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[gutterboy44]

Kerbal Space Program: Economic Boom update v.25 is out now!

Some of the information provided below has been copied or summarized from the official .25 update FAQ that can be found here.

Current Release Version: 0.25

Kerbal Space Program (KSP) is a spaceflight simulator developed by Squad currently in public early access development for release on Windows,
Mac OS X, and Linux. Updates have been continuously released. KSP has large support for game mods and a large community to create them,which
developed shortly after the game's start. Notable members of the space industry have taken an interest in the game.​

This is a new update to Kerbal Space Program, also numbered 0.25, as each update to the game has a number attached to it. It is free for existing players
and new players will install this version when they download the game. It focuses on expanding the reach of career mode, as well as enhancing existing features,
like spaceplane parts, visual effects, plus the usual batch of bugfixes and improvements. Check out the full changelog which always accompanies the release
for a complete list of changes.There is no better time to jump in to (or return to) KSP than now!​

.25 Notes
New spaceplane parts, the administration building with the strategies contained within, and an in-depth difficulty settings panel that will let you customize
your gameplay experience. There is also the matter of destructible buildings at the KSC, which is a smaller (though much more visible) feature in this update
that lays the groundwork for something coming in 0.26.

Some minor features in .25 are an enhanced navball, a key binding for maxing out your throttle immediately, a button to return you to the space center
much like the Recover Vessel one, also on the altimeter, a function to turn off surface attaching on a part to help with the brand new cargo bays,
vessel markers at KSC, destructible buildings, just to mention a few.​

.24 Notes
The biggest update to KSP in .24 is the inclusion of Contracts to Career Mode. Players will choose available contracts in Mission Control, earning three in-game resources:
-Funds: Kerbin’s very own currency. The symbol for funds, is the square root sign √
-Science: This was already in-game, and it is how you unlock new parts in the game’s tech tree.
-Reputation: Just like on Earth, companies that stay on budget, on time and avoid any um, complications, will see their reputation grow. This means better, more rewarding
contracts. Fail to complete your contracts, miss deadlines or lose Kerbalnauts and your reputation will suffer.​

The previous update, .23 added the Asteroid Redirect Missions (ARM) which were created with the help of NASA. In addition to being able to now track and intercept asteroids,
several new extra-large rocket parts, modeled after NASA’s new SLS rocket systems, were added. You can build bigger than ever!​

KSP can be purchased through the official website or on Steam and is available for PC, MAC and Linux. A free playable demo is available on the KSP website,
but this is based on the now ancient v.15 release. I recommend jumping right in and buying the game. KSP is still in early access, but meaningful content updates are frequent
and the modding community is constantly innovating. The latest update also includes the long awaited Windows 64bit exe for improved performance!!
Instructions on how to configure Steam to launch the 64 bit client can be found here​

Don’t worry, failure is half the fun of playing KSP. However, a few tutorials never hurt. The in-game tutorials have been updated and should help new players learn the ropes.
For more in-depth tutorials, new players should visit the KSP forums and look up YouTube videos. I recommend Scott Manley’s tutorial videos. ​

Did I forget to mention KSP also has (wew and improved!) space planes?! If recreating the Apollo program or exploring the reaches of outer space in rocket ships lose its thrill, why not build a
single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) space plane, top off your tanks at a high-orbit space-fuel station and fly to the Mun and back!

Whether you want to build your space program from the ground up in Career Mode, or push your computer's CPU to its limit with 800 part ships in Sandbox mode,
KSP offers endless possibilities. Everything from sky-cranes big enough to land aircraft carriers on Laythe, to zero-G basketball courts, to space ship launching catapults have been built in KSP.
If you can dream it, you can build it and (attempt to) fly it.

The KSP, "Build Fly Dream" trailer is still one of the best to date. It perfectly captures the scope of KSP.​

Portals and Forums
Kerbal Space Program Wiki - Get detailed descriptions of every KSP part and other helpful information on everything KSP
Kerbal Space Program Forums - This is the nexus of the KSP community. Players share mods, ship plans, even artwork and fan-fic, yes there is Jeb fan-fic.
Mod and Add-On Portal - The KSP Spaceport recently moved over to a new host, Curse. This is where you can pick and choose from the plethora of mods and add on content to download for KSP.

Social Media and Video
KSP Twitter - Follow the offical KSP Twitter feed for the latest updates
KSP Facebook Page - Follow/Like KSP on Facebook
KSP YouTube Channel - The official YouTube channel for KSP
KSPTV on Twitch.com - The official twitch channel for KSP

KSP Tools and Calculators
Interactive Planetary Phase and Ejection Angle Calculator - Interactive calculator to help you plan optimal phase and ejection angles
Interactive delta-V Calculator and Map - Interactive calculator and map to give you the delta-V required for space travel
Mass Optimal Engine Charts - A series of charts that shows the mass-optimal type of engine or solid rocket booster to use for a given payload mass and delta-V.
Kerbin Landing Chart - This chart helps you consistently land at or near KSC. This is now more important than ever to maximize vessel recovery funds.
​

Please feel free to DM me any corrections or suggestions about the OP.
Thanks Sir Fragula for the thread title suggestion.

The Kerobl System (not to scale, image credit to lonesentry)

The "Immortals" Bill, Jeb, and Bob

Screenshots (from v.23 and older). These are my own screenshots but I will update the OP with GAF'ers screenshots posted in this thread

 

[jackie jormp-jomp]

ACTUAL MISSIONS NOW

 

[Phanatic8390]

Subscribed!

This is like the one PC game I refuse to uninstall.

 

[iosefe]

Yay for 64 bit

 

[Zero-Crescent]

KSP continues to be the best thing on Early Access.

 

[Diablohead]

Good timing, about to jump back in.

 

[gutterboy44]

It doesn't seem like you can set Steam to launch the 64 bit exe in the launch options. For now you can launch it manually by going to the KSP install directory or by adding a non-steam game and point it to the KSP64.exe. I will let ya know if I find a way to do it with the lunch options dialog box.

 

[GodofWine]

HYPE TRAIN (to space)

 

[Nostremitus]

Heading to by good PC to try it out.

 

[Gurrry]

This game is never going to go one sale past 16.99 now is it?

 

[fallout]

This game is never going to go one sale past 16.99 now is it?

Entirely worth it. If this is the kind of thing that interests you, it'll suck you in for hours and then suck you back in whenever they add more.

 

[Zero-Crescent]

Entirely worth it. If this is the kind of thing that interests you, it'll suck you in for hours and then suck you back in whenever they add more.

Indeed. And think of the educational value!

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

Yay for 64 bit

nice!

 

[gutterboy44]

Man, some of the windows to complete specific parts test contracts are tricky. Overall I am really liking the contract system. It adds
so much more meaning to ship building and your progress up the tech tree.

Need to complete my first rescue mission contract. Lord knows I have done enough rescue missions in my KSP career.

 

[iosefe]

This game is never going to go one sale past 16.99 now is it?

way before steam, it was available for 15 USD back around .14

i doubt it will go any lower than that until months after full release

 

[veritassin]

Haven't played this in awhile, this sounds great. I did try playing the other day and it seems like manipulating the camera while constructing ships was made unnecessarily difficult and not only that but I can't seem to get more than 2 symmetry or whatever it's called. Also, simply attaching parts to the side of a rocket doesn't seem to work correctly anymore.

 

[DBT85]

Can't wait for Saturday to have a play!

Anyone who hasn't got it already, I strongly recommend the docking alignment indicator tool/mod. Makes docking much easier.

Love the OP staging idea too btw!

 

[gutterboy44]

Haven't played this in awhile, this sounds great. I did try playing the other day and it seems like manipulating the camera while constructing ships was made unnecessarily difficult and not only that but I can't seem to get more than 2 symmetry or whatever it's called. Also, simply attaching parts to the side of a rocket doesn't seem to work correctly anymore.

Hmm, that is surprising to hear, as they have ironed out a lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) bugs a while ago. To adjust radial symmetry, press X. This will cycle through no symmetry, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 radial symmetry configurations. Press C to cycle angle snap. If you want positioning to snap to evenly divided angles, leave it on the "hexagon" setting. If you want free positioning, set it to "circle" You can see both the symmetry and angle snap settings in the lower left corner.

For camera controls, wheel mouse scrolls up and down your ship. Holding the right mouse button down allows you to angle your view, and holding shift and using the wheel mouse changes your zoom.

If parts aren't turning green, you may be attempting to place parts in configurations they are not designed for. Could you take a screen shot of your ship and part placement that isn't sticking? I am sure myself or some one else in the thread could help.

 

[gutterboy44]

Love the OP staging idea too btw!

Cheers! It has been the layout I've had in mind since .22 release, I just had been too lazy to crank out the graphics. It was actually fun tweaking and previewing the layout. Gives me a lot of respect for the other GAFers who put together insane OT's. When KSP hits 1.0 we are going to have to recruit some real talent to give it the OT it deserves.

 

[Twinduct]

I really need to go and land on the Mun. I always end up crashing then I get distracted and a few months go by when I realize I have not touched the game.

 

[Diablohead]

Game seems to run better on my dual core pc then before, I should look into that 64bit launcher but right now it's close to 60 and i'm happy.

Having to learn what works and what doesn't again when it comes to flying.

 

[DBT85]

I might try and make a few posts about some bits at the weekend.

A couple of the mods I use, how to dock and rendezvous, etc.

 

[doowrah]

Indeed. And think of the educational value!

As someone who has worked at NASA, this couldn't be more true

 

[gutterboy44]

I am now wondering if I will even touch the 64 bit client any time soon. If there turns out to be no performance increase if you aren't loading in a ton of mods, than I much rather be running SweetFX for crisp textures and SMAA than freeing up RAM that isn't being used, since I run zero to maybe 1 or 2 mods tops. I guess I will have to mess around. Right now starting off my career from scratch, I am not really pushing the part counts very high, but the game is running silky smooth.

I can't state enough how much contracts change up the single player experience and push KSP into the "proper game" realm. In .23 I had started a new career over and was working through the tech tree again, but I felt like it was just a circus act and all out blitz. I was stacking as many science experiments on a craft as possible, and not even thinking about the mission, just maximizing science collection. I put way more consideration into my ship designs and am already trying new configurations I never attempted before. Now that you can earn science through contracts, as well as funds and reputation, you can strategically pick your contracts and design a craft that serves to complete as many of those contracts on a single run, not just some brute force science collecting clown car.

I completed the rescue stranded Lembal Kerman contract, test M16 parachute,test radial decoupler, and test LV909 engine contracts all on a single mission. I really had to plan my design, consider my budget and pay attention through out my entire mission to execute the tests all at the right time. It felt so much more involved and rewarding. I've flown to and landed on the Mun countless times, but I am really looking forward to taking on my first Mun contract because it is a big step up for my GutterWorks space program.

ProTip - When starting a new career, pay attention to the R&D contracts that allow you to test out new parts. You don't even need to worry about completing the contract right away, but what this does is unlock that part in your tech tree as long as that contract is active. This can give you earlier access to some critical parts deeper in the tech tree. That can allow you to jump ahead to some harder challenges and get a nice resources haul.

 

[AppleSautts]

I booted up my previous save where I almost have everything unlocked in Career Mode and I couldn't make any rocket I wanted since I didn't have the funds. It took me so long to get all that science, I don't want to do it again right now. Maybe I'll start a new career later.

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

As someone who has worked at NASA, this couldn't be more true

Surely only within reason? I mean don't get me wrong, KSP has taught me a lot, in fact an absolutely colossal amount when paired with research it inspired me to do. The only problem is that it uses a patched conics system rather than newtonian. I could be wrong and about to learn something else, but surely everything we learn in KSP has no actual use in a realistic environment?

 

[gutterboy44]

Via Reddit

For users who want to launch the 64 bit version in Steam.

Rename file KSP.exe to KSP.exe.backup (or delete it).
Rename file KSP_x64.exe to KSP.exe
Rename folder KSP_Data to KSP_Data.backup (or delete it).
Rename folder KSP_x64_Data to KSP_Data

 

[Gandie]

What a great thread! Thank you! Will check out .24 asap

 

[doowrah]

Surely only within reason? I mean don't get me wrong, KSP has taught me a lot, in fact an absolutely colossal amount when paired with research it inspired me to do. The only problem is that it uses a patched conics system rather than newtonian. I could be wrong and about to learn something else, but surely everything we learn in KSP has no actual use in a realistic environment?

For the average person involved in a project, it is. It's likely the part they work on in a mission is so small and focused that they have no knowledge of the overarching orbital dynamics at work.

 

[DBT85]

I am now wondering if I will even touch the 64 bit client any time soon. If there turns out to be no performance increase if you aren't loading in a ton of mods, than I much rather be running SweetFX for crisp textures and SMAA than freeing up RAM that isn't being used, since I run zero to maybe 1 or 2 mods tops. I guess I will have to mess around. Right now starting off my career from scratch, I am not really pushing the part counts very high, but the game is running silky smooth..

I doubt it'll be long before all the mods are 64bit compatible now that there is an official release.

 

[gutterboy44]

I doubt it'll be long before all the mods are 64bit compatible now that there is an official release.

SweetFX is my main concern. To my knowledge it only has a 32 bit version. I will have to look in to it. I love SweetFX, I use it in every game I can. Almost always makes the textures look substantially crisper with better AA performance in the form of SMAA.

Edit: Man, I am behind on my SweetFX news. Latest release supports 64 bit and DX11. Nice!

 

[veritassin]

Hmm, that is surprising to hear, as they have ironed out a lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) bugs a while ago. To adjust radial symmetry, press X. This will cycle through no symmetry, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 radial symmetry configurations. Press C to cycle angle snap. If you want positioning to snap to evenly divided angles, leave it on the "hexagon" setting. If you want free positioning, set it to "circle" You can see both the symmetry and angle snap settings in the lower left corner.

For camera controls, wheel mouse scrolls up and down your ship. Holding the right mouse button down allows you to angle your view, and holding shift and using the wheel mouse changes your zoom.

If parts aren't turning green, you may be attempting to place parts in configurations they are not designed for. Could you take a screen shot of your ship and part placement that isn't sticking? I am sure myself or some one else in the thread could help.

Thanks this should help, controls just felt incredibly wonky since the last time I played which was like 6 months ago.

 

[DBT85]

SweetFX is my main concern. To my knowledge it only has a 32 bit version. I will have to look in to it. I love SweetFX, I use it in every game I can. Almost always makes the textures look substantially crisper with better AA performance in the form of SMAA.

Edit: Man, I am behind on my SweetFX news. Latest release supports 64 bit and DX11. Nice!

Do you not use a mod with new textures anyway?

 

[Megasoum]

KSP is amazing, I've been onboard since even before the .13 release.

Gotta say tho, not a huge fan of the science mechanic.

Actually I like the idea of having to gather science to unlock a tech tree. What I don't like is the constant spam of every experiments multiple times on each flights. The grind gets really boring.

 

[Archaix]

For the average person involved in a project, it is. It's likely the part they work on in a mission is so small and focused that they have no knowledge of the overarching orbital dynamics at work.

Also the author of the comic worked in robotics at NASA.

To be fair, my job at NASA was working on robots and didn't actually involve any orbital mechanics. The small positive slope over that period is because it turns out that if you hang around at NASA, you get in a lot of conversations about space

 

[gutterboy44]

Do you not use a mod with new textures anyway?

No, I am really picky when it comes to mods, in all games, but especially KSP. I think there is something endearing about having all of the original graphics and parts. I think the game looks amazing as is. I see the crazy screen shots of Kerbin looking more like earth with detailed continents and clouds, but that just isn't "Kerbin" to me. I look for mods that enhance KSP in subtle ways or act as nothing but an informational tool, not fully swap out chunks of it or add a ton of parts that render the stock parts obsolete. Like, I always used the Sub-Assembly mod before it was built into the game. I also like Kerbal engineer because it gives very detailed information without the full Mechjeb autopilot options. MechJeb is incredible, just not for me, because I will use it as a crutch if it is there.. But I don't want to go down that discussion hole, I think mods are amazing, I am just not the type of gamer who always jumps in head first with them.

Anyway, even with a modded texture pack, SweetFX would likely be an improvement over the in-game AA. If you don't use SweetFX, I highly recommend it. You can toggle it on and off in game, so you can easily see how much more crisp it makes textures look while still performing AA. FXAA (which I think is what KSP uses) almost always blurs textures.

 

[Fireblend]

Cool! Time to jump back in

 

[Icefire1424]

Awesome! Might be about time for me to make the Mun landing.

...or even orbit the Mun, for that matter. (Hey, I did a near pass of the Mun, I impressed myself I was even able to do THAT.)

 

[gutterboy44]

KSP is amazing, I've been onboard since even before the .13 release.

Gotta say tho, not a huge fan of the science mechanic.

Actually I like the idea of having to gather science to unlock a tech tree. What I don't like is the constant spam of every experiments multiple times on each flights. The grind gets really boring.

I had this same problem with the tech tree before .24. Every mission was just a constant science spam. So far with my .24 experience, I have found the bits of science you get from contracts is as useful as all of those tiny bits of science you squeeze out of each area. Hitting the big milestone areas of science seem to scale up with your contract difficulties. So by the time you take on a Mun contract, you have gotten the main areas of science around Kerbin without having to go OCD and were able to progress down the tech tree a bit through contract rewards. I wasn't a big fan of the tech tree pre .24, but so far so good. I hope some later contracts address specific "biomes" for the science because some of them are way more detailed than you'd think. Eg. Collect science from the low, mid and higlands of the Mun. That would help show players how specific the different areas to collect science from can get.


Edit: I think the science mechanic will really take off once mapping planets is built in to the game. You will be able to get science from mapping, and then have a more informed way of targeting all of the minute biomes.

 

[DBT85]

No, I am really picky when it comes to mods, in all games, but especially KSP. I think there is something endearing about having all of the original graphics and parts. I think the game looks amazing as is. I see the crazy screen shots of Kerbin looking more like earth with detailed continents and clouds, but that just isn't "Kerbin" to me. I look for mods that enhance KSP in subtle ways or act as nothing but an informational tool, not fully swap out chunks of it or add a ton of parts that render the stock parts obsolete. Like, I always used the Sub-Assembly mod before it was built into the game. I also like Kerbal engineer because it gives very detailed information without the full Mechjeb autopilot options. MechJeb is incredible, just not for me, because I will use it as a crutch if it is there.. But I don't want to go down that discussion hole, I think mods are amazing, I am just not the type of gamer who always jumps in head first with them.

Anyway, even with a modded texture pack, SweetFX would likely be an improvement over the in-game AA. If you don't use SweetFX, I highly recommend it. You can toggle it on and off in game, so you can easily see how much more crisp it makes textures look while still performing AA. FXAA (which I think is what KSP uses) almost always blurs textures.

I'll check it out

I so far have only used Procedural Fairings, Engineer, Docking Alignment Indicator and one which improves the particle FX for the engines. The first 3 at least should be standard as far as I'm concerned.

I've not used MJ or any extra parts mods yet but I will try more of the ones that improve the look of the game. Its still in alpha and its clear in places that the dev team, understandably, has had to focus elsewhere. I'm glad the games accessible enough to modders to do all the things they've done!

 

[SummitAve]

Can't wait to start a new career. Kerbal is the best!

 

[gutterboy44]

I'll check it out

I so far have only used Procedural Fairings, Engineer, Docking Alignment Indicator and one which improves the particle FX for the engines. The first 3 at least should be standard as far as I'm concerned.

I've not used MJ or any extra parts mods yet but I will try more of the ones that improve the look of the game. Its still in alpha and its clear in places that the dev team, understandably, has had to focus elsewhere. I'm glad the games accessible enough to modders to do all the things they've done!

Ah, yeah I definitely have wanted to check out Procedural Fairings mod. That seems like a pretty cool mod that doesn't displace much of the stock parts. I am also sold on the docking alignment mod after seeing other GAFers post about it. I can dock no problem, I just think it looks neat and gives the docking procedure more "flare" for lack of a better term. I haven't seen the particles mod but that sounds cool too, I will look it up.

MechJeb is just crazy powerful. I think it is worth installing at least once, for anyone who has played KSP for a while. I kind of discourage installing it too soon into your KSP career because it can make things too easy and you never learn how to replicate what it does for you on your own. If you do install it early, take note of what it does, then try to replicate it unassisted. A few releases back when I was testing out the line of sight communications mod and the mapping mod, I installed MJ so I could quickly put a bunch of satellites in geosynchronous orbit. For things like that, it saves a lot of time without diminishing gameplay .

 

[CrunchyFrog]

I've been out of the loop for a couple updates now, before they added in any of the campaign content, so I'm looking forward to jumping back in.

 

[DBT85]

Actually I like the idea of having to gather science to unlock a tech tree. What I don't like is the constant spam of every experiments multiple times on each flights. The grind gets really boring.

The thing to remember, which isn't known to many, is that you can get far more science in the game than is requiredto unlock the tree.

So you only have to do like 15 mystery goo pods on the Mun if you really want to. You could just go farther away and get a huge chunk of science in one hit.

 

[DBT85]

Ah, yeah I definitely have wanted to check out Procedural Fairings mod. That seems like a pretty cool mod that doesn't displace much of the stock parts. I am also sold on the docking alignment mod after seeing other GAFers post about it. I can dock no problem, I just think it looks neat and gives the docking procedure more "flare" for lack of a better term. I haven't seen the particles mod but that sounds cool too, I will look it up.

Yeah Proc Fairings doesn't make anything stock redundant, since there are nothing like it in stock. It also makes your rockets/seperations look a damn sight cooler! Until they add proper atmo drag into the game it actually does nothing except cost you weight, but if you use FAR then it really helps.

I might use MJ one day, but it'll likely be for the mundane things I can always do. I'm not there yet!

 

[gutterboy44]

Same, I don't see a need to install MJ again until maybe true line of sight communication gets built into the stock game. Getting exact geo-snyc orbits a dozen times in a row can be a bitch.

Glad to see so many people mentioning jumping back in to KSP. This is the exact reason I wanted to make a new thread with more up to date information. It is really easy to pick up an early access game and lose track of how much progress it has made. Heck, even I feel a bit behind. I still need to capture an asteroid and land it at KSP as a lawn ornament!

 

[GodofWine]

I launched (rim shot) a new career with .24 and for a somewhat experienced kerbal (Ive landed on the Mun 3 times within 20m of eachother...on purpose) I managed to kill Jeb while parachuting from 5000m. I got cute, figured going outside for more science would be fine..Jeb must have lost his grip and tumbled a few thousand meters to his (first of many) deaths.

 

[King Cobra]

I think is is a really amazing game, I bought it a couple days ago and have been messing around in career mode, glad to see they added this now. Does anyone know how to zoom out when you are building a rocket, I am stuck trying to angle everything just right when I am building something big.

 

[SJRB]

I bought this game a long time ago, it's so amazing on many levels. It's a surreal feeling to finally land on the Moon for the first time.Watch this trailer if you're in doubt. Beautiful game.


FUCK GRAVITY

 

[Rflagg]

Damn it now to suck at playing this all over again., truthfully thanks op.