Eh what is the point of KSP?

[Cloakedwand72]

Eh What is the point of KSP? If someone tells you making shuttles or starships is useless or catching asteroids is also useless or reusable anything is useless in the game? I thought it was a sandbox. For me I do enjoy building with sensible rockets like launching station modules on smaller rockets and have some sorta crew craft of my "own" design. Some times I do like to do bonkers things like everyone else which is fun. What are peoples reasons for telling people that?

[OHara]

18 minutes ago, Cloakedwand72 said:

What is the point of KSP?  [ . . . ] I thought it was a sandbox.

You already have valid answer to your question.

I suspect that other players got interested in other directions, and forget that not everyone has the same goals with KSP as they.

[KerikBalm]

The point is to have fun overcoming challenges that you set for yourself.

[Curveball Anders]

17 hours ago, Cloakedwand72 said:

Eh What is the point of KSP?

Having fun.

[Dientus]

It depends on the person and what they are looking for when they are deciding to buy it

At it's core, KSP is a soft introduction to rocketry, space, how to move between orbiting bodies in a solar system and how to build those vehicles that can accomplish this. It is arguably a fairly realistic space flight simulator. Trust me when I say 'soft'. Using planetary bodies that are smaller, cute little green men and women that just "puff" and come back later in case of failure are just some of the things KSP tones down from reality. 

 

Big examples are when NASA used the game and community for real life ideas on asteroid sampling.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/gamers-tackle-virtual-asteroid-sampling-mission

It's even loved by Elon Musk who arguably uses it for inspiration for Space X.

https://qz.com/391876/one-of-elon-musks-favorite-video-games-kerbal-space-program-is-finally-ready-to-launch/

 

Want it more real? Do what Elon does and add/make mods to take away the viel and reveal how hard getting to space can actually be on Earth. Want it more arcade? Dial the options back and throw kerbals into space on rocket chairs.

 

It can be a sandbox where everything is open and available, you grab and build what you want and let it fly. It has progressive gameplay, where you must either complete Science! to advance, or take on various contracts to earn money to advance through the tiers.

 

And mods, oh the mods!

There are various 'Easter eggs' to find throughout the solar system as well as geological features that, after the graphics redo, is actually very stunning to look at.  Challenge yourself to get a rocket to land on Eve (Kerbalized Venus), take a sample, plant a flag, and get all your Kerbals back safely to Kerbal Space Center (KSC). Or just get into Low Kerbin Orbit (LKO).

 

Built a monster craft with power to shake the oceans, build a drone that just buzzes across the water to the island landing field. Follow the challenges on this forum if you ever run out of ideas.

 

Need help? Ask here. Watch YouTube. Heck you can even make a movie with it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kIoJxQ5Kv2E

 

Really, the whole point of it is to have fun and maybe accidentally learn a bit of rocketry along the way. It can show you just how silly a lot of space science fiction shows really are. Just remember that it's not everyones cup of tea and not everyone cares for it.

 

[adsii1970]

21 hours ago, Cloakedwand72 said:

Eh What is the point of KSP? If someone tells you making shuttles or starships is useless or catching asteroids is also useless or reusable anything is useless in the game? I thought it was a sandbox. For me I do enjoy building with sensible rockets like launching station modules on smaller rockets and have some sorta crew craft of my "own" design. Some times I do like to do bonkers things like everyone else which is fun. What are peoples reasons for telling people that?

Ah, the point of KSP? That's an easy answer. When I was a child, my dream was to become an astronaut. I was planning to attend the Naval Academy at Annapolis until my family pressured me not to go into the Navy. My goal was to become a fighter pilot (F14 Tomcats at the time) and then, from there, become a test pilot for the Navy and NASA. Normally, this is one of the pools NASA chooses astronauts from. Again, family pressures and all, I didn't go. Years later, after serving nearly eight years in the Army, my body was too damaged to even be eligible to be considered for any military or civilian astronaut program.

Yet, my goals for getting into space are unrealized in the physical world. But I can live them out through KSP. No matter how many times I dock with a space station, land on Minmus or the Mün, or even Duna, the excitement is still there. Since those early days, I have added OPM and a few other mods to add more planets to visit. Why? Because it's how I can explore space without any stinkin' health and physical requirements. Maybe, someday, I will live out my dream to get into space - even if it is just a suborbital trajectory.

I've played in sandbox mode since sandbox mode was all that existed when 0.18 came out. In fact, I still exclusively play sandbox mode.

There are literally challenges I have come up with that are, in my opinion, just as difficult if not more so, than the contracts offered in the career or science modes. I like defining my own objectives, setting my own limitations, and then creating my own craft to fulfill those objectives. And not every mission is successful - I have had to make several rescue missions because of a design oversight.

Generally speaking, I have more fun in sandbox mode games than I do following contrived story lines.

[GoSlash27]

Tricking people into learning aerospace engineering and orbital mechanics while they think they're having fun. 

Best,

-Slashy

[AlamoVampire]

@Cloakedwand72 The point of KSP is what ever you want it to be. We all came to KSP one way or another. We all play it for any number of reasons. @OHara is very correct. You have your answer in your very question! The long and short is this: The point is what ever YOU want it to be! We can all chip in with our point or rather what we think it is, but, in the end? The point is for you to choose. Thats the fun of it! 
 

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