Although the development team has only created the Sun, Earth, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn so far, they’ve already done an excellent job capturing the unique characteristics of these planets—Earth’s grassy vegetation, gas giants, planetary rings, moons like Pan, comets, and more. The remaining planets in the solar system would essentially just require parameter and texture adjustments. Moreover, the current experimental technology is already being developed within the solar system; logically, with the latest tech at their disposal, the team wouldn’t just create a small “Kitten” star system and then redo the solar system from scratch.
I understand the team’s desire to develop a new star system. On one hand, orbital insertion wouldn’t be as challenging, making it more beginner-friendly. RSS (Real Solar System) takes a very long time to achieve Earth orbit, whereas Kerbin only takes a few minutes. On the other hand, a new system allows for fresh creative ideas and fun mechanics without being bound by realism.
But since so much work has already been done, and there’s considerable demand from players, why not keep both systems? Let them coexist. With future interstellar travel, players could journey from the Kitten system to the solar system, or start from Earth and travel to the KSA-created system.
Dean also wants this game to be used in classrooms, and having the solar system would make it much more intuitive for teachers to demonstrate real-world space missions.
I believe this game could have very long-lasting value. Twenty years from now, when humanity launches new space missions—like probes to Uranus, Neptune, or even Pluto—this game could still be used to demonstrate them, thanks to its outstanding graphics and excellent physics simulation, along with its authentic recreation of the solar system.
I hope the development team will consider this. Although the game is mod-friendly, I would much prefer an officially supported RSS in the base game, so we never have to worry about mods breaking due to game updates. Even though the game is free now, if it ever becomes paid in the future, the solar system could be offered as a DLC. Or the game could sell at a higher price because it includes the solar system—I believe people would be willing to pay for it.
Thank you to the developers for considering this. Finally, best wishes for smooth game development 😘