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[Deadmeat1471]

I've had the idea for a while of a little game wherin players would take the roll of astronauts or mission control and try to fix a problem to do with a failure on a space mission.

Obviously making a truly accurate simulation would require a far more knowledgable person than myself, so this would be a fairly ad hoc and 'friendly' version.

Think its worth while?
Anyone want to help with possible errors/damaged components?

Obviously we could start with the Apollo 13 historical errors with the destroyed o2 tanks, main bus b undervolt, err I think the Co2 scrubbers were damaged or overused as 3 people were then in the LEM. Other than that tho, there are potentially hundreds millions of problems possible.

Another way to doit would be to jump in the deep end, randomly generate, within reason, some error locations, then research the possible problems with possible solutions and see how people cope.

I guess the astronaut interaction would have to be done in a RPG fashion, IE this task is difficult, will take this long such and such.

If its worth while doing, it will be done in a kind of pen and paper RPG fashion.
Also I would have a panel of 'experts' who are basicly me and people assisting me in researching problems and potential failures with equipment, cascade failures etc.
I dont NEED help here, but I think the more people who do, the better the simulation and the more fun the 'game'

The complexity is extremely optional, but I think the fun may be discussing potential ways to fix a problem and time management, so the simpler the problem, the easier the game.

[Enzo]

My first thought is that this would make for some fun tabletop RPing. My second thought is that it would be a nightmare to design since 99% of people have no idea what to do when Space Shuttle Component X malfunctions. Because they are not rocket scientists. The further you abstract it (Problem X requires 4-8 hours and a Piloting score of 17 or better to remedy) the less engaging it sounds, but the more specific it is (there is a tear in the aft external thermal seal panels, what do?) the less accessible it becomes. Maybe there is a balance to be found but it'll be a tough one to manage.

[Deadmeat1471]

Completely agree here.

I think the best thing would be a pure rpg of space flight - rather than a simulation of real technologies.

Allows complex issues with quasi-fictional systems and problems to be discovered and dealt with.

I will think on this.

I was actually making a python coded rpg game based on NASA, I could drag alot of the stuff and ideas into a forum rpg quite easily.

[Mullet Master]

If you are interested in doing a game like this, first you should check out Mars Simulation Project.
This is a simulator of life on mars - basically, it's a giant malfunction simulator. You can easily see what "goes wrong", an idea of what it takes to fix, and how long.
This guy apparently worked for NASA, so this is pretty close.

http://mars-sim.sourceforge.net/

Then I would look at Moonbase Alpha (available on Steam, free) This gives an idea of one possibility of repairing things in space.

Between those two, you should be able to find two dozen failures that could be adapted into a game.

I would think every problem in space boils down to two things
time management ( space is extremely hostile to human life ) and improvisation\resource management ( you will never have everything possible...)

It could really quickly turn into DF in space.

[Knight of Fools]

Malfunction simulators typically aren't my thing, since most games present problems as annoyances rather than challenges. When you know that it was just fat chance that broke your wagon wheel, it takes you from "Dang, how am I going toto salvage this" to "Dang, I hate the dice". It takes them out of the world and makes them angry at the game's system.

I think you should choose the malfunctions in the ships as those problems are formed - If it's a manufacturing defect, it should be present since that moment. If parts of the ship get damaged from temperature changes, the DM shouldn't find out about it as soon as the players do, unless it's immediate enough that the players notice it as soon as it happens. Otherwise, the DM knows that the thing-ma-jig is going to start leaking as soon as the ship enters a vacuum and will be able to present the players with the information without stumbling over details. This shifts the mood and makes it feel less like a random encounter and more like an actual obstacle to overcome.

You basically need to turn the whole "Malfunction as an annoyance" into "Malfunction as an antagonist". For a good story, there needs to be opposition, and if that opposition (Or one of those oppositions) is nature itself, then it should be built as well as any villain in a well crafted D&D campaign.


Also, am I the only one who saw "Apollo XXX" and thought it was an adult space game?

[Enzo]

Hmm, what Knight of Fools says is true, I was just kind of taking it for granted that it would be the case. Like, you would determine a situation and malfunction at the beginning of the game, and the rest of the game would revolve around remedying the predicament. Rather than "Why does random shit keep breaking whenever the DM rolls the dice". More of a one-session type game than a space-flight campaign where...well, random shit keeps breaking.

[Deadmeat1471]

Interesting comments, I think youre right.

[Deadmeat1471]

Interesting comments, I think youre right.

I guess this means sometime soon I'll begin a brainstorm about potential failures/missions for the funs.