Loading Video

[BlkBltChemie]

This is a completely minor, low priority suggestion. (And to be honest, I'd much rather the devs keep doing what they are doing rather than devote time to something like this, but I wanted to mention it because I think it sounds cool.)

Specifically, I think that it would be fun to have a loading video while the game is starting up rather than watching a yellow bar count off the assets as they are launched. Potential content already exists on the KSP official YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/KerbalSPOfficial) so they shouldn't have to do any new animations. I'm not talking about the gameplay sneak peeks, but the cinematic update trailers - "Selection Process," "Recovered Munar Footage," "Kerbal Science," "Kerbal Engineering," "Jeb's Junkyard," "Special Delivery," etc. Even the "Grab KSP on the Steam Summer Sale" video where a Kerbal gets grabbed on the Mun with a Claw. They are actually really good videos, in my opinion, and really capture what KSP is about.

Maybe some sort of compilation of these clips could run while the assets load in the background. (If so I think it should end with part of the "Teaser Trailer" which has a pod drifting away above Kerbin with "How hard can rocket science be anyway?" written on the side. If loading all the game assets takes longer than the video, then it can just go back to the background image with the yellow loading bar. And, of course, you should be able to disable/skip the video if you don't want to watch it.

For me, this is really just an "icing on the cake" sort of thing that would give some additional polish for the big 1.0 release and I really can't wait to see the new features they have in store for us in the update!

[michaelsteele3]

If you look at some FPS counter, it's usually very low.

Therefore, the video would be very choppy. Probably more laggy than usual due to it trying to load a video while loading all the parts.

[Alshain]

If you look at some FPS counter, it's usually very low.

Therefore, the video would be very choppy. Probably more laggy than usual due to it trying to load a video while loading all the parts.

That depends. From a technical standpoint a CPU can only ever do one thing at a time (or actually one thing per-core if supported) but often the CPU waits while something else is going on, like accessing the hard drive or RAM or the video card, etc. This all happens really fast but inevitably there are times where the CPU is waiting. In programming there is this technique called "threading" where by you take the unused parts of the CPU and put them to use on a secondary task in between processes of the primary task. The catch is that this secondary task has to be REALLY careful how it accesses the primary task which is why you can't just do that all the time (I am really trying to over simplify this explanation so programmers are going to look at it and say, "that's not quite right").

Whether or not threading can be done in concert with Unity is why it "depends", but it is theoretically possible.

[michaelsteele3]

That depends. From a technical standpoint a CPU can only ever do one thing at a time (or actually one thing per-core if supported) but often the CPU waits while something else is going on, like accessing the hard drive or RAM or the video card, etc. This all happens really fast but inevitably there are times where the CPU is waiting. In programming there is this technique called "threading" where by you take the unused parts of the CPU and put them to use on a secondary task in between processes of the primary task. The catch is that this secondary task has to be REALLY careful how it accesses the primary task which is why you can't just do that all the time (I am really trying to over simplify this explanation so programmers are going to look at it and say, "that's not quite right").

Whether or not threading can be done in concert with Unity is why it "depends", but it is theoretically possible.

Well, it would make it even harder for people with slower computers. And they have to put up with enough.

[Starwhip]

At least some kind of slideshow... maybe your in-game screenshots? (randomized?)

OOOH, you could have models of craft files! Little physicsless renderings are saved every time you save a craft, and the loading screen switches between them.

[masiboss]

At least some kind of slideshow... maybe your in-game screenshots? (randomized?)

OOOH, you could have models of craft files! Little physicsless renderings are saved every time you save a craft, and the loading screen switches between them.

yess oh yess

[DuoDex]

at least some kind of slideshow... Maybe your in-game screenshots? (randomized?)

oooh, you could have models of craft files! Little physicsless renderings are saved every time you save a craft, and the loading screen switches between them.

this!