Kerbal Space Program
| Kerbal Space Program | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio |
 Squad |
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| Publisher |
 Take 2 Interactive
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| Senior Developer | Felipe Falanghe (no longer active) Robert Shaer |
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
Windows June 24, 2011 ( Early access ) April 27, 2015 PlayStation 4 July 12, 2016 Xbox One July 15, 2016  |
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| platform | Windows , macOS , Linux , PlayStation 4 , Xbox One | ||
| Game engine | Unity | ||
| genre | simulation | ||
| Subject | Space , space flight mechanics , technology , construction kit | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Keyboard and mouse | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Hardware: 2.0 GHz dual-core processor 4 GB RAM 512 MB graphics card Shader Model 3.0 4 GB free hard disk space Windows: Windows Vista, 7, 8 or 10 macOS: Intel-based Mac, OS X 10.8 or higher Linux: Debian-based distro |
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| medium | Download | ||
| language | English , Spanish , Russian , Chinese , Japanese , German , Italian , French , Brazilian Portuguese | ||
| Current version | Windows , macOS , Linux : 1.8 (October 17, 2019) | ||
| Age rating |
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The Kerbal Space Program ( KSP ) is a space simulation developed by Squad for Windows , macOS , Linux , PlayStation 4 and Xbox One . The player takes over tasks of the Kerbal Space Center, such as mission planning, rocket design and control of the rocket. The first publicly available version of the game was released on June 24, 2011 in the official Kerbal Space Program store. On March 20, 2013, the game was added to Steam's Early Access program. The game left the beta phase with version 1.0 on April 27, 2015 . The game supports the development of mods and has a large community of players that emerged shortly after its release. Notable members of the space industry have expressed an interest in the game, such as NASA and the CEO of SpaceX , Elon Musk . At Gamescom 2019 , the successor Kerbal Space Program 2 was announced, which should originally be released in 2020, the release date was later postponed to the end of 2021.
Gameplay
General
The computer game - a so-called sandbox game - has no goal in the actual sense. The player can construct rockets or aircraft from individual parts (e.g. command capsules , tanks, engines , control aids, landing legs) and then fly them. The large selection of components enables different missions, e.g. B. moon landings , the construction of space stations or landings on other planets . A player sets himself a goal (e.g. a manned landing on Minmus with subsequent return) and then tries to reach it as skilfully as possible with regard to its construction and flight route. The game offers the possibility to run several active missions at the same time, whereby only one can be controlled at the same time. The other missions continue to run in the background with a greatly reduced simulation depth. So z. For example, a space station continues to have a planet, but it only experiences detailed physical influences (such as decelerating in an atmosphere) when it is in the vicinity of the currently active mission.
Various green men, called kerbals, serve as pilots, engineers, scientists or tourists who perform different functions on board the spaceships. Their last name is always "Kerman", such as "Gene Kerman".
matchfield
The central star of the system is simply called “The Sun ” in the game , but the name “Kerbol” has become established in the community. It is orbited by the following celestial bodies (from inside to outside, moons as sub-points):
- Moho ( Mercury - pendant )
- Eve ( Venus counterpart)
- Gilly (Captured Asteroid)
- Kerbin (home planet from which the missions are started; Earth -Pendant)
- Mun ( moon counterpart)
- Minmus (little green moon)
- Duna ( Mars counterpart)
- Ike (rock moon, on an approximately circular orbit around Duna with a doubly bound rotation that only occurs in the solar system with Pluto and Charon .)
- Dres ( Ceres counterpart)
- Jool ( Jupiter counterpart)
- Eeloo (on a strongly eccentric orbit usually outside the Jool orbit, the orbits are similar to those of Neptune and Pluto in the real solar system)
Flight and maneuvers in space
During a flight there is always the possibility of opening an overview map in which the probable flight path relative to the central body is displayed. However, the display neglects air resistance , which is why the trajectory display is not useful within the atmosphere of a planet or for atmospheric braking.
Furthermore, maneuvers can be planned, the implementation of which is simplified by additional displays in the user interface (required position of the rocket, required thrust). This makes rendezvous with other orbiters easier .
One technique described in the official Wiki is so-called Asparagus Staging , which can give rockets a very high Delta-v value. Here, a whole bunch of is liquid fuel - boosters ignited at the same time; the rocket thus resembles a bundle of asparagus . During the flight, the boosters on the outside constantly refuel the boosters on the inside, so that only the boosters on the outside and the next to be thrown off have a tank filling of less than 100%. Thus, the rocket has a (still) completely filled tank at high altitude and at high speed. This technique was described by Mikhail Klawdijewitsch Tichonrawow in 1947 and was planned for the Falcon Heavy rocket in an early planning phase , but was not yet implemented due to the expected difficulties.
development
The game is written in C # and uses the Unity engine .
The first release of the game was version 0.7.3 on June 24th, 2011. Version 0.13.3 was already available on March 3, 2012 and version 0.18.3 on February 12, 2013. This version can also be downloaded as a free demo .
Career mode is available from version 0.22. At the beginning only simple spaceship components are available. A technology tree that can be gradually unlocked through scientific experiments provides better components.
With version 0.23.5, which bears the title "Asteroid Redirect Mission", asteroids have been inserted that the player can discover, explore and distract. There are so many new opportunities in cooperation with NASA .
Version 0.24 with the title "The First Contract" added orders and an economy system to the game . The player can accept various orders and receives money and prestige if they are fulfilled. Likewise, if you fail, your reputation drops. This opens up a whole new playing environment in that the player now has to pay attention to how much individual parts must cost and operate economically.
In version 0.25, the so-called "Economic Boom" update was added. This includes, among other things, destructible KSC buildings and a new office building in which the strategic direction of the space organization can be chosen. A complete set of components for a shuttle has been added under the name “Spaceplane Plus”.
On December 15, 2014 the game went into the beta phase with version 0.90 "Beta than ever".
With version 1.0 "We have Liftoff!" The first full version was published on April 27, 2015 , in which, among other things, a more realistic aerodynamics model and the associated improved atmospheric effects (such as overheating of unprotected parts upon re-entry), a payload fairing intended for this purpose and a resource system that enables fuel production on celestial bodies were implemented.
With version 1.1 "Turbo Charged" (released on April 19, 2016), the biggest change was from Unity 4 to Unity 5.2, for which large parts of the game had to be reprogrammed.
Version 1.2 "Loud & Clear" was released on October 11, 2016. The biggest innovation was that the radio link between a spaceship and the base u. a. is affected by planets or great distances. The signal must therefore be amplified via intermediate antennas.
In May 2017, the rights to the game were sold to the publisher Take 2 . The Making History expansion , developed by Studio Squad , was released in March 2018 . The Breaking Ground expansion was released on May 30, 2019 .
Version 1.3 "Away with Words" was released on May 25, 2017, Version 1.4 "Away with Words MK-II" was released on March 6, 2018, Version 1.5 "Dressed for Success" was released on October 15, 2018, Version 1.6 "To Vee or not to Vee "was released on December 19, 2018 and April 2019 brought version 1.7" Room to Maneuver ", version 1.8" Moar Boosters "was released on October 16, 2019, version 1.9" Theres no place like home "was released on 12. February 2020.
Extensions
Making history
In the DLC Making History (released March 2018) mainly some historical parts (especially parts of the Apollo program ) were added. There are also some other launch options such as the island and the desert launch platform in the DLC .
Breaking ground
The Breaking Ground DLC (released May 2019) mainly focused on robotic parts. This enabled the player to make helicopters and rotors himself and to manufacture constructions with pistons, hinges and other parts. In addition, it includes the possibility of obtaining additional research points by setting up stationary systems.
With the free expansion announced for July 2020, ESA missions can be replayed.
Mods
The structure of the game gives users the opportunity to create and insert changes and extensions (so-called mods ). Hence, there is a remarkable modding community and a large number of mods. These can be simple additional components (e.g. an engine) or complex plug-ins (e.g. autopilot ). When replacing missiles or airplanes, care must be taken to ensure that the mods used are also installed in the receiver's game. Occasionally, modders are added to the development team.
Cooperation with NASA
On March 5, 2014, the developers announced a cooperation with the US aerospace authority NASA , which will focus on the New Asteroid Initiative . For this purpose, asteroids were built into the game in version 0.23.5, which approach the home planet at different distances (up to the impact ). The player should discover, track, deflect and explore these asteroids.
“The collaboration with Kerbal Space Program can help drive interest by future explorers in next-generation technology development and deep space exploration. Having an element of the experience based in the reality of NASA's exploration initiatives empower players to manage their own space program while getting valuable insight into the reality of studying asteroids as a next step in getting to Mars. ”
“Working with the Kerbal Space Program can help generate interest in future generations in the development of new technologies and space exploration. With elements from the real-world NASA "Exploration Initiative", players have the opportunity to manage their own space program while they get real, valuable insights into the exploration of asteroids, which represents a next step to Mars. "
successor
On August 19, 2019, Gamescom announced Kerbal Space Program 2 with a trailer . In the sequel, travel beyond the solar system should be possible. In addition, options for building colonies and a multiplayer mode were announced. The game is not developed by Squad like the first part but by Star Theory Games and should be released in 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One . The planned release date was later postponed to the end of 2021, which was due, among other things, to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic .
Web links
- Official website
- Kerbal Space Program Wiki
- German KerbalSpaceProgram forum
- Kerbal Space Program's channel on YouTube
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kerbal Space Program Download . kerbalspaceprogram.com. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- ↑ - Kerbal Space Program 1.8: “Moar Boosters !!!” is now available!
- ↑ Space game: Kerbal Space Program has started . April 28, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ↑ a b Kerbal Space Program 2 announced, comes in 2020 with multiplayer . August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ↑ a b Kerbal Space Program 2 now aiming for launch in late 2021 . In: PC Gamer . May 22, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020.
- ↑ Kerbal Space Program chronicle - part one: achieving orbit for science . In: PC Gamer . Future plc . July 16, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- ↑ a b (Not) Rocket Science In Kerbal Space Program . In: Rock Paper Shotgun . May 24, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- ↑ Kerbol in the Kerbal Space Program Wiki. Retrieved April 28, 2015 .
- ↑ Asparagus staging. In: Kerbal Space Program Wiki. Retrieved November 7, 2015 .
- ^ Tom Logsdon: Orbital Mechanics: Theory and Applications . 1st edition. John Wiley & Sons, 1997, ISBN 0-471-14636-6 , pp. 288 .
- ↑ John K. Strickland: The SpaceX Falcon Heavy Booster: Why Is It Important? In: National Space Society . September 2011, accessed on June 16, 2020 : "Part of the Falcon Heavy flight efficiency is achieved by a method that has been known for decades, but no one else has been willing to attempt to implement it. This method is called propellant cross-feeding. All three Falcon boosters use full thrust at takeoff to lift the massive rocket. During flight, the outer two stages pump part of their propellant into the center stage. They thus run out of propellant faster than you would expect, but the result is that the center (core) stage has almost a full load of propellant at separation where it is already at altitude and at speed. Unfortunately, very little information has been released on the cross-feeding system to be used by the Falcon Heavy. It would only be used for payloads exceeding 50 metric tons. "
- ↑ Kerbal Wiki 0.23.5 , Changelog of Update 0.23.5
- ↑ Kerbal Wiki 0.24 , Changelog of Update 0.24
- ↑ Devnote Tuesday: Compiling, Staging and Rocket Science! Retrieved November 16, 2015 .
- ↑ Announcement of version 1.2 on YouTube
- ↑ Kerbal Space Program's first expansion has a release date (update)
- ↑ Kerbal Space Program lets you replay real space missions soon , Gamestar May 19, 2020
- ↑ NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab is obsessed with a certain game [... ] . In: Penny Arcade . June 18, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- ↑ Announcement of the addition of Bac9 to the development team . In: Official forum . May 14, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ↑ Kerbal Space Program To Add NASA Asteroid Redirect Mission to Game . March 5, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ^ Phil Savage: Kerbal Space Program 2 announced. In: PC Gamer. August 19, 2019, accessed August 20, 2019 .
- ↑ Oliver Nickel: The Kerbals fly to distant planets in multiplayer. In: Golem.de . August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019 .