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Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space

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Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space (BARIS) is a space simulation and strategy game for the PC, designed by Fritz Bronner and published by Interplay in 1992. The game is a computer adaptation of an earlier board game called "Liftoff!", also designed by Bronner. The player takes on the role of head of the space program for either the USA (NASA) or the USSR, dictating the path it takes in the race to land on the Moon, such as training and screening astronauts, designing hardware, and plotting routes and missions.

Some of the statistics (cost, weight, etc.) for space hardware have been adjusted to improve game balance, and many aspects of the game are generous simplifications. Still, BARIS includes most of the approaches to the Moon that were seriously considered: Apollo/Soyuz, Gemini, direct ascent (though the direct ascent capsules are different from the historical proposals)--plus a few others: (Voskhod, and reusable minishuttles). The player is able to watch movies of his/her missions, from liftoff to splashdown. The ability to watch your missions fly is one of the draws that the game offers, and helps the player get a feel of being "in the game".

Although some of the details have been changed for gameplay, as mentioned above, BARIS still retains a high educational value, and could be useful for studying the historical Space Race. Certainly a playing it a few times would give you a feel for the hardware used and the process involved to get from launching a satellite to landing a lunar module.

Though BARIS was written for MS-DOS, it can run successfully in a variety of modern operating systems by using DOSBox The CD version typically needs to have the CD physically in the drive in order for mission movies to display correctly, due to the archaic method the game uses to play mission movies from the CD.

Additionally, the original code has been modernized and ported to run natively under Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X by the RaceIntoSpace project, with the approval and assistance of those involved in the game so many years ago. A number of fixes are expected to be applied, though the game mechanics will remain unchanged for the time being.

Choosing Sides

BARIS is a game for one or two players. You select either the US or the USSR and try to beat your opponent to the Moon. If you select the Basic Model, there are no differences in hardware costs or R&D statistics; if you select the Historic Model, there will be some subtle but important differences between the two sides.

Soviet hardware tends to be less costly, but also less reliable, which should roughly even out. However, the US generally has a higher budget, which gives it a net advantage. The US has the best vehicle options: all of its ways to go to the Moon (except Gemini in the floppy version) are solid and doable. Soviet options are more limited. Astronauts are also better capsule pilots than cosmonauts, on average, which effectively makes US capsules and shuttles even more reliable. Two Soviet advantages are rocketry and docking. Soviet docking modules are (proportionately) much cheaper, and can be made slightly more reliable, than American ones. More importantly, Soviets have the upper hand in rockets, especially in the middle part of the game: they can use their early (and cheap) rocket to launch more missions, which gives them a leg up in getting their multiple-person programs running, and in performing those critical docking tests. Overall, the US has an advantage--and, combined with English-speakers' greater familiarity with American names, it's easier for beginners to start by playing the US.

Versions

Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space was re-released on CD-ROM in 1993; this version totaled 500 megabytes, much of that consisting of mission movies, including archival footage from the space program. It also made the game a bit less difficult, especially for the American player. Lastly, it added two new multiplayer modes: Modem and Play-by-Email. (Note: The game doesn't seem able to use the modem in Windows, even when running in DOSBox.) Following is the version history of the game:

Version History 

Version 1.00 -- Original release of the floppy version
Version 1.00a - Added UNDO button to Hardware Purchase screen, fixed some bugs
Version 1.00b - Fixed some more bugs, made the game a little smaller on the hard drive
Version 1.01 -- Fixed more bugs, and also made the game less difficult
Version 1.1 --- CD-ROM Version

In keeping with the game's educational potential, Interplay also released a "School Edition" in 1995, which let you fly the first four missions.

Ways to Get to the Moon

It wasn't always about Apollo vs. Soyuz. During the Space Race, a number of ideas were floated, some of which were seriously proposed, for a trip to the Moon. Many of these, some in modified form, are represented in the game. Basically, there are four main ways to do it.

Direct Ascent

A huge capsule sits atop an enormous rocket. The whole capsule flies straight to the Moon and back, dropping parts (e.g., landing gear) along the way. This was the design initially favored by both sides. In fact, Apollo was originally designed to be a direct ascent capsule! In BARIS, the direct-ascent Apollo capsule was renamed Jupiter for sake of clarity. The Soviets had several different conceptions for direct ascent (e.g. ); however, the Kvartet capsule is entirely made up. Also, the historical direct ascent capsules were to hold two or three 'nauts; the number was increased to four for game-balance purposes.

Minishuttle

These are a little far-fetched, but fun to have in the game. The US planned to build a spaceplane called the X-20 Dyna-Soar, which would have been a one-man military craft with a small cargo bay It never got past the mockup stage, but the idea in BARIS is that it spawned a successor, an improved three-person craft that was lunar-capable. Meanwhile, the Soviets prototyped a minishuttle, the MiG-105 Spiral, nicknamed "Lapot" (wooden shoe) It was developed halfheartedly for many years and was finally discontinued in favor of Buran to compete with the Space Shuttle. Minishuttles are probably the toughest way to get to the Moon.

3-Man Capsule

Apollo/Soyuz is the most obvious path available, since Apollo accomplished the mission and the Soviets were going to do the job with Soyuz This option makes it possible to closely recreate what the US did or what the USSR planned to do.

  • Soyuz also has a unique way to land. You can use lunar landers, of course, but another way to do it is to use the "C-Kicker", a massive contraption that lands the entire Soyuz capsule on the Moon. It's sort of a direct ascent approach that's built in lunar orbit, based on an early proposal termed "L3-1963" , which would have resembled von Braun's proposal for an American Earth-Orbital Rendezvous mission

2-Man Capsule

There were serious proposals to send a Gemini capsule to the Moon, probably with a minimal, open-canopied lander (which is mentioned in one of the news reports) Gemini probably could have done the job competently, though it wouldn't have been easy on the astronauts (the capsule was very crowded, and there was no airlock; they had to decompress the cabin and open a door directly to space). Voskhod was never an option for a Moon landing, or even a lunar pass: it lacked a docking capability and its heat shield wouldn't have withstood reentry on the return. The capsule was altered for BARIS to balance the game and give a true equivalent to Gemini.

R&D Model

Each piece of hardware can be researched up to its Max R&D and no further. After that, each time it's used successfully on a mission (manned or unmanned), its reliability increases by 1%, until it reaches its Max Safety. Flying dummy missions with your capsules can help make them safer to risk your 'nauts' lives on, but that incurs a significant cost in time and money, both of which are in short supply in this game. Using unmanned docking missions to double as dummy capsule flights can be a useful approach if the timing is right. If a component fails during a manned mission and lives are lost, its reliability tends to fall to about half what it was before. This requires you to R&D the item again, usually for several turns, and may require you to downgrade or scrub some missions. Even then, however, you can only research back to Max R&D, and have to fly missions again to make your hardware decently reliable.

Gameplay

Each year is divided into two turns, Fall and Spring. That means your annual budget has to last you for two turns, so it's important not to accidentally blow it all in the Spring. Your budget will be affected by your program's Prestige, which is dependent on its successes and failures, especially those from the prior year. The most potent successes are prestige firsts, where you do something before your opponent: first orbital satellite, first manned spaceflight, first manned orbital, etc. If your opponent beats you to a given first, you will still get some points for prestige seconds, i.e. being the second country to accomplish the goal. Repeat missions generally earn you a few points as well--even successive orbital satellite missions will net you a point apiece.

Clearly the thing that can most severely damage your prestige is to lose 'nauts on a mission. Called a critical failure, this sort of thing will usually cost you 10 prestige points, shake your astro/cosmonauts' confidence in the program, and probably worst of all, can set that program back for many turns. Close calls and noncritical failures can also cost you some prestige points and the other things, but typically not as much as do critical failures.

At the start of your turn, you see a news report by Carter Walcrite, if you're the Americans, or Svetlana Izvestia, if you're the Soviets ("izvestia" is Russian for "news"). The newscast gives one random event that may or may not affect your space effort: you may not be able to buy rockets for a year, your budget may be increased due to heightened public support, etc. There will also be a historical news item from the time which does not affect your program (e.g., the assassination of Kennedy, or the winner of a major sports competition). In addition, you will often see news concerning your 'nauts: when they graduate from Basic Training, when they drop out or announce their retirement, etc.

After the newscast you're brought to an overhead view of your space center, Cape Canaveral ("The Cape") or Baikonour Cosmodrome. From here you manage your space program. One of your most frequent stops will be the R&D building, where you research hardware for your space missions. To some people's disappointment, but probably to most beginners' relief, you don't get into the details of designing your hardware; instead, you choose from a very simplified list of prepackaged items. For instance you can develop the Mercury capsule, but you cannot modify it.

Apart from the R&D building, the overhead view takes you to places where you plan missions, assemble missions, recruit 'nauts, assign them to capsule/shuttle programs, view your job performance, check on the intel you have on what your opponent is doing, etc.

You'll generally devote your first few turns to researching and launching a rocket and satellite, hoping to beat your opponent to that prestige first. Then you move on to the one-man capsule and recruiting astro/cosmonauts. After that, you need to give some serious thought to which of the four methods you want to take to the Moon, and plan accordingly. In the meantime you need to fit your unmanned program in there somewhere. Lunar flybys and probe landings give you needed surveillance of the lunar surface, and boost your prestige. Planetary flybys will also give you prestige points. If you suffer a catastrophic failure in your manned program and you're in a position to launch an aggressive series of probes, your unmanned program can give you some much-needed prestige at a difficult time.

While it is technically possible to research a capsule and lander and plan an immediate Moon shot, if you try that you'll notice a red warning sign with a double-digit number in the mission planning screen. That's a clear sign that you need to stop and reconsider. BARIS has a system that discourages skipping too far ahead. Each prestige first is also a mission milestone which it's helpful to accomplish before moving beyond it. For instance, if you decide to skip the orbital satellite and go straight to a manned suborbital, you'll be penalized 3% on that mission. If you skip straight to a manned orbital, you'll be penalized 6%, and so on. Each mission is composed of a number of steps, typically around 10 for an Earth-orbital and around 15 for a lunar mission. Each step rolls against the reliability of the associated hardware: rocket, docking module, EVA suit, etc., but most often the capsule. Mission-milestone penalties affect you on EVERY roll on the mission, and can be a real killer for the foolhardy.

Capsules and shuttles are by far the most crucial here. They typically have more steps in a given mission than all the other components combined. Further, Capsule mishaps (such as reentry) often turn deadly, and capsules/shuttles are very difficult to get back up to speed, so their failures have the biggest impact on you. This is especially important on lunar missions, which have about double the number of Capsule stages per mission (around 10 vs. about 5).

When you assign 'nauts to programs, you assign them to specific crews in that program. Ideally you'll want to team up people that get along, since they'll drop out sooner if they're paired with individuals they don't like. Assigning crews is one of the real challenges in the game, especially if you're flying a three- or four-person vehicle.

Astro/cosmonauts will drop out of your program sooner or later, and you'll have to recruit a new batch. It's important to keep an eye on their morale so you're not caught without crews at a time when you're ready to launch manned missions. You can keep your 'nauts happier by assigning them to your main program, pairing them with those they get along with, sending them into space, and not getting them killed.

There will also be a set of buildings for Advanced Training. Once your 'nauts have graduated from Basic Training, you have the option to send them to one or another form of Advanced Training, where they will improve in one of their skills. This is generally a waste of time and money: mainly, it makes them unavailable for two years (four turns), and even at that they will drop out sooner or later anyway. Even the BARIS Companion says that Advanced Training isn't worth it for anything but Capsule skill.

Scheduling Missions

When it's time to fly your hardware, you'll need to schedule a mission. Once the mission is scheduled, it takes a turn to prepare for launch; this means some advance planning is needed. For instance, it's often a good idea to schedule a mission when you estimate you're one turn from completing R&D on an item. The following turn, you assemble it, sometimes making changes to the hardware that will be used; for instance, you might tell it to launch your Gemini mission on a boosted Atlas rather than a Titan. Then you set a launch date. You can sometimes downgrade a mission; for instance you might decide to change your Orbital EVA mission to a simple Orbital because your EVA suits aren't fully researched. You can also choose to hurry the launch by a few months if you think your opponent is about to beat you to a prestige first--at a cost of money and safety. Then at the end of the Soviet turn (the US always goes first), the launches will all take place, with whatever outcomes.

Historical Inaccuracies

Any historical sim is going to have a certain amount of simplification and historical inaccuracy, and BARIS works very hard to be true to history, but to make the game work well (and be fun), certain compromises were made.

The way the game works is based on the US space program; much of how the Soviets did things is shoehorned into that model for the sake of simplicity and gameplay. For instance, the Soviets didn't have a central space agency; they had two or three bureaus that designed and produced hardware that was then approved or rejected by military and political circles. That would be very complex to simulate, so instead they took the most important of the three bureaus, which had the most influential leader (Korolyov), and presented it as a NASA equivalent.

Infighting between the Soviet bureaus, and the duplication of effort it entailed, was one reason they were hampered in getting to the Moon. Another was that the USSR didn't spend nearly as much on the project as the Americans (an estimated $5-10 billion, versus $23 billion). They also got off to a late start: it took them two years to figure out that Kennedy's Moon speech was the start of an earnest project and not just a propaganda device. These differences would make the game awfully lopsided, so they were basically ignored.

It should be mentioned that even the Americans had somewhat more going on than just NASA; different branches of the military started some efforts toward a space program early in the Space Race--in fact, Explorer was US Army, though their program dried up shortly after. The Air Force's space program had some real substance to it and lasted into the 1960s. The X-20 Dyna-Soar, for instance, was USAF, not NASA. Likewise, the USAF had a parallel capsule program called Blue Gemini which would have flown astronauts on military space missions. Blue Gemini actually flew some unmanned missions; it even refurbished a used Gemini capsule from NASA and relaunched it, accomplishing the first reuse of a spacecraft in history. The Manned Orbiting Lab, or MOL, mentioned in one of the newscasts (and which you can actually fly in the game, using two capsules or shuttles) was also to be an Air Force mission.

It's already been mentioned that the Voskhod was modified to make it a true equivalent to Gemini, that the minishuttles are substantially modified from their historical precedents, and that the direct-ascent capsules are almost entirely made up. Also the Cricket and Duet lunar modules are inventions of the BARIS development team, since they needed one- and two-person equivalents of the Eagle and L-3 lunar modules. The open-topped one-man lander from the Lunar Gemini proposals didn't work well in gameplay testing, so it wasn't included.

Another area where Soviet practices were made to conform to American ones concerns crewing the capsules. The US way was very simple: 1 man on Mercury, 2 on Gemini, 3 on Apollo. The Soviets didn't always do things that way. One of the two Voskhod flights had three cosmonauts (stuffed into the capsule without space suits so they could grab the three-person prestige first), and many of the Soyuz missions held only one or two cosmonauts. In fact, the reason they developed the L3 lunar module was because they planned their lunar mission to have only two cosmonauts. But again, it made things much easier and simpler to use the American plan for BARIS (although added flexibility in crew assignments could have been one of the Soviets' advantages).

A final example concerns the naming of missions: BARIS uses the American practice of using the program name and adding a number, regardless of the type of mission (e.g., Apollo III). The Soviets tended to use different names for different types of missions. For instance, the unmanned (and canine-crewed) Voskhod missions were dubbed Cosmos, and unmanned Soyuz flights were named Zond ("Probe").

Intelligence is yet another area where the situation for the United States was carried over to the USSR for the sake of simplicity and better gameplay. The Soviet space program was all secret, of course, and the Americans had to guess at what their counterparts were planning, with some help from what the CIA was able to sniff out. Fritz estimated that US intel was roughly half accurate during the Space Race, and that's how it is in BARIS--up or down 10% depending on your difficulty level. But the Soviets always knew what the Americans were up to, since NASA's doings were open to the public. KGB agents could, and did, attend launches. This could have been one of the Soviet advantages in the game (and, in fact, it is just that in one of the planned spinoffs to the game), but that's not how it was done in BARIS.

One way in which American hardware was made like the Soviet in this game is that during this time in history, the Atlas rocket could not be boosted--but in BARIS, strap-on boosters can be used with it. It's uncertain if this was done for game-balance purposes: not allowing boosted Atlases would make for a big handicap for the Americans early in the game.

Criticisms

The game was often criticized for being too difficult, with many more failures and much higher casualties than were actually experienced in the Space Race. This was partly due to some issues that were fixed in the final patch for the original (floppy) version, and partly because the reasons behind some of the game rules are difficult to fathom at first. For instance, a piece of hardware (a capsule, say) can be researched up to a particular level of reliability. Its reliability will climb 1% per use thereafter (either as a dummy or manned mission), up to a total Max Safety. If a catastrophic failure occurs, the hardware's reliability drops to, say, 50%, and you can't research back to where you left off--you can only research back to your Max R&D. Many complain about that last bit, yet without it the game balance would be thrown off completely--there would be little disadvantage to flying Gemini/Voskhod, and those would become the unquestioned #1 choice to go to the Moon.

Future of the game

There has been talk of a sequel or spinoffs from the game. An official project exists on SourceForge and has ported the game to Win32, Linux, and Mac OS X (it is currently in beta). There are several attempts in progress to write spinoffs to the game, including one named "Blast Off!" in tribute to the board game "Liftoff!". Check the BarisWiki link below for more information and the latest updates.

External links



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