Kitten Space Agency: A Spiritual Successor to Kerbal Space Program?

The Legacy of Kerbal Space Program

• 🚀 Kerbal Space Program (KSP) inspired many to pursue aerospace careers, but its development has ceased, with the sequel, KSP 2, facing significant issues and remaining in early access.
• 💡 A new team is developing Kitten Space Agency (KSA) as a spiritual successor, aiming to fulfill the original vision of KSP.

The "Brutal" Game Engine

• 🧠 KSP's original engine, Unity, struggled with the vast scales of space due to its 32-bit coordinate system, leading to precision issues.
• 🛠️ KSA is built on a new engine called Brutal, which utilizes 64-bit coordinates and double precision to accurately model large procedural planets and solar systems.
• ✅ This foundational technology is intended to be moddable from the start, ensuring long-term community support.

Tech Demo Features and Gameplay

• 🌌 A pre-alpha tech demo is available, showcasing spacecraft in orbit around Earth, with the potential for a full solar system.
• 🕹️ Gameplay includes manual control of spacecraft, reaction control thrusters, and an autopilot for orbital maneuvers like raising orbits and performing burns.
• ⚡ The demo features a high-thrust engine, described as similar to Epstein drive technology, capable of rapid acceleration and significant delta-V.

Interplanetary Travel and Landing

• 🌕 The demo allows for planning Hohmann transfers to celestial bodies like the Moon, with options for manual editing of maneuver nodes.
• ⏱️ Time warp functionality is included, allowing in-game time to advance while engines are firing, a feature not present in the original KSP.
• 🛬 Landing on the Moon is demonstrated, highlighting the need for precise throttle control and switching between orbital and surface reference modes for deceleration.

Future Vision and Modding Potential

• 🪐 KSA's solar system will be smaller than KSP's to make gameplay more manageable, with planets scaled down and distances reduced.
• 🎨 The game aims to inspire a new generation of rocket scientists by providing tools for learning and experimentation.
• 🐱 While the demo features kittens as the dominant species, mods are already replacing them with Kerbals, and the developers are focused on clean, simple part designs.