Planetary Construction Set

Planetary Construction Set is an educational world-building tool for the Apple II.

The game combines planetary science, biology, and physics in a simulation of extraterrestrial life and environments. There are briefing sections on animal physiology as well as details involving star orbits, its mass, distance, composition, atmosphere, inclination, and presence of satellites. There are also briefing components to test the player on their knowledge of these subjects.

There are 2 games sections. In "Cadet Missions", the player is tasked with creating a planet to the user's specifications, including length of year, length of day, and surface temperature, as well as star type, and planetary and atmospheric composition of their planet and distance from the star.

In the final section called, "Captain's Missions", the player is presented with a theoretical alien life form whose home world has become uninhabitable, and the player must create the ideal environment for this creature. The successful creation of a suitable new planet requires note taking and experimentation. After a planet is created, the program evaluates its suitability and identifies conditions that need to be changed. The user the experiments with these variables until the ideal planet is created.