Kerbal Space Program 2 News

Stare into the Mun's lovely craters in this Kerbal Space Program 2 footage

This is delightful. Most games struggle through the tangled thorns of PR, marketing, and that one dude who spots errors from seven miles away, before getting a single screenshot to you. But this little glimpse into Kerbal Space Program 2’s progress is via their show and tell sessions on the official forums, where the team gathers up what they’ve been working on and shares it with the community. In April and May, the clouds got fluffier, the terrain more specular, and the Mun really embraced its impact craters.

There’s not a lot here, but what there is has made me very happy. I’ve officially given up trying to mod Kerbal Space Program after watching the work being put into the skies and terrain for the second game. I’ll happily wait to split these clouds with my best attempt at a rocket.

The Mun really caught my eye. It’s gorgeous. Every shade of grey imaginable, covered in overlapping impact craters, shadows piling up in every scoop of dirt. I'm going to spend weeks admiring it as I work out how to get there without sacrificing my grinning little Kerbalnauts.

Kerbal Space Program 2 is a game about rocket science, and famously, rocket science is not an easy thing to learn. The first KSP gave plenty of people an education in space exploration, but you really needed external help to get there. KSP2 will make that learning process easier in-game without reducing the simulation's complexity - in a new video, the devs suggest that while you're still climbing Mount Everest, you're getting some guides to help you on the way.

To help explain the complex scientific principals that it simulates, KSP2 is getting cartoons. A series of animated tutorial videos will kick in throughout the game (if you want), illustrating things like orbits and engine sizes with comedic interludes.

Thrust, for example, is represented by a pair of riders on a tandem bicycle - a brawny kerbal pushes the team up a massive hill, and a leaner kerbal drops the big guy's dead weight to continue the ride, offering a simple visual metaphor for why you need booster rockets and smaller engines.

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Here's how Kerbal Space Program 2 will use cartoons to get you into orbit

Space knower and Iain M. Banks reader (check his bookshelf) Scott Manley says Kerbal Space Program is a "gateway drug to physics", which I sort of agree with. For me, the rocket sim was an education in things like "apoapsis" and "periapsis", and I felt slightly more informed for having played it. But it’s not a good teacher, really, which is one of the things Kerbal Space Program 2 hopes to remedy. The game will still be tough, the processes still hugely complex, but you’ll hopefully be able to play it without needing to consult a smart friend or a YouTube playlist.

The Kerbal Space Program 2 release date might not landing until 2022, but developer Intercept Games has been posting some tidbits about the upcoming space game to tide fans over in the meantime. A new dev blog takes a look at the little spacefaring green dudes themselves, revealing that there are some changes in store compared to the first title - namely, they'll have a slightly more heightened reaction to you stuffing up your side of things.

"There's a cartoonish exaggeration to all of [kerbals'] emotions, in particular the panic," says Tom Vinita, Intercept Games senior designer. "In KPS1, kerbals would start looking very nervous when they were about to crash. Now, they will be screaming and flailing. It's a really good effect," the dev jokes as he illustrates the, well, screaming and flailing alongside dome pre-alpha footage of a kerbal's interstellar meltdown (excellent squealing included).

Additionally, the devs chat about some tweaks to the kerbals' designs and animations that will be implemented into the upcoming PC game - though it sound like the spirit of the first title will carry over into the next.

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KSP Loading... Content for consoles and PC coming soon!

Welcome to our official newsletter, KSP Loading…! If you want to learn about all the current developments of the KSP franchise, then this is the place to be!

A new DLC and a Free Update for Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition is on its way

We have some big news for console players! The team is currently working on a new DLC for KSP Enhanced Edition! Based on the PC release of the Breaking Ground Expansion, this downloadable content will be all about exploration, experimentation, and technological breakthroughs. So put on your helmets and prepare to explore the vastness of the Kerbolar system from the comfort of your couch.

Coupled with the DLC, a free and content-filled update will be released for KSP Enhanced Edition. This update will include several of the features that we have developed over the past year. We will reveal more information about the features and the exact release date in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!

Kerbal Space Program Update 1.8 on PC

The KSP team is so excited about the features being worked on for Update 1.8. With this update we continue making KSP more stable and performant while adding quality of life features to improve the player experience. In addition to what you have already learned in our previous installment, we have some other neat content coming to this update.

Terrain Revamp for Eve and Gilly

Eve and Gilly are two more celestial bodies which are getting a make-over with new high-quality texture maps & graphic shaders. Together with Duna, Ike, Minmus and Mun, the celestial bodies will be worth revisiting, if only for the view.

Eve

Gilly

Ike

Minmus

Click here for high-res images.

KSC Texture Improvements

At the Kerbal Space Center, we have reduced the grass repetition, improved blending between grass and concrete and tweaked some level 1 and 2 buildings with some new textures and improved shaders. All in all, the KSC will look better than ever after this update.

Click here to see the high-res images.

Map Mode Changes

Some adjustments are being made to the game’s Map Mode. With this update you will be able to use docking mode and stage your craft whilst in map mode. The stage display button (formerly stage mode) now serves as a toggle to show & hide the stage stack, whether you’re in flight or map view and the map labels will now persist when going back and forth between map and flight mode.
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New SRBs

If you’ve been following us, you’ll already know that we’re bringing a range of new solid rocket boosters to the game. From the tiny .625m stack size Mite to the titanic 2.5m wide, 144ton Clydesdale, these new boosters will offer a range of versatile solid-fuel options. Making History owners get an extra bonus here too with the “Pollux” and a 1.875m nosecone to fit on top of it.

Click here to see high-res images.

Warp to Next Maneuver in NavBall

We are also including a small quality of life feature to the NavBall suggested in the public tracker by 5thHorseman. A warp to next maneuver button is being added to have this option on hand whenever players need it.

Kerbal Space Program 2 at PAX West

We’d like to say thank you again to everyone who visited our Kerbal Space Program booth at PAX West! We are forever grateful for the continued support for Kerbal Space Program 2. Over 2,000 Kerbonauts visited our booth to take photos with Jeb on the Mun, watch our “behind closed doors” presentation with exclusive details sharing gameplay footage of KSP2, and all attendees received their very own KSP flag!

During PAX West we also had the chance to hold our very first KSP Community Event with content creators like Scott Manley, Das Valdez, EJ_SA, Shadowzone, Bad News Baron, and Billy Winn Jr. Also attending the event were leaders within the KSP Forum and Modders; Snark, Galileo and LinuxGuruGamer.

These pivotal community members had the opportunity to meet with Star Theory and pose questions regarding KSP2 directly to the developers. Many of these content creators have since shared their thoughts on this momentous experience across their respective channels and we encourage you all to give them a watch! Thank you all so much, it’s because of your avid support and interest in the game that we have officially grown into a franchise.

Matt, Star Theory developer who got signatures from fans at PAX West who visited our booth.

Take a look at our PAX West booth in our Instagram story videos!

(L to R: Galileo, Shadowzone, Snark, EJ_SA, Jatwaa, LGG, Das, Nate Simpson (Creative Dir. Star Theory), Scott Manley, Chuck Noble (Principal Engineer at Star Theory), BadNewsBaron, Geoff (Museum of Flight).

Scott Manley at PAXW
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ShadowZone at PAXW
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Loading Screen Contest

We also want to remind you that you still have until next week (October 2nd) to participate in our Loading Screen Contest! So submit your illustrations, screenshots, pictures and/or any form of fanart you’d like to see in KSP’s in-game loading screens! We will select a set of finalists and their art will be included in update 1.8.

Remember, you can share and download crafts and missions on Curse, KerbalX, the KSP Forum and the KSP Steam Workshop.

That’s it for this edition. Be sure to join us on our official forums, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Stay tuned for more exciting and upcoming news and development updates!

You can also follow Squad and Star Theory on the main social media platforms:
https://www.facebook.com/startheorygames/ https://twitter.com/startheorygames
https://www.instagram.com/star_theory_games/ https://twitter.com/SquadDevs https://www.instagram.com/squaddevs/

Happy launchings!