Community interest in Gas planet 2

[sal_vager]

I don't have any links to info on discovery mechanics, sorry guys, it's just something that's been mentioned in livestreams and similar, what it ends up looking like is unknown.

I'd like telescopes though, it'd be so cool to do spectral analysis in KSP

[Thomas988]

I'm surprised that so many of you guys are interested in a new planet. I myself think the Kerbol system has plenty of celestial bodies, and anything farther than Eeloo would be near impossible to reach (if Eeloo wasn't hard enough). A gas planet I'm kind of interested in, but not too badly.

[TMS]

Things to do, before places to go.

[sal_vager]

I'm surprised that so many of you guys are interested in a new planet.

We all want more in and for KSP, it's natural

[NERVAfan]

Would be neat to have a full solar system in KSP. Another two gas giants, another rocky or icy planet, an asteroid belt (procedurally generated like the ARM asteroids, of course), trojan asteroids, centaurs, TNOs (not sure what you'd call them in KSP, maybe TGP2Os?), etc...

That's my $0.02 anyway, I want the full meal deal, not just GP2.

I agree.

Uranus and Neptune could IMO be collapsed into one planet. KSP planets don't seem to be able to have axial tilt so the most distinctive thing about Uranus wouldn't be able to be modeled; without its tilt Uranus is just a less active Neptune.

I'd suggest the asteroid belt should have two or three other large bodies (smaller than Dres though) ... equivalents of say Vesta and Juno... in addition to the procedurally-generated ARM-style small asteroids. One of them should also have a small moon because asteroids with moonlets are really cool.

Kerbol System has 17 celestial bodies now IIRC. With GP2 and two "new" moons (plus Eeloo), an ice giant and a big moon, two big asteroids and an icy dwarf planet... plus procedurally generated asteroids and comets... that's 25 "real" or "persistent" celestial bodies in case too many messes with performance.

[Mach_XXII]

I'm surprised that so many of you guys are interested in a new planet.

A new planet is more to mess around with and have fun

[Twreed87]

I'm surprised that so many of you guys are interested in a new planet. I myself think the Kerbol system has plenty of celestial bodies, and anything farther than Eeloo would be near impossible to reach (if Eeloo wasn't hard enough). A gas planet I'm kind of interested in, but not too badly.

I only want new planets if there's something new or interesting to be added to them. We already have quite a variation in terms of size, environment, even shape. Only things I can think of that would be cool are rings, and axial tilt. Is axial tilt possible with the game engine? If so, I think not only should be get a planet with a very high tilt, but I also think minor tilt should be added to one or two existing ones.

Also, I'd really like a Titan analogue. Another moon with atmosphere, but this one a darker color, with oceans of black hydrocarbons.

[doik27]

I dont know why you wouldnt want another planetary sytem

[regex]

I dont know why you wouldnt want another planetary sytem

Let's finish up the Kerbin system first, there's plenty left to create and explore.

[Pthigrivi]

^A nice ring would be key. It could itself be a biome where unique science could be gathered.

Yeah I mean Id love a new planet, because yay planets! But I can wait. I think they're right to be focusing on the central mechanics of the game, and money and contracts is obviously a huge part of that. I also agree that the existing planets could use not just biomes, but special biomes and locations like water ice and liquid water geysers and volcanos that would necessitate real exploration of the planets themselves, encouraging players to carefully pick landing sites and get out and about with rovers when they land there. Thats just me though. There seems to be a consensus that even after career mode is finished there are still some core issues like aerodynamics and heat to deal with before getting into luxuries.

I also want an Io analogue

[CalculusWarrior]

While I would naturally like a new planet to explore, if it came down to choosing between that and the devs adding new features to the existing planets (for the near future anyways, I expect to see both, and more in KSP 1.0!), I would have to pick the latter. Adding neat things like lava flows, cryovolcanoes, caves, and other fun things to explore would be amazing.

I think the planet which is neglected the most is Kerbin itself; if you ever take a plane and fly around Kerbin, you'll find such incredible landscapes and scenery that you can be entertained for hours just exploring. (KSP is, after all, a game about exploring). If the devs were able to add more exciting features to other planetary bodies, it would make for a lot of things to be done other than just plant a flag and leave. You could explore a cave system, or traverse a mountain range on a rover, or investigate seismic phenomena (for SCIENCE!).

Additionally, there ought to be more anomalies added. The aforementioned Kerbin exploration was primarily driven by my hunt for anomalies, and I really had a great time doing so. When we get resources, the devs will likely introduce a mapping element to the game. I would love to see this mapping feature perhaps be integrated into Map view, and allow you to zoom in on parts of a planet's surface to analyze the slope of terrain at your specified location, as well as look for any strange features/anomalies in the area. Right now, the ability to see if your landing location is nice and flat or a 40 degree slope is regulated to downloading a mod or using a web app like Kerbal Maps.

So for those tl;dr folks out there, I would like to see more exciting planets/moons, along with better tools to analyze and explore these new features.

[bigdad84]

Aha! I found it! This is a prototype "Gas Planet 2" shown off during a KerbolKon stream.

[KN_Namida]

I only want new planets if there's something new or interesting to be added to them. We already have quite a variation in terms of size, environment, even shape.

Hehehe, I remember now the post NovaSilisko wrote quite a few months ago, regarding his ideas for the Kerbol System, and they were just great. I'll just name a few:

- Turning Laythe into an Io analogue, keeping the oceans but adding active volcanoes with deadly pools of lava.

- Re-modelling Tylo and Vall, they look a bit too uniform and boring right now.

- Adding the second gas giant, with 4 moons. Eeloo would be one of those moons, then there would've also been bigger moon, a Titan analogue, with an atmosphere that ended before the peaks of the tallest mountains, so the peaks were in space wilst the valleys below in a dense atmosphere

Oh, and he wanted to add flares to the Sun, IIRC. Lots of variety, you can tell. And I'm still excited about it, even though, since Nova is a former developer (as far as I know), the probabilities that we'll see any of that are... low

But that doesn't mean we won't see GP2 someday. It's just that Squad has some other priorities at the moment, I can wait.

P.S. I want it sooo bad

[TheTennesseeFireman]

I'd like GP2 and a general fleshing out of the Kerbol System (atmospheric effects, improved textures/biomes, asteroid refinements) to be the central focus of 0.25. Now that we have bigger parts, a more powerful ion engine, and updated tutorials, getting out to some of the harder-to-reach planets is a lot more feasible for the less-experienced. Exploration is what draws me most to this game, and the lack of new planets since Eeloo has left me aching for more.

That said, I don't think any of us want more planets if they're just going to be a bunch of clones of the ones we already have. We want new challenges and mechanics with them, like weird atmospheric effects, scenic locations, and tricky gravitational properties.

[Lazro]

The old planets are nice, but it would be nice to have a new place to explore, especially if its moons weren't airless dead rocks. Maybe a moon within a ring or one with a low but dense atmosphere, that was right next to the planet.

[vger]

- Adding the second gas giant, with 4 moons. Eeloo would be one of those moons, then there would've also been bigger moon, a Titan analogue, with an atmosphere that ended before the peaks of the tallest mountains, so the peaks were in space wilst the valleys below in a dense atmosphere

I like Eeloo as a Pluto analogue though. I wouldn't want its orbit changed. Having a gas giant intersecting the orbit of another gas giant would seem a little excessive.

[Galactic Nexus]

I'd definitely like to see GP2 one day. I've visited every celestial body except Moho now (I really ought to go there), so something new would be nice. The Titan analogue idea sounds excellent.

A terrestrial planet with several moons could be interesting, but it'd have to be different than the Kerbin system.

Perhaps something like Pluto? A tiny, far out planet but with 5 moons ranging from nearly the size of its parent, to little more than a few kilometres across.

[Xacktar]

Would totally love to see this, with or without rings. Gas giants and their satellites are interesting places!

[cantab]

I agree.

Uranus and Neptune could IMO be collapsed into one planet. KSP planets don't seem to be able to have axial tilt so the most distinctive thing about Uranus wouldn't be able to be modeled; without its tilt Uranus is just a less active Neptune.

The moons could still be put in highly-inclined orbits, even if the planet - which after all you aren't going to land on - isn't. That would create a really unique system to visit. Its moons would likely be smaller than Laythe's big ones; I'm thinking 50 to 100 km size range. Also, a moon based on Miranda would be awesome. Something with low gravity but exceptionally rugged terrain would be a nice landing challenge, and later on perhaps Enceladus-like jets could push your lander around making it even trickier to touch down safely. Edited March 31, 2014 by cantab

[Voculus]

So long as it has moons to land on and explore, then yes. Otherwise, the thrill is gone after a day.

[Xavven]

TBH, I'd be happy if it were added, but it would really have to have something unique. Each of the current planets and moons have something unique about them that make them challenging with a couple of exceptions. I don't want a planet or planet + moons that don't force me to change my design. For example, Pol and Bop are just a repeat of Minmus. Dres is no harder than Ike to reach and land. That makes them a tad less interesting to explore.

But these guys make you think:

Moho: high inclination and elliptical orbit, high delta-v required

Eve: extreme gravity (btw, finally did a manned return mission this week in all stock! yay!)

Duna: very thin atmosphere + higher gravity than Mun

Jool + moons: difficulty in the delta-v required to access this system and navigate its moons

Laythe: Precise landings in atmosphere needed to land on islands + potential to use an interplanetary space plane

Tylo: Challenging delta-v + TWR requirements concentrated on the lander

Eeloo: very very far away, elliptical orbit, takes forever to get there, high rotational speed

Conclusion: Don't add GP2 if it's going to be just another Jool system. Make the player have to think and adapt!

[TheTennesseeFireman]

Actually, I'd like the entire rest of the interesting solar system planets to be condensed into GP2 and dispense with Neptune/Uranus altogether. Stormy atmosphere, rings, Titan analogue, Enceladus/Triton analogue, lots of tiny moonlets. Get it all out of the way.

Afterwards, I'd like to see more exotic planet concepts explored, such as some of NovaSilisko's proposals (Potatus and Fonso) and other ideas. Some ideas kicking around in my head are a recently-impacted molten planet, a superdense moon with no atmosphere (worse than Tylo), a brown dwarf, and a low-contrast carbon planet. I like having analogues, but I don't think anybody particularly cares about visiting featureless ice giants with few interesting moons.

[Frank_G]

More planets and a discovery system would be a great addition to the game. Both are on the to-do list, so we can be sure to get it... But it would be nicer not to go for more at the moment, better to complete features and details of the existing planets first.

Currently Jool is the most interesting system in the game, so another gas giant would be really great... I'd like one with procedural rings, so one can go explore the ring features as well.

[KvickFlygarn87]

Except we didn't. We knew all the planets existed, but not much about them. Many things we're now familiar with, like the extreme heat on Venus or that the Great Red Spot on Jupiter is a giant storm, were first discovered by space probes. Even the far side of the Moon was not just unknown but unknowable without sending a spacecraft past it to have a look.

That's not what I meant. Petah suggested discovering them as in we didn't know they were there before. I too would like probing to fond data on the planets.

[cantab]

TBH, I'd be happy if it were added, but it would really have to have something unique. Each of the current planets and moons have something unique about them that make them challenging with a couple of exceptions. I don't want a planet or planet + moons that don't force me to change my design. For example, Pol and Bop are just a repeat of Minmus. Dres is no harder than Ike to reach and land. That makes them a tad less interesting to explore.

Except Pol and Bop don't have the easy-to-land-on flats of Minmus. And Dres may not be "harder" than Ike to reach, but it's different with its inclined and somewhat eccentric orbit. (Anyway, Ike isn't there for you to reach, it's there to mess up your Duna orbits and landings )