kerbalspaceprogram
Latest
'Grand Theft Auto' publisher Take-Two opens an indie label
Take-Two is the latest major games publisher to open up an indie label. From the sounds of it, Private Division will operate like a smaller scale version of Take-Two itself, giving developers leeway to work on things at their own pace and not worry about pumping out a sea of annual sequels.
Take-Two nabs the rights to 'Kerbal Space Program'
The news about ex-Squad members leaving for Valve was ultimately overblown, but there's still plenty of drama in the indie developer's life: Take-Two Interactive has bought the rights to Kerbal Space Program. The move will turn the spaceship building hit into a "long-term franchise." In other words, you can expect to see spinoffs set in the Kerbals' universe. Take-Two tells Engadget that it's currently "focused on the existing game," though, so don't expect it to rush out a game right away.
Valve hired the team behind 'Kerbal Space Program' (update: not quite)
Worried that Valve's recent departures mark an end to conventional game development at the Half-Life studio? You might have a glimmer of hope. Valve has confirmed that it hired the team at Squad, better known as the creators of the shipbuilding hit Kerbal Space Program. The company isn't saying just how many people it hired, what they're working on or what's happening to KSP ("more details soon," a spokesperson says), but former Valve designer Roger Lundeen had said in the Game Dev Unchained podcast that the "entire team" had made the leap.
'Kerbal Space Program' expansion has you making your own missions
Squad isn't done adding to Kerbal Space Program just because the game's protracted development is over... if anything, the studio is just getting started. The company has unveiled KSP's first expansion, Making History, and this is definitely represents more than your usual downloadable add-on. It earns its namesake from the ability to reenact real-life space missions (insofar as you can in a fictional universe, anyway), but the real highlight is the option to create your own missions. There's a simple "drag and drop" interface, Squad says, and you can throw players for a loop by introducing everything from arbitrary limits (such as fuel or time) to surprise events.
'Kerbal Space Program' arrives on Xbox One
Squad teased that Kerbal Space Program was reaching the Xbox One when it announced the PS4 launch, and it made good on its word just a few days later. The spacecraft construction and exploration game is now available through the Xbox Store. As with the PS4 version, this port preserves the challenge of designing and flying ships across the Kerbals' star system, often with unintentionally hilarious results -- the biggest change is simply adapting KSP to the realities of playing with a gamepad. There's no mention of when the promised Wii U edition will arrive, but it might not be far behind given that Squad aimed to ship that title at the same time as the PS4 and Xbox One versions.
The adorable 'Kerbal Space Program' will land on Xbox One
Kerbal Space Program's cute little green engineers are coming to Xbox One. Much like the PlayStation 4 version that was announced in June, there isn't a release date listed for the spaceship-building sim on Xbox. But considering the latter has an Early Access-like program of its own we could theoretically see it on Microsoft's latest console before it hits the PS4. Maybe. The port's being handled by mobile-focused developer Flying Tiger, which original developer Squad says will allow them to keep a keen focus on the game's PC version. As Squad tells it, Flying Tiger has helped immensely in the process of upgrading the game to run on the Unity 5 engine and has "deeply simplified Kerbal's upgrade process. Flying Tiger's resume isn't what you'd call impressive, but hey neither was Rocksteady's prior to Batman: Arkham Asylum -- we all know how that turned out. [Image credit: K.G.23/Flickr]
'Kerbal Space Program' is coming to PS4
Imaginative rocket designers have good news out of E3 tonight, as the Kerbal Space Program team revealed that its quirky construction and space flight simulation is coming to the PlayStation 4. There's no release date yet, just the announcement, but it's yet another notable score on Sony's list of indie developer wins. Considering it took a couple of years for the original to go from Steam Early Access star to official release we wouldn't hold our breath, but hopefully the team has enough resources to make a quick transition to the console.
'Kerbal Space Program' finally launches on April 27th
Squad's Kerbal Space Program has often seemed like a never-ending experiment. The first public version of the spacecraft building game was released in 2011, and it's been in a rough state ever since. At last, though, it's officially ready for action -- the developer has revealed that KSP 1.0 will be available on April 27th. This polished version will be very familiar if you've tried pre-release code on your Mac or Windows PC, although that's not a bad thing. As before, your only real goal is to explore the Kerbals' solar system using the best rockets, landers and probes that you know how to make, with (mostly) realistic physics teaching you about the challenges of reaching orbit and touching down on distant planets. The game is close enough to the real thing that the likes of NASA and SpaceX's Elon Musk approve, so it's worth a look if you want to imagine what a Mars landing would be like years before it happens.
NASA's game collaboration lets you steer asteroids without leaving home
Kerbal Space Program is the closest you'll get to running a space agency. The game lets you build and launch everything from orbital stations to interplanetary explorers, all in the name of collecting scientific data. It's only fitting, then, that the studio behind the title has teamed up with NASA to release its Asteroid Redirect Mission add-on. The patch gives you both equipment based on the Space Launch System as well as enough giant rocks to let you either mimic potential real-world missions or live out your Armageddon dreams. The KSP upgrade isn't a completely faithful simulation by any means, but it's realistic enough that it could help you appreciate the challenges of steering asteroids. If you'd like to see the software in action, you can check out the second video at about the 57-minute mark.
