![]() In other words, it's not near its official release yet. ![]() The game is presently in its "alpha" release. But it's still good enough for government work.) But hey, it is just a game, and it doesn't need a extra beefy computer, but that leaves out Lagrangian orbits of course. (Also it should be noted that the orbital modeling is in the form of conic patches, rather than true, n-body mechanics. That includes not just orbital mechanics, but the stuff in rocket design like thrust to weight ratios, specific impulse etc. But conceptually speaking, the intuition gained is priceless. Yes, there are these differences - it is a game after all. It is just a game after all: The Kerbal's "stabilizer" technology is more advanced than anything humans have the jet-packs on Kerbal space suits or more than an order of magnitude more powerful than those of NASA the planets are smaller and denser, etc. Conceptually, from a high level, the things you do in KSP are the same sorts of things that are actually done by NASA (and space programs of other countries). I've gained a new respect for programs like the Voyager and Apollo missions. The neat thing about that is what one learns in KSP can apply to real life here on Earth. (Although you could use math and equations if you really wanted to - the physics modeled by KSP is conceptually quite realistic). ![]() And I didn't even put any effort into it! After a few days playing KSP, it comes naturally! (I'm surprised by this as anyone else.) No mathematical calculations or equations are necessary. But today, not only do I know the terms, I comprehend them intuitively. Two weeks ago I barely knew terms like prograde, retrograde, inclination, ascending node, descending node, apoapsis and periapsis. It's difficult at first, but trust me, though trial and error you can easily gain an intuitive sense of things. A long term goal might be to visit other planets in the system.Īnd that's where KSP really shines: its implementation of orbital mechanics. Then you might want to push yourself to transfer that orbit to a Kerbin moon, eventually gaining the skill to land on that moon and return to Kerbin in one piece. ![]() Then you'll probably strive to get something into orbit. Typically though, one starts small, and gets a rocket to work. It's all left up to you, in any order (if at all). You can try to visit other parts of Kerbin (Kerbal's home planet), try to get into orbit, try to go to a Kerbin moon or even another planet (or a moon of another planet). What you do with it once you build it is completely your choice (assuming it doesn't crash or explode). Instead, you are given things like rocket parts (and aeroplane parts), and you can put them together to build a rocket (or aircraft) as you see fit. By that I mean that there is no ultimate ending where you "win" the game. I don't know if it's because I used to build model rockets as a kid, or because I've been interested in physics and astronomy for most of my life, or because I play a lot of computer games - and I do play a lot of computer games - but less than two weeks ago, on a whim I bought the game on Steam, and I have to say that I have never been so captivated by video a game in decades, maybe ever, as I have with with Kerbal Space Program (KSP).įor those unfamiliar with KSP, it's an open-ended, sandbox type of computer game. I'm posting this in "Fun, Photo & Games" which I'm thinking fits the appropriate content.) I'm guessing it was closed because the thread was posted in the Aerospace Engineering subforum. (Btw, I noticed there was another PF thread with the same name and subject that got closed. (However, in an effort to be kind to Greg, if you have a lot of images, preferably put them on the Internet somewhere first and then link to them here, rather than attach them directly to the post.) I figure this would be a good place to share your screen captures, success stories, failures, trials and tribulations with the game. And being that the game is so open-ended, I would love to hear how others have fared in their Kerbal adventures. Given the physics nature of the game, I figure there must be many PFers who play it. Kerbal Space Program is a sandbox type computer game that leans heavily on concepts of physics (don't let that scare you though, you don't need a calculator nor a book of equations to play it.
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