NASA unveils Moon Strategy

Big story from NASA today:

• http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061205/ap_on_sc/nasa_moon
• http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20061204/sc_space/nasaunveilsstrategyforreturntothemoon

NASA has unveiled plans for returning to the Moon! The mission plan is to start in 2020 with a four person crew, and grow from there. The main outpost will be a Lunar base, probably close to the south pole where there are many mining opportunities.

Do we want to incorporate this into the game? What dates are we thinking of for this occuring? 2015? 2020? 2030? 2040?

Radiotelescope on the moon by 2018

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2480764,00.html

A few scenarios for the game might revolve around taking care of the NASA Lunar telescope... possibly building or upgrading parts of it, repairing micro-meteorite holes, or general care and feeding.

This might play well into the concept of the character being a "contractor" or employee of a corporation that is on the moon for a company making proftis. This company might be on consignment for repairs and other space tasks by the Earth-bound governments. This might make for a really good/competitive story of having different corporations all fighting for the bonus money of the first to complete certain lunar missions.

Any thoughts?

How to make 3D objects

Note: I've almost got Tribes-style jetpacks working within the game, and am currently tweaking them to feel more realistic on the moon!

If you're interested in creating 3D models and content, here are some good guides:
The best book to give an exact description of how to export objects to the Torque DTS format is "3D Game Programming All In One" by Kenneth Finney. It also highlights many of the other processes I'm using in building the game.
I use LightWave 3D to build objects (but it's not free). Another great tool is Milkshape 3D (which is free). There is an entire series of tutorials at:
http://www.garagegames.com/docs/tge/ (under Tutorials -> Milkshape). I also use QuArk for creating buildings with interiors (.DIF files).

Specific tutorials to look at:
http://www.psionic.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/tutorials/lowpoly/mbasics.html
http://www.iinit.com/tutorial.cfm?category=2&source=2&tutorial=5
http://www.editingarchive.com/downloads/644

The Moon is geologically active

Apparently, the Moon is still alive with "moon burps' of volcanic gas, especially within the area of the Ina Structure (shown in the picture to the right), and explained here and here.

I'm thinking this might be a new exciting premise of the game - build a base near here due to the increased access to precious metals and a volcanic power source. This could add an extra element of danger, but also add some very visually compelling areas of the game.