In-game Knowledge Base for info necessary to play the game

[GusTurbo]

Forgive me if this has been posted before -- I did a forum search and didn't find anything like it, at least not recently.

The Issue

Currently, the game relies on the user having a lot of outside knowledge since it doesn't explain much in-game. Example: what do apoapsis and periapsis mean? As it stands, a player would need to either figure it out themselves, or go look it up online. Knowing what these terms mean and their significance is a very important aspect of the game, yet the game doesn't equip the player to understand them. For example, even if they could figure out that Pe and Ap are the lowest and highest points of an orbit, they probably don't know about the Oberth Effect. New players probably also don't know what specific impulse means or what gimbal or thrust vectoring mean, and these are bits of information that game provides to you at the start.

One solution to this would be to explain all of this information in a series of tutorials. That might work, but it would require the player to complete the tutorials and re-play them if they wanted to revisit specific information. The tutorials would also require some very intentional design in order to convey the information in a useful way. A big part of this game's design, as stated by Harvester, is self-guided exploration. My solution fits into this concept.

Solution: The Knowledge Base

The solution I'm suggesting is to create an in-game Knowledge Base (KB) comprised of brief explanations of important game concepts. The knowledge base would be placed in the R&D center and would essentially be optional. If players don't want to get bogged down with technical concepts, they can always do things the "Kerbal" way, and slap some boosters on something. But if they find that they can't overcome a certain challenges (like achieving orbit), they can head to the KB and find out that orbiting the planet isn't about going straight up into space, but throwing your rocket at the ground and missing. The idea is to explain things in a brief, intuitive way without getting into equations or more technical information. For the players who are interested in learning more, they can go to wikipedia or pick up a book. My suggestion is about providing players with all of the information that they might need to play the game, but doing so in an unobtrusive way that allows them to seek out and explore the information at their own pace.

When I first started playing this game, I was often frustrated and I wanted to find out why certain things were happening or what things meant. If the Hows and Whys are contained within the game, it keeps the player engaged in the game itself, because they don't have to interrupt their gameplay by checking the game wiki, wikipedia, or forum posts. Keeping the player in the game itself enhances immersion, which is always a good thing. Providing the information also has the added benefit of making the game itself more educational, without bombarding the player with tool tips or forcing them to play tutorials.

One issue I'm wrestling with is how much information should be available and when. In Sandbox Mode, I think that all of the information should be available from the start. In Career Mode, I'm on the fence. One implementation might have the player uncover more knowledge as they collect more science or upgrade facilities. This would be appealing from a gameplay perspective because the improvements in science and facilities would feel more meaningful, and would allow you to try new things from a technical standpoint (e.g. more parts available, higher vessel mass, more orbital information available like patched conics), but also a knowledge standpoint (e.g. knowing what "patched conics" means, understanding transfer orbits, grasping the concept of delta V). If this knowledge becomes available, it should be available before the player tries to do something new. The idea being that Kerbal scientists and engineers have figured out these things from a theoretical standpoint, and you the player can go and test the models and theories by trying them out yourself. That allows two approaches: you can either read about the concept first, then try it out, or you can try it out, then go read about the Hows and Whys after you fail. The player isn't forced to "study for the test," so the game doesn't become boring for some, but the information is there if you need it, and the player knows where to find it.

I believe that an in-game Knowledge Base would allow the game to better stand on its own and improve player immersion. This information should be enough to give the player a basic understanding, but not so much as to be intimidating or tedious. I'm curious to hear feedback on this idea from others and perhaps brainstorm ideas for implementation.

TL;DR

Keep the tutorials. Add an in-game library (or Knowledge Base) to the R&D building for helpful information.

Edited December 18, 2014 by GusTurbo

[CaptainKipard]

Add videos for visual learners.

[sal_vager]

There is something like this already, the beginnings of it anyway, you can see in the map screen a few icons on the right, these give info on craft, planets and similar.

The back-end is mostly there, all this really needs now is the content, and beta is all about content

Interestingly enough, it is actually called the knowledge base.

Edited December 18, 2014 by sal_vager
Added pic

[GusTurbo]

Good point, sal. The big part of my idea is to make all of this information available in a central location in addition to the current info available in various locations in-game.

I also like the idea of videos, though that might cause the game to balloon in size with respect to disk space.

[klgraham1013]

edit: Ok. A knowledge base for reference is a good idea, but...

The best tutorials flow within the game itself. I've said before that contracts are the perfect means to teach players. A simple question when starting career mode (whether you're new to the game) would lead you down a structured path of contracts. You would learn about TWR, delta v, gravity turns, orbital mechanics. All in a linear fashion meant to slowly introduce players to the game's mechanics.

Info dumps are never good and are usually skipped over. This is a game. We should rely on in game mechanisms to teach the player.

[sal_vager]

Contracts that act as, or trigger mini tutorials in the game are a good idea, with short video clips to help people to understand.

Stuff like this should be coming actually, and most of the knowledge base stuff is given to Jim (Romfarer) to implement.

[GusTurbo]

I'm not suggesting getting rid of tutorials for learning, but supplementing them. The information should be available in-game for those who want to look for it. Part of the appeal is that players don't have to get bogged down in the Knowledge Base, but it's there if they want it or need it.

[klgraham1013]

It's a good idea, GusTurbo. I got a little overzealous at the mention of tutorials, since I feel the solution is starring Squad in the face.

[sal_vager]

It is klgraham1013, but it won't hurt to remind them

[ddenis]

Absolutely into it.

Such library is essential thing for new users. and old, also, when they will decide to get dipper into game. It would be great for questions like this: Specify orbit direction in mission description for "probe in set orbit" contracts, this question was asked because no information was given to user with opening new contracts.

Not all people who play KSP have relation to space science.