KSP2 EA Grand Discussion Thread.

[The Aziz]

20 minutes ago, Bingmao said:

your interstellar ship will reach the new system where you start from scratch, with all unlocked parts available 

Hopefully not. Because exploration of other stars would be pointless.

 

[MarcAbaddon]

Maybe light is just faster in the KSP Universe? Anyway, with it using Newtonian physics (simplified in terms of Gravity) there's nothing magical about speed of light in-game anyway. I don't think signal delay is really a critical thing for the game to have. 

[Dakitess]

I would love some Information Delay in KSP, with an intelligent and interesting implementation, gameplay wise. And as a difficulty togglable option haha.

But I don't really know what it could look like... The need to prepare all the actions before, with some automation, delays, triggers ?... Nah, except for hardcore kOS / kRPC players, it's not gonna please to much. Yeah I don't know how it could be translated in the game while being interesting to play for the mass. Maybe some kind of very easy graphical coding, with given events and actions. Like, you actually set the maneuver to get an encounter with Duna, and you realise it with barely no delay at all since you're around Kerbin. Then you'll have to make an MCC to get a proper plane alignment and refine your encounter to have something like 15km aerocapture altitude : we all know that the realization of the maneuver will have some imperfection and result in 50km Pe altitude. How should it be obtained ? With real life delay, like, having to trigger full Thrust 2'30" before the node and shutting it down 2'30" before the estimate end of manoeuver, while the DV Gauge would be still 30% full because, well, delay, you need to send the signal before the action ?

If it's some kind of automation then there is no need for delay implementation in that case : you program "this" manoeuver, you send the action to the probe to do it, and to do it perfectly : how then to add some imprecision ? A random small percentage with a gaussian distribution and better probes has better precision ? Why not ^^

But then come the aerocapture and landing : there is nothing absolute here, this is a sequence of action that you're not supposed to be able to view and pilot in real time. And it has some relative triggers : radar altitude, air speed, attitude, etc. So yeah, maybe a PopUp windows that tells you you're entering the SOI, and invite you to set up the aerocapture / landing sequence with given bricks : events, triggers, actions. It would be fun actually, it still preserve the F5/F9, and it's actually just like you would set your PE at 15km, warp, and state that it's too high for aerocapture or you need to put the craft at another attitude to maximize the drag, you would F9 and get it again. Same here, but you would have some dedicted interface to plan the whole thing and adjust it if necessary. But no way to adjust the flight in real time by itself. 

I'd love to see something like this, it would be a cool novelty even if I don't think it will make it to the game stock. Maybe a mod ?

At least, crewed mission would operate the same as today and could be the main reason to do so so, because so far, there is no much incentive to use Kerbals.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Dakitess said:

I would love some Information Delay in KSP, with an intelligent and interesting implementation, gameplay wise. And as a difficulty togglable option haha.

But I don't really know what it could look like...

There's the rub.

I like the way you're thinking about this -- for signal delay to actually be workable and have a meaningful and positive gameplay impact, you would have to fundamentally change the gameplay loop from "plan, build, fly" to "plan, build, program, and watch." As you point out, this really is just the kind of thing mods are for, just like n-body physics, hardcore LS, RSS, and so on and so forth. 

I can't think of a way to make signal delay, speed of light, and relativistic effects work without drastically changing the game. Who knows, maybe IG have been cleverer than we are though!

[cocoscacao]

Another thing I hope is changed is sensitivity of batteries, antennas and solar panels to reentry heating. I don't want temporary signal blackout. Those antennas should be fried... 

Keep stuff protected on both ascend and descend. 

Edited November 22, 2023 by cocoscacao

[The Aziz]

The "destroyed by aero forces" was quite common thing in KSP1, I can imagine it being the same here. We'll see soon enough.

[Wheehaw Kerman]

11 hours ago, The Aziz said:

Hopefully not. Because exploration of other stars would be pointless.

 

Pointless?  Interstellar is probably the thing I’m most eager to get into, even more than shenanigans with fission pulse propulsion in multiplayer.  I’m so done with the Kerbolar system that I may install OPM just to have something new to poke at.

[The Aziz]

Pointless. Once you complete the tech tree there's nothing for you there. You want exploration or sightseeing? 

[Wheehaw Kerman]

49 minutes ago, The Aziz said:

Pointless. Once you complete the tech tree there's nothing for you there. You want exploration or sightseeing? 

Either would be fine and both would be great, plus the challenge of having to lob craft over the protoplanetary disc, having to figure new launch windows out without Alexmoon’s launch window planner…

[Vl3d]

Yessss.. finally the first example of part weathering... YEEES!!!

 

[The Aziz]

As it was in KSP1. Only there they were just turning dark.
But I wouldn't count on all parts showing burn marks.

[Vl3d]

27 minutes ago, The Aziz said:

But I wouldn't count on all parts showing burn marks.

Why are you killing my hopes and dreams!?

[Bej Kerman]

19 minutes ago, Vl3d said:

Why are you killing my hopes and dreams!?

Would it hurt to be realistic?

[The Aziz]

Expect nothing and get pleasantly surprised with what you get.

[Starwaster]

1 hour ago, Bej Kerman said:

Would it hurt to be realistic?

FEEL MY PAIN.

2 hours ago, The Aziz said:

As it was in KSP1. Only there they were just turning dark.
But I wouldn't count on all parts showing burn marks.

I've long suspected that KSP1 shields might be able to do more than just turn dark. There's reference to them being able to use the alpha channel but none of them actually had it implemented. Been meaning to test that for years but never got around to it.. maybe this time...

[gussi111]

Most likely only heat shields will have this effect

[Heretic391]

5 hours ago, gussi111 said:

Most likely only heat shields will have this effect

If other parts i.e a fuselage had this effect I think a bunch of us would actively burn our builds to make them look better 

[Dakitess]

The reentry effect really looks like some 2D relative textures, you know, just like the cross plans textures trees back in the day that would rotate relative to your position to always show the best foliage section.

It does not feel very 3D, very dynamic, nothing like a heated flux, a moving fluid. It is not ugly, but I feel it could be way better and I hope it will be in upgrades, better start with something than nothing and we have wait too long already ^^

I also hope that we will get proper trails rather than very local heat graphics. And I hope that the ablator will imply some specific look relative to its degradation : the effect on the heat shield is quite nice actually ! But ablator mean there is chemical / mechanical transformation, not bare brute force reentry so I'd like to see specific effect on the trail.

[Emanuel01]

15 hours ago, The Aziz said:

Pointless. Once you complete the tech tree there's nothing for you there. You want exploration or sightseeing? 

I guess we’ll have limitations on tech level used by colonies based on the tiers presented by the new tech tree. This way we can’t simply arrive on a new planet and start producing antimatter engines from dirt and boulders.

The specific way this will be implemented is a mystery, but this is such a low hanging fruit in terms of gameplay progression that it’s hard to imagine the devs skipping this opportunity.

I’m guessing we’ll have different levels of the same building that unlocks progressively more complex parts and resources. Doing science on the place the colony is situated gives special science points that are specific for that body and allows for upgrades on the colony tech level, reflecting the Kerbal’s understanding of the resources and manufacturing limitations on the new world they are in. 

Planet specific science is the way to go for infinite and funny gameplay loops and exploration, it’s also kind of realistic. 
 

[Bej Kerman]

1 hour ago, Emanuel01 said:

I guess we’ll have limitations on tech level used by colonies based on the tiers presented by the new tech tree. This way we can’t simply arrive on a new planet and start producing antimatter engines from dirt and boulders

No, but your Kerbals won't forget how to build them between departing and arriving.

[Dakitess]

Why not a new metal alloy on another star system, allowing for wider structure diameter to research progressively, so that launcher can be heavier, specifically because... You guessed it, the actual star system is at least 2.5 in scale, or even 5x ? So that it shift the referential, and gives the game a new breath ?

This is what I've been waiting for since Multi-system has been announced. Be it stock or by mod, I WANT to actually enter the Real Solar System, at real scale, while having a whole continuity with the stock scale base system. No new physic, no new constraints, just the real scale, the real planets, and the opportunity to settle and develop a new techtree, or just a part of it, relevant to the new stellar system, to adapt to the much more demanding DeltaV. Metal alloy, new chemical mix to get double the ISP with the base parts, both, something else, whatever : when we get in a new system, I really feel that it's "you've finished KSP2, congrats, but actually, wait a minute... Yeah, you're not done".

You know that feeling of "congrats - credits - oh, by the way, you can continue playing and you still have as much to do as you already done so far, enjoy !"

[Bej Kerman]

4 minutes ago, Dakitess said:

Why not a new metal alloy on another star system, allowing for wider structure diameter to research progressively, so that launcher can be heavier, specifically because... You guessed it, the actual star system is at least 2.5 in scale, or even 5x ? So that it shift the referential, and gives the game a new breath ?

There's no such thing as a metal alloy you can't develop using materials in your own star system.

[Dakitess]

Yeah, yeah, I know, simple Game Oriented suggestion  It needs to be refined !

[Bej Kerman]

Also, there's no way the Kerbol system is co-existing with another system whose densities and physics are more in line with real life.

Edited November 23, 2023 by Bej Kerman

[Dakitess]

1 minute ago, Bej Kerman said:

Also, there's no way the Kerbol system is co-existing with another system whose densities and physics are more in line with real life.

Haaaaa fair enough... Damn. Or, it would be the Real Solar System with the actual real specs that are legit for orbital speed, system stability and so on, while the original one would particularly weird, with ultra high density etc. It still possible for the game, not so much in reality.