The timewarp buttons
A time warp (also called a timewarp) is used to fast-forward the game. It is usually used to reduce the real-world time taken for interplanetary transfers or rendezvous. Timewarp can only be used above certain altitudes, depending on which body's sphere of influence the rocket is in.
At default, there are ten speeds for time warping:
- 1×
- 5×
- 25×
- 100×
- 500×
- 2500×
- 10000×
- 50000×
- 250000×
- 1000000× (requires planet expansion)
as well as three physics time warp speeds:
- 2×
- 3×
- 5× (Steam version only)
There are also more time warp speeds, such as 0.5, 10, and 25, but they are only available in the Vanilla Upgrades mod.
Another way to time warp is through the Timewarp Here feature, which allows players to timewarp to the exact location they want, with the limitation that it needs to be within the orbit line. If the position clicked is close enough (this is relative to what the screen sees) to the white dot, such as a rendezvous or encounter, it would prioritize it over the actual location clicked.
In large, custom solar systems, faster timewarp speeds are available.
Note that the time warp still functions if the rocket is stationary relative to the ground.
All rocket orbits are locked during the time warp. That means you cannot do engine burns, move on the surface, rotate the rocket, or see a part, and rockets that are supposed to collide just don't collide; instead, they overlap each other.
Physics except collisions with other planets (not other rockets) are also affected by this feature. This is because rocket orbits are locked. That means a rocket passing through the atmosphere will not encounter atmospheric drag and/or atmospheric heating. The rocket will simply have no orbital decay (due to drag) until you switch to it and turn off the time warp. However, if a rocket is on collision course with the planet, when it touches the surface, the rocket will disappear.
All rockets and planets are affected by time warp, regardless of the one selected, so you could switch to a rocket already in orbit to allow a rocket that cannot be applied with time warp to, for instance, exit a planet's atmosphere without air resistance. This requires the rocket to already be on a trajectory out of the atmosphere (because engines will be disabled), but it can save fuel.
Below is a table of time warp limits for every celestial body in the game. Below the limit, the regular time warp will be disabled and cannot be enabled again unless the rocket reaches the said boundary altitude.
Table of time warp limits[]
| Celestial body | TimewarpHeight |
|---|---|
| Sun | 500 kilometers |
| Mercury | 2500 meters |
| Venus | 35–40 kilometers |
| Earth | 25–30 kilometers |
| Moon | 5 kilometers |
| Mars | 15–20 kilometers |
| Phobos | 1000 meters |
| Deimos | 1000 meters |
| Jupiter | 80–100 kilometers |
| Io | 5 kilometers |
| Europa | 5 kilometers |
| Ganymede | 5 kilometers |
| Callisto | 5 kilometers |
Trivia[]
- The altitude of the time warp limit can be edited in the planet editor, though reducing it isn't recommended because your rocket could accidentally slow down too late into an inescapable collision course.
- In 1.5.3, another feature is added to the time warp. Now you can time warp up to 3× when your rocket is doing engine burns, launches, driving, and atmospheric (re)entry. More information is on this page. However, when you are playing realistic mode on the Steam version, you could speed up time to 3× while in a physics time warp.
- Time warp altitude also depends on the vertical speed of the rocket. If the rocket is descending and the planet has an atmosphere, the time warp altitude is equal to the planet's atmosphere height. Otherwise, it is set to its original altitude.
- On how far the farthest axis of the farthest celestial body is, the time warp gets bigger numbers.