totm september 2019 I get to interview Star Theory tomorrow. Give me your questions!

[DrRansom]

Will we be able to piece together rockets using parts built in the VAB and Hanger? E.g. - will it be straightforward to build a plane in the Hanger and then attach that plane to a rocket designed in the VAB?

[NoMrBond]

Since KSP2 (and even KSP1.8 actually) will be based on the latest Unity version(s), do they (Star Theory and/or Squad respectively) plan to include FleX support for GPGPU acceleration?

 

[mikegarrison]

What are the "killer aps" that will make KSP1 players eager to switch to KSP2? We have heard multi-player, we have heard multiple star systems. Anything else?

[VaPaL]

Will there be tools to aid inter-planetary missions? Not necessarly a transfer window calculator, but something better than guessing angles or using a protractor placed on the screen.

[GoldForest]

1 hour ago, DrRansom said:

Will we be able to piece together rockets using parts built in the VAB and Hanger? E.g. - will it be straightforward to build a plane in the Hanger and then attach that plane to a rocket designed in the VAB?

They've already said that multiple builds in the VAB/SPH are possible. You can build three seperate rockets in the VAB at the same time then connect them.

[Ender65535]

I am going to asking this one:

Ray tracing support? 

[KerikBalm]

Will you be able to build self sufficient colonies (ie capable of producing new ships with no input, and expanding themselves) in most locations, or will self sufficiency require a variety of resources that are unlikely to all be present in one location (so "trade" between colonies is needed)?

[AVaughan]

Will KSP 2 have persistent rotation, or will they use the timewarp stops rotation that KSP 1 uses?

Will solar panels and resource extraction be properly simulated when the ship is unloaded, or will they just use something similar to the current catch up system?

 

Edit: Also will engine shrouds have something similar to decoupler shroud, where the shroud is calculated based on the dimensions of the tank above, and the decoupler below?

Edited August 30, 2019 by AVaughan

[KerikBalm]

8 hours ago, Snark said:

11 hours ago, KerikBalm said:

Is there any other tech that involves dubious or speculative science such as metallic hydrogen (recently shown not to remain stable when pressure is released)?

I think the answer is pretty safely "yes"-- they give the impression that there are a variety of engine types to be had, of which we've seen only a few.

Yes, but my question is how speculative/dubious the other drives are.

To be clear, various fusion drive concepts are vastly more realistic than metallic hydrogen drives. I've got an entire thread on this, but a number of people are in agreement that speculative engineering based on sound science (ie, a fusion reactor, we know fusion reactions work, engineering something that produces net power and isn't a bomb is much harder though. Another example: An Orion drive uses established science, its the engineering of the shock absorbers, thrust plate, bomb magazine, etc, that is speculative) is fine with us.

What isn't fine with us is speculative/disproven science. The speculation that metallic hydrogen would be stable after pressure release dates back to 1971, and the more recent predictions were that it wouldn't be metastable (or the period of metastability would be on the order of a few picoseconds, or would require at least 10-20 GPa of pressure).

In June of this year, a paper came out that appears to show that metallic hydrogen forms around 427 GPa, and reverts to non metallic when pressure is relaxed to 410-415 GPa (possibly higher, they didn't have data points in between.

Metallic hydrogen engines aren't possible, and they were apparently relying on speculation from nearly 50 years ago that has since been cast in doubt and disproven to come up with this engine.

So my question is how many engines are based on speculative science, vs speculative engineering with sound and proven science behind them?

Edited August 30, 2019 by KerikBalm

[Blaf]

Will we get a barn as level 0 VAB?

[Poodmund]

@Snark, how are they invisioning that KSP2 mods be handled with respect to the imposed requirements that SQUAD required us to release KSP1 mods under; with specific regards to licensing?

[The Dressian Exploder]

Will we be able to recolour parts, in a similar way to that seen in the cinematic trailer?

[AVaughan]

29 minutes ago, Poodmund said:

how are they invisioning that KSP2 mods be handled with respect to the imposed requirements that SQUAD required us to release KSP1 mods under; with specific regards to licensing?

Are you referring to https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/154851-add-on-posting-rules-november-24-2017/ ?  

Personally I view most of that as common sense requirements from a game developer/publishers perspective.  (The work needs an explicit licence statement, otherwise Squad doesn't want to expose themselves or any forum users to any potential legal hassles from hosting it, if bundling other works you need to comply with their licences, etc).

 

 

[Kaerbanogue]

Will the KSP 1 DLC parts will be included in KSP 2? 

 

[T1mo98]

• Will sound be muffled as you gain altitude?
• Will rocket exhaust plumes react realistically as you gain altitude? (stock realplume)
• Will robotic parts like in Breaking Ground be carried over?
• Will parts like in Making History be carried over?
• Will launch site structures be destructible and upgradable like in KSP1?

Edited August 30, 2019 by T1mo98

[linecrafter]

13 hours ago, Snark said:

That's kind of a broad question.  Got anything more specific?

I just wanted to know if there will be jet planes and are there any changes to aerodynamics

13 hours ago, Snark said:

Kind of a broad question.  There are certainly going to be user settings for some things, just as KSP 1 allows setting some things.  Did you have something specific in mind?

I'm referring to UI we've seen in dev story trailer, a lot of people were wondering if you could drag around widgets (like navball, timewarp, SAS/RCS buttons etc)

[Superfluous J]

42 minutes ago, linecrafter said:

I'm referring to UI we've seen in dev story trailer, a lot of people were wondering if you could drag around widgets (like navball, timewarp, SAS/RCS buttons etc)

That's an early UI mockup if I ever saw one.

I'd be pretty surprised if anything in the game even vaguely resembled that.

Though I bet (in a certain part of the dev code) they can move those around wherever they want. In the final version it will look a bit more like what we have now and moving them around too much may be troublesome.

[Snark]

14 hours ago, Delay said:

On average, how many planets will the new systems contain? I personally see little value in one or two planets per system.

Pretty sure the answer is "no comment".  They're keeping the specific designs of other solar systems fairly close to the vest, thus far.

14 hours ago, DStaal said:

As a follow-up to this: How about science mode?  (I could see it being career and sandbox only, even though I typically play science mode.)

Yep, will ask.

14 hours ago, PDCWolf said:

Will KSP2 start with everything KSP1 already has mechanic wise? (including DLCs like breaking ground's robotics?)

Asked earlier in the thread, I've added this to the list.

14 hours ago, PDCWolf said:

During the launch & ascent gameplay scene from the trailer, stars were still easily visible even when the sun, and later what's probably the mun's surface were visible, will that be fixed?

I think it's safe to assume that the specifics of rendering / shading and exactly what shows up when is still under development and "in flux"-- i.e. this isn't a bad question but is probably premature.  What you've seen is pre-alpha gameplay.

14 hours ago, PDCWolf said:

What about part size variety? can we expect the same tiers? More? Less?

The stock parts from KSP 1 will generally still be around and the same sizes and characteristics (but with a total re-skin, they're gorgeous now).  New parts will be in various sizes, but they're not giving specifics.

Will say, though, that interstellar ships are big.  So I expect some of the new parts are fairly large.

14 hours ago, PDCWolf said:

With the codebase rewritten, was there any change to how RAM is managed? (like, right now almost everything is loaded at all times, will that change?)

They're extensively overhauling how things are done, performance-wise.  It's a total rewrite.  The specific details generally aren't being discussed at this time.  About all we have is "it'll go faster".  They're aware that not everyone has a top-end gaming rig with a bajillion gigabytes of RAM, so I think it's safe to assume that they'll do something reasonable.

14 hours ago, PDCWolf said:

• Ansel support?
• Multiple launch sites?
• What about scenario creation? that one really forgotten feature that has been probably only used once with public, downloadable results.

Good ones, will ask.

14 hours ago, PDCWolf said:

What -else- can they say about the really low framerates on the pre-alpha gameplay? (other than "it's an alpha" of course)

Pretty much answered your own question there.  It's alpha, there's a long road ahead.  They've stated pretty clearly that they're aiming for good performance and are seriously improving how KSP handles various things internally, but they're not handing out specific details right now.

14 hours ago, Marachdrifter said:

-Will there be multi monitor support ?

Good one, will ask.

14 hours ago, Marachdrifter said:

-will tue UI will be customizable (more when in flight. change navball position, put stages where i want on the screen, etc.) ?

Other folks previously asked in thread, I've added it to the list.

14 hours ago, Marachdrifter said:

-why Duna terminator is the wrong way in the trailer ?

For the same reason that Kerbin shows up way too large on the Mun's horizon in the same trailer:  because it's put together from an artist for dramatic effect.  (When they were showing this to us at the studio on Wednesday, as the scene was coming up they were all "yes, we know it's the wrong way 'round" with sheepish grins.

The trailer uses art assets from the game-- but it's not actual in-game footage, it's a cinematic put together by an artist.

 

14 hours ago, Marachdrifter said:

-are they planning to allow certains modders to get the game in advance, so that there will be mods available on day 1

14 hours ago, SpaceFace545 said:

Will there be an early adopters program in KSP2?

I asked them both of these questions.

Answer was encouraging-but-noncommital, basically that they like the sound of the idea but that they don't know whether they'll actually be able to and it's way too early to say.

14 hours ago, Marachdrifter said:

-will there be weather implemented (from only clouds to winds or rain) ?

No dynamic weather, no.  Not a thing.

14 hours ago, Marachdrifter said:

-will it be possible to build a colony on Kerbin (since colony can have their own launching pad, we could place additional launching pas on kerbin where we want)

Good question, will ask.  I suspect the answer is "yes", though, since from their description, colonies are actual physical objects located at specific spots that the player chooses, so it sounds to me like the only reason it wouldn't be possible would be if they specifically disallowed it for some reason.  But yah, good one, will ask! 

14 hours ago, SpaceFace545 said:

Mods for the console editions like a modhub?

Good one, will ask.

[Snark]

14 hours ago, adsii1970 said:

Will we see more varieties of biomes and geology within the planets? Things like:

• Volcanic planets or moons
• Extremely dense/high pressure atmospheric planets
• Completely liquid planets

Good ones, will ask.

14 hours ago, Mikki said:

Or will Kerbals stay silent in awe of the interstellar voids?

The kerbals certainly get more expressive-- they've showed us a lot of new emotes (both IVA and EVA) that had us helplessly giggling.  (The "OMG OMG OMG everything's going awful WHAT DO I DO" panic reaction in the cockpit is just priceless.  At least one of the samples they showed us had sound with it (kinda screaming during the freak-out session), though I'm not sure whether that's actually going in or was proof-of-concept.

I can ask about vocalizing, though.

13 hours ago, Psycho_zs said:

In short: will noodly rockets make into the final product. Long: How similar the physical behavior of rockets will be to KSP 1? Is it conceptually the same, or is there some plan to make them stiffer but more brittle? Judging by pre-alpha footage they are still pretty wobbly and can be bent pretty far before breaking. Breakage, dynamic pressure limits? Too much sidewind destroys tanks (feature from FAR)?

Noodly rockets are definitely still a thing, but they also want people to be able to make very large rockets with really high part counts, so my impression is "they're on it".  However, they're not giving out details about the specifics of ship physics yet, I get the impression it's still being worked on.

13 hours ago, Psycho_zs said:

Is craft structure still strictly a tree? How about multipath/loops?

I kinda get the impression that "yes, still a tree", but this is a good one, will ask.

14 hours ago, Psycho_zs said:

Are stack decouplers still a thing (I mean they are backwards, thrust plates/interstages are conceptually much closer to reality)?

They're definitely having some functionality like engine plates, though it's not clear if it'll work exactly the same way.  They've said they'd like to de-emphasize multi-nozzle engines like the Mammoth, in favor of letting people just cluster smaller engines as they want "like the engine plates".

So I think that yes, stack decouplers are still a thing, but they're also going to allow engine clustering.  They want the build experience to be familiar to KSP 1 players so that people won't have too much trouble with the transition.

14 hours ago, Psycho_zs said:

And yet another one: what about less crazy near future tech? Fission-powered electric propulsion: Reactors + Hall thrusters, MPDs, PITs? (BTW, if I was in charge of making a new KSP, one of the first things I would do is to try and get @Nertea on the team  )

They've announced one or two of the propulsive technologies, but aren't giving much detail yet about what all of them are.

13 hours ago, OdysseusTech said:

Will hybrid rocket engines be added?

Not sure exactly what you mean by that?

13 hours ago, OdysseusTech said:

Will solid rocket fuel segments be added (just like fuel tanks for solid and hybrid rocket motors)?

I get the impression that they're just planning on doing SRBs pretty much like they are in KSP 1.  We did raise the question of giving them some gimbal (since IRL ones have that), which they hadn't realized and got their attention, so they might be adding that (no promises, we'll see).  But other than that, they'll probably be pretty much the same.

 

[Snark]

13 hours ago, NoMrBond said:

Will there be a playable demo of KSP2?

Good one, will ask.

12 hours ago, Raptor9 said:

Will there be a stock set of camera tools?  Where you can more easily manipulate certain views like fly-bys, moving relative cameras and such?

Good one, will ask.

12 hours ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

Will physics still, er, revolve around the “1/10th size and ridiculously dense” model of the current game?

Basically yes.  The kerbal's home solar system will keep all the same planets at the same scales and positions (though with a major cosmetic facelift).

12 hours ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

Any native support for upscale design/real-scaled mods?

Not per se... however, they're aware of some of the bugs that people have run into when trying to run mods that scale things up a lot, and there were some hints that some of the new celestial bodies in other solar systems will be big, so the game should have better (i.e. less buggy) support for that.

12 hours ago, Rejected Spawn said:

Assuming career mode is in: Will there be a way to set up stuff that generates modest funding without babysitting/grinding? Example: Build a sizeable fuel refinery on Kerbin >> get a KSC discount on produced fuel types and/or periodically generate funds from automatically sold surplus fuel? I like to have limits on funds but don't much like grinding.  

Good question, but would probably require lengthy discussion, and I've already got way more than 30 questions for a 30-minute interview, so probably not practical to get down into the weeds on this one, even if they're prepared to discuss it in detail.

12 hours ago, Rejected Spawn said:

Will any other kerbals appear that are not controlled by the player? KSP1 has career contracts to rescue kerbals from various places but they just spawn in rather than actually end up there because of a journey gone wrong, would be interesting if Rockomax actually sent up a rocket once in a while...

I don't think so, they didn't give any hints about anything like this.

12 hours ago, nikokespprfan said:

Can the sources of science/data/etc be modded, and to what extent. I assume this will fall under the category of the science question already in your list. I'm mentioning this related to something you might remember...

Good one, will ask.  Based on what I saw about the current state of development, though, I'd guess that they haven't nailed that down yet.

12 hours ago, nikokespprfan said:

Will ships be trees, or will they be something more sophisticated. I.e. is multidocking a thing?

Already asked above in thread, will ask.  I'm guessing it's pretty much like KSP 1, though.

12 hours ago, nikokespprfan said:

Will we have bigger asteroids.

Good one, will ask.

12 hours ago, EchoLima said:

If anomalies do exist, will they serve any purpose?

Already covered earlier in thread.

12 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

Are Rask and Rusk actually orbiting a barycenter and what happens when a ship tries to orbit one of them, pass through that barycenter, or sit at one of the two stable Lagrange points?

I get the impression that they're planning to handle binaries by doing some custom special-case to the usual patched-conic behavior.  As to exactly how it'll work (e.g. how it'll interact with ships), I get the impression they're still working that one out.

12 hours ago, PistonMiner said:

Will the new terrain system support/have overhangs and sharp edges (unlike the current game where everything is smoothed out and for the most part is purely height-based)?

No caves or overhangs.  It does get a lot more detailed, though-- the surface looks a lot more "real" and is just gorgeous and varied.  Much nicer surface scatters, densely placed, with colliders.  Much more detailed procedural small-scale features; they want it to be so that "no two landing sites feel the same", unlike the current "you've seen one bit of the planet, you've seen it all" feel.

So, lots of love being given to planetary surfaces.

12 hours ago, David-P said:

Will any of the parts from the breaking ground expansion be included? (robotics, propellers)

I asked this, it was mostly "no comment".  I kinda got the impression that there might be some sort of moveable part, but they wouldn't commit and it didn't sound to me like it'll have the full suite of Breaking Ground robotics.

12 hours ago, David-P said:

Will there be any atmospheric effects? (clouds, atmospheric scattering)

Looks like they'll have at least some atmospheric scattering, and there appear to be clouds in "scaled space" (i.e. the view of the planet when you're up at orbital height).   I haven't seen any volumetric clouds in any of the stuff they've shown (either publicly, or privately to us at the demo).  We asked them specifically about volumetric clouds, and it was "no comment".  My personal guess is that they'd like to have those but don't know whether they'd be able to pull it off by launch time-- they're super busy.

12 hours ago, boolybooly said:

Has the mission system been revisited and refined, or is it unchanged?

You mean from Making History?  I haven't seen anything about that, I don't get the impression that they're including that in the game.

12 hours ago, GoldForest said:

When is the actual release month, March (like it's been rumored), April, May or June?

Don't know.  And if they haven't announced it publicly already, then they wouldn't tell me if I asked. 

11 hours ago, mattinoz said:

Do they think they have a better way to balance wanting to do plan something to completion vs challenging the player to as a game Tycoon?

Will we see a career mode about more than funds,... will Kerbals and time matter?

Good questions, but they're the kind that would require a lengthy discussion to answer, and I've already got way more than 30 questions to try to ask in only 30 minutes.  So probably no time to discuss this, sorry.

11 hours ago, katateochi said:

- How will .craft files be structured, can we expect the same ConfigNode format? (and follow up, will buildings be saved in the same way, essentially just like craft files?)

We asked about file structures, and it was mostly "no comment".  Sounds like they're still working that one out.

11 hours ago, katateochi said:

- Will KSP2 make use of multi core CPUs and to what extent? or more succinctly, is KSP2 multi threaded?

We asked them that (it's a biggie!), and there was a fair amount of discussion about that.  They wouldn't specifically say "yes, it's multithreaded" or "no, it's not multithreaded" because aside from there being some ambiguity about what a person actually means when they say "multithreaded", the fact is that multithreaded per se isn't the goal.  Having good performance in the game is the the goal.

When people get crappy framerates due to large part counts, the performance bottlenecks are complex and need detailed analysis to properly optimize, and it's not just about CPU cores.  Apparently, even for one core, the original KSP isn't doing things in optimally efficient manner.

So they really, really want to make the physics performance much better-- not just to improve the existing type of gameplay with the sorts of ships KSP players are currently building, but also because they want to enable building much larger ships with much higher part counts, and they know that not everyone has a top-end gaming rig.

So I don't have a specific answer to your specific question, but the answer to the general question "will the physics performance get a lot better?" is "yes, they're plowing tons of effort into that."

11 hours ago, katateochi said:

- On a reasonable gaming computer (ie quad core 3.5+(ish)GHz, 16GB RAM, 900 or 10 series GTX) what kind of part count is expected to run smoothly.

No specific answer, but "a lot more than now" is what they're shooting for.

11 hours ago, katateochi said:

- Perhaps related to multi-thread Q; With potentially large bases how will KSP2 handle performance as other craft approach the base?
- Are we still going to be at the mercy of the current (and somewhat old) unity/mono Garbage Collector and the stuttering issues it causes? (lot of history behind that Q, I think Snark will be familiar with the issue, but more info in this thread)

See above.  They're giving performance an overhaul, expect things to get better in general but no specifics at this time.

Regarding the GC memory stutter, I notice that Squad just announced some improvements for this in KSP 1.8, so given that KSP 2 is doing everything from the ground up, I think it's safe to say that they'll address this in some fashion.

11 hours ago, katateochi said:

- Will mods follow a similar layout and install process. ie a GameData equivalent folder into which mods are placed inside their own folders.

I suspect the answer is yes.  When we were talking about whether the game would have DRM, the answer was "no" (at least not in single player), and that you'll be able to copy the game tree like you can now, and we mentioned "so that you can have different mod installs on different folders" and they were just sort of nodding along in agreement.

So I don't know the exact specifics, but it sounds like mod installation will be pretty much like it is today, i.e. it'll just be in your game's folder tree somewhere.

11 hours ago, katateochi said:

- And (prob tricky to answer) on a scale of 1 to 10, how much work will be required to remake an existing KSP1 mod for KSP2, (ie 1; just change some references to 10; a complete rewrite).

I think that's a question that would have a lengthy answer, and would be just about impossible to answer in general because it would depend on the mod anyway.

My default assumption, just based on my background in software engineering, is that any mod would have to be rewritten from scratch, from the ground up.  I'm prepared to be pleasantly surprised if that guess turns out to be wrong, but that's my guess.

11 hours ago, GoldForest said:

Oh, ask about mods, are they lua only or will non lua Moda be allowed.

I think code mods (i.e. plugins) will still be good ol' C#, same as they are now.

As for config-based mods (i.e. part mods and the like), no word on what the format of the files would be like.

11 hours ago, RedKraken said:

Will you use Unity ECS?

Will ask, time permitting.

11 hours ago, ChrisSpace said:

Is antimatter going to be a thing?

That would fall into the category of "various futuristic tech", which in general they're not releasing a lot of details about yet.

11 hours ago, ChrisSpace said:

Also, are interstellar distances going to be scaled down by the same amount as the planetary systems?

Other than the fact that interstellar travel is a thing, they haven't been releasing details about the "interstellar geography" yet beyond a few small teasers.

11 hours ago, ChrisSpace said:

Also, will KSP2 chronologically begin "after" KSP1 or will it be in a completely separate timeline?

I get the impression that it's a standalone game with its own timeline.

10 hours ago, Dragon01 said:

Is any sort of early access going to be a thing, or at least direct communication between KSP2 devs and the community? I feel it's vital, because, a close exchange of ideas between the early community and the devs was vital to KSP1 becoming what it is. I mean that quite literally, we wouldn't have planes if it wasn't for one guy called C7, and if it wasn't for one thread of mine, the engines could have very well still implemented different SL and atmo Isp by varying fuel flow as opposed to thrust. 

Already asked, see notes earlier in thread.  Short answer is that they like the idea of some sort of early access but don't yet know if it would be possible and it's way too early to say.

About community engagement in the forums, will be asking about that.

10 hours ago, Radar said:

Probably one around Modding.. Can you give us some additional information around modding, for example what Unity version will likely to be used, will you be using more of the Unity core tools and shaders or creating your own Add-on.

I think that's still in the "too early to say" category.

10 hours ago, Radar said:

Will we see additional cockpit controls, gauges and screens with craft information or receiving of camera images for example?

In general they're giving a lot of love to IVA.  For example, when you adjust the throttle... your kerbal's hand will move a throttle lever, that sort of thing.  As for what specific controls there will be, I don't think they're saying, but they're definitely giving the area some attention.

10 hours ago, whale_2 said:

I'd appreciate if some more clarity on *other* platform support could be given. Like do they consider making Linux/Mac builds when they have a free time or are they going to get back to it after initial release. The answer "we are always looking at ways to bring KSP to as many player as we can" sound to me like "if we suddenly find ourselves having nothing more to do".  

Good one, will ask.

10 hours ago, Deddly said:

Will bodies of water now appear at more than one altitude, allowing for flowing rivers between them?

I specifically asked them that.  It was a "no comment", but I got the impression that it may have been more of the "I know the answer but can't tell you yet" variety, rather than "we have no idea yet".

So call this one a "maybe".  They didn't say yes, but they didn't exactly say no, either.  In any case, they're aware of the ask.

10 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

I just saw that Twitch clip where Scott Manley discusses their answer to him asking what sounds like the exact question I was going to ask, and ... well ... I'm underwhelmed. I'd still like to know if they have an answer and maybe just nobody there knew it. But as of now I'm assuming on this front that they have Rask and Rusk planned but not actually designed, and will end up throwing them out or making them more like Ike and Duna than Rocheworld.

I don't have any specifics for you.  But I did get the overall impression that they want things to be genuinely new experiences to excite and engage the KSP player, so I doubt it'll just be "another Ike and Duna".

10 hours ago, DMagic said:

Will there be any tools for porting part mods from KSP1 to KSP2?

How will new part mods be handled? A new version of Part Tools, or something along the same lines?

Are they using PBR for their shaders (based on some of the preview footage the answer seems to be yes)? Will they provide anything to help convert existing part mod textures for use in PBR shaders?

Good questions, will try to ask (time permitting)-- but some of these sound like they'd have long answers, and I've got a lot of folks' questions and only so much time, so not sure if I'll be able to get to these.

[mcwaffles2003]

16 hours ago, DunaManiac said:

How many star systems will there be?

In an interview theyve already said they wont tell us that

 

1) Will science be more involved or is it going to be click button and done again?

2)They mentioned methane lakes in a video, will there be specific resources to harvest?

3)Will there be a sort of automation for transferring resources between colonies/systems?

4)Will career mode be revamped so theres more incentive to explore and create bases?

5) Will there be any procedurally generated star systems/planets?

6) What is a reasonable expected upper limit to part count?

7) Will GPU acceleration of physics be a thing?

Edited August 30, 2019 by mcwaffles2003

[Snark]

10 hours ago, chaos_forge said:

How much will mods be able to interface with/modify UI elements? For example, Principia has a lot of trouble interfacing with the stock maneuver node system. We've heard a lot about modding parts and planets, but will UI elements also be moddable?

Don't have a specific answer for you.  But in general they're bending over backwards and putting lots of effort into making the game as moddable as possible, so "they're doing their best" is about all I can tell you.

9 hours ago, Danilo Coelho said:

How much content from the ksp 1's DLC will be available on ksp 2?

My impression is that it pretty much isn't.

9 hours ago, DrRansom said:

Will we be able to piece together rockets using parts built in the VAB and Hanger? E.g. - will it be straightforward to build a plane in the Hanger and then attach that plane to a rocket designed in the VAB?

Don't have an exact answer, but based on what they did demo for us, I'd say the answer is strongly likely to be yes.  They're putting a lot of love into the usability and feature set of the vehicle editor, and allowing people to make subcomponents and attach them together was one of the specific things they were touting.

8 hours ago, NoMrBond said:

Since KSP2 (and even KSP1.8 actually) will be based on the latest Unity version(s), do they (Star Theory and/or Squad respectively) plan to include FleX support for GPGPU acceleration?

Will ask.

8 hours ago, mikegarrison said:

What are the "killer aps" that will make KSP1 players eager to switch to KSP2? We have heard multi-player, we have heard multiple star systems. Anything else?

This is going to be pretty much "no comment"-- essentially what you're asking is "what are the major new features", and any of those that they're ready to announce at this time, they've already announced. 

8 hours ago, VaPaL said:

Will there be tools to aid inter-planetary missions? Not necessarly a transfer window calculator, but something better than guessing angles or using a protractor placed on the screen.

Good one, will ask.

7 hours ago, Ender65535 said:

Ray tracing support? 

That one sounds like a longer answer, and I've got a whole bunch of questions in a short time.  Probably won't be able to get to this.

5 hours ago, KerikBalm said:

Will you be able to build self sufficient colonies (ie capable of producing new ships with no input, and expanding themselves) in most locations, or will self sufficiency require a variety of resources that are unlikely to all be present in one location (so "trade" between colonies is needed)?

They haven't released tons of details on exactly how the colonies will work, but they have been pretty up-front about their design philosophy and motivation.  First, they want colonies to serve as a springboard for exploration-- essentially a form of alternate KSC that players can use to build & launch from.  Second, they were very definite that they want to keep the focus of the game on building and flying rockets; that's what the game is "about", and they don't want to build "Kerbal Cities: Skylines".

So my take on that is that the colony mechanic won't be a super deep one, i.e. they're not going to want to sink lots of complexity into that because they don't want to take the player's focus away too much from building and flying rockets.

5 hours ago, AVaughan said:

Will KSP 2 have persistent rotation, or will they use the timewarp stops rotation that KSP 1 uses?

Good one, will ask.

5 hours ago, AVaughan said:

Will solar panels and resource extraction be properly simulated when the ship is unloaded, or will they just use something similar to the current catch up system?

Edit: Also will engine shrouds have something similar to decoupler shroud, where the shroud is calculated based on the dimensions of the tank above, and the decoupler below?

I think these are in the "too early to say" category.

4 hours ago, KerikBalm said:

<nice clarification>

So my question is how many engines are based on speculative science, vs speculative engineering with sound and proven science behind them?

Ah, okay.

Well, this is a sensible question... but 1. they're not releasing lots of details yet about all the various technologies they plan to put in, and 2. in any case this sounds like a lengthy discussion, and I've got way more than 30 questions for only 30 minutes, so probably won't have time to get into this one.

4 hours ago, Blaf said:

Will we get a barn as level 0 VAB?

Not a bad question, but I don't think they're going into that level of detail yet.

4 hours ago, Poodmund said:

@Snark, how are they invisioning that KSP2 mods be handled with respect to the imposed requirements that SQUAD required us to release KSP1 mods under; with specific regards to licensing?

That's more of a T2 / Private Division thing, not a Star Theory thing.  In any case, I'd be astonished if that changed.  Mods gotta have licenses, and (speaking as the moderator who has the most jurisdiction over modding stuff) my job would be pretty much impossible without that requirement.

3 hours ago, The Dressian Exploder said:

Will we be able to recolour parts, in a similar way to that seen in the cinematic trailer?

Yes.  They're allowing you to pick color schemes; practically every part will have "primary color" and "secondary/trim color" as selectable things.  So you'll be able to repaint your ship as you like. 

2 hours ago, Kaerbanogue said:

Will the KSP 1 DLC parts will be included in KSP 2?

My impression is no.

2 hours ago, T1mo98 said:

Will sound be muffled as you gain altitude?

Good one, will ask.

2 hours ago, T1mo98 said:

Will rocket exhaust plumes react realistically as you gain altitude? (stock realplume)

I don't have a detailed answer for you, but in general the smoke and flame f/x are way better than KSP 1.  They've put a fair amount of effort into this.

2 hours ago, T1mo98 said:

• Will robotic parts like in Breaking Ground be carried over?

My impression is no.

2 hours ago, T1mo98 said:

Will parts like in Making History be carried over?

Good one, will ask.

2 hours ago, T1mo98 said:

Will launch site structures be destructible and upgradable like in KSP1?

I think this one falls under the aegis of "what major KSP 1 features won't be there, if any?", which I'll be asking.

2 hours ago, linecrafter said:

I just wanted to know if there will be jet planes and are there any changes to aerodynamics

I believe they're carrying over pretty much all the stock parts, so yes, there should be jet planes.  Specifics of aerodynamics haven't been announced.

2 hours ago, linecrafter said:

I'm referring to UI we've seen in dev story trailer, a lot of people were wondering if you could drag around widgets (like navball, timewarp, SAS/RCS buttons etc)

Fair 'nuff, I've got a question about that from a bit up the thread, will try to ask this.

 

[Superfluous J]

3 minutes ago, Snark said:

Yes.  They're allowing you to pick color schemes; practically every part will have "primary color" and "secondary/trim color" as selectable things.  So you'll be able to repaint your ship as you like. 

First of all: Awesome. Secondly, this brought up a new question.

Will there be the ability to put decals on the rockets? I'm thinking placing flags anywhere you want, or even better writing in any font you have installed anywhere on the rocket.

"Green Belle" on a plane, or

K

S

A

on the side of your rocket.

[Snark]

1 minute ago, 5thHorseman said:

Will there be the ability to put decals on the rockets?

Already asked, earlier in the thread-- it's on the list.

[Starhawk]

Thank you so much Snark for taking on this task.

You do the community an enormous service.  I expected an enthusiastic response, but this has been huge.

To all those posting questions I would ask that you keep in mind that 30 minutes is really a very short time.  I suspect that the hardest part may be prioritizing questions to ask from the vast number of excellent proposals.

Happy landings!