Hi Aurochnauts! ????????
Welcome to the first 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.
????????What have the devs been working on this month? ????????
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
????Interview with ESA ????
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:
- ???? The on-going mission to find life on Mars
- ???? How real-life rocket science plays a part in the game design for Mars Horizon 2
- You can watch the interviewover on our YouTube channel.
????New Mars Horizon 2 screenshots ????
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 ????????
????️Join the official Mars Horizon 2 socials????️
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. ????
