Author Topic: NASA's game  (Read 6287 times)

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Bamman

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NASA's game
« on: April 01, 2010, 08:41:33 PM »
Hey, anyone know what happened to NASA's "Astronaut: Moon,Mars,and Beyond? Seems like it just...died!!!
Haha sucks for them, now MCO has zero competion!!

Zaneo

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Re: NASA's game
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2010, 03:37:46 PM »
Knock on wood...?

geoffcartwright

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Re: NASA's game
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2010, 03:11:22 AM »
well just played the beta demo moonbase alpha.
real nice game. you repair stuff after meteor strike ans use repair robots remotely. bit simple for 1gb demo but kinda fun. real nice attempt by nasa and it game devs.
interestingly if MCO linked in with hyper rover game and had o2 water pipe it would be similar

Bamman

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Re: NASA's game
« Reply #3 on: July 06, 2010, 11:27:57 AM »
Wait where did u find the demo? I've been looking for it, I want to jump around on the moon!! :P

Sparky

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Re: NASA's game
« Reply #4 on: July 06, 2010, 01:53:19 PM »
It's been released now.
Took me awhile to get hold of a working link, Looked on the facebook page and found this, worked for me :)

Quote
They just updated the NASA Games website about moonbase and i found the steam id of this game.

To download moonbase click this -> steam://install/39000

you need steam installed! get steam here:
http://cdn.steampowered.com/download/SteamInstall.msi
« Last Edit: July 06, 2010, 01:55:45 PM by Sparky »

tranquillitatis

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Re: NASA's game
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2010, 10:43:11 AM »
THANKYOU! This sim looks awesome!

If only uni didn't go back on Monday....

Hyper

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Re: NASA's game
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2010, 01:38:27 PM »
One big issue I have with MBA is "you have to complete this repair and you have 10 minutes to do it" Kinda gamey yes, realisticly it takes as much time as it takes.

tranquillitatis

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Re: NASA's game
« Reply #7 on: July 26, 2010, 08:19:10 AM »
After playing it (it's now 25 minutes) I'm not as impressed as I was with the idea....

Once you finish fixing the base it's like "now what?"

I do quite like the engine though, it was pretty easy to use and wasn't frustrating with little quirks.

Hyper

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Re: NASA's game
« Reply #8 on: July 26, 2010, 09:05:26 AM »
They are using the unreal engine and they have about 4 million dollars to buy artists and programmers so I would expect it to look better than this one for now. Eye candy does not make good gameplay tho and thats the toss up. Great looking with no content or not so good looking but more immersion. I am going for the immersion. That game is all balled up in committies and constraints as I understand from the RFQ ( yes I did bid on the job ) it will lean more toward a edutainment sku...

profit004

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Re: NASA's game
« Reply #9 on: July 27, 2010, 08:00:58 PM »
Sounds like it came from a software factory... Rather than a Game developer....

IMO.

Kraniel

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Re: NASA's game
« Reply #10 on: August 06, 2010, 01:58:01 PM »
Downloaded, played through missions 3 times. Gave up and played in the "open" variation without limits. Have never been able to host a game and have anyone join. I can't comment on collaborative or cooperative play.

Comments:
1. Very pretty - good art.
2. I HATE the puzzles... they were introduced as a way of requiring the player to do SOMETHING while repairing gear and equipment, but seriously? Welding/Soldering leads on a time basis? Maybe once or twice, but put something relevant in to what you are repairing.
3. The bots are very sci-fi, not really very engaging. It is interesting to switch into first person to drive the bots, but there is little feedback. What if you outrun your air supply while working? Do they really believe that bots can "weld" traces with dexterity when run by an astronaut with thick full gloves on - looking at a tiny remote screen?
4. I like the scenarios in general - being dropped into a crisis where things fall apart around you has a nugget of fun.

Overall, this is very lightweight and I struggle to call it a simulator. It might appeal to a few elementary ages students, but I fail to why they would return on their own to explore and experiment.
Kraniel

thedubman

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Re: NASA's game
« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2010, 02:53:23 PM »
I have to agree, looks good but if you wrapped it in other skins and scenary it could just as easy be a game where you have to do A then B in the guise of err cowboys or underwater exploration (hmmm and idea there) or stacking shevles- in other words looks good but dont feel like I am 'on the moon' at all.