A new plan for Space Program Manager

[admin]

USA & Soviet campaigns and multiplayer are announced based on the community’s feedback

Two months after releasing the Early Beta project, it's now time to announce a host of new features for Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager. The game has been played for over 100,000 hours, by thousands of players around the world and over 3000 suggestions posted via the forums.

“We have seen a tremendous amount of feedback from the players”, said Ignacio Liverotti, Lead Designer & Programmer at Polar Motion. “All these contributions have been analyzed and taken into consideration to form a brand new list of features we are adding to the pipeline. This will of course delay the release of the final product, but we are really committed to delivering the players the game they want and know the players will understand and appreciate what we are doing”.


....................................................................................................................Cosmonaut on the moon

After some careful planning during the past few weeks, developer and publisher have decided to rewrite the original roadmap.

First and foremost a brand new "Race to the Moon" campaign will be added: players will be able to play as either the Soviets or the USA in a race to be the first to set foot on the Moon (and return safely back to Earth!). This 2 new campaigns will co-exist with the originally announced campaign, which means that the campaign mode will now feature three options: race to the Moon as Soviets, race to the Moon as Americans and Global Space Agency. What we’re saying is that nothing is being taken away – just a load of new stuff is being added for free!


.....................................................................................................................PKA Soviet Space Plane

Other important features which are being added:

* Support for widescreen resolutions for desktop platforms
* Ability to mix-and-match rockets and payloads: instead of forcing players to run a mission using a predefined set of rockets and payloads, for more customization and replay value.
* Support for multiplayer: Space Program Manager will use Slitherine's PBEM system, so players will be able to challenge and play the race to the Moon campaign against other players across the different platforms


..........................................................................................................................Soyuz

Artists are already working on the next Road to the Moon assets and a new release date will be announced soon. In the meantime, updates will still be provided in a regular basis in order to introduce new gameplay mechanics, contents and address the bugs and suggestions reported by the early adopters. For more information n Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager, check out the official product page.


...........................................................................................................................Voskhod

[Italianfan88]

Well, let me express my admiration and my congratulations!

Although I am an old BARIS player myself, I didn't mind that much the fact that the GSA put together pretty much everything the Americans and the Soviets did; nevertheless, I'm thrilled by the fact that I'll be able (with some patience) to retrace even in BASPM the Space Race's objectives and hardware, or stick with the GSA line.

Well thought and well done, indeed! I'm sure most of us who come to this forum will greatly appreciate this effort.

[stockwellpete]

Yes, I quite agree. It is just breath-taking, isn't it?

[jjknap]

Great news!

[cltns]

This is simply great news! When we'll we be able to test this new goodies?

[Sabratha]

I'm all for it, I think its a wonderfull decision, even if the release date gets postponed a bit. I think not only a lot of old BARIS players, but also all history-oriented strategy game players (and there are a lot of those) will really enjoy the moon race campaign.

At this point we have a very good mechanic and a flexible game engine running, so I always thought it would be a shame if the game was released only with GSA content and all the reviews would go: "The game runs smooth and is enjoyable, but sadly it doesn't allow players to re-create the moon race or play as the soviet side". Now I think we won't have to worry about that part

Overall I think it is a "one giant leap" in the right direction. Also love the graphics for new soviet hardware.

[N_Molson]

The amount of detail for the LOK is really amazing. Good 3D artist & historical sources.

[Nacho84]

Thanks for your support!

This is simply great news! When we'll we be able to test this new goodies?

Widescreen support is coming really soon. I'm working on this feature at the moment. I don't think I'll be able to make it for 0.7.14 this Friday since many assets need to be redone, but we're all pushing to get this done as soon as possible.

In the meantime, we'll keep adding gameplay features, polishing stuff and fixing the glitches reported at the forums.

Cheers,

[redcoat22]

I am very excited to see this announced and greatly look forward to what you develop. Best of luck guys!

[Arron69]

Fantastic news! And beautiful images.

Andi

[knightrun]

There are alot of developers and publishers that should note how you guys are proceeding with this project. Not only do you read the forums but actually try and work with the players who will be playing it for countless years(I'm an old BARIS player and still have the game on my HD). I'm so glad the I bought into the Early access program, and you guys are the right fit for the project, I think I can say with most certainty that you should take as long as needed to put out a quality game, so tired of buying into games that are suppose to be finished and aren't(insert "total War Rome 2 " here). Thank you and looking forward to the ride!!

[Italianfan88]

As soon as you guys get it done, I'll go headfirst and play the Soviet until my pc explodes in my face! Soviet hardware just gives me a thrill I don't get from the NASA stuff!

Oh, and I absolutely second what knightrun said; keep going, because you are doing great! In the end, this game is going to be a blast!

[Devitt]

As a junior high school student in Bay Shore (Long Island), New York in May of 1961, I watched the launch of Alan Shepard into space aboard his Mercury capsule, Freedom 7. Ever since that day, I wanted to be an astronaut. Well, the navy said my eyesight was so poor that I was lucky to be accepted into the navy at all. No flight school for me. I guess you could say that my naval career could be summed up best by saying " I came - - - I saw - - - I swabbed "

Then one day in my middle years there came this computer game called Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space. Well, let's just say this game almost caused my wife to divorce me. What saved my ass was the fact that I showed her that the #2 seat in my first Gemini capsule launch was her! She thought it so sweet that I would "include" her in my little space world that she never bitched anymore about my new obsession!

So, it is with great joy that I now hear in my old age (66 years!) about the Space Program I ordered early, to include a Race Into Space campaign between the Soviet Union and the U.S.! No problem for me to wait a little bit longer in order to get this new campaign. Way to go guys! But, just to keep the peace here on the home front - - - can you guys come up with a few, ah - - - ideas - - - to keep this old battle-ax of mine from killing me?

[Sabratha]

Then one day in my middle years there came this computer game called Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space. Well, let's just say this game almost caused my wife to divorce me. What saved my ass was the fact that I showed her that the #2 seat in my first Gemini capsule launch was her! She thought it so sweet that I would "include" her in my little space world that she never bitched anymore about my new obsession!

So, it is with great joy that I now hear in my old age (66 years!) about the Space Program I ordered early, to include a Race Into Space campaign between the Soviet Union and the U.S.! No problem for me to wait a little bit longer in order to get this new campaign. Way to go guys! But, just to keep the peace here on the home front - - - can you guys come up with a few, ah - - - ideas - - - to keep this old battle-ax of mine from killing me?

Hello, nice to have you on board!

As for cute ideas... maybe purchase the $ 99.99 special edition (aka Apollo Tier) and have your wife's "name and photo in the game as one of the SET personnel, a flight controller or an astronaut"? Just a suggestion, btu sounds cute enough to me

[knightrun]

I can remember when I played the old "BARIS" one game sticks out in my mind. I was playing the US campaign(because the US had more reliable hardware than the USSR, but was more expensive), and I actually made it to the moon with the Gemini program. I got the program up to max reliability, and researched the strap on booster option for the Titan which made it a Titan B I think it was called. I then researched the one man lander called "The Cricket". This is why I'm very happy that you guys will be putting customized optional equipment that was on the books but not actually developed. It will make the replayability of the game insured, as I remember having to really make some critical decisions in timing and equipment. This is a very exciting feature that will really make the game a "just one more turn" addiction!! Again thank you for making a new "Classic Hit"!

[justsomehobo]

I don't want to complicate things , but aside from mixing and matching probes and rockets, could you be able to m&m satellite buses and instruments? Also, I can imagine having a screen that shows a probe's weight and if it'll fit in the fairing of a certain rocket, &/or a rocket and how much it can carry.

[Sabratha]

I don't want to complicate things , but aside from mixing and matching probes and rockets, could you be able to m&m satellite buses and instruments? Also, I can imagine having a screen that shows a probe's weight and if it'll fit in the fairing of a certain rocket, &/or a rocket and how much it can carry.

From the new screens of the mix&match feature, I think rocket lift power and weight of various probes and shuttles will now play a major role.