Your Take on KSP Lore?

[TwoCalories]

So... KSP lore.

This has been discussed in the occasional forum now and then, so I figured we needed some kind of megathread to discuss our view on KSP lore.

*If something like this already exists, please delete this thread.

Who are the Kerbals, anyway? Why is Kerbin so barren? Why do they want to go to space so badly? And what do the Monoliths and Easter Eggs mean?

And then maybe some less important lore, like: What do Kerbals eat? How do they survive in a tiny cramped capsule on long voyages? What is Jeb's personality?

What about lore about your space program? Who runs it? How do they treat Kerbals? Why do they explore?

I'll go first. If it's a long explanation, please put it in a spoiler tab like I am.

Spoiler

1. Story of the Kerbals

The Kerbals are a human-like species that originate and live on the planet Kerbin. They are green because they have chlorophyll cells that are left over from evolution. They speak Kerblingo (backwards Spanish like in the promotional shorts), the universal standard language of Kerbin. Their main currency is formally known as the Fund but is also called "Kerbuck" for short. Kerbals come from different nations and provinces, with each country and location having unique cultures, like humans on Earth. Kerbals study several forms of religion, enjoy several different cuisines from different countries, and carry out traditions of their own cultures. And as for the fact that Kerbin is barren besides the KSC, well, I just pretend there's cities, because some KSP1 mods add city lights, so...  I also pretend KSP has 24-hour days just for simplicity.

At some point, Kerbin consisted of several Empires and Unions. However, the Great Kerbin War started, and by the time the war ended, no more Empires existed. The war was so terrible and costly (in lives and Funds, mostly lives) that Kerbalkind pledged that the GKW would be the last war ever fought. The Kerbin Nations was formed, where countries could settle their problems diplomatically.

The cause of wanting to venture out into space was a result of the GKW. The Kerbals of the USSR and USA wanted to do something with the leftover ICBMs, so they began launching robotic payloads into the high atmosphere on them. The USSR got one into orbit, one thing led to another, and the Space Race happened.

*Shameless self-promotion warning* Most of this lore is just from my Mission Report, The Sky is Not the Limit: A Modded KSP1 Career Playthrough.

2. How do Kerbals survive in space?

I have Kerbalism installed, so Kerbals are basically like humans. They breathe an oxygen-nitrogen mixture of air, they drink water, and eat food. They have a similar anatomy to humans, it seems, because they can get carbon dioxide poisoning, radiation sickness, and can asphyxiate. Kerbals appreciate having plenty of habitation space on their spacecrafts, and will not survive mentally on long voyages if given just a MK 1-3 pod to live in.

Kerbals eat like humans eat: three meals a day, various kinds of foods. I assume Kerbals have similar cuisines as humans because promotional animations and KSP2 tutorial videos show Kerbals enjoying coffee, donuts, pizza, sandwiches, and various snacks. In space travel, the packaged meals are pretty minimal, so can choose from a small assortment of snacks for extra sustenance.

3. What are the Main Four Kerbonauts' personalities?

Jeb is the combination of some of the best and most skilled astronauts. He's like Neil Armstrong, John Young, and Gordon Cooper, rolled into one person. In other words, he's calmed and collected under stress, he's highly skilled and precise, he can think outside the box, and is a good leader for his crew. But he also knows where his limit is.

Val is the fearless one. The total badass. When there's a vehicle that needs testing, Val is the one to do it. Val is a natural leader, and has several missions under her belt. She has traits similar to that of Jeb, but is definitely braver and more versatile.

Bill is quite the jokester, but he's the best engineer the KSC has ever seen. Give him some tools and some rocket parts, and he can build a satellite. He'll even do it off world, sometimes. And when the spacecraft is failing, leave it to Bill to get the crew out of the mess that one of the pilots got them into.

Bob is less of a conversationalist and isn't exactly the most courageous out of the four, but he's one of the most experienced scientists in the KSC. He knows every science instrument like the back of his hand and can work very efficiently when he needs to. Sometimes, unfortunately, his deep knowledge of the rockets he flies on can make him a bit skittish and unbearable to sit next to.

I haven't really thought about Tim C. Kerman's personality. Since he's based off of a real person, I don't know if how I portray his Kerbal self will be accurate.

4. What about the Easter Eggs?

...I don't really know. It's probably like the actual scrapped KSP1 storyline, where the monoliths and stuff are messages from an alien precursor civilization.

5. My Space Program

My space program, the Kerbal Aeronautics and Space Administration, or KASA, is a US government-funded organization with the goal of exploring space and unlocking the secrets of the Kerbolar System by exploring it firsthand. They were originally formed to beat the Soviet Space Program in a race to land a Kerbal on the Mun. After the race was won, however, we chose to keep exploring for new reasons: the betterment of all Kerbalkind. We wanted to answer the big questions like: are we alone in the universe?

KASA is led by an administration team, with Mortimer (Finances), Gene (Flight Director, Manned Flights) Bobak (Flight Director, Unmanned Flights), Wernher (Rocketry), Linus (Research), Walt (PR), and finally, Gus (Rocket Engineering).

Every four years, a small selection of new Kerbonauts are chosen from thousands of applicants. Each Kerbonaut must pass various physical tests, a STEM master's, and have several other qualifications. After rigorous training, they are finally ready for space.

KASA makes sure that Kerbonauts feel comfortable on longer missions, because a happy crew is an efficient crew. Several safety measures are also in place to ensure the crew's survival in dangerous situations.

What do you think?

Edited August 27, 2023 by TwoCalories

[TwoCalories]

Cheaty post to unbury the thread, but seriously, it would be nice to have a megathread like this to talk about lore.

[Aerodynamic Kerbal]

On 7/31/2023 at 10:12 PM, TwoCalories said:

Bob is less of a conversationalist and isn't exactly the most courageous out of the four, but he's one of the most experienced scientists in the KSC. He knows every science instrument like the back of his hand and can work very efficiently when he needs to. Sometimes, unfortunately, his deep knowledge of the rockets he flies on can make him a bit skittish and unbearable to sit next to.

Isn't Bob supposed to be the most sane one too?

I also like to think that kerbals that are not at the space center live underground and eat raw ores (mhehe yummy nummy diamonds), but they might tend to take the elevator up, just to get some Sun.

[TwoCalories]

Spoiler

I think the Easter Eggs are, like said in the shelved storyline, messages. From who? A precursor civilization? Divine beings? Aliens?

I have this storyline in my head that I might use for a Mission Report. Kerbals explore space and are discovering new Easter Eggs and stuff. At the same time, however, Kerbin is dying. The tons of population, climate change (despite our best efforts to slow it) and a new global-scale war have started a global cataclysm. They have at least a couple centuries to find a new home for Kerbalkind. At the right time, however, a Wormhole opens, giving Kerbalkind access to a new galaxy (Okay, this is starting to sound like Interstellar, I know). The descendants of the greatest Kerbonauts (the big four) are sent to explore the new systems on the other side of the wormhole. They find a new habitable worlds, gain invaluable science, but the question remained: how did the wormhole get here? And they go into a [][][][][] [][][][] and they see [][][] [][][][][] [][][][][] [][][][][] [][][][][]. They see... [][]. [][][][] [][][] [][][] [][][][] [][][][][][] [][][] [][][][]. [][][][] [][][] [][][][][][] [][][][] [][][] [][][] [][] [][][][][][][] [] [][][][] [][][][][][] [][][][][][] [][][][][] [][][][][][][]. And then... they wake up. And they see [][][][][][] [][][][][] [][][][][][][] [].

...yeah, that was on purpose, by the way. When I do get around to that mission report, it'll be using this storyline I outlined. And I don't want to spoil it for you! So... yeah. I censored all the details. Maybe if I was going to do that this whole time then I shouldn't have talked about it at all... actually, never mind.

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by TwoCalories

[Lisias]

Well, this is (more or less) my take:

Spoiler

Kerbals are not plants, they are hot blood beings that uses copper instead of iron for oxygen , they use Hemocyanin instead of Hemoglobin. This is the reason they are green, they have a blue blood under a yellow skin.

Yeah, they descend from Crustaceans - and that's the reason they are so resistant to physical abuse, and rapidly recover from nasty accidents. (don't ask about respawning after an hour of being poofed, I still didn't pulled something plausible from my hat about this one).

They have an incredibly easy going psychology, what allowed them to be a technological civilisation without the need of huge, deadly conflicts. They were already sentient when the Big Catastrophe happened (see that enormous impact crater on Kerbin, a quarter planet before KSC when you are orbiting), and managed to salvage their civilisation due their biological inheritage.

Once they managed to repopulate the dry lands, they realised how fragile their little World is and focused themselves on Space Fairing as a way to prevent themselves from being extinct if another World Class Catastrophe happens to them.

The Monoliths are not from a precursor civilisation that lived on that Solar System before them, they are from a completely alien life form that started to monitor their Solar System after the precursors managed to destruct themselves (see the dead Kraken found in Bop, as the whale skeleton on Laythe, are related to that terrible conflict - did you read Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy?). If the Monoliths are there just observing, of if they somehow are manipulating the happenings, it's unknown at this time.

That's the reason the Kerbals decided to send themselves on an almost desperate quest to the Stars, using virtually every resource they have (kerbals, funds, you name it) on the task. And that's the reason you start pretty low in technological state, but somehow are able to make huge progresses in the mean time.

No Kerbal really knows from where came all that Contracts, after all!!

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Lisias
Hit Save too soon.

[Kerbart]

It's generally accepted that Kerbals use photosynthesis to survive. Hence their green skin. Not sure hat it means for breathing/eating. I'm sure someone can elaborate on that.

[Lisias]

1 minute ago, Kerbart said:

It's generally accepted that Kerbals use photosynthesis to survive.

I, obviously, disagree.

[Superpluto126]

Spoiler

The Kerbals, in my Universe/headcannon, are Divided by Each Major landmass (which is why there are multiple launchsites) and live underground. They are Both Photosynthetic and Able to consume 'Snacks'. Kerbals have 2 unique Technologies, one able to revert space in a location (aka 'revert flight') or revive dead kerbonauts in the Astronaut complex. 

The Sun (AKA Kerbol) is near the end of its life, and hence the Kerbols are trying to escape to Laythe and Nearby Systems. They also have a Cult worshipping the mysterious (Kraken) and have a Conspiracy theory that states Dres is fake. 

The Kerbol system Extends out to Plock (I use OPM) and has multiple Nearby systems, (I use Infinite Discoveries and Other Planet Packs) but notable ones include DOT-33, Porthos and Tersa-Iryo. 

Jebediah Kerman also runs a Up and Coming Megacorp known as 'Jebs Junkyard'

 

[Tux1]

I personally imagine that Kerbals evolved from plants, since those are the only other form of life seen in the game. Much like plants, they also don't need to eat food to survive, and can go into hibernation for many years at a time. Practically all Kerbals live in the KSC, since it's the biggest structure on their planet.

[TwoCalories]

What does you space program feed your Kerbals on their missions (if they eat anything)? I remember seeing this old thread where people just talked about that, and it was pretty fun. I think it was called S.P.I.C.E. or something.

[Kerbalsaurus]

I imagine that the world the Kerbals live in is a Kerbin united under a single government, called the United Kerbin Administration (UKA). The country's divided up into regions based upon landmass and culture. For example, the KSC is in the Africa-adjacent continent, called the Afinni Region. Now, this may sound like a perfect world, but the UKA's a very... shut in government. They typically sweep issues under the rug, and even have their secret organizations (e.g. The Secret Space Program). So that's I imagine the world of the Kerbals. As for the easter eggs, it's believed some are remnants of /////////////////////////////// while others are perhaps from //////////.

[TwoCalories]

On 8/28/2023 at 5:29 PM, Kerbalsaurus said:

They typically sweep issues under the rug, and even have their secret organizations (e.g. The Secret Space Program)

My space agency has an SSP-like organization as well. It's called KASE, which stands for Kerbal Anomaly Surveyal and Exposition. KASE is a branch of KASA that studies anomalies, as it's name suggests. It's like the US Delta Force of KASA; the public knows it exists, but its operations and missions are kept very secret.

[R-T-B]

On 7/31/2023 at 12:12 PM, TwoCalories said:

Why is Kerbin so barren

I personally do not believe it is.  I think it's more a limitation of the Indie dev budget of the first one in expressing what Kerbin should be.  Whether we will see more in the final whatever version of KSP2?  That's anyone's guess (don't want to get too pessimistic on it's status here).

[TwoCalories]

11 minutes ago, R-T-B said:

I personally do not believe it is.  I think it's more a limitation of the Indie dev budget of the first one in expressing what Kerbin should be.  Whether we will see more in the final whatever version of KSP2?  That's anyone's guess (don't want to get too pessimistic on it's status here).

I agree, but some people try to work it into their lore, so I added that.

[Toaster355]

Very short and simple answer:

I imagine the Kerbals to be a utopian society (if you play in sandbox or science(if you play in career they are still a peaceful species just with a currency system)), who are extremely passionate for space exploration. They are much more intelligent than humans too, researching technology much quicker than them and even creating technologies humans haven't made yet.

[EchoLima]

My theory is whatever being put the monolith on the KSC platueau did so to attract the first Kerbals to the area - and it worked. Kerbal civilization developed in the very location best suited for spaceflight, a large flat coastal landmass on the equator. 

Edited September 2, 2023 by EchoLima

[Toaster355]

14 minutes ago, EchoLima said:

My theory is whatever being put the monolith on the KSC platueau did so to attract the first Kerbals to the area - and it worked. Kerbal civilization developed in the very location best suited for spaceflight, a large flat coastal landmass on the equator. 

Oooh that actually makes a lot of sense, very interesting theory!!

Edited September 2, 2023 by Toaster355

[Lisias]

On 8/28/2023 at 9:29 PM, Kerbalsaurus said:

I imagine that the world the Kerbals live in is a Kerbin united under a single government, called the United Kerbin Administration (UKA). 

From my side, while playing Career I found some contracts to rescue Kerbals from others Space Agencies, what IMHO implies there're other political entities around.

Granted, I choose to see them as "Countries", but they may be also "Provinces" under the same Government competing from resources from the Central Government. Depending on your political and economical inclinations, one option will surely appeal more to you than the other.

On the other hand, having different political entities disputing but also in need of cooperation have some interesting plot opportunities that I like to explore.

I'm not exactly a prolific scify writer anyway, I need more common points on our and their culture in order to develop my gaming - and the Human History have absolutely fantastics plats that can be reused on this game!

 

On 8/21/2023 at 3:28 AM, Tux1 said:

I personally imagine that Kerbals evolved from plants <…>

From my personal point of view, this would impose some serious limitations on their energy "budget" - there's only so much light per squared meter/foot/whatever that you can take from the Sun, and this gets even harsher as you fly away from this Source.

Doing some napkin calculations, Kerbals would need a small RTG on their wrist (as wristwatches) in order the get the needed energy for moving around all the day (and night!!!).

My take on the matter sounds more logical to me, and makes easier to achieve immersion on the game (for me, at least).

Of course, there's so the problem of infinite Oxygen and Fuel supply - but this I try to work around with add'ons.

 

2 hours ago, EchoLima said:

My theory is whatever being put the monolith on the KSC platueau did so to attract the first Kerbals to the area - and it worked. Kerbal civilization developed in the very location best suited for spaceflight, a large flat coastal landmass on the equator. 

I like to think that the Monoliths are there because someone (or something) needs the Kerbals for something. I'm spending more time coding than plotting in the last few years, so I really never developed too much this part of my gaming. Yet.  

This would add a bit of suspense (and perhaps horror) to the history, something that I would like to explore eventually. Not necessarily evilness - hardly, to tell you the true, as I don't enjoy this kind of plotline.

[Kerbalsaurus]

I created a little info graphic that's handed to schools across Kerbin. To explain some things real quick, the entirety of Kerbin is a single government, divided up into regions, which are further divided into metropolitan areas, which are further divided into towns and cities. Simple, really.

Being the nerd I am, I've also thought of a history behind the UKA too. I guess I'll set up a timeline.

1727: Kerbals, sick of constantly competing for resources, attempt to organize into a global body to evenly divide resources. Except for a little batch of three large nations, who form into the Kerbal States. The UKA attempts to maintain good relations with them, but the varying ideologies of both nations severely strains relations.

1735: The Kerbal States launches an invasion on a coastal city, marking the beginning of the Great Kerbin War.

1742: The Great Kerbin War ends, and the UKA emerges victorious. The Kerbal States is forced to hand over all of their territories to the UKA, and finally the entirety of Kerbin is united.

There we go. That's how big of a nerd I am. Feel free to critique this.

Edited September 25, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[AstroWolfie]

Well, here's my bios for the og 4 kerbals. I'm following the way that ChatGPT wrote things for them, and it seemed to think that jeb and val were a couple lol. The KSC is also an airport in my lore. Seemed cooler. I'll do bill and bob's later.

Spoiler

Jebediah Kerman

A Kerbal from a small town in the Starfall Mountains (that one mountain range west of the KSC), Jeb grew up surrounded by aviation. His uncle, Selbin, was a pilot during the Crater War (Similar to the Continental War for you Ace Combat fans.) and flew fighter jets. When Jeb was 7 years old, he built a glider that he could ride in, and jumped off his roof in the glider to fly to Selbin's house about a mile away. Jeb was a bit of a daydreamer in school, as he was always making little wood planes instead of doing his work which led to his teachers just giving him free range of the high school's shop classroom and let him turn in whatever he built for credit. Jeb went to space camp when he was 15, and decided he wanted to become an astronaut. When Jeb was 23, he left home to go to Orbit Beach and the Orbit Beach School of Aerospace. He flew a homemade plane to get there, and he promptly crashed on the roof of an apartment building owned by Gene Kerman, a entrepreneur trying to get into the aerospace industry. Gene was impressed by Jeb's aircraft and offered him a room while he was learning at the university. There, he met Bill and Bob Kerman. Jeb got a masters degree in aviation and in math. At the university, Jeb met Valentina Kerman, another student in the aviation areas, and they began to date. Before they could get PHDs, the school ran out of funding, and had to shut down. Gene promptly bought the property, using money he got from his job selling struts, and turned the abandoned campus area into the Kerbal Space Center, and began to hire people such as Werner Von Kerman,  Mortimer Kerman, Linus Kerman, Walt Kerman, and Gus Kerman. They had to convince the president, Harling Kerman, to make them part of the official space program, as the current one was in shambles. Harling agreed. Now, Gene asked, who will fly these rockets?

Spoiler

Valentina Kerman

A Kerbal from inner Orbit Beach, Val grew up on the water. Her family owned a small fishing vessel, which everyone in her family lived on. Life was hard on the boat, but it taught Val how to handle challenges. One day, the little vessel finally sank, and Val's family had nowhere to go. Val and her family moved into one of her relative's homes, where they put Val and her siblings into school. Val excelled in school, and would often stand up to bullies that were messing with kids in the school. During her schooling, Val was very introverted and mostly stayed in the library when she had the time. When Val graduated high school as a valedictorian, she took on lots of odd jobs to save up a lot of money to go to the Orbit Beach School of Aeronautics. When she was 21, she finally got enough money to go there. There, she got a masters in aviation and in astronomy. She met Jeb there, and the two began to date. When the school was shut down, Val immediately went on a long road trip up and down the Orbit Coast. When she returned, she was offered a job as an ASCAN at the Kerbal Aeronautic and Space Administration, where Jeb was also an ASCAN. The two of them became pilots for spacecraft, and eventually became astronauts.

 

[Minmus Taster]

Pretty sure I had a thread made like a book about kerbals backstory. It involved minmus coming in like a comet and nearly ending the world. It then became the catylist for Kerbals exploration of space down the line. I'd love to return to it eventually and finish it.

[Lisias]

I just learnt something that made the photosynthesis in Kerbals something more… 'realistic' on my eyes: kleptoplasty!

They can still be animals (molluscs with an exoskeleton, as I imagine them), and by eating Chlorophyll rich food, their cells hijacks the Chlorophyll  and start to process light and carbon dioxide to get energy and oxygen to be consumed, restarting the cycle.

This can be a good excuse for their incredible ability to survive on space for years without a proper (for human standards) source of oxygen - as long they have enough snacks (hey, this is science fiction, and we just realised why they need so much snacks! They are made of Chlorophyll rich vegetables, as algae, as well something to provide them the remaining nutrients, as vitamins and proteins!). As long there's light (natural or artificial), and a good source of snacks, they can convert the CO2 they produce themselves into oxygen and energy. And by still being animals, they can move freely on the dark as long they have stored energy in their bodies ("fat") to burn for while.

This theory needs some polishing, but I like the overall idea! 

[Kerbalsaurus]

30 minutes ago, Lisias said:

I just learnt something that made the photosynthesis in Kerbals something more… 'realistic' on my eyes: kleptoplasty!

They can still be animals (molluscs with an exoskeleton, as I imagine them), and by eating Chlorophyll rich food, their cells hijacks the Chlorophyll  and start to process light and carbon dioxide to get energy and oxygen to be consumed, restarting the cycle.

This can be a good excuse for their incredible ability to survive on space for years without a proper (for human standards) source of oxygen - as long they have enough snacks (hey, this is science fiction, and we just realised why they need so much snacks! They are made of Chlorophyll rich vegetables, as algae, as well something to provide them the remaining nutrients, as vitamins and proteins!). As long there's light (natural or artificial), and a good source of snacks, they can convert the CO2 they produce themselves into oxygen and energy. And by still being animals, they can move freely on the dark as long they have stored energy in their bodies ("fat") to burn for while.

This theory needs some polishing, but I like the overall idea! 

There actually is an animal I know that does this in real life. Elysia Chlorotica, Or the Emerald Sea Slug, does this with specialized pouches in its intestines. These pouches collect the chloroplasts from the algae they eat, giving them their distinctive green color too. They can go for months without food!

[Spacefox1]

This is just a compilation of lore I've heard but here what I think: kerbals are part plant, there green skin has chlorophyll to survive years in space and live off  snacks. And to not wait the many years of interplanetary transfer they can go into hibernation or have cryopods or those pods from interstellar. There use to be a ancient civilization on a planet that has either been yeeted out of the kerball system or just got sent to a very far orbit, based on the possibility portal mun arches and the duna signal which gives a image when translated. *image is the duna image*

[Jeb x Valentina]

My take on the lore (Part I):

 

First, some of the scrapped storyline (which for me is pretty convincing) along with a bit of speculation

Spoiler

Precursors:

Long before the kerbals, there was another planet with life in the Kerbol system. 

They, just like Kerbals, were obsessed with conquering their system.
Eventually, they managed to do it, but wanted to go beyond the Kerbolar SOI, so they began experimenting with some stuff to help them do that. It failed horriby. Their planet was slingshot out of the habitable zone.
Before they froze out, they launched the monoliths and built some easter eggs to try and create intelligent life on the other planet in the habitable zone; Kerbin (which in my take on lore still hasn't developed life).

The colonies that the precursors left on the other planets eventually died too, because unlike Kerbals, they needed a constant supply of resources, which were now too scare.
Then, after many years of no mantainance, they collapsed and were buried by geological processes (most of the easter eggs are the remains of these bases, or other launched or built things).

 

Then, my lore as to why kerbals want to explore space so badly, and why kerbin is so barreen (and why they like snacks):

Spoiler

Kerbals:

A few millenia after the incident with the precursors, life had evolved on Kerbin. Not much interesting things, except for kerbals, an amphibian species that had extremely hard bones, a decently sized brain, chlorophyll, and a waddling moving style. As they started building civilization, they stumbled across some monoliths and other Easter eggs, and couldn't help but wonder where they came from. 

The disaster:

Kerbals had firmly made their prescence on Kerbin. They had civilization on every single corner of it. Until, a giant asteroid smacked into Kerbin... Most of the kerbals died, as they were mostly dependant on sunlight for power, so they were forced to eat. A few decades later, kerbals began to come back, and start to civilize again, but this time, underground (as we can't see any kerbal houses in stock, not even with ground scatter).

Now, kerbals were in an urge to find if there was any other place to live, in case a similar disaster ever happened again...

 

Edited October 2, 2023 by Jeb x Valentina