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If anyone here hasn't played Kerbal Space program, try out the demo. It's less of a game and more of a space rocket simulator, with a real physics engine. I l

by jewel 11y ago

If anyone here hasn't played Kerbal Space program, try out the demo. It's less of a game and more of a space rocket simulator, with a real physics engine. I learned a lot by playing it. I'm not in any way affiliated with the game, but can say with certainty that the overlap of HN readers and people who would enjoy the game is very high.

kincardine 11y ago
It's also less of a simulator and more of a total brain takeover. When I first started playing all I could think about (as I was trying to get work done) were trans-munar injections and free-return trajectories.
- stuxnet79 11y ago
  I bought the game but still haven't played it yet. How much of a timesink is it? Could it be enjoyed in 30min to an hour playing sessions?
  - Buttons840 11y ago
    Yes, you can leave the game in almost any state and then pick up where you left off later. The only exception is suborbital flights, but getting to orbit takes 3 to 5 minutes max.
    - douche 11y ago
      For the first couple hours, you're going to be reverting to launch/construction every five minutes anyway when you mess up and crash or realize you didn't build your rocket correctly to do what you want to do.
      - TrevorJ 11y ago
        First couple of hours? That's still how I play 90% of the time.
      - deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
  - simonh 11y ago
    If you're disciplined yes, but there are some situations in which you can't save the game, such as whiled a vehicle is moving through an atmosphere (such as while flying a plane or landing a capsule) or while firing engines. It can't save while the current vehicle is experiencing acceleration other than gravity. So you can get stuck In the game during such activities for a little while.
  - TrevorJ 11y ago
    I've had a lot of fun watching my poorly designed ship blow up in hilarious ways than I have actually getting to orbit, so I'd say yes, you can def get a long way in a half hour.
Florin_Andrei 11y ago
Due to that game, I can talk with my 13 and 10 year old kids pretty casually about orbital mechanics, Hohmann orbits, etc. "Remember? This is just like that thing in KSP." ;)
david-given 11y ago
This diagram says it all: https://xkcd.com/1356/ https://xkcd.com/1356/

by jewel 11y ago

kincardine 11y ago

It's also less of a simulator and more of a total brain takeover. When I first started playing all I could think about (as I was trying to get work done) were trans-munar injections and free-return trajectories.

stuxnet79 11y ago
I bought the game but still haven't played it yet. How much of a timesink is it? Could it be enjoyed in 30min to an hour playing sessions?
- Buttons840 11y ago
  Yes, you can leave the game in almost any state and then pick up where you left off later. The only exception is suborbital flights, but getting to orbit takes 3 to 5 minutes max.
  - douche 11y ago
    For the first couple hours, you're going to be reverting to launch/construction every five minutes anyway when you mess up and crash or realize you didn't build your rocket correctly to do what you want to do.
    - TrevorJ 11y ago
      First couple of hours? That's still how I play 90% of the time.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
- simonh 11y ago
  If you're disciplined yes, but there are some situations in which you can't save the game, such as whiled a vehicle is moving through an atmosphere (such as while flying a plane or landing a capsule) or while firing engines. It can't save while the current vehicle is experiencing acceleration other than gravity. So you can get stuck In the game during such activities for a little while.
- TrevorJ 11y ago
  I've had a lot of fun watching my poorly designed ship blow up in hilarious ways than I have actually getting to orbit, so I'd say yes, you can def get a long way in a half hour.

Florin_Andrei 11y ago

Due to that game, I can talk with my 13 and 10 year old kids pretty casually about orbital mechanics, Hohmann orbits, etc. "Remember? This is just like that thing in KSP." ;)

david-given 11y ago

This diagram says it all: https://xkcd.com/1356/ https://xkcd.com/1356/