back to article Nasa returns to the moon... in 3D game

President Obama may have knocked on the head Nasa's plan to put real people back on the moon, but the space agency is still going ahead with a scheme to get you there virtually. Next month will see the release of Moonbase Alpha, not some piece of retro sci-fi telly action but a 3D game [surely 'serious simulation' - Ed] that …

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  1. James Cullingham

    Yes, retro

    I thought the name sounded familiar...

    http://www.cimweb.co.uk/e-f-m-a.htm

  2. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Boffin

    One tenth-g?

    Who stole half the moon?

  3. Peter Clarke 1
    Coat

    Meteor Strike

    If the meteor hits the nuclear dump then they (and the Earth) are in REAL trouble.

    Mines the one with the ComLock in the pocket

    1. Mr Mark V Thomas

      Re: Meteor Strike

      That was the Pre-Genesis Of The Daleks, Dalek origin story as depicted in T.V 21 comic in the

      mid-60's, as said story had a meteor strike, caused in part, by Skaro entering the path of a meteor shower, hit the Dal's main Nuclear weapons storage facility, causing every nuclear weapon stored there to chain-detonate...

      Oops...

      Mine's the coat, with the recipe for unlimited Rice Pudding, & the schematics for the Qualler Drive in the pocket...

  4. Annihilator
    Pint

    We're whalers on the moon

    We carry a harpoon

    But there ain't no whales

    So we tell tall tales

    And sing our whaling tune

  5. Lamont Cranston

    Edutainment has always proven a great success.

    Doom without the killing - wheeeee!

    1. Daniel 1

      Hmm

      More like Farmville without the carrots, if you ask me.

  6. Greg J Preece

    I'll play it

    I'm enough of a space/NASA fanboi to play it. And probably love it.

    </sad>

  7. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Alien

    One tenth? One sixth?

    I saw what you did there!

  8. Stu
    Megaphone

    @James Cullingham

    Nice find! A class olde game. Only trouble is they most certainly nicked the name from the base in 'Space: 1999' with Martin Landau and a whole bunch of AMAZING seventies haircuts, funky intro music and laughable SFX.

    NASA must certainly have paid homage to the old series with this new title, its just a shame that we're now 11 years over that prediction and a VG is again about as close as any of us would get to the moon.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space:_1999

  9. SuperTim

    Grand theft Astro?

    Surely Grand Theft Lunar, and even then that's assuming you can steal the moon (or part thereof) as it is not owned by any individual or country.

    And yes i know some company has claimed the moon is theirs due to the loophole of them being a company, but they haven't stuck a flag in it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Joke

      RE: Grand theft Astro

      Does it involve a illegally obtained pay TV decoder and a stolen subscriber module card to access the content of a certain Pay TV company in Malaysia?

      On the serious side, someone needs to teach Astro a lesson: you do NOT drop BBC Entertainment from your channel line-up lest you incur the wrath of Doctor Who and Red Dwarf fans in the country.

      Signed,

      A very angry Red Dwarf fan in Malaysia.

  10. Bo Pedersen
    Happy

    just waiting for the moaning to begin

    all the "l33t" mooners ;) will be having a go at cosmonauts camping in craters :)

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ESA already doing this...

    ... without the dramatic music

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJfEQ0gzrY4

  12. Steven Knox
    Thumb Down

    Blowing Steam

    "the space agency is still going ahead with a scheme to get you there virtually."

    Cool.

    "realistic Nasa exploration scenarios".

    Cool!

    "players must restore critical systems and oxygen flow after a nearby meteor strike cripples a solar array and life support equipment."

    Cool!!

    "You can play on your own, or play co-operatively with others. "

    Excellent!!

    "Moonbase Alpha is released on 6 July through Valve's Steam system. "

    Oh, crap.

    1. Cameron Colley

      Pretty much what I thoiught.

      What about those of us without a steam valve, how are we supposed to get it?

    2. Charlie_Spotted

      Tiger

      "Moonbase Alpha is released on 6 July through Valve's Steam system. "

      Oh, crap.

      My thoughts exactly, especially as (for all their "Steam is now on Mac!" PR bullshit) you just can't run it on Tiger... :(

      1. Steve Roper
        Pirate

        Don't worry too much about the Steam shit

        Just wait a day or two after its release and you'll be able to get it sans DRM via TPB, Demonoid, BTJunkie, Monova, H33t...

  13. PhallusOfJustice

    BARIS

    That is, Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space. That's a game that needs a remake.

  14. Charlie_Spotted

    Tiger

    "Moonbase Alpha is released on 6 July through Valve's Steam system. "

    Oh, crap.

    My thoughts exactly, mostly because (for all their "Steam on Mac" PR hype) you can't run Steam on Tiger... :(

  15. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse
    Thumb Up

    I always wanted to fly one of those...

    Space 1999 spaceships with the diamond shaped black and white cockpit, the 4 springy retractible landing pads and a working crane type thingymabob, and if I remember correctly a removable freight container in the middle.

    Not quite as cool as the Millennium Falcon, but only by a little.

    1. Goat Jam
      Thumb Up

      That would be the "Eagle Transporter"

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Transporter

      1. I didn't do IT.
        Happy

        Re: Eagle and Millenium Falcon

        Yep, the absolutely coolest vessels across science fiction are... cargo carriers. Millenium Falcon was a freighter, and Eagle... well... Transporter pretty much sums that up.

        Which means that NASA's forage into gaming will really take off with a game remake of Space Truckers.

  16. Winston Smith
    Alien

    Expansion Pack

    I think I'll wait for the expansion pack to the game, in which you have lost communication with Earth because the main communications dish has gone on the blink, and you must replace the AE-35 unit with the help of your friendly AI guide. Extra points given for locating mysterious magnetic anomalies and for contacting advanced alien civilizations.

  17. Craig 28

    Re:claiming the moon

    Small flaw:

    What exact legislation covers land ownership rights on the moon again?

    As to ships, the Millennium Falcon (note spelling of Millennium) was based on an olive next to a pie, Lucas said as much, and always did look stupid. Nothing in Space:1999 looked any good either. Gimme a B5 Starfury or Earth:Final Conflict style Taelon shuttle any day. The Star Wars Lambda class shuttle wasn't too bad though.

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