Surviving Mars: Pioneer News

[p]On the Red Planet, survival is only the first step toward discovery. Surviving Mars: Pioneer has officially left Early Access and launched into full 1.0 release on Steam VR.[/p][p]Priced at $24.99 USD, Pioneer introduces a wealth of new features, enhancements, and content that bring the game’s survival systems and Martian frontier to their most refined form yet. [/p][p][/p][p]Life and Death on the Red Planet[/p][p]This is not an adaptation of the original Surviving Mars, nor is it a city-building game reimagined for virtual reality. Pioneer is a standalone first-person VR survival sim, where every step across the Martian surface carries weight. Every moment is tactile and immediate. The dust stings your visor, oxygen ticks down with every breath, and survival depends on your ability to quickly adapt.[/p][p]You’ll weld structures into place to keep your base alive, link power lines through the canyons, and discover moments of stillness as stars blaze overhead. Contracts from rival factions drive your progression, offering rewards in the form of blueprints, tech, and resources, but every choice carries danger. On Mars, mistakes are final, and life is earned one decision at a time. [/p][p]
[/p][h3]A Martian Frontier Reforged[/h3][p]Version 1.0 delivers the most significant update yet for Surviving Mars: Pioneer. The building system has been overhauled, giving players more freedom and control over their colonies than ever before. Structures now connect seamlessly, snapping into place intuitively with expanded roof and ground options, new connector types, and fresh additions like Roof Platforms, Stairs, Railings, and a Vertical Airlock. The all-new Viewpod structure allows pioneers to take in the Martian horizon from the safety of their base, while full interior color customization adds a personal touch to survival.[/p][p]The world itself has expanded as well. New caves open up beneath the surface, hiding resources and dangers. A narrative ending provides closure for those who endure the harshest challenges. Achievements have been added across all platforms, giving explorers new milestones to reach for as they master life on Mars.[/p][p]On top of these headline additions, the launch build includes improved visual quality on Steam VR, along with a mountain of bug fixes and optimizations. [/p][p]
[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Surviving Mars: Pioneer - Launch Trailer[/p][p]
[/p][h3]What’s New in 1.0[/h3]

• [p]Overhauled building system with new connectors, snapping, and customization[/p]
• [p]New structures: Viewpod, Roof Platforms, Stairs, Railings, Vertical Airlock[/p]
• [p]Interior color customization options[/p]
• [p]New caves and environments to explore[/p]
• [p]Added narrative ending[/p]
• [p]Achievements on all platforms[/p]
• [p]Improved visual quality on Steam VR[/p]
• [p]Extensive bug fixes and optimizations 
  
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[p][/p][p]The Journey Ahead[/p][p]Developed by Bolverk Games and published by Impact Inked in association with Paradox Interactive, Surviving Mars: Pioneer was built from the ground up as a VR-native survival sim. Leaving Early Access is not the end of the mission but the start of a new chapter; one where the community’s feedback has helped shape a richer, more tactile, and more dangerous Mars.[/p]

[p]Hey Pioneers!

We’re back for another update!

Some of you may have seen the “Long Connector” in the last update…and now it’s officially in the game. We can’t wait to see what players build with this new blueprint. We also made grabbing items a bit easier overall.
[/p][p]There are also some other minor updates, so check the patch notes below for the full list. As always, we’d love to hear from you on our Discord. Thanks to everyone who has been reporting issues to the Feedbear as it has really helped us improve Surviving Mars: Pioneer even more![/p][p]
[/p][p]And lastly, the Gleam Giveaway is almost at its end, so make sure to check out the Gleam page for last minute entries to win exclusive merchandise. 
Enter Here[/p][p]
[/p][p]Changelog for 0.1.3 (1091)

[/p][p]Additions[/p][p]- Added the long connector
Changes[/p][p]- Made grabbing items easier
- Improved hints for the storeroom puzzle[/p][p]- Added a system to respawn unreachable dropped on death backpacks, they now spawn by you when entering an area with any bugged backpacks[/p][p]- Fixed the player collider allowing you to pass through things[/p][p]- Updated the hand collision with the blueprint terminal[/p][p]- Fixed the cannot save Version### bug[/p][p]- Adjusted the placement of the watch when playing with left hand mode[/p][p]- Fixed visual issues with connectors and airlocks[/p][p]- Fixed the intro restarting when entering the landing pod[/p][p]- Added missing item icons[/p][p]- Fixed being unable to remove buildings on old corrupted save files[/p][p]- Removed unused UI on the hoverbike[/p][p]
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[p][/p][p][/p][p]We have a massive patch today, dubbed the “One Small Tap” update! We’ve been reading all of your reviews, and watching your streams to see what everyone wants from Surviving Mars: Pioneer. We are thrilled with the overall positive reception, but we want to make SMP even better as we gear up for the 1.0 release. Today’s update addresses some of the feedback we’ve received while fixing a bunch of minor bugs.[/p][p][/p][p]
We are hosting a Gleam Giveaway to offer a chance to win some exclusive limited edition merchandise! Win a t-shirt featuring the iconic poster, or a hat. Follow the Gleam Page for more ways to enter. For extra entries enter “RocketMan” as a secret code!
[/p][p]Enter to Win Prizes Here![/p][p][/p][p]One of the biggest points of feedback that we’ve received was that players wanted to feel even more immersed in Surviving Mars: Pioneer! We have implemented a number of tweaks and improvements to help you feel even more at home with your new home away from home. Most screens can now be touched, and your backpack can be grabbed from behind. If you want to quickly drop loot into your inventory, just throw it over your shoulder![/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]A big debate within the community was the difficulty of Surviving Mars: Pioneer. Some players felt the game was too easy while others had trouble surviving their first couple of nights. We’ve decided to give players more control over their experience. [/p][p][/p][p]We are introducing new difficulty sliders into the game, which will allow players to fine tune their experience. Three presets are available – Story, Pioneer and Survival. This can be done when starting a new game, or during your game at any time. You can also adjust the rate that your oxygen and hunger depletes, how often storms appear, how quickly resources regenerate and decide if you want to drop your items on death. Please let us know what you think of this new feature in our Discord [/p][p]
[/p][p]There is now a way to report bugs directly in the game! If you find something that causes an issue, please pause the game and use the in-game reporting feature to let us know. A reference number will be provided on the screen. If you have additional information you would like to share with us, please submit a Feedbear post.
Post Feedback and Bugs Here![/p][p][/p][p]We’ve also done a pass on the main menu screen to help showcase the latest version number. Now all versions of the game are using a unified version number which can help make reporting even easier![/p][p][/p][p]Here is everything else that is included in the update:[/p][h3]🌟 New & Improved[/h3][p]
- New Difficulty options (can be adjusted in game)[/p][p]- Implemented physical (range) grabbing for objects[/p][p]- Inventory can now be grabbed from over the shoulder[/p][p]- Screens can now be touched[/p][p]- Items can be dropped into backpack[/p][p]- Ray only shows when pointing at something selectable[/p][p]- New UI follow logic for head movement[/p][p]- Adjusted construction gesture menu[/p][p]- Changed “Help” to “Tips” in main menu[/p][p]- New skyboxes in rotation[/p][p]- Wind and solar can now connect directly to transformers[/p][p]- Added move speed multiplier option[/p][p]- Added player voice selection option[/p][p]- Added visible version numbers to main menu and pause menu[/p][p]- Updated main menu and pause menu design[/p][p]- Airlock textures have been updated
[/p][h3]🐛 Bug Fixes[/h3][p][/p][p]- Updated connection visuals[/p][p]- Weather wall display fixed[/p][p]- Fixed blueprint terminal colliders[/p][p]- Unified inner airlock door design[/p][p]- Fixed vehicles flipping when changing scenes[/p][p]- Fixed wall screen portraits not being scannable[/p][p]- Fixed contracts leaking (also patches save files)[/p][p]- Fixed "unknown ore" contract bug that broke saving[/p][p]- Disabled autosave in dynamic scenes to improve stability[/p][p]- Fixed interaction support for fridge upper row[/p][p]- Fixed connectors not conducting power[/p][p]- Fixed construction tool selection not always updating correctly[/p][p]- Wall - Straight blueprint now available[/p][p]

[/p][h3]⚠️ Known Issues[/h3][p][/p][p]- The right screen on the hoverbike is not displaying correctly
[/p][p]As always, we really appreciate the community's support. We’ll be sharing more information about our plans for 1.0 in the coming weeks. Until then, please continue to sound off in the Discord with your thoughts and feedback![/p][p]
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Hey there Pioneers,

We are doing another round of updates today. Again, we really appreciate all the reports that have come in through Discord and on Feedbear. Thanks for making Surviving Mars: Pioneer an even better experience for everyone!





- Fixed a crash when grabbing items
- Fixed bugged quests in Windowspan and Mount Nyx
- Fixed the interaction panel in the cave in Widowspan
- Fixed experiment machine in Camp 63
- Fixed an issue with exiting the pyramid in Mount Nyx
- Fixed respawn bug with beds
- Improved cliff colliders
- Updated description for ENVAS



The image for this post was submitted by 8a22a on Discord.

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Hey Pioneers!

We are just pushing out an updated build today. This should make things more stable. In particular, the team has been working on addressing the inventory issues that have popped up, and some bugs that caused save files to be corrupted. If you are experiencing any issues please let us know on our Discord.

Special thanks to 8a22a who shared his home away from home with us.

# Build 1052 // May 22nd, 2025
- Made changes to inventory/socket
- Fix for save files corrupting
- Fix for darkness in Caves on Steam
- Fix being able to get progression locked before launch pad
- Removed deprecated storage container found in Mount Nyx
- Updated the rover visuals
- Fixed exiting vehicles
- Fixed wall colliders in bathrooms
- Fixed radiation protection upgrade
- Fixed planter box crafting
- Fixed colliders on vehicle ramps in New Amsterdam



We haven't been just working on bug fixes, we are also making progress on new content / reworks. Stand by for more information!