This is proving too easy. I demand some sort of challenge poised outside of the normal boundaries of the game.

Possible ideas include (and note that I am not familiar with the game outside of this LP so some of these may be impossible):

- The Kremlin has decided that all future space research must be dedicated to going on the attack and offensively denying the United States access to space. All flights are cancelled until such time as Soviet craft are outfitted with proper munitions to achieve this goal. (I'm basing this off the brief mentioning of a space weapons program in one of the earlier updates, after googling I've not found any info as to whether or not this is actually possible in the game.)

- Our top cosmonauts have all been disabled in some freak accident involving vodka, poor judgement, and a hand grenade. All current flight capable cosmonauts (anyone out of basic training) are now shitcanned. Anyone still in basic training was too busy with that to be around the grenade.

- The Soviet Union is a communist nation. No more throwing lavish funds at such unnecessary capitalist ideas like 'making sure the rocket cabin is pressurized' or 'welding shut holes that you can cover up with a bit of duct tape'. All future projects are prohibited from having any money spent purely on increasing the safety rating. Anything that, primarily, increases the effectiveness of the technology in ways that make it more capable, but may also have the secondary effect of increasing the safety factor, are begrudgingly tolerated.

- NIGHTMARE MODE: All of the above.

I'm running the game on medium difficulty, so I can crank it up to hard if you guys want it to. But it will probably cost us the space race.


There's not actually any weaponry in game, it's just a neutral card drawn from the news report deck. Better than having some of the nasty cards unlocked on hard mode, though.

That can be done, but it'd require just over a year in game to get anyone flight capable again.

Sort of possible. You have to throw funds at the researchers to improve safety. That's all the money thrown at research does. Not putting money into research renders the game uncompletable, since the lunar landings have just under 30 steps during the launch, each of them a roll. Our longest missions have been seven or so rolls, and we've been pretty lucky.

I'll turn the game up to hard mode if it can be done midgame. If not, we'll just proceed as usual.

Update coming in a bit, but in a separate post.

Turns out you can't adjust the difficulty in game :S
-------

I have returned to the space agency. But the first thing I was greeted with upon my arrival was the mission commander telling me that the flight calculations have been incorrect this entire time. But unfortunately, the "difficulty" of our launches can not be altered. Another advisor came to me talking about the possibility of mounting weapons on our Soviet craft, not putting funds into researching our space craft and, for some strange reason, giving a grenade to Cosmonaut Gagarin.

Also, due to the news report shenanigans, Nolyubov has been found to be a political dissident and has been removed from the space program.

The engineers in R&D have improved the N1 rocket to almost the limit of it's potential.



The N1 has enough lifting might to take the Soyuz capsule and a lander directly to Luna, but we do not have the experience in docking to be able to confidently rejoin the craft after the descent of the crew. Since our cosmonauts are still in advanced training, we must do a number of unmanned missions while they are unavailable. The Luna probe has been improved to acceptable standards to allow it to reach the destination.



I go to mission control, and start to draw up an unmanned orbital docking, a test of the docking module and of the Soyuz itself. The Soyuz, after another investment of 20MBs, has a safety of 74%. Not the best, but it'll do.



I have a hunch about the reason why the Americans have been failing so many launches. They must be trying to hurry to beat our space program, and it's costing them dearly. The mission commanders have also told me about a mission we might be able to do in the future.



They say we would be able to put a sort of "space station" in orbit of the planet and conduct scientific experiments with a trained crew. But that's something for after our docking test, yes?

So I schedule a lunar probe landing, maybe using one of our older Proton rockets.



And a lunar flyby using a Cosmos probe. We will have a busy season next turn! Speaking of turns, I end this one.

And so begins the news.



It appears cosmonauts are dropping like flies. Also, after analyzing previous files, it appears Popov is meant to be part of our space agency, since it was Popovovich ( I think that was his name? ) who retired. So I allocate him to advanced capsule training.

With the news out of the way, I get our hardware assembled. First up is the huge N1 rocket. It'll be the biggest thing launched by mankind so far. This will be the first mission with the new Soyuz capsule, so we'll see how it goes.



One of our old Proton rockets are pulled out of the storage warehouse and loaded with the new Luna probe. With a little luck, we'll land it on target.



The Cosmos III is assembled and loaded into a second Proton rocket.



The N1 rocket is taken outside to it's launchpad.



And our launch schedule is fully booked.



All systems are go for launch. I end the turn.

Launch A is first with the Soyuz capsule.



That was...confusing.



How in the world?



Alright then....On to launch B.



Damn it! The Luna probe malfunctioned during the orbital insertion, it never even got close to the moon!

Alright, Cosmos, don't let me down now.



Hahaha! The trusty Cosmos probe succeeded! We'll be getting photographs of the dark side of Luna in moments!

But for now, the news.



And, at the telemetry station, we have received a few photos.



However, we must try again!

This time, a JT, or Joint unmanned docking attempt.



This will mean Pad A and Pad B are both going to be in use for the joint launch. Pad C will attempt a Jupiter flyby.



Now, just for clarification, each letter box on there is a step on the launch.

This is what the historical lunar landing will be like.



At best, we would make it up to step F, which is where the docking must take place. That is the hard part.

The KGB report that the Americans are creating a landing module.



It looks weak and feeble, and won't even get close to Luna. I invest 15MBs this time into Soyuz for a nine percent improvement. This almost maxes the success chance for the Soyuz. I also invest 18MBs into the N1 rocket, improving the success chance to 96%.

I end the turn after I stop laughing.



The news! Unfortunately, this is a neutral event card, so I don't think we can do anything with it. But, our astronauts have graduated advanced training! Gagarin and Bykovsky are removed from the Vostok Program and reassigned to Soyuz, along with all the other cosmonauts. Komarov, Solovyova and Gagarin are formed together into the first Soyuz flight crew. Komarov is the pilot, Solovyova is the landing and EVA specialist while Gagarin manages the docking. Dzhanibekov, Lyakhov and Sokolova are teamed together in the second flight crew while Bykovsky, Aksyonov and Shatalov all make the third flight team. Unfortunately, Leonov is the spare candidate.



And I also start our lunar lander program.



It's not much to look at so far, but, given time and some research, it'll be enough to put a man on another world. At a price of 10 MBs, I have the safety improved by 17%.

Meanwhile, I start the hardware assembly for our JT orbital docking attempt. The smaller Proton rocket will dock with the bigger N1 rocket carrying the Soyuz capsule.





Both are wheeled out to the launchpads. Another Proton rocket is loaded with the Cosmos probe destined to go to Jupiter.

The mission schedule is filled in, ready.



We are go for launch. I end the turn.



Damn. This time, the Soyuz capsule itself let us down. The other launch is automatically scrubbed, since there is no destination for it to go to.

So let's see what happens to Cosmos IV.



It looks like another success so far, but we must wait seven turns to find out if it was a successful mission.

Now, for the news.



I believe the tracking ship improves success chances across the board, but I ain't sure. I update our time capsule, ready for my next season at work.

Will there be a successful Soyuz launch? Will the eager cosmonauts be onboard it? How will Gagarin deal with the retirement of his best friend Bykovsky? Find out next time on Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space!

The Yankees don't stand a chance!

After a short break, we're back!

Now let's get on with this.

I invest 5MBs in the Soyuz program. For a 1% safety increase.

Damn Soyuz.

But anyway, we best do a mission with the damn thing. If we put a full three man capsule in orbit, even if only for a short while, well, we can expect to get a ton of prestige.



And to stop morale loss with my Soyuz teams, we'll be doing two of them. I formed the scraps of the space agency together into a team. The primary Soyuz team's command pilot is retiring, so they won't be going up. Launchpad C will be doing an unmanned lunar landing, so we can get more data about the landing site.

I also improve our kicker boosters. I ain't too sure what they are for, though.



And, while in the research screen, I invest 10 MBs into the LKM lander.



With missions scheduled and RnD done, I end the turn.



That was...unexpected. The Americans beat us to a two manned capsule, docking and orbital duration level B. Well...well, the gloves are coming off.

Duration level D will be performed in our launch, and remember, we have three manned capsules. We might not be able to do the docking just yet, but you don't need docking if you do...DIRECT ASCENT LUNAR LANDING!

And now for the news.



I use most of our budget to buy the monstrous UR-700 rocket for the direct ascent. This is the biggest rocket you can get in game. The only way to get bigger, I think, is with boosters. But this let's us dodge the entire docking section, allowing us to launch much earlier.



I also use the budget to buy the huge LK-700, which goes with the UR-700. This is lander and capsule in one.



It's also four man.



I start the hardware assembly for the now obsolete Soyuz capsules.



And the Luna probe.



The mission schedule is fully booked and we have green lights across the board.



We are go for launch.

Launch A is now commencing. With some luck, our cosmonauts will do us proud.

....

The game crashed.

So we're at the beginning of the turn again.

And that kind of prematurely ends this update, since nothing annoys me more than game crashes.

Alright, so I kinda lost momentum there following the game crash. But after a brief brainwashing session with the KGB, well, I am eager to continue our heroic space program.

So let's continue.

It turns out that the game made an autosave on the turn of the game crash, so we've got a shot to repeat the missions. I'm not gonna bother with the direct ascent lunar landing, I am thinking that may have been the reason for the game crash.







All hardware is assembled and the launch schedule is booked.



I have the engineers do few last minute adjustments to the Soyuz to increase reliability.



And I end the turn.

Launch A is wheeled out onto the pad.



And the game didn't crash.



We succeeded, but only slightly. We didn't get to perform the full duration of the crew's voyage, but they returned fine with a standard duration orbital. But, we have a second crew ready to launch with an exact same mission. We will watch them perform the entire mission, hopefully.



And another failure on the duration. Hmm. I'm not sure what could be causing a failure in that section.



But we put the first woman into space anyway. But the duration failures are a problem indeed. But anyway, we have another launch, this one a lunar probe landing to get us more information about the dark side of the moon.



Well, that was unfortunate and costly to our prestige.



And now, for the news!



The funding cut is unfortunate, but acceptable.



This, comrades, is our beautiful launch center. The birthplace of a new era in equality for all. Baikonur may be an inhospitable land, but once we have put men on Luna, well, I am sure that the nations of the West will see their error and join with us in peace. We might get a better launch center, too.

But for now, we have a race to win. We haven't recieved the next set of funding since it's still Autumn, we'll receive it in the summer of the next year. So let's plan a few missions, shall we?



A flyby of Saturn is good for prestige while still being fairly cheap.



Meanwhile, our mission planners have came up with an alternate landing plan. This, comrades, is the plan we will go with. It's too risky to try and do right now, not without doing a manned lunar pass first.

I schedule another attempt at an orbital EVA duration mission. With a little luck, we'll be able to pull it off this time.



Also, our second flight crew will attempting a manned orbital docking mission. This should finalize our docking port designs, aswell as make it theoretically possible to construct a space base, or as my engineers like to call it, space station.

On a different topic, our museum of space history has recorded the launch of the missions and the badges they used.



Also, in the past, one of our cosmonauts, Rafikov, was killed in a training accident if you remember. Well, here is the memorial wall.



I look upon that name plate, and remember my failures. May another name never be placed onto that wall. After visiting poor Rafikov, I end the turn.



That is a heavy blow to our space program, since we will be forced to perform a duration E mission before going to the moon. Thankfully, the Soyuz capsule is rated for duration F missions, so we should be capable of performing the mission. But, this reminds me that the manned duration mission scheduled isn't set for that duration, so I scrub the launch.

And instead, schedule a maximum duration Soyuz mission captained by Gagarin himself for the Autumn this year.



The hardware assembly begins.



The Cosmos probe destined for Saturn is in a good condition indeed. For some reason, however, the manned orbital docking mission has vanished? This is mystery. The manager of the mission at the mission control bunker has also disappeared.

But anyway, I fill in the schedule for the Saturn mission.



And now, we shall launch!



That...was an unexpected surprise. The Americans are starting to catch up in the space race. This can not be allowed. Those dogs will never land on the moon!

Now, let us show them the power of Soviet technological supremacy!



And now, for the news!



I will need to recruit more cosmonauts, since we have lost many over the past few years. But for now, this is the end of this episode of BARIS.

Will the chief designer find more cosmonauts? Will Gagarin fly one more time? Will the Cosmos probe arrive at Saturn? Find out next time on Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space!

Silly Yankees, they can't beat the might of the Soviet Union!

Come on comrade! Heres a Song to boost your Morale!

I like this one more.



Or maybe this one.



I like both equally well. I think the CENSORED BY THE KGB. GO ABOUT YOUR LIFE CITIZEN.

AH, Polyushko Polye, is one of my favorite Songs. But what did you expect from me Russian? CENSORED BY THE GOVERNMENT.?

Now is the time, comrades, for an update of our progress!

The first thing I do is recruit a ton of new cosmonauts. We need a lot of them to replace the current drop outs. I also find a very, very good cosmonaut in that batch.



Mr Klimuk is a gifted pilot, to say the least. He'll make an excellent mission commander, assuming he makes it through the challenges of basic training. Unfortunately, due to cosmonaut retirements, the mission we had scheduled for this turn is scrubbed. Keeping the morale of the cosmonauts up is extremely difficult, to say the least!

But I reschedule the mission anyway. Flight Team II will be on board.



Meanwhile, pad 2 will also be doing a mission.



An unmanned lunar pass using a Soyuz capsule. This mission is essential for future manned lunar passes.

For the third, and final mission plan, well, I schedule a special mission indeed.



If you go through my logs, you'll notice that docking missions have a habit of failing. It is time to have one succeed.

With the missions scheduled, I head to R&D to have some improvements to our lunar lander, the LKM. I invest 10MBs for a 15% increase. Good! I also have both kicker boosters finalized, 10MBs in total spent on them, and they are now as safe as they can get.

I also check in with the Premier.



He is...displeased with progress so far. We must accelerate our progress. I also check in with the KGB, and they have found something quite alarming.



I end the turn.



For ♥♥♥♥ sake. Both our manned missions are scrubbed due to the damn cosmonauts retiring. We are on the verge of defeat and my cosmonauts are retiring!



I have the hardware for our unmanned mission assembled. At least machinery can not retire. I go to the mission planner, and schedule a rather hard mission for my last three cosmonauts.



They can come home in a bag for all I care.

Meanwhile, my REAL cosmonauts are going to be landing on the surface of Luna.



I schedule two lunar probe landings. Atleast then we can get some progress done.

The hardware for our launch is on the pad.



With the launch schedule booked, I end the turn.

And so the launch begins.



Okay, what the ♥♥♥♥?



It just took off? How the ♥♥♥♥ was it at stage six?

Whatever.

News time.



And it gets worse. Gagarin is retiring. But guess what?

The manned mission we made is SCRUBBED AGAIN! Actually, you know what? Screw it. I've uploaded the save in a zip file. I pretty much give up at this point. I'll probably continue it eventually, but hey, it's unlikely. If anyone else wants to pick this up, they can. I'm tired of the bugs and the damn cosmonaut morale and the damn Kremlin happiness. I'm tired of how often the damn cosmonauts retire, and I am tired of the missions failing when they seem to be getting somewhere. What's the point anymore? There's barely anyone reading this thing anyway, so yeah, not worth it anymore.

So guys, it is 12th of April. Otherwise known as the International Day of Human Space Flight. I don't like leaving loose ends, so we are going to Luna this update, or our cosmonauts will die trying.

We don't have much recon information, so the landing will be very, very hard.



With only sixty percent, we have very little chance of success, but if we fail, we fail, and the space race will be effectively over for us. We've got a lot of cosmonauts in basic training.



These men and women will be going to the moon. I purchase the hardware we'll be needing. Soyuz, N-1 rocket and capsule.

[img][img]http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/3810/bandicam201304121628578.jpg[/img][/img]





Final improvements are made on the safety of the LKM capsule. We go from sixty percent to seventy six percent. And now, we wait. We must wait for the cosmonauts in basic training to leave said training.

Fortunately, we have two missions in the VAB for assembly, both lunar probe landings.



They are identical, so I won't post two images. I book the launch schedule.



And wait for the launch. These probes are essential for our lunar landing, since they will give us the information we need to successfully land on Luna. With a little luck, we'll succeed.


Well that went badly, but we still have a second probe. We'll be crippled for our landing with only one, but still, better than none.



Well, looks like our crew will be landing without photographs of the lunar surface. That makes them all the braver. With our launches out of the way, it is time for news.


Or not.

Well, game over, chaps. Those two failed probes cost us the game. We had a pretty good run, I'd say, but I think the game was definitely intended to be played from the American side. Ah well. And so ends the lets play of Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space. This game is pretty hard, to say the least :p

Will the chief designer of the USSR redeem himself in Siberia? Will the Americans eventually land on Mars? Will a nuclear war result because of the Soviet military coup? Find out next time on Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space!

Unfortunately, there won't be a next time. But good news, everybody!

The game is getting a sequel. It's called Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Manager. It is the true successor to BARIS, and I've got high hopes that BASPM will be a good sequel. It is definitely in the same vein, I can tell you now! Here are a few screenshots of the sequel.



Unlike BARIS, the end goal of BASPM is to land on Mars, rather than the Moon. The lunar landing is a stepping point with a lot of prestige, I imagine. It is still in development for now, but hopefully it will be out later this year. With a little luck, I'll be able to do a LP of that as well.