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Where Did I Land Again?

A project log for Lunar Lander for the PDP-1

My PDP-1 Replica (PiDP-1) from Obsolescence Guaranteed has arrived and I want to do something cool with it.

michael-gardiMichael Gardi • 03/11/2026 at 19:52•0 Comments

I added a 1000 point bonus for safely landing on all six zones in a single game. If you are meticulous like me you will probably attempt the zones from one side to the other in order and thus never lose track of which zones have been successfully conquered. On the other hand a better strategy might be to try the zones you find easiest first and might then forget which zones you have completed.

I have repurposed the Program Flags to light up upon each successful landing. The six lamps are now mapped to the six landing zones (from left to right) in the order they appear on the screen.  I was using the Program Flags to keep track of some internal bookkeeping but now think that this is a better use of the feature.

So the player above is one safe landing (in the fifth zone from the left) from getting a 1000 point bonus. Let's wish them luck because at this point they are for sure running low on fuel.

I wasn't expecting this, but it turns out that there is something very satisfying about seeing a physical "contact light" turn on when you have successfully landed. Who knew.

The contact light on the Apollo Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) was an indicator in the cockpit that illuminated when one or more of the 67.2-inch probes extending from the footpads touched the lunar surface.

I posted the updated code to the Files section above. 

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