Hi Everybody

[Nate Simpson]

Nate Simpson here -- I'm the creative director for KSP2, and I've been following the passionate discussion taking place on this forum. There have been a couple of emerging narratives that I'd like to address here.

 

As some of you may know, I came into this role primarily because of my love for the original Kerbal Space Program. I go back to the .15 days, before EVA was even a thing. I remember when Jool was born, and I remember the first time I used the (all-new) NERV engines to get there. This was a game that scratched a creative itch that no other game ever had. For me, it started a life-long love affair with space technology, and enlarged my understanding of the real world. One of the many joys of this job is that I've gotten to meet, hang out with, and even work alongside the people at Squad who are making sure that KSP continues to be the greatest game of all time.

 

From the very first day that my co-developers and I got a chance to put together a proposal for this game, my main purpose has been to imagine and define what KSP2 could be. It's real kid-in-a-candy-store stuff, and I have no illusions that to get to all of it will take at least as long as the original game has been around.

 

But there were a few things that we had to get right from day one. Of course that included the big new features - colonies, interstellar, and multiplayer. Equally important was the need to enhance the first-time user experience, tutorials, and user interface to make the game easier to get into as a newcomer.

 

But as important as all the new stuff is, it's equally important for us to preserve the magic of the original game. Its sense of humor, its commitment to physical realism, its stealthy teaching of rocket science. Also, its flexibility to different styles of play, and its ability to appeal to players across a wide spectrum of interests and abilities. I hope that I'm doing a good job of advocating for all of these perspectives -- though it has often been helpful to get feedback from the community when we're exploring what does and doesn't work (yes, we know how you feel about the navball).

 

I say all this now because it sounds like some people are concerned that this project has changed -- either it's canceled (it's not) or it's going to be a freemium game with microtransactions (it's not), or it'll be debased in some way (it won't be). I want to make super clear that nothing from our original vision for this game has been altered in any way. And I want to be extra, super clear that we've never once gotten any pressure from the publisher or anyone else to change, add, or remove any feature from KSP2. I especially want to call out Michael Cook, our executive producer at Private Division, as somebody who has been supportive of us from day one and who I've seen get visibly giddy during conversations about Z-pinch fusion devices. He's one of us.

 

We're still working hard on this game. As usual, we have more stuff we want to show off in the coming weeks and months as we continue to bring new systems online. For most of us on this team, this is a dream come true -- a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work on something we truly love. That has not changed, and I hope it never changes.

 

Thanks for your patience and understanding. I look forward to playing this game with all of you.

 

 

[SpaceFace545]

Glad your here on the forums and listening to us, it means so much to know that you guys are hearing our concerns.

[Noname115]

17 minutes ago, Nate Simpson said:

I want to make super clear that nothing from our original vision for this game has been altered in any way. And I want to be extra, super clear that we've never once gotten any pressure from the publisher or anyone else to change, add, or remove any feature from KSP2. I especially want to call out Michael Cook, our executive producer at Private Division, as somebody who has been supportive of us from day one and who I've seen get visibly giddy during conversations about Z-pinch fusion devices. He's one of us.

I wasn't particularly worried in my own right, but hearing it come from the creative director himself instills much more hope. I'm glad you're here with us, Nate. I'm absolutely stoked.

[prestja]

Thanks for the update, Nate. I respect your judgement and look forward to hearing more from you folks at Intercept. Stay safe and fly safe!

Edited June 4, 2020 by prestja

[simtom]

Thank you for sharing some light on the vision and future of KSP2.

[garwel]

What can I say? Welcome to the Forums! ©

Edited June 4, 2020 by garwel

[Profit-]

Nate:
I have to admit I was extremely concerned when I heard what had happened, that usually is a very bad sign from a consumer perspective.    I always give games a chance but I want you to know, you are saying the same things bethesda did before the launch of fallout 76.   I also want you to know I actually kinda liked bethesda's game but there was a huge amount of broken promises with that.  I am not saying KSP 2 will be the same, but you will understand why the community at large is worried.  We want KSP2 to be great and we are only vocal because we have seen things like this before.  Here's to hoping you prove to us all that our fears are completely unfounded. 

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by Profit-

[VITAS]

@Nate Simpson Would it be possible to make ksp1 open source when KSP2 comes out?
 

Edited June 4, 2020 by VITAS

[Matt Lowne]

I can’t help but feel partially responsible for some of the hysteria surrounding the KSP 2 move from Star Theory to Intercept, and I am glad that spirits within the dev team remain high. I am disappointed that some viewers interpreted the news as a sign of cancellation or other deterioration of KSP 2’s development. The focus of the reporting (and my video) was to highlight the business side of Take-Two’s hostile acquisition of the KSP 2 development, which is something I still feel is a wholly negative thing and is part of an aspect of the publisher/developer relationship across the games industry that I hope will continue to grow better as the industry matures.

I wish no ill-feelings to any of the KSP 2 developers, and I am still wholeheartedly excited for the sequel. I have no doubt that your collective passion will result in an incredible sequel and I am very excited to see what you and your team produce.

[bitzoid]

36 minutes ago, Nate Simpson said:

I especially want to call out Michael Cook, our executive producer at Private Division, as somebody who has been supportive of us from day one and who I've seen get visibly giddy during conversations about Z-pinch fusion devices. He's one of us.

Thanks for making an announcement here. However, your post doesn't really explain anything. Especially the part I cite above. If Michael Cook is such a great guy, how does that fit with the information we learned from the bloomberg article? How does this fit with the clash that obviously happened between star.theory and private division?

[Profit-]

1 minute ago, Matt Lowne said:

 The focus of the reporting (and my video) was to highlight the business side of Take-Two’s hostile acquisition of the KSP 2 development, which is something I still feel is a wholly negative thing and is part of an aspect of the publisher/developer relationship across the games industry that I hope will continue to grow better as the industry matures.

I got exactly that from your video.  While It did give me concerns for the product as a whole, it gave me far more because if a company is willing to do this, what else would they be willing to do if it suited them?

[Superfluous J]

Thank you again for putting a face on this, Nate. It's easier to abjectly hate a company or a division within it. It's good we're reminded that behind all this is a team of human beings trying to do something truly grand.

[Kuskejens]

I appreciate that developers are still confirming that the end product will be great, but I'm still quite saddened by how Star Theory came to an end.

I also wager the half that haven't been employed by Intercept/Private Division feel different about the situation right now. 

Hopefully they can also appreciate how KSP2 eventually turn out.

I hope at that point in time I feel better about Take Two and their business management concerning development of this game.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Kuskejens
details

[Stevie_D]

Hey  @Nate Simpson

 

I would like to say that I don't think there is a single soul on these forums who holds any malice or has a problem with the people physically working on the game, at all.

From the start, you and your team have shown you've wanted to bend over backwards and demonstrate your love of the original game, keep its core concepts, and enhance it to the logical next level with KSP2. You, especially, should give yourself a pat on the back for that.

What the news does tell us, is that the last few months have been a big upheaval for you guys, and now we understand why it got pushed back to next year. It's really sad to hear what's gone on. The worst thing about the gaming world is the corporate executives, and I can only sympathize - because although people will b**ch and moan on the forums, I doubt any of us can imagine the headache it must've given people like you and the rest of the dev team.

So thanks for sticking in there and getting back on the horse. I hope you put the extra 12 months to good use, too! hehe

We really, really appreciate the work you guys are doing, and the love you're obviously putting into it.

 

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by Stevie_D
spelling

[Bej Kerman]

Yes!!!

[Ksp Slingshooter]

Glad to know that KSP 2 is going in the right direction and that the development team is still passionate enough about the game to make all the initial ambitions come true, even despite these difficult times. Keep up your good work and put it up to good use, the community will love it

[KSPFanatic102]

I am pretty reassured and glad to hear this, wish the team the best luck!

[Poodmund]

1 hour ago, Nate Simpson said:

...though it has often been helpful to get feedback from the community when we're exploring what does and doesn't work (yes, we know how you feel about the navball).

What's wrong with the NavBall? 

Apart from it being nice if the markers were ghosted at the closest edge point I feel it works fine.

[DeltaDizzy]

I have been assuming Mac/Linux support is planned post-release with the dev team focusing on getting all the content in and the game actually out first, but I'd like to make sure that it is eventually coming to those platforms. If it's already been announced then feel free to ignore me.

[NoMrBond]

Hi Dr Nate, 

Thanks for keeping us in the loop with clear communication

Look forward to hearing what you and the team have been up to again soon

Cheers, NMB.

[Dirkidirk]

9 minutes ago, Poodmund said:

What's wrong with the NavBall? 

Apart from it being nice if the markers were ghosted at the closest edge point I feel it works fine.

people have been saying that it's too flat, I think...

IMO it's not that bad, but I still hope that there is an option to change the GUI to classic (ksp 1 style).

Edited June 4, 2020 by Dirkidirk

[Poodmund]

1 minute ago, Dirkidirk said:

people have been saying that it's too flat, I think...

 IMO it's not that bad, but I still hope that there is an option to change the GUI to classic (ksp 1 style).

Ooooooh, Nate's comment was about the KSP2 preview NavBall, I thought that he was referring to KSP1's NavBall (which is absolutely fine). 

[KerbolExplorer]

Thanks for the update!, it's good to know that devs are hearing us.

I'm exited to see more info about the game!

[HvP]

Well, if the end product isn't going to be compromised then that's all that matters! After all, the ends always justify the means. /s

[Emperor of Ilve]

Glad to hear that everything is ok, It was really scummy what Take2 did but as long as the employees are ok and the game isn't compromised we can all rest easy.