The Future

[VITAS]

Hi,

i wonder what you think the future of KSP currently is, what you wish it would be like and what it would take to get there.
 

[AngrybobH]

I am entirely unsure of what KSPs' future actually is because I don't have Squads' metrics. It seems to me the game is doing pretty good in terms of people playing and, more importantly, buying the DLCs. I do wonder how much more content they could make for future DLCs. I do know I will probably buy future content. This game is cheap in $/hr of entertainment.

For the future I would like to see some improvements in performance, career mode, and graphics. Sure there are mods for graphics but they can reduce performance. Maybe there is an optimization that can be made somewhere modders cannot access. DX11 support maybe?  Performance is a big issue for me because I like to build extremely large stations. I am not sure what could even be done to improve that. I have heard that rigid body physics calcs are hard/impossible to multithread. Maybe there is a way for the game to cheat a bit to improve speed. I've already done what I can on my end by putting together a rather strong computer.

Career mode is something I would like to see totally revamped. Contracts need some form of personalization. They need to give a better sense of accomplishment. The funding system is mostly bad. I would like to see something along the lines of a budget. You get x funds allotted and have to pay active and training crew, part development, constuction, and operating cost along with being given directives of things to achieve and a time limit on them. If the budget allows then secondary objectives can be tried. What if you got restricted to a selection of boosters until you developed other ones? I think constraints can actually increase the fun. I actually wouldn't mind any kind of change to career mode as long as it changes.

[Geschosskopf]

4 hours ago, VITAS said:

i wonder what you think the future of KSP currently is,....

See, this is a contradiction.  The future is not "current" because then it would be "now" :D.

The only thing we can know for sure is that when the future gets here, the entropy level of the universe will be somewhat higher.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Geschosskopf

[VITAS]

Yes i was asking what you NOW think the FUTURE (of KSP)  is.

In the end everything will be even.

Edited July 8, 2019 by VITAS

[Guest]

More graphical revamps and another DLC, which will introduce a unique feature and a half-baked reimplementation of a popular mod. This will continue until they release a DLC that flops so hard that T2 kills development.

[Xavier513]

My only wish currently is to upgrade to latest Unity version, and get rid of the old "outdated" .Net Framework 3.5 .

[RocketSimplicity]

I think they will add a small new feature every now and then and a dlc each year with a long requested feature as the subject. I hope to see an upgraded unity too

[Wjolcz]

Hopefully the future of KSP includes career rework.

[Guest]

I would have liked a KSP2  With photo realistic kerbals XD but I guess you can achieve most upgrades through mods already. 

Edited July 9, 2019 by Guest

[Superfluous J]

I still have hope that they'll revisit some of the old stalwart things that have been around for years. A career and science rewrite would be awesome, as in throw away the entire way contracts work and replace it with... something. There have been novels written on ideas so I won't rehash anything here. And if science was tossed and replaced with something either a little more involved (as in you can't just toss all your science doodads on your ship and go) or a little less involved (as in just having the science doodads automatically collected science so you didn't have to click on things over and over during a flyby) would be welcome.

More generally, I hope they keep up what they've been doing, with a new major version every ... what is it 4 months? 3? and then new DLC every year. I never ever would have expected robotics DLC, so I'll hold off on any predictions, but if they released a DLC that added in-situ construction and perhaps colonization and along with it a stock change to how things run on-rails (as in, they actually run on-rails and don't either just ignore that they're on rails or catch up to real time when they come into focus) then I'd be a very happy customer.

[steuben]

Better support for slightly high part counts, the serious kilo-part range. But then that is a moving goal post. The moment we get that people will be complaining that KSP can't support five and six digit counts of parts and how it is ruining KSP and that their enjoyment is forever lost. This will be difficult, because well... math.

A story mode, similar to career, but with 100% more plot, 50% less filler, and the same great taste.

Stock part upgrades. Invest Science! in upgrading existing parts for less dry mass, better ISP, more elec storage/generation, etc. Some sort of

Something better for the Admin Building. The whole strategy thing feels bolted on, and not really integrated with game play.

[Cydonian Monk]

The future? 

Career mode "Funds" will be replaced with real-world currency. You can recharge these through either grindy boring missions like rescue and survey contracts, or through using a linked credit card or social score. Want the final upgrade for the VAB? That'll either require eight years worth of play time or a quick $5k. Science and Sandbox modes will be locked behind a wall until you have finished unlocking everything in a career game first and will require a monthly subscription to use. 

Or maybe the game doesn't fall into parasitic capitalism mode.... 

Instead we get a fully reimagined and actually balanced concept of career mode, something more akin to BARIS (either the game or the mod). New official solar systems, either selected from a set of pre-generated ones or on-request procedurally generated. More procedural parts similar to the fairings.

Actual bloody cities. 

Or maybe none of the above. Who knows. 

[Vanamonde]

This discussion of the game's development has been moved to Development Discussions. 

[ManEatingApe]

22 hours ago, Geschosskopf said:

The future is not "current" because then it would be "now" :D.

But when will then be now?
https://youtu.be/5drjr9PmTMA?t=81

 

Edited July 9, 2019 by ManEatingApe

[Geschosskopf]

1 hour ago, ManEatingApe said:

But when will then be now?

It already is and always will be

https://youtu.be/vrqmMoI0wks?t=175

 

[VITAS]

Im open to a new philosphical thread about time and its perception.

This isnt it

[Codraroll]

I wish and hope for some colonization/permanent base rework. It would be so cool to have the option to establish bases (and launch sites) on other bodies, it would be a great reward for interplanetary exploration too as well as making it less intimidating for inexperienced players. It's easier to get to Dres if you start out of Duna, for instance, but it would cost a whole lot more funds to launch even the simplest spacecraft from there, so there would be a tradeoff.

Either way, surface bases need some rework. Docking anything on a planetary surface is hellishly complicated, and the bases you end up building look something like oversized LEMs. A more convenient way to assemble surface bases would be really cool.

[Superfluous J]

1 hour ago, Codraroll said:

Docking anything on a planetary surface is hellishly complicated, and the bases you end up building look something like oversized LEMs. A more convenient way to assemble surface bases would be really cool.

The new deployable science things count as a single craft even though they're placed separately and not physically attached. I'm hopeful they use this in the future for other craft.

Edited July 10, 2019 by 5thHorseman

[fulgur]

I definitely think surface bases need a revamp. I play with K&K Planetary Base Systems and I actually build bases! As opposed to what I usually do, which is make a miner and put a refinery in orbit.

[klgraham1013]

I think Take Two wouldn't purchase the KSP IP just for the minimal remaining long tail of KSP and the limited profits from DLC.  Some may not want it, or think it's not necessary or there's nothing to add (which is short sighted), but I think KSP2 will happen and is probably already in very early development.  KSP1 will continue to receive free updates and DLC as long as there are profits to be made.  How much longer that lasts seems limited in my opinion.  I just hope KSP1's final update is worthy of the game, and not filled with new bugs from the latest untested feature which it will surely add.  I hope Squad is allowed a final series of bug fix updates, and KSP1 is allowed to sail off into the sunset as it deserves.

What remains for Squad and KSP1 now?  More art revamps will surely happen.  Possibly one more DLC.  It'd be fantastic if the current trend of adding long requested features continues.  Who knows.  We might even get an alarm clock.

[VITAS]

On 7/11/2019 at 2:10 PM, klgraham1013 said:

I think Take Two wouldn't purchase the KSP IP just for the minimal remaining long tail of KSP and the limited profits from DLC.  Some may not want it, or think it's not necessary or there's nothing to add (which is short sighted), but I think KSP2 will happen and is probably already in very early development.  KSP1 will continue to receive free updates and DLC as long as there are profits to be made.  How much longer that lasts seems limited in my opinion.  I just hope KSP1's final update is worthy of the game, and not filled with new bugs from the latest untested feature which it will surely add.  I hope Squad is allowed a final series of bug fix updates, and KSP1 is allowed to sail off into the sunset as it deserves.

What remains for Squad and KSP1 now?  More art revamps will surely happen.  Possibly one more DLC.  It'd be fantastic if the current trend of adding long requested features continues.  Who knows.  We might even get an alarm clock.

There will be something. They bought KSP a good way trough its lifecycle.
Thats why i made this post. So we can speculate and also voice our wishes.

I personaly think the aim is to have ksp something like minecraft where the game constantly evolves and mods are its lifeblood.

As opposed to the EA model of pumping out new versions every year and having all users migrate.

The main problem i see is that ksp isnt as large as minecraft (sadly) and take2 isnt microsoft (but still not small).

So they have to do something big to keep new sales to happen (they dont earn from exisitng players not wanting to buy DLCs).

Its up to us as a community to give them good idears we can life with and that would make us as happy as they will new users.

[aruoch]

the only way they can expand this game past what it is is to enable extra-planetary launches and colonisation and maybe actually represent colonies and have colony missions.

 

interstellar is a stupid idea until theres extraplanetary really

[VITAS]

Multiplayer...woooh

[aruoch]

Just now, VITAS said:

Multiplayer...woooh

mutliplayer would probably not work so well on ksp as it is now. 

 

1) map size  and scope of space means unless thousands are in 1 instance it'll feel empty as excrements even compared to elite dangerous or something

 

2) long construction times mean it'll feel more dead still

 

3) space junk from thousands of players

 

4) unplayable for low end systems because of models like halycion carrier inevitably being spawned

 

edit: i suppose if they added more ship-board content you could make it more like "coop splitscreen" style just over the internet or something, or also add part count limits and limit the map scope based on what content is being used

Edited July 14, 2019 by aruoch

[VITAS]

You havent checked out dmp havent you?