Kerbal Space Program
Since version 0.19, Kerbal Space Program includes a native Linux version. However, only Ubuntu 12.04 is officialy supported, so it may not work on Arch Linux out of the box.
Installation
Install Kerbal Space Program in Steam client if you bought steam version of the game.
For non Steam users the Kerbal Space Program website currently offers a pre-built Linux version as a .zip file. Simply download and extract the file to your chosen install location, execute the game using:
./KSP.x86_64
Mod Support
For ease of install and mod management, currently most modifications are available using ckanAUR which will automatically resolve dependencies and install / remove mods.
It is worth noting that not all mods are available for all release versions, if you have your heart set on using a particular mod it may be worth researching and installing an older KSP version first.
Known issues
Game never progresses past initial loading
To fix this, set:
LC_ALL=C
This is also relevant if your rocket's parts do not connect.
Game SegFaults before launching, v1.1+
The Unity 5 engine expects you to be running PulseAudio. You can install pulsenomoreAUR from the AUR or download it from [1] ,the KSP bug tracker, as a workaround until this is fixed by the Unity devs.
No text display
The game requires Arial and Arial Black fonts, provided in the ttf-ms-fontsAUR AUR package.
Another alternative is to try to use gnu-free-fonts. This worked using KSP 0.90.0 on x86_64 Arch Linux. YMMV
Some resolutions cause menus to appear empty. Try using your settings.cfg file to enable fullscreen and/or change your resolution by a few pixels, e.g. 1366x768 to 1363x768.
Imperfect resolutions can cause poor font rendering. If this happens you can use the AnyRes mod to change your resolution in-game to find a good one, rather than launching the game for every change.
Another solution that may work on some architectures is to add -force-glcore as a launch option, or passed in as a command line flag. For Steam, go to: Library -) right click on KSP -) Proprieties -) Set up launch options and add -force-glcore The game engine will try to run the game with the best OpenGL version possible and all available OpenGL extensions. With this option enabled you may encounter shadow glitches, try few different settings in-game in the setting panel to resolve the problem.
Graphics flickering when using primusrun
Run with PRIMUS_SYNC=2 (but you will get reduced frame rate this way). Alternatively run KSP using optirun.
Game crashes when accessing settings or saves on 64 bit systems on Steam
In the properties for Kerbal Space program, set a launch option of:
LC_ALL=C %command%_64
Game has garbled graphics when running on x86_64 with all lib32 drivers installed
Steam launches the KSP.x86 executable vs the KSP.x86_64 executable. Navigate to
/home/$USER/.local/share/Steam/SteamApps/common/Kerbal\ Space\ Program/
Launch with
./KSP.x86_64
Alternatively, to launch it from steam, set the following launch option:
%command%_64
No audio on 64-bit systems
Run the 64-bit Executable.
Steam launches the KSP.x86 executable vs the KSP.x86_64 executable. Navigate to
/home/$USER/.local/share/Steam/SteamApps/common/Kerbal\ Space\ Program/
Launch with
./KSP.x86_64
Or you can simply right click on Kerbal Space Program on your game list, click on Properties, click on SET LAUNCH OPTIONS, then add this:
LD_LIBRARY_PATH="/usr/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH" LC_ALL=C %command%_64
Black ingame textures
Disable "Edge Highlighting (PPFX)" in graphics settings ingame.
Joystick inputs are not recognized, v1.4+
This is a bug in KSP. As it has existed for a while now and depends on an upstream bug in the Unity engine it is unlikely to be fixed soon. Currently your only options are reverting to an older version of KSP (1.3 or lower) that used an older version of Unity or to emulate an XBox Controller or to use a third party mod like AFBW. With some configuration the latter one comes pretty close to the vanilla behaviour and even grants some additional features.
Alt key not working
In the Linux version, the modifier key is mapped to Right-Shift since some window managers use Alt + Click for moving windows.