Multiplayer or resources ?

[Seret]

The question is, what is meant with "resources"? Is it a method to replenish fuel and life support, or is it meant to be full fledged spaceship production.

Indeed. We already have several resources to manage. I think what we're talking about here is some way to obtain resources from somewhere other than Kerbin.

Personally I like the way you have to haul everything up from Kerbin. It keeps the game focussed on building rockets, and keeps the rocket equation as a the main source of difficulty in the game.

[NFUN]

I'd have to say multiplayer. There are mods for both features, but understandably, KMP is still very buggy and likely will be for a long time, if not forever. Resource mods are much easier to implement, and wouldn't require a dedicated effort from Squad to be added in well, while fully-functioning multiplayer might require more effort.

[OtherDalfite]

Indeed. We already have several resources to manage. I think what we're talking about here is some way to obtain resources from somewhere other than Kerbin.

Personally I like the way you have to haul everything up from Kerbin. It keeps the game focussed on building rockets, and keeps the rocket equation as a the main source of difficulty in the game.

Then don't use resources and just launch rockets from the kerbal space center. The vast majority however will use resources.

[NFUN]

Indeed. We already have several resources to manage. I think what we're talking about here is some way to obtain resources from somewhere other than Kerbin.

Personally I like the way you have to haul everything up from Kerbin. It keeps the game focussed on building rockets, and keeps the rocket equation as a the main source of difficulty in the game.

I disagree with you. Building impossibly large rockets becomes child's play after a while in the game, and even though landing/piloting ships isn't the main point, you get a much larger sense of accomplishment actually landing a 300 ton base onto Duna then building a giant-ass rocket to get into orbit. Harvesting and using resources would likely require heavy, cumbersome machines anyways, and establishing a base to begin using those resources is quite an achievement in itself.

[sporkafife]

Hello ladies and gentlemen! I've been away for a month or so due to university related "constraints", this means I've missed recent updates and am a little confused by all this.

Didn't Squad say that resources would be coming soon, like in a couple of updates time and that multiplayer was something that would probably never be implemented, and if it did it would probably be a DLC much further down the line? Reading the forums recently, I get the idea that Squad have switched stances on this, and are going to develop multiplayer very soon and leave resources to mod makers or as a possible DLC. Is this true or have I misread it? Because if it is true, I'm voting for resources and hoping squad re-change their minds back again!

[Tommygun]

I think most people that actually try multiplayer will play a few times and then just stop once the novelty wears off.

The time spent programing for it could go into areas more people would find interesting.

Things like other solar systems or more dynamic planets etc.

[Seret]

I disagree with you.

Clearly you're not alone. I think I can still hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth when I close the browser.

[astropapi1]

Most of my friends, if they even played KSP, would just be shooting each other with tanks around KSP and laughing like idiots while I launched space station modules.

Playing in servers with people I don't know was never my thing. Resources is something everybody would enjoy, either playing MP or not.

[Alguien]

Didn't Squad say that resources would be coming soon, like in a couple of updates time and that multiplayer was something that would probably never be implemented, and if it did it would probably be a DLC much further down the line?!

Yes, which is part of the fuel feeding the fire

It doesn't help than KSP isn't exactly optimization heaven either and i can only see multiplayer as a recipe for disaster (well, technically it already is)

[SkyHook]

Resources, hands down. I don't know anyone that plays KSP besides myself, nor do I expect to meet anyone who does. What I enjoyed about KSP is the prospect of building bases, maintaining my kerbals' health, and genuinely interacting with my environment. Now that resources has been effectively canned, that dream is gone! The fundamental flaw of KSP remains: Once you land, the question is "Now what", and the answer is still "Nothing".

[CaptainArchmage]

I would pick resources over multiplayer, because that means we have a lot more to do in the game, and it gives us extra reasons to fully explore other planets. Resources mean we can build proper colonies up in space, so we can sustain missions on other planets for a longer period of time.

[allmappedout]

Guys, for everyone who is saying resources, Harvester said in his stream that the reason they have put it on the backburner was because the method they worked on (which includes the big resource chart posted above) ended up being not fun to play.

Now, forgive me if I'm wrong here but that means two things:

1. It doesn't mean they're scrapped, just because they have said that at some point there will be multiplayer

2. They made a lot of progress and decided that in its current form, the community wouldn't enjoy it

I don't want to sound obvious, but a big feature like resources, if it's done badly, could really ruin your KSP experience, especially if it's heavily integrated into the idea of career mode.

I'd much rather wait for them to get it right, and implement it if/when they find a way of doing that, than them put it in and it ruin the overall experience. As people have said though, it's definitely not binary; there's no definitive no on resources, as far as I know, so 1.0, whenever that appears, could have both Multiplayer AND resources (and better Aerodynamics!).

Surely that'd please everyone? Plus, multiplayer is by its very nature, optional, so it wouldn't impact someone who doesn't want to play it multiplayer in the slightest, and given the technological constraints, it's not going to be like an MMO - it will be private server based, so you invite your friends and you play with your friends. If your friends blow your space station up deliberately, you need to reevaluate your friend group, not complain that multiplayer is to blame.

The idea of, say, drag racing on minmus with friends to me sounds like an absolute hoot, as does the idea of having a collaborative effort like the ISS to be proud of.

[sporkafife]

Yes, which is part of the fuel feeding the fire

It doesn't help than KSP isn't exactly optimization heaven either and i can only see multiplayer as a recipe for disaster (well, technically it already is)

Wait, so it has been announced by Squad officially that they are not developing resources and are developing multiplayer? Like I said, I've been away for a while and wasn't aware anything had changed..

I might just be pessimistic, but I just think this will be really bad for the game I was much more comfortable with the resources-soon-multiplayeras-future-DLC policy. I guess squad just decided to listen to the cries of "we want multiplayer" - which I have disagreed with since day 1

[sporkafife]

-SNIP-

Oh phew, thanks for reiterating what Harv said... I just logged on to the forums for the first time in a few days and saw that it had exploded with "Ermagherd, resorces canselled!!" and thought the world was ending.

I agree that they should do resources right - I think the current implementation of science and the tech tree is kind of terrible, and an example of releasing a feature that isn't finished to an acceptable level is kind of detrimental.

[Themohawkninja]

Wait, so it has been announced by Squad officially that they are not developing resources and are developing multiplayer? Like I said, I've been away for a while and wasn't aware anything had changed..

I might just be pessimistic, but I just think this will be really bad for the game I was much more comfortable with the resources-soon-multiplayeras-future-DLC policy. I guess squad just decided to listen to the cries of "we want multiplayer" - which I have disagreed with since day 1

There is a multiplayer mod for KSP that as far as I know is pretty good. The concept seems quite feasible, it just requires that both players be within 500 ms of each other for docking craft.

[FITorion]

Guys, for everyone who is saying resources, Harvester said in his stream that the reason they have put it on the backburner was because the method they worked on (which includes the big resource chart posted above) ended up being not fun to play.

Now, forgive me if I'm wrong here but that means two things:

1. It doesn't mean they're scrapped, just because they have said that at some point there will be multiplayer

2. They made a lot of progress and decided that in its current form, the community wouldn't enjoy it

I don't want to sound obvious, but a big feature like resources, if it's done badly, could really ruin your KSP experience, especially if it's heavily integrated into the idea of career mode.

I'd much rather wait for them to get it right, and implement it if/when they find a way of doing that, than them put it in and it ruin the overall experience. As people have said though, it's definitely not binary; there's no definitive no on resources, as far as I know, so 1.0, whenever that appears, could have both Multiplayer AND resources (and better Aerodynamics!).

Surely that'd please everyone? Plus, multiplayer is by its very nature, optional, so it wouldn't impact someone who doesn't want to play it multiplayer in the slightest, and given the technological constraints, it's not going to be like an MMO - it will be private server based, so you invite your friends and you play with your friends. If your friends blow your space station up deliberately, you need to reevaluate your friend group, not complain that multiplayer is to blame.

The idea of, say, drag racing on minmus with friends to me sounds like an absolute hoot, as does the idea of having a collaborative effort like the ISS to be proud of.

All that was said was that the resource system they were working on would not happen.

No where did they say that they would not work on another different resource system. However they did not say that they would be working on any future version of resources either. Some things they said about not wanting to put too much sci/fi tech into the game indicated that they think mining tech is sci/fi... even though it isn't... and that they wouldn't be putting it in the game.

In short there is no definitive NO on resources ever but there is a lot of indicators that it is the case.

[Seret]

Some things they said about not wanting to put too much sci/fi tech into the game indicated that they think mining tech is sci/fi... even though it isn't...

Well, it might not be tractor beams and warp drives, but it's also something that's never been done in real life. Tbh though, if they were only going to put in stuff that had actually flown we wouldn't have NERVAs, aerospikes or SABREs either.

[Bothersome]

We've never sent men to Mars either nor have we ever lifted back off the surface of Mars with anything yet.

Yet, we are allowed to do those things in KSP for "imaginative purposes". Why not mining resources.

And if Squad doesn't want to make mining difficult or too chore intensive, how about finding something very rare like platinum, bring it back to Kerbin and sell it for money for more space stuff !!! Sounds like a good career add-on to me.

Kethane is a good step in the right direction. We just need more reason to go get it. Right now, Kethane doesn't offer better power to weight ratio than fuels brought up from Kerbin. Unless you calculate costs (weight, part counts, size, and money eventually).

MP is not even on the back burner for me. I'd doubt I'd even try it out.

[Caelib]

I would rather see a resource system added to the game before multiplayer -- but I think both have their merits.

[quasarrgames]

Resources would be marginally better. Both resources and multiplayer would be AMAZING, but they would have to be done right.

The resource chart the devs thought of did seem a little... much. I don't think i would have used it much becuas of how complicated it was. Something like the kethane mod would be the right way to go. Perhaps they could even make it a little harder, and have several resources and refineries for Monopropellant, Xenongas, Liquidfuel, and Oxidizer. It would have to be straightforward like the Kethane mod to be truly enjoyable, though.

Now on to multiplayer. The LAST thing we want is multiplayer like COD or World of Warcraft, right? That could go south fast. And when i mean south i mean GOOGLE+/YOUTUBE COMMENTS SECTION south. KSP is an amazing game, and it needs a multiplayer unlike anything we've ever seen before. Perhaps with a couple of aspects of these forums. If SQUAD did it right, multiplayer would be the most brilliant thing in the history of gaming.

[metl]

I really have no desire to attempt to play this game multiplayer. I had really been looking forward to resources. I am sorry to see that being put off and if more sad to see that they caved into the small group constantly screaming about multiplayer despite the numerous insistence from Squad that there would be none. It is what it is I guess. I hope they don't flip around on any other gameplay elements. It would be a shame to see weapons and warp drives suddenly appear as well.

[The Dulas]

I have kind of grown to know KSP as an individual. I literately fist pounded the air the first time I did a docking, and shouted for joy at my first space plane (actually that bit was only a few days ago, prior to finals week). At this point, I have no one to play MP with, and so I feel that it will be largely a useless feature for me.

[Rassa Farlander]

Resources is what I voted for.

Heres why:

Youve gone to the Mun, Eve, Duna, and been to the Joolian moons and back. You got bases on planets and FPS killing space stations. Not much to do after that. Resources would be a great end game feature to maintain the re-play value of KSP. It would give purpose to those stations, bases and long trips to deep space other than just being able to said that you did it.

However, they need to take their time and get it right. It shouldnt be the next update or maybe even the one after that, but getting the ground work and back-end stuff down as they go could help in the long run. Resource should be a major part of the end-game game-play plan, or scope view as I believe Harvester calls it

Also if we had resources first, it would another thing you could do in multiplayer later on. I think both will come eventually, just not for awhile which is fine because they need the time to get these two important features done right.

[OneRedBlock]

Multiplayer, for tactical ICBM strikes on KSC.

And journeying to the stars with the help of a comrade.

But mostly tactical ICBM strikes.

[Ski]

Multiplayer, for tactical ICBM strikes on KSC.

And journeying to the stars with the help of a comrade.

But mostly tactical ICBM strikes.

What is this tactical ICBM garbage? I'm gone from forums for few weeks and now we are making DEFCON????????

You must be wanting some different game.

If there was a multiplayer at all I thought it was supposed to be added after release.

Edited December 15, 2013 by Ski