What kind of player are you?

[sewerbird]

Aesthetic Explorer: ship has to get cool and get there in style. This means some mods

[CptNuts]

Remember what Adam Savage says, “The difference between screwing around and science is writing it down.â€Â

... Note to self, MOAR STRUTS!

I totally did that! (noting to add more struts, so i did and chrashed again. Note to self: take steep slopes easy. Now my Rover has Engines, can lift itself of the ground, it has chutes, and it can still be crashed horribly, FOR SCIENCE! ^^)

Adam Savage is an absolute genius^^

[The Destroyer]

I'm a pilot. I do build stuff, but I don't spend much time perfecting.

[Kromey]

I'm a builder-pilot: I'll spend hours in the VAB (considerably less time to date in the SPH, but that will change when I start playing with planes more...) designing ships of various descriptions, then spend hours flying them manually to wherever they're supposed to go. (Or just testing them on Kerbin at the KSC. Lots and lots of debris scattered about from exactly this. I really should start doing sub-orbital hops to test my creations elsewhere, just to keep the lag at the KSC from getting any more worse!)

I'm a purist with aspirations of becoming a modder: While I have already installed Subassembly Save/Loader, I also intend to add Kerbal Engineer Redux, and am seriously contemplating adding Kethane (given that resource mining's been pushed back from 0.20). Also toying with the idea of adding ISA Mapsat and the GPS mod whose name I'm currently blanking on. I won't ever add Mechjeb or other autopilot systems, and I'd never add any parts that I consider to be unbalanced or overpowered (relative to stock).

I'm a wannabe sci-fi geek: How do I change Duna's name?

And I actually hate watching my ships explode if Kerbals are inside! (I'm quite proud of my low casualty rate (although wish it were lower still -- 4 deaths in my space program), and hope to keep it from going any higher!)

[Spatzimaus]

What type of player am I? An awesome one.

I don't use MechJeb, ever. I tweak a handful of core designs over and over until they're extremely efficient and stable, or until they're ridiculously huge yet capable. Then I take those designs on grand tours of the solar system, and take pictures of Jeb looking happy on every planet. I use quite a few mods, but not the ones that provide parts that are completely superior to the stock alternatives (just ones that fill niches the stock parts don't). I don't bother with complex slingshot maneuvers, because I slightly overbuild my booster designs so that I don't HAVE to do those sorts of things to save fuel.

Of course, I'm an astrophysicist/engineer in real life, so that probably helps.

[Specialist290]

Breaking down my own style of play:

First, I sit right on the edge of the Builder-Pilot axis. I like piloting the ships myself -- as I've said elsewhere, I consider it a point of personal pride that I can do everything I do manually -- but I also like tweaking everything in the VAB to squeeze as much performance out of my craft as I can with the help of Kerbal Engineer Redux (and sometimes doing the math myself if I don't like what KER's telling me).

I lean more towards the Purist side than the Modder side, but I do use a few mods such as KER, Improved Maneuver Nodes, Kerbal Alarm Clock, the kethane mod, and a few small parts mods like KSPX and HOME. I try to build most of my designs using stock engines and fuel tanks, but I don't feel like I have to absolutely constrain myself from anything else ever.

I reject the sci-fi geek / space geek dichotomy entirely -- at least as elaborated on by OP -- because the only true difference between science fact and proper science fiction is the fact that the latter hasn't happened yet.

Astrophysicist / Realist is another point where I probably fall into the middle. Sometimes I like to optimize my flights for the perfect mission, sometimes I just like to screw around and see what happens. Usually the latter results in explosions, but I count any sufficiently memorable experience as a partial success at least.

[Doc Anderson]

What type of player am I? An awesome one.

... and humble too. Jebidiah would be proud.

[chuck1846]

Pretty much I like to build and pilot my own ships. I like KSPX for the parts, but then just Protractor and ISA mapsat for helping with timing and mapping planets, but no mechjeb. As far as what I actually do though, I literally come up with a flight plan on the fly.

[J0hnsmine]

I try to accomplish challenges and when i'm bored i look up KSP bugs/Easter eggs and try to find/accomplish them.

[Mekan1k]

I think... Engineer. Builds, hands to mechjeb, and STILL tries tests to the breaking point.

[Procyon]

builder / pilot / explorer / settler

[GeorgeT93]

By the definitions set in the original post, I'd fall under the "Builder" category. Though honestly, I feel more like I play like a "Project Manager". I set a goal for my "space agency", then try to build something that will achieve that goal. I do use Mechjeb for most of the actual flying, as piloting a rocket is a lot more challenging than a plane, and frankly some of the concepts and even terminology used, are admittedly over my head. My current goal is to get an unmanned rover onto the surface of Duna, but alas, it seems my project management skills are as poor as my rocket piloting skills, as each rover has overshot Duna and drifted off into deep space. But each time, I seem to get a little closer!

But then, that's part of what's so great about KSP. It's easy to play it whatever way you want. If you want to do the piloting yourself, you can. If you want to just build and use a mod like Mechjeb to do the flying for you, well we've got that option too. Ultimately, however any of us chooses to play, as long as we're all having fun with our chosen playstyles, then the devs have done an amazing job (imho) by making it the "space game for everyone and anyone".

Of course, that's just my opinion.

-George

[rryy]

I am more of a Pilot because I don't use any form of autopilot and maneuvering in space is probably one of the best parts of the game.

I use quite a few mods such as the Kerbal Engineer, Subasssembly Loader, Kerbal Alarm Clock, and Kethane, but I don't really like the big part packs or mods that completely change the game, which means I would probably be a bit more Purist than Modder.

[AmpsterMan]

I would consider myself the "average" KSP player. I spend about 50% of my time designing different ships, 50% flying them manually to whatever destination. I have an unfinished space station in orbit, about 8 Mun Transfer stages in Orbit around the Sun. Debris of a crashed ship on Mun (My Kerbals survived and I was able to rescue them!) A prototype SSTO plane; Prototype Rover on Duna; About Two satelites in Eve Orbit and a small probe on the ground. A probe landed on every anomaly I have found on Mun (All manually too! with the help of the forum ofcourse) No Kerbals dead however.

[lyndonguitar]

I roleplay myself as having my own private corporation space program here on earth, developing my own tech,rockets, etc, I pretend that kerbals are humans, and kerbin is earth, duna is mars, etc. In my universe I just pretend that the US economy crashed and reduced significant budgets on its space program, and China and others are experiencing problems, So the space was left with me.

I got the first man to the Moon since 1969, Got the first manned flyby of Mars, Discovered "Kethane"(probably helium irl) on Moon and started a mining colony, developed new technologies, etc, etc

Edited May 20, 2013 by lyndonguitar

[NASAFanboy]

I'm a building space geek purist, who also works as an astrophysicist.

I love stock, mods just increase load time...

[ouion]

I am a realist player

so i built "spacecraft that make sense"

i like using stock to achieve it

[Sempiternal]

(Mostly) Purist (Hunnert Percent) Pilot, represent.

[chri]

I'm more like the "I can't play" player, I build ships, launch them, and something always goes terribly wrong xD poor kerbals

[zpox357]

Gawper - build your average Jool worthy ship, land on Laythe, Gaze up at Jool looming over the Terrain in awe, and try some moon spotting.

However, I also love building giant bases as well

[Kerbal01]

I would be a sci if space geek according to your categories.

[Duxwing]

Though I don't use MechJeb, I am otherwise the Builder and the Modder. KSP just doesn't have big enough rocket motors and fuel tanks to lift ~70 ton orbiter and hurl them into orbit. To that end, I use the 1,200kN Bearcat Tri-Nozzle, a conventional liquid fuel engine that outclasses all its competitors in the heavy upper stage lifter category. With a vacuum ISP of 350s, it makes the LV-N obsolete, for though the Bearcat is only about half as efficient, it produces 20 times the thrust, thereby slashing burn times, and thereby ultimately fuel consumption. The Bearcat is also the size of the Poodle: an excellent choice for lander engines that double as propulsion for the support module that carries them. Overall, while the Mainsail, LV-N, and Poodle produce more thrust, are more efficient for carrying tiny payloads, and weigh less, respectively, none of them bring roaring thrust, penny-pinching ISP, and light weight together into one package like the Bearcat does as my flagship orbital motor.

-Duxwing

[angrysheep]

I am a builder/pilot/modder/sci-fi geek. I mostly have plugins though.

[DeliciousPi]

I'm the astrophysicist & Sci-Fi geek... Also the guy, when everything goes wrong, that says: "Hmm. You know what this needs? M0AR ROCK3TS11!!!!!1!!!111"

[legodragonxp]

I am a pilot/purist/space geek working on homemade campaign rules since the sandbox can be a bit dull after a while.