3/24 Discord AMA Answers

[Dakota]

What is the best mission you saw an image/s of on #ksp2-screenshots?

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Hard question. Land speed record attempts definitely - been fun to watch. Also like people landing in weird spots, landing in the tracking station dish, into the parking garage (we're going to fix that btw)

How has the rough launch of Early Access affected the overall mood and productivity of team members and developers? How does your team stay motivated through all of the hateful comments that get thrown towards the development and marketing teams?

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Can't answer for all the team, but will give you my personal answer: we're feeling good. We're playing the game and having fun while squashing bugs. Been great seeing the community get their hands on the game and enjoying it. Feels really great to fix a bug, almost like scratching an itch. Mean comments are kinda something that just comes with game development - but with the KSP community the negative comments come from a place of care, not hare. All over, feeling good.

As a long time KSP1 player, I was very worried about the future of KSP2 after the rough release. 

However, I must say I and many others have a renewed faith in you and your team after the success of this first patch (awesome job guys). That being said, what can you say to calm the concerns of some of the die hard fans that are still worried we may never see certain road map goals fulfilled due to funding? 

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First of all, we didn't put things on the roadmap we didn't feel confident we'd get to. Everyone at T2/PD/IG is in this for the long haul. We saw KSP1 evolve over a decade, we hope to do the same.  One of the nice things of being a first-party studio, is we don't really have to worry about the logistical things like rent - so the publisher takes on that burden so we can focus on development.

Can you give any more detail about how the automated "trade routes" are going to work? Will we see ships automatically landing on / taking off from the launchpad or will it be more of a in-the-background kind of thing? How will the game handle changing delta-v requirements due to different planetary alignments? 

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Big question. Maybe it's helpful to give some context about iterative development: when we create a spec, our focus is to improve things in parallel. 

For delivery routes, we have clear steps.
First implementation, crediting/debiting resources to vehicles and colonies based on duration.
Second implementation might take into account launch windows and such.

Someday, would be very cool to see vehicles coming and going. Not a promise, but a long-term aspiration.

 

Can we get anything in writing related to the planned structure/function of multiplayer within the game, and how you plan to work around certain speedbumps like time warp or two player craft docking (I.e. where is the processing for this done?)?

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Generally we try to not talk much about multiplayer but let me give you something:

People will have separate timelines and then there will be a reconciliation phase when the players interact with each other. That's the plan right now but I also can't speak directly to the details of this feature - future comms coming!

 

How much time and research goes into deciding what kind of rocket/space plane parts get into KSP2/KSP?

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A LOT.

Chris Adderley (Nertea) is an amazing researcher and has a ton of existing knowledge. We also work with subject matter experts like Dr. Uni Shumlak from University of Washington.

We hold ourselves to the standard of rooting everything in the game to real life science. Even if it's not a perfect implementation, if you look it up on Wikipedia you discover our features are real.

We spend a lot of time on the Atomic Rockets website as well!

 

In regards to the decision to leave wobbly rockets within the game. Are there plans to make this feature more detrimental to rocket design and progression? Or is this simply an early implementation of something that'll become more elaborate and significant?

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This is a really good example of how having something in Early Access helps us iterate and develop features forward. This is definitely a hot topic, so here's my two cents:

If a rocket is skinny and made of many stacked parts, it should wobble. Larger scales, no.

We're working on it, it will get better.

 

What was your favorite thing to work on in KSP2? What was your least favorite thing to work on?

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Favorite things: probably tutorials. Tapped into my own passions as a storyteller, especially visual storytelling. Learning how we can convey complex topics with amazing animations. 

Least favorite: probably tutorials. We iterated like CRAZY with them - redid them multiple times. Multiple scripts, multiple animations, lots of work. We eventually had breakthroughs on each one, but it was a process.

 

What has been the most challenging feature to work on?

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For me: see above - tutorial.

For the team: heavy technical stuff. Adapting architecture to interstellar scale, accelerating trajectories, multiplayer. These make almost everything hard to implement, but we're making progress!

 

What was your initial introduction to KSP?

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Mid 2012. Remember the addition of EVA, docking, and the outer planets. Been playing it for quite a while, couple thousand hours in KSP1. Wonder if I have more in KSP2 now...

How has community feedback shaped your vision and priorities for the game?

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I think it depends how far back we're going. I've been a member of the community for so long, so I brought a whole wishlist of features to the beginning of the project that was very much based on the community's wants back then.

Today, obviously community feedback helps us prioritize - wobbly rockets for example. One unexpected thing is that sometimes we hard focus on one feature/fix that is low priority for the community. [WILL ADD MORE]

 

what has been your favorite part or experience in developing ksp 2?

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I always loved sharing KSP1 with people, but always saw them bounce off of it because of how difficult the game can be.

My focus is to improve the first-time user experience with the core gameplay unchanged, so they can get as excited about the game as I am. It's an amazing feeling to see someone close to me embrace the game like that.

 

Will certain resources needed for colony construction be planet/biome specific?

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The diversity of resources is what's going to make exploration mode so fun. Compared to KSP1 which was very self-directed (take temperatures, etc), when there is a unique resource somewhere that gates your access to some category of parts/features - wow it totally changes the game. It gives you something material literally material, yeah the interplanetary/interstellar progression will really POP once you're able to dig up a specific thing that gives you a specific ability.

Has there been any piece of community feedback/content that you and the team find especially motivating ?

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Anytime I hear about someone who wasn't into KSP1 who was able to get into KSP2, that's incredibly motivating. Especially when it's kids.

Feels great to hear kudos that someone feels we're on the right track with things whether it be UI, soundtrack, etc.

Howard, our composer, has been showered with praise upon the EA release - and it's SO deserved.

When we hear nice things, it energizes us.

 

how often does the dev team play the game?

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We have team-wide playtests twice a week. Our QA team plays it basically all-the-time. I personally play almost every day.

What non-KSP game/piece of media has inspired you and the team the most?

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There's a video called "The Wanderers" by Eric Wernquist. It's a beautiful, very short video, that definitely feels like our "north star" for what we want KSP2 to feel like. It has these beautiful rendered scenes of humankind exploring the solar system. We watch it fairly frequently and show it to new hires.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH3c1QZzRK4

 

 

Will there be more tutorials in game, such as the ones being uploaded to tiktok etc?

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For the in-game tutorials, we have quite a few already made. The animations are already made for 9 or 10 of them. As new features are being added to the game, tutorials will come alongside them.

When interstellar is implemented, are the different solar systems going to be stationary or are they going to orbit something (to simulate a galaxy)?

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So one of the things I learned very early in the project, is that the movement of stars around a galactic center is very unintuitive compared to normal movement. Especially when you're dealing with stuff like dark matter, it's unpredictable.

Our current implementation is that they do move relative to the galactic plane, but we want other stars to be moving targets that you'll still have to get a intercept for.

Short answer: yes.

 

Procedural wings are great but are there plans for other procedural parts? Maybe for fuel tanks?

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This is always a question we're asking ourselves.  What is the threshold that too much procedural parts takes away from the parts-focused KSP experience? 

The next procedural part is procedural radiators. After that's in, we'll take a look at what our priorities are and what the community wants. My opinion is that solar panels should be prioritized over fuel tanks, but we still need to have internal talks about it.

 

Are there going to be any significant changes to the science system in KSP 2, or any changes that you feel are worth talking about?

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For context, the first of the progression modes that will be coming in a roadmap update will be science mode.

It will be similar to the KSP1 experience. Gaining science points, redeeming them for parts.

Differences would include: 

We don't want people to be able to gather huge amounts of science around the KSC. We want to push people to explore and visit all the other Celestial Bodies.

There will be a opt-in mission system that gives you a reward for doing a particular thing.

 

What is your favourite ksp 2 mod so far?

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We are IMPRESSED by how many exist already. 

Selfishly, it's one from LinuxGuruGamer, someone who if you're part of the modding community you're probably already familiar with. It's a script that automatically collects relevant logs for bug reports to send our way. Definitely awesome.

 

What has the morale been like throughout development? 

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Throughout development, throughout all of it....

I'm speaking on behalf of a bunch of people who can't speak for themselves but:

I think overall good. The game is out and we have a trajectory line that's headed somewhere. We're no longer working in a vacuum, we're working with you all - and we see the effects of the improvements we make to the game immediately.

Yesterday I was looking at ksp2_screenshots, and was just marveling at how much ambition was unlocked by Patch 1. People are having more fun because of the work we've put in - and that feels great.

 

For the far off colonization update. How will buildings work? Will we assemble them ourselves by landing modules (or making them on site) and moving them into position, or will it be more of a prefabricated type of building system? 

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We have a inflatable module that you put on a vehicle and once you deploy it - it's basically like setting up a camping site. It sets up a VAB-like interface. Using that and other modules, you can use resources to add even more modules to the colonies. There will be attach notes and it'll be very similar to creating a vehicle. Also the same thing applies to orbital colonies.

When will the water physics be fixed and properly added? 

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Yeah we have a boat launch now....and the boats immediately sink....

Buoyancy and hydrodynamic drag are being worked on right now. Parallel development alongside performance and stability.

 

Now that the first patch is out, what are you mainly focusing on ? 

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Stability, performance, new features. In that order. Obviously, I am eager to see heat be implemented. We've shared the visuals but there's also the actual heating system. Thermal kinda feels like the final pillar we need for the structural outline of KSP2 to be complete so we can start building on top of it with the EA milestones.

Any plans to have a solid planet that is about the size of Jool or perhaps larger? 

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We do have a super-earth in the game: Ovin. It's not as big as Jool, I think it's 60% larger than Kerbin. It has it's own rings. It's big enough to make landing hard. No plans for a Jool-sized terrestrial planet. Should we do it community?

Will there be XL sized launch engines, and if so, are there any estimates on when they will be added? 

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We have some very big engines that will arrive with the Interstellar update. People have seen the Crucible which is MASSIVE. Big Engines Coming!

Will we have and when realistic plasma/smoke tail after reentering spacecraft and different colors of heated plasma because of different speeds of reentry? 

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Different atmospheres probably have different colors of plasmas - different ionization attributes. Going back to that iterative development point, the first version of re-entry heating will be one color, but the spec definitely calls for multiple colors based on location and atmospheric composition. 

Was there ever a bug in early development that was so hilarious that the team still references it today? 

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Yeah so the RCS "puffs" involve a cone-shaped mesh. It's basically an invisible mesh that puffs out when fired. We had a frustrating bug that would cause a vehicle to violently rip itself apart after launching, and we couldn't figure out what the problem was. It turns out the invisible meshes for the puffs were generating drag. Each one was basically generating more drag than a full-sized parachute. We had a huge laugh once we realized how silly the actual problem was - and we were glad it wasn't a problem with the fundamental architecture of the game.

Will atmosphere-rich celestial bodies have weather patterns sometime in the future? 

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If so, would this weather have any physical effect on your vessel? 

We do not have short terms plans for that. We have planets with tilt, so we could implement weather and SEASONS. But we have a long runway ahead of us. Never say never, but yeah if we wanted to implement these features, we'd want it to affect gameplay in some way so we'd need to figure that out.

There's also the whole once we implement more modding capabilities to the game, it's totally possible something like this is added by the community.

 

What is one feature/part/idea you really wanted to implement, but would not/could not for whatever reason? 

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This game is unique because we basically never say "no" to things. We often "defer" things because there's more important things to work on. Like for example, Chris and I want to add a proper airliner cockpit, but it's going to take time and effort from our team. Hopefully we'll get to it someday!

Once the game is "Complete" with everything on the roadmap implemented and debugged, is it possible develompent will continue with new features? 

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KSP got updates over a decade. We want to do the same thing.

Will interactable IVA'S be a thing? 

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Yes, that's the plan. Cockpits were made with IVAs in mind. Don't know timing yet.

What's your favorite KSP2 creation thus far (by you or by anyone else)? 

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That depends on the day you're asking me. Everyone internally has a favorite category of things they love to see. Ness loves seeing things people really shouldn't make, like dragons, or flying shopping carts.

I created a Slack channel dedicated to tracking people making F4 Phantom crafts. They're all so impressive so I started collecting them so I could share them with the team.

 

Do you plan to add life support to the game like the USI life support mod for ksp1?

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We made a determination that the addition of life support won't enhance gameplay that much, for most players. Obviously a lot of people have a ton of fun with the life support mods for KSP1, and we hope that once moddibility is easier it'll get added that way.

Do you plan to add telescopes and asteroids early in the game already? 

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Already have made assets for both. Will get to them once the schedule allows.

Many community members across the modding scene have noticed that certain models often contain INSANE polygon counts. Will those be reviewed for optimization passes too? 

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Already in progress. Some models actually need those insane polygon counts, like the IVA cockpits. Sometimes unusually-high polygon-count models slip through and we'll look to optimize them as our schedule allows. Patch notes will include lines such as "mesh optimization" which would basically be that.

Will we see many more star systems and other interstellar objects added throughout the game's map as the years go on? 

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We've committed to three star systems leading up to 1.0. I'd love to add more circumstances permitting. That's not an official plan, but that's what I personally want. We always come up with cool ideas for new celestial bodies - and we want to add new bodies that create new kinds of gameplay. When we have those ideas, we definitely want to get them into the game!

Will asteroids make a return? Or foreign bodies in general? 

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Yes, artists already made them. Once schedule permits.

If there will be smth similar to "carrer" mode, will you add planes challenges/contracts?

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Obviously we replaced money with resources, so once you move into interstellar progression, the limiting factor will be your access to resources based on delivery routes and such. It's a much more material gating, which is probably the most similar to a "career" mode.

Can we get a wind tunnel at KSC for testing aerodynamics? 

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There is a spec...not for a wind tunnel....but for an expansion of the "Center Of" functional in the VAB that gives you more insight into the various attributes of your vehicle that is visual and intuitive and reacts immediately as you add and remove parts. It's not a wind tunnel, but it would be diagnostic like a wind tunnel would be. Maybe one day, we need to think on it.

Will robotics be implemented in a future update? 

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Probably not before 1.0. There's a lot of work leading up to the full 1.0 release. When we get to it, we want to make sure it's fully implemented, so after 1.0...one day.

Are there plans to have collaborations for missions and/or other scenarios in game with IRL space agencies such as NASA, ESA etc.? 

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Yes. Yes. Yes. We did that stuff in the past, and we're so excited about the things they're doing. It really just matters what those institutions are doing. If anyone knows people there, we're waiting by our phones....

Who is your favorite Kerbal? 

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Tim C Kermin is based on a friend of mine who was an artist on the team who passed away. Every time I see that character, it makes me feel warm feelings.

will we be able to terraform planets in the future? like eve and duna? 

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no.

What event in IRL space exploration that you experienced/learned about had the most significant impact on you? 

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I don't know how many people lived through the spaceflight drought of the 90s and mid 2000s. There was definitely a period where we felt like we were stuck in neutral. Zubrin's Mars Direct kept me interested at the time, so learned a lot during that time.

What feature of KSP2 are you most excited for, and why is it interstellar travel? 

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Colonies + delivery routes will lead to very creative and very interesting solutions and gameplay. Looking forward to it.

What is your opinion on people datamining the game - do you feel bad that stuff is getting leaked, or are you excited that the datamines give the community a lot of hope for this game? 

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People are going to root around and stuff - they're curious! I just take it as enthusiasm for the game.

Any thoughts on adding vr support to KSP2 in the future? 

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Yes, I want it badly. Conversation will happen after 1.0.

Now that we have a boat launch option, is it likely that we will get dedicated boat or submersible parts at some point in the future? 

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With the buoyancy development, we're definitely looking at this. Ballasts and fluid pumps are being discussed.

Which aspect of the development (or which upcoming feature) do you really think will make the game unique when compared to KSP 1? Do you think the current performance problems will stick around or become more prominent as new features start getting added, 

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Of course the performance problems will not be sticking around. We need to prioritize that so the milestones don't add to and then multiply (with multiplayer) performance problems. [more]

Orbital colonies have been mentioned. Will they have a set orbit once the first part has been built, or will they be able to move with engines like other spacecraft? 

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I cannot stop you from [crazy old man star wars references, i can't type]

They can be moved and crashed, yes.

 

What suggestions from the community do you think where helpfull? 

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Wobbly rockets definitely has been illuminating. Also helpful to learn UI/UX pain points.

Will Rotors and hinges be coming back at some point? 

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Post 1.0 conversation. I'd like them to.

How useful will orbital construction be and how awesome are the colonies? 

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Completely critical to the interstellar progression. You can't make a interstellar vehicle in a gravity well. Someone will definitely prove me wrong about that one day.

Does the terrain system support overhangs and caves, or is it still using the old heightmap system? 

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We're using a NEW heighmap system. Go read Mortok's dev blog. Currently we do not have specific plans for that.

Will there be secret launch sites added or will you be able to build custom launch pads on other planets? 

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On Kerbin, 4 separate agency launch sites - 4 different KSCs basically. Will be useful for multiplayer.

Once colonies are online, you'll be able to place the launchpads really wherever you'd want.

 

will we be able to reach the speed of light and/or FTL? 

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In our pursuit of realism, no. Light is the ultimate speed limit.

What are the goals and visions for multiplayer? How do you want to see players interact with each other? Will players be able to go on collective missions on the same crafts? Will players be able to share colony buildings (Once that comes out) and create? 

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Man that's like 8 questions in one....

So there will be the asynchronous progression - people dropping in and out of the server over time but slowly building up resources and sharing delivery routes between colonies. There's also synchronous multiplayer like space races and car races. I'm interested to see how players will play and what half they'll focus on.

 

What is your favourite book? 

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A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.

Will we have rough/insulation surfaces for spacecraft parts instead of a metallic to paint spectrum ? 

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We're discussing it internally. No promises but it's on our radar.

Will there more colony parts than what shown in the trailers? 

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yes.

Will the surface of moons and planets in space and when landed be more detailed in the distant future? 

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yep. check out mortoc's new terrian system. will be MUCH more detailed.

What would you say was the most troublesome feature to get working over the course of KSP 2's development? 

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Procedural wings probably required an unusual amount of A B C and D testing. Back and forth and tuning, and making sure it felt good and looked good. Even things like editable they should be, we explored so many edge cases. Really happy with what we ended up with.

What kind of size range can we expect with colonies? Will all colonies be roughly the same size, or will we be able to have small 1-2 launch research colonies along with our gigantic industrial ones? Will there be any upper size limit? 

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There's no plan for an enforced upper-size limit. It'll be similar to vehicles, it's made of parts - we want people to make it as large as they want. Obviously not all computers can handle massive builds, so there will probably be a player-dependent fps-based size limit.

Do you expect multiplayer KSP2 to overtake singleplayer KSP2 in terms of player count and development when it releases? In other words, will singleplayer KSP2 become mostly obsolete? 

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There's something about singleplayer KSP2 that can be very meditative. I don't always feel the need to share what I'm doing with everyone. I think singleplayer will always have a place.

What is the reasoning behind not allowing early access players the ability to use the debug menu? Since it is a sandbox game its omission seams odd, especially for early access. Will it be included at some point for single player campaigns? 

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So the debug controls were really only added for internal developer purposes, and we haven't really done any QA testing - or really created any design specs for it. Adding a debug menu could change a million variables that would really make it hard to investigate bugs. I want there one-day to be a player-focused debug menu.

Will KSP2 wheels finally work as intended? 

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anecdotally, they're improved. 

Hello! Besides Kerbal Space Program 2 what have you worked on before? 

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It's my 30th anniversary in game development!!!

fast action paq, i have no mouth, starfleet command 2, demigod, bejeweled, many canceled projects, a indie comic 

been all over.

 

Do you play any games outside of KSP? If so what games? 

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Many of us on the team are obsessed with this VR game called Walkabout Minigolf. The future of VR is minigolf. I don't know if I'm allowed to recommend you buy a game that's not KSP2, but after you buy KSP2, grab Walkabout Minigolf  

Who makes all your awesome "KerbalSona" profile pictures? 

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Matt Poppe! Our community artist, he's the best! 

The performance has improved slightly with the latest patch, but unfortunately it's still not enough. Will the performance be further improved with the upcoming patches? 

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Yes

How different will the science and science gathering be in KSP2 vs KSP1? Or will it be similar? 

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Similar in the broad strokes.

are big features like science or interstellar on the backburner until the game is better optimised, or are the big features being developed alongside bug and performance patches? 

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It's more parallel. People are focused on different things at the same time.

Do you have an estimated date to release support for controller setups such as HOTAS stick and throttle sets, custom controllers designed specifically for KSP, or maybe even racing sim equipment to use for rovers? 

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As an owner of a HOTAS stick that I can't even use yet, it will be supported, just no date yet.

Do you think spending so much time on KSP2 alone has taken a toll on your mental health? 

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laughs nah man this is fun. it feels like a dream. it's the best.

Have you ever, at one point during development, thought about giving up on KSP2 due to ... reasons?  If so, what made you continue anyway? If not, what kept you motivated? 

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never contemplated giving up. it's maybe a little bit of a obsession.

What was launch day like at Intercept Games? 

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Exciting. We drank champagne. It was great  

When is Jebediah getting his own TV show? 

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When Hollywood comes knocking....

do you pour the milk before or after the cereal? 

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I don't understand the utility of pouring the milk before the cereal.

I guess people have some sort of min-max impulse? "I want the height of the milk to be exactly correct?"

discussion about count chocula that i'm not transcribing, michael is ridiculous

now i'm questioning myself though....

 

 

[Dakota]

I am going to format the parent post once I have time, literally copied and pasted from the Discord. Thanks for coming everyone!

[Tazooka]

I'm looking forward to the future of KSP 2

[unethical ksp player]

Nice ama. Very interesting details about multiplayer

Also cereal before milk is objectively the correct choice

[regex]

Science being similar to KSP1 in what regard, just science points and a tech tree? The active gameplay elements of KSP1's science system (the gathering of science) was quite frankly boring AF. I hope you guys have some better ideas...

[Jarin]

3 minutes ago, regex said:

Science being similar to KSP1 in what regard, just science points and a tech tree? The active gameplay elements of KSP1's science system (the gathering of science) was quite frankly boring AF. I hope you guys have some better ideas...

They keep saying they want people to go out and get science, rather than getting much from around KSC. I really want specific science-related goals for specific technologies. Give us a reason other than "I need points" to go places.

[DibzNr]

Thanks for giving us this AMA! Can't wait to see what future updates have in store, also please go rest your fingers Dakota

[NovaRaptorTV]

Thank you all for your time today, and for answering my question

-NovaRaptor

[Little 908]

So much information

[Casellina X]

1 hour ago, Dakota said:

[10:09 AM]
Hello! Besides Kerbal Space Program 2 what have you worked on before? 

It's my 30th anniversary in game development  

fast action paq, i have no mouth, starfleet command 2, demigod, bejeweled, many canceled projects, a indie comic 

been all over.

Well that settles it. I'm prepared to trust @Nate Simpson with my life .

[jacksawild]

1 hour ago, Dakota said:

Many of us on the team are obsessed with this VR game called Walkabout Minigolf. The future of VR is minigolf. I don't know if I'm allowed to recommend you buy a game that's not KSP2, but after you buy KSP2, grab Walkabout Minigolf  

Yes. It's very calming.

[Alexoff]

1 hour ago, Dakota said:

Can't answer for all the team, but will give you my personal answer: we're feeling good. We're playing the game and having fun while squashing bugs. Been great seeing the community get their hands on the game and enjoying it. Feels really great to fix a bug, almost like scratching an itch. Mean comments are kinda something that just comes with game development - but with the KSP community the negative comments come from a place of care, not hare. All over, feeling good.

Is this some kind of joke? Released the game in such a technical condition after a bunch of delays and everything is fine with you? Are you worried about the game?

[Jarin]

57 minutes ago, Alexoff said:

Is this some kind of joke? Released the game in such a technical condition after a bunch of delays and everything is fine with you? Are you worried about the game?

Given the publisher constraints that Nate almost certainly contractually can't talk about, the release has honestly gone fairly well. And remember, they're seeing the day-to-day bug fixes and improvements that we don't get to, along with the feature dev that's being done in parallel.

[Dakota]

If you have any feedback on the AMA format, please let me know! This is our first time running something like this so we're looking to iterate and make the next one even better

[Dantheollie]

This was a great AMA! A lot of good questions were answered, with very little information held back. There are so many things I was exited for that were confirmed here... the water physics and the telescopes... Sounds like it's gonna be awesome.
 

2 hours ago, Dakota said:

This is always a question we're asking ourselves.  What is the threshold that too much procedural parts takes away from the parts-focused KSP experience? 

 

I do hope the team considers adding non-utility procedural parts. Maybe "procedural" in the lightest sense of the word:

Simply, cosmetic-structural "parts" that would allow us to create things with a greater variety of forms. Something to add the much needed curves that were not possible with KSP1's tools. Cheers!

Edited March 24, 2023 by Dantheollie

[Scarecrow71]

I recorded the AMA this morning and uploaded the video to YouTube.  Actual AMA starts 3:27 in; I started 1 minute before, and Nate had technical difficulties which resulted in them starting a bit late.  Video is, as of this post, still processing to HD, but the actual images aren't that important.  I have comments turned off on YT, so if anyone has anything to say about my video please do so here or on Discord.

 

[asmi]

My question didn't make it in  Oh well, I guess eventually we'll find out ourselves.

[Alexoff]

51 minutes ago, Jarin said:

Given the publisher constraints that Nate almost certainly contractually can't talk about, the release has honestly gone fairly well. And remember, they're seeing the day-to-day bug fixes and improvements that we don't get to, along with the feature dev that's being done in parallel.

The publisher seems to have given a few extra years to the development of KSP2, and has funded the developers of the game all those years. Creating patches to fix bugs is not an achievement at all, it is the direct responsibility of the team. Not much has been done in the month since the game was released.

[Scarecrow71]

5 minutes ago, Alexoff said:

Not much has been done in the month since the game was released.

Not much that you personally have seen.  Just because they aren't releasing what you want when you want it doesn't mean they aren't working on stuff.  Yes, bug fixes are pretty much stuff they have to do.  But those roadmap features ain't gonna code themselves, and they certainly aren't going to be done in a flash.

[RocketRockington]

I know I'm a naysayer but thanks for putting together this AMA @Dakota.

That said - even though most of the questions surrounding the launch and the history of KSP2's development were not answered, I think there's plenty still here that's going to disappoint a lot of people - whether they acknowledge it or not.

- That KSP2 science mode sounds very much like a retread of KSP1 science mode + science contracts to get science.

- That robotics won't be in the game for a long long time.

- That colony management and multiplayer still are in the 'figure out what the MVP/first cut at it are' vs having several iterations of the design being done and a more final version just waiting to be implemented.

- That procedural parts are still limited to the weird selection of just wings and radiators - especially since solar panels would be such an easy thing to do when you already have procedural radiators.

- That the creative director seems so blasé about just how terrible the launch of KSP2 was after so many people's high expectations.  Drinking champagne after you released a game to <50% reviews on Steam, even with many of the positive reviews more about hope than reality.  Ouch.  

- That he thinks KSP2 is good for reaching a lot of kids - after pricing the product at a premium price and having computer specs that require near-latest hardware, and that a kids experience is likely to just be frustration with the many many bugs in the release.  Does he actually think anyone but the most diehard of KSP fans have bought it at this point?

[Fullmetal Analyst]

3 hours ago, Dakota said:

People will have separate timelines and then there will be a reconciliation phase when the players interact with each other.

good job, you chose the worst possible scenario...

 

3 hours ago, Dakota said:

For the team: heavy technical stuff. Adapting architecture to interstellar scale, accelerating trajectories, multiplayer. These make almost everything hard to implement, but we're making progress!

i wonder what this means for modders

 

3 hours ago, Dakota said:

One unexpected thing is that sometimes we hard focus on one feature/fix that is low priority for the community.

what a glorious idea.

 

3 hours ago, Dakota said:

Especially when it's kids.

i think ure a bit too obsessed with bringing rocket science to kids

 

4 hours ago, Dakota said:

We don't want people to be able to gather huge amounts of science around the KSC.

i wasnt aware that this was the case in KSP1

 

4 hours ago, Dakota said:

Yes, that's the plan. Cockpits were made with IVAs in mind. Don't know timing yet.

i hope this gets put at the very end of the roadmap, right before tutorials for kidz

 

4 hours ago, Dakota said:

Some models actually need those insane polygon counts, like the IVA cockpits.

will there be an option to just disable the IVA part in order to save performance? (IVA will probably be a completely useless feature for most people, like in ksp1)

[RocketRockington]

20 minutes ago, Fullmetal Analyst said:

i hope this gets put at the very end of the roadmap, right before tutorials for kidz

The tutorials for kids are already part of the game, afaict.  That's what the cartoony tutorial system and high-pitched-PAIGE are there for - and also likely one of those 'we focused on it despite it being a low priority for the community' features.

Edited March 24, 2023 by RocketRockington

[Tazooka]

4 minutes ago, Fullmetal Analyst said:

good job, you chose the worst possible scenario...

 

i wonder what this means for modders

 

what a glorious idea.

 

i think ure a bit too obsessed with bringing rocket science to kids

 

i wasnt aware that this was the case in KSP1

 

i hope this gets put at the very end of the roadmap, right before tutorials for kidz

 

will there be an option to just disable the IVA part in order to save performance? (IVA will probably be a completely useless feature for most people, like in ksp1)

I get the feeling you're not too happy about these answers 

But I understand your frustration

[Alexoff]

1 hour ago, Scarecrow71 said:

Not much that you personally have seen.

And what prevents developers from showing something? Remember - show and tell? Perhaps too little has been done to make a short video? In fact, atmospheric scattering was shown to us, but it disappeared from the game somewhere, otherwise it would have been necessary to enter 4090 as a recommended video card.

1 hour ago, Scarecrow71 said:

But those roadmap features ain't gonna code themselves, and they certainly aren't going to be done in a flash.

Yes, I remember - take as much time as necessary, maybe my grandchildren in their old age will see all the splendor from the 2019 trailer...

[Superfluous J]

31 minutes ago, Fullmetal Analyst said:

you chose the worst possible scenario

That is the only way I've ever seen KSP multiplayer work, and is the de facto standard answer to everybody who over the past 10 years has said "Wait I just thought of something new about multiplayer, what about if someone wants to TIME WARP!"

31 minutes ago, Fullmetal Analyst said:

i think ure a bit too obsessed with bringing rocket science to kids

I think they're exactly as obsessed with it as they should be.

31 minutes ago, Fullmetal Analyst said:

i wasnt aware that [gathering huge amounts of science around the KSC] was the case in KSP1

I don't know a number but it's a LOT, especially early game (pre-Minmus landing). You're not going to unlock mk3 plane parts but it can easily be the difference between whether or not you use the next tier of engines, fuel tanks, and science parts.

4 minutes ago, Alexoff said:

And what prevents developers from showing something?

When you show too much too early, people end up saying stuff like this:

4 minutes ago, Alexoff said:

maybe my grandchildren in their old age will see all the splendor from the 2019 trailer...

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by Superfluous J