ORBITER

 ORBITER is a space shuttle simulation from PC Services, Digital Illusions, and
Spectrum HoloByte. This complicated program offers space shuttle flights from
countdown to landing, Mission Control voice synthesis, celestial and man-made
objects moving in the heavens, space walks, normal and military missions, mouse
or keyboard control, and partial copy-protection. The Atari ST version, a port
of the original Macintosh program, is the basis of this review.

 For the foreseeable future, space travel will be the province of an elite
group. The closest any of us will get to it, other than a visit to Space Camp or
a live launch, is going to be ORBITER. It is one of most complex simulations
I've ever set eyes on, and although 512K won't literally put you in orbit, it's
the next best thing. ORBITER is not perfect, but it might as well be.

 The object of ORBITER is to take the shuttle from the launch pad into orbit,
successfully perform and complete the selected mission, and land in one piece at
the specified base. You might run into mechanical difficulties. Taking too much
time will cause your life-support systems to run low.

 The missions include the deployment of communications, TDRS, and reconnaissance
satellites, and the repair or retrieval of those satellites when damage or
malfunction occurs. You'll also attach modules to the space station, deploy the
Hubble Space Telescope, and retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility, an
orbiting science lab where experiments are exposed to the environment of space
for long periods. For some missions, you'll use the Remote Manipulator System,
an "arm" that grabs, moves, and positions space hardware; other missions require
space walks in the Manned Maneuvering Unit.

 The initial Atari ST screen is a view of the shuttle's Forward Main Station.
Once a mission has started, this view will disappear, to be replaced by a screen
divided into 4 quadrants: Engines, Control, and CRT panels. The 4th panel is a
much-reduced display of the Forward Main Station, from which other function
panels, such as those mentioned above and those that concern Payload, Bay, RMS
"arm," Landing, and various information displays, can be selected to appear in
any of the quadrants.

 The panels consist of labeled and numbered buttons which, when pushed in the
correct sequence, invoke either operational procedures or specific shuttle
functions. From the Control Panel, 3 different kinds of operations can be
chosen: [Ops] XX [Pro] loads a program into the shuttle's computer; [Spec] XX
[Pro] tests payloads; and [Item] XX [Exec] invokes a shuttle function, such as
opening and closing pressure vents, enabling/disabling pitch, roll, and yaw
controls, and enabling/disabling wheel steering and brakes. Either mouse
points/clicks or letter/number keystrokes will work.

 The Engine Control Panel consists of buttons that start and stop the Auxiliary
Power Units and the Main Engine. There is a throttle-power indicator, and status
readouts let you know when the engines fail. The Landing Panel, which must be
selected from the Forward Main Station display, shows rudder, flap, and elevator
settings, condition of landing gear and brake, and altitude, drop rate, and
airspeed.

 Panels not displayed on the main screen are selected from the Forward Main
Station. A mouse-click here on the Engine Control window removes its display
from the quadrant. Mouse-clicks on the Landing window and on the now-vacant
quadrant load the Landing display, from which landing operations can be
performed. This procedure works for the other panels in the same way. The Main
Station display also has an array of viewing windows; emptying one of the
quadrants, then clicking on the viewing windows gives a view of the heavens, as
well as any celestial and man-made objects that might be in the vicinity.

 There are 3 CRT panels, each of which can be configured to show certain
information: radio log, Orbiter or MMU status, Mission Control messages, payload
data, and a Map. The CRT Map is a small version of the full-screen Map that can
be selected from the Views menu: The current position of the shuttle over the
Earth is indicated by the intersection point of the Map's X-Y grid.

 Both RMS arm and Manned Maneuvering Unit must be operated according to strict
procedures, such as turning on the power, docking and undocking, moving, and
grabbing. While floating in space in the MMU, you'll be able to see the shuttle,
Earth and stars, and orbiting hardware, some of which you'll repair or return
with to the shuttle.

 ORBITER can be controlled with either mouse or keyboard. Commands can be
entered in the Control panel by way of the first letter of a function, the
numbers, and the first letter of the invocation: instead of clicking on [Ops]
101 [Pro] with the mouse, O101P can be typed at the keyboard. Both methods
worked fine.

 The ORBITER package comes with two mini-floppy disks: Disk 1, the program disk,
is copy-protected; Disk 2 is not, and using a backup is highly recommended. The
manual is well-written, has a glossary, and a launch-to-landing walkthru of a
mission to deploy the Hubble Space Telescope. There is a quick reference card,
and a Glider Kit, which turns into a paper shuttle if you cut out the pieces,
and fold and tuck the flaps together properly.

 There is a card that points out a few things specific to the Atari ST version:
its partial copy protection, and keyboard commands (the Mac uses its
"Cloverleaf" key, the ST its Control key). Also noted on the card is the
availability of an ST monochrome version. The procedure for obtaining it is as
pretentious and ridiculous as Spectrum HoloByte's copyright notice: You must buy
the color version first, then fill out the registration card and
monochrome-version order form, make a backup of the color version of Disk 2, and
send the original Disk 2, the registration card, the order form, and $12.50 to
Spectrum HoloByte.

 A lot of people spent a lot of time designing, programming, and testing
ORBITER, and it certainly shows. This program -- not at all a "game," by the way
-- has depth, complexity, and requires your full attention. The graphics are not
as rich or colorful as the usual ST program, nor do they begin to approach those
of, say, FALCON, Spectrum's amazing F-16 flight simulator. They are fine
nonetheless (especially the out-the-window views of orbiting celestial objects
and space hardware), and convey with incredible detail exactly why we're going
to be watching launches on TV and playing ORBITER, rather than gazing down in
rapture at Earth from a 300-klick orbit.

 The Mission Control voice synthesis adds realism but, sooner or later, the
mechanical and monotonous sound becomes an annoying interruption. It can be
shortened or turned off completely.

 All quibbles are minor, for the ST version of ORBITER is an excellent piece of
work, one that will keep you busy for a long time. If, however, you have a short
attention span, you should skip this space shuttle flight. ORBITER is not a
game: It's a complicated simulation of a complicated real-life activity, and
should be considered so.

 ORBITER is published and distributed by Spectrum HoloByte.

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253