Occupy Mars: The Game News

[h2]Greetings, fellow Martians![/h2]

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





P.S. today our friends from Drago Entertainment are launching "Routastic Event" on the occasion of their Gas Station Simulator - Airstrip DLC launch. Our games are also joining their event so we wanted to share this information with you :)

Welcome to another DevLog - this time we have plenty of topics to discuss.

[h2]1. Kickstarter Summary[/h2]

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:

• The final list of all unlocked stretch goals
  (which will also serve as our roadmap for post-release development)
• Automated Excavation plan
• Kickstarter Reward Highlights
• and more...

[h2]2. Kickstarter Rewards[/h2]

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.



[h2]3. Early Access Build Progress[/h2]

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.

[h3]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.[/h3]

[h2]4. Freeplay Rebalance & Vehicle Building[/h2]

In the last devlog we've shown the progress with New Inventory, Tutorials and Interior Lighting.

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.



[h2]5. Tight Beam From Mars: Episode 9 - Growing Plants[/h2]

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:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
If you haven't seen the previous episodes yet, here's the full playlist.

In the next Episode #10 we will talk about Energy Production and Survival Events.

[h2]6. Occupy Mars: Colony Builder - Mobile tests started[/h2]

We have started the tests of our mobile game Occupy Mars: Colony Builder.

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:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]7. Thank you![/h2]

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

[h2]Dear Martians![/h2]

Today we'd like to tell you a little bit more about development progress for the Early Access build.

[h3]New Interior lightning[/h3]

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:



[h3]New Inventory[/h3]

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.



[h3]New Tutorials[/h3]

The new tutorials in the game are not only redesigned to provide better introduction 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.



[h3]European Rover Challenge 2023[/h3]

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

[h2]Dear Martians![/h2]

[h3]We have prepared a little surprise for you 😊 [/h3]

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:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

If you haven't seen the previous episodes yet, here's the full playlist.

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

[h2]Dear Martians![/h2]

[h3]Beta Status Update[/h3]

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.

[h3]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.[/h3]

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.
  

[h3]Kickstarter Progress[/h3]

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