Meccano Martian Mission
I first started this project during 2015, and it has taken until 2024 to finally start seeing some positive results. The first couple of public showings turned out to be false starts, and only three successful missions were recorded. The third mission at Henley was more successful with six successful landings recorded. A few electrical issues remain to be resolved, and the gear ratios need to be adjusted to make the gameplay more dynamic. I hope to complete these improvements before the models next outing, currently scheduled for Skegex 2025 (possibly sooner?)
Check out the Mission Hall of Fame for details of successful missions.
The model is based on the pioneering computer arcade game called "Lunar Lander" originally released by ATARI in 1979.
Here are a couple of links to YouTube videos showing the arcade version gameplay –
Arcade Longplay - Lunar Lander (1979) by Atari (youtube.com)
Arcade Game: Lunar Lander (1979 Atari) (youtube.com)
And here is my first recorded mission recently posted on YouTube -
Successful Mars Landing
The model is a two-dimensional flight simulator featuring a lunar landing craft descending towards a rugged mountainous terrain with various safe landing zones scattered around.
The idea is to control the crafts descent using thrust and orientation, and attempt to land safely on any chosen landing pad.
The Meccano version replicates most of the original features, including two levels of difficulty, a thrust flame, a countdown timer and a fuel gauge. Landing pads have score multipliers depending on their size and location.
The original game zooms in for a close-up view as the ship gets closer to the ground. This feature was understandably beyond the scope of the Meccano version!
A full description of the model is shown in sub-sections each covering various aspects of the model.
A video sequence is included to demonstrate the model in action, which will hopefully go some way toward understanding the written explanation …
work in progress ... more details to follow soon