Just not sure

[Davakar]

I have only recently been looking at this game and watching youtube videos doing some reading on it etc... I am so close to buying the game but the only thing stopping me is in everything that I have read and watched one question hasn't been answered.

What is the point of the game? I really do mean this in a sincere way, I have the fear I am going to buy it and put a couple of rockets, satellites, into space and then get bored of it. The fact that it is still under development also has me on edge, I have been burned a lot lately by games that are 'under development' and still have years to go before the real potential of it will even start to be seen.

What do you guys do while in game? What are your goals?

I have downloaded and played the demo, but I got the feeling that it was barely scratching the surface of the game.

[Vanamonde]

It's a sandbox kind of a game, so the point is what you make it. Some people fly realistic missions. Some people just like to build odd stuff. Some people mostly fly airplanes and don't go into space much. Some people explore, and some build bases. The game doesn't give you a goal so that you can set your own.

[HafCoJoe]

Look through the spacecraft exchange or watch people like EJ_SA on twitch if you want an example of the insanity people can do in KSP. There is so much you can do here I haven't run out of ideas yet.

What I do: Build boats, crash into blimps, para-drop guys out of cargo planes, build stunt planes, build rovers, make videos, experiment with all the possibilities of a sandbox game, and land on ALL the planets! This is a game worth getting in to.

Edited August 8, 2014 by Avera9eJoe

[Snakedoctor15]

I've been playing for over 3 years and I'm still not board. I land on planets, design sapcecraft, planes, lander, satellites, rockets, space stations, try to one up my friends who play it, etc. I've even recreated most nasa missions! You can also change it up by adding mods from the ever growing modding community to change gameplay and add more parts. It is an awesome game and Squad keeps updating and adding new content. So there is something for everyone no mater what type of gamer you on and the game just keeps getting better so if you get it I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

[kaboom1212]

The demo was barely scratching the surface. Ok so here is what happened for me. I bought the game and played for about 20 hours (total) I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed making crafts flying to planets, etc. etc. However I didn't know what to do after that. I got together with a group of friends and we started having "Space races" who could get to a planet first. It was a ton of fun. Pretty much I would say just have fun with it. Explore planets, do the career mode. Get a good feel for the game. Then go and get mods, mods add quite a bit more to the game like Krag's planet factory which adds other planets. find and test new crafts. Build a huge ship and then blow it up with your own home made missiles it's a ton of fun. If you really get bored try out the KMP or DMP mods (Kerbal Multiplayer , Dark multiplayer) then you'll be playing with friends and other people. I moved from a simple 20 hours to having a grand total of 274 hours (and counting) and I'm still not bored yet. It's hard to run out of things to do. It's worth every penny if you're going to buy it

[Clockwork_werewolf]

In terms of value for money nothing beats KSP on my steam list.

Nothing by a long shot.

I have 289 games on there. Games like borderland 2 have 79 hours for about £15-25 (can't remember but I usually buy things on sale). Killing floor is my second most played game at 336 hours for about £10. Kerbal space program cost me £10 (on sale) and has 918 hours of Gameplay. That's about 1p per hour.

The game has gone though a LOT of upgrades since the demo. Each new release adds about the same amounts as some small DLCs in other games. And there have been 6 since the demo version (I think). Each release is also designed to be as stable as practical unlike some games (The dead linger is the worst indev I have ever seen, never play it).

The game now has a sandbox where you can use all the 184 parts (the demo has 24). A science mode where you get science doing experiments on other planets to unlock the parts in a tech tree, and a carrier mode where you have missions to get science and money to afford your space ships.

This wiki shows all of the stock parts for the present game http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Parts but its also worth noting that there is a very large and well supported modding community in case you have managed to get bored of the stock game (and trust me that's hard I'm still playing mostly stock).

[Pecan]

The tutorial linked in my signature gives 30-odd ship designs that can go to every planet and moon in the system. THAT's barely scratching the surface of the game!

Apart from crazy stuff you can build rovers, aircraft, orbital, lunar and interplanetary spaceships and spacestations.

You can then fly them, even to other planets.

They can rendezvous and dock in space, transferring crew, fuel and other resources.

Science mode adds a (really nonsensical) tech-tree that you have to research by conducting scienctific experiments on/over different bodies.

Career mode adds costs, money, reputation and contracts so you need to perform certain missions in order to pay for the rest.

Then you're allowed to get bored. Seems to take some people 1,000 hours or so which makes it exceptional value for money. Especially as you'll have learnt all about rocket-science by then too ^^.

Of course, some people who can't cope with the real physics, maths, etc. get bored very quickly because they can't recreate star wars. If that's what you are looking for KSP probably isn't for you. Similarly, people looking for an Earth-historic simulator without wanting to design and build their own vehicles might prefer Orbiter.

[Davakar]

Thanks to everyone for the reply's. I went ahead and bought the game... I have gotten into space, but came back down, trying to figure out how to do my first complete orbit around Kerbin.

@Pecan, I will definitely work through your tutorial campaign.

You all have been very helpful.

Just one question, can you colonize the other planets?

[moogoob]

Yes you most definitely can. A one-way colony mission is actually one of the easier things to do (among interplanetary missions), especially on planets with an atmosphere like Duna or Eve where you can just use parachutes for a nice soft landing.

I would check out the youtube account of a guy by the name of Scott Manley. His tutorials are astounding (and he knows his astrophysics).

[Pecan]

Yes, Scott Manley is 'boss' of KSP - he's probably taught more of us more than anyone else.

Although you can colonise other planets and moons there isn't really any reason to in stock KSP, although bases can look pretty cool. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/48876-The-art-of-modular-base-building.

Get used to the game in stock first but you will soon realise, if you haven't already, that there are also loads of mods (free add-ons written by other players) for almost everything you might want to do. Amongst them is Karbonite (http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/89401-24-2-Karbonite-Mineable-Burnable-and-Community-Friendly-0-1-2-2014-08-05) which makes mining-colonies a practical thing. (You will also see lots of people talking about 'Kethane', which is an older version of more or less the same thing).