This is similar to how the game actually works – if you view your SFS save file you will see the last state your vessels were in and when you load the game it uses those values to calculate where in orbit the vessel should be for the current point in time and how it should travel from there. When you view the Operations Tracker it pulls up the previous state of the vessel/body nearest to the current time you are viewing and extrapolates any data it needs from that point on. Data for vessels and bodies are stored in states that are stamped with a specific time they are valid in seconds since the start of the game. The Operations Tracker however is not a real-time system, it’s just simulating a real-time system.
Hey how do they even speak English?Ī common misconception about the Operations Tracker is that it’s pulling data from an always-running copy of KSP similar to how web-based telemetry mods like Telemachus operate. There are numerous in-jokes made about the kerbals using a system of time that has no relation to their planet.
A lot of what we do can be followed online via our Operations Tracker, where you can watch launches, maneuvers and see the craft move, so it’s important that people have a good understanding of when things are happening if they want to watch. Being able to split events into days/weeks/month/years that people already comprehend just makes everything easier to follow. There’s no real point in making people have to learn a different time system when they are trying to follow along with ongoing operations. #1 Why do you use Earth time (days/months/years)? You may very well forget that this is all happening based on a game. Such operations will be carried out following much of the same procedures and guidelines put in place by actual agencies. While it’s possible to see much of their operations in person, the majority of people see only what is shown via the agency’s various media outlets, as it is with the KSA. While other players prefer to use YouTube or livestreams on Twitch or convert their missions to stories or graphic novels, the KSA is presented in the style of actual space agencies like NASA, ESA, CSA, JAXA, etc. These operations are all supported by numerous materials including vessel blueprints, surface maps, visualizations, info-graphics, telemetry data, on-board camera images, videos and more, dispersed through our various media channels (see icons at top of page on desktop browsers)
Largely through this website, and the Operations Tracker, you are able to immerse yourself in the regular operations of the Agency and keep tabs on what is happening. A slight diversion is while orbital mechanics for vessels and celestial bodies are based on KSP’s default 2-body physics simulation, n-body physics behavior is also sometimes taken into account for story purposes.Īdditional aspects of reality that affect the gameplay and thus the story include but are not limited to: the speed of light is properly calculated when determining signal delay between vessels Kerbals that die stay dead, and kerbals that survive horrific crashes end up injured Some rocket engines may only have a limited number of restarts Cryogenic fuel boils off Radiation is a serious concern Life support is required for crewed missions Rockets take time to build, roll out, launch and be recovered Technology is gained and applied gradually over time.Īll the actions and events that occur throughout the KSA’s history are presented to you as if they are actually happening at any given time (see the FAQ tab above for more on the use of Earth time). For example, re-entry into Earth’s larger atmosphere provides a significantly greater challenge relative to re-entry in Kerbin’s smaller atmosphere, and the physics of the game are not changed to make Kerbin more like Earth. The “real world” here is Kerbin, not Earth, and reality applies to the kerbal world as opposed to how things behave in the Earth world. The Kerbal Space Agency is a project dedicated to realism both in how things are played in Kerbal Space Program and how things are presented to you, the audience.