Project Space Station
| Developer(s) | HESware |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | HESware |
| Platform(s) | C64 (original) Apple II, IBM PC |
| Release | 1985 |
| Genre(s) | Simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Project Space Station is a game published in 1985 by HESware, originally written for the Commodore 64 home computer, then ported to the Apple II series and PC compatibles.
In the game the player is put in control of NASA and tasked with building and maintaining a space station and generating enough money with commercial contracts to make up for an anemic yearly budget. This can be seen as a discrete set of phases, except that they all proceed simultaneously. The exception is at the beginning of the game where the player has unlimited time in the planning phase before the game clock starts.
In the planning phase, the player first allocates the funds they have to various budget items, like crew selection, station modules, and research and development. Then they choose their crew, who have intrinsic task sets (like piloting and physics), and varying levels of competence and compatibility with other potential employees. From there the player purchases equipment like space suits and satellites, and station modules like laboratories and solar arrays. Then they schedule their launches using the two space shuttles available (Atlantis and Discovery, though the initial release used Challenger), and have their budget approved. In the final stage of the planning phase the player can create a simulated station with an unlimited number of parts, and without dealing with the later constrictions of the EVA.
The launch phase has the player decide whether launch conditions are stable enough to merit launch. If they give the implicit go-ahead, they engage in a light arcade sequence where the player attempts to keep the shuttle on course throughout its orbital burn. The more successful the player is, the closer the shuttle will be to the station.
Once the shuttle is in orbit, the player is tasked to assemble the components they brought up (or to fire off any satellites they have contracts for) in the Extra-Vehicular Activity, or EVA phase. Here the player directly controls an Orbital Construction Pod, a small ship with mechanical arms that an astronaut can use to move large equipment. Being careless here could have consequences as the pod or equipment may become damaged, and it may run out of fuel and become stranded until another pod can rescue it. Consequences were not limited to equipment damage: Stranded astronauts in pods could die when oxygen ran out. Other crew hazards included solar flares, which could kill astronauts on the station or shuttle if precautions (using an emergency module in station design) were not taken. Crew died in reverse alphabetical order from solar flares.
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Wikipedia