Ideas for the future of SPM

Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Manager (SPM) Road to the Moon is the ultimate game of space exploration.

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kokubokan25
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by kokubokan25 »

Kalesin wrote:As I like to show ideas with pictures, and now I have no time, I put "fan-art" I did a while, while I am designing ideas.

I have read very good ideas here.

Image

Fantastic!!
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by DemonKhan »

I really enjoy this game and I would like to see the following ideas implemented:

1: In BARIS there was actual video footage of launches and spacewalks and so forth and that was one of the many things I was looking forward to when I saw SPM coming out. I thought for sure that real video footage would be included instead of just graphic rendering especially since so much more real video is available now. Actual launch video would be AWESOME in my opinion.

2: As someone that grew up in the 60's and 70's and saw the Apollo missions live I was sure that moon bases would be soon to follow and I was a little disappointed that everything about the moon was cancelled. I would like to see various ideas for moon bases implemented, Have various modules researchable but let the player decide on the layout of the base. Perhaps include a space complex or launch pads on the moon for interplanetary missions.

3: Be able to build an orbiting space station where you would be able to research and/or build various spacecraft. Even if those spacecraft are just projects that never got off the ground or were just ideas that were floated around.

4: Make some of the probe missions a little more cool. By this I mean more detail added when the probe is doing a flyby or actually landing or doing planetary experiments.
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by CV60 »

Another idea: Actually have to place "orders" and wait time for boosters and spacecraft, as well as have an inventory of boosters and spacecraft in stock. This requires the player to plan his actual missions in advance, build the necessary boosters and spacecraft and have them on hand. I would envision it working something like this: A player starts a booster and a spacecraft program. When the program has reached 30% development, he can place orders for X number of boosters/spacecraft, the 30% representing the initial design and testing of component stage. The systems will take one year before they enter his inventory. If they are military booster (such as Vostok, or Titan ) they will only take 3-6 months to enter inventory, and simple spacecraft, such as Explorer may only take 3 months to produce. The cost of the booster is deducted when they system is ordered. A flight expends a booster and whatever the payload is. This system requires additional planning by the player-He must plan his missions 1 year+ in advance and ensure he has the necessary components on hand, plus back up systems, He can try to save money and time by going with military boosters, or he can spend capital on developing a few civilian only boosters. Possibly give bonus prestige for using civililan-only systems, as it shows he is not trying to "militarize" space.
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by Kalesin »

You asked ideas, even if they are crazy

One thing I would have liked to see in Race to Moon, and I would like to see in the following parts 2 and 3 is the ability to create our own programs, based on probes, rovers, capsules, etc ... that already existed .

Image

In the image (created with photoshop) there created a similar Porject Gemini, but with his own name program.
They could choose capsules with one crewman, based on the Mercury project, 3 crew, based on Apol.lo capsule, create your own space shuttle program ...

Also features as if the capsule is maneuverable, eva, rendez-vous, ... as well as to choose, where appropriate, the spacesuit for EVA, or the target of rendez-vous, the module for landing,. ...

In red are features that have not yet been developed, researched or even can not be performed by the technological level achieved.

Create your own badge program would help to better immersion in the game.

It is impossible to see these features, because would suppose a rewrite of the entire game and made more what is to come, but it's something I would love to see ...
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by jimmyPx »

I really think that the next game needs to focus on the Shuttle/Space station era. The problem is that it can get boring quick if you are not careful. One of my favorite games from long ago in the DOS days was Project Space Station.
You could take out the part where you land the shuttle and actually build the space station but the part about having to build the station, supply it, man it and fund it can be very challanging and fun. Honestly besides BARIS, Project Space Station is a game that I would love to be redone and honestly you could capture the essense of it with SPM2.
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by Nacho84 »

Hello guys,

Thank you all for your input. I'm happy to learn that many of your comments match the direction we would like to give to SPM (more flexibility when planning missions, having politics and public support play a much more important role, etc).

As some of you have mentioned, the real challenge will be to keep the mechanics of the space station fun. My original plan for part 2 (that is, when we were planning to feature just the GSA) was to have something similar to Project Space Station (mentioned by jimmyPx above) or Space M+A+X, but those games lack the competition aspect which makes SPM popular, so I need to come up with an excuse to make players compete against each other in this era of the game. Maybe a race for self-sustainability? Maybe letting the player control a private company instead?

Anyway, many thanks again for commenting on this thread. Lots of interesting stuff in here. Even though this is a background activity for me (the focus at the moment is on the iOS version), it's always good to hear different opinions.

Please feel free to suggest any other ideas, I'll keep an eye on this thread.

Cheers,
Ignacio Liverotti
Lead Developer of Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Manager

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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by EleSigma »

If competition mode is continued into part 2 and 3. I was thinking that instead of it being completely linear like the USSR vs. US, the sides could expand to East vs. West, with the East composing of USSR/Russia, China, India missions and the West composing of U.S., EU and Japanese missions. There could also be joint missions that would give equal prestige to both sides and maybe also provide some political bonuses.

Also will the Soviets/Russians have the option to pursue either a shuttle or stick to rockets? It would also be interesting if the U.S. also had that option, imagine a game where neither side used shuttles and just kept using rockets to lift craft and cargo into orbit. :)
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by jjknap »

If you want to include politics, you could have achievements such as bringing up astronauts from other countries to a station or signing agreements for cooperation to build your station.
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by Jeff9650 »

EleSigma wrote:If competition mode is continued into part 2 and 3. I was thinking that instead of it being completely linear like the USSR vs. US, the sides could expand to East vs. West, with the East composing of USSR/Russia, China, India missions and the West composing of U.S., EU and Japanese missions. There could also be joint missions that would give equal prestige to both sides and maybe also provide some political bonuses.

Also will the Soviets/Russians have the option to pursue either a shuttle or stick to rockets? It would also be interesting if the U.S. also had that option, imagine a game where neither side used shuttles and just kept using rockets to lift craft and cargo into orbit. :)
This is a great idea, but I have a twist. Why not have the U.S. and the Soviets/USSR compete for partners for the 'race into space'? The U.S. and Russia can try and influence other nations space programs to join with them. You get influence points for missions that were successful, and points deducted for failures. Then as time goes forward, the 2 major powers can try and compete for other space agencies when they ramp up, like the ESA, or JAXA (and the list of space agencies is quite large). The costs for a moon and/or a manned mission to Mars is quite large, so you'll need other nations to join you to help offset the cost for these missions. Then maybe to throw in as another player, or maybe only as a computer opponent the PRC agency.

As for other things for SPM, I would like to see some more 'what if' with the Gemini programs. Also, we will need some science missions for any Skylab/Space Station missions. I think the Soviet space programs like the follow on missions after landing on the moon that the NASA programs have. So maybe some more 'what if' Soviet missions. More missions, be it manned or unmanned missions I think is sorely needed.

I would like to see some add on's with some audio from actual launches and maybe a feature where you can add actual pictures of people for the people you hire. Having an outline of a person is ok for a bit, but gets a little boring after the 3rd or 4th time.
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by Nacho84 »

EleSigma wrote:If competition mode is continued into part 2 and 3. I was thinking that instead of it being completely linear like the USSR vs. US, the sides could expand to East vs. West, with the East composing of USSR/Russia, China, India missions and the West composing of U.S., EU and Japanese missions. There could also be joint missions that would give equal prestige to both sides and maybe also provide some political bonuses.
Indeed, yes, the idea is that if you're playing as NASA you can gain support from other agencies, such as ESA and JAXA. If you're the soviets, you can partner with China. The bit I need to decide is the goal of the race for the post-Apollo era (i.e., what do you need to do in order to beat your opponent). In the first part of the game, the goal was clear: get to the Moon first. But for the second part I find it a bit more difficult. One possible end goal can be to build a self-sustainable agency, which starts with government support in the beginning and then it starts building up an infrastructure that provides services to the private sector (research/manufacturing for private companies, space tourism, etc) in order to achieve self-sufficiency.
EleSigma wrote:Also will the Soviets/Russians have the option to pursue either a shuttle or stick to rockets? It would also be interesting if the U.S. also had that option, imagine a game where neither side used shuttles and just kept using rockets to lift craft and cargo into orbit. :)
Yes, from a gameplay point of view we'll definitely need to find a good reason for the players to go for the Space Shuttle route. I believe this will be tied up to the political dimension of the game, where assembling the station by using the Space Shuttle might be more expensive but, at the same time, it can produce higher prestige or technology that can be used in SSTO vehicles.

Thank you all again for your input!

Cheers,
Ignacio Liverotti
Lead Developer of Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Manager

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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by EleSigma »

Nacho84 wrote: Yes, from a gameplay point of view we'll definitely need to find a good reason for the players to go for the Space Shuttle route. I believe this will be tied up to the political dimension of the game, where assembling the station by using the Space Shuttle might be more expensive but, at the same time, it can produce higher prestige or technology that can be used in SSTO vehicles.

Thank you all again for your input!

Cheers,
The shuttle could give a massive short term prestige boost at the expense of costs for repairs and maintenance. So if you're confident and good with funds then you could build the shuttle, putting you ahead of the competition and then try to balance funding and keep that prestige up to stay on top. Or you could (as the U.S. or Soviets) choose not to use the shuttle and be an underdog, possibly losing part 2, but maybe succeed in the long run (part 3) but still being at a disadvantage due to the research and technology you would be missing out from not researching the shuttle.

Also the shuttles could be used to give a boost in related rocket research, unlock research for shuttle concepts that were floated around such as turning the shuttle's launch system into an unmanned cargo rocket (Shuttle-C, Magnum Rocket) and possibly research into a SSTO craft in part 3?
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by Nacho84 »

EleSigma wrote:Or you could (as the U.S. or Soviets) choose not to use the shuttle and be an underdog, possibly losing part 2, but maybe succeed in the long run (part 3) but still being at a disadvantage due to the research and technology you would be missing out from not researching the shuttle.
Sorry, what do you mean by "losing part 2" in this context? Is there any reason why not pursuing the shuttle would mean you lose in the second episode?

Cheers,
Ignacio Liverotti
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by EleSigma »

Nacho84 wrote:
EleSigma wrote:Or you could (as the U.S. or Soviets) choose not to use the shuttle and be an underdog, possibly losing part 2, but maybe succeed in the long run (part 3) but still being at a disadvantage due to the research and technology you would be missing out from not researching the shuttle.
Sorry, what do you mean by "losing part 2" in this context? Is there any reason why not pursuing the shuttle would mean you lose in the second episode?

Cheers,
I mean that if you didn't pursue the shuttle and the opponent did then they could get a large prestige advantage over you. You would have to play catch up. By "losing part 2" I mean you might hit the end date with less prestige than the opponent but when you continue the game in part 3 you could make a comeback.

Though if you landed on the moon first in part 1 and didn't pursue the shuttle in part 2 you probably wouldn't be in such a dire position.
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by clem59285 »

Nacho84 wrote:
I'm happy to learn that many of your comments match the direction we would like to give to SPM (more flexibility when planning missions [...]

Cheers,
Do you meant something like Kalesin showed us?
Kalesin wrote:
Image
That would be fantastic!
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by Nacho84 »

EleSigma wrote:
Nacho84 wrote:
EleSigma wrote:Or you could (as the U.S. or Soviets) choose not to use the shuttle and be an underdog, possibly losing part 2, but maybe succeed in the long run (part 3) but still being at a disadvantage due to the research and technology you would be missing out from not researching the shuttle.
Sorry, what do you mean by "losing part 2" in this context? Is there any reason why not pursuing the shuttle would mean you lose in the second episode?

Cheers,
I mean that if you didn't pursue the shuttle and the opponent did then they could get a large prestige advantage over you. You would have to play catch up. By "losing part 2" I mean you might hit the end date with less prestige than the opponent but when you continue the game in part 3 you could make a comeback.

Though if you landed on the moon first in part 1 and didn't pursue the shuttle in part 2 you probably wouldn't be in such a dire position.
Gotcha, yes. So basically what you suggest is make part 2 a "race for prestige"? Will prestige be the way to measure the factions' performance against each other?

Cheers,
Ignacio Liverotti
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by Nacho84 »

clem59285 wrote:
Do you meant something like Kalesin showed us?

That would be fantastic!
Yes, we certainly want to move away from this "mission configuration" structure we have at the moment: it doesn't give the players enough freedom and, from a development point of view, adding a new mission configuration to an existing program is a very involved process (we need to modify the database spreadsheet, write a mission data script, a mission animation script, etc). A very involved process :)

Cheers,
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by EleSigma »

Nacho84 wrote: Gotcha, yes. So basically what you suggest is make part 2 a "race for prestige"? Will prestige be the way to measure the factions' performance against each other?

Cheers,
Exactly! Sorry I didn't word it well. Part 2 would be a race for prestige rather than there being a major defining victory condition like in part 1 and part 3.

How I envision it is that what you do in part 2 will determine what projects you will start with in part 3. Like investing in, researching, launching certain craft/rockets and doing certain research on your space station in part 2 will give you boosts in related research and reliability for part 3. Like I used for an example in a previous post, researching and using the shuttle in part 2 would give you a research and reliability boost if you build an SSTO craft in part 3.

For instance it would take a lot more time and effort for you to pull off a "Mars Direct" plan in part 3 if you spent part 2 researching only rockets, crafts, and missions that were related to and benefited returning to the moon first rather than going to Mars.
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by Kalesin »

Another thing that would be interesting is how to continue after the race to the moon, the agency survive funding cuts after reaching the Moon.

Image

Space Stations (Salyut, MOL, MIR, ISS, ...), see orbiting telescopes (Hubble, Chandra, Spitzer ...), satellites and probes such as Voyager, Viking or even see the Curiosity.

Add minors Agencies, and add them again. They could use US space programs capitalist countries (Canada, France), but with less money down. For socialist countries like China and India, could use Soviets programs, but also with less money.

So it would give more replay value, and we could play leading other agencies and other countries.

Eventually own programs of each country would be added (Chang'e and Shenzhou to China, Chandrayaan and Mars Orbiter to India, Asterix for France, ...)

Image
Mars Orbiter

Image
Shenzhou
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by tjsnh »

Nacho84 wrote:
EleSigma wrote:The bit I need to decide is the goal of the race for the post-Apollo era (i.e., what do you need to do in order to beat your opponent).
Launch first module for an ISS
Manned Mars flyby
Reach a certain set number of prestige points
Accrue # of man-days/years/etc in space
Have more prestige points than opponent on a specific turn (say, the start of 1990 or something)
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Re: Ideas for the future of SPM

Post by Pawelk198604 »

Does we will have second episode, with Skylab and Salyut for example? :D
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