Kerbals going insane.

[MrKicker]

It would be nice if after a long period of time without a habitation modual. Kerbals will go insane. At first they will start to twich, and show sings of insanity. Then they would snap and there picture would show them waving there arms screeming. And the craft would start lurching around as he messes with controlls, evenchualy the sane kerbals would tie him up and his picture would show him with ducttape over his mouth untill they reach a hab modual. (Originaly I segested a mercy killing but thats just to serius for ksp.)

No astronaught or kerbal alike can be cramed in a tiny capsule for so long and remane sane.

Oh, and eva's on planets help reduce insanity aswell.

I segested this because hab modual dosent really have a use exept for mass transporting kerbals. It would add to gameplay.

Oh and kerbals marked with badass tag are less prone to insanity as they are the "leaders". But there rare to find other then jeb at the start.

Edited August 4, 2013 by MrKicker

[quietsamurai98]

It would be nice if after a long period of time without a habitation modual. Kerbals will go insane. At first they will start to twich, and show sings of insanity. Then they would snap and there picture would show them waving there arms screeming...

Ok, I'm starting to like this idea...

And the craft would start lurching around as he messes with controlls...

Ehh, that would be more annoying than good...

...evenchualy the sane kerbals would have to put there friend down and his picture will show KIA.

That seems... unnecessary and more than a bit screwed up...

It could be kinda cool to see some sort of reaction to being alone. In space. With only two others. In a room the size of a portapotty. But not the decent into insanity and mercy killing. No, no, that's to serious for this game...

tl;dr Seems ok in beginning, but I don't like the killing bit on the end, but I like the start

[SuperWeegee4000]

*Astronauts from Earth may go nutsoid after a long time in space, but my theory is that Kerbals are not naturally social creatures, at least not nearly as much as humans. They can also, in my headcanon, "hibernate" over long periods of travel.

My jaw just dropped lower and lower as I read this. You have succeeded in making the second Kerbal Creepypasta.

[MrKicker]

Yeh your right, to serius, how about he gets tied up, and his picture shows him with ducttape over his mouth.

[Beeman]

I'd be completely okay with them going crazy from sleep deprivation or being stuck in space for years on end...or maybe their muscles and bones get all weak if they don't have a fitness module tacked onto the space station or if there's too many kerbals and not enough beds/fitness/whatever. Maybe they start to panic if oxygen/food/water levels start to get low or something(if they add those resources to the vanilla game, that is).

Might be better as a mod, though...like part of some big hard mode mod pack or overhaul or something.

[Themohawkninja]

This is why there are board games in the hitchhiker module. That prevents this sort of psychological problem.

On a more serious note, let's not have to deal with anything more than oxygen for life support on top of fuel reserves. That's going to be fun (read: difficult) as is without any physiological problems.

[MrKicker]

How about if habitation moduals dont experiance gforce for a long time, they get week. But thats for a difrent segestion thread.

[TwoHedWlf]

but my theory is that Kerbals are not naturally social creatures, at least not nearly as much as humans.

Actually, I'm kind of inclined to think the opposite. Their relative lack of a sense of self preservation implies more of a hive mentality to me.

[ammonia_ocean]

My jaw just dropped lower and lower as I read this. You have succeeded in making the second Kerbal Creepypasta.

There was a first one?

To be honest, I don't really like this idea too much. I feel like the kerbals are relatively passive and not meant to be a really significant part of gameplay, and I think that having to take care of them in addition to fuel, electric charge, etc. might be a bit frustrating. Also, as previously said, this does feel a bit too dark for the relatively lighthearted Kerbal Space Program.

However, I wouldn't mind the idea of EVAs having some effect on performance, since they seem so redundant now and the idea of sticking kerbals in a capsule for 850 days with no problems does seem kind of far-fetched. Maybe EVAs "motivate" kerbals and provide a boost to torque? Or maybe they affect the Courage and Stupidity values, subtly changing the way the kerbal's face looks in IVA?

[SuperWeegee4000]

There was a first one?

Go to space...

Wait, there was another one... Bop's Dark Secret. See if you can find them.

[wasmic]

Lol, I don't think the kerbals should go insane, but it would be funny with kerbals pulling practical jokes on each other. (Like ducttaping each other to the command chair).

[ammonia_ocean]

Go to space...

Wait, there was another one... Bop's Dark Secret. See if you can find them.

Oh yeah, I saw those. Bop's Dark Secret was okay, if sort of cliche. The creepy Jeb face was hilarious and terrifying and awesome all at the same time and I'm pretty happy to be reminded of it.

[Holo]

I like this idea, but when a Kerbal goes insane rather than messing with the controls the command pod should stop working (similar to a probe core without power). If the insane Kerbal is returned to Kerbin, you should need to pay a large amount of money and the Kerbal won't be available for future flights. If the Kerbal is never returned, an even larger sum of money must be payed.

[lajoswinkler]

Two Kerbals alone.

Two Kerbals alone in a tin can.

Two Kerbals alone in a tin can for five months.

What to do, what do to, what to do to you?

I like the tape part and the waving hands, but there should be a way to mitigate this. EVA every now and then during flight through space?

Add-on ideas for insanity.

Also, insane Kerbals might respond to mirrored WASD keys. W going S, A going D and vice versa. Or they might just start walking cluelessly if left alone.

[ultrasquid]

This is why there are board games in the hitchhiker module. That prevents this sort of psychological problem.

On a more serious note, let's not have to deal with anything more than oxygen for life support on top of fuel reserves. That's going to be fun (read: difficult) as is without any physiological problems.

Wouldn't photosynthesis allow kerbals to extend their food and oxygen supplies, so long as they keep a window pointed sunward?

[FellipeC]

IMHO before implementing this kind of refinement, is better to go to basics like air, water and food. Then insanity/diseases could play a part in the game.

With the arrival of .22 and science/tech tree thing, I would like to have something like this:

1) Unmanned low orbit satellites

2) Unlock life support system (Oxygen supply, CO2 removal and temperature control)

3) Short duration manned low orbit capsules

4) Unlock better life support system (Food and water supply, body waste removal)

5) Long duration space flights

6) Unlocking space station parts (Water recycle, exercise, recreation, in flight medicine)

7) Permanent space presence

8) Unlocking long range communications

9) Interplanetary probes

10) Interplanetary manned trips

11) Unlocking base parts (Including greenhouse)

12) Permanent presence in other celestial bodies

So with only life support system from step 2 the kerbal would die from food and water starvation in few days. With step 4 you can let him more time on orbit, but water may became a problem, since isn't recycled, and health became a concern: After some time the kerbal would became sick or crazy. After step 6 as long you put all necessary parts on your station or ship the kerbals won't became sick and their endurance will only be a matter of food reserves. After step 11 you can harvest food in greenhouse and don't need to replenish food reserves or bring kerbals back to kerbin anymore.

I also know that Squad don't want anything random in the game, and I agree. To deal with this without any random events, kerbals should have levels for thirst, hungry, health, sanity and waste. Thirst and hungry will increase in a know rate with time and when reach a know level kerbal should die. Health would decrease with a know rate, depending on ship and flight profiles. For example, the smaller mk1 capsule would make health decrease faster than the hitchhiker container, because of the small space and not so good temperature management, and of course, the kerbal's waste level. Flights near kerbol or maybe some radioative planet/moon (if ever implemented) could also increase the loss of health rate. Sanity would follow a similar logic, but the rate should depend on other factors, like the presence of another kerbal, the courage and stupidity values and so. When sanity and health drops below a certain know value, the kerbal would be incapacitated (sick or insane) and can't pilot anymore, so better to have a backup crew or a remote control module on ship to bring it back to Kerbin or a Space Station/Bigger ship with infirmary. When health reaches zero the kerbal die.

I know it may sound complex, but I believe it can be done in such way that looks simple to the player. I.E: Add the right modules to the ship and all will be fine, or just don't forget your kerbals in space too long in simple ships and it's all right too. That was my 0.02$ about Kerbals and health.

[lajoswinkler]

Wouldn't photosynthesis allow kerbals to extend their food and oxygen supplies, so long as they keep a window pointed sunward?

If you have a supply of CO2, yes. Plants don't eat sunlight. They use it to fix CO2.

[Rage097]

Insane Kerbals? You're assuming they aren't already insane? I don't really like this Idea, seems more of a hinderance than anything else. Then if it starts to get darker such as mercy killing...Yeah thanks but no thanks. A bit to dark for the light-hearted nature of KSP. If anything I'd love for the supposed insane Kerbal to be secured to the exterior of the ship.

Overall, the idea is a bit...unneccesary and will make manned Eeloo missions near-impossible.

[Thiagobs]

It would be nice if after a long period of time without a habitation modual. Kerbals will go insane. At first they will start to twich, and show sings of insanity. Then they would snap and there picture would show them waving there arms screeming. And the craft would start lurching around as he messes with controlls, evenchualy the sane kerbals would tie him up and his picture would show him with ducttape over his mouth untill they reach a hab modual.

The devs want to make a game that's stable and predictable, so I don't suppose that would be implemented, however I would like to see a mod that does that

I can even imagine the Kerbals waving their arms and running around until they get the duct tape over their mouths... hahaha

Nice one!

[lajoswinkler]

There should be a compartment near "FOOD", "NOT FOOD" and "TOOTHBRUSHES" called "DUCT TAPE".

[Holo]

will make manned Eeloo missions near-impossible.

Just like real life, I guess.

[Nobody]

While I think mental health would add some interesting challenges to the game, it would need to be optional so players can turn it on or off. Perhaps as part of a difficulty setting on career mode.

Easy: The way the game currently is.

Medium: Life support is added so you have send enough food/water/air or a way of reprocessing waste into fresh.

Hard: Mental Health is added on top of life support so you have to plan for entertainment so they don't go nuts and hurt themselves, the equipment, or each other.

[Starwaster]

*Astronauts from Earth may go nutsoid after a long time in space, but my theory is that Kerbals are not naturally social creatures, at least not nearly as much as humans. They can also, in my headcanon, "hibernate" over long periods of travel.

My jaw just dropped lower and lower as I read this. You have succeeded in making the second Kerbal Creepypasta.

lol really? what was the first?

wait was it the where the lone kerbal flies to Dres and the ship got glitched so the player pitches it as a haunted planet?

(name escapes me but it was funny and creepy at the same time)

[ultrasquid]

If you have a supply of CO2, yes. Plants don't eat sunlight. They use it to fix CO2.

Plants emit CO2 during respiration, just like other living things with aerobic chemistry. For this to work, of course, one has to assume the green pigment in kerbal skin is chloroplasts.

This does not necessarily mean the kerbals are plants. Their skin may be inhabited by symbiotic algae or similar.

And, bringing this back on topic, those algae could produce psychotropic alkaloids under certain conditions, and give explanation to a whole range of kerbal behavior.

[PeaMatt]

this is an awesome idea indeed