Earth Orbit Stations
Encyclopedia
E.O.S.: Earth Orbit Stations was a space station
management simulation developed by Karl Buiter and produced by Joe Ybarra
for Electronic Arts
in 1987 for the Commodore 64
, Apple II
, and Apple Macintosh.
.
The game was set in 1996, and the player was given various selected scenarios to fulfill, from mundane tasks such as setting up a simple space station to developing and supplying a specified amount of high-grade, zero G pharmaceuticals to being the first to contact alien life. The game also was a cut-throat strategy game in multiplayer, as players competed over finite resources and resource management.
A review in Computer Gaming World
had mixed feelings about the game. While the single-player portion was praised, the review felt the game had too high a learning curve to be really suitable for multiplayer. The user interface was particularly bothersome, described as "a textbook case of how not to design a window/menu/graphics interface." The documentation was similarly described as poorly organized and cryptic.
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
management simulation developed by Karl Buiter and produced by Joe Ybarra
Joe Ybarra
Joe Ybarra is one of the original game producers at Electronic Arts in 1982 , where the concept of a game producer was created by Trip Hawkins...
for Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
in 1987 for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, and Apple Macintosh.
Summary
The game focused on both the material and economic challenges of building a permanent, fully functioning space station in geocentric orbitGeocentric orbit
A geocentric orbit involves any object orbiting the Earth, such as the Moon or artificial satellites. Currently there are approximately 2,465 artificial satellites orbiting the Earth and 6,216 pieces of space debris as tracked by the Goddard Space Flight Center...
.
The game was set in 1996, and the player was given various selected scenarios to fulfill, from mundane tasks such as setting up a simple space station to developing and supplying a specified amount of high-grade, zero G pharmaceuticals to being the first to contact alien life. The game also was a cut-throat strategy game in multiplayer, as players competed over finite resources and resource management.
A review in Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
had mixed feelings about the game. While the single-player portion was praised, the review felt the game had too high a learning curve to be really suitable for multiplayer. The user interface was particularly bothersome, described as "a textbook case of how not to design a window/menu/graphics interface." The documentation was similarly described as poorly organized and cryptic.
Similar games
- M.U.L.E.M.U.L.E.M.U.L.E. is a seminal multiplayer video game by Ozark Softscape. It was published in 1983 by Electronic Arts. It was originally written for the Atari 400/800, and was later ported to the Commodore 64, the Nintendo Entertainment System and the IBM PC Jr. Japanese versions also exist for the...
- Project: Space StationProject Space StationProject Space Station is a game published in 1985 by HESware, originally written for the Commodore 64 home computer, then ported out to both the Apple II series and PC compatibles.-Summary:...
- Space Shuttle: A Journey Into Space
External links
- Mozomedia - Apple ][ retrospective