I'm new here (yeah... *that's* an original title :) )

[MaxxQ]

MaxxQ here, reporting in. Don't have the full game yet as I'm between jobs with no money, but I've been playing with the demo a lot, as well as watching a *ton* of Scott Manley's videos.

The big draw of this game for me is that it brings back memories of the days I used to build and fly model and high-power rockets. The experimentation of working on my own designs was very similar to that in the game, although I like to think I was good enough to not have *too* many "core sampler" rockets - and at least they didn't explode. I quit that hobby due to the expense and lack of time, although I *do* occasionally miss the smell of black powder (for the model rockets) and ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (used for the high-power rocket motors).

KSP seems like a fairly inexpensive way to relive those experiences, with the added benefit of being able to launch something into orbit. Although *some* of the sensations are missing - the sun beating down on me on hot days and the sunburn on my face after looking skywards for several hours on those same hot days. Freezing my rear-end off on cold days and wondering if I got frostbite on my toes. The aforementioned scents, but also adding the smell of balsa/bass/plywood dust, epoxy, and spray paint.

Anyway... yeah. I'm here, so... um.... glad to meet you all.

[Specialist290]

Welcome to the forums!

I personally was never big in the model rocketry scene, but I think I know exactly where you're coming from, though I've come at it from a different angle. Since I was young I had always thought it would be cool to become an astronaut (though that's staggeringly unlikely these days, given the twists and turns my life has taken) or go to space some other way (slightly more likely, though still way out there unless commercial space tourism gets much less expensive), and I cut my teeth reading my dad's old science fiction classics and imagining what it would be like to pilot an actual rocket to another planet. Kerbal Space Program isn't quite the same as the real thing, but it's much closer to it than anything I've invested my time in before.

Also, the smell of black powder never gets old

Feel free to poke around and see what interests you. In general we try to promote a friendly and positive community for fellow KSP enthusiasts to share their creations, thoughts, and experiences. If you ever get stuck in the game, feel free to ask questions or check out the tutorials (especially those I've tried to collect in the Drawing Board, which is linked through my signature), and we'll also welcome any mission reports or other creations you may choose to share.

[MaxxQ]

Welcome to the forums!

I personally was never big in the model rocketry scene, but I think I know exactly where you're coming from, though I've come at it from a different angle. Since I was young I had always thought it would be cool to become an astronaut (though that's staggeringly unlikely these days, given the twists and turns my life has taken) or go to space some other way (slightly more likely, though still way out there unless commercial space tourism gets much less expensive), and I cut my teeth reading my dad's old science fiction classics and imagining what it would be like to pilot an actual rocket to another planet. Kerbal Space Program isn't quite the same as the real thing, but it's much closer to it than anything I've invested my time in before.

Yeah... I wanted to be an astronaut as well. I still - barely (I was 4 at the time) - remember watching Apollo 11, which I think was the start of my interest in space, science fiction, and rocketry. As it turns out, the closest I ever got to space was flying as a passenger on a 747 across the Atlantic and back while I was in the Air Force heading to my duty station. I certainly can't afford a ticket on Spaceship Two, either, so yeah... it ain't happening. I also read a lot of SF, and in fact, one series of books has had an impact on what I do in my free time now - 3D modeling. I'm currently making 3D models for a group called BuNine, who work directly for and with David Weber on background technical, political, historical, and military organizational information of his Honor Harrington books.

As I've been watching videos for KSP and playing the demo, I keep thinking it would be nice to maybe make some models for the game. Then I remember I'm not good enough yet for something like that. I *can* model, but I tend to go for extremely high poly counts, which even in normal games isn't exactly welcome - for KSP, from what I've been reading, it would be a computer-killer. My current mesh for a Star Knight class heavy cruiser tops out at over 2.6 million polys. One reason for the high poly counts is that I do all the details as physical objects, because I can't texture to save my life. So, any rocket parts I try to make for the game would be ridiculously heavy (polycount-wise), and very plain-looking. Still, maybe someday...

Also, the smell of black powder never gets old

Agreed... it's just that I haven't smelled it in a long time.

Feel free to poke around and see what interests you. In general we try to promote a friendly and positive community for fellow KSP enthusiasts to share their creations, thoughts, and experiences. If you ever get stuck in the game, feel free to ask questions or check out the tutorials (especially those I've tried to collect in the Drawing Board, which is linked through my signature), and we'll also welcome any mission reports or other creations you may choose to share.

Thanks again, and I'm making good use of the forums in between playing with the demo. Don't know when I'll be able to apply the things I'm reading about, but the more interesting threads are being bookmarked.