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Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life News

🚀Mission Briefing 👩‍🚀Mars Horizon 2 Developer Update #4



[h2]Hi Aurochnauts! 👩‍🚀[/h2]

Welcome to June's Mission Briefing: Developer Update for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life with your latest update on the game 🚀

Make sure you are subscribed to our Mars Horizon Newsletter to get these updates direct to your inbox and join our Discord to talk to other Mars Horizon and Space fans.



[h2]👨🏻‍🔬 What have the devs been working on in June? 👨🏻‍🔬[/h2]

June has seen a stratospheric rise in our surface view gameplay.

We've been doing more work on our Flybys, Orbiters, and Landers. They are progressing well with regards to gameplay and how they fit into the wider game and systems.

It’s now possible to gather ‘Astrobiology’ whilst playing on the surface, this is the game-winning resource that allows for players to discover all the necessary ingredients for discovering life. This shortened loop has meant our design team are able to look into balancing the surface view gameplay.

The whole team continues to play and refine all of the surface view elements. Our stellar QA team are now on board and helping us find any unwelcome bugs.

- Matt Holmes, Producer for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life



[h2]🚀 Playing the Original Mars Horizon? Show Us! 🚀[/h2]

Over on the Auroch Digital Community Discord, some members have been sharing their progress in the original Mars Horizon.

As they look to build their rocket and lead their space agency to Mars, it's been amazing to see the community discovering the game for the first time, almost 4 years since it launched.

If you're playing Mars Horizon, get involved with the community over on our Discord!



[h2]👩🏻‍🚀 What Have Our Partners Been Up To? 👩🏻‍🚀[/h2]

Our partners for Mars Horizon and Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life, the European Space Agency (ESA), have been sharing a variety of materials recently that we feel the Mars Horizon community would thoroughly enjoy.
🎤 Astro Chat with John McFall | ESA Explores Podcast - John McFall, a member of the European astronaut reserve from the ESA astronaut class of 2022, discusses the ground-breaking "Fly!" feasibility study in this recent podcast.
🧱 The Space Bricks Have Landed - ESA scientists have been exploring how a future Moon base might be built from materials on the lunar surface. Inspired by LEGO building, they have used dust from a meteorite to 3D-print 'space bricks' to test the idea. Check out the blog for more information.



[h2]🌍 Recent Mars-related News 🌍[/h2]

There have been a number of news stories circulating around space travel and even new discoveries! Here are links to some stories we think the Mars Horizon community will enjoy:

  • 🛰️ Dazzling mystery on Mars leaves scientists baffled - Metro UK
  • 🌊 Is there liquid water on Mars today? Marsquake data could tell us - Space
  • 👽 Unexplored holes on Mars could be home to alien life - Indy 100
  • 🧊 Scientists make 'impossible' discovery on Mars - Frost near the equator - Forbes
  • 🚀 Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket on track for 1st launch on July 9 - Space




[h2]📖 From the Archives 📖[/h2]
Take a look back at a great Mars Horizon stream from our archives. In this stream, we were joined by Libby Jackson who was Human Exploration Programme Manager when we streamed with her, but is now Head of Space Exploration at the UK Space Agency!

One of Britain’s foremost human spaceflight experts, Libby has worked as a Columbus flight director on missions to the International Space Station. She managed the hugely successful UK Space Agency program that supported Tim Peake’s mission. She tells us what its really like in mission control and how she got into working in the space industry!



[h2]🛰️Join The Official Mars Horizon 2 Socials🛰️[/h2]

There's never been a better time to follow our social channels! This will ensure that you don't miss out on the cool content we'll have to share throughout the development journey and some behind the scenes looks at what we get up to. 👀



🚀Mission Briefing 👩‍🚀Mars Horizon 2 Developer Update #3



[h2]Hi Aurochnauts! 👩‍🚀[/h2]

[h3]Welcome to May's Mission Briefing: Developer Update for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life with your latest update on the game 🚀[/h3]
Make sure you are subscribed to our Mars Horizon Newsletter to get these updates direct to your inbox and join our Discord to talk to other Mars Horizon and Space fans.



[h2]👩‍🔬What have the devs been working on this month? 👩‍🔬[/h2]

With May coming to a close, the whole Mars Horizon team is excited with our progress thus far.

Our design team are hard at work crafting our narrative events. These randomly occurring events will expose interesting factoids about our solar system whilst simultaneous providing the players with interesting problem-solving opportunities that can help or hinder progress on the search for life.

Internal playtesting sessions are helping the entire team refine our surface exploration gameplay. Our focus is on player communication and information signalling. Doing this in a concise, legible, and accessible manner is paramount for us.

The directives system is heading into it’s first round of integration. In Mars Horizon 2, the player will be presented with a variety of directives as they embark on their search for life. These directives are like side quests, offering unique gameplay opportunities with a variety of benefits.

- Matt Holmes, Producer for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life



[h2]🏫 Dev Team Trip to University of Edinburgh 🏫[/h2]
Earlier this month, members of the Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life development team visited the University of Edinburgh's Astrobiology Centre to meet Dr Sean McMahon and his students. 🧪

Dr McMahon and his students have been advising the Mars Horizon 2 development team on a number of subjects as we look to incorporate realistic aspects of astrobiology into the game.

We had a terrific time meeting the team and gaining insight into the variety of studies and experiments they're currently working on. We'll have more to show you on that trip very soon. 

Thanks again to the team at the University of Edinburgh for their hospitality! 🙌🏻 



[h2]🌍 Mars Horizon Has Come Home! 🌍[/h2]
On the 1st of May, it was announced that the publishing rights to the original Mars Horizon now belong to our fellow Sumo Group studio, Secret Mode. 🚀

Secret Mode are the publishers of Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life and it's now great to have both games under the same umbrella. The game was originally published by The Irregular Corporation and we can't thank them enough for their work on the game. 💛



[h2]🛰️Join The Official Mars Horizon 2 Socials🛰️[/h2]
With the new direction of Mars Horizon 2 and the screenshots we shared this month, there's never been a better time to follow our social channels! This will ensure that you don't miss out on the cool content we'll have to share throughout the development journey and some behind the scenes looks at what we get up to. 👀


🚀Mission Briefing 👩‍🚀Mars Horizon 2 Developer Update #2



[h2]Hi Aurochnauts! 👩‍🚀[/h2]

[h3]Welcome to April's Mission Briefing: Developer Update for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life with your latest update on the game 🚀[/h3]
Make sure you are subscribed to our Mars Horizon Newsletter to get these updates direct to your inbox and join our Discord to talk to other Mars Horizon and Space fans.



[h2]👩‍🔬What have the devs been working on this month? 👩‍🔬[/h2]
We’ve turned our afterburners up to maximum this April as we rocket towards another successful milestone. The key underlying systems that govern our surface view gameplay are now in a playable state! Rovers are deployable upon the surface of Mars and can impart on extra-terrestrial excavations.
 
Our hex based gameplay is now tangibly tessellated with the fog of ignorance, providing a wealth of necessary tactical decision making as rovers are piloted across the hazardous terrain of distant celestial bodies.
 
Supporting the rovers from the atmosphere are our flybys and orbiters. These payloads, despite never interacting with planetary surfaces directly, provide invaluable information in the form of surface scans. All of this functionality is in game and is granting the whole team a great deal of perspective on how these systems feel when interacting.
 
Dust storms, volcanos, chemical rain, and more hazards are all taking shape. These perilous environmental events display the true dangers of our neighbouring planets. Players will have to map out their steps very carefully when searching for the essential ingredients that make up the potential for life.
 
Breathing a sonic soul into our solar system has been a focus this month. Work on the implementation of the soundscape of Mars Horizon 2 has begun in form of background music for all scenes. Payload sound effects and stingers for all UI are providing real depth to gameplay interactions.
 
The entire team has been getting hands on with the build and we couldn’t be more excited for what the next month holds.

- Matt Holmes, Producer for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life


[h2]👀 Something is on the Horizon 👀[/h2]
Earlier this month, we met up at the Auroch Digital offices to record something which we look forward to sharing with you in the future.

Stay tuned for more info soon... 🎥



[h2]🌍 Participating in the Earth Appreciation Festival 🌍[/h2]
Through Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life's inclusion, we were delighted to be part of the Earth Appreciation Festival, which took place on Steam between the 23rd and 29th of April. The annual event, which is ran by our friends at Stray Fawn, Slug Disco, and Mechanistry, celebrates the beauty of our green planet and the marvellous diversity of life as we see it.

Thank you for having Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life be part of the festival and hopefully everyone who experienced the event was able to check out some great games that celebrate our planet! 💚

[h2]✨ Mars Horizon in 'Best Games About Space' List ✨[/h2]
We were delighted to be included in Mezha Media's 'Best Games About Space' shortlist with the original Mars Horizon! 🙌🏻

Mars Horizon is in fantastic company as the other games on the list are all tremendous examples of stellar space games.

Thanks again to Mezha Media for including us and we encourage you to check out all the games on the list, too!



[h2]🌕 ESA Launches 'Lunar Horizons' Game Mode in Fortnite 🌕[/h2]
Our partners for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced earlier this month that they have been working with Epic Games to include a realistic Moon mission, which is available to play in Fortnite! 

Lunar Horizons is available now in Fortnite, where it can be experienced using code 3207-0960-6428 or by searching for ‘Lunar Horizons’ in Discover. We hope you enjoy checking it out!



[h2]🛰️Join the official Mars Horizon 2 socials🛰️[/h2]
With the new direction of Mars Horizon 2 and the screenshots we shared this month, there's never been a better time to follow our social channels! This will ensure that you don't miss out on the cool content we'll have to share throughout the development journey and some behind the scenes looks at what we get up to. 👀


Celebrate Earth with Earth Appreciation Festival 2024! 🌎



In recognition of World Earth Day on April 22, 2024 we’re taking part in a weeklong Steam festival to celebrate the beauty of our green planet, and the marvelous diversity of life as we see it. This year’s selection of games shows off the Earth at its best, and inspires us to protect the environment that we all depend upon. Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life looks forward to finding life in our solar system, but reminds us to treasure the life that we already have here on earth.

With climate change, pollution, overpopulation, and conflict, the future of our planet’s delicately balanced ecosystems is far from guaranteed. Check out the festival to have a look at games offering a glimpse of the dire possibilities that show how much we'd miss our natural world if we lost it forever.
[h2]Climate change issues and Auroch Digital 🌍[/h2]
At Auroch Digital we are passionate about fighting the global climate crisis. We've done podcasts, and given talks about these issues and we are passionate about working with partners who care about these issues too. Our partner for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life is the European Space Agency (ESA) - learn more about this in our Steam post. We recently celebrated some good news from ESA where they are accelerating the race towards clean energy from space.

To hear more about Auroch Digital's views on Climate change listen to our Podcast episode - Games Development and Climate Change | S7 E4 with guests Dr Benjamin Abraham and Steven Webb, we explore why it is the Games Industry is a key component in the movement against climate change.

You can also watch a talk by our Studio Director Tomas Rawlings about Sustainability - Can the game industry grow without destroying the planet?
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2281620/Mars_Horizon_2_The_Search_for_Life/

🚀Mission Briefing 👩‍🚀Mars Horizon 2 Developer Update #1


[h2]Hi Aurochnauts! 👩‍🚀[/h2]
[h3]Welcome to the first Mission Briefing: Developer Update for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life with your latest update on the game 🚀[/h3]

Make sure you are subscribed to our Mars Horizon Newsletter to get these updates direct to your inbox and join our Discord to talk to other Mars Horizon and Space fans.



[h2]👩‍🔬What have the devs been working on this month? 👩‍🔬[/h2]
March has been a busy month for our developers on Mars Horizon 2, aka mission control. Our goal up to this point has been getting all of our underlying systems in place. Mars Horizon 2 is a heavily interconnected strategy game which means our bedrock needs to be robust and capable of handling the intercommunications between all of these systems.

We’re putting the finishing touches on the foundations of our planetary surface view gameplay. Our fantastic design team have started building first pass hex terrain maps with a focus being to accommodate for a variety of playstyles. We want to support each of our players to approach their search for life however they choose. Alongside this, our movement and action queuing systems are nearing build inclusion meaning we can get stuck into game feel and balancing.

Accessibility and playability are at the forefront of all projects at Auroch. As Mars Horizon 2 is a strategy game we have a heavy focus on UI iconography, hence the UI/UX team are diligently at work ensuring we communicate our myriad systems to all types of players concisely and clearly.

Our payloads are now in full swing, with many assets gradually being added to the game. Our universal animation system has now been implemented too, which allows our payloads to fully show all their greebles as they explore the far-flung vistas of space.

Speaking of space, the Solar System view has received a second visual pass which is bringing the beauty and grandeur of our corner of the cosmos to the forefront.

We are really passionate about the game's new direction. The excitement for the surface view gameplay is reaching fever pitch as we move towards our first internal playable.

- Matt Holmes, Producer for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life



[h2]🔭Interview with ESA 🔭[/h2]
At the recent Digital Tabletop Fest 4: Roll of the Dice, which took place between the 7th of March and the 11th, we at Auroch Digital hosted an interview with the European Space Agency. Mars Horizon 2's Lead Designer, John O'Donnell, and Producer, Tess Cartwright, spoke to the ESA's Modelling and Simulation Engineer, Alexia Mallet, and Mission Project Manager, Pantelis Poulakis, about a variety of topics including:

[h2]👀New Mars Horizon 2 screenshots 👀[/h2]
Earlier this month, we shared an update for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life. Here we showcased some new screenshots of what we've been working on and updated the game's Steam Store page to give you a teaser of the games new direction.

Check out the all new screenshots if you haven't already, we hope this has made you even more excited to play Mars Horizon 2 when it's ready 🙌🏻



[h2]🛰️Join the official Mars Horizon 2 socials🛰️[/h2]
With the new direction of Mars Horizon 2 and the screenshots we shared this month, there's never been a better time to follow our social channels! This will ensure that you don't miss out on the cool content we'll have throughout the development journey and some behind the scenes looks at what we get up to. 👀