The Sun

[KvickFlygarn87]

Just rename it to Kerbol. It's not a big change and everyone calls it that anyways!

[Endersmens]

agreed. Isn't it nameless right now? or is it called sun? i cant remember

[CaptRobau]

It's The Sun.

[r4pt0r]

Do it fo real

[technicalfool]

Wonder if the OX STAT and others should be called "Kerbolar Panels"?

But other than that, yes. +5 stars to thread.

[Rainbowtrout]

Yes, it would be a nice change. Though, it doesn't really need to be added until/if they add other stars, it would bp make a nice aesthetic touch. Or call it Los.

[Dunbaratu]

The name of a body, as a string (like "Sun" or "Mun" or "Kerbin"), is not just a string displayed to the user. It's also used by the code when making calls into the KSP API, as in: "Please get me the coordinates of the body called 'Sun'."

If you change the name of it, then all the code mods have that does that has to be edited. It's a very small change, but it breaks mods that aren't being actively updated.

[technicalfool]

If you change the name of it, then all the code mods have that does that has to be edited. It's a very small change, but it breaks mods that aren't being actively updated.

This just underlines why the request should really be something like "get me a pointer to the object called DATABASE_KEY", and then you can go "give me pointer->position", "now give me pointer->name", and then be able to change the name around as much as you like.

[Vaporized Steel]

The name "sun" a english translation from the latin name "Sol" is the commonly used name given to our star.

If we call the Kerbal star the Sun we might aswell call Kerbin the planet Earth.

Somehow KSP is creating the image that Kerbals stole the name of our own star.

This can't happen. Either change the name of their star into anything else it is now (most likely Kerbol)

Or face all out war between Kerbals and humanity.

[Mitchz95]

Either change the name of their star into anything else it is now (most likely Kerbol)

Or face all out war between Kerbals and humanity.

Now THAT would be a cool movie.

[SlimeCrusher]

Now THAT would be a cool movie.

We would lose anyways, compared to us, Kerbal weaponry is way too exagerated, just imagine, they would send ICSRBs, tons of them in a short amount of time, also orbital-drop nuclear "bombs" (aka. some RTGs and LV-Ns attached to a structural plate), and let's not forget about SRBs with tons of seats around it... Getting back on topic

This change is small, but quite nice to have, to be fair most people call Kerbol erm... Kerbol, and i don't think it would be too much of a problem to put a code to display the name Kerbol, while in the game's code is still called Sun

[Science-Recon]

Yes, I think that wouldn't be too difficult to do without breaking all the things.

[Mitchz95]

In regards to renaming the Sun "Kerbol", I don't think that's really necessary yet. "Sun" can refer to any central star of a solar system, and I think calling it Kerbol might confuse new players.

[Dunbaratu]

The name "sun" a english translation from the latin name "Sol" is the commonly used name given to our star.

If we call the Kerbal star the Sun we might aswell call Kerbin the planet Earth.

That argument fails because of something about language you're not taking into account there. In the building of a language's vocabulary, commonly the proper noun for the first specific example of a thing the culture encounters *also* ends up being the generic noun for other examples of the same thing that the culture encounters later. Once we discovered that the other stars were the same type of thing that our own Sun was, we started referring to them as "other suns", and "sun" took on a new meaning that it could also generically refer to any star, even though when it was originally coined it only referred to our own sun because we thought that was the only example of such a thing that exists.

Another example of a word like this is "Earth". When someone says they are planting a flower in "earth", they are using the term to just mean "the ground" rather than "our planet". The reason our planet's proper name is the same word as the word for just any ole sort of ground is because originally we only knew of ONE example of a thing like the ground and that was OUR ground. We didn't know the other planets in the night sky were the same kind of thing as our own ground beneath our feet.

Often in a language the word for "our tribe" and the word for just "the people" ends up being the same word, for exactly the same reason.

What these examples all share in common is that once upon a time earlier in the language's history there was zero distinction between "this is the word for our one example of this thing" and "this is the word for this generic type of thing". For the distinction to matter there has to exist more than one example of that kind of thing. When your culture was forming a language while it was only aware that one such thing exists yet, the two meanings got conflated together long before people realized there was a need to make them differ.

So "Sun" is a perfectly valid term for Kerbin's sun because the primary meaning of the word in English is NOT "OUR Sun". That meaning came about later after we realized there was more than one. The original meaning was just "the one and only big bright thing in the sky".

If you translate "the one and only big bright thing in the sky" from its Kerbalese word, whatever that word is, into English, the word you get is "Sun".

[Minarkhaios]

...SNIP....

This is very interesting and well said, but we can also draw the opposite conclusion with it (kerbol being the first word for "our sun belonging to us kerbals".)

But lets take another view and inspect kerbal and kerbin words.

- Both are created with the same prefix "kerb" meaning "us", "the people", etc...

- In one case we have the "al" suffix that I personally translate into "all". Kerbal meaning "all the kerbs".

- In the other case we have the 'in' suffix. Kerbin meaning "The stuff that Kerbs are in". In fact they are on, but they tend to violently and frequently try to be in the ground, so that will do. Or they are some sort of underground living creature, which explains why there is no cities on kerbal.

By using kerbol instead of sun, we can add a new word with the same construction :

Still the same prefix "kerb". The new "ol" suffix can be translated into "old". Which gives the "kerbol" word the meaning of "The old Kerb". We can then add a full mythology around it:

- With kerbol meaning "the old Kerb" being the name of a god. Which make sense as old cultures tend to make the sun a god of some sort.

- With kerbol meaning "the old Kerbs" being a way to describe an afterlife place. Kerbals having a tendency to die in big explosions, it makes senses that the afterlife is located in the sun.

It's still only brainstorming, but isn't it a valid way to present it ?

[Dunbaratu]

This is very interesting and well said, but we can also draw the opposite conclusion with it (kerbol being the first word for "our sun belonging to us kerbals".)

No actually, that *was* the case I was highlighting. Because if you're just translating a word between languages, then you don't treat it like a proper noun that you have to keep the same term for it - you just translate the word. If you're using it as "The bright ball in the sky", i.e. as its non-proper-noun usage, then "Kerbol" and "Sun" are just the same word in two different languages. It's only if you're using it as "zoom out your frame of reference and look at this star as being one of trillions, and we need a name to differentiate it from them." that it's a proper noun you shouldn't translate.

[Minarkhaios]

No actually, that *was* the case I was highlighting. Because if you're just translating a word between languages, then you don't treat it like a proper noun that you have to keep the same term for it - you just translate the word. If you're using it as "The bright ball in the sky", i.e. as its non-proper-noun usage, then "Kerbol" and "Sun" are just the same word in two different languages. It's only if you're using it as "zoom out your frame of reference and look at this star as being one of trillions, and we need a name to differentiate it from them." that it's a proper noun you shouldn't translate.

Oh ! My bad, I didn't understand correctly the first sentence and did read the all post in reverse.

[Kasuha]

I call it The Sun. I hate that "Kerbol" name. I would be happy with any name in line with planet names but Kerbol is just a childish play on the "K" meme to me.

[pizzaoverhead]

Moon -> Mun

Sun -> Soonâ„¢

[Minarkhaios]

another attempt to justify the names :

Kerb => "me","a people"

Kerbal (Kerb-al) => "us all","the tribe"

Kerbin (Kerb-in) => Two possible interpretations :

1. "us inn", where I live/eat/sleep

2. "us in", I live in it (kerbals being underground creatures or loving to crash in it).

Mun => "mother", believed to be some sort of mother goddess name.

Minmus => "the other mother" aka "the one that is only seen when mother is far away". Another goddess name, one that is obviously younger and slimmer than the mother goddess.

New names :

Kerbol (Kerb-ol) => "us old", either a god name :"the old kerb", or the afterlife place name "the old kerbs".

[Javster]

Just add something to the GUI that replaces Sun with Kerbol.

[Random Tank]

Moon -> Mun

Sun -> Soonâ„¢

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