NASA Launches Moonbase Alpha 230
Several readers have sent word that today NASA launched Moonbase Alpha, an online game with single- and multi-player capability that "allows participants to step into the role of an exploration team member in a futuristic 3-D lunar settlement." The game is available now through Steam for free. Moonbase Alpha was built as a precursor to an upcoming NASA MMO called Astronaut: Moon, Mars & Beyond, and they hope it will be "a proof of concept to show how NASA content can be combined with a cutting-edge game engine to inspire, engage and educate students about agency technologies, job opportunities and the future of space exploration."
Moonbase Alpha BBS? (Score:2, Interesting)
Anyone remember Moonbase Alpha BBS -- 471-4547 -- (I doubt it as it would be a minuscule number of people)?
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Um, all the world lives in one area code, do they? ;)
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When you're a teenager typing in modem commands by hand to call local numbers, yes :-)
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No. But I do remember 205 895 0028. I couldn't remember precisely what it was, but a Google sorted that (NASA Spacelink). Can't believe I still remember that. Must be more than 15 years since I last dialed that number. And, international rates being what they were, I didn't use it all that often back then either.
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In space... (Score:4, Funny)
Nobody can hear you troll.
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Oh shit.
Re:In space... (Score:5, Funny)
Good God, you're absolutely right. Every geek and nerd in the verse is a perfect target to send on missions to space... We have to warn... Somebody... wait... whats bad about this?
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Don't worry, they don't want you dead. They need us to fix their computers so they can go on Facebook.
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Space: 1999 (Score:2)
About 11 years too late. But at least we now know what the Mayan hype was all about. Say goodbye to the moon in 2012.
Just in case... :-)
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an online game with single- and multi-player capability that 'allows participants to step into the role of an exploration team member in a futuristic 3-D lunar settlement...'
17 years too late, we've already had this, it just took place on phobos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_(video_game) [wikipedia.org]
Only 11 years late... (Score:4, Funny)
Only 11 years late... [imdb.com]
Some cheats for players:
1 Stay away from the nuclear waste dump.
2 Don't shoot energy-absorbing being with a laser - just get them in a powered-down section and wait for them to run out of energy.
3 Neutron reaction drives won't make you a lot of friends.
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That show is *nightmarishly bad*. In one episode, some alien planet sends probes that create an atmosphere (to keep the Alpha crew happy until they passed out of range so they didn't have Martin Landau and Barbara Bain descend up them). That's when I found out that *the windows on Moonbase Alpha were designed to be opened* so they could get a nice breeze. And that the intrepid space voyagers brought *bikinis* so they could frolic on the regolith.
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"Black Sun" was kinda cool. And the Eagles are some of the greatest-looking fictional spaceships ever, even though from the vernier rockets layout it's never exactly clear how they can yaw or traslate on the X-axis.
A dark, dark day. . . (Score:3, Insightful)
That show is *nightmarishly bad*.
Nah, it's all about perspective!
I was five or six when that show was airing, and through the eyes of a little kid, it was the coolest and most astonishing sci-fi epic series EVER!
(Special effects made everything look real, and since I was too young to know that adults weren't flawed, I also assumed that everything made sense but that I was just too young to get it. Everything seemed wonderful and exciting on the moon!)
Oh, but it was a dark, dark day when I hunted down a couple of episodes of the program an
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You just described exactly my experience watching Johnny Sako and his Flying Robot. Killing fond childhood memories is not a good thing.
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And that the intrepid space voyagers brought *bikinis* so they could frolic on the regolith.
To be fair, while the opening windows in the moonbase were one of the silliest things I've seen in an SF show, they wore bikinis a lot in the other episodes in the tanning salon place.
And considering that the whole premise of the show was absurd, complaining about minor issues like opening windows seems a bit over the top :).
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Ok, the show kinda sucks if you are not under 15 (fortunately I was at the time), but what about that opening theme? A classic over-the-top pompous orchestral score switching to the funkiest 70's beat! And actually that part which is the only aspect I really appreciate now, I did not really "get" as a kid...
Re:Only 11 years late... (Score:4, Informative)
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Personally I'm waiting for the sequel.
Astronaut II: LEO, Whiteboards, and congressional subcommittees
Re:Only 11 years late... (Score:5, Funny)
And the instances will be just like playing WoW with shitty pick-up groups.
Astronaut [party] Okay guys, I'm going up. You ready to make sure my mission is a success?
Congressman [party] I got all the money you need.
Contractor [party] All systems go! We got your back.
Administrator [party] You are cleared for take off.
Astronaut launches STS-135.
Astronaut is now 2 km above launch site.
*Astronaut is attacked by Faulty O-Ring (elite)*
Astronaut [party] oshitoshitoshit
Contractor disconnects from the server.
Administrator casts Blame the Contractor. Administrator teleports out.
Congressman casts Hookers and Blow. Congressman teleports out.
Astronaut takes 2389358954390354-e35 damage.
Astronaut dies.
Contractor reconnects.
Contractor [party] Guys? What'd I miss?
Congressman [party] Uhh yeah, I gotta go. Getting a blow job.
Astronaut [party] Fucking DIE.
Administrator [guild] We don't talk that way in the NASA guild.
Astronaut has been kicked from NASA.
The End.
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What bugs me is that Hollywood has been doing mostly remakes of anything for the last two decades or so and nobody thought of doing a Space: 1999 movie and launch it worldwide on September 13, 1999.
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Should have been september 13th, 1999.
VR jobs of the future (Score:3, Interesting)
8 second lag is pretty bad, but this can be viewed as a precursor to jobs of the future where basement dwellers driver loaders on the moon.
uh oh... (Score:2)
let's hope they keep a better eye on the nuclear waste dump this time :-)
or at least stock up on supplies (and better actors).
Please... (Score:3, Insightful)
Is this how screwed up NASA is, reduced to releasing video games as opposed to sending people into space?
Re:Please... (Score:5, Insightful)
On the other hand, the Military gets tons of Cash and they have NEVER [americasarmy.com] released a video game.
Re:Please... (Score:5, Funny)
Is this how screwed up NASA is, reduced to releasing video games as opposed to sending people into space?
It's a master recruitment plan. See, kids think they're playing a game but in reality, they're being trained and the best of the best of the best will rise until one day, via their "game" they're doing actual exploration without realizing it. I hear they're planning a military version of this too.
Code name: ENDER
Re:Please... (Score:4, Funny)
(kicks you in the nuts)
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Is this how screwed up NASA is, reduced to releasing video games as opposed to sending people into space?
It's a master recruitment plan. See, kids think they're playing a game but in reality, they're being trained and the best of the best of the best will rise until one day, via their "game" they're doing actual exploration without realizing it. I hear they're planning a military version of this too.
Remember, don't use the Death Blossom except as a last resort!
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Convincing the public that space is cool! and exciting! so they can continue to get enough funding to at least barely get by has always been an important part of NASA. See also: all those pretty pictures they release.
Re:Please... (Score:4, Insightful)
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That would be all cool and exciting, except the game is a simulation of living in a harsh desolate wasteland.
I've lived in Big Piney Wyoming, harsh desolate wastelands suck and are boring.
Re:Please... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Please... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Pretty much. But doesn't that reflect society as a whole? People flock to movies about space (Avatar has already grossed a billion bucks) but I don't see any interest in real-life space exploration outside a few buffs.
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People flock to movies about space (Avatar has already grossed a billion bucks) but I don't see any interest in real-life space exploration outside a few buffs.
Keep in mind that while Avatar was unusually well-thought-out for a science fiction movie, interstellar travel is not even close to "real-life", so this doesn't really prove anything.
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Avatar was ridiculous on multiple levels, and we could build interstellar craft [wikipedia.org] right now if we wanted. However I suggest that we try to colonize this solar system first; Mars and Venus could probably be transformed into near-earthlike conditions, and Moon and other dead rocks too small to hold an atmosphere could support bubb
Brainless (Score:3, Informative)
Oh for crissakes. This is a stupid article that draws together two unrelated events. The first is an interview with Al-Jazera which (surprise!) emphasizes NASA's importance to the Muslim world. Which isn't all that big, but what do you expect him to say?
Then the writer manages to tie in this interview with Obama's Cairo speech [huffingtonpost.com] which doesn't even mention NASA. Since this happened at about the same time, it somehow "proves" that Obama is only interested in NASA for helping him make nice with the Arabs.
Brainle
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Even more brainless is that the same commenter posted the same link a total of four times in this thread, and got modded up twice. The author of the article, Byron York, is a writer for National Review, which would probably accuse Obama of pandering to Muslims if he wasn't personally drowning Arab infants in pig urine on live TV. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that either Bolden misspoke, or York is quoting the interview very selectively.
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I've heard some moronic attacks on Obama, but this really takes the cake.
It's not like he's not giving you any -real- ammunition to use. Why not attack him for things that are real rather than lala-land fantasy conspiracy stuff?
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And just reading the comments section of your referenced article, it looks like the Examiner's readership downright hates Obama.
I don't know anything about the fairly new owners of the paper (Clarity Media Group) though, to know if that's the paper's objective or not. It certainly comes across that way, glancing at some other headlines.
whatchu' taklin' about Willis? (Score:3, Insightful)
There's craters everywhere and everything's dead.
(.sig doesn't apply in this case...)
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Space 1999? (Score:2)
What, did we go through a time warp? Wasn't there a Moonbase Alpha back in 1999?
And, didn't the moon vacate the premises shortly thereafter?
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What, did we go through a time warp? Wasn't there a Moonbase Alpha back in 1999?
And, didn't the moon vacate the premises shortly thereafter?
Yes, but somebody used the dragonballs to restore it again.
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If we went through a time warp, we'd have to go rescue Daphne!
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Confirmed - and in Sweden it was renamed to Månbas Alpha - Moonbase Alpha [wikipedia.org].
Adds some extra fun to the article.
DAMMIT!!! (Score:4, Funny)
I remember when ... (Score:2, Insightful)
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I was born in 1977, so no, I don't remember a time when Astronauts ever went to the moon.
We gave up on space exploration in 1972.
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How stimulating. (Score:4, Funny)
I can only imagine that the excitement curve for the game will be the same as any other MMO or living on an actual moon base.
Day 1: Woo! I'm on the server/moon!
Day 2: Wow! I can do like, 6 different things. Sweet!
Day 12: OH SWEET JESUS WHY CAN'T I ESCAPE THIS EYE-STABBING BOREDOM!!!!!
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Day 12: OH SWEET JESUS WHY CAN'T I ESCAPE THIS EYE-STABBING BOREDOM!!!!!
Day 1095: Snarkalicious clone dies and is replaced by another clone.
Moonbase Alpha... Alpha Complex (Score:3, Funny)
Greetings Friend Citizen!
It is the future, and you are a proud citizen of Moonbase Alpha, a moonbase run by a benevolent Computer.
All is foreseen. All is right and just. All is good and pure. All because of The Computer.
The Computer is Your Friend!
Welcome to Moonbase Alpha. The Computer is Your Friend!
Steam (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Steam (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Steam (Score:5, Insightful)
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And the most convenient!
The analogy works!
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As far as sexual assault goes, groping is the least evil.
. . . and this is exactly why the vast majority of the public (especially the female half) doesn't take geek complaints about DRM seriously.
Oh FFS (Score:2)
Down boy. We want to run the game without running Steam. It should be possible. Easy even.
I don't care about how inoffensive or supposedly advantageous Steam is, what you have said has been said in every comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.* group for about 5 years now. There have been flame wars in .action. We've all read it. Anyone who's made the choice to live without Steam has been thoroughly, and mostly unwillingly, briefed.
Simply put, I don't want Steam, and neither does the GP. We just want the NASA game. If you
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NASA probably has a very good reason for handing distribution over to Valve. Most likely because they do it better.
Whenever the US government tries to distribute files larger than half a gig, they run into problems. I remember being unable to download the first America's Army because the website couldn't handle the demand. I was trying to do so several months after release. I can only imagine how bad it would be near release, or from another country. NASA probably doesn't have many web servers outside the U
Where are my Eagles, dammit! (Score:2)
No f'in way!
NASA does NOT get to name ANY moonbase "Alpha" until we have Eagles. (Coolest space pickup trucks ever!)
Or at least Shado Control and Interceptors. And I'll settle for a Doppleganger.
Maybe I'm mixing up my Gerry Anderson...
Steam, but Windows-only (Score:2)
It may be on Steam but don't get your hopes up if your computer doesn't run an operating system from Redmond...
Re:Steam, but Windows-only (Score:4, Informative)
It depends on the game Engine.
I am currently downloading Mass-Effect 2 onto my Ubuntu system. Used Steam to download the demo. It worked. So I bought the game.
Anything I am going to buy from Steam I am going to want to run the demo of first to check for compatibility. Silly thing is the Steam store only works from windows. I have a really old system that gets the job done. My main system is pure Linux.
Getting way off track here but
Steam+demo is the best way to sell the windows games into the Linux market. Try it first, then buy. It lets you know it will work.
STO should work according to the Wine forums. The demo did not for me. So it's out.
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If it was BP instead of NASA, you could be sure there would be a tarball. ;^)
I'm shocked, ,shocked that there's no DEB for Ubuntu, and I'm not even sure I'm using the old Casablanca joke there.
I want my Linux version.
--
Toro
Recommended System Requirements (Score:3, Informative)
Win XP SP3 / Vista / Windows 7
I wonder if it will run under WINE?
Whalers on the moon? (Score:2)
So can the two character classes are boring lab assistant or a whaler?
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Don't forget: Amusement park ride operator and farmer.
"engage and educate students" (Score:2)
So... no invites for old-fart Martian tourists who lost their return ticket and just need to hitch a ride home?
Ha, is that where my tax dollars are going... (Score:2, Insightful)
This is government-funded—where's the source (Score:2)
I think this is a *great* idea, but I do not find it even remotely acceptable for government money to be spent on closed-source software, especially when that proprietary software requires me to purchase a proprietary operating system to run it on. It appears to have been developed by or in cooperation with some private company called "Virtual Heroes". We need to do something about this, and demand that all the source code be released...
Re:This is government-funded—where's the sou (Score:4, Informative)
I work for Los Angeles County and we do not give out our source code without one. We have given out the source but it involves several legal issues and "hold harmless" agreements that are way above me. (I'm not condoning or condemning the process, just stating what has happened in the past.)
Online? I don't think so! (Score:2)
People still use Windows?
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Sorry, maybe I'm old-school.
Anyone remember this NASA Moon game? (Score:2)
You and two of your crew are returning to the base ship on the sunlit side of the moon after carrying out a 72-hour exploration trip. Your small rocket craft has crash-landed about 300 kilometers from the base ship. You and the crew need to reach the base ship. In addition to your spacesuits, your crew was able to remove the following items from the rocket craft:
4 packages of food concentrate
20m nylon rope
1 portable heating unit
1 magnetic compass
1 box of matc
Great if they used this for input & problemsol (Score:2)
Somewhat worrying installation (Score:2)
"Installing AMD dual core optimizer" (from the game installation)
Uh, game, I know you can't see that "Intel Inside" sticker, but still, I can save you some time...
I generally like Steam, but I really miss the option of a custom install from pre-Steam games. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to sit and watch DirectX and the Microsoft redistributable unpack their entire installation, run, and of course immediately quit, discovering their target already up to date. And doesn't automatically dow
VAC enabled? (Score:4, Funny)
Cause I just hate it when I'm bunny hopping along on the moon's surface and suddenly get head-shotted by some kid using an aimbot.
"NASA MMO" - End game strategies (Score:3, Funny)
NASA, please buy the rights to SimMars (Score:2)
Still waiting...
Our garden simulator was a step towards this (Score:2)
That game is something I wish I had worked on. My wife and I built a garden simulator in the 1990s, in part because it was a step to a space simulator, because in space you would still have to grow your own food if you wanted to "live off the land". We even have one extra backdrop set in an O'Neill habitat. I talked with someone at NASA about related ideas a decade ago, but NASA seemed more conservative then in some ways (with most resources tied up in the shuttle). Given the NASA game was written with tax
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You know what I loathe? People who can't actually read and parse the context in which a word is used. That's what I loathe.
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content 2 (kn-tnt)
adj.
1. Desiring no more than what one has; satisfied.
Sounds like a pretty good life to me.
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It's fun for the first few months, then you start wishing some of those desires would return, just to alleviate the boredom.
Re:This is NOT part of NASA's new mission priority (Score:2)
Or you could just engage in the same cherrypicking reductio ad absurdum as the propagandist you link to and attempt to pretend that NASA is selling its rockets and buying burqhas for female astronauts to use on school tours of Riyadh.
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The director himself considers that his most important mission. I don't have a problem at all with feel-good campaigns. But first, it's not the responsibility of the United States to remind Muslims of their own history. And second, it even less the responsibility of an agency like NASA to get involved in any of this.
And it's nonsense anyway. It's like thanking Christianity for America's achievements. I mean, if you're going to argue that Islam is not responsible for terrorism, individual nuts are, then you
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The director himself considers that his most important mission.
No, the National Review propagandist who wrote the article quoted an interview with Al Jazeera that claimed the director said this. Even if it's an accurate quote and not pulled out of context (which given the source, I doubt), it doesn't reveal anything other than Bolden's crappy media skills. It's awfully credulous of right-wingers to immediately take this at face value, considering that they've spent the last year-and-a-half denouncing ever
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You do realize that your source, the SF Examiner, is a right-wing tabloid that makes Fox News look like a neutral and well-balanced news source, right?
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Sounds like the script for a Predators game.