I know, I know… this is the time of year empty promises fly from the mouths of our exalted elected officials attempting to maintain their hold on their offices. Howard is still busy working out bugs and few features to ensure that a beta or alpha release can happen soon. There are a few key [...]
Have you tried out SPORE?
In the search for space colony simulators and games that are just plain fun, SPORE, recently released by EA for PC and Mac is a great diversion. So is this a game review? or commentary on simulation? Probably a little of both… A good sim abstracts difficult elements to make them approachable [...]
I just completed a drive from Austin, Texas to North Central Kansas and back, in three days, alone. Funeral trip, but not the point of this post… at best, I averaged 60 mph and the trip, just under 800 miles took about 14 hours each way. Never mind that I drove straight through - it [...]
Hi friends,
We have been a bit bogged down in details, trying to sew up a demonstration version of Colony ETS. Without giving away the surprise, mission control has changed our target landing site just a little bit… and the results should be fairly exciting. Look for an update in the next few weeks, and a [...]
Below are a few high-level scenarios as you enter the game and learn the basic systems required for survival.
Scenario: You are hired by a corporation to do exploratory analysis of a potential site for colony installation. This will be the initial onsite phase: selecting the proper landing area, securing the basic materials and resources necessary [...]
I added a picasa widget that will feed a random image on the right panel. If you want to see more, either refresh your browser, or click directly onto the image, hyperlinking you to a higher resolution view in the Picasa service. Feel free to comment!
I must say I haven’t been very impressed with the quality of the other space colony / settlement sims out there. They tend toward the cartoonish or focus on a particular element and that becomes all of the content quickly. As for the graphics - it drifts from pretty raw to downright rough, understandable in [...]
Construction on an alien world is a difficult challenge. It involved signficant engineering expertise; understanding of materials, loads and structural challenges, and perhaps most difficult, a standardized mechanism for transporting materials and the tools necessary. Most games make large leaps in assumptions, providing complete “kits” that self assemble - usually to avoid coding complexity and [...]
