Trek Simulator Project

[Adge]

Dear All,

I have been contacted by a Star Trek LCARS fan, who has been logged on to this forum as "deus" .

He has requested that I introduce him and briefly explain what his simulator project is about and I think the easiest way to understand his project, is to reproduce his email to me below:

I am putting together a project...
For a long time, I've been an LCARS fanboy (and overall ST nut). After incessantly searching for a community of devs / designers doing ST simulator / LCARS projects "the right way", I have found that the organization of such efforts is poor and uncoordinated.
My proposal...:

I am coordinating a semi-private group / think tank with a very clearly defined, common goal of creating an LCARS starship simulator. In order to be 'done right', this system would have to take into account all of the specific values, supporting technologies, factual and theoretical sciences and assumptions, and dynamic interrelationships of all of the major systems and subsystems integral to the operation and maintenance of a starship (namely those from the 24th century-on). Ultimately, the completed simulation would be a functional, ' team multiplayer', dynamic problem-solving exercise.

The people manning individual stations would each bear the responsibility of that system's usage, maintenance, monitoring, and the reporting thereof (carrying out these functions as an operator would require at least a basic knowledge of the different systems and technologies at work). By completely mapping the intricate network of systems at work in the operation of a Starfleet ship, and leaving the limitations of the usage of those systems up to the aptitude of the operator, a nearly limitless, technically challenging and ultimately gratifying simulation would become possible.

Ideally, this simulation would be carried out using a series of locally-networked, high-performance machines with true-to-form peripherals and software (touchscreen panels, LCARS UI, voice command interface). It would differ greatly from current simulation offerings in the absence of a visual third-person interface; challenges would be identified and dealt with in a largely data-based interface (i.e. power levels, diagnostics, damage assessments, subsystems performance, etc).

Eventually, although a tertiary objective, a 'main viewer' with an ultra-high resolution, first-person perspective could accurately portray the periphery of a facing camera, and any and all objects (i.e. other ships, spatial anomalies, etc.) within its scope.

I use excel as a UI/graphics designer and conceptual designer. Like-minded developers and designers are needed for brainstorming, planning, and frameworking.

I am pursuing a small handful of 'qualified' individuals in an effort to bring some life to this project; I have created a website specifically for project management, private forum discussions, etc., which is under development at: http://sites.google.com/site/treksimulator/ .

The project does not have a monetizing strategy, although I would not dismiss the possibility of something in the future. With that being said, this project is wholly a labor of love for now! I hope this piques your interest, and you feel inclined to participate in any aspect of brainstorming, design or development. I am arranging a brainstorming session online within the next week. Please let me know your availability, should you be so inclined.

Grateful if any members are interested please contact him at his site.

[deus]

Thank you, Adge :)

I am still trying to put together initial brainstorming sessions, but there is a very early discussion going on about integrating this project with a fast-growing Trek 'universe', which could really give this project life.

I encourage anyone who is interested in learning more or just offering some brainstorming ideas to email me at: treksimproject@gmail.com .

Thanks for your time.

- Deus

[Bracer]

This would be great when it come to fruition, good luck :)

[Friedebarth]

I decide to browse through old bookmarks of mine and re-discover this forum, and then as fortune has it, I find this project. This sounds so incredibly awesome that I just had to apply to join your team.

Btw, at the moment I am learning to program, especially the backend structures of program parsing interest me a lot, so I can contribute both the actual programming as well as also graphics, which I have moderate skills at.

I already have an idea if we are going to create a special environment for this program which I will tell you more about on the project's forum once I get accepted, because it's a bit too complicated to go into here ;)

Anyway, looking forward to working on it!

[deus]

To anyone wondering, this project is still alive! If you're interested in contributing to its development, check out http://sites.google.com/site/treksimulator/ .

[Flektor]

This project sounds like a great idea, could be as big as World of Warcaft perhaps.
Will there be a central hub where individuals can log on ? LAN parties would take on a whole new meaning and of course, touch screen computers would be a must. Due to the popularity of iPads and touch screen notepads, each member could bring along a piece of "set" which when set up would create a bridge scenario.

The only problem I could envisage would be getting enough people together in one place to make it work.

[deus]

@Flektor, thanks for checking the page out. It's a bit out of date, but I'm still gung-ho about making it a reality. Thus far, the biggest challenge is enrollment -- getting people involved who know coding and gaming.

The touchscreen peripherals are the ultimate iteration of such a system, definitely, but a mouse with a clean pointer icon could serve to open the game up to many more users. Plus, plenty of large, plug-n-play touchscreen monitors are available now at very reasonable costs. Ideally, a comm system (similar to TeamSpeak) could be incorporated, making communication over long distances a possibility (although I agree that LAN would be a more rich experience).

If the project framework could be set up and demonstrated to work, it seems possible to find an enthusiast willing to fund further development of the project. Though I'd rather not wait, if I have to, I'll eventually get funds to have it developed myself.

Anyone who is interested in the project can help by assisting in the search for designer/developers, taking part in brainstorming sessions and, eventually, beta testing.