Lunar Lander Sim 2.1LS Review

A superb Moon landing simulation recently updated to support Landscape capable PalmOS5 devices, it's Lunar Lander Sim 2.1LS.

The Game

Lunar Lander Sim was created by developer Mohamed Bennouf of SimToGo, who was also recently interviewed at PalmInfocenter. You do not need a Landscape capable device to play Lunar Lander Sim. The application requires ~900KB of memory and you must be using PalmOS5.2 or better.

In the latest version, much has been done to help novice pilots to train themselves. A new Demo Flight Mission is now included that shows on-screen text of when to use the controls, and why, during a optimal landing. This is a great primer for getting used to to the flight mechanics of the game. As further help with all aspects of the game, a Manual and Quick Start Guide (PDF) are included as well.

It wasn't entirely easy to pilot the Lander for the real NASA astronauts, and Lunar Lander Sim is true to that fact, as the controls are possibly the biggest challenge in the game. It's not that they don't work, far from it. It's just a little complicated for a novice pilot (read: most people), but considering what your attempting, it's surprising how little you really have to do to just land on the Moon. With it's realistic flight mechanics, and a steep learning curve that pays off with a true sense of accomplishment, it feels good to finally touch-down safely in Lunar Lander Sim.

Controls

As previously mentioned, the controls are a very challenging aspect of the game, so I'm going to cover that first. Your lander has a Main Engine under the Lander which provides upward thrust, and which serves to maintain the Landers Rate Of Descent (ROD), also known as the Descent Velocity (DesV). The Main Engine can either be manually controlled, which isn't easy even for a real astronauts, or more easily managed by the Landers Descent Propulsion System (DPS) computer, which can adjust the main Engine automatically, maintaining your desired ROD. The Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters give you full pitch and roll control of the Lander, so it's entirely possible to land upside-down or sideways, though both would be a crash. Get used to them. It's okay, you need to crash in order to learn how not to crash.

DPS and RCS must be used for critical maneuvers during the landing, like pitching forward to increase your Forward Velocity (FwV) while also increasing Main Engine thrust to decrease your ROD, or vice versa. The Main Engine thruster is controlled with two of your Palms hard buttons by setting a desired ROD in the DPS, or when manually controlling the Main Engine, without the DPS, the hard buttons directly control the thrust provided. The Palms 5-way navigator buttons control the pitch and roll RCS thrusters.

Since the latest update for Landscape devices, the devices 5-way navigator switches the axises when running in Landscape mode. The only hiccup I found, and it's a small one, is that if you do not switch to Landscape mode before starting a New Mission, the graphics will be cut off, or in other words the game doesn't yet switch to Landscape mode for you. I raised this issue with the developer, and he has assured me he is looking into adding this feature.

Graphics and Sound



The game graphics and sound effects are very authentic. There is a definite "information over-load" when you play it the first time. Once your aware of each HUD elements specific function, you begin to appreciate the complexity. You need this on-screen information! Still, you can't pay attention to all of it at once, and in reality you would have another astronaut next to you, so just as in real NASA Missions, some things are spoken aloud to you, such as altitude and fuel percentages. The ambiance created by the sound and voice effects is great, and helps a lot to complete the feeling of landing on the Moon, especially when you hear "Houstan, Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed."

Gameplay

As a "Rookie Pilot" your goal is to land softly and level on the surface of the Moon, while as close to the intended landing destination as possible. When you eventually feel confident enough doing that, you might then try the more advanced "LM Pilot" and yet even more difficult "LM Commander" Game Levels. Both start you with different (random) initial landing conditions, such as your starting altitude, and allow for sub-systems in the Lander to fail, adding yet another level of difficulty. This is similar to how astronauts trained in actual simulators, minus a full-scale working Lunar Lander to sit in!

Aside from the three Game Levels (difficulties) for Landing Missions, you also can specify to begin at the approach phase of the Landing Mission, which starts you earlier in the descent. The third Mission type is a very robust "My Flight" Mission mode, which not only lets you specify your Initial Conditions for the landing, but which Planet in the Solar System you want to land on instead. You don't have to land on the Moon!

Bottomline

The more I play, the more I love this game. It's addictive because you never land absolutely perfectly and always know you could do just a little better. You try again, and you do.

Give Lunar Lander Sim a try for yourself, click here for more information and to download a 7-day trial.

Lunar Lander Sim is Shareware and costs $14.95 USD.