With the recent update to the Unity 5 Engine, Kerbal Space Program developers have moved the release date for the KSP 1.1 update forward. Although the scope of the update will be reduced by a small margin, this is in favor of speeding up the release schedule for the game. Unity 5 will offer a solid performance boost across all operating systems as well as increased performance and stability on 64 Bit platforms. The new version of PhysX is more capable of multithreading across processor cores, meaning that 64 Bit clients for Windows and Mac OSX are more than just a thought in the development process.
Included in this update is also a graphical engine overhaul, updating the UI, wheels, and various other systems that can be read about in the dev notes.
NEW PARTS AND UPDATES
One of the highlights of the 1.1 Update is an Mk1 Cockpit redesign. Developers went into the redesign with the intent to keep the original style while incorporating real-life cockpit designs. The Mk1 parts that received an overhaul in previous updates are also receiving style tweaks to bring them in line with the rest of the parts in the spaceplane hangar.
A Mk1 Crew Cabin with space for two Kerbals has also been designed and is slated for release with the 1.1 Update.
KSP Developers have also spent time working on 0.625m jets and associated parts, as well as tweaking the Basic Jet Engine and Turbo Jet Engine. Additional graphics are being added to old and new jet parts alike, fostering a greater sense of realism and immersion.
Feel free to check out Porkjet’s album, showcasing more of the new designs.
ANTENNA DIVERSITY AND PROBES
Antenna Diversity and Probes, a feature that you can read up on here if you’re not familiar, is still fresh on the dev teams’ minds. RoverDude, the developer in charge of this program, is still hard at work refining the feature and incorporating feedback that has been received from the community.
CONTEXTUAL CONTRACTS
While having contracts that set full missions is great fun, the developers hold to the opinion that a real sense of achievement comes from watching something unfold over time. With Contextual Contracts, the dev team is hoping to give KSP a level of continuation from your stage of the space program. Thus, instead of receiving all of the contracts at once, you receive and initial contract and follow-up contracts once you’ve completed the prerequisite. These could range from a base-building request for additional lab space, to a satellite that needs adjusted to meet new requirements.
LANGUAGE LOCALIZATION
The development team is still hard at work to deliver localized language parameters other than English. Although it is nowhere near completion, 1.1 will introduce the framework for the localization project to build upon.
XBOX ONE, PLAYSTATION 4, WII U
Squad, the development company that leads Kerbal Space Program, has recently announced outsourcing the PlayStation and Xbox development to the team at Flying Tiger Entertainment. At E3, Flying Tiger also announced their upcoming release of KSP to the PlayStation 4.
Nintendo released a YouTube trailer at PAX, hinting at an upcoming Wii U release for the game, however no dates or timeframes have yet been released for the development process.
