Kerbal Space Program Breaks Ground with a New DLC!

[RocketSquid]

Just now, Xavven said:

I know... I'm gonna have to, maybe pack 2 lunches instead of eating out.

I still can't believe I paid $50 for a crappy game like Ace Combat Assault Horizon, and yet for $25 I've gotten 1200 hours of obsessive entertainment out of KSP. This DLC will bring the total to $40.   Or 3 cents per hour

I'm still in high school at this point, so it more accurately means "ugh, gonna have to do a bunch of chores and/or yard work instead of playing KSP"

I don't actually know how many hours I've spent on KSP, just that it's a lot.

[doodlemh]

add multiple color options for the new suit, the shape is really good but the colors are... meh

 

[Raptor9]

33 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

You could also hook up the throttle to the speeds of the servos themselves.

Without knowing how fast those servos can change their speed (again, assumptions/speculation) you potentially are in the same situation as the jet VTOL method, in that you are waiting for the rotation speed to spool up and spool down.  That's why I suggest the control surface deflection method, it could *potentially* be more responsive and precise.

34 minutes ago, Xavven said:

In the case of a helicopter, we're talking about cyclic inputs changing the pitch of each rotor blade as they spin, in addition to collective inputs, so the pitch would be the sum of both. I'd be very surprised (but pleasantly surprised) if KSP implements an actual swash plate. One can dream!

I'm quite familiar with the intricacies of rotorcraft physics.  I doubt that would be a reasonable implementation since KSP physics might treat cyclic feathering differently than real-life, not to mention getting into gyroscopic precession and all those other aerodynamic properties of helo blade systems.  I think it would just be easier to link to the throttle input for collective increase/decrease, and let reaction wheels act as the attitude control mechanism; for lack of a more fleshed out aerodynamic physics simulation in stock KSP.

[Xavven]

3 minutes ago, Raptor9 said:

I'm quite familiar with the intricacies of rotorcraft physics.  I doubt that would be a reasonable implementation since KSP physics might treat cyclic feathering differently than real-life, not to mention getting into gyroscopic precession and all those other aerodynamic properties of helo blade systems.  I think it would just be easier to link to the throttle input for collective increase/decrease, and let reaction wheels act as the attitude control mechanism; for lack of a more fleshed out aerodynamic physics simulation in stock KSP.

So collective but not cyclic. I could buy that. It sounds like a reasonable compromise for something like KSP, without turning it into a full blown flight simulator.

[Superfluous J]

41 minutes ago, klesh said:

Does everyone like these EVA suits with neon lights running all along them?  I see now it looks like they come in 3 different colors: all blue, all orange, white and orange. Its like Tron meets KSP.

I don't mind them, but tbh I tend to forget you can change suits.

41 minutes ago, klesh said:

I still wonder why the Making History wheels are featured so prominently in these advertisements. Wont people be disappointed to find out they're not included?

They're in one pic, unless there are other pictures I don't know about? Granted that one pic is the only one I've seen with any wheels.

[Sticky3002]

8 hours ago, UomoCapra said:

Bring equipment for experiments with you from Kerbin and deploy them on the surface of a celestial body to take measurements...

OOF. Having something to do on the surface of planets is something that some players have been wanting, I wish this were stock and not a paid expansion because imo it doesn't expand on anything previously set. It's a completely new feature. Kinda bummed out by this. Should've been stock.

EDIT: The additional features on all planets and moons mentioned could also fit in this category

I really hope we don't end up with an incomplete base game to be forced to buy DLCs to suck our wallets dry, I have confidence the team won't do this. Even if I can't afford this DLC, the rest of the content looks amazing. Good work!

Edited May 6, 2019 by Sticky3002

[Xavven]

30 minutes ago, RocketSquid said:

I'm still in high school at this point, so it more accurately means "ugh, gonna have to do a bunch of chores and/or yard work instead of playing KSP"

I don't actually know how many hours I've spent on KSP, just that it's a lot.

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound insensitive. I'm older and well into my career. I do remember that when I was younger, $20 was a lot more impactful to my budget. Although I will say computer games are a really, really cost effective hobby. Even gardening is more expensive!

[RocketSquid]

1 minute ago, Xavven said:

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound insensitive. I'm older and well into my career. I do remember that when I was younger, $20 was a lot more impactful to my budget. Although I will say computer games are a really, really cost effective hobby. Even gardening is more expensive!

No problem, I was exaggerating quite a bit earlier.

[Superfluous J]

*ignore this, and thanks forum for faithfully respecting my order to quadruple post in spite of my not knowing I was doing it*

Edited May 6, 2019 by 5thHorseman

[klesh]

1 minute ago, 5thHorseman said:

They're in one pic, unless there are other pictures I don't know about? Granted that one pic is the only one I've seen with any wheels.

 

The one pic with the pink crystals,  the custom art splash at the OP of this thread, and the actual Breaking Ground logo itself.

[Superfluous J]

6 minutes ago, Sticky3002 said:

OOF. Having something to do on the surface of planets is something that all players have been wanting, I wish this were stock and not a paid expansion because imo it doesn't expand on anything previously set. It's a completely new feature. Kinda bummed out by this. Should've been stock.

The best DLCs I've ever purchased added whole new gameplay to the game. If it didn't, I'd have never bought it.

[linuxgurugamer]

7 hours ago, krone12 said:

It's not worth even for 5$.

So, if this isn't worth $5, what, in your opinion, IS worth $5?

[Superfluous J]

1 minute ago, klesh said:

 

The one pic with the pink crystals,  the custom art splash at the OP of this thread, and the actual Breaking Ground logo itself.

Oh I for some reason didn't even consider the drawn art or the logo. Maybe the wheels will actually be in this DLC as well?

[Sticky3002]

7 minutes ago, 5thHorseman said:

The best DLCs I've ever purchased added whole new gameplay to the game. If it didn't, I'd have never bought it.

Yeah but my argument is that this feels like something that should be in the base game (which there is a lot of room for arguing if downloadable content may or may not fall in this category). Making History is fine because it doesn't add anything that the game was intially lacking, but rather it expands and gives more gameplay in the content it gives while still being a buy-worthy expansion. This was kind of a thing that players feared when DLCs were announced for KSP. Although I'm happy that the team will receive more revenue, I am a bit disappointed indeed.

Edited May 6, 2019 by Sticky3002

[Dropbear67]

for the price of three cups of coffee.. no brainer.. I'm excited to help support the development of the game - and ongoing science missions and providing us with reasons to deploy probes and rovers is one of the biggest things I've been looking for in KSP!..

 

[StrandedonEarth]

Holy Hype Batman!

Oh.... My.... Kod!

Praise Kraken!. 

Since Squad is finally delving into a time-based mechanic, maybe they will look at implementing construction time?

and I finally just started a new 1.7 career save. I’ll just have to scrap that while I wait for this DLC to drop. Quick Robin, to the Civ6Cave!

[garwel]

I, for one, am very happy about this DLC and going to buy on day one (which I never do with other games). Even though I have most of these features in mods (SEP, RoverScience, USI Konstruction), including them in the stock game is good from the point of view of performance, stability and consistency. More importantly, it's reassuring to see that SQUAD is actually trying to improve gameplay in most important areas.

[Xavven]

6 hours ago, Snark said:

If you're employed and bringing home a paycheck, that's what's buying your groceries and paying your rent / mortgage / whatever.  It's how the market economy works.

I'm trying to imagine if my employer asked me to admin their file servers for free from now on, because they paid me once last month.

I personally don't think one should expect a software developer to expand their game for free forever, but I'm also an older millennial who still remembers a time when you bought your PC games on a diskette and there was no such thing as patches for your game, not even bug fixes, because there was no internet.

Since 1.0 here are notable things we've gotten that have personally affected my KSP experience in a positive way:

• comms network
• KerbNet
• new parts (especially the lander can)
• part balance (especially engines)
• UI improvements (looking at you, struts in the VAB!)
• advanced tweakables (especially fuel flow control)
• performance upgrades
• Unity engine upgrades
• Asteroid Day mod
• personal parachutes
• art pass and skin variants
• delta-v calculator
• advanced maneuver node editor
• advanced orbital info display

... FOR FREE

 

TLDR: You kids have it so easy! Back in my day, we have to walk uphill in the snow with no shoes to the electronics boutique to buy our video games, and that was good enough for us!

[sumghai]

Oh boy, oh boy!

I've always wanted more meaningful surface activities on planetary bodies, and I'm glad that the developers are continually investing in the game's replayability by implementing these new features. I'm also happy to see stock robotics finally come to the game, given the tumultuous development history of the Infernal Robotics mod.

8 hours ago, UomoCapra said:

New Space Suit

Kerbals are also getting a fresh new space suit to wear for their scientific endeavors! This sleek futuristic suit will make your Kerbals look flashy while they explore the canyons of Duna, the shores of Laythe, or any other exotic destination.

The new suits are looking very slick. I presume Kerbals can switch between suits using the same "coathanger" feature like in Making History?

7 hours ago, UomoCapra said:

The deployable experiments will take measurements over time. and you'll be able to speed up this process by having specialized (e.g. scientists) Kerbals operating them. Unlike other experiments, Deployed Science will need to be set up like a base, where you'll need to take care of energy requirements and transmission equipment, as well as having a central station for  the experiments to work.

I'm particularly excited about this science-over-time feature, as it establishes a better rationale for players to maintain long-term space stations and surface outposts. But I'm wondering:

• Could these experiments be allowed to run continuously ad infinitum, while generating diminishing returns in science over time?
• Are deployable experiments available both on planetary surfaces and in orbit?

6 hours ago, Maxsimal said:

That portion of the feature will actually be included in the free portion of the DLC release.  But it will be hidden because only the DLC functionality uses it.  Modders can use it though, and it will be visible in the base game once modders add their own parts that use it.

So to clarify, this means all the associated PartModules and API will be included in an update to the base game?

 

[klgraham1013]

1 hour ago, RocketSquid said:

I'm still in high school at this point, so it more accurately means "ugh, gonna have to do a bunch of chores and/or yard work instead of playing KSP"

I don't actually know how many hours I've spent on KSP, just that it's a lot.

Just wait tell you're an adult and have to do 8 hours of chores 5 days a week.

36 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

So, if this isn't worth $5, what, in your opinion, IS worth $5?

Tacos.

[kBob]

I paid $17 for the game so this will almost double my investment.  On a cost per hour basis this has got to the cheapest entertainment investment I've ever made.

[Xavven]

4 hours ago, sh1pman said:

For that very reason, KSP 2 will be an always-online live service with 5 different deluxe editions, 10-year DLC roadmap, tons and tons of cosmetic micro transactions, missions that award loot boxes with rocket parts (can buy those with real money too), launch cooldown timer (pay to skip the wait), etc, etc, etc...

I had to surpress my urge to vomit when I read that. KSP 2 - By Zynga

[Maxsimal]

5 minutes ago, sumghai said:

Oh boy, oh boy!

I've always wanted more meaningful surface activities on planetary bodies, and I'm glad that the developers are continually investing in the game's replayability by implementing these new features. I'm also happy to see stock robotics finally come to the game, given the tumultuous development history of the Infernal Robotics mod.

The new suits are looking very slick. I presume Kerbals can switch between suits using the same "coathanger" feature like in Making History?

I'm particularly excited about this science-over-time feature, as it establishes a better rationale for players to maintain long-term space stations and surface outposts. But I'm wondering:

• Could these experiments be allowed to run continuously ad infinitum, while generating diminishing returns in science over time?
•  Are deployable experiments available both on planetary surfaces and in orbit?

So to clarify, this means all the associated PartModules and API will be included in an update to the base game?

  

Not for the whole deployed science system, that's DLC, just for the cargo system.

[DMagic]

10 minutes ago, sumghai said:

So to clarify, this means all the associated PartModules and API will be included in an update to the base game?

That's sort of how it has to work, at least without really changing how KSP's code base works. All of the code for Making History is in the base game, at least as far as I know (there are a whole bunch of Expansions.something namespaces that you can check out it VS's Object Browser, or whatever program you use, or the API docs). 

I guess they could lock out some functions by testing to see if the expansion is installed, but generally I would expect all API features to be the same.

Edited May 6, 2019 by DMagic

[ProtoJeb21]

8 hours ago, UomoCapra said:

Study the soaring plume of a cryovolcano on Vall, mysterious craters on Moho, and even more new features on all of the other moons and planets of the Solar System.

Updates to the stock planets? A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.