Collaborative Control

Concept and Design

The International Space Sim game or Staion Sim is a resource management game that will give total administrative control over an Earth orbiting space station in the near future. It is important to note that this concpet is loosely based on the real International Space Station. Certain artisitc liberties have been taken to make the game experience simpler and more enjoyable. This concept is still a work in progress so feel free to email with any ideas or suggestions on what you think will make the game better.

Jump to Section

1. Main Concept
2. Crew Members
3. Research
4. Resources
5. Station Modules
6. Payload Deliveries

Main Concept

The Station Sim Game is a game concept that puts the player in the driver seat of (for now) the Second Interational Space Station. The player makes every major administrative decision regarding how the station should be built and operated. Similar to the real International Space Station the simulated staion is composed of any number of modular units, each with specific purposes and capabilities. This allows the player to add to and take away from the station design as the game progresses in order to experimentally maximize it's effeciency. In addition to purchasing and building station modules, the player will have control over what crew members and reserachers are brought aboard, what scientific fields are investigated, and what supplies are delivered to the station.

The gameplay centers around the task of resource management. Resources in this case include any quantifiable component that must be managed for the Station to remain livable. In order to manage their resources the player will have to stay ahead of the curve of technology without burning themselves out. The purpose of the game is primarily to provide an educational overview of the challenges of living in space by teaching the player about a small fraction of the considerations that must be made.

Failure on the part of the player to successfully manage their resources means that the station becomes unlivable and the crew is forced to abandon the station. This is not necessarily the final chapter to the game. The player must wait until they can afford to reactivate the station. Although they will find it more difficult to recruit new station crew members.

Although there is no intention to have an absolute victory condition for the game, the game will introduce a series of semi-random events or crises. These crises could be specific events on the station or they could be situations that arise on Earth that require a scientific solution to manage. If the player has managed their station well and can make the appropriate scientific advancements within a certain amount of time they can contribute to the alleviation of the emergency and are generously rewarded for their help.

The state of the station will only be updated at the end of each round. A round is measured as exactley one orbital period of the station's trip around the earth (which is approximately ?? minutes). At this point any tasks being performed by the crew members will be advanced, any resources demanded by active tasks, station modules, or crew members will be deducuted, any resource inputs will be allocated, and possibly a payload delivery will take place.

Crew Members

Crew members that are brought abord the station each have a unique background and specialty that makes their contribution to the game unique. Any crew member can be assigned to any task that is available on the station, however there is a significant increase in performances if the crew members assigned to a task is more suited for it. Crew members are selected to be brought aboard the station during a payload delivery phase of the game. The game will offer a list of crew members that are available to join the station's crew. This list is altered slightly each time depending on the success of the station and the reputation the player has received from their managment abilities. For example, if crew members die while aboard the station due to an overly extendied stay in space, radiation exposure, a lask of life support, etc. the list of potential crew members will be reduced significantly to a less talented selection set. In addition adding docking modules for the spacecraft from more countries will expand the list into more persons of the cooresponding country of origin.

Crew Stats

Crew members will each have the following attributes:

• Name
• Age
• Gender
• Weight
• Country of Origin
• Pay Rate
• Profession
• AFW Required
• Time in Space
• Health
• Task Progress
• Profession
• Skills

Health

The health of a crew member is determined by various factors including, the amount of time they've spent in space (which is dampened by their Zero G skill but worsened by their age), if their life support requirements are being met, and if there is a tolerable level of radiation present on the station.

Pay Rate

Crew members also each have a pay rate that will generally be related to their overall skill levels and experience. Other than crew members the primary financial expense will be the purchasing of new modules and upgrades for the station. Pay rates (just the same as all resources) are deducted per round.

Crew Member Skills

The skill level of a crew member determines how quickly or effectively they can achieve a certain task. For example a crew member with a high engineering skill will be able to easily maintain the station and keep it from damage due to normal wear and tear. It is possible, although undecided, whether assigning a crew member to a certain task will increase that crew members related skill. Adding this feature may be an interesting role-playing element to the gameplay but will encourage the player to stick to a specific set of crew members when the intention is to have the player change crew members fairly often. The majority of skills are specefic scientific fields that represent the crew members experience and knowledge in that field. The skills that crew members can possess will include:

• Astronomy
• Biology
• Botany
• Climatology/Meterology
• Geology/Seismology
• Physics
• Thermodynamics
• Piloting
• Engineering
• Medicine
• Production
• Space Walk
• Zero G

Task Progress

Crew members who engage in any task (which most of them will) will achieve an amount of progress towards completing their task each round. The amount of progress they achieve depends on several factors. First, the difficulty of the task. Second, the skill level of the assigned crew member in any pertinent fields. Third, the presence of any active station modules that provide skill bonuses, and finally the number of crew members that are assigned to the task. Assigning more than one crew member to a task gives only a "partial" improvement to the rate at which the task is completed. Research is the most important task to successful gameplay and will generally be the most common task.

Research

Research is a specific task group that drives the main progress of game play. Research is different from other tasks in that if a crew member leaves the station any research progress they have made is lost. Only when a researcher achieves a breakthrough is there progress stored. At this point there progress returns to 0 and the player may have them continue to research the same field towards another breakthrough or they may be sent home / assigned to a new task. Research tasks are assigned to a specific field but cannot be specified to a specific breakthrough or invention. The research fields are:

• Astronomy
• Biology / Genetics
• Botany
• Climatology/Meterology
• Geology/Seismology
• Physics
• Thermodynamics

Breakthroughs

In the game, breakthroughs are always the goal of scientific research. Most breakthroughs will not directly change the gameplay, however when a breakthrough is achieved the player is rewarded with a research grant that gives a small amount of funds every round while research continues in the specified field. As the breakthroughs become bigger the awarded funds of a grant become more substantial. Changing what crew members are researching a paticular field does not affect the amount of money received by the grant.

Inventions

In addition to the scientific breakthrough research can achieve, a researcher may uncover a new technology or invention. This invention is generally something that will change the player's gameplay options and capabilities. For example, a physics researcher invents a technique for space-based nuclear fusion. Once this is achieved the player has the option at the time of the next payload delivery to add on a nulcear fusion module to their station granting them a much larger supply of energy to work with each round. What inventions are possible to be unlocked is wholly dependent on what breakthroughs have been achieved in one ore more scientific fields. Achieving inventions may also grant a generous instantaneous financial reward.

Resources

In the context of the game, the term "resources" refers to any quantifiable parameter that must be managed in order for the station to remain livable. Certain resources such as life support are indiscriminatly critical while others can be allowed to dip into the red as long as it is only for a short time (such as engineering supplies).

Each type of resource will have a unit associated with it to give the game scope and to bring it a little closer to reality. The current list of resources in the game is:

• Energy (Joules)
• Life Support (AFW - Air Food Water)
• Radiation (Grays)
• Research Supplies (m³)
• Engineering Supplies (m³)
• Raw Materials(m³)
• Cooling (BTUs)
• Computing (Cycles)
• Money (USD)

Input/Output

The source and use of each resource is unique and thus must be managed differently. For example, the station can add a solar panel array module to produce enough energy at the start of the game, however adding additional modules or performing certain research tasks may place additional demands on the station's energy sources. Radiation is also produced by the station module, but in this case it something that must be removed rather than utilized. A small amount of radiation is produced by every module from solar exposure, other modules such as a physics research module may produce more radiation. The life support module is what removes and shields against radiation. In order to accomodate a more rapidly accumulating radiation level, the life support module must be upgraded or a second life support module may need to be added. Resources may also have a direct impact on each other. For example, upgrading the computer module will provide additional computer cycles for researchers to perform their task, however it will place a higher demand on energy resources.

The station's resources are organized into input and outputs per round as well as current supply and maximum capacity. Some resources do not logically fit this model, but in general resources will be organized into this scheme. At the start of the game many resources will not be replenished each round (i.e. Life Support, Supplies, Money). These resources will only be replenished by a payload delivery by a shuttle from Earth. To see more about payload deliveries see the section below.

The station's ability to sustain itself will gradually improve with time. Energy sources will advance with time and technology based on the player's research progression. Life support will become automatically replenished with the advancment of hydroponics technology. Engineering and Research Supplies can be replenished by assigning a crew member to production work once the correct modules have been added to the station.

Money

Money is a unique resource in that it is only replenished by making progress in the game. To get started a moderate project fund is allocated every few rounds from the collective space agencies involved in the station's activities. The amount of this fund is increased by bringing an ethnic diversity of crew members onto the station and by adding docking modules for space crafts from different countries onto the station. Other than the project funds money is also collected every round from any research grants the station research has achieved.

Station Modules

Station modules each have different resource demands that are deducted each round. This limits the player's ability to expand the station at least at the start of the game. Adding a module to the station is an important and difficult decision and must be made thoughtfully in order to gurantee success. A player might have the space, and money to purchasing an extra life support module to handle a larger load of radiation exposure, but only after they install do they realize that they do not have enough energy reserves to operate it.

Here are a few designs and descriptions for a few station modules. I'm sticking mostly with an orange and desaturated blue. It is the easiest novice designer fall back ;-)

Command Module

Earth Observatory Module

Life Support Module

Astronomy Lab Module

Solary Array and Unity Module

The list of station modules will most likely change but the current list is:

Research Modules

• Astronomy Lab Module - provides a bonus to astronomy research
• Botany Lab Module - provides a bonus to botany research
• Physics Lab Module - provides a bonus to physics research
• Atmospheric Sensors Module - provides a bonus to climatology research
• Microscopy Module - provides a bonus to biology research
• Radiometric Module - provides a bonus to geology research
• Thermodynamics Lab Module - provides a bonus to thermodynamics research
• Chemistry Lab Module - provides a bonus to biology and botany research
• Earth Observatory Module - provides a bonus to geology, and climatology research
• Particle Accelerator Module - provides a bonus to physics and thermodynamics research
• Optics Lab Module - provides a bonus to astronomy and physics research
• Spectral Analysis Module - provides a bonus to climatology and botany research
• Infrared Sensors Module - provides a bonus to astronomy and geology research
• Heat Sensor Module - provides a bonus to biology and thermodynamics research

General Modules:

• Command Module - the base of operations that must remain operational
• Living Quarters Module - defines strictly the number of crew members that may be aboard at a time
• Solar Array Module - provides energy every round
• Engineering Module - provides a bonus to engineering skills
• NASA Docking Module - allows docking with space craft from the National Aeronautics and Space Administation
• RFSA Docking Module - allows docking with space craft from the Russian Federal Space Agency
• JAEA Docking Module - allows docking with space craft from the Janpanese Aeronautics Exploration Agency
• CNSA Docking Module - allows docking with space craft from the Chinese National Space Administration
• ESA Docking Module - allows docking with space craft from the European Space Agency
• Medical Module - slows health loss of crew members regardless of age, or zero G skill
• Fitness Module - slows the health loss of crew members who have Zero G skill
• ECLIS (Life Support) Module - Defines maximum capacity of life support and rate of radiation removal
• Escape Vehicle Module - allows for crew members to escape the station in emergencies
• Manufacturing Module - allows the production of supplies from raw materials

Advanced and Specialty Modules:

• Hydroponics Module
• Artifical Gravity Module
• Manufacturing Module
• SETI Module
• ION drive Module
• Space Elevator Module
• Fusion Reactor
• Nuclear Reactor
• Teleporation Module
• Radiation Shielding Module
• Heat Shielding Module

Station modules cost a significant toll to the player's resources. In order to help manage those resources the player may lockdown a paticular module that is not being used. Doing so makes the station consume no resources but also no benefits to the station. In addition because the station is arranged in a chain of modules, if no path exists from the command module of the station to a paticular module because a locked module blocks the path, the blocked module also offers no benefits. Modules may be moved and rearrange by the player, however it takes time to complete this process and the presence of an engineer with skill in both engineering and space walk, or two engineers one with each skill. A module at the end of a chain can also be jettisoned back to Earth where it will be incenerated by the atmosphere.

Payload Deliveries

Payload deliveries...