Defcon: Victory via Destruction

Defcon: The game where you will use nukes and lots of 'em.
You get 2 points for every person killed and only -1 points for every person lost.
Overall a fun way to spend an hour with no unpleasant guilty aftertaste.

It takes a while to get used to how to control your units (I'm still not sure I have that figured out) and to figure out what each one does. The game does come with a manual, which is full of handy information and bonus tips on how to "survive" an actual nuclear attack. You know, just in case the computer doesn't think it's a game anymore ;)

While playing a 2-on-2 game, we discovered that Europe can kick some serious butt against Asia. Moscow and Leningrad didn't even know what hit 'em in the first strike. This screenshot shows the total destruction of Russia. Eastern Asia hung on until the end mainly because it takes a long time to get all the way around the top of Russia, and I couldn't get there before the victory timer expired. In this Old World, 2 team match (humans v. AI), Europe was easily most defensible continent with 67.8 million kills and 0 loses. 'Nuff said.

Orbiter 2010 is out!

After 4 years, a new version of Orbiter has been released! Although all of the improvements look really nifty, I'm probably the most excited about the autoscripting functionality. I am also jazzed about the fact that there is a proper Windows installer now, vastly reducing the effort required to start virtually exploring the Solar System. I'm really looking forward to trying it out! Download it here!

Herschel Crater on Mimas of Saturn: Needs Pink Spice Geysers

Check out this Astronomy Photo of the Day:

Herschel Crater on Mimas of Saturn

Q: Why is this giant crater on Mimas oddly colored?
A: Because the outer solar system is a fascinating place! Could use some pink spice geysers though.