Occupy Mars: The Game News

[h2]Hello, Martians![/h2]

The spooky day of Halloween is here! We couldn’t pass by the opportunity to celebrate and this is why we’re bringing Halloween pumpkins to Occupy Mars: The Game BETA version!

While we’re at it, we have also invited more people to participate in playtests! If you’re one of players who signed up and didn’t have access to Beta, take a look at your email inbox! Perhaps one of the invitations made its way to you! 🙂

Beta Playtest Changelog v0.93.3
- added Halloween Pumpkins!
- added "Universal Corridor Radiation Shield"
- added power and oxygen calculations to LandingCapsule
- added bigger cargo room to ITS rocket
- added tablet shortcuts I, M, B...
- more intensive weather effects depending on difficulty level
- fixed resource detection in rocks
- fixed all rock types react to explosions
- fixed plants physics
- reworked character creator in main menu
- improved vehicle driving / handling / grip / controls
- improved rocks optimization
- improved spectral detector
- improved save system
- improved player character & parameters
- improved parking space on small crusher
- improved ambandoned bases
- improved UI
- balanced Kilopower radiation
- ...and many, many, Many other bugs fixed thanks to our awesome Beta Testers!

[h3]Pumpkins![/h3]

As soon as you start the beta, you’ll receive some pumpkins in your starting capsule.

From there, you can:

Pick them up, throw them and otherwise spread all around Mars 🎃



Add some Halloween atmosphere to your base – they can provide light! A very faint one, but it might at the very least help with navigating around the base in the dark. 😄



Eat them – not the first thing you’d have in mind for a carved Halloween pumpkin, but it’s a good emergency option in case you run out of food on Mars. 😋

What you do with them is up to you – they’re just there to give you some fun!



Have a great Halloween time!

Occupy Mars Team

[h2]Hello, Martians![/h2]

It’s time for us to report on our development progress since our last devlog.

If you’re watching our streams on Twitch, you might be familiar with some of these features. Nevertheless, we hope this devlog will give a better picture of the game’s current state.

[h3]FOUNDATIONS[/h3]

We have implemented foundations into the building system. They come in various shapes. In the future, the system will be improved to allow building on those foundations.



[h3]UI CHANGES[/h3]

Pop-up notifications have been added to many options in Main Menu and in tablet UI, with one of the most important ones being an additional window “Do you want to leave the game?” requiring final confirmation from the player. Moreover, with new features and new panels added to tablet UI, interface’s overall design has been polished to make sure it’s consistent across all panels. Main Menu has been rearranged and modified according to players and our testing team’s feedback to make it easier to navigate and more legible.



[h3]INFOPANELS[/h3]

Information about missions and tutorials has been moved to the Tips panel for easier access. Tips panel will now feature tips along with your current tasks.

[h3]DETAILS[/h3]

Arrows have been added to ghosts of various objects in building mode to indicate where the plug is and to help players place those objects with that in mind.



Tools upgrading system and plant models have been improved. We also continue polishing astronaut’s animations. A sorting mechanic has been added to better organize the contents of your inventory.


[h3]TECH BOARDS[/h3]

Special Tech Boards have been included in the game. They are spread all around Mars and give a boost to your Tech Tree abilities. Highlighting mechanic has been added to make it easier to locate them when you get close enough. After finding Tech Board and interacting with it, its data is automatically downloaded to Tablet, where you can find information about Tech Tree points you’re earned.



[h3]CABINETS[/h3]

It’s now possible to build a cabinet inside the buildings. Various items can be safely put there. This cabinet’s purpose is to give you some place for storing your items. While it will definitely help with keeping your base tidy, you have to remember that it won’t prevent your food from spoiling.



[h3]GREENHOUSE UPGRADES[/h3]

Greenhouse Tutorial has made it back to the game and domes now come with soil management mechanic. It’s possible to build a composter which will allow you to make use of any leftover materials to improve the quality of your crops.



[h3]ALERTS[/h3]

New music track has been added to let you know when your buildings have been damaged and require immediate attention. What’s more, flickering red lights inside the damaged buildings will alert you about the danger.



We are now working on improving tutorials. Electricity system tutorial in particular will require an overhaul to introduce players to functionality of circuit breakers.

[h3]ROCKET LAUNCHER[/h3]

Lastly, we have added the long awaited anti-meteor rocket launcher! If you’re fed up with sleeping through meteor storms and you don’t like the idea of fixing your base afterwards, this rocket launcher allows you to shoot down threatening meteors before they hit your home.



[h3]MARS SOCIETY CONVENTION[/h3]

That would be all we have to show you for today. However, we are preparing a few big announcements for you. In just a few more hours, on October 20th at 2 PM PST our CEO will participate in the Mars Society Convention with a presentation about Occupy Mars development. Check out the event’s website if you’re looking forward to Occupy Mars: The Game, keep your eyes on our social media profiles and News tab here on Steam!

https://www.marssociety.org



Best Regards,
Occupy Mars Team

[h2]Hello, Martians![/h2]

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.



As we are very passionate about space & science, we were helping to organize this event for the last 4 years. Previously we were co-organizing the digital version of the competition called "Rover Mechanic Challenge" in special tournament version of our game Rover Mechanic Simulator.

This year we are an Official Partner and one of the Reward Sponsors of the event! On this occasion we are doing a special 3 Day Stream on Steam, Twitch and Youtube where we will play Occupy Mars Beta, and show highlights from ERC and interesting videos from the game.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Watch the ERC Streams here: https://roverchallenge.eu/en/erc2022-livestream/
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

- Official ERC Stream Day 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68MYYI5Qi30
- Official ERC Stream Day 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY9Fi0Ng99g
- Official ERC Stream Day 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAtWppoPWUw
- ERC + Occupy Mars 3 DayStream Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/pyramid_games
- ERC + Occupy Mars 3 DayStream YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRjEcOEXZLc

Occupy Mars Early Access is coming soon and over 2000 players are already playing the Beta helping us improve it before official release (more keys were sent today). If you didn't receive your beta yet but you are excited about Mars Rovers as much as we are then remember that you can play our previous game Rover Mechanic Simulator right now:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/864680/Rover_Mechanic_Simulator/

Best Regards,
Occupy Mars Team

[h2]Hello, Martians![/h2]

[h3]We’re back from Gamescom![/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Big thank you to the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development for their assistance and support and for providing us a chance to show Occupy Mars: The Game at this great gaming event!



Our booth had a lot of visitors, who gave us a lot of valuable feedback. Of course, we receive plenty of feedback on a daily basis from our Beta playtesters and we’re very grateful for that. However, during Gamescom, we could meet our players live and see all their reactions and feelings that accompanied them during their playthrough. What we learned will help us greatly to prepare the game for its Early Access release.

Gamescom was also – or above all – a meeting for hundreds of gamedev companies. We’ve met a lot of great people and established contact with companies from various countries. Who knows? Maybe some of these friendships will create opportunities for Occupy Mars: The Game to reach even more people in the near future!

Our team members made sure to bring everything they’ve experienced back to Poland. What is left to apply all this experience to practice!



Gamescom is not everything we have to tell you about, though!

[h3]We also bring Beta-related news![/h3]

Let us start with the information that more people who registered for Beta have received access to the playtest version of the game! If you’re one of those people, an email should arrive at the email address associated with your Steam account and you should be able to access the game through your Steam library.

There are various ways to send us your feedback:
A separate Sub-Forum on Steam called Beta Discussions was created for those who have access: LINK
After playing please also remember to fill out our Beta Survey: LINK
If you’d like to hang out with other players outside of Steam forums, we have dedicated channels on our Discord server as well: LINK



Secondly, Beta Patch v0.87.2 is now LIVE!
A lot of fixes come with this patch. You can find the full changelog below.

[h3]CHANGELOG Beta v0.87[/h3]

Features:
- Added Storage Case - now you can build it inside your base for additional storage space
- Added Radio - It's one part of a two-part feature. Now you are able to add music into OccupyMars_Data\StreamingAssets\Music and play it instead of default music. Later we will add a possibility to place the radio inside your base, and play music at some distance from it.
- Added additional loot inside Abandoned Bases
- Reworked panels in Hangar
- Added minable rocks in Olympus Caves
- Added new animations to sleeping.
- Added emergency lights while your base building has low durability
- Added the possibility to hold all items in hands.
- Improved plants models

Bugfixes:
- explosions on Spotty robot and Jetpack now work properly
- explosions now properly deal damage to abandoned buildings
- Small Solar Panels now should properly rotate towards the sun.
- fixed text information while refilling suit in well
- fixed bugs related to the panel in Hangar
- rover drill now should be properly unlocked using techtree
- add support for more animations (mainly doors, drawers, and Irises)
- fixed problem with main menu panels not showing after exiting tutorials
- fixed problem with sleeping hours showing more than 24 hours.
- fixed problem when sometimes tourist mode not having all items
- fixed problem when sometimes unplugging cable was blocked
- fixed problems with finishing electricity, greenhouse, and tools tutorials
- fixed problems with color selection in the main menu profile section
- a fixed problem that occurs while combining items with 0 durability
- fixed problem with spamming achievements
- fixed problem with opening crates and waste tank
- fixed problems with main menu navigation using the gamepad
- fixed problems with destroyed buildings without texture
- changed visibility of withering plants
- fixed problem with a spamming log while enabling
- fixed inability to pick up and move plants by hand
- fixed player movement speed while crouching
- You will no longer need to crouch to enter airlocks in some destroyed bases
- fixed problem with unnaturally head rotation while pressing the middle mouse button
- fixed stucking items in the air while taking them out from Hotbar
- changed spectral detector lvl2/lvl3 range
- fixed UI problems in UI save/load panel
- fixed tools upgrading
- fixed holes in Olympus Mount
- fixed low resolution icon textures on low settings
- fixed problem with rover driving normally on low battery


[h2]Stream[/h2]

We’re having a stream at 5 PM CEST today on our Twitch channel. If you haven’t received access to the Beta version yet and you’d like to see the current state of the game, feel invited to join us! Our team members Lukas and Conrad can’t wait to tell you all about their time at Gamescom, but of course, there will be plenty of time for Mars exploration as well!



[h2]About development progress[/h2]

As the end note, we’d like to show you what our team has been working on – aside from fixes prepared for Beta Patch v0.87 of course. :) New vehicles! These aren’t features present in the current Beta version, but they’re likely to appear at a later time.





Do you like them? It’s an interesting alternative to usual trips in a Heavy Rover, but you also have to keep in mind that neither Quad nor Truck are as well equipped for emergencies. No sleeping through a sudden sandstorm if it hits you on the way home. ;)

We hope you’ll be able to join us – be it on Beta forums or during our stream. We’re looking forward to our meeting!

We know it’s a long ride, but we truly believe that Occupy Mars: The Game is on a good way to its Early Access release and we can’t wait to arrive at the finish line.



Stay tuned for upcoming updates!

Best Regards,
Occupy Mars Team

Today is the last day of the Survival Festival. Now that more players have tried out Occupy Mars: Beta and Prologue, let’s talk about development progress of the upcoming Early Access release! We’d like to show you a few things we’ve been working on.

[h2]Updated UI[/h2]
We mentioned a few times in the past that we were reworking the UI, adding new interfaces for many new features that weren’t in the game before and polishing the existing ones. In the previous devlog and during our streams, you could see the new Sleeping panel. This time, we’d like to show you:

[h3]New Messages Panel[/h3]


[h3]New Inventory[/h3]


And last but not least, menu of one of the more complex features in the game…
[h3]Tech Tree – work in progress[/h3]


[h2]More options and customization[/h2]
Now, you have even more options to adjust the game to your needs! To be more specific, there are many more options visible in the Graphics section right off the bat. Some of those could be accessed in the main Quality tab, but now they are split into more visible individual settings.

Here is what you’ll be able to set:



Let us tell you about the "Always render environment" option. Terrain rendering allows you to decide whether you’d like to have the terrain visible from inside your buildings or not. It mostly affects the buildings with windows – if the option is checked, you will see the view outside your window. If the option is not checked, scenery outside will be replaced with simulation – not necessarily accurate to your surroundings, but believable enough to not bother you much.

It’s a very useful feature optimization-wise as it allows you to reduce GPU’s usage and make the game run smoothly if you experience lag in the game. Losing that nice view from your window is a minor loss in comparison. :)

There were also some issues related to saving on specific devices – we have changed the way the game is saved and hopefully, that will solve those issues.

Time (and testing) will tell!

[h2]Mechanic improvements[/h2]
We continuously improve existing game mechanics. The controls of Seed Tool and the Air Pressure Tool have been slightly changed. After taking out the tool, you can now press Up and Down arrow keys to choose the magazine you want. Menu to the right gives you an overview of seeds you have.



We’ve been further improving mechanic of drilling and rock mining. Rock analysis with the upgraded Spectral Detector on 2nd and 3rd level has also been vastly improved.



We have also made changes to temperatures and adjusted damage player receives due to low temperature. In the past, player was receiving set amount of damage throughout time frame of 5 PM and 6 AM. Now, damage received is proportional to temperature. Time no longer matters. At -40 Celsius degree player starts receiving damage. The lower the temperature (usually at night but not necessarily), the higher the damage.

Another useful feature is a list that you can keep on your screen to help you keep track of materials you need for building. All you need to do is to go to Tablet menu, choose a building from a list of building and click on in with right mouse button. A list will appear to your left which will remain there even after leaving the tablet menu.



[h2]Quality of life improvements[/h2]
Alongside all of this, we have made some quality of life improvements – not as spectacular, minor additions and some readjustments, but with everything else, they should improve the gameplay experience. Mouse sensitivity has been corrected, as well as camera movement during sleeping animation. Full controller support has been included in the Main Menu. Moreover, during tutorial missions, you can view the gamepad controls. When choosing your landing location on Mars globe, you can manually rotate the globe.



[h2]Some music to soothe the soul[/h2]
We’re working on a certain feature which will allow you to listen to your own music in-game – a radio! It’s still a work in progress and a subject to change, but here is overview of how it works for now:

Before launching the game, just add your favourite songs to an appropriate folder. They will all appear in a menu on the Tablet, from where you can arrange them into playlists.



Once you’re done, all that’s left is to build a radio and place it in your preferred place. Music will play automatically whenever you’re in the radio’s range and if you’d like to stop the music, just click on the radio. You can destroy it and thus move it to your Inventory if you’d like to change its location later. All your playlists are saved, so you can come back to them anytime.



All these improvements are developed alongside fixes for the Beta version. Even more content is coming as a lot of these new features are work in progress. We have yet to tell you about the rocket launcher, but that’s a story for another devlog as we’re still working on it. :)

Best Regards,
Occupy Mars Team