Just months after Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk, high school student Jim Storer created the popular Lunar Landing game, challenging players to land gently on the moon. Despite optimal fuel burn schedules, a bug led to inaccuracies in the game’s landing calculations that went unnoticed for nearly 55 years. Storer’s use of advanced physics and numerical computing techniques, including the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation and Taylor series, showcases impressive skills for a high school senior in 1969. The game’s challenges in accurately simulating landings upon impact demonstrate the complexity of dynamics engines and the importance of precise calculations in game development.
https://martincmartin.com/2024/06/14/how-i-found-a-55-year-old-bug-in-the-first-lunar-lander-game/