The near future. Humanity settles in full solar system – flights beyond this planet have long been commonplace in space and people are working, and relaxing.
“Tacoma” – a small logistic station in orbit of the Moon. The crew, or, rather, support staff – six men and one artificial intelligence. Work in interplanetary space is not much different from the modern office routine – meetings, reports, plans for the future, Friday, marks the end of the working week …
So it was on the “Tacoma” – for the time being. For some unknown reason, the station fails (and any malfunction in orbit, although has become routine work still remains emergencies) – and from the former serenity was gone.
However, at the start of the game all over now. The main character – an employee of the corporation “Venturis” owner “Tacoma”, arrives at the station a few days after the last time the crew made contact.
Its mission – to retrieve information about the last days of work, recorded on-board AI “Tacoma” and pass it on to their tenants. It is clear that in the lunar orbit, something happened – whether an accident, or sabotage – but we are still on this is not known. Actually, the goal of the game this is the – to find out what exactly happened with the space station and its crew.
Contemplative and research activity suggests that the change has already become history will not work. The strength of the protagonist only understand what happened a few days earlier.
Help us in this local AI with a straightforward name “One” and the system will automatically save the data, working at the station. Numerous sensors and cameras do not only transmit the instruments and devices, but also allow us to record the movement and crew conversations.
Then the recording can be played – the actions of people in the form of holograms projected in the same place where they moved and interacted in the past.
This allows the main character to explore the available records to the smallest detail – a stored in any place and time, with the ability to pause and rewind. Also, if someone from the crew at some point in the recording connected to the personal communicator may read these data. And there’s a lot of useful information – chat logs, letters, articles on the web, and similar stuff.
A lot of information can be obtained from ordinary conversations, and if something is not clear, it is not a problem to rewind the recording and listen to (or view) necessary piece again. Finally, the study of things left on the station – the notes, letters (this time is quite traditional, paper-based), but even what some trinkets, too, can give food for thought, and sometimes is a source of very specific and valuable information.
Wander through the station, listen, read, solve puzzles unpretentious (usually a selection of the cipher on the locks or terminals) – that’s all that there can occupy yourself a player.
Earth through the porthole
It is clear that in this genre in the first place will be two factors: design locations and, of course, the plot, as well as its ability to correctly present. With heavenly (we’re in lunar orbit) beauty in Tacoma All is not as good as we would like. From what you see is not exactly captures the spirit – and the cause is not only a pretty average level of graphics technology.
Before us only the usual base in space with the usual crew. Neither you some designs capture the imagination nor the magnificent views of the cosmos or the moon – if you do not notice the stellar void of the windows in the rooms and the lack of gravity in the central unit, then we have a typical office some small firms.
If such an effect is routine and wanted to achieve the developers, the honor and praise them, they reached their goal. Space exploration is not perceived as a feat, but as a normal job.
On the other hand, it lacks detail, for which clings to the eyes and that makes the game world is quite different from our present reality.
The design of some simple things, like a roll of Scotch tape unusual triangular shape, or a dry official data about the main characters (passport certain California Republic, the one with the “bearish” flag – as you) create a picture of the future of the world, which begins believe.
The most important thing – it is done unobtrusively, like a good sci-fi book, where the author manages to do without the huge inquiries, explaining every detail of the work. Separately, it is worth noting it is working QR-code – a trifle, but nice.
