I actually played this at a the recent GameTech conference in Orlando. I was underwhelmed. The "game" places you in a moon base that had been hit my a meteor strom and several components have been destroyed and there are some radiation hazards.The game consists of getting the repair parts out of the shed, going to the damage, and repairing it.Sometimes you are supposed to use a robot to carry supplies/make repairs.I discovered several probelms. Sometimes a part (hose) would start to flail uncontrollably and you could not connect it. you frequently have to be in a certain orientatin to connect the part. There was no penalty for zipping though the radiation area. You can only care one part at a time, so you may have to make several trips to the stockage shed to get the parts/tools you need.It was not particulary entertaining, inspiring, or even interesting. we played in teams of 5.
But I think VSO is a greate match for an RTS, apart from the fact that nasa can probably not put its name on something where americans, chinese and indians duke it out on the moon
I think it's not above their ability, but they're likely targeting a younger demographic with Moonbase Alpha (below 10 years old is my guess), so you're probably right that they won't do what I propose. We all know games aren't supposed to be fun, they're supposed to be realistic and scientifically accurate first and foremost
I actually think it'd be quite interesting to have a browser-based simulation game somewhat like those ever-popular FarmVille games, with a semi-realistic simulation of a Moon/Mars colony or space station instead of a farm. I've been pondering developing something like that as a weekend leisure programming project.
But things will get really surreal when you start having landers deliver small arms, explosives and armed rovers. I'd hate to be the guy that has to come up with a plot to justify turning the Moon into a battlefield.
There's a semi-realistic shooter game set in space, including one area based on the ISS. "Shattered Horizon".
It seems to be a moderate success, propped up by the novelty and good execution of the realistic space vacuum setting, but hamstrung by some gameplay issues. Someone who plays it told me it's badly paced. So an authentic space setting does seem like a good selling point for mainstream games, nothing to disqualify it from being an AAA game's setting.
Buggy races on the Moon might be fun, especially if it's made so realistic as to suspend people's belief and give them a real sense of being there. Nothing else can compare, so in their minds (whether it hooks them on space or not) space would gain some unique value instead of being "just another place".
Do they realize the irony of their mission scenario? Why are the squishy humans there in the first place, running out of oxygen, if you're going to use a robot to save them?
You know what NASA needs to do. Develop for Orbiter. No seriously. It will do far more good than the bad press on this.
Hmm, that's unfortunate to hear. I wonder if there's anything they could do (within reason) to make it more engaging.
If the basic format works, they can keep adding content.A pity NASA is too PC to produce a dune2/starcraft style game, you know those ones where you expand your base, capture resources as quickly as possible and then bomb the *** out of your adversaries with your tanks...although NASA did come up with LCROSS..
I mean, look at the elements: you start with a base, you explore and find resources such as ice fields. you build solar power farms and ice miners. You begin smelting and manufacturing your own rovers. you order new items to be delivered from earth.. it is almost exactly dune2.
That's why I'm not sure it could work as an RTS. Sure the base building and resourcing could work very well. But things will get really surreal when you start having landers deliver small arms, explosives and armed rovers. I'd hate to be the guy that has to come up with a plot to justify turning the Moon into a battlefield. Kinda sends the wrong message about why NASA is trying to return to the Moon
I chose survival horror, because to be successful in such a genre it doesn't matter how little you have to work with in terms of plot, as long as you pull off the atmosphere and immersion. It probably could be done with what they already have in terms of graphics and physics engine, though the sound effects and music will likely have to be overhauled extensively.Biggest issue will be the environment. The bases will likely be small and most of the time will be spent outside in transit. Turning a big gray desert from boring to scary is going to be hard. Perhaps during this time some sort of hallucination mechanic could be added that distorts reality and keeps the player alert. Blocking out the sun to immerse the terrain in darkness, cracks that appear out of nowhere and if you fall in you freeze, mist appearing out of nowhere, being pulled into some craters and freezing if you stand in them too long, shadows moving, hearing voices, lights that flicker in the shadows and other weird stuff.
P.S. I wish Stanley Kubrick was alive. He'd probably have some interesting ideas.
Hadn't heard of that one. Looks interesting. Although it appears it doesn't have a single player campaign. Like I said, I'd hate to be the guy that has to come up with a plot to turn the Moon into a battlefield and the developers of this apparently thought the same I'm not saying space can't be the setting for a good/popular game, but NASA might have a problem with putting it's name on something like this:
Did he ever write stories for computer games?
Also a first person perspective from inside the suit would be cool, as well as proper sound modeling to really feel that vacuum on the outside.
No, but he mixed sci-fi with mysticism and symbolism quite well. See 2001 A Space Odyssey. Absolute realism, which is what Moonbase Alpha is based on, is what you don't want in a game, unless you're trying to make a simulator.
Half-Life on the moon!
Popular Mechanics: "Why NASA's New Video Game Completely Misses the Point".www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/video-games/why-nasas-new-video-game-completely-misses-the-point