Man in space

[Gentleman’s Astronautics]

sometimes you want to go collect the fuel and go snare the game for supper, and sometimes you want to just note that supper happened and get on with the plot.

too true matey, there is a limit to this kind of stuff before the player gets bored stiff, lol.

A direct one being that, as noted, doing the manual refuelling steps/process would give player interaction with the game, and perhaps with other players too. With room for both player roles and NPC roles.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I have planned, for example the player can actually drive the moon-tank over the surface of the moon for about 5-10 mins (with aid from a micro-film gps idea I came up with, but we can get to that later), plus rights at the games' end, the player must manually do a few reentry skips, interstellar style ("no... it's necessary").

I do not know how well tabletop RPG processes translate to computer games nor do I know what computer game players want from a game.

I'm not sure either, but the game should take after games like Half-Life, Wolfenstein and Left 4 Dead 2, if you are of course familiar with these titles.

 

[martinbayer]

Dear Mr. Kind Sir Astronautics Gentleman, I think it would really enormously help to speed this discussion along if you would just plainly lay out the *exact* goals, assumptions and conditions, e.g. in terms of technology maturity (such as in terms of NASA TRLs, if possible) or otherwise, operational scenario (i.e. CONOPS), original time line departure point, and ultimate objective(s) of your game plan, as well as any other boundary conditions and constraints you consider vital (such as perhaps the existence of (moody teenage?) vampires, zombies, werewolves, (thermo)nuclear/antimatter power, clairvoyance, Harry Pottery, etc.), because otherwise this discussion will end up as just another grabbing in the dark exercise, and I won't partake in any of those anymore, thank you oh so much. And no, I have no familiarity whatsoever with any socalled "games" like Half-Life, Wolfenstein, or Left 4 Dead 2 (and why would anybody possibly be left for dead twice ???)...

 

[Gentleman’s Astronautics]

Dear Mr. Kind Sir Gentleman Astronautics, I think it would really enormously help to speed this discussion along if you would just plainly lay out the *exact* scenario, departure point, and objective of your game plan, as well as any boundary conditions and constraints you consider vital, because otherwise this discussion will end up as just another grabbing in the dark exercise, and I won't partake in any of those anymore.

Agreed, wholeheartedly.

the *exact* scenario, departure point

you mean the precise departure point from history, I assume? In that case, the lore starts in the 1850s with the discovery of Vulcan, but doesn't kick off until WW2 has concluded.
Britain becomes the first to break the sound barrier in 1946 in the Miles M.52, and this makes it so Britain becomes a bit more open to the idea of more wacky projects. They conduct operation backfire, as in our timeline, but then the project comes under the control of the British Interplanetary Society, as they have special permission to construct a man-carrying missile, known as Project Megaroc.

A group of astronauts are recruited from the finest flyers of the RAF and the RAE, the MC of the game among them, one Wg Cdr David Rathbone. These would be the "megaroc men"

The MC is selected for the first manned flight of the megaroc in November of 1947, which goes smoothly. At the same time, the soviets and Americans, not wishing to be outdone by the british, launch their own manned missiles a few weeks later, on much more impressive trajectories, but still suborbital.

This new, albeit brief, venture out into the frontier spurs on the development of rocketry no end, and is a massive morale booster for the british people. Clement Attlee makes a speech on the night of April 30th, 1948, stating that, " I wish to see the heavens crossed in the name of the scientific benefit of man, and for the betterment mankind itself "

This marks the beginning of the Space Race. On 23rd April, 1948, after the soaring success of the first 3 manned flights to space, the first International Spaceflight Conference is convened in Washington, at the Americans behest. Major figures from RaketaKosmos, the BIC and NACA are all in attendance. The conference was held to determine the place man fills in the heavens, and the future direction of the world’s space programs.After much deliberation over the course of 2 days, major scientific figures and politicians agreed that Space should be International Waters, and that man should set his eyes on the Ultimate goal, The Moon.Instantly, papers across were thrown into a frenzy of excitement, as at last, the space age had come

What followed was a series of firsts that I shall write in a date format, as this description is getting a bit long

- July -1949: First satellite (UK)
- August 1951: first orbital flight of a man (USSR)
- November 1951: first Englishman in orbit
- February 1953: First spacewalk (US)
- May 1953: First rendezvous in space (UK, between rocket-plane and radio beacon)
- October 1954: First flight around the moon (US)
- November 1954: First soft landing on the moon (USSR)
- January 1955: First deep-space EVA (UK)
- June 1955: first interplanetary object (US- Venus Express)
- September 1955: US and UK announce joint lunar mission after individual national landings, invitation extended to Soviets
- December 1955: First Manned Lunar Landing (UK)
- April 1956: First Soviet lunar landing
- July 1956: first American lunar landing and longest duration lunar landing
- September 1957: construction of national lunar bases begins
- March 1958: Point Prospero is activated in BIC service, acting as a proto-colony and testing station

- December 18th 1958: game takes place

Sufficient enough info for the scenario? And what do you mean for the Games primary objective?

 

[martinbayer]

Agreed, wholeheartedly.


you mean the precise departure point from history, I assume? In that case, the lore starts in the 1850s with the discovery of Vulcan, but doesn't kick off until WW2 has concluded.
Britain becomes the first to break the sound barrier in 1946 in the Miles M.52, and this makes it so Britain becomes a bit more open to the idea of more wacky projects. They conduct operation backfire, as in our timeline, but then the project comes under the control of the British Interplanetary Society, as they have special permission to construct a man-carrying missile, known as Project Megaroc.

A group of astronauts are recruited from the finest flyers of the RAF and the RAE, the MC of the game among them, one Wg Cdr David Rathbone. These would be the "megaroc men"

The MC is selected for the first manned flight of the megaroc in November of 1947, which goes smoothly. At the same time, the soviets and Americans, not wishing to be outdone by the british, launch their own manned missiles a few weeks later, on much more impressive trajectories, but still suborbital.

This new, albeit brief, venture out into the frontier spurs on the development of rocketry no end, and is a massive morale booster for the british people. Clement Attlee makes a speech on the night of April 30th, 1948, stating that, " I wish to see the heavens crossed in the name of the scientific benefit of man, and for the betterment mankind itself "

This marks the beginning of the Space Race. On 23rd April, 1948, after the soaring success of the first 3 manned flights to space, the first International Spaceflight Conference is convened in Washington, at the Americans behest. Major figures from RaketaKosmos, the BIC and NACA are all in attendance. The conference was held to determine the place man fills in the heavens, and the future direction of the world’s space programs.After much deliberation over the course of 2 days, major scientific figures and politicians agreed that Space should be International Waters, and that man should set his eyes on the Ultimate goal, The Moon.Instantly, papers across were thrown into a frenzy of excitement, as at last, the space age had come

What followed was a series of firsts that I shall write in a date format, as this description is getting a bit long

- July -1949: First satellite (UK)
- August 1951: first orbital flight of a man (USSR)
- November 1951: first Englishman in orbit
- February 1953: First spacewalk (US)
- May 1953: First rendezvous in space (UK, between rocket-plane and radio beacon)
- October 1954: First flight around the moon (US)
- November 1954: First soft landing on the moon (USSR)
- January 1955: First deep-space EVA (UK)
- June 1955: first interplanetary object (US- Venus Express)
- September 1955: US and UK announce joint lunar mission after individual national landings, invitation extended to Soviets
- December 1955: First Manned Lunar Landing (UK)
- April 1956: First Soviet lunar landing
- July 1956: first American lunar landing and longest duration lunar landing
- September 1957: construction of national lunar bases begins
- March 1958: Point Prospero is activated in BIC service, acting as a proto-colony and testing station

- December 18th 1958: game takes place

Sufficient enough info for the scenario? And what do you mean for the Games primary objective?

Nice work!

Two questions:

1. What is this Vulcan that you speak of - I presume it's not Spock ?

2. Why on Earth (pun intended) would an International Spaceflight Conference randomly/timidly/myopicly decree the Moon to be the *ultimate* goal of human spaceflight - what about all the other bodies in the Solar System, most notably Mars, not to mention the rest of the universe?

 

[Gentleman’s Astronautics]

1. What is this Vulcan that you speak of - I presume it's not Spock ?

Oh, I meant the hypothetical planet Vulcan, the one discovered by Le Verrier in 1859, that orbited inside mercury's orbit..

2. Why on Earth (pun intended) would an International Spaceflight Conference randomly/timidly/myopicly decree the Moon to be the *ultimate* goal of human spaceflight - what about all the other bodies in the Solar System, most notably Mars, not to mention the rest of the universe?

nice pun lol, anyways I believe I didn't phrase it right. I meant that they decreed that the moon would be the target of earthly exploration and observation first, then the other planets would be explored, as this was deemed a "testing the waters of manned planetary landings" type deal.

Nice work!

thanks, is it a wholly sensible timeline?

 

[martinbayer]

thanks, is it a wholly sensible timeline?

Extremely ambitious, but in my view not utopian. If it's a truly international high priority effort, the Manhattan Project could serve as a blueprint.

 

[Gentleman’s Astronautics]

Highly ambitious, but not utopian. If it's a truly international high priority effort, the Manhattan Project could serve as a blueprint.

probably, national prestige is at stake, like the nuclear arms race, but more civilian and science oriented, everyone wants to make the next big contribution to the Next Frontier. You would be right on the mahanttan project, I'll look into that. As for the Utopian stuff, I wanted it to certainly be a better timeline, though its possibly a tad bit worse in a couple of ways, the NHS wasn't introduced until like 1957, for example

I have no familiarity whatsoever with any socalled "games" like Half-Life, Wolfenstein, or Left 4 Dead 2 (and why would anybody possibly be left for dead twice ???)...

Essentially, what I meant by this was that these were all fairly linear, story driven games, which is precisely the angle of attack I wish to position the game in, sorry for the confusion, lol. And what do you mean by the Game's primary objective?

 

[martinbayer]

Essentially, what I meant by this was that these were all fairly linear, story driven games, which is precisely the angle of attack I wish to position the game in, sorry for the confusion, lol. And what do you mean by the Game's primary objective?

What exactly is the ultimate game over mission accomplished endpoint?

 

[Gentleman’s Astronautics]

What exactly is the ultimate game over mission accomplished endpoint?

Basically, either vanquish the martian foe in any which way that you can (linking up with the selenites to eliminate whatever martians lurk in the moons' interior) or to try and delay and kill as many of the enemy as you can in a hasty retreat (linking up with the survivors to blow up the nuclear reactor and bid a hasty retreat back to earth)

 

[martinbayer]

Basically, either vanquish the martian foe in any which way that you can (linking up with the selenites to eliminate whatever martians lurk in the moons' interior) or to try and delay and kill as many of the enemy as you can in a hasty retreat (linking up with the survivors to blow up the nuclear reactor and bid a hasty retreat back to earth)

OK, so Mars *IS* on the agenda. Are humans flying to Mars first or vice versa?

 

[Gentleman’s Astronautics]

OK, so Mars *IS* on the agenda. Are humans flying to Mars first or vice versa?

mars flies to the moon specifically, to use it as a staging post for better observation of the earth. However they didn't account for the moonbase, as the side it was built on is facing away from it. Once the invasion is dealt with, with either method, Humanity, or at least the three superpowers band together and use Von Braun's colliers plan to get to mars and either annihilate the martians or do some interplanetary diplomacy and manage to edge out a deal for the martians to have Venus

 

[martinbayer]

mars flies to the moon specifically, to use it as a staging post for better observation of the earth. However they didn't account for the moonbase, as the side it was built on is facing away from it.

What is the *it* that the side the moonbase was built on is facing away from? In the solar system, everything revolves constantly, whether just around the sun, itself, or a planet, so eventually (at least in theory, assuming extremely powerful Martian telescopes) you'd be able to observe all of the Moon's surface from Mars (although ironically you can't from Earth itself). Also, you should offer an explanation why the Martians would turn their attention to Earth just at the exact time that humans begin spaceflight, e.g. they have been watching us and were alarmed when they were seeing orbital launches (although that would *REALLY* require some humongous super duper telescope...).

 

[Gentleman’s Astronautics]

What is the *it* that the side the moonbase was built on is facing away from? In the solar system, everything revolves constantly, whether just around the sun, itself, or a planet, so eventually (at least in theory, assuming extremely powerful Martian telescopes) you'd be able to observe all of the Moon's surface from Mars (although ironically you can't from Earth itself). Also, you should offer an explanation why the Martians would turn their attention to Earth just at the exact time that humans begin spaceflight, e.g. they have been watching us and were alarmed when they were seeing orbital launches (although that would *REALLY* require some humongous super duper telescope...).

Actually, yeah that does make more sense I suppose, with the moonbase likely being so insignificantly small they'd probably just ignore it outright. As for the orbital launch observations, I suppose for the martians it would be a "its now or never" moment to escape their dying world

 

[Gentleman’s Astronautics]

The more I look at your flight suit mr. Van, the more it appeals to me as more and more in-line with the aesthetic. I mean, it would be nice to have the hard helmets of Fred Freeman's illustrations, to go down the more 'fighter pilot' look, but to be fair, this does looks very cool, I'll make a sketch of it in my own style, and see how it goes!

 

[Gentleman’s Astronautics]

Yes and No
You need a believable infrastructure, most will be decor in your game, but give credit to Worldbuilding, convincing the player

Large Launch complex
Heavy Launch rocket, somehow that stuff in orbit on Moon and Mars has to be launch...
Manned Launch Rocket aka Space Shuttle and one with more then two seats
you can keep the Glider als British Military part like RoBo or Dyna Soar
need low orbit Space station ? or goes Shuttle direct to moon (nuclear engine ) or dock with nuclear Ferry for that ?
Surface Base and ground vehicle
need for interplanetary space craft that goes to Mars, Venus, Jupiter ?
All this need Power: Solar Thermal or Nuclear ? that influence the Design and needed Game engine for your game !
what i mean is the Large mirrors for Solar Thermal power plant and it rendering by game engine.

Realistic or Ray-Gun aesthetically pleasing ? since you walk in H.G. Wells territory !


Go ahead its free design, just put my name in small print as free contribution...

How’s this for the finalised garment? Not too changed from your design I hope?

 

[Michel Van]

i like it

 

[Gentleman’s Astronautics]

i like it

any improvements you might recommend?

 

[Michel Van]

any improvements you might recommend?

no the suit is good,

 

[Gentleman’s Astronautics]

ah jolly good! I'll try and make some more dynamic poses, plus some sketches of the cockpit layout and relevant stuff, like the pilots chair and navigator station and airlock etc.

I may need your help on that lads. For the pilots seat, I'm thinking something like a combination between a Bell X-1, an X-15 and what I can approximate from a Miles M.52 cockpit, with a hint of dyansoar. I may need your help with relevant instruments and suchlike

no the suit is good,

 

[Rhinocrates]

I've put this in the Artemis thread but it'll be handy reference here too perhaps. This is interesting showing how it feels to use an EMU. In this case it's the Axiom design for Artemis and mobility has been a priority in design - compare with the limited arm movement possible with the BIS suit.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FerFv7BZAwo&t=5s