Kerbal Space Program - A completely free (for now) Spore-like rocket builder

[fatpat268]

So, I figured someone would've posted about this, but I guess not.

Anyway, it's a pretty new game, still in development that lets you design your own rockets and launch them.

You can download the latest version of the game here:
http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/download.php

More info:

About Kerbal Space Program

Kerbal Space Program is a multi-genre game where the player can create his own space program.

In KSP, you must build a space-worthy craft, capable of flying it's crew out into space, without killing them.At your disposal is a collection of parts, which must be assembled to create a functional ship. Each part has it's own function and will affect the way a ship flies (or doesn't).So strap yourself in, and get ready to try some Rocket Science!

Main Features:

The Vehicle Assembly Building. allows players to build spacecraft out of any imaginable combination of parts.
Fully-fledged, Physics-based Flight Simulation ensures everything will fly (and crash) as it should.
Procedural Terrain delivers detailed terrain at a vast scale. The Kerbal Planet is 600km in radius!
Mod-enabled, allows players to create new content and modify the game.
Ship systems. Keep an eye out for engine temperatures and fuel levels, and try not to explode.
Build ships with multiple stages, and jettison parts away as they burn out.
Full control over the staging sequence allows for complex ships and advanced functionality.

Planned Features:

Take on Missions to attract interest in your Space Program. Or use the Mission Planner to create your own missions.
Manage your Space Program. Hire astronauts, train them, research and improve parts.
Fly out to Moons and other Planets
Build Space Stations, and surface bases on other worlds.
And a whole lot more!
KSP is still under development, so many things are not yet as they should be. We are working hard to be constantly improving the game however, and it will be regularly updated with bug fixes and new content, so make sure to check back for new versions. We are also always listening to feedback from the players, and we welcome ideas and suggestions.

Currently the game is being built as an open sandbox. There are no objectives yet. You're free to build anything you can think of, and fly it wherever you want, even into orbit.

The first versions are free to download and play, and will remain so forever. After the game reaches a certain state of development, it will be available for purchase at a discounted price, which will gradually increase up to it's final retail price as the game nears completion. So by ordering early, you get the game for a lot less, and you'll get all future updates for free.

Have Fun!

I'll let the pictures describe it:

 

[Nintendesert]

Can I make the rockets come down on countries I do not like?

 

[fatpat268]

Can I make the rockets come down on countries I do not like?

Haha, not quite. The Kerbals are a peaceful species. :biggrin:

 

[Nintendesert]

This is a lot of fun to see how outrageous a rocket I can build. Those poor Kerbal things are getting hurt.

 

[Albatross]

Is anybody else getting a suspicious file warning on KSP.exe?

 

[fatpat268]

It's most likely a false positive.

Microsoft Security Essentials didn't complain.

 

[Albatross]

It's most likely a false positive.

Microsoft Security Essentials didn't complain.

It was exactly MSE asking me to send the file for further analysis.

 

[fatpat268]

It was exactly MSE asking me to send the file for further analysis.

Have you updated your definitions lately?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with it... otherwise there wouldn't be a huge following for it already at somethingawful.

 

[novasatori]

Daily Schedule
Wake Up
Wor- BUILD ROCKETS ALL DAY
Sleep

Here are some of the must have parts IMO:

Wobbly Rockets - Adds tons of parts including RCS which helps maneuver heavy rockets and an escape tower like the Apollo one so you can escape a terrible rocket even at 0/0

Mk 17 and Mk 16-3 Parachute - The Mk 16-3 is a tri parachute which is useful if you want to land with the Pod and an RCS since the RCS counts as a crew mod if you jettison it it will kill the kerbals, with the 16-3 you can return with all intact.

Excelsior Class - These Engines are extremely efficient/powerful and are kind of like cheating, but also a lot of Fun, an E-500 with a couple fuel tanks can reach escape velocity pretty easily.

Also there are two others linked in the SA thread just above me which are pretty good.

 

[Spoooon]

Fun game. Taking a bit to get the hang of flying though.

 

[fatpat268]

Daily Schedule
Wake Up
Wor- BUILD ROCKETS ALL DAY
Sleep

Here are some of the must have parts IMO:

Wobbly Rockets - Adds tons of parts including RCS which helps maneuver heavy rockets and an escape tower like the Apollo one so you can escape a terrible rocket even at 0/0

Mk 17 and Mk 16-3 Parachute - The Mk 16-3 is a tri parachute which is useful if you want to land with the Pod and an RCS since the RCS counts as a crew mod if you jettison it it will kill the kerbals, with the 16-3 you can return with all intact.

Excelsior Class - These Engines are extremely efficient/powerful and are kind of like cheating, but also a lot of Fun, an E-500 with a couple fuel tanks can reach escape velocity pretty easily.

Also there are two others linked in the SA thread just above me which are pretty good.

Looks like the ksp site is down right now, but here's another link for extra parts. It contains several large realistic parts like the Space Shuttle's liquid tank and SRBs.

Click this link for extra parts


My next goal is to put a rocket into orbit. The guys over at SA have been doing that already. My problem is, with the stock parts, I can never get to orbiting altitude with enough fuel left over.

Here's a simple rocket built with these parts. It easily took me to 17km in altitude before it started falling again. The solid rockets burn for twice the length as the standard srb, and they have quite a bit more thrust.

 

[novasatori]

I had luck getting into orbit and escape velocities with stock parts by cloning the Delta Rocket, here is my design:

All 7 LF engines should fire in the first stage, and burn the central engine throughout.

Should get you to 50km with 2 tanks of fuel for circularizing the orbit, its a pretty easy and fun one to fly.

 

[zoic]

Can anybody upload the installer please?

The website is still down

 

[fatpat268]

I had luck getting into orbit and escape velocities with stock parts by cloning the Delta Rocket, here is my design:

All 7 LF engines should fire in the first stage, and burn the central engine throughout.

Should get you to 50km with 2 tanks of fuel for circularizing the orbit, its a pretty easy and fun one to fly.

I just copied a design similar to yours, and I get to high altitude with plenty of fuel, but I'm having a difficult time actually maneuvering the rocket.

I used 5 main fuel tanks, 4 Liquid rockets with two fuel tanks (5 simultaneous rockets firing), then the second stage has 4 srbs + the remaining middle rocket engine. Getting to 50 km with more than 2.5 fuel tanks remaining.

I think I just need more practice.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i'm having a hell of a time controlling the rockets

i wonder if it's advantageous or possible to set up controls on a game controller

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Yeah controlling the rocket is similar to the scene in Apollo 13 when they used Earth in the window as a guide. Can someone give me a tip how to load more rocket parts in. I know where to DL them but how do you install them in the game?

 

[novasatori]

extract to ksp\parts\

 

[fatpat268]

i'm having a hell of a time controlling the rockets

i wonder if it's advantageous or possible to set up controls on a game controller

FWIW, I don't think the controller setups work right yet... at least with a 360 controller.

Once it does and works via analog sticks, I think it'll be much easier to control, since using the keyboard is completely digital.

 

[fatpat268]

Update 0.8.5 is out. Go to main site, or here is a mirror: http://www.mediafire.com/file/czxt6h8z56sg0bd/KSP_win_0_8_5.zip

Play the game people!

Changelog:

===================================== v0.8.5 ================================================

New:
* Added copying of parts (and sets of parts) by holding Alt while clicking on them.
* Replaced tricoupler textures and UV mapping (UV map by Dippeggs)
* Parachutes can now deploy automatically if jettisoned along with other parts (allowing for parts to be safely landed)
* Stage decouplers can now share fuel across stages.
* Added Keys to control the camera in the VAB (+/- for zooming, pgup/pgdown for scrolling)
* Added Keys to control the camera in flight (+/- for zooming)
* Added some sound effects for the parachute opening
* Added cfg-definable parameter for parachute autodeployment delay
* Added a debugging console to the game (can be toggled with Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C)
* Right-clicking the Symmetry Button will now step the symmetry mode back.
* It is no longer possible to select a part of the ship while the mouse is over any interface items.
* Added toggle key to switch between precision or instant input modes (Caps Lock)
* Pitch, Yaw and Roll gauges change color to indicate mode (orange for instant, cyan for precision)
* Exposed Kd, Ki and Kp parameters for tuning the SAS and CommandPod modules

Bug Fixes:
* Fixed the staging lock LED not turning purple after launch
* Icons no longer show a transparent border floating around then mousing over disconnected parts.
* Fixed a bug where deleting a symmetrical part would sometimes leave it's counterparts floating around.
* Fixed a bug where creating a new stage with a decoupler and then removing it would generate errors.
* Fixed most sound volume decay over distance problems.
* Fixed a bug that caused a massive performance drop when fuel tanks emptied (fuel tank switch lag bug)
* The Flight camera will now remain always centered on the ship's center of mass.
* The Screenshot function will now create a Screenshots directory if one isn't found.
* The altimeter will now go past 999,999K correctly (it will move up to 1000M, then 1000G, 1000T and so on)
* Fixed a bug that could cause large ships to explode at 5,000m altitude.

 

[funboy6942]

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[fatpat268]

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If you're having difficulty downloading it, use the mirror: http://www.mediafire.com/file/czxt6h8z56sg0bd/KSP_win_0_8_5.zip

 

[BurnItDwn]

Hmm, this could be a neat little toy for when I want to play something "light" (Been playing mount & blade: warband lately, and tinkering with some mods)

 

[novasatori]

Hmm, this could be a neat little toy for when I want to play something "light" (Been playing mount & blade: warband lately, and tinkering with some mods)

There is nothing "light" about Jeb Kerman.

 

[maevinj]

Looks fun!

 

[BurnItDwn]

There is nothing "light" about Jeb Kerman.

well, by light, i meant casual game, or at least game with a short learning curve. I didn't mean it like it was a bad thing.

EDIT: If I am wrong and it's actually a more complicated game, then I will become addicted to it