Why people play this for 1000+ hours?

[CondorDrake]

I really wish I'd understand what gives people the motivation to keep playing this game over and over, because for me, after ~120 hours it feels like I've done it all and every rocket I try to launch feels like... just another boring rocket.

Are you guys using any mods which actually add a challenge or competition to this game, or how do you keep up the motivation to replay this again and again?

[Blind0ne]

Have you ever made an RCS powered wakeboard and surfed the dunes of Eeloo?
I like that KSP can be as challenging or as casual of an experiance as I want and that will likely keep me coming back forever.

[Just Jim]

Or dune buggy'd across the beaches of Laythe in the morning??? hehehe

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=507027543

[SquaredSpekz]

I've spent about 1/3 of my 600+ hours just perfecting my Aircraft, in a Space Game!!! Love it so much.

[Undead Rufus]

You've put 1,400 hours into CS:GO and nearly 1,000 into Football Manager 2014 (dear GOD, why???? ;) ). Your reasons probably aren't that different from those who put huge amounts of time into KSP. You're creating. You're experimenting. You're entertained by the action. It doesn't matter so much that the mechanics are repetitive, as long as you've got options and enjoy what you're doing. There are only so many ways to swing a sword, cast a spell or crawl through a spider-infested cave, but I still play Skyrim after 930 hours. Ditto for every game in the Mass Effect franchise. *shrug*

[tom147]

I guess if you dont have a life outside of gaming there is no limit to hrs you can play a game. For me Ksp was great for 600 hrs or so but I cant really get ito playing it anymore. Id need some kind of storyline and hidden science parts,or interesting rescue missions in hard to access areas, to get me to play again. But different strokes for different folks. If you can continue to amuse yourself for thousands of hrs. go for it. You should really get out more tho.

[FourGreenFields]

I'll play this game until I have replicas of every single plane (at least every german plane + every unusual plane) of WWII for FAR.
As you can imagine, that'll take some time.
And then I can actually design normal planes and SSTOs using FAR, and play the game as intendet.

1000 hours - easy.

[IkkYuSoJuN]

I cant answer with a rational reason, i liked solitude at that point in my life i stil crave it altho i lead a normal life so im a spilt in two.. i would leave the VAB running on a 40inch tv while i was snoozing on a couch nearby, so you cant judge the playtime unfortunatley, but yea.
Mine is alot of hours, 1000 times 3
As you might guess there is no review for Kerbal in my library, self explanatory really.
Interesting question you have posed

[Toastie Buns]

Because I like launching, orbiting and landing the most retarded things you can possibly imagine.

Naturally, there is very little shortage of retarded things to launch.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=380038459

^ That was on old, old project, but still, what rational space agency gives the go ahead for a lunar refreshment stand?

[CondorDrake]

Originally posted by Undead Rufus:

You've put 1,400 hours into CS:GO and nearly 1,000 into Football Manager 2014 (dear GOD, why???? ;) ). Your reasons probably aren't that different from those who put huge amounts of time into KSP. You're creating. You're experimenting. You're entertained by the action. It doesn't matter so much that the mechanics are repetitive, as long as you've got options and enjoy what you're doing. There are only so many ways to swing a sword, cast a spell or crawl through a spider-infested cave, but I still play Skyrim after 930 hours. Ditto for every game in the Mass Effect franchise. *shrug*

Yeah but all these games have a challenge, there's always something left to achieve or to beat, KSP has nothing to achieve really. It's a pure sandbox game. I'd love to find any motivation to continue playing this because I love the idea of this game, but it's really just sending rockets to the same empty planets again and again.

Btw. loved Mass Effect too :)

Happy for all who manage to have continued fun with the game, I just feel like the game is missing the game aspect a little.

[Undead Rufus]

Originally posted by Equinox:

Yeah but all these games have a challenge, there's always something left to achieve or to beat, KSP has nothing to achieve really. It's a pure sandbox game. I'd love to find any motivation to continue playing this because I love the idea of this game, but it's really just sending rockets to the same empty planets again and again.

Btw. loved Mass Effect too :)

Happy for all who manage to have continued fun with the game, I just feel like the game is missing the game aspect a little.

I think there's plenty to achieve in KSP and it certainly doesn't lack challenge, but needing a carrot to chase isn't a necessary motivation for everyone. I've only put 50 hours into KSP (and haven't really played since 1.0 dropped), but I'm an astronomy buff who likes designing and launching things and sometimes (okay, frequently) watching them explode. How many games let you do that?

If you're specifically criticizing the barren planets, I kinda-sorta can agree, but it would seem that most long-term players don't place much significance on that.

Maybe KSP just isn't your thing, at least not in the same sense that it is for a 1000-hour player, and that's totally fine.

[Cybernetcrash]

@Equinox for me the challenge comes down to creating elaborate bases on all planets and moons. It's not just about launching a rocket and making it reach its destination. I personally use the Aviation Lights mod because I like fancy lights & colors, but there countless other mods out there that can add a ton of content & different approaches to it.

[clueless]

The reason some people play for 1,000 hours is because they need challenges, a challenge for you, did you try the orange tank fuel from reddit? You need to start trying new things, like build a mun base or smthin'

[Phobos]

Obvious troll is obvious.
100% sure that OP hasn't landed anything on Eeloo

[ProperWumbo]

Well i don't got jack squat to do in my other games

[ghpstage]

Originally posted by Equinox:

I really wish I'd understand what gives people the motivation to keep playing this game over and over, because for me, after ~120 hours it feels like I've done it all and every rocket I try to launch feels like... just another boring rocket.

Are you guys using any mods which actually add a challenge or competition to this game, or how do you keep up the motivation to replay this again and again?

Being a sandbox you do need to come up with your own mission goals, and combined with the games environment (which is very harsh) the challenge is born.

The environment is harsh enough that even conceptually simple missions, like a manned mission to Eve or Moho and back is very difficult, and significantly different (in engineering terms, which is a big part of what this game is about) than a science run on Minmus.
And there are far more insane ones available, such as moving a class E asteroid to orbit around Bop (its actually a career mode contract), getting to near 'sea level' on Jool and returning, building a craft that can get to an land on every planet, or the Jool 5 challenge (link below) then the challenge can be extreme.
http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/57197-The-Ultimate-Jool-5-Challenge-land-Kerbals-on-all-moons-and-return-in-one-big-mission

The competitive scene by the way while limited does exist, in the form of open challenges (like the Jool 5) on the official forums.