Kerbal Space Program 2
Interstellar travel and colony building are coming to Kerbal.
When you land on a celestial body in Kerbal Space Program 2, whether it’s the Mun or another planet entirely, your mission doesn’t end with you planting a flag. This sequel to Squad’s science-based space sim, now developed by a team of Kerbal fans called Star Theory, will let you establish a colony on the surface and watch it grow.
“We have a colony editor that’s very similar to the vehicle editor,” says creative director Nate Simpson. “But it takes place in situ. You have a parts palette, but you’re also looking at actual physical terrain.”
But you won’t suddenly see a space metropolis spring up, you have to start small. “When you build your first colonies you’ll be using these collapsible, prefabricated modules,” says Simpson. “They’re actually inflatable, and you’ll build your first structures with those. Then, over time, you’ll unlock new things for your base.”
This is tied to the population of your colony. Only a handful of Kerbals will occupy your first, most basic settlement, but over time they’ll reproduce and your population will increase, granting you access to new technology. But how do you get more Kerbals?
“We’ve found a way to couple progression not to the passage of time, but to progress,” explains Simpson. “If we had timer-based resource collection or something like that, you could game the system, because Kerbal Space Program lets you control the flow of time. So instead we’ve linked colony growth to your achievements instead.”
Simpson is a little vague here, because he doesn’t want to give away all the game’s secrets. “When you do something of note in the game,” he says, without elaborating. “Kerbals celebrate by multiplying. We think this is a great system because it makes progression organic. You can’t just zoom time. You have to do interesting stuff.”
BEYOND THE INFINITE
Another exciting new feature in Kerbal Space Program 2 is interstellar travel. Not only can you build colonies in your home system, but you can establish them in other star systems too – if you build a ship that can survive the treacherous journey.
Even getting a giant interstellar ship out of its dock without it exploding will be a challenge, but a satisfying one. “I love the Star Trek-style pageantry of undocking a massive ship,” says Simpson. “You can even build little space tugs to pull it out of its parking spot. It’s beautiful to see. It’s moving!”
I ask Simpson what we can expect to find in other star systems, and he’s understandably reluctant to give me too many firm details. “We want all of our celestial bodies to present unique landing challenges,” he says. “We want to think of these new planets as being puzzles that you solve with craft design. And as you move deeper into the universe, there’ll be more diversity in these landing challenges.”
Kerbal Space Program 2 will also be notably prettier than its predecessor. This is especially obvious in its rocket launches and explosions, which feature impressive lighting and smoke effects. “That’s just a little icing on the cake,” says Simpson. “I’ve always thought Kerbal was beautiful. That first sunrise when you achieve your first orbit. But we’ve gone through several generations of graphics technology since then, so we’ll have a lot of improvements.”
Kerbal Space Program 2 is set for release next year. Original developer Squad will continue to update and support the first game, but it’s clear from Nate Simpson’s enthusiasm that Star Theory knows what it’s doing, and will take the series to new heights.