL GAME. 

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Got the demo first, I think I made it to orbit in the demo before I bought the game. I wouldn't have bought the game if I hadn't played the demo first though.

[Cavscout74]

3 minutes ago, Mad Rocket Scientist said:

I wouldn't have bought the game if I hadn't played the demo first though.

That's what I told myself - if I can't at least get to orbit in the demo, it's not worth buying the full game.  But I was already hooking from watching vids, I think I would've come up with an excuse to buy it sooner or later regardless.