One of the biggest benefits of all that power in the hardware is giving developers the ability to make games that are Xbox Series X|S Optimized. This means that they’ve taken full advantage of the unique capabilities of Xbox Series X|S, both for new titles built natively using the Xbox Series X|S development environment as well as previously released titles that have been rebuilt specifically for the console. In our Inside Xbox Series X|S Optimized series, these creators will share the behind-the-scenes accounts of how they’re optimizing their titles for Xbox Series X|S and what that means for the future of gaming. Today, we’ll be chatting with Franchise Producer at Private Division Grant Gertz about optimizing Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition for Xbox Series X|S.
Q: “What excites you most about developing and bringing Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition to life on next-generation hardware?”
A: One of the best parts of Kerbal Space Program is building wild, bigger than life planes and spacecraft. Bringing Kerbal to Xbox Series X|S allows players to maintain consistent frame rates and stability at much higher part counts than previously possible.
Q: In addition to benefiting from the power and performance of Xbox Series X|S for quicker load times etc., what Xbox Series X|S features were you most excited to explore leveraging in the development of Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition?
A: Smart Delivery was of critical importance to us. We wanted the upgrade path to be as frictionless as possible, and Smart Delivery achieves that goal.
Q: How will these enhancements impact a player’s experience with Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition?
A: Smart Delivery allows players to seamless transition from the Xbox One generation to the Xbox Series X|S generation. If they’ve been playing the game on Xbox One already, they’ll see dramatic improvements in the framerates, textures, and overall performance of the game. They’ll also be able to build entirely new vehicles and embark on even more complex missions thanks to those performance upgrades.
Q: Why did your development team choose to focus on Smart Delivery, performance and part counts as enhancement areas for Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition?
A: Long time players of Kerbal Space Program likely have save files well over 100 hours. That represents a lot of hard work and progression. It was important for us to make sure our players could bring all their hard work with them when they moved to this new generation. They can now use those same save files to expand upon the many hours put into missions with the ability to build more complex crafts with the power of Xbox Series X|S consoles.
Q: How do you expect fans of Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition will respond to playing it on Xbox Series X|S with these enhancements?
A: If you combine how easy it will be for players to just continue right where they left off with the increased performance and fidelity offered with the Xbox Series X|S version of Kerbal, I think they are going to immediately want to go and build that cool ship or space station that they have always wanted to build, but were limited by part count constraints on last gen consoles.
Q: Which enhancement were you most excited about to explore leveraging for Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition on Xbox Series X|S?
A: Faster load times on Xbox Series X|S are a huge deal for the size of ships. Previously if you had multiple crafts in a save file it could take a looonng period of time for those saves to load in. Now the save files will boot up within seconds even when there are space stations, massive ships, and more spread across the solar system. It may not seem like a big deal at first, but veteran players will tell you that this completely changes the types of missions that can be done thanks to the expanded versatility of crafts.
Q: What does Smart Delivery mean for your game and how you’re bringing Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition to fans?
A: Smart Delivery is of critical importance to the upgraded version of Enhanced Edition. Players have put hundreds to thousands of hours into specific save files, and may have stopped playing those save files simply as a result of power and storage space limitations on last gen consoles. Now, they can directly continue those same save files they’ve spent years on but with improved visuals, framerates, load times, and expanded possibilities for the vessels they can build.
Q: What does Xbox Series X|S development enable in current or future projects that you could not have achieved with the previous generation of consoles?
A: The sheer number of assets that developers are now able to include in games, without impacting performance, means a lot more than people may think at the outset. In a game like Kerbal Space Program, variability and flexibility in what can be built, how many celestial bodies can be included in the game, and how quickly all of those load in greatly impact the player experience. For the upcoming sequel, it has fundamentally affected even the design of the game. We can’t wait for Series X|S players to get their hands on the new and improved Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition!
Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition
Private Division
Kerbal Space Program features three gameplay modes. In Science Mode, perform space experiments to unlock new technology and advance the knowledge of Kerbalkind. In Career Mode, oversee every aspect of the space program, including construction, strategy, funding, upgrades, and more. In Sandbox, you are free to build any spacecraft you can think of, with all parts and technology in the game.
Key Features:
• Build spaceships, rockets, and vehicles using any imaginable combination of parts, each with their own function that will affect the way your spacecraft behaves.
• Take full control over your ship’s setup to execute complex flight maneuvers.
• Manage your Kerbal crewmembers, including hiring, training, and sending them into space to become heroes.
• Discover a whole star system with unique moons and planets, exploring detailed terrain at a vast scale.
• Send your Kerbal crew outside their ships for “extra-vehicular” activities.
• Dock spacecraft together to construct space stations, massive starships, and surface bases on new planets.
• Use satellites to scan terrain and find biomes and other anomalies.
• Set up communications networks to communicate between your spacecraft and Kerbal Space Center.
• Research and develop new technologies to extract valuable information and resources from all over the solar system, and much more!
Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition is optimized for console players, featuring a completely reworked user interface and new controls.