SQUAD - Look what you have done!! (Thank you Thread)

[Keepbro]

Dear Squad,

I'd like to start by thanking you all and calling you all sods. Please be only slightly offended as there's a reason why I must thank you by insulting you. It all started last year when I purchased your very fun game and started my own abortive attempts in creating spaceships to plunge into the depths of space and boldly go yadda yadda yadda. It was in the middle of one of my attempts that my young son Charlie (aged 2 1/2) saw the spaceship suffer multiple staging failure and plummet like a brick onto the launch pad creating a ginormous explosion that killed all 3 kerbals onboard. He thought it was hilarious. Thus began a period of Charlie wanting to play "Spaceships" where his job was to act as keyboard manager and push the buttons that Daddy directed. This necessitated frequent saving but was fun. Charlie would sit on my lap, we would count down and then he would push space (or more accurately he would push space several times causing explosive failure on the launchpad) to start a rocket journey. We've been to the Mun and Minimus and back and set-up a Space Station. Right now we are working on a re-usable Shuttle.

Sadly though this is where it all begins to go pear-shaped. He now, thanks to you, is absolutely fixated on Spaceships. Any spaceships. I've seen him stick several duplo blocks together and then watch as he counts down and then runs round the room going "bwaaaaaaa" in the style of your rocket exhaust with the rocket in his hand. Some may think this sweet but sadly I know better. Whenever we go to the shops he looks for Spaceships, any spaceships. Anything that smells of NASA or space exploration is played with. He now ignores all his other toys (except Minions from Despicable Me) and wants only spaceships.

Do you know what you have done? You have bankrupted me. I will now inevitably face the burden of having to support him through schools that teach electronics, science, aviation, astronomy and astro-physics. This means a private education. Do you realize how much this costs? By planting the seed of awesomeness in his young mind you have doomed me to years of watching him doing all sorts of extra-activities such as scuba diving, gliders, Russian and Chinese lessons, staying up at night so he can star-gaze through some ridiculously expensive telescope, pilots licenses, sending him to SANDHURST so he can become an officer, join the air corps, join the ESA and become a Spaceship Driver (or Astronaut to use the common terminology).

So I would like to thank you for inspiring young Charlie and making him spaceship mad. that you have also doomed me to working flat out to afford all the stuff and more importantly the education background that is needed for someone to become a Space Captain of tomorrow is however why I am also calling you sods. I hope you understand where I'm coming from though and please keep up the very excellent work that you have done with this game. That it inspires children in becoming spaceship mad is something truly singular among the legions of games out there.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Keepbro
Profanity is a no-no, censored or no. :)

[Axelord FTW]

Hey, hey. If you want to be reimbursed, I'm sure Squad and/or Steam can work something out! There, not their fault anymore.

P.S. I've been teaching my brother about spaceships too recently. He's real cute about it. Strange to see your 28 year old brother being into rocketry so much. Thankfully, he has been able to change his diapers for quite some time.

EDIT:

This means a private education.

It does?

Edited January 29, 2015 by Axelord FTW

[Broax]

I'm sure that if there was a KSP when I was a kid it would have a major impact on my life... The Squad team is full of ba***** for nor releasing KSP 20 years sooner. KSP for ZX Spectrum!!!

EDIT: Obviously you'd need the 128k spectrum if you wanted to play with mods...

[LordFjord]

Whoa longtime lurker, welcome to the forums.

Pro tip if you have a little girl: get Kerbpaint + Pink rockets = lots of giggles for SCIENCE

Junior loves to fly bombers and see the VAB go down in ashes (usually together with him). He also found out that Jeb can jump from the top of the VAB and survive!

[Wjolcz]

Yep. Squad has done the same thing to me. I found about the game when I was sadly too old for reeducation. If I got this game like 15 years ago I would be probably doing completely something else. But now its more of a hobby. The game itself seriously influenced me and I started to be interested in all that aeronautics and space exploration stuff. I wish I was as eager to learn physics and math 15 years ago as I am now : (

Edited January 29, 2015 by Veeltch

[Dragonseye]

That is, severely cool. I wish I'd had this game 20 years ago; I'd probably be flying planes by now instead of writing fantasy novels. Oh well. I think I ultimately chose the more difficult path. Writing fiction isn't for the faint of heart.

[StrandedonEarth]

Sounds familiar. Whatever they see daddy doing at that age they will fixate on for the next three years or so, until they see what their friends are doing.

At that age my son saw me building some shelves at home. This began a three year fascination with all things construction, mainly Bob the Builder, Handy Manny, and even Mike Holmes (whom he wanted to go as one Halloween). Sadly, it passed, leaving us with a small mountain of plastic tools. Hopefully your son's interest will continue to burn as brightly as an S1-SRB.

Can we build it? Yes we can! Can we fly it? Hopefully.... Erm, maybe not. Can we fix it? Not when it's scattered across the KSC lawn...

[Grover]

Didnt you read the disclaimer before you bought the game and showed your children?

Im afraid to say that the bringing of awesomeness into your childs life was strictly your own doing.

Maybe in 20 years we might watch Keepbro Jr. Walk on mars for the first time, or land the first colonisation effort on the moon? Who knows how this Awesomeness will manifest when administered from such a young age?

[boa3532]

My 3 year old was the same way. Always wanted to "blas off hocket hip!" My oldest son and I played KSP quite a bit with the young one sitting in our laps...

Then one while playing at a playground a garbage truck came by and emptied one of the big dumpsters in the parking lot. KSP is now no more for him. And worse of all, his grandmother and mother has supported his garbage truck fantasty. In the last 75 days the kid has acquired 14 toy garbage trucks and 30 some-odd toy garbage bins of all shapes and size.

My point is, you never know when their obsession will switch to something else, and you'll be surprised how quick it changes.

Enjoy it while it lasts!

[HafCoJoe]

I should try doing this with my four year old brother! The nerve of them se genius SQUAD members! They just can't help but make an addicting space game can they . I was obsessed with space and rockets when I was under the age of five and soon got to planes, trains, and hot wheels. If he grows out of space in the future, be sure to re-introduce it to him in high school or middle school. He might turn out to really enjoy it (like me)!

[Rolanvorxariat]

Look at what you have done squad. You have inspired me to go the hard astrophysics path, and my parents will have to spend money on letting me go to caltech or something like that now. No, JK, thanks for doing that.