"NASA, the U.S. space agency, is getting ready to launch its own exploration into virtual space. NASA's Learning Technologies arm has issued an intramural call for proposal ideas for the development of a massively multiplayer online game that is intended to be the front-end of a larger synthetic environment. The program is funded to the tune of $1 million a year for fiscal years 2007, 2008 and 2009."

http://www.3pointd.com/20070320/nasa-earmarks-3m-to-develop-mmo-and-more/

Awesome!

Here's hoping it's a prequel to EVE

So are John Glenn and Neil Armstrong going to be like lvl 99 NPC astronauts or something?

People over at the [URL="www.orbitersim.com"]Orbiter Forums[/URL] have been talking about a MMO for quite some time. The idea of a heavily realistic non-combat MMO for spaceflight does seem really cool, at least to me.

I think it would be a great educational tool (to an extent). If I was a little kid, I would be excited over something like this, to fuel my now-shattered dreams of going to space.

I'm tempted to make a SF_Gold_01 MMORPG comment.

The problem with that is, NASA is real, and not a poor mexican kid who's also a ninja.

Well, if this goes online, I want to be the first to grab the name of "Major Tom."

Armstrong: That's one small step for man, one giant leep
Leeroy: LEEEEEEROOOOY JENKINS!
John Glenn: God dammit Leeroy.
Leeroy: At least I have chicken.

I lol'd

I can see the Leeroy Jenkins moment happening at a shuttle launch..


10... 9.... 8... 7...

Hey guys! Sorry I'm late ready lets go! LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEROOOOOOOOOOOOOYY! JEEEEEEENNNNKINNNNNS! *blasts off*

No, Leeroy! We were only on 7!

Isn't it supposed to be "At least I'm not chicken"?

very exciting... Hopefully it's awesome.

Is it too much to hope that they'd make it free to play (*coughAmerica'sArmycough*)?

Yes... But thinking of him saying, "At least I've got chicken" made me laugh even harder.

It's "at least I have chicken."

Just watched it again, and this picture supports it (and is awesome).

Why would you say "at least I have chicken" after you did something that requires a ton of balls? You would say "at least I'm not chicken." That's even what it sounds like in the video, although I admit the word sounds a little muffled and may be up to personal interpretation.

The original creator says he has chicken because the guy supposedly went and got chicken, came back, and ran in. It's not even a real video, it's a commentary on overly-planned clans.

No, if your character was dead, but you were eating chicken at the time, you would say "oh well, at least I have chicken." You see, chicken is ****ing awesome, and it is impossible to feel bad while eating it. The more I talk about it, the sadder I become, for I am without chicken.

Watch it again. It's definitely "I have", not "I'm not".

On topic: It's Pluto or bust for me. Greatest planet in the system.

Only when it's over New Mexico.

Fixèd

pluto definitely hasn't been a planet for at least 2 months

lawl

NASA Executive #1: Ya know, taxes isn't quite enough to fund our operations. We need to find a new source that would be very profitable.

NASA Executive #2: How about the MMO market?

NASA Executive #1: The what?

NASA Executive #2: Massive Multiplayer Online. That market makes millions of dollars! Just look at the numbers WoW has made! They have over 8.5 million players!

NASA Executive #1: Oh wow, that is quite a bit for a video game but aren't MMOs nothing more than a bunch of nerds glued to their computer doing trivial and repetitive tasks for some lazy *** NPCs for hours and hours on end with the only meaningful incentive to keep going it is progress their avatars as far as possible? Not only that, don't we need to have the players slaughter mindless amounts of mobs in order to give them something to do?

NASA Executive #2: True, but we can convince them into thinking that they're helping for the better of all mankind by aiding NASA's mission to explore the final frontier. We can say that our MMO is “the front-end of a larger synthetic environment." and "that as an educational project with the primary goal of engaging young people in NASA’s mission".

NASA Executive #1: Ok, I'll buy it. Here's a million dollars. I expect that to be ten times as much once the game launchs.

NASA Executive #2: Great, I'm on it!

<3


You know, I'm wondering why Russia hasn't planned an MMORPG yet.

everyone knows their space program is years behind ours.

Because a communist MMO would be boring; it would just be one person telling everyone else what to do, and if they don't do it, they get kicked out of the game.

Sounds like the majority of Blockland servers I tried.

Pssh, blockland doesn't count as an MMO. Plus the massassi servers aren't like that.

Speaking of which, someone should set up a massassi blockland server. <.<

See Glyde's picture. You better watch yourself, or I will ride that planet right into your house. SMOCK's too. I'm sure I could find some way to hit both, assuming you both don't already live near each other.

*Hatches a plan to defeat Pluto, part of which involves carving a giant two headed eagle into the moon*