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Forty Years of Lunar Lander
Harry writes "2009 marks not only the fortieth anniversary of Apollo 11, but also four decades of the iconic, omnipresent Lunar Lander, one of the first simulation games ever written. The first version was written by an Apollo-crazy high school student; among its countless descendants are the classic Atari arcade machine and versions for practically every other platform, from the Apple II to the iPhone. We're celebrating with a look at the game's origins, history, and significance — including an interview with creator Jim Storer, who hadn't given the game a moment's thought since he left high school, and wasn't aware of the phenomenon he spawned."
I would like to take this moment to remind everyone how fucking cool America is for landing on the moon.
As a child I kept searching for the version that let you land on the planet of those evil space invaders for an epic fight to the death - spacewar and asteroids were a poor facsimile.
bomb the us up set someone
The main reason why you took manual control of the vehicle.... XEROX built the on board computer! And it broke... (tisk)
First rule of holes; When in one, stop digging.
The biggest difference I can see between now and 40 years ago is the number of kids who won't stay off my damn lawn. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.
My first memory of this game was seeing the Atari version at the Exploratorium. I never knew that the original was text!
HERE ARE THE RULES THAT GOVERN YOUR SPACE VEHICLE:
(1) AFTER EACH SECOND, THE HEIGHT, VELOCITY, AND REMAINING
FUEL WILL BE REPORTED.
(2) AFTER THE REPORT, A '?' WILL BE TYPED. ENTER THE
NUMBER OF UNITS OF FUEL YOU WISH TO BURN DURING THE
NEXT SECOND. EACH UNIT OF FUEL WILL SLOW YOUR DESCENT
BY 1 FT/SEC.
Reading that, I was expecting (3) to be "It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue." :-)
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Well, a fiddle is a crude folk instrument or a medieval precursor to the voilin, and a violin is a sophisticated, nuanced instrument that the fiddle is a crude imitation of. So your version was a bit of a fiddle?
Um, no. In the U.S. a fiddle typically is a violin, especially when referring to American Folk, Bluegrass or Country music, so literally, from mcgrew's American point-of-view, the only real difference is the style of music being played (although "fiddle" players may prefer one variety of string or bow over another, the instrument that is called a "fiddle" and the instrument that is called a "violin" are typically the same thing.)
In the States, Classical music is not nearly as popular as Folk, Bluegrass or Country. Hence "fiddle" music is more popular than "violin" music, although technically these are typically the same instrument.
So what mcgrew is saying is that RadioShack's "Lunar Lander" game and his "Lunar Lander" game were very, very similar, but people liked his better for various reasons that he didn't clarify in his original post, but I'm guessing by the fiddle analogy, he means that his had better graphics/visuals and probably better controls.
Just thought I'd clear that up for you non-Americans out there who are all probably not going to get what mcgrew means.
My blog
That, of course, is a popular delusion. Its not that we aren't materialistic and selfish now, but we were just as bad back then. And 50 years before that, and 50 years before that, and 50 years before that ...
Human nature is human nature. It hasn't changed recently. There are a few times that we have still been able to do really cool things when we put our minds to it, and have good leaders. But, there isn't any real cultural difference today that would prevent it from happening.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Gone is the self reliant take responsibility for one's self and actions.
Gone is Lyndon Johnson and his "war on poverty". Gone is the entitlement AFDC which guranteed generational welfare, replaced by TANF which gives only temporary help to folks with kids. Gone are business owners who gave a shit about anything but money. Gone are corporate ethics, replaced by Enron ethics and Bernard Madhoff ethics. Gone is the late Walkter Cronkite, replaced by Fox, apparently your only news source.
Now we have the wealth envy its not fair someone who works harder has more stuff crowd
Unemployment in Michigan is over 10%. You need a job to work.
mainly because it would require DOING SOMETHING
You're not impressed by those little Martian robots? I sure as hell am.
Free Martian Whores!
"I grew up watching this stuff as a kid. The America we had back then is a far cry from that we have today. Gone is the self reliant take responsibility for one's self and actions. Now we have the wealth envy its not fair someone who works harder has more stuff crowd that can only relive the accomplishments of past generations because all they have nothing to show for themselves (mainly because it would require DOING SOMETHING)"
Just the opposite -- I think the main problem is that nowadays we no longer feel it necessary to PAY our fair share for our DEBTS.
Indeed, let's return to those halcyon days of our youth. Let's re-establish the top income tax rate at 77% as it was in 1969 (instead of today's pittance 35%). That will solve many of our problems, as it did for our parent's and grandparent's generations, who were not such belly-achers as we.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States#Tax_rates_in_history
We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes
Gone are business owners who gave a shit about anything but money. Gone are corporate ethics, replaced by Enron ethics and Bernard Madhoff ethics.
You know how they referred to Madhoff's scam as a Ponzi Scheme?
Yeah, "Madhoff ethics" are not a new thing.
Bow-ties are cool.
I'm surprised nobody has linked to it yet, but there's this guy who made a physical Lunar Lander arcade game. No flashy vector graphics here! You control an actual model of a lander using real gauges and everything.
Lunar Lander