The 10,000 Hour Rule.

[Starwhip]

Not that I, nor anyone here (probably) has played for this long, but many people and books and whatnot say that after 10,000 hours of doing something, one is practically a master at it.

So what happens when someone has played Kerbal Space Program for 10,000 hours? Speculations?

(I'd say they have the physics engine in their head and can simulate the game without the computer )

(Or they become Whackjob, and their computer explodes in agony.)

[Xacktar]

Expertise is the Psyche term for that. Realistically, it would mean the person's mind would be rewired to access memory and perform KSP-related tasks with greater speed and efficiency than normal.

They would also be pretty bored with KSP, as strange as that may sound. XD

(640 hr vet here, starting to get a little tired... but I still come back and play quite a bit.)

[The Destroyer]

I would say it's not the time, it's what you do.

For instance if you explode things for 1000 hours... you won't get anywhere.

[Red Iron Crown]

I don't know. I know people who've had the same job for 10 years (~20,000 hours) and are still bad at it.

[WinkAllKerb'']

bah until it make everyone laugh insteed of crying that's cool plus if you liked it so much to play 10,000 hours so far, next gen might find the interest in it too, and after all nothing has more value than that

Edited May 30, 2014 by WinkAllKerb''
ground typo

[TimePeriod]

666 hours so far on steam, I am slightly afraid to start up the game.

[TheDarkStar]

I haven't switched to Steam, but I estimate 2k hours.

[LitaAlto]

It requires 10,000 hours of very specific practice--the kind that keeps pushing you outside your comfort zone and forces you to optimize your skills.

You pretty much have to keep coming up with new challenges in KSP, all the time, or otherwise you're just reinforcing what you're already doing, and that's no way to gain actual expertise. That's really easy to do early on but as time passes and you knock down milestone after milestone you get to diminishing results.

[Franklin]

they get very very good at absentmindedly watching numbers count down.

[[email protected]]

A blood clot developes in their legs due to prolonged inactivity, travels into their heart and they die of a massive heart attack.

[Guest]

As you can see at my signature... I have 600 hours... (Actually I haven't updated my signature.... I think It's 634 by now....)

It Suprisingl hasn't got old... But I think KSP will become the new Minecraft...

It'll become fun as hell for months (Or even years) and then... You'll get bored due to lack of stuph to do.

Then... Everyone will get bored.... Until... Every person that plays it is bored.... and then It'll be forgotten...

Minecraft has tried to revive... (Using updates) and the videos still get at the most 1,040 views.

THAT is what I'm afraid of.... Becoming Minecraft.....

[Superfluous J]

I don't know. I know people who've had the same job for 10 years (~20,000 hours) and are still bad at it.

First off, this made me laugh and I'm giving you Karma for it if the board allows me.

Secondly, I bet those people are experts at standing around and talking.

Thirdly, thanks for making me feel old realizing that I've almost spent 40,000 hours at my job.

[LaytheAerospace]

Ugh, 8000 hours as a software engineer? Really? Man...

Anyway, the 10,000 hour thing isn't likely to apply to something with activities as diverse as KSP, especially given how often the game changes. If you played the same version of the game for 10,000 hours, doing roughly the same thing, like building rockets but not launching them, then sure. But I think long before then your subject would go mad, chew off his thumbs and smear feces on the walls.

[SkyRender]

I heard a good explanation once on the reason why some people get no better at something no matter how long they do it. "Some people have 10 years of experience, others have 1 year of experience 10 times over." If you never actually get anything out of doing something, it doesn't matter how long you do it, you'll never actually improve. Similarly, if you're particularly determined to get better at something and know how to focus on it to get the results you're after, you can make enormous leaps of progress in a relatively short timeframe.

[Guest]

I heard a good explanation once on the reason why some people get no better at something no matter how long they do it. "Some people have 10 years of experience, others have 1 year of experience 10 times over." If you never actually get anything out of doing something, it doesn't matter how long you do it, you'll never actually improve. Similarly, if you're particularly determined to get better at something and know how to focus on it to get the results you're after, you can make enormous leaps of progress in a relatively short timeframe.

I can't believe how true you are.

[cantab]

I think that adage only really applies to skills, the sort of thing that you need to practice until they become second nature. So for KSP it would apply to flying the ships; with 10,000 hours experience you'd be pulling off Tylo landings at 4x warp with 1:1 TWRs and bare minimum fuel and flying planes with the CoM miles ahead of the CoL while simultaneously holding a conversation with your mother about Coronation Street. I don't think it's so relevant for things that are based around knowledge and intellect though; I don't think you'd need anything like 10,000 hours to become a great designer of craft, for example.

[Red Iron Crown]

I think it's a one way relation. Very few "experts" at some things haven't done the 10,000 hours, but someone can log 10,000 hours and still not be an expert.

[kola2DONO]

Have played about 190 hours.

Yet i have still not been on Eeloo.

Mostly because i'm so fascinated with Eve, Duna, Kerbin and their moons and space in general.

[Epthelyn]

If you start playing KSP on the day you are born and continue playing it until you die of whatever aged 70 then you'd have to play KSP for 23 minutes a day, every day, for 70 years (1 in 61.32 of your time).

I wouldn't call it mastery so much as mindless dedication; 23 minutes a day isn't a lot and obviously you're going to play for more than that, but without fail for 70 years is a daunting prospect. That is assuming you live to be 70. If you play computer games this much you probably won't.

As others have said, 10000 does not imply any form of expertise. If you've played for 10000 hours and completely suck at the game then you're probably doing something really weird and you should seek a time machine and get the 14 months of your life you wasted back, but I've seen people on these forums saying they've taken 100+ hours to get to something as 'simple' as Mun, yet here I am at 142 and I've been everywhere and returned from all but Tylo and Eve.

[Madrias]

I've chucked 1490 hours into KSP. I'm far from mastering the game, though I'm comfortable enough with the basics.

[Rainbowtrout]

But I think KSP will become the new Minecraft...

No, our community is too good for that. A game's community decides it's direction. KSP has a smarter community than minecraft, and at least being a KSP Fanboy is a good thing. Though Minecraft is fun.

Also, 10K hours is a bit much. Even for KSP, where there is no learning curve, only a brick wall. I think 5k hours makes you an experienced player, but not a master.

[karolus10]

Ten thousand hours is quite a lot... for perspective entire year had only 8,760 hours... in practice it will take you couple years of playing, maybe more.

[Javster]

I have a friend who has done half the hours I have, and has done Dres and Duna return missions. I have only just completed a Duna orbit

[Guest]

No, our community is too good for that. A game's community decides it's direction. KSP has a smarter community than minecraft, and at least being a KSP Fanboy is a good thing. Though Minecraft is fun.

Also, 10K hours is a bit much. Even for KSP, where there is no learning curve, only a brick wall. I think 5k hours makes you an experienced player, but not a master.

That is true. We are more intelligent community (Then again you have to be intelligent to like the game.) But what I'm saying is that... Every good thing has an end... Including indie games, and EVENTUALLY It'll become forgotten bits of data.

[WinkAllKerb'']

use and (don't) abuse recursive process yup yup ff, i do prefer seing each differences as a form of intelligence in anyway regardless of any value, time, or self environnement reference concern.

This do not apply only to KSP and Indies.

EDIT: in the same way xx xxx hours spent somewhere has potentential to be used elsewhere

Edited May 31, 2014 by WinkAllKerb''