Is there a finish to the game?

[TIMEFORSPACEPEOPLE]

What do you have to do in order to finish the game? Visit all the planets and moons? Discover all the stuff on the science tree in a career game? What would you have to accomplish to be considered the end of the game?

[Caerfinon]

The game ends when you decide it's over... Otherwise it continues.

[cubinator]

The game cannot be finished.

[Dientus]

Even, for sake of argument, if you finish everything humanly possible to do in the game, there are mods that can extend the game.

 

For myself, usually I restart the game after I have a pretty good station orbiting Eeloo. But that's a personal choice and doesn't mean that I have won or lost the game.

[swjr-swis]

When you place the last part and complete your Dyson sphere.

[Mahnarch]

The game ends when you can actually make Jeb afraid of something.

[Curveball Anders]

There's no end, except the end of your imagination.

 

[A Fistful Of Double Downs]

It's a sandbox game without any kind of official victory or ending, and the contracts and achievements in Career Mode are basically just there to give you things to aim for and a bit of direction. 

 

Basically once you feel like you've kicked Science Mode or Career Mode's ass the game is really just about seeing what you can do. People do immense megaprojects, or try to build something that can pass through the atmosphere of Jool or the Sun and survive, or intercept a comet on a thousand-year orbit, or replay career mode with cripplingly hard difficulty settings, or try to reach distant planets with a ship made from as few parts as possible, or set land speed records, or build robots, or test the game's physics engine to breaking point in search of the next Kraken Drive.

[Ultimate Steve]

It is kind of like Minecraft in this respect. There are a few major milestones to aim for (survive a night, find diamonds, beat the dragon, beat the wither, etc. For Minecraft. Get to space, get to orbit, land on Mun, Jool 5, Eve return etc. for KSP). However you can keep doing whatever you want to even after all of these milestones are complete.

[K33N]

Career mode is always spitting out harder and more outlandish missions to the point where I can barely do them even with 1000+ hours.

[Davi SDF]

The game only ends when your imagination gets too short to come up with new things

Edited August 4, 2021 by Davi SDF

[king of nowhere]

The game ends when you lose the will to keep playing. generally happens when you've done everything and can't think of anything more to try.

alternatively, it ends when you die of old age.

[mikegarrison]

On 8/2/2021 at 5:19 AM, Dientus said:

Even, for sake of argument, if you finish everything humanly possible to do in the game

Don't you mean, "everything kerbally possible"?

[Dientus]

57 minutes ago, mikegarrison said:

Don't you mean, "everything kerbally possible"?

Yes I stand corrected.

[wpetula]

On 8/1/2021 at 9:58 PM, TIMEFORSPACEPEOPLE said:

What do you have to do in order to finish the game? Visit all the planets and moons? Discover all the stuff on the science tree in a career game? What would you have to accomplish to be considered the end of the game?

KSP is like Minecraft. You can complete the tech tree, build a base on Eeloo, and slay the Deep Space Kraken, but there is no true end to the game. Your imagination can power the game indefinitely.

[kerbiloid]

When RAM is over.

[CaelumEtAstra]

That's the thing, tovarisch... You don't finish the game, the game finishes you!

[klgraham1013]

It's been 10 years.  My beard has grown it's own eco system.  I am surround by wolves.  My hand sweats profusely on the keyboard.  Rocket launch after rocket launch.  Another after another.  Loved ones leave.  The walls crumble around me.  The world may be ending...

...but there is always KSP.

[Lewie]

Depends...some people set an arbitrary goal (ea. Plant a flag on every celestial body+complete the tech tree) but KSP is never over...there is always something you can do! 

3 hours ago, klgraham1013 said:

It's been 10 years.  My beard has grown it's own eco system.  I am surround by wolves.  My hand sweats profusely on the keyboard.  Rocket launch after rocket launch.  Another after another.  Loved ones leave.  The walls crumble around me.  The world may be ending...

...but there is always KSP.

@klgraham1013  and @kerbiloidsummed it up perfectly!!

On 8/5/2021 at 10:05 AM, kerbiloid said:

When RAM is over.

Bingo!

Edited August 8, 2021 by Lewie