Apr 27, 2015
Kerbal Space Program - HarvesteR
Greetings, Kerbonauts!

This is a special one! After four and a half years in development, Kerbal Space Program 1.0 is now officially released!



Kerbal Space Program 1.0 is what we envisioned when development of the game started four years ago: we set out to make a game in which the player is given ultimate control over the exploration of space: from designing their rockets to launching and flying them to their destinations, in a universe that was modeled to be realistic, but at the same time still be fun to play in.

However, our 1.0 release is more than just a new version number. It’s also the biggest update to the game we’ve ever done, and contains many new and updated features, plus improvements to just about every game system, which we’re sure will appeal to both newcomers and seasoned veterans. These are the highlights:

Aerodynamics
The flight model has had a complete overhaul, meaning the lift is now calculated correctly to all lift-generating parts, which includes lifting bodies. The drag simulation has also been completely revised, and uses automatically pre-calculated data based on the each part’s geometry, to be finally applied based on not just the orientation of parts in flight, but also taking other parts into consideration. Stack mounted parts are now occluded from drag by neighboring parts, and lift induced drag is also properly simulated. Both the lift and drag are dependent on air density and the speed of sound, which are calculated from temperature and pressure. Be careful when flying aircraft in this new update: stalls are now properly simulated as well, and spontaneous craft disassembly during high-G maneuvers is now a very real thing.

Heating
A new heating simulation has been implemented together with the improved aerodynamics. Now, not only temperature but also energy flux is considered when making heat calculations, meaning radiative, conductive, and convective heating and cooling are all simulated and all parts have their individual thermal properties. Parts will emit a blackbody radiation glow if they get hot enough. Although part temperatures can now be affected by such things as being exposed to sunlight and hypersonic flight heating, they can be properly occluded from these effects as well. Atmospheric temperature (and density) takes into account latitude and the position of the Sun. Celestial bodies now accurately emit thermal radiation that makes nearby craft warmer. Finally, ablative heat shields (with a finite, editor-tweakable ablation material) have been added to protect the parts behind them from reentry heating.

Fairings
You can now add fairings to your rockets! Fairing construction starts with a base part which will allow you to procedurally create a fairing after you place it. The design of the fairing is left up to you: shape individual sections of fairing with an intuitive visual system which gives you total control over the shape of any fairing.

Once you've placed the fairings you can still edit your payload! Mousing over the fairing will make it transparent and will give you an exploded view, allow you to access anything that's inside. If you later want to edit a fairing, simply right-click the fairing base to modify it as needed.

Fairings will shield anything inside them from drag and heat, making them an ideal tool for making payloads survive even more aggressive aerodynamic stresses. Like cargo bays and service modules, they will also prevent wings from generating lift, as well as science experiments, solar panels and antennas from deploying, which means all these new parts should be a big part of your mission design.

Resource Mining
Mining for Resources is now a part of Kerbal Space Program: set out to find Ore, which can be found throughout the Solar system, including on asteroids. To do this you'll have access to several different scanners to map out and find the best places to mine, drills to extract it, specialised holding tanks to store it, and a processor / refinery unit to convert it into usable fuels. To help you find the Ore, new map overlays have been implemented on all celestial bodies, and new UI elements have been added to various pieces of equipment. Also, Kerbal engineers are particularly good at keeping those drills humming at peak efficiency.


As always, you can find the complete changelog on our Forums.

There is a lot more we could talk about, but we’ll let you discover that on your own!

The update is now available on the KSP Store, Steam and GOG.

We hope you will enjoy Kerbal Space Program 1.0 as much as we enjoyed making it.

Happy Launchings!

Cheers
Apr 27, 2015
Kerbal Space Program - HarvesteR
Greetings, Kerbonauts!

This is a special one! After four and a half years in development, Kerbal Space Program 1.0 is now officially released!



Kerbal Space Program 1.0 is what we envisioned when development of the game started four years ago: we set out to make a game in which the player is given ultimate control over the exploration of space: from designing their rockets to launching and flying them to their destinations, in a universe that was modeled to be realistic, but at the same time still be fun to play in.

However, our 1.0 release is more than just a new version number. It’s also the biggest update to the game we’ve ever done, and contains many new and updated features, plus improvements to just about every game system, which we’re sure will appeal to both newcomers and seasoned veterans. These are the highlights:

Aerodynamics
The flight model has had a complete overhaul, meaning the lift is now calculated correctly to all lift-generating parts, which includes lifting bodies. The drag simulation has also been completely revised, and uses automatically pre-calculated data based on the each part’s geometry, to be finally applied based on not just the orientation of parts in flight, but also taking other parts into consideration. Stack mounted parts are now occluded from drag by neighboring parts, and lift induced drag is also properly simulated. Both the lift and drag are dependent on air density and the speed of sound, which are calculated from temperature and pressure. Be careful when flying aircraft in this new update: stalls are now properly simulated as well, and spontaneous craft disassembly during high-G maneuvers is now a very real thing.

Heating
A new heating simulation has been implemented together with the improved aerodynamics. Now, not only temperature but also energy flux is considered when making heat calculations, meaning radiative, conductive, and convective heating and cooling are all simulated and all parts have their individual thermal properties. Parts will emit a blackbody radiation glow if they get hot enough. Although part temperatures can now be affected by such things as being exposed to sunlight and hypersonic flight heating, they can be properly occluded from these effects as well. Atmospheric temperature (and density) takes into account latitude and the position of the Sun. Celestial bodies now accurately emit thermal radiation that makes nearby craft warmer. Finally, ablative heat shields (with a finite, editor-tweakable ablation material) have been added to protect the parts behind them from reentry heating.

Fairings
You can now add fairings to your rockets! Fairing construction starts with a base part which will allow you to procedurally create a fairing after you place it. The design of the fairing is left up to you: shape individual sections of fairing with an intuitive visual system which gives you total control over the shape of any fairing.

Once you've placed the fairings you can still edit your payload! Mousing over the fairing will make it transparent and will give you an exploded view, allow you to access anything that's inside. If you later want to edit a fairing, simply right-click the fairing base to modify it as needed.

Fairings will shield anything inside them from drag and heat, making them an ideal tool for making payloads survive even more aggressive aerodynamic stresses. Like cargo bays and service modules, they will also prevent wings from generating lift, as well as science experiments, solar panels and antennas from deploying, which means all these new parts should be a big part of your mission design.

Resource Mining
Mining for Resources is now a part of Kerbal Space Program: set out to find Ore, which can be found throughout the Solar system, including on asteroids. To do this you'll have access to several different scanners to map out and find the best places to mine, drills to extract it, specialised holding tanks to store it, and a processor / refinery unit to convert it into usable fuels. To help you find the Ore, new map overlays have been implemented on all celestial bodies, and new UI elements have been added to various pieces of equipment. Also, Kerbal engineers are particularly good at keeping those drills humming at peak efficiency.


As always, you can find the complete changelog on our Forums.

There is a lot more we could talk about, but we’ll let you discover that on your own!

The update is now available on the KSP Store, Steam and GOG.

We hope you will enjoy Kerbal Space Program 1.0 as much as we enjoyed making it.

Happy Launchings!

Cheers
Kerbal Space Program - Valve
Kerbal Space Program is Now Available on Steam!

Kerbal Space Program has left Early Access, but you still have a chance at a Beta price. 1.0 comes packed with new features, optimizations, bugfixing, and tons more! Conquering Space Was Never This Easy!
Kerbal Space Program

This is, frankly, brilliant — introducing the world of Mechwarrior to that of Kerbal Space Program. First, watch:

While Kerbal already has some of the best planets in gaming, it didn't have the best walking robots of death. Now, thanks to creator of the above Allmhuran, it has.

Pieced together in classic scrap metal fashion from a selection of different mods (BD Armory, Infernal Robotics, Camera Tools, Tweakscale, Steam Guages, KOS and UbioZor Part Welding), the Mechwarrior mod has taken a long time to put together.

But Allmhuran isn't done yet — there's more to come. More mechs. More warriors. More Kerbals.

[Thanks, PCGamesN]

Kerbal Space Program

We're only T-minus six days away from the release of Kerbal Space Program. Last night, Squad announced the date that their excellent space sim would official exit their Early Access orbit: April 27.

Kerbal Space Program, in case you're unaware, is a rocketry sim—challenging you to design and build vessels capable of taking you to the stars. It's been in Early Access for years, and is one of the few pre-launch games that I've been happily recommending that people buy.

As for what version 1.0 will bring, Squad is teasing the release with a series of short videos. Here's one unveiling the new female Kerbals:

Also expected in 1.0 is more realistic modelling of drag and lift, an 'Engineer's Report' warning of crucial design flaws, and a game over state.

Kerbal Space Program - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Graham Smith)

We’ve known that Kerbal Space Program [official site] was moving towards its 1.0 launch since January, but there are now just seven days left until the physicsy-sandbox space sim leaves beta. Developers Squad are marking each day with short, teasing videos introducing some of the new features, and the first is below with the first glimpse of women Kerbals.

… [visit site to read more]

Crusader Kings II - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Adam Smith)

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Scenario Generator is a tool that creates random restrictions, goals and startup settings for a variety of games, and it’s the reason I’ve become happily lost in Crusader Kings II [official site] and Civ V [official site] again. Reinvent an old favourite with the click of a button, as you find out precisely how often you can commit Unprovoked Murder.>

… [visit site to read more]

Kerbal Space Program - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Cassandra Khaw)

Yes, little Kerbal. At least, there's that.

Long ago, before the seduction of fast food and motorized vehicles, there resided vikings in the land of Kerbin. It was not an easy time. These fearsome Kerbals lived and died with their colossal ships, which spat flame like the behinds of dragons. But like their eventual descendants, they persisted and grew from strength to strength. Their endless quest for naval perfection was known as the Viking Space Program and it was, like everything else in Kerbin, kinda cool.

… [visit site to read more]

Kerbal Space Program - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Philippa Warr)

Let's go!

Kerbal Space Program is leaving beta with the next update.

KSP [official site] will continue to be a work-in-progress the developers say as much so what does leaving beta actually mean in this situation?

… [visit site to read more]

Kerbal Space Program

Kerbal Space Program will leave Early Access with its next update. Come one, come all, and join me in a moment's Also sprach Zarathustra.

It's not been revealed when the update will release, but the rocketry sim only entered beta last month. "As development in Beta has progressed, one thing has become very apparent," writes SQUAD's Felipe HarvesteR Falanghe, "Kerbal Space Program is about to reach a state in which every single one of the original goals for the game has been reached, and we can say that our original design document has been fulfilled."

That means the game will soon be officially released—a somewhat strange designation as it's been both available to buy and brilliant for a long time now. Nevertheless, it won't be the end of development. "We see no better way to follow up on reaching our initial goals than to continue development on Kerbal Space Program, beyond Beta, past our original plans," HarvesteR writes.

The 1.0 update itself will bring, among other things, new, more realistic modelling of drag and lift, an 'Engineer's Report' warning of crucial design flaws, a game over state, and female Kerbals. You can see a full run-down of the planned features over at the KSP forum.

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