[win98]

Originally posted by Guest_Chris@Mar 25 2005, 01:19 PM
I owned and played this game religiously when it originally came out. If I remember correctly, I landed on the moon three times twice with the Jupiter Direct Descent (once before 1970 as JFK requested) and once with the historical approach. I may have some experience that people are interested in.

1) It's a huge boost if you can get an orbital satellite up in the Fall of 1957 (2nd turn). You might have to spend lots of time saving and reloading, but it gives you a nice prestigue and $ boost.

2) There are many ways to get to the moon each eith its own advantages. Jupiter is the easiest but also most expensive. It allows you to skip all docking attempts and LM tests, but you still need photo recon and duration "D", lunar pass and lunar orbital in order to make it completely safe.

Gemini is the hardest and least expensive. You can actually get to the moon using just the Titan plus Booster rockets. To do this you'll need to go to the moon using the JT Manned Lunar Landing LOR (lunar orbital rendevous). This is probably the most difficult way to go b/c I believe there are the most steps to go wrong. Also, under this approach you'll have to use the Kicker A b/c the B is too heavy. If you can get the Saturan rocket then you can use the Kicker B and any of the other approaches--the historical approach is the simplist. This is b/c the Saturan has enough power to get the Gemini, Cricket and Kicker all into orbit. Any lunar landing with the Gemini requires the Cricket LM which is more expensive than the Eagle which was traditionally used.

Apollo is the middle of the road approach as well as being the historical one. Again, I think you can actually do an Apollo landing w/ the Titan and Boosters if you do the JT Manned Lunar Landing LOR. The advantage of Apollo if you have the Saturan is that it does not require a Kicker. Plus you can use the Eagle LM if you want.

Under both Gemini & Apollo you need docking and LM points to make the trip safe. You cannot R&D the docking module. Instead, you gain R&D by experience. A failed docking attempt nets you 5% R&D and a successful one nets you 10%. You get 0% improvement if your mission fails before the docking. You need docking at least once on a lunar landing when the LM comes back up from the Moon. LM points are also gained by experience, you need 3 to make the trip totally safe. You get 1 point for doing an Earth Orbital LM test and 2 for doing a Lunar Orbital LM test.

Finally, photo recon is essential for a safe landing under any strategy. You gain 5% photo recon by a Ranger Lunar Pass and Manned or Unmanned Lunar Pass. I "think" you get 10% for a Lunar Orbital and 15% for a Lunar Probe Landing. The photo recon comes into effect when you are trying to land (you don't want to get your poor Astronauts all the way to the Moon just to have them crash land).

3) My general strategy suggestion is to ignore Russia until about 1964. They are going to push safety limits and for whatever reason even on Difficulty level 1 they usually succeed at first. Just plug along reaching as many steps as possible. I don't like the Mercury b/c of its low safety levels and the fact that it can't do a duration over "B" or any docking attempts. With that said, get to Gemini as quickly as possible probably after you've successfully completed a manned orbital with Mercury. Gemini was historically the "work horse" and is in the game too. As I said, you can get to the Moon in Gemini if you want, but at the very least you should use it to attain all the docking and duration you need. By the time you've done that you should be able to have the Apollo/Saturan V up and running which you can use to do the LM tests, Lunar Pass and Lunar Orbital. I've never used the Mini Shuttle, but I guess it could have advantages since its reusuable.

Here is a little checklist for getting an "A-OK" to attempt a Lunar Landing, it might not be exhaustive but it's what I can remember
1) Orbital Satellite
2) Man in Space (Orbit or Sub Orbit)
3) EVA
4) Duration "D" (four "pie" slices on the screen when your choosing future missions [the right corner of the little astronaut picture]; -5 safety for every level you "skip" so if the first duration you are attempting is D then your safety penalty is -15)
5) Multiple docking attempts to bring your R&D up to 90%
6) 3 LM points through LM tests
7) Photo Recon level 99%
8) Manned Lunar Pass
9) Manned Lunar Orbit

You can of course skip steps but you'll suffer safety. The Russians almost always attempt a Manned Orbital EVA for their first manned mission which should theoretically be a -14 safety on a capsule that has a max R&D level of 78% but somehow the Reds always seem to do it successfully. I don't think you need a lunar probe landing although I could be wrong. The advantage of a lunar probe landing is that a successful attempt is worth three successful lunar fly-bys.

Hope this helps someone. This was one of my favorite games growing up and, as you can see, I've retained alot of the info even though I haven't played it in almost 10 years (which makes me feel old).

[quote] i did get close to the mmon becaus russia and usa were both human contrrolledthe russia guys fate was a beheading i think the the usa guy was eraserd from all records.