L A C U N A

Probe-control exploration

L A C U N A is a PC exploration game about operating a VESPER probe from Mission Control. New stars, planets, and unexplained objects have appeared where archived surveys recorded empty space. You plan the probe’s route and send commands over a communications link, but the commands take time to arrive and the telemetry reports the probe’s past position. You have to study what comes back before deciding what to do next.

Planning around delay

Plot transfers between contacts, manage power and propellant, and choose routes that avoid stellar hazards. Photographs arrive in fragments, while telemetry and other returns give you information to work with. Once a command is in transit, it can’t be recalled, so a decision has to account for where the probe was when its latest information was recorded, not just where it may be now.