Early access is always a bit hit and miss, and in my experience it’s been a lot more miss, factor that in with the many controversial kick-starters that disappeared into obscurity with our money (stomping land), the many games that just outright failed to achieve what they promised. It may be fair to say people are getting tired of process. But in amongst the failed concepts and abandoned projects there are some glimmers of hope. Kerbal Space Program is one such project; even in its earliest stages when they had only just begun charging for the game it was a fantastically addictive game, it was inherently simple to play yet intrinsically complicated in its nature (it is literally rocket science). Since that first basic shell of a game it has grown and grown, with regular updates.
So I am glad to hear KSP has launched into update 0.9.0, which for those of you unfamiliar with the games numbering system is the official designation of the game’s beta release. With this comes over 170 changes which can all be seen the full patch notes here, or check out the dev teams new blog post, where they explain the basics of what it’s all about.
“Building upon a long term project that was introduced with the last update’s destructible facilities,” SQUAD write, “players will now have the ability to start from the ground up with a basic space center and turn it into a sprawling compound in the new upgradable facilities feature. It’s not just buildings, either. Players will unlock new capabilities and bonuses as their career path progresses.”
Kerbals also now have their own personal progression paths. As they complete missions, they’ll gain experience to unlock new skills. Advanced piloting, science gathering and spacecraft repairs are some of the intrepid astronauts’ potential upgrades.
Check out the full patch notes here.