Mars Horizon: Expanded Horizons - our biggest ever free update lands 22nd June!
Expanded Horizons is coming to PC and consoles on 22nd June 2021!
Expanded Horizons is our huge free update for Mars Horizon. It's our biggest one ever and includes:
- New Mission - Bringing you NASA's Perseverance Rover and the Ingenuity Helicopter which landed February 2021
- Reusable Vehicles - Requested by you, we've added a reusable Wyvern Upper
- Sandbox Mode - Heavily requested by the community the ultimate customisable Mars Horizon experience
- Iron Core Mode - Also community requested, the toughest way to play ever
- Lots of gameplay improvements - UI improvements, a catch up mechanic and more, suggested by you
- New Custom Agency logo - Send our cow to space
- The new Vehicle packs you've been enjoying are included for console too
- Nintendo Switch Demo - Try running your space agency on the go
[h2]New Mission and Payloads: Mars Perseverance [/h2]
We’ve added a new mission which includes the Perseverance Rover and the Ingenuity Helicopter, y’know, that mission that NASA recently sent to Mars? You can now play that mission yourself in Mars Horizon!
New Spacepedia entries exist for this mission, you’ll be able to find out all about the Rover and helicopter as well as viewing their models at your leisure. Alongside this there are new narrative events where important decisions will have to be made. And finally, There are new cinematics for these payloads meaning you’ll get to see the little helicopter making its way across its new home!
[h2]Reusable Vehicles[/h2]
We’ve also added a reusable Wyvern Upper. This is an awesome addition to the game because we’ve been able to demonstrate some of the new reusable vehicle tech which is moving into the mainstream in real life space exploration. If you do well enough to unlock the Wyvern Upper, you’ll be able to re-use it which will save you both time and money! Keep an eye out for the brand new cinematic for this too, we’re really proud of it.
[h2]New game modes - Sandbox and Iron Core[/h2]
[h3]Sandbox Mode - The ultimate customisable Mars Horizon experience 👩🚀[/h3]
HIGHLY requested by the community, we’re now offering a Sandbox Mode for Mars Horizon players! You’ll be able to access Sandbox Mode from ‘Customise Experience’ in the main menu, meaning you really can experience Mars Horizon however you want.
What Sandbox Mode opens up for you:
- Unlocks ALL upgrades
- Launches NEVER fail
- Unlimited mission gameplay battery
- FREE building moving
- Removing obstructions is FREE
- Starting funds
- Starting support tier
- A save icon to identify these sandbox saves at a glance
[h3]Iron Core Mode - The toughest way to play Mars Horizon 💪[/h3]
We’ve added a new special game mode where you can’t cheat by save-scumming. Iron Core mode will save after EVERY SINGLE TURN whether you want it to or not. Like with Sandbox Mode, a save icon will identify these Iron Core saves to help differentiate it. This is the toughest way to play Mars Horizon to date, there’s no going back!
[h2]New Custom Agency logo - Our lovely Aurochs! 🐮[/h2]
Recently we redesigned our studio logo, we absolutely love our new Aurochs. Check out our blog post to read about how and why we redesigned. We are so proud of our logo we want you to be able to take it to Mars with you so check it out in the custom agencies screen. Please send us your screenshots if you use it.
[h2]Improvements to gameplay[/h2]
As well as all those lovely new additions we’ve made a lot of improvements to gameplay, take a look at the following list to find out what’s new and what’s changed!
- The menu header highlights now loop, as per community requests, so now you can cycle through headers more easily
- In-progress missions are better highlighted in the UI - we’ve added a pulse, a clipboard, and a research icon which are displayed when appropriate, so it’s always clear what missions are underway in your list
- Made the ‘Complete Task’ button in mission gameplay more obvious when it appears - now it’s highlighted and pulses slightly - it will be ghosted when it’s not applicable so it will be much more clear when you can finish a mission early
- Catch Up Mechanic - when you fail a mission the previously used parts will become cheaper and also build faster. A game changer! It makes catching up after a failed launch feel more manageable and it can lead to some great last minute changes in your fortune
- The agency icon size for the solar system screen is now on a slider for accessibility
- Bonus reward communication now improved, there is now an animated font and more ceremony in the results screen when these are achieved - this makes getting a Mission Bonus more rewarding!
- We’ve made your rivals’ failures more obvious - they are now going to pop up red, pulse, and they’ll have a unique icon next to them in the Solar System screen in the News Ticker. Now you can get a feeling of smug satisfaction when you notice a rival experiencing a setback!
- Improved the drift icon - in response to community feedback, we’ve made it more clear to know if it will swing to the left or right by the addition of indicator arrows
- China’s space shuttle now has an arm-based deployment cinematic, so now you can watch Chinese payloads being plucked from the cargo bay and positioned in space
[h2]Vehicle packs coming to console[/h2]
Mars Horizon: Expanded Horizons is coming to PC and consoles and so will also bring our previous vehicle updates to consoles as well.
This includes the Distant Observations Vehicle Pack from April which had:
And also the Early Observations Vehicle Pack from March, which had:
- SPOT Satellite mission
- Rockets Nippon 1 and Nippon 2
[h2]Mars Horizon Free Nintendo Switch Demo![/h2]
If you’re yet to pick up Mars Horizon on Switch and want to give it a test launch - now you can! Alongside the update there’s a free Mars Horizon demo that will be available for everyone on Nintendo Switch!
Switch Up gave Mars Horizon on Switch a score of 84%! Check out their in-depth review here. This is the best way to run your space agency on the go, try it for free right now - Get the Mars Horizon Free Switch Demo.
[h2]Join our stream for a sneak peek👩🚀[/h2]
The dream team are back - Eira and Allie will give you an early look at Expanded Horizons showing you sandbox mode on the Mars Horizon Steam Store page. They will be joined by Stefan, one of the devs on the Mars Horizon team. He will be advising and mocking them in equal measure as well as sharing his experiences making the game.
Expanded Horizons Sneak Peek Livestream
- Date: Friday 11th June
- Time: 3.00pm UK Time
[h3]Phew, we told you it was our biggest update ever![/h3]
We can’t wait to see what you come up with in your Sandbox and Iron Core saves, and to see people exploring the universe with our Aurochs logo. Please make sure you share with us the chaos or the precision over on our Twitter or in our Discord!
