![]() ![]() If this doesn’t make intuitive sense - which you shouldn’t take personally, as this is phenomenally weird - this (superb) illustration from Munroe is a good introduction to the subject.īut besides the physics instruction, the game is a wonderful lesson in problem-solving and care. Why so? Because, in space, gravity matters more than the distance between two objects - especially if you’re not in a hurry - and because it’s far easier to land and return from a small object than a much larger one. To take one fairly minor example, it’s actually much easier to get into orbit and land on Minmus, Kerbin’s smaller moon, than on the much larger Mun, despite the latter being nearly three times closer. Though the built-in tutorials leave much to be desired - there are too few of them and they’re a little buggy - the educational value of this game is truly extraordinary: Not since the Europa Universalis games have I learned so much through play (“Oh, so that’s where ‘Old’ Zeeland is! Who knew?”). Moving around in space is very alien to moving around terrestrially, something I knew before, but which I had no feel for until playing KSP. How about flying to one of Kerbin’s diminutive moons? Easily done (though landing and getting back are harder). How about set up a mining/refueling base on one of the other planets orbiting Kerbol? I haven’t figured that one out yet, but I’m assured it’s possible.įrom a successful round-trip voyage to Minmus. Want to dock with another craft and build a space station? Have fun. Want to explore Kerbin via jet? Go do that. ![]() Though there are pre-built scenarios players can select (e.g., diverting an asteroid on a collision course with your home world), the primary mode of play is an open “sandbox” style, where players have no set objectives, though there are set incentives. KSP is a flight and rocket simulator that allows players to design and fly vehicles not only on the fictional planet of Kerbin, but throughout its pint-sized and complicated solar system. ![]() Some years back, the webcomic at the right caught my attention: If Randall Munroe - creator of XKCD and the author of What If? - found the video game Kerbal Space Program (KSP) that informative, imagine what an idiot like me might learn. ![]()
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