(Reacher 1) S.P.I.R.I.T. - Space Program In Real Ish Time

[Ultimate Steve]

S.P.I.R.I.T. - Space Program In Real Ish Time

You read that right, I will be attempting to play through lightly modded KSP career mode in real (ish) time, with the end goal being a mission to Duna, assuming I manage to become Duna-capable before the transfer window. This means no time warp.

Note, depending on how my laptop reacts to running KSP for long periods of time, I might change to waiting the necessary amount of time in real life and then time warping to that point in game when I get there. If the fan noise prevents me from sleeping, this will be the likely route.

The reason I'm doing this is because I've noticed something, I never really play a KSP save to completion, I always burn out on it and drop it after a few weeks or months. I also don't bother planning stuff any more because I've gotten good enough at the game that the stakes are very low. For saves I come back to every now and then, I often see that ingame time has actually progressed slower than real time, and I've been wondering about the feasibility of a real time save for a while now. It may also feel a bit more like being part of an actual space agency.

This is my first year in college, and I got a shiny new laptop just for it, but due to everything being online, I don't use it at all, I just use my desktop. So, since it's sitting around doing nothing, I thought, let's give it a try!

I will be playing with Kerbal Construction Time installed to give craft construction a weight in the real world and physically prevent me from playing too much to burn out. I am also playing with no revert/quickload, although we'll see if that lasts...

I will post updates here whenever stuff happens in real life and I might also make it into a YouTube series.

Of course the most likely turn of events is that I'll grow bored of this after a week like all my other projects, but maybe not.

Game time to real time will not be 1:1 due to lag, real world commitments, game restarts, computer restarts, computer transports, trips, vacations, etc. So dates may slip.

Difficulty is hard mode, but with a few settings tweaked.

 

Timeline (All times in CST):

• 3:00 PM March 29, 2021 - Start of save
• 10:15 AM March 31, 2021 -  Launch of Reacher 1, a normal Flea powered starting rocket, piloted by Jebediah Kerman. Gathered 23 science points and was a success!
• (Scheduled) - May 26, 2021 - Approximate timeframe of Duna Transfer Window

 

Here goes nothing!

Edited March 31, 2021 by Ultimate Steve

[mie mie]

Why not rent a low-cost but fine VDS/VPS and install server with Luna/Dark Multiplayer? This will save your time and also the life of your computer 
Anyway, good luck!

[RealKerbal3x]

Sounds like a fun idea, I think I'll be following along

[GuessingEveryDay]

4 hours ago, mie mie said:

Why not rent a low-cost but fine VDS/VPS and install server with Luna/Dark Multiplayer? This will save your time and also the life of your computer 
Anyway, good luck!

Because these providers are focused on gaming experiences, so often, they'll deactivate browsers, so that means you wouldn't be able to get any mods.

[Ultimate Steve]

March 31, 2021 - Launch of Reacher 1

Picture taken  a few minutes after the save was created.

 

Reacher 1 launched at around 10:15 AM CST on March 31 2021 and touched down a few minutes later. The rocket carried Jebediah Kerman, and managed to recover 23 science points!

I even managed to land it on the VAB roof!

We have now recovered it, and we may refuel it and relaunch it from the runway to get even more science. We must wait roughly 18 hours to research the first 2 tech nodes, so we must wait at least that long before building Reacher 2, which aims to fly up into suborbital space. I don't know when it will be ready yet.