Asteroid mission should be the new KSP demo

[Kasuha]

As far as I know Asteroid Redirect Mission is meant to spread the NASA idea of redirecting an asteroid in public and the original intent was to make it free. With the current implementation, whoever wants to play it needs to buy KSP - which is of course a good thing, but it makes the ARM less accessible.

So my suggestion is to upgrade the demo version of KSP, add some asteroids to it (not necessarily all sizes), the Claw part, maybe some other necessary rocket parts, and make it available as the new KSP demo version for free.

In my opinion it might turn beneficial for KSP as well because more people might get to it through the NASA mission.

[Dodgey]

That sounds really good, also so much has changed since the old demo was released it could do with a face lift.

[Lignite]

This is definitely a good idea. Not only would it add more, and showcase more before you decide to buy, but it will also be able to spread the idea of NASA's ARM to the public. Maybe NASA could link to the demo on their website if visitors want to "see if they can do it". Could also be really educational on the topic, which is the whole purpose of KSP anyway. I think it would be beneficial. Besides no money is lost because they intended to make it free anyway.

[Dodgey]

Money might even be gained due to the increased advertising.

[Skyler4856]

Yes, I would like them to keep the sandbox mode, however

[Lignite]

Yes, I would like them to keep the sandbox mode, however

I highly doubt they would remove the sandbox portion of the demo. They might make it an optional mission or contract.

[MKI]

The current demo is pretty good for what the game is, not what it has. Which IMO is what a demo is about, yes it can be upgraded and ride the NASA aspect pretty hard, but spending manpower and time on something that is already sufficient isn't a good use of Squads time.

The fact the Demo is limited to small parts will heavily limit how many NASA parts can actually be used. Also intercepting an asteroid is pretty difficult for anyone. Let alone with less than NASA parts.

Getting to orbit alone is a pretty thrilling milestone. Throw in the fact the demo has the Mun to land on, and most new players might not even make it there. IF they do and make it back, they probably like the game enough.

The things the Demo does need is optimization. Keeping the same parts(maybe adding a few here and there to help with the times such as the changed landing legs, and tweakables) the same bodies(the sun, Kerbin and Mun) and updated items such as the new space center, and the surface of the Mun. It Seems like it would better reflect what the game has to offer and the Level it can be displayed, rather than show what the game HAS been.

Optimization in the demo is probably the most important thing, as a player that can play the demo well on his or her rig should be able to have a good feeling how it can handle the current game. This is pretty important since there have been many changes to the game under the hood. Giving a player an idea of how smooth the game runs is pretty important in a demo. No one wants to buy a game thinking it runs on 32-bit 10 fps on their machine.

If Squad wants to highlight the games use of NASA parts and real life space missions, mention it in the buy screen (where the space plane and station pictures are) Rather than giving them these parts in the demo, make sure the player knows KSP has these parts and game play aspects they are missing out on! A big image of the SLS, and a Kerbal ship taking on an asteroid is an amazing concept for an already amazing game.

[Kasuha]

Smallest asteroids have some 30 t, that can be handled even with demo parts.

Most players may not even make it to Mun in demo, yes. But I think it would mean no harm if they will have some asteroids flying around even in that case. The idea is that more people might be attracted to trying out the demo if they knew there are "those NASA asteroids" in it, even if they don't get to touch them before they buy the full version.

[Streetwind]

I think there's an even more compelling reason to update the demo than this - namely the new tutorials.

Case study: my friend. "Go play KSP", I tell them, "it's awesome. They even have a free demo." So they go and try it, and after 30 minutes, quit with the comment: "I have no idea what I am supposed to do". He hasn't gone back since and probably never will again.

Now obviously, the outdated demo based on v0.18 may lack a lot of stuff; I'm not sure, I haven't tried it. So maybe part of the issue is simply the fact that it doesn't have stuff that players on the full version took for granted well before .23. But it still underlines one big issue: dropping a player unprepared into a sandbox that tells them nothing is terrible for player retention. EVE Online for example can attest to that, having fought with this for pretty much the entirety of its existance yet still being regarded as hard to get into. You gain only those very few players who are crazy enough to treat the basic gameplay and UI elements as a puzzle and try to solve it as others would solve a sudoku. Meanwhile, a large group of potential customers who would probably enjoy playing KSP a great deal if only someone told them they have to turn the rocket sideways to get into orbit will simply quit and never return for the lack of that guidance. You need that initial spark to set off the mind of your average themepark gamer, show them a glimpse of the underlying mechanics to convey the concept that yes, there is something immense lurking below that static screen with two or three unlabeled buildings in unexciting graphics.

For the moment, it's youtube videos that supply this initial spark. I'd wager that the number of players who watched a video on the net, thought "wow, I didn't even know you could make a game like this, I need to see for myself" and went on to buy KSP is far, far higher than the number who downloaded the demo and judged the game from that alone.

However, .23.5/.24 brings new tutorials, both for the ARM as well as for basic gameplay. This is the ideal thing to present in a demo to new players.

So how about the following for a demo update?

- Use a more or less fully featured .24 client (maybe with some unneeded parts trimmed out to make it lightweight)

- Remove the ability to start your own saves from the main menu

- Make only the tutorials available to be chosen

- Maybe sprinkle a liberal helping of "not available in demo" all over the locked menu choices

You now have a demo that ensures that all new players trying will be directed right away to a section that explains how things are done. And in explaining, the tutorials automatically double as a feature reel for the game, showing everything from the VAB editor over basic orbital mechanics all the way to Mun landings and the NASA ARM mission. At the same time, the player is limited in being unable to launch a savegame of their own. However, crafty players could go quite a ways anyway by continuing to poke around after the end of the tutorial sequences, maybe sneaking themselves access to the KSC overview screen or such things. This would subtly underline and reward the drive to experiment and explore that KSC lives off of.

A person who plays this kind of demo would not have any excuse to say that they didn't have any guidance. And yet, there would be so much more still that they didn't see or do yet, and they would know this. And ultimately, that's what will make people put down their money for a full copy.

Edited March 24, 2014 by Streetwind