My ramblings

Kerbal Space Program

Ah yes, KSP. One of my favourites. A fun and whacky rocket simulator that requires a fundamental understanding of orbital mechanics. This game is just pure fun. And I don't think me liking it comes as a surprise considering how much I fucking love space and rockets.

So, in this game you are in charge of the space agency of the fictional race called Kerbals. And out from a massive selection of parts, you can build rockets or space planes to explore every part of the fictional star system, Kerbol. You have the Kerbals' home planet of Kerbin, alongside its' two moons, Mün and Minmus. You have the hot barren wasteland of Moho, the dense, toxic and dangerous atmosphere of Eve, the red planet of Duna, the small grey dwarf planet of Dres, the cold wasteland of Eeloo and of course, the gas giant Jool with its' five moons. And you can land on every single one of them with the wildest rockets you can think of. Well, except Jool. You can't "land" on a gas giant.

Now, you also need to actually build the rocket that will take you there. And there is no lack of parts to choose from. Multiple fuel tanks of different length and width, various electric components, RCS thruster, ISRU's, jet engines, command pods, parachutes and a rocket engine for every occasion. And the farther away you want to go, the more fuel you will need. The more fuel you have, the more thrust you need, which means more rocket engines. And more engines requires more fuel. So these rockets can get massive. Luckily, there is a simple solution that the KSP community has for you if you lack the thrust to get somewhere. MOAR BOOSTERS!

Alright, you got your rocket, now you need to launch it and get somewhere. Preferably in one piece and not as a pile of flaming debris. First you actually need to get to space, which is straight up. Of course, you might also want to get into an orbit so that you can actually stay in space and not just come crashing back down. While there is a of complex things involved when it comes to orbits, the simple explanation is that you sideways so fast that the ground "falls" under you as fast as you are falling towards it. You know, since planets are spheres and all. To do this, simply move sideways really fast. Preferably outside the atmosphere so that it doesn't slow you down.

Once you're in orbit, you're already halfway to everywhere. The bad things is that you also need to somewhat understand how orbits work if you want to get anywhere meaningful. The simple explanation is that you move faster in a lower orbit and slower in a higher one. To get to a higher orbit you speed up on one side, which will make the other side rise up. Although, tutorials for the game are recommended. Scott Manley in particular has the tutorial when it comes to KSP. This is recommended because in space you can't just point at where you want to go and go there. You can, but you will need rockets so massive that your PC will catch fire before the rocket does. No, in space, if you want to get somewhere, you first need to make sure that your own orbit and the targets orbit intersects. Then you need to make sure that you and your target will reach the intersection at the same time. All of this just to fly by somewhere simple, like the Mün, much less land on it. And that is without mentioning interplanetary transfers and spheres of influences.

I know all of that sounds complex, but really, it isn't. The problem just lies in thinking differently about things since it is space. For example, if you're too far from your target, you burn away from it. Again, I recommend tutorials. I had already watched people play the game when I began to play it myself, so I had a basic understanding of how it all worked. And now, after a couple hundred hours, I can plan and send a mission pretty much everywhere. Though, I haven't actually landed everywhere. Only two other planets and three moons actually. Although, one of those planets was Eve, which is known as one of the hardest places to get to, but hardest to get away from.

Now, why do I love this game. Simple, I love space and rockets, which is something I can't say enough. I love building my own rockets, spaceplanes, SSTO's and shuttles. I love launching them and see them blow up since I forgot one small detail. I love fixing that detail and then have the rocket work perfectly. I love planning missions to various locations and executing them.

One of my favourite times was when I sent a massive mobile base to Duna to collect science. Then, when that was done, I needed a vessel to rescue them. So I build it and sent it. Unfortunately, that rocket only had enough fuel to get back to Duna orbit, but not dock with the interplanetary transfer stage. So I had to send another rescue vehicle, and by now I had the life of 10 kerbals on the line. That rocket first picked up the 7 or so stranded Kerbals, moved them to the interplanetary transfer stage, and it then left an extension so that the transfer stage could carry 10 kerbals. Since it originally only had the capacity for 7. The transfer stage then began its' months long journey back to Kerbin. The crew module, ejected from the rest of the stage and then entered the Kerbin atmosphere at nearly 5'000m/s, or 18'000km/h, 11'184mph. The atmosphere slowed the craft down, the parachutes deployed and the craft gently smashed down into the ocean. All 10 kerbals survived.

To end things of I have to say that I just love this game and have fun every time I play it. I might even add a video of a mission I have planned. And now with a massive sequel coming that has colonies, multiplayer and interstellar travel, I'm more excited than ever. And you can bet that I will play that game when it comes out fall next year.