DevLog #60: Community Challenge & How NOT to die on Mars
Dear Martians!
May 10th is still 5 days away, but we have plenty of things to show you until then!
Today we’d like to tell you about Occupy Mars: The Game Community Challenge!
If you’re not familiar with those, the idea is simple – we ask you to follow the game here on Steam and by doing so, you increase the discount which will be applied to the game at launch!
All it takes is 2 clicks!
The Challenge will last until the very moment the game launches at 6 PM CEST on May 10th. Remember you can find a countdown timer on the game’s website: occupymarsgame.com
How NOT to die on Mars?
We’re preparing a series of tutorial movies, which will help you prepare for your upcoming trip to Mars. Take a look – today’s topic is water!
That’s all we have for you today. We’ll be back soon, and in the meantime, we’re back to counting down the days until May 10th!
Take care, Occupy Mars Team
DevLog #59: Content at Launch
Dear Martians!
We’re getting ready for May 10th and we’d like to share a few more details with you.
All our Kickstarter Backers who supported the project and who had Early Access key listed as one of the rewards for their pledge will be happy to know that we’re currently sending out keys! Please check your e-mail inboxes! Keep in mind that even though you receive them a little ahead of release time, keys will become active at the moment of Early Access release on May 10th.
You can follow the countdown clock on our official website: occupymarsgame.com
We’d like to thank our 12,000 Beta testers for their contribution to the Beta Playtest phase. Thanks to you, we’ve received plenty of invaluable feedback and managed to greatly improve overall game experience. Beta Playtest version will be available until May 8th so this is the last weekend to play it. On Monday this particular version will be disabled in preparation for Early Access launch.
We have also determined a final list of features which will be available on Early Access release, and other functionalities which will be subsequently enabled in the next updates according to our updated roadmap.
The features which will be available on launch day include:
Language versions available on launch: 10
English, Polish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Russian, Portugese, Chinese. (we are also working on Ukrainian, Romanian, Dutch, Japanese and Korean but those are not ready and will be added in an update later)
Game modes available on launch: 3
Campaign Mode (introduction to the story with NPCs and cinematics!)
FreePlay Sandbox Mode (procedurally generated gameplay where you can select difficulty level, starting location, starting equipment, intensity of weather conditions and other parameters)
(the continuation of the Campaign mode, more tutorial scenes, as well as an Online Co-Op mode will come to the game later in the form of updates)
Technology Trees available on launch: 4
Botany, Electricity, Materials, Mechanics (the Chemistry tech tree will be added later as an update, also some technologies in each tech tree are locked and will be added after early access launch)
Vehicles available to build in the game at early access launch:
ATV Quad (with upgrades), Ingenuity Helicopter, Jetpack and Heavy Rover with 2 types of trailers. (Motocross and Truck still require some driving adjustments so they will be enabled later)
Available tools:
Air Compressor, Blowtorch, Grinder, Jackhammer, Seed Tool, Spectral Detector, Cordless Drill, Detonator, Fire extinguisher, Remote controller, pipes, cables and various building materials.
Tech Trees - technology browser and unlocking section
Knowledge Base - a goldmine of knowledge about Mars
Radar - useful for mapping surroundings and remotely controlling devices
additional tablet views include:
Alarm clock view - shown after clicking on a bed
Bluetooth Radio control - shown after clicking on a Radio (allows to play your own music)
Robots view - currently disabled as player can't yet own robots
Buildings available to build at early access launch:
Airlock, ramp, 2x leveling corridor joints, small solar panel, medium solar panel, transformer, transformer upgrade, battery, battery upgrade, lamp, 3x antennas, well, co2 scrubber, sabatier reactor, vertical tanks, horizontal tanks, pump, small rock crusher, big rock crusher / printer, greenhouse with hydroponics shelf, plant incubator, seed machine, composter, small dome, medium dome, large dome, workshop, living capsule, survival capsule, bathroom, various capsule adapters, lobby, cantina, main hab (HQ) with equipment, food processing unit, small 3d printer, bed, fridge, workbench, 4x science bench types for different technologies, the garage (hangar), anti-meteor launcher, 9 types of corridors (long, short, with or without windows, 90 deg angle and crossroads).
(more objects, buildings and vehicles will be enabled in subsequent updates)
Certain technologies in the game will be marked as “Beta” on launch – these features are a work in progress and as such, they will still be updated and changed. Some functionalities are disabled and as a result, certain achievements will be disabled at launch – the ones which will be disabled are listed below:
Life on Mars
Good Martian
You've got a friend in me
Rocket Scientist
The cake is a lie
Let's Cook
those will start working after more technologies will be unlocked in content updates.
We’d like to let you know right away that you’re welcome to report any issues you encounter in Early Access. For this purpose, in-game reporting feature (triggered by F4 key) has been fixed and added to the Early Access version.
P.S. What’s the first thing you’ll do after arriving on Mars? Watch the E.R.A. Corporate news below for some ideas 🚀
We are excited to see you on Mars! Occupy Mars Team
P.S.2. May The 4th Be with you!
DevLog #58: Release Date Announcement Trailer
Hello again, Martians!
Yesterday we announced the long awaited release date of Occupy Mars: The Game and today, we bring you a brand new game trailer!
See what is waiting for you on Mars!
Occupy Mars: The Game is coming to Steam in Early Access on May 10th 2023! In only two weeks, you'll get to explore the Red Planet!
In the last devlog, we mentioned working on the final list of features that will be available in the Early Access release. We can't share it with you yet, but we will do so in the next devlog.
We hope you're all looking forward to May 10th like we do!
Best regards, Occupy Mars Team
DevLog #57: Release Date Announcement
Greetings, fellow Martians!
We wanted to share some exciting news about our upcoming game release and what we've been working on lately.
As many of you may have noticed, we've been updating our Steam Page and other official pages with more screenshots and information. We had to temporarily change the visible release date from April to Q2 (because Steam requires a concrete day announced at least 2 weeks before the end of the month and we didn't have that confirmed yet), but we can now happily confirm the official Early Access release date.
The game will be launching simultaneously on Steam, EPIC, and GOG platforms on May 10th, 2023!
We are in contact with the publishing teams of these platforms to ensure a smooth launch.
We have also released the Colonist FAQ thread, which answers many gameplay-related questions (beware of spoilers!). We hope it will be helpful once you get your hands on the game.
Additionally, we've launched the Steam page of the optional Occupy Mars: Supporter Pack DLC, which includes the soundtrack, artbook, and other artistic content that will be released with the game.
Our team is currently determining the final list of features that will be available in the Early Access release, which we'll share in our next devlog. All the other functionalities will be subsequently enabled in the future updates. We are working hard to ensure a smooth game release, that is also why we have paused our weekly streams recently - to focus 100% on delivering the Early Access build to you.
We appreciate your patience and support as we prepare for the Early Access launch.
See you on Mars on May 10th!
Best regards, The Occupy Mars Team
DevLog #56: Kickstarter Summary, Early Access Progress & Tight Beam from Mars
Dear Martians!
Welcome to another DevLog - this time we have plenty of topics to discuss.
1. Kickstarter Summary
As you might know, our Kickstarter Campaign ended on February 17th after 31 days and it was a great success!Over 2662 Martians backed our project and we crossed the magical 400% Funded mark.
In total 13 Stretch Goals were unlocked with the last one: Automated Excavation being unlocked during the last few hours of the campaign!🥳
In the last few Kickstarter Updates you can read about:
Now that Kickstarter had ended, we're preparing to send rewards to our amazing backers. According to plan: most of the digital rewards should be sent in March, and the Physical Collector's Edition Boxes should be ready to send in May.
3. Early Access Build Progress
We are working hard on the final Early Access Build. There's still a few things to do in order to give you the news you're all waiting for – about Early Access release date.
Currently our internal goal is to release Early Access by the end of March or April. The final date depends on final testing and balancing the game. We'll make the announcement as soon as we're ready.
Today we want to show you the progress regarding Freeplay rebalance and Vehicle Spawning, as well as progress with the Tech Tree.
The Tech Tree in the game has been expanded. With many more technologies and blueprints to unlock. Those changes are connected with the game rebalance and with the way vehicles are spawned.
At the beginning of the Freeplay (Sandbox) mode player will start without vehicles. At first our Martian will have to survive based on the resources available in the landing capsule. First few nights will require sleeping in the capsule as well. But soon after, by unlocking new technologies and blueprints, he will be able to travel further and further away from the starting location, mine more resources, build buildings, new equipment and eventually also build vehicles.
We believe this rework will give a much greater sense of progression and satisfaction from gameplay.
5. Tight Beam From Mars: Episode 9 - Growing Plants
For those who might have missed it - we have released another Episode of Tight Beam from Mars. In Episode #9 we are focusing on Plant Cultivation where we explain the details about how it works in our game vs real simulated Mars bases. Watch the new Episode 9 below:
Over 300 backers are already playing the Android & iOS Beta version, reporting bugs and helping us balance it before the release. We have also released a new teaser trailer of Occupy Mars: Colony Builder - you can watch it below:
7. Thank you!
Once again, we'd like to thank each and every one of you – our backers and everyone here on Steam who believes in us. It's thanks to you that this project has come this far and we have no words to describe how thankful we are for your support throughout all these years.
We're working hard to bring you a truly memorable experience.
Yours Truly Grateful, Occupy Mars Team
DevLog #55: Early Access Development Progress
Dear Martians!
Today we'd like to tell you a little bit more about development progress for the Early Access build.
New Interior lightning
Some of you may have already noticed in our Kickstarter trailer that we've introduced improved interior lighting to the game. We haven't had a chance to mention it yet, but this change has made the game both more visually appealing and faster in terms of performance, as the previous lighting was quite demanding on the GPU. You can see some screenshots with the new lighting below:
New Inventory
In addition, we have revamped the player's inventory, equipment, and consumption systems to make them more integrated and user-friendly. Putting on and taking off the helmet will now be a breeze - simply drag and drop the helmet into the appropriate slot. The same change applies to water and oxygen bottles. In the early access build, players will be able to 3D print empty bottles and refill them with substances as needed. On Mars, every item will be valuable, so after use, the bottle will be refillable.
New Tutorials
The new tutorials in the game are not only redesigned to provide better introtuction to the story, now they are also organized as a in-game virtual simulation which you will be able to revisit using different screens in the campaign mode. We've also added a special HUD tutorial where our Suit AI will guide you through the most important functions of your suit, helmet and visor.
European Rover Challenge 2023
Just like during previous years, this year we will join forces with European Rover Challenge once again for #ERC2023! The space & robotics event will take place on 15–17 September 2023 in Kielce, Poland and like every year, the highlight of the event will be #Rovers Robotics Competition!
The European Rover Challenge is an international space & robotics event combining competition of Martian rovers with scientific and technological shows. The main part of the project is an international robotics competition, where academic teams from around the world present their mobile robot designs, competing in competitions based on real ESA and NASA missions.
The competition takes place on the world’s largest artificial Martian track, that is directly derived from the surface of the Red Planet.
In 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 we partnered with the European Rover Challenge organized annually by the European Space Foundation. During the event, we organized an e-tournament of “Rover Mechanic Challenge” – a special version of our game “Rover Mechanic Simulator.”
In the previous edition of the ERC, we provided competition winners with additional rewards such as “Astronaut survival toolkits” and this year we will support them again.
See you on Mars! Occupy Mars Team
DevLog #54: Tightbeam from Mars is back!
Dear Martians!
We have prepared a little surprise for you 😊
Have you been enjoying our Tight Beam from Mars miniseries? We have some great news for you! After a long break, we’re back with a new episode – this one is dedicated to Environment Research. Terrain, Mountains, Valleys, Rocks, & Caves - how do they look on Mars, on Earth and in our game? Watch in the new Episode 8 below:
Tightbeam from Mars is our YouTube miniseries where we compare real-life simulated Mars missions to gameplay Occupy Mars: The Game. We tell you about people, places and objects that serve as our inspiration and give you insight into various decisions that shaped Occupy Mars into the game it is today!
In the next Episode we will talk about Greenhouses & Plants cultivation on Mars.
As the end note, we’re leaving a link to our Discord server in case you’d like to discuss Occupy Mars: The Game and TightBeam from Mars with our ever growing community of like-minded Martians:
Best Regards, Occupy Mars Team
DevLog #53: Beta status & 10th Kickstarter goal unlocked
Dear Martians!
Beta Status Update
As the recent build v0.99.9.3 was met with positive reception and our playtesters have noted a vast improvement over the previous build, we’re moving this build from the public_testing branch to the default branch on Steam.
To whoever has yet to update the Beta to the latest version, we recommend starting a new game as saves from the previous versions might not work properly after the update.
We thank all of you who participated in Beta for all the feedback and bug reports we have received from you so far. Occupy Mars: The Game has come a long way since we first started Beta and it’s all thanks to you. We now have a much better understanding regarding what requires our attention. That’s why we’d like to let you know that this update is the final update for Beta. Any more days spent on improving the Beta would delay the long awaited Early Access. That’s why we think it’s about time to move on to the next stage. From here onwards, we’re focusing solely on preparing a final Early Access build.
Known Issues in Beta v0.99.9.3:
rover door can be opened partially and blocked in that position if player instantly after clicking on the door uses hotbar to pull out any tool. That can be reversed by doing the same thing,
when player puts partially crushed rock in the tipper, sometimes it doesn’t crumble. In that case try to grab it and put it again in different spot in tipper,
sometimes player can see "holes" in the map in places when two parts of the map are connected. Saving and reloading fixes problem,
some weather effects can affect the player even if he is inside a base,
abandoned bases may disappear and appear after loading the game,
there might still be problems with rover extensions and/or skill points in tech tree,
in some PC configurations players can experience significant drop of FPS in FPP mode,
inability to skip sleeping in some rare cases,
seed machine can sometimes duplicate seed tanks,
some parts of abandoned bases don't disappear when the base is scrapped.
Important notes:
there are several smaller but non game breaking bugs in the tutorials, there will be different tutorials in the full Early Access build so please don't report bugs regarding those,
there are several non critical bugs that do not break the game but may cause inconvenience for the players, both of those categories will be fixed for EA,
if you are playing on save from previous version building connectors will need to be removed and replaced due to the fix to stop you going outside through them,
as we introduce new tutorials and campaign mode we have to shift focus from the beta version to prepare the build for Early Access.
Kickstarter Progress
We did it! We just crossed the 80 000 CA$ stretch goal, which means that “Dexter'' goal has been unlocked! A crafting mechanic will be added to the game, which will allow you to create chemical compounds!
It’s the 10th goal of this campaign and we’re only now halfway into the campaign. In 2 weeks, we’re already 265% funded and we have 17 days left!
Just look how far we’ve come!
Next stop – “Liftoff!”, which will unlock once we gather another 10 000 CA$. Can we do it?
Big thank you to over 1 680 Martians who have supported the project so far! There are still plenty of goals waiting for us, so let’s keep going!
Best Regards, Occupy Mars Team
Devlog #52: Kickstarter Progress, Beta Update and Base Builder Fest
Hello, Martians!
Kickstarter Progress
Thanks to your overwhelming support on Kickstarterwe’ve already reached 9 of our stretch goals! This will serve as our roadmap for the development of updates after Early Access release. 🚀
We've also updated the Beta to version v0.99.9.3 which contains a lot of fixes and improvements. For now it's available on the public_testing branch on Steam. To enable it go to the game's preferences on Steam and select the BETAS tab:
Beta Update Changelog
v0.99.5.0 -> v0.99.9.3
Bug Fixes:
problem with saving the game if HDR option in Windows is enabled
problem with feedback reporter (player can now send report using F4 button in a game)
several various problems with loading saves
problem with duplicating items while uppgrading them on the workbench
problem with loading game if player had uppgraded tool before
problem with broken animations of sitting
problem with ECU uppgrade settings loss after loading save
problem with connecting starting capsule to batteries and breaking game as a result
problem with possibility to leave base through door in capsule adapter
problem with rover damaging hangar while driving in
several broken textures
problem with scrolling in Character Creator
several problems with sleeping in the rover
flickering ghosts of the buildings
problem with nbo button selected when tablet is opened
problems with blocked interaction with the bed
problem with planting withered animations breaking animations of the player
problem with tablet opening breaking animation of changing a tool resulting in player stuck on the screen
problem with picking up fully grown plants that are withered
problem with game crashing when player pauses during tornado effect
problem with disappearing fuses from the buildings
problem with duplicating tools during the uppgrade
several problems with rover catapulting player or rover being thrown in the air
problem with game blocked when player is hit by the rover
problem with ores not loaded completely to the tipper
problem with game broken after CO2 scrubber is blown up
problems with multiplying items via spamming interactions
problem with blocked inputs(character cant move nor see in any direction) after loading game
problems with workshop loosing access to electricity after building greenhouse
problem with spamming messages on hud
problem with capsule lever not working
problem with one of rock types disappearing completely after initial drill
problems with building panels not interactable
problems with cables hanging in the air
problems with drill/welder not unlocked after researching the technology
problem with game blocked on workbench after pressing ESC
problem with spectral detector not showing correct parameters of analyzed rock
blocker in tutorial 2 that made impossible to finish tutorial
game freeze in tutorial 3 after changing rover mode
fixed movement blocker at the beginning of tutorial 4
New features:
added water spots next to Cerberus starting point
added possibility to fill CO2 bottles in the CO2 scrubber
differentiated Hydroponic Shelves between greenhouse and workshop
Fullscreen windowed mode will stay on the second monitor if player has one
Known issues:
rover door can be opened partially and blocked in that position if player instantly after clicking on the door uses hotbar to pull out any tool. That can be reversed by doing the same thing
when player puts partially crushed rock in the tipper sometimes it doesnt crumble. In that case try to grab it and put it again in different spot in tipper
player can see "holes" in the map in places when two parts of the map are connected. Saving and reloading fixes problem
some weather effect can affect player even if he is inside a base
abandoned bases may disappear and appear after loading the game
there might still be problems with rover extensions and/or skill points in tech tree
in some PC configurations players can experience significant drop of FPS in FPP mode
inability to skip sleeping in some rare cases
seed machine can sometimes duplicate seed tanks
some parts of abandoned bases don't disappear when base is scrapped
Important notes
there are several smaller but non game breaking bugs in the tutorials, there will be different tutorials in the full Early Access build so please don't report bugs regarding those,
there are several non critical bugs that do not break the game but may cause inconvenience for the players, both of those categories will be fixed for EA,
if you are playing on save from previous version building connectors will need to be removed and replaced due to the fix to stop you going outside through them,
as we introduce new tutorials and campaign mode we have to shift focus from the beta version to prepare the build for Early Access,
this may be the last Beta build unless a hotfix for critical bugs will be needed (if they occur), but our main focus right now will be on preparing the Full EA Build.
On this occasion, we’d like to thank all of you who have been supporting us so far! This wouldn’t have been possible without your help. We’re not slowing down and we can’t wait until the day we can leave the Early Access version of the game in your hands!
If you’re not a part of our Discord community yet and you’d like to talk to other fans of the game, take a look at our Discord server!
Best Regards, Occupy Mars Team
Occupy Mars The Game campaign is 100% funded!
Dear Martians,
Are we there yet?
Yes, we are!
Thanks to all our amazing backers, Occupy Mars: The Game Kickstarter campaign has been funded in less than a day! Polished Early Access stretch goal has been unlocked!
Thank you so much, we’re overwhelmed with all the support we have received! The funds gathered so far will help us cover costs of promoting the game prior to its Early Access release and make it possible to give you an even better game on the launch day!
Currently, there are over 650 Mars enthusiasts supporting our project! We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. We’re now sending out Beta keys to all backers who have “Instant Steam Access to Occupy Mars Beta” included among their pledge rewards. We are still improving the Beta and the next Beta build update should be ready in a few days, it will be automatically updated on Steam.
Let’s keep going! Can we reach the next two stretch goals?
We’d also like to thank each and every one of you who spreads the word about the game. It’s also in big part thanks to you that we were able to reach the first goal!
