Your Definition of an Accomplished/Professional KSP Player.

[Flixxbeatz]

For me, a accomplished/professional KSP player is anyone who has successfully launched an ssto spaceplane into orbit and landed it back to kerbin in one piece (not to mention going to other bodies and back).

How about yours?

Use this definition as your guide:

Edited May 26, 2013 by Flixxbeatz
Title changed, few clarifications.

[robly18]

An okay player is someone whose launches don't crash or malfunction.

A pro player is someone whose launchers always malfunctions, but they find a way to make it work anyway.

[NuclearWarfare]

I would consider any player who has landed on all the planets possible with stock parts is a professional.

[SecondGuessing]

SSTOs are pretty easy, though.

[Select Few]

Someone who has stared into the eyes of the Space Kraken, and left with clean pants.

[Flixxbeatz]

I would consider any player who has landed on all the planets possible with stock parts is a professional.

Isn't that the premise of the "KSP Grandmaster" Challenge?

SSTOs are pretty easy, though.

Then you must be a professional KSP player.

[OceanFire]

The guy who made the stock helicopters, anyone who can fly them for more than 2 minutes, and anyone who is on the same level of engineering genius as him.

[Fel]

For me, a professional KSP player is anyone who has successfully launched an ssto spaceplane into orbit and landed it back to kerbin in one piece (not to mention going to other bodies and back).

How about yours?

It is called "Kerbal Space Program" not "Kerbal Space Plane Contest."

You cannot really give any specifications as to what a "professional player" is: SURE I "successfully followed a tutorial and launched an SSTO with no clue as to how any of it actually worked." just like "Sure, I landed on every planet using the information blasted all over the wiki because they don't have spoiler tags."

These are ego-booting topics, not really "ways to judge how good someone is"

*Now if you were the FIRST person to land on every planet, or the FIRST person to manage a successful SSTO, you could claim you're a professional.

[Execute13]

I would probably say someone who plays the game for fun, builds ships that malfunction but flies them anyway, and doesn't need big fudge factors in their course. It doesn't matter if your ships work perfectly the first time; what matters is whether you can recover from your mistakes.

[Flixxbeatz]

You cannot really give any specifications as to what a "professional player" is: SURE I "successfully followed a tutorial and launched an SSTO with no clue as to how any of it actually worked." just like "Sure, I landed on every planet using the information blasted all over the wiki because they don't have spoiler tags."

True that we cannot really give any concrete definitions of what a "professional" player is, but what am I asking is one's personal definition of a "professional" KSP player, as the thread title says.

[Malachai]

Someone who get's paid to play KSP? That's about it for me. Everything else is quite impressive, but in the end, anything is achievable within the laws of the game, and with enough practice, anyone can achieve them (usually).

[SkyRender]

I'd say "accomplished" is a better term for it. And really, there are some pretty basic tiers just by virtue of what you have to do to accomplish any given task. Beginners struggle to get off of Kerbin, amateurs can get into orbit but have yet to land anywhere save back on Kerbin, novices have landed on the Mun and/or Minmus, adept players have landed on a body outside of the Kerbin system, expert players have landed on multiple bodies outside of the Kerbin system and returned to tell the tale, master players have been to all of the planets and back again (and the extremely masterful have done all of this in one trip). Players who have managed to dock successfully have a fair bit of acclaim too, especially the ones who can do it effortlessly.

[OrbitusII]

I agree– you can't just identify people as professionals unless they get paid to do it (that is why they are called professionals: it is their profession to do something). An accomplished player is someone who has an easy time designing rockets that work, and solves any design flaws quickly. Getting to every planet is just a status thing that you can choose to do, as is spending all your time on building self-sufficient colonies. For example, KurtJMac's career is being a youtuber (as far as I know) so he could be considered a professional Minecraft/KSP player. People like MeticulousMitch would be accomplished to me- they get the concept of rocket design and can do it easily.

[Flixxbeatz]

I'd say "accomplished" is a better term for it. And really, there are some pretty basic tiers just by virtue of what you have to do to accomplish any given task. Beginners struggle to get off of Kerbin, amateurs can get into orbit but have yet to land anywhere save back on Kerbin, novices have landed on the Mun and/or Minmus, adept players have landed on a body outside of the Kerbin system, expert players have landed on multiple bodies outside of the Kerbin system and returned to tell the tale, master players have been to all of the planets and back again (and the extremely masterful have done all of this in one trip). Players who have managed to dock successfully have a fair bit of acclaim too, especially the ones who can do it effortlessly.

You got a point. Title changed.

[A Fat Pokemon]

Someone who has stared into the eyes of the Space Kraken, and left with clean pants.

I'm guessing that makes me a KSP mastermind.. I harnessed the Kraken in my craft.

[-RanZ-]

I would consider any player who has landed on all the planets possible with stock parts is a professional.

with or without kerbals? I have landed on every celestial body possible with probes/landers/rovers but not all manned

[Stelith61]

It changed for me. A professional used to be someone who could Dock. Then someone who could go to Duna and back. Then someone with a huge space station. Someone who could lift 50 tons to orbit. 60. 70. Someone with a moon base. Someone who's done an Eve return mission.

You cant just split people into pros/not pros.

I for one, have not made a spaceplane SSTO. I have however, got 2 bigass rocket ones.

[NASAFanboy]

The SSTO may/may not be a good requirment.

I, for one, before 0.20, had landed on almost all the planets, operated inter-planetary bases and interstellar probes, while still not managing to get a spaceplane ANYWHERE outside Kerbin. I just gave up, and used my skill on rockets.

[Fel]

True that we cannot really give any concrete definitions of what a "professional" player is, but what am I asking is one's personal definition of a "professional" KSP player, as the thread title says.

My point was that you were asking a trick question.

Unless someone chooses something that no one is likely to fully accomplish (or we get into a fight with the NASA Engineers that play the game and do wicked things with it), anything we try to claim is indicative of being "a professional" is just an ego booster.

Someone who get's paid to play KSP? That's about it for me. Everything else is quite impressive, but in the end, anything is achievable within the laws of the game, and with enough practice, anyone can achieve them (usually).

*Continued from above*

It becomes akin to saying a "Professional Person" is a "professional basketball player." There is so much you can do, so many ways you can play the game.... that really, you cannot make these types of assertions. (And with there being some pretty explicit how-to's, it becomes more of a "play my style rather than your own")

But nvm, just trying to explain my point.

If I should choose, I'd say the NASA Engineers as indicated above. Their ability to exploit kerbal physics and create Engineering marvels far exceeds that of the typical "I followed a tutorial" player.

Edited May 26, 2013 by Fel

[TelluriumCrystal]

Someone who doesn't just launch rockets into orbit, but who actually understands how they're launching rockets into orbit.

[PwnedDuck]

Anybody who has bases outside Kerbin SOI with double-digit kerbal populations and an easy way to get back home is a pro (so long as they use stock parts).

That's what I say, at least.

[wolfedg]

IMO an accomplished player is one who has all the key proficiencies. Orbital Flight, Munar Flight, Extrakerrestrial landings and returns( munar landing and return would suffice), Interplanetary flight (bonus for landings and returns), and finally rendezvous and docking. Of course, I am somewhat biased to my own capabilities here as I can do any of the aforementioned without too much hassle, but am far from mastery of most of them.

[Flixxbeatz]

It changed for me. A professional used to be someone who could Dock. Then someone who could go to Duna and back. Then someone with a huge space station. Someone who could lift 50 tons to orbit. 60. 70. Someone with a moon base. Someone who's done an Eve return mission.

Before 0.11, it was "someone who has achieved a stable orbit around Kerbin".

[Specialist290]

Given that none of us (that I'm aware of...) are actually paid money to play this game, I don't think there's any professional players on these boards, by the proper definition of the word.

[Kerbol Prime]

...SCOTT MANLEY... Or anyone who plays at his level.