Developer Insights #16 - Kerbal Community Program

[Ghostii_Space]

1 hour ago, Zhetaan said:

@Ghostii_Space:

It does seem that Oxygen Not Included, Astroneer, Satisfactory, and KSP all share a certain type.   Of course, now that you've admitted it, you're pretty much stuck here.  Committed, even, as the nice men in the white scrubs might say while they help you put on a special jacket.

One of us!  One of us!  One of us!

*Ahem*  I have two questions for you:

1. You are the most recent in a long line of community managers, leads, moderators, developers, and pretty much anyone else who has had a stake in this forum to say that this is among the very best of on-line communities.  I was wondering, since you're the first one I know of who has credentials in anthropology, whether you had any special insights into just why that is, or whether there's any kind of objective criterion that informs that assessment.  Not to put you on the spot, of course, and not to suggest that I disagree (I keep coming back, after all), but is there something repeatable in that, or is this a group that managed to turn lead into gold by accident and never wrote down the formula?
2. Who made that fantastic Kerbalised portrait, and is it the same person who does the forum avatars?  Either way, there should be an offering of fruit baskets and possibly small, fuzzy animals.

1. I think the main reason behind this community being one of the best is because of the game itself. The game encourages you to try, fail, and try again. Players here feel comfortable asking the community for help and advice on their crafts or mods, and the community (usually) responds with positive, thoughtful advice.  You don't see that in large gaming communities very often. For most gamers, its very normal to behave toxically and look down upon players who don't have the same knowledge/skill that you do. Another big part of this equation is the content creators and influencers that create media about KSP. They focus on helping players achieve goals, or just enjoy the shenanigans of the game. 
2. One of our artists, Rafael, designed it for me! You can check out his Instagram here: Rafael González (@rafaelgonzalezmx) • Instagram photos and videos

 

*posted for Ryaja* Oh wow a new page! Much wow, very page, such new. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Ghostii_Space

[Ryaja]

42 minutes ago, Ghostii_Space said:

1. I think the main reason behind this community being one of the best is because of the game itself. The game encourages you to try, fail, and try again. Players here feel comfortable asking the community for help and advice on their crafts or mods, and the community (usually) responds with positive, thoughtful advice.  You don't see that in large gaming communities very often. For most gamers, its very normal to behave toxically and look down upon players who don't have the same knowledge/skill that you do. Another big part of this equation is the content creators and influencers that create media about KSP. They focus on helping players achieve goals, or just enjoy the shenanigans of the game. 
2. One of our artists, Rafael, designed it for me! You can check out his Instagram here: Rafael González (@rafaelgonzalezmx) • Instagram photos and videos

Did I just see the community manager not call out a new page?

[Strawberry]

12 hours ago, Ghostii_Space said:

 

1. Probably the chicken and wild rice? We haven't had a lot of soup, but now that its winter time I am looking forward to more opportunities. Personally my overall favorite soup is probably Tortilla soup. 

I suggest we add tortilla soup to ksp2 (office), now you can bring it up at your nearest convivence 

[Anth]

Seattle is a cold city? I imagine soup is something consumed when its cold.

[Ghostii_Space]

6 hours ago, Anth12 said:

Seattle is a cold city? I imagine soup is something consumed when its cold.

11 hours ago, Strawberry said:

I suggest we add tortilla soup to ksp2 (office), now you can bring it up at your nearest convivence 

Hahaha thanks! Seattle is usually cold, but we had a very hot summer this year, up through October. It only recently started to get super cold, and it snowed yesterday?? Weather is wack. 
I'll definitely ask to have tortilla soup next time. 

[Rutabaga22]

Can't believe I missed this post! I have one question, will we get dev videos throughout early access talking about things coming out as they get more developed?

[Vl3d]

@Ghostii_SpaceI am surprised and glad to see there's official communication with the community. I have simple questions please. We all know that the KSP private players, modders, streamers, YouTubers have "giants" that have played the game for thousands of hours and put in work that is very valuable. Around 2020 they were invited to share their feedback and opinions with the dev team. I keep an eye out for any comments about KSP2 - but these seem to be very limited.

1. I'm curious if there has been active talks during the development process with the modders that have actually influenced KSP1 and with the people that played the game the most? Will there be?

2. Also, can you tell us if the dev team has used the statistical information gathered from the Unity Analytics for KSP1 during the decision making process for KSP2?

3. Can you tell us anything about the unannounced project @ Intercept? Is it related in any way to the KSP franchise?

4. Can you confirm life support features? There was a mention during the most recent YouTube Feature Video, but the subtitles "reinterpreted" what was said. How about weather visual effects? The journey planner? Anything new about requested features please?

[Pthigrivi]

On 11/29/2022 at 2:19 PM, Zhetaan said:

You are the most recent in a long line of community managers, leads, moderators, developers, and pretty much anyone else who has had a stake in this forum to say that this is among the very best of on-line communities.  I was wondering, since you're the first one I know of who has credentials in anthropology, whether you had any special insights into just why that is, or whether there's any kind of objective criterion that informs that assessment.  Not to put you on the spot, of course, and not to suggest that I disagree (I keep coming back, after all), but is there something repeatable in that, or is this a group that managed to turn lead into gold by accident and never wrote down the formula?

I'll also throw out that though I haven't always agreed 100% with every decision the moderator team does an incredible (and difficult) job keeping conversations on the rails even when folks get... let's say passionate about their opinions. Its very easy for even communities full of well-intentioned and brilliant people to spiral into feuds or just incoherent side-track thread spaghetti, so, much appreciated yall.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Pthigrivi

[Ghostii_Space]

19 hours ago, Vl3d said:

@Ghostii_SpaceI am surprised and glad to see there's official communication with the community. I have simple questions please. We all know that the KSP private players, modders, streamers, YouTubers have "giants" that have played the game for thousands of hours and put in work that is very valuable. Around 2020 they were invited to share their feedback and opinions with the dev team. I keep an eye out for any comments about KSP2 - but these seem to be very limited.

1. I'm curious if there has been active talks during the development process with the modders that have actually influenced KSP1 and with the people that played the game the most? Will there be?

2. Also, can you tell us if the dev team has used the statistical information gathered from the Unity Analytics for KSP1 during the decision making process for KSP2?

3. Can you tell us anything about the unannounced project @ Intercept? Is it related in any way to the KSP franchise?

4. Can you confirm life support features? There was a mention during the most recent YouTube Feature Video, but the subtitles "reinterpreted" what was said. How about weather visual effects? The journey planner? Anything new about requested features please?

1.  We review suggestions and feedback from the community (including modders) regularly, and have been engaged in varying capacities with members of the community throughout development! During Early Access we highly encourage players to provide feedback. 

2. Generally, yes, KSP 1 engagement is one piece of information our design team has available in thinking about cool features.

3. Nope, can't say anything!  Other than it will be awesome so your patience will be worth it 

4. We cannot directly answer this question right now, because game development is constantly changing. I can say we plan to introduce a lot of new features over the course of Early Access and we hope you provide us your feedback as we introduce them! 

 

On 11/30/2022 at 12:41 PM, Rutabaga22 said:

Can't believe I missed this post! I have one question, will we get dev videos throughout early access talking about things coming out as they get more developed?

Yes! We will continue to put out dev diaries/show and tell/teasers of new updates during Early Access. 

[Wheehaw Kerman]

12 hours ago, Ghostii_Space said:

 

1. We cannot directly answer this question right now, because game development is constantly changing. I can say we plan to introduce a lot of new features over the course of Early Access and we hope you provide us your feedback as we introduce them!  

I think there’s nothing more telling about the quality of the community and the moderators than the fact that discussion over the inexplicable omission of something as critical to actual spaceflight as rocket fuel is has remained as pleasant and civil and rational and polite and fun as the life support thread.

Also, anthropology is a great first degree, and nice to meet another one of us in the wild.  Mine is a lot dustier than yours is, but it’s stood me in good stead over the years.  Visualizing long meetings from a primatologically informed perspective is a great boredom management tool.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Wheehaw Kerman

[Vl3d]

59 minutes ago, Wheehaw Kerman said:

I think there’s nothing more telling about the quality of the community and the moderators than the fact that discussion over the inexplicable omission of something as critical to actual spaceflight as rocket fuel is has remained as pleasant and civil and rational and polite and fun as the life support thread.

Also, anthropology is a great first degree, and nice to meet another one of us in the wild.  Mine is a lot dustier than yours is, but it’s stood me in good stead over the years.  Visualizing long meetings from a primatologically informed perspective is a great boredom management tool.

A natural comedian in the wild!

[Pthigrivi]

3 hours ago, Wheehaw Kerman said:

I think there’s nothing more telling about the quality of the community and the moderators than the fact that discussion over the inexplicable omission of something as critical to actual spaceflight as rocket fuel is has remained as pleasant and civil and rational and polite and fun as the life support thread.

I think we're all kind of hoping it will be included in some form, and though there's no full confirmation they've hinted about needing snacks and food and we've seen early renderings of greenhouses, so they're definitely thinking about it. They're probably still dialing in how complex/robust it wants to be with everything else going on. But I agree those conversations have been great 

[darthgently]

On 11/30/2022 at 9:51 PM, Vl3d said:

I have simple questions please.

Vl3d, be honest.  You have threads full of complicated questions, but are filtering out of civility, lol.  Respect to you

Edited December 2, 2022 by darthgently

[Wheehaw Kerman]

5 hours ago, Vl3d said:

A natural comedian in the wild!

If accused, I will of course vehemently deny ever having implied that our project team resemble a pack of feral chimpanzees.

3 hours ago, Pthigrivi said:

I think we're all kind of hoping it will be included in some form, and though there's no full confirmation they've hinted about needing snacks and food and we've seen early renderings of greenhouses, so they're definitely thinking about it. They're probably still dialing in how complex/robust it wants to be with everything else going on. But I agree those conversations have been great 

Agreed!  Cheers!

[StrandedonEarth]

On 11/28/2022 at 8:38 AM, Ghostii_Space said:

Depends on the mammoth bones, they don't tend to get in arguments with each other over the forums  

Yeah, I think mammoth bones would love to be in a cozy Barn and they have no use for metallic hydrogen...

On 11/29/2022 at 11:19 AM, Zhetaan said:

You are the most recent in a long line of community managers, leads, moderators, developers, and pretty much anyone else who has had a stake in this forum to say that this is among the very best of on-line communities.  I was wondering, since you're the first one I know of who has credentials in anthropology, whether you had any special insights into just why that is, or whether there's any kind of objective criterion that informs that assessment.  Not to put you on the spot, of course, and not to suggest that I disagree (I keep coming back, after all), but is there something repeatable in that, or is this a group that managed to turn lead into gold by accident and never wrote down the formula?

I think banning discussion of politics and religion has a lot to do with that...

[WaywardScythe]

@Ghostii_Space Apologies for the necro, but since your background is anthropology and memes,  I think you're uniquely suited to answer my questions. 

Do kerbals have astrology? Would they hold off on a launch while Duna is in retrograde?

Is the Kraken a new god, or a very old one? 

Do kerbals have weddings? 

Is their written language character of pictograph based? 

[Ryaja]

19 hours ago, WaywardScythe said:

Apologies for the necro

This topic isn't even a month old, you'll need to wait 3 or more months for this to be a necropost.

[Ghostii_Space]

22 hours ago, WaywardScythe said:

@Ghostii_Space Apologies for the necro, but since your background is anthropology and memes,  I think you're uniquely suited to answer my questions. 

Do kerbals have astrology? Would they hold off on a launch while Duna is in retrograde?

Is the Kraken a new god, or a very old one? 

Do kerbals have weddings? 

Is their written language character of pictograph based? 

All good! 

Unfortunately I cannot answer any of these questions!! You'll just have to wait for KSP2 to come to your own conclusions about them 

[机械主教71号]

Hi！

Looking forward to take a part in early access process.

I have a question. Is the aerodynamic of procedure wings based on their shape or not? Does the aspect ratio, root-to-tip ratio, airfoils, etc., really effect the performance of the wings?

@Ghostii_Space

Edited December 7, 2022 by 机械主教71号

[WaywardScythe]

On 12/5/2022 at 11:33 AM, Ghostii_Space said:

All good! 

Unfortunately I cannot answer any of these questions!! You'll just have to wait for KSP2 to come to your own conclusions about them 

aww darn, I was hoping to hit stuff far enough away from gameplay to not be covered by the stuff you have to follow. I eagerly await the release to plumb the depths of kerbal culture, through explosions and crashes. 

[SuperBrutal666]

Happy New Year! Long time KSP player and forum lurker. So many great titles have succeeded through Early Access, I'm greatly hopeful that KSP 2 will thrive and flourish through this model. Here's my question: Some game devs do regular live streams to engage with the community, share people's creations, talk about the game, share updates, and more. Does your team plan on using live streams (or similar comms tools) throughout Early Access? Thanks, looking forward to KSP 2!

[Vanamonde]

1 hour ago, SuperBrutal666 said:

Happy New Year! Long time KSP player and forum lurker. So many great titles have succeeded through Early Access, I'm greatly hopeful that KSP 2 will thrive and flourish through this model. Here's my question: Some game devs do regular live streams to engage with the community, share people's creations, talk about the game, share updates, and more. Does your team plan on using live streams (or similar comms tools) throughout Early Access? Thanks, looking forward to KSP 2!

KSP1 did quite a bit of that. I expect they will for KSP2 as well. 

[Wheehaw Kerman]

On 12/4/2022 at 2:49 PM, WaywardScythe said:

@Ghostii_Space Apologies for the necro, but since your background is anthropology and memes,  I think you're uniquely suited to answer my questions. 

Do kerbals have astrology? Would they hold off on a launch while Duna is in retrograde?

I postulate that superstitious Kerbals do not believe in astrology.  Instead, they practice RUDomancy; they study the patterns of debris thrown by RUDs to divine the intentions and future actions of the Kraken.

[Drakenred65]

Soooo basicaly the FAA’s OAI only as a Religious order like the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, only for. Rockets?

[Anth]

3 hours ago, Wheehaw Kerman said:

I postulate that superstitious Kerbals do not believe in astrology.  Instead, they practice RUDomancy; they study the patterns of debris thrown by RUDs to divine the intentions and future actions of the Kraken.

 

55 minutes ago, Drakenred65 said:

Soooo basicaly the FAA’s OAI only as a Religious order like the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, only for. Rockets?

More like reading tea leaves?