Gaming Go For Launch: Mercury (next gen mercury capsule sim for PC)

[Mulbin]

Just a quick post to say my personal project, Go For Launch: Mercury has just... well, launched! It's now on steam as an Early Access title. Still work in progress but plenty to look at for the enthusiast!

I'm the sole developer working on this (for the last 2 years!) so progress is slow, but steady!

Optional support for VR headsets, fully interactive cockpits, up to date graphics.

Also has a free demo, all here - http://store.steampowered.com/app/467400/Go_For_Launch_Mercury/

 

[IronRain]

Will definitely check it out this evening!

 

[Notebook]

Got an email back in June:

Hi,

If you are receiving this message you have backed the indiegogo campaign for Go For Launch: Mercury. If you have not yet tried either the demo or the closed alpha (only available to some backers) then please feel free to ignore this message, it is intended to help me tweak the game to ensure it runs correctly on everyone's system.

Thanks again for your fantastic support during development!

Joe

The releases so far look good, might even tempt me into VR land!

N.

 

[4throck]

Looks great!
Slightly "arcade" graphics regarding some details (those reflections are a bit high ), but lots of details there. Love those cockpit display lights!

 

[Mulbin]

Got an email back in June:



The releases so far look good, might even tempt me into VR land!

N.

You don't need VR to play, but I highly recomond VR for any space fan. Not just for my project but some of the other amazing content out there. Apollo VR is fun and I've heard that Eagle Lander £d is getting VR support soon.

Looks great!
Slightly "arcade" graphics regarding some details (those reflections are a bit high ), but lots of details there. Love those cockpit display lights!

I know the atlas was very highly polished in reality, although you don't see that on the pad as it was covered in frost. Trouble is I have no way of knowing how shiny it was in orbit!... not a lot of photos from up there

 

[4throck]

On general is just looks too shiny and smooth. The same goes for the capsule.
A good photo with no frost, compare with your second photo:

The reflection is strong but diffuse, not mirror like


Another thing, I turned off the interior lights and had a hard time to turn them on again.
The capsule became completely dark, despite the sun coming through the porthole.
There should be some light inside, even with the lights off.


I know these are geek details, but since we are on a simulation forum, I hope you appreciate the input !

 

[Mulbin]

On general is just looks too shiny and smooth. The same goes for the capsule.
A good photo with no frost, compare with your second photo:

The reflection is strong but diffuse, not mirror like


Another thing, I turned off the interior lights and had a hard time to turn them on again.
The capsule became completely dark, despite the sun coming through the porthole.
There should be some light inside, even with the lights off.


I know these are geek details, but since we are on a simulation forum, I hope you appreciate the input !

Great picture! It's got a lot more variation in texture that I thought, I'll look at making a specular map for the texture which will give it that slightly brushed look. The capsule is also a tricky one to get right. Some pics make it seem slightly gloss compared to the Matt finish they have now after 50 years. Not full gloss obviously but a kind of semi polish like satin paint.

If you loose your lamps in game you can hit T to use your torch ( not in the demo though).

 

[4throck]

Good luck with those textures. Really hard to get right. You can find my attempt on Orbiter Hangar
Also old photos have non linear brightness and who knows the gamma response of old film stock.
But if you google it's easy to find modern photos of Atlas on display. At least those should be more accurate.

 

[Mulbin]

Good luck with those textures. Really hard to get right. You can find my attempt on Orbiter Hangar
Also old photos have non linear brightness and who knows the gamma response of old film stock.
But if you google it's easy to find modern photos of Atlas on display. At least those should be more accurate.

I'll take a look! Is that a re-texture of Rob Conley's Mercury? (estar). Rob is great, we exchange emails now and again when I get stuck on a bit of technical data.

 

[4throck]

Yes, those re-textures should work with the popular Mercury and Gemini add-ons

 

[Mulbin]

Looks great!
Slightly "arcade" graphics regarding some details (those reflections are a bit high ), but lots of details there. Love those cockpit display lights!

I've been making a graphics pass recently based on your feedback. I've toned down the reflectiveness and also added some tone variation based on your photo of the original.

Also, below are some images of my new splash down graphics

In other news, the game has just gone into the steam sale! - http://store.steampowered.com/app/467400/Go_For_Launch_Mercury/

 

[Marg]

Looking at this - some graphics elements are ahead of Orbiter's...

 

[Messierhunter]

I've been making a graphics pass recently based on your feedback. I've toned down the reflectiveness and also added some tone variation based on your photo of the original.

Also, below are some images of my new splash down graphics

In other news, the game has just gone into the steam sale! - http://store.steampowered.com/app/467400/Go_For_Launch_Mercury/

Those look great. Has the game been updated with splashdown sequences yet? I tried Freedom 7 a couple weeks back and it still seemed to end during re-entry. I love the game, the VR experience really makes it great. My daughter enjoyed launching Freedom 7 after a day at the space center, I think it really helped as a learning tool for some the things she saw earlier that day.