kerbal space program controls landing gear

#Kerbal space program controls landing gear manual

During Apollo 11’s landing, Neil Armstrong’s heart rate was 150 beats per minute, and I’m pretty sure my heart was doing similar things when I finally landed on the Mun for the first time. Usually I’d get close and then use too much thrust, sending me back up again, a consequence of overpowered engines and crude controls.

#Kerbal space program controls landing gear manual

It took half an hour of manual flying to put my crew into a powered descent towards the Munar surface, and without the safety net of a saved game to fall back on, any mistake would ruin a lot of work. And again, the early game lacked many of the quality-of-life features we rely on – there was no navigation, no low-thrust landing engines, no landing gear, and no ability to save the game. New versions brought new features, including an orbiting Moon (or Mun), so of course I had to try landing there. They made you care a bit more and, sometimes, laugh a bit more. One of the smartest things it did was introduce the Kerbals – your crew Bill, Bob, and Jebediah Kerman – who would react during the flight, sometimes with concern, panic, or a huge grin. Then I deorbited, deployed my parachute, and gently touched down on the dark side of the planet, only to explode because of a bug in the game. When I made it into orbit, though, it felt like a real achievement. But equally, these early versions were so basic: there were no symmetry tools to help you keep your rocket balanced the atmosphere was so thick, it was hard to pick up speed, and the structure of your rocket felt like it was held together by rubber bands. I had degrees in physics and astronomy, and several decades of experience as a space nerd, so I knew what it took. By version 0.7.3, the first public release, there was a handful of parts, a planet, and enough physics such that you could get payloads into orbit if you knew what you were doing. You were trying to get as high as possible, balancing thrust to weight ratios, and being careful not to overheat your engines.

The amazing thing is that Kerbal Space Program, or KSP, didn’t set out to be the perfect educational game – it began as a sim that had some rocket-related mechanics.