When Wes chatted with the developers of Kerbal Space Program 2 for a recent PC Gamer cover story, they shared details about the game that will be earth-shattering for the Kerbal community: the Kerbal Space Program 2 The assembly building incorporates a trip planner. Anyone who has played more than a few hours of the first Kerbal will recognize the community's "delta-V map" showing the thrust required for a spacecraft to reach its destination. (Along with learning basic orbital mechanics, figuring out thrust is the biggest obstacle to enjoying KSP. [Vehicle Assembly Building has another major feature. This was very popular and developers used it.

There is a long quote from creative director Nate Simpson:

For most of the game loop, especially early in the game, you build a vehicle with some goal in mind, and then you find yourself unable to get where you are trying to go. In fact, that is what the gameplay experience is all about for many people. This is a way to reinforce that part of the iterative loop, providing real-time information about how far your vehicle can go in its current configuration. As you build your vehicle, you can open this trip planner, select your destination as a mun, and decide whether you want a one-way or round-trip trip, and each stage of the vehicle will show you exactly the theoretical maximum distance it can go. Now you can go back to the build view, remove and replace the engine, replace items, change the mass and fuel load of the vehicle, etc., and see the effects in real time. This essentially removes one of the more frustrating elements of the iterative loop in the original game. Figuring out the relationship between fuel loading and thrust, and all the details of the rocket equation, is very counter-intuitive in the early stages.

The ability to vaguely grasp the amount of rocket required is essential to playing the game, and the original Kerbal lacked good tools to figure it out. It is a bit thrilling to learn that the developers also use the community's Delta-V map. But now we can know which target a rocket will hit before it is fired. No more delta-V maps! No more stranded Kerbals! Okay: fewer Kerbals stranded!

Kerbal Space Program 2 will be released by Intercept Games in 2021. This new game will include all new features such as multiplayer, planetary colonization, and near-future propulsion technology.

It's not just the rocket equation that the developers of KSP2 are trying to make easier: you can read more about the upcoming space program simulator in Space Odyssey: Also, read everything we know about Kerbal Space Program 2 See everything we know about Kerbal Space Program 2.