What do you expect from the Science Update?

[K33N]

6 hours ago, Kerbin Launch Coalition said:

That is absolute truth, the one thing Kerbal Space Program lacks in any real regard is a narrative. I'd much rather see politics involved than just assume Kerbals are this perfect utopian society.

No.

[Nicrose]

Yeah, telescopes are a must in my opinion! I wanna make a hubble to discover asteroids, gather orbital data, and even discover future stars to travel to, even if it's just a time gated thing once in orbit. But if I'm being honest, I would LOVE to have some sort of Lagrange point but I know that's a lot to ask haha 

[RocketRockington]

Anyone want to take bets on whether the mission system Nate mentioned as an addition to science mode will be procedural (eg: like KSP1 career mode contracts) or just fixed science quests.

My own guess is the latter - that the player will be offered missions to go visit the (mostly alien artifact) POI's that have been added.   

[Scarecrow71]

On 7/5/2023 at 4:06 AM, Kerbin Launch Coalition said:

That is absolute truth, the one thing Kerbal Space Program lacks in any real regard is a narrative. I'd much rather see politics involved than just assume Kerbals are this perfect utopian society.

Perhaps the Kerbal society is only showing us they are perfect, using their media to convince us everything is ok?  Maybe the truth is that they are a tyrannical dictatorship, but they need all of us to see them as utopian?  Like, they need our help to explore space, and they know we won't help if we k own that they aren't as peaceful as they appear to be?

3 hours ago, RocketRockington said:

Anyone want to take bets on whether the mission system Nate mentioned as an addition to science mode will be procedural (eg: like KSP1 career mode contracts) or just fixed science quests.

My own guess is the latter - that the player will be offered missions to go visit the (mostly alien artifact) POI's that have been added.   

Well, they have dropped hints at having to go here, do these experiments, go back with new technology, etc.  It has been hinted that exploration will be somewhat linear and stepped.

Then again, I could have read/heard wrong.

[Stewcooker]

On 5/16/2023 at 10:13 AM, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

Just for an example: they could have fudged up some reports kind of like what you see here from Mercury, as imaged from Messenger.

The player would have built a probe with a spectrometer, the tool tip would have told the player what it was and what it did - and then with the spectrometer in action above a CB - we'd get an image added to the Kerbilopedia page on the CB that looked like this:

If your probe had a magnetometer on board, you'd also get this:

or this

(cribbed from the video, above)

...

 

While I think that would have made for an excellent SP experience and continued the tradition of KSP getting people excited about space and science... it probably did not fit into the whole 'make it multiplayer' thing - which rockets, planes and Colonies likely will.

I'd like to see a game that teaches this stuff. Games where you learn by playing are my favorite.

But will the devs do it? On one hand, the tutorial videos in KSP 2 show a desire to teach real science concepts to people, and to make learning fun. On the other hand, it seems as if they purposely chose a design direction based around "lol rokit go wobble" (paraphrasing the things nate has said on the subject, of course) So honestly I guess it's a coin flip on whether the game will go in this direction or not.

[adsii1970]

On 7/5/2023 at 6:06 AM, Kerbin Launch Coalition said:

That is absolute truth, the one thing Kerbal Space Program lacks in any real regard is a narrative.

I hope not. One of the things that keeps me coming back to KSP1 is the fact there's no forced storyline. It's a game where I can impose my imagination on it - a blank canvas. There are a lot of games I've purchased through Steam in the early "green light" (later EA) that, at first, did not have some narrative or storyline and were sold as "sandbox" or "free-play." But as the game left beta, there was a story arc that one had to follow to unlock all of the spare parts, craft updates, etc. And for someone who hates to be put into a box - for me, that's a game breaker. No thanks. I do not want to follow a narrative in any game marketed as a "sandbox" game.

On 7/5/2023 at 6:06 AM, Kerbin Launch Coalition said:

I'd much rather see politics involved than just assume Kerbals are this perfect utopian society.

Nope. I have enough politics at work to last the rest of the day. Why can't Kerbals be a utopian society driven by scientific inquiry? The way I see it, maybe their culture approaches spaceflight with an attitude of "What else do we not know about that would be neat to learn?" Followed by, "Now that we have this knowledge, how do we incorporate it into our society?" If only the world's nations would approach spaceflight and space exploration with such an attitude, what problems could we solve on Earth? Natural curiosity is even a human trait that drives individuals to accomplish great things.

To answer the OP, I'd like to see some open-ended and somewhat silly experiments. Why not allow Kerbals to attempt to grow plants on Duna, the Mün, or some other body within the Kerbin system? Sure, the reports would read, "This experiment did not thrive/grow because plants cannot grow in a vacuum" or something like that, but it could yield science points and experiments that could be used in any biome on any body - including asteroids. Oh, and we know some would attempt to plant seeds on the sides of space stations and giant spaceships (I admit - I'd try it  ). We could also have similar experiments with pouring water on planetary surfaces, ice experiments to see how long it takes water-ice to melt, or even if a firecracker will react on certain bodies. Some of them are campy, but KSP has always been about campy fun.

[RocketRockington]

Another prediction:   Science mode will release 1-2 weeks before the start of another sale.  So science mode will be here in either 3 or 6 months, and be timed so that players who were just waiting for that will pay full price, while players who were waiting for another sale will get a hopefully-improved experience, with PD banking on this update starting to heal the fiscal damage from the underperforming launch.

[Kerbin Launch Coalition]

On 7/9/2023 at 12:34 AM, RocketRockington said:

Another prediction:   Science mode will release 1-2 weeks before the start of another sale.  So science mode will be here in either 3 or 6 months, and be timed so that players who were just waiting for that will pay full price, while players who were waiting for another sale will get a hopefully-improved experience, with PD banking on this update starting to heal the fiscal damage from the underperforming launch.

I sincerely hope it isn't that far off if I'm honest, but never know.

On 7/7/2023 at 8:03 PM, adsii1970 said:

I hope not. One of the things that keeps me coming back to KSP1 is the fact there's no forced storyline. It's a game where I can impose my imagination on it - a blank canvas. There are a lot of games I've purchased through Steam in the early "green light" (later EA) that, at first, did not have some narrative or storyline and were sold as "sandbox" or "free-play." But as the game left beta, there was a story arc that one had to follow to unlock all of the spare parts, craft updates, etc. And for someone who hates to be put into a box - for me, that's a game breaker. No thanks. I do not want to follow a narrative in any game marketed as a "sandbox" game.

Nope. I have enough politics at work to last the rest of the day. Why can't Kerbals be a utopian society driven by scientific inquiry? The way I see it, maybe their culture approaches spaceflight with an attitude of "What else do we not know about that would be neat to learn?" Followed by, "Now that we have this knowledge, how do we incorporate it into our society?" If only the world's nations would approach spaceflight and space exploration with such an attitude, what problems could we solve on Earth? Natural curiosity is even a human trait that drives individuals to accomplish great things.

To answer the OP, I'd like to see some open-ended and somewhat silly experiments. Why not allow Kerbals to attempt to grow plants on Duna, the Mün, or some other body within the Kerbin system? Sure, the reports would read, "This experiment did not thrive/grow because plants cannot grow in a vacuum" or something like that, but it could yield science points and experiments that could be used in any biome on any body - including asteroids. Oh, and we know some would attempt to plant seeds on the sides of space stations and giant spaceships (I admit - I'd try it  ). We could also have similar experiments with pouring water on planetary surfaces, ice experiments to see how long it takes water-ice to melt, or even if a firecracker will react on certain bodies. Some of them are campy, but KSP has always been about campy fun.

I agree in principle, but nothing in nature is 'peaceful', death, struggle, is universal as far as the natural world is concerned. I'm not thinking of turning Kerbal Space Program into a single player, story driven affair but just bulking the 'lore' so to speak out with a bit of narrative. Things like space races, where you're competing with rival nations to reach some perceived strategic high ground, kinda like the Mercury - Apollo era. I'd love to see some substance added to the game rather than just do this, go here, all just for the sake of it. 

[DoCDoC]

I'm kind of old school. I love the step-by-step progress in science, the way we used to take our time, picking out exactly what we needed. (KSP 1) But with the teased new all-in-one modules, I'm a bit worried. Feels like we're just slapping on science without really thinking about it. 

[joratto]

The downside to putting all the small science parts together into one "bulbous part" is that it limits building possibilities and it might make satellites (especially small satellites) look very samey. It's also not very realistic to not be able to attach multiple small experiments radially and conformally around a central satellite core as required.

The upside is that building neat, compact satellites gets harder, and challenge is fun.

It's a trade-off, and it remains to be seen if it's worth it.

[Gargamel]

Overlapping threads have been merged 

[ArmchairGravy]

Bugs. Lots of bugs. It's inevitable. We'll work through those, too.

[harveylates]

a tech tree that will reflect ksp1's techtree while integrating the new parts into it it may take a few updates though

[GGG-GoodGuyGreg]

Think it’s time to revisit this since the For Science! Update has been talked about and there’s new information about it. 

[Superfluous J]

Just browsing the first page, seems like most of what was wanted is what we're getting. Less clicking, more interesting experiments, not just slapping everything on every ship and right clicking 10 times each biome.

Everybody won't be happy with it but everybody won't hate it, is my best guess.

[Scarecrow71]

2 hours ago, GGG-GoodGuyGreg said:

Think it’s time to revisit this since the For Science! Update has been talked about and there’s new information about it. 

Um, it is being talked about.  Like, right here:

 

[Urus28]

I would be happy with a playable game and progression in the tech tree...

[cocoscacao]

I expect "v0.2.0" written somewhere on the menu screen.

[Athlonic]

Personally I expect KSP2 Science update to bring me back playing/modding some KSP stuff again 

By the way I see some Mods out there for KSP2 already, can we actually do mods yet or are they just workaround/tweaks ?

 

[Emanuel01]

I’m optimistic. Expecting a healthy turning point in most of community opinion towards the game.
I’m actually having fun with the 1.5 update and feeling that the number one issue with the game now is lack of content. For Science! will come in the right time.

If I come on the forums in a month from now and it’s boiling with comments such as “this is how the EA should be released on day one”, then I’ll be happy to know that the game is on the right track.

 

 

[Idealistic]

Something more complex than ksp1, scansat is a good example. Scanning whole planets is really fun, I think. Something that rewards exploration with lots of interesting anomalies.  

[RaBDawG]

I expect a ton of bugs, issues, and liquided of fan base while the entire Dev team is off for a 3 weeks for the holidays. 

On 11/18/2023 at 11:35 PM, Emanuel01 said:

I’m optimistic. Expecting a healthy turning point in most of community opinion towards the game.
I’m actually having fun with the 1.5 update and feeling that the number one issue with the game now is lack of content. For Science! will come in the right time.

If I come on the forums in a month from now and it’s boiling with comments such as “this is how the EA should be released on day one”, then I’ll be happy to know that the game is on the right track.

 

 

Lol.  I wouldn't get your hopes up.

[Buzz313th]

I don't expect much and I would bet that the post release reviews and opinions will not be enough to convince me to install it again.

[Bej Kerman]

8 hours ago, RaBDawG said:

Lol.  I wouldn't get your hopes up.

Speak for yourself

[NexusHelium]

On 5/4/2023 at 8:47 AM, Scarecrow71 said:

Are you telling me a probe can't do a scan of the surrounding area and give a report on what's happening?

Well... a probe wouldn't exactly know what's happening in it's surroundings. Unlike Kerbals, computers do not have eyes^{{Citation needed]}

It would need some way to assess it's surroundings (Hence the science experiments)