Dispatcher

I don't know what the diplomatic protocols are, but I'm pretty sure its the same situation as it is for our Moon: any nation may orbit or land on the Moon and also return from it. Also, private industry historically has been subcontracted by space agencies for that purpose. In the case of Apollo missions, that of course was NASA. As to the question of a company landing on Mars, I'm guessing that the company's "host" nation would need to approve such flights for national security reasons. While it might be nice to let the UN know of its intentions, I don't think any nation or company needs UN approval for anything. You see, its the "United Nations", which means that each nation is a sovereign state. It is not a world government, regardless of what one's views and attitudes on that topic might be.

The new series:

The general focus of educational systems is job preparation. Consider shifting focus from working for someone else to working for yourself. Work towards being an entrepreneur, the maker of a product or service that you are passionate about. Think in terms of being a partner or an employer, rather than an employee. Yeah, that kind of stuff! Good luck!

I agree with you. OK, back on topic: Its gonna be interesting to see the original cast members (this would be the middle trilogy now) in at least the first movie of the final trilogy (meaning the next movie, a la J. J. Abrams). I'm curious about how their characters have matured. Hehe. I think this will be a good time to bring some of the uniforms and galactic technologies a little forward into the future, since the trilogy which comes at the beginning of the story required some retro-looking stuff so as to be older than the middle trilogy.

I'd go with the STOVL version of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

Oh, there are a few non-trivial responses posted. But honestly, the entire premise at the start of the thread is fairly unlikely. For those who are more serious about the subject, I wouldn't be surprised if there were forums devoted to the topic.

Take up boating, travel and fishing, from any number of suddenly available yachts.

Indeed! Ant Simulator looks good!

Thanks for the Squadcast coverage. I'm glad to hear about further optimization on one hand and improving the world experience (graphics) on the other hand. I can imagine Squad wants KSP to look drop-dead gorgeous. Hey, just a suggestion: more in the way of ambient sound (random critter sounds) and the sound of the surf when one is at a shore. I'm also always pleased when parts are added or even improved. Thanks to everyone who is making KSP a better game!

Well, rather than put up the movie trailer, I'll put up the theme song. Happy Halloween!

Sounds like with that new rig you'll be able to explore many solar systems.

"2001" was a real kick; I like your station and your version of the Pan Am Clipper.

Yes, a Mac Mini was never intended to be a serious gaming solution, as far as specs go. The integrated graphics card is simply not like having a dedicated graphics card. My iMac is old (8 years) but it has its own graphics card (and a whopping 4 GB of RAM). OS flavor is El Capitan. KSP plays great on it. Good luck with your Windows machine (I hope you are using Windows 7; the best of that OS IMHO).

Not really playing any games lately. Will get "Obduction" when it comes out.

Clearly the movie isn't a carbon copy of the book; otherwise we'd have [spoiler alert for the book ... a particular crater and a dust storm; as well as an event with the rover in which it doesn't follow its normal mode of travel ...] a longer movie. However, I think you are right about actually watering down the language to grab the PG-13 rating. I don't think Weir is stupid; more ticket sales means more money in his pocket.

Regarding what I think of the movie: having read the book I think it follows the book well; in fact there was not enough time to portray all the events in the book. I regret that and would have sat through a longer movie. Its science is pretty good and technically the movie was done well. There was a lot to like about the teamwork and sacrifice exhibited by the characters in the show. Another point about the movie is simply this: my favorite movies are those that can be enjoyed by the entire family. So, while this is a good movie for adults and others old enough not to be made uncomfortable by some expressions; if you haven't seen the movie and you don't like your kids being exposed to some occasional strong language, you might consider leaving your kids at home when you go see it. Its rated PG-13 for a reason. (I know, aren't ALL movies the same way?) The movie follows the book in this sense too, and thus the movie wouldn't be true to the book if were to have a G or PG rating. So I'm saying to those that haven't seen the movie yet: go see it if you want to see a movie that's fairly realistic in how people interact and how they communicate in the community at large. If you are squeamish about some occasional strong language, this might dampen your enjoyment of the movie, but keep in mind that its pretty true to the book.

I think my favorite of these is .

Just wait. Once multiplayer becomes stock and stable, I think your interest will be revived. While I often visit the forum, I hardly play the game anymore, largely to having done most of the things I want to do in the game (and life in general means less time for games). I admit, the contract system has for me been too much in the way of selection but too little of what I want to select. For me, that aspect of the game is a grind. Regardless, you can only play so much of a good game by yourself. I think some of the fun of games is in playing them with others. For single player games, I get with friends and relatives and we take turns as the player and the rest of us spectate (with popcorn). But even that has gotten old with KSP. For multiplayer, this of course allows friends to get together online. I do keep current with the updates and I try playing career and sandbox when new parts or major changes are provided. But with multiplayer on the distant horizon (or is it beyond?), that's when I'll really want to get into the game; doing things with friends and relatives. Time will tell.

Very nice!

Space planes are a challenge for me. That's why I like them. Making a variety of craft in the game is fun: space planes, rockets, rovers, boats, aircraft, etc. Have fun!

That might eliminate the series and the series; definitely Undying. There is always the Portal series. (Yeah, these are not new but they are classics). Speaking of classics, there's . Then there is the Myst series (that would be a puzzle spoiler for sure). Or Bungie's Marathon series. Anything older than these might be a challenge getting to run on modern OSes.Edit: Of course Portal and Myst are available at reasonable prices for both major computer platforms. Unreal will run on OS X and Linux machines using Wine or Wine related products such as CrossOver. Looks like it runs on Windows 7. The Marathon trilogy and 3rd party "mods" are available free for the 3 major computing platforms since the Aleph One engine is open source and Bungie released the Trilogy for free distribution in 2005.

Good luck!

Aerospike!

Any of several not mentioned in the poll. After reading Torgo's post, I thought I'd better edit my post to indicate some of my choices: Of the 3 listed by the OP, I like them all; The Martian first and next Interstellar. Gravity was entertaining but not profound.

Space costumes? How about a B- science fiction movie character. Pick out a costume you could make out of low budget props: