u/Wooden-Syrup-8708

Salve, fellow aviators.

I’ve been a flight sim enthusiast since the early 90s (back when I was co-founding Italian MUDs). After three decades of flying everything from the old FS98 to the stunning cloud of MSFS 2024, I’ve found myself increasingly fascinated by the architectural difference between Aerodynamic stability and Newtonian drift.

In our standard flight sims, we rely on the air to help us. Lift, drag, and the glide slope are our partners. But lately, I’ve been diving into the "Hard Science" side of simulation where the air disappears.

I’ve been building a persistent project that uses 1:1 NASA topographic data (LOLA/MOLA) for the Moon and Mars, and it forced me to re-learn what "flying" actually means.

In atmospheric flight, if your engines fail, you have a glide ratio. In a 1:1 Newtonian vacuum (no magic brakes), if your burn calculation is off by 1%, you don't just miss the runway—you become a kinetic projectile heading for the outer rim. I perceive some big differences here:
Mass-Management: Tsiolkovsky’s rocket equation is a much harsher master than the weight-and-balance sheet of a Cessna.
The "Flip & Burn": The psychological shift of having to turn your ship 180 degrees to "brake" is the most rewarding "landing" I've ever experienced in 30 years of simming
Topography as a Threat: Using real NASA altimetry means that finding a landing spot on Io or Mars isn't about following a waypoint; it’s about using your sensors to identify terrain that won't crush your landing gear.

For those who have tried "Hard" space sims (like KSP or Orbiter), do you find the lack of atmospheric feedback makes the simulation more or less "pure" for you? Does the "Frictionless Depth" of space satisfys that same itch as a perfect ILS approach?

I'm the Lead Architect for a browser-based shard (link in my bio if you want to see how we handle 1:1 NASA maps), but I’m curious if other "Old Guard" pilots here are looking for more "Hard Science" outside the atmosphere.

When we launched Zero-G's public alpha in January, we had 0 pilots. Today we have over 1,100. This devlog covers what we built in between — and what just launched.

Alpha 4.9

The Expedition System: EXPEDITIO

Alpha 4.9.5 introduces the most significant gameplay framework we have built to date: the Expeditio system. From the Latin, an expeditio was an endeavour requiring time, effort, and dedication — with rewards proportional to commitment.

Each Expedition consists of sequential steps called Gradus, unlocked by collecting faction tokens earned through missions. The more tokens invested in each Gradus, the higher the player's final ranking when the Expedition closes.

The First Expedition: The Vespucci Quest

In 1501, Amerigo Vespucci wrote letters describing coastlines that didn't match any known map of Asia. He was the first to argue systematically that what Columbus had found was not a shortcut to the Indies — it was something entirely new. Two continents were eventually named after him.

The Vespucci Expedition

We named our first Expedition after him deliberately. The Vespucci Quest rewards planetary exploration: scanning terrain by type and elevation, mapping uncharted quadrants, pushing the collective Global scan percentage toward the 100% threshold that makes new territory landable for all pilots.

The individual incentive — tokens, rankings, and the exclusive Capitana Nueva exploration ship named after Vespucci's actual flagship — produces a collective outcome: a more thoroughly mapped solar system for the entire civilisation.

The Lunar Fly Race — live now, free for all pilots

Alpha 4.9.7 launches our first rotating free Expedition: the Lunar Fly Race. Fly missions around the Moon, earn tokens through faction missions, climb global rankings. No purchase required, no time gate. The Moon surface is real NASA LOLA altimetry data — those craters are real craters in real positions.

What else is in the universe right now?

• Alien fleets with Jump Drive technology attack your ships in orbit while you're offline
• Player corporations build modular starbases and run trade depots on Earth quadrants
• Permanent ship combat stances — Aggressive ships auto-join combat at their planet
• Fleet formation and escort mode
• Planetary Sensor Array System tracking ships across millions of km
• Pilot training at the Vatican Academy — six attributes, skill trees, abilities
• Player-driven knowledge economy — sell planetary scan data to the General Land Office
• Ship-to-ship cargo transfer in the same quadrant

All of this runs in a browser tab. No download. No install. Live 24/7 since January 18th.

What's next?

Alpha 5 introduces Crafting. Alpha 6 brings Research. FTL travel will only be unlocked collectively in Beta, after the community masters alien technology.

Fly the simulation: space.zerog.live

Giuseppe Caggese Lead Architect, Zero-G

The Amerigo Vespucci and Fly Races expeditions!

I posted here two months ago when we were at Alpha 4.6. We're now at Alpha 4.9.7 and the game has changed significantly. Thought this community deserved an honest update.

The Lunar Fly Race is live now — free for all pilots.

The Expeditio system is our framework for long-form faction events. The Lunar Fly Race is the first free rotating event: fly missions around the a far away planet starting from moon, collect tokens, climb the global rankings. No purchase required, no time gate. Just show up and race.

It's built on the same orbital mechanics that govern everything else: your fuel mass matters, your burn timing matters, and the Moon's actual topography (real NASA LOLA data) affects your approach vectors.

How the 4X loop actually works now:

eXplore: Scan planetary surfaces quadrants by quadrants. Each scan reveals real terrain data — elevation, terrain type, resource deposits. Sell that data to the General Land Office to make territory landable for everyone, or keep it private and mine it yourself.

eXpand: Form a Venture (corporation), build modular starbases at celestial bodies, claim Earth quadrants for trade depots. Player-run economy is live.

eXploit: Six resource tiers from common Water Ice to Exotic Matter. Mining missions, prospecting, ship-to-ship cargo transfer in the same quadrant.

eXterminate: Alien fleets with Jump Drive technology patrol near Mars, Venus, and Mercury. They attack ships in orbit while you're offline. Aggressive stance ships auto-join combat at their planet. Loot drops persist after battle.

The honest state:

We're in alpha. Bugs exist. UI is functional not polished. What we have is a real persistent single-shard universe running since January with 1,100+ pilots, active corporations, and alien combat that creates emergent moments nobody planned.

Free to play. No download. Runs in any browser.

▶ Play: https://space.zerog.live

▶ Discord: https://discord.gg/C9dWFP2jJt

▶ Trailer: https://youtu.be/cileC8tpqXM

Happy to talk 4X design, orbital mechanics, or the expedition system.

Ciao everyone. I’m a 60-year-old climber looking for some training and programming advice from the older crushers (or coaches) in this community. I’ve been active for a long time, but as I’ve entered my 60s, I am hitting a hard times regarding recovery. For context, I work a desk job as a software developer, so my baseline physical activity outside of climbing is relatively low, though I try to keep generally fits.

Historically, my standard 7-day microcycle has been 3 hard sessions a week (e.g., Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday/Sunday). These sessions usually consist of indor circuits, some board climbing, and occasional hard (for me) boulders.

Lately, however, I’m noticing that by the third session of the week, I am completely empty. My power output drops significantly, my connective tissue aches, and my max hangs regress.

My thought are that my central nervous system and tendons simply cannot recover fast enough anymore for 3 high-intensity days within a strict 7-day window. I feel like that third session is just accumulating "junk fatigue" and increasing my injury risk rather than actually stimulating strength adaptations. So i’m looking to restructure my training to match my physiological age. For the older climbers here (50+), or coaches who train master-category athletes:

Did you drop to 2 hard sessions a week? If so, what do you do with the 3rd day? Pure ARCing/active recovery, or just off-the-wall antagonist/mobility work?

Has anyone shifted away from a 7-day week? I’ve heard of older athletes moving to a 9-day or 10-day rolling microcycle to allow 2 full rest days between every hard session. How did you organize this?

Also As we age, is it better to drastically cut the volume of a session while keeping the intensity high (to maintain power), or slightly lower the intensity to survive the volume?

Thanks in advance for the insights.