Take on Mars early Access starts tomorrow

[MengJiao]

  That is August 1, and I will be on vacation on sailboats and things and not playing any steam-based games.

  Sounds fun (from the Bohemia site):

  All of our vehicles are based on real vehicles, but made with customizable slots. This means that the large rover (similar to Curiosity) has many slots on top where you can mount instruments, antennas etc.

The Space Program has you starting with a small budget, launching your first lander to Mars. This lander has a low quality camera, to replicate the feeling of getting the first images of Mars. You then continue to improve your technology as you progress through the various missions, which consist of scientific analyses, exploration, and taking photos. For each mission you send a new vehicle, or, assign it to a vehicle already on the surface nearby, that can complete the mission. Thus, reusing vehicles for new missions is also possible.

As for vehicle customization, there is a whole section in the main control room where you can construct various setups (another section is used for assigning missions etc). The vehicle you construct may be tested in the space agency's "Mars Yard" (inspired by the one at JPL), and you can drive it around just like you would later on the surface of Mars. There are no consequences for testing, it is used to test whether the setup you have assembled is usable (for example if you put a drill on the top of a vehicle, it will be quite useless). You can save this as a preset and send it to Mars thereafter. Alternatively, you may start a new mission, assign a pre-defined preset, and customize that.

[steve58]

Thanks for the heads up!...didn't think it'd be available until later this year.  I won't be able to access it it myself this weekend, but will check it out later next week.

For $13 I couldn't/didn't resist.  Now gotta wait until next week  :-\

http://takeonthegame.com/take-on-mars

[tgb]

I'm confused.  This isn't the Mars space program thing that's competing with the new Buzz Aldrin game?  I got excited for a moment.

[steve58]

You're probably thinking of Race to Mars which did not make its Kickstarter, but is still trying...

[tgb]

You're probably thinking of Race to Mars which did not make its Kickstarter, but is still trying...

My bad. Race to Mars is indeed the title I was interested in.

[Jarhead0331]

Anyone play yet? Looking forward to giving it a whirl tonight.

[Nefaro]

Nobody picked up the early access?!

Wow.. we really do have too many games if us addicts aren't picking up every interesting new one!  :o

[Grim.Reaper]

Nobody picked up the early access?!

Wow.. we really do have too many games if us addicts aren't picking up every interesting new one!  :o

Depends on your definition of interesting:)  lucky for my wallet, at this point I dont find it interesting to buy:)

[JudgeDredd]

I've got paint I need to watch dry...but when it dries I'm all over this bad boy  :)

Seriously though I didn't really get into their non military Take On Helicopters - and (as I made clear in a previous thread) I'm just not sure how much "game" is in a space program "game"

But I'll keep my ear to the ground.

[bbmike]

It looks interesting, but I think I'm over the whole early access/alpha build thing. The breaking point for me might have been seeing Steam offer early access/alpha stuff at a discount during the Steam Summer Sale.  :o

[Jarhead0331]

I toyed around with it last night, "toyed" being the key word. Its a neat little simulation. They have really captured the "magic" of looking at a barren wasteland through the lens of a video feed. ;)

Seriously though, it managed to keep me interested with basic scientific tasks, like capturing photos, testing the atmosphere and probing the soil. Each mission you accomplish gives you access higher tech and more complex lander parts. So, as the complexity of the missions ramps up, I think you'll generally be given more to do.

I've only performed two missions so far in victoria crater. My biggest disappointed at this point is that there is little to no participation in getting hardware to mars or landing on the surface. Its like, there is an unlimited number of landers floating around in orbit and once you deploy them, you just watch as they descend to the surface. Ideally, I would like to participate in lauinching and tracking space based vehicles, and then having some role in the whole landing process, other then merely selecting the landing site and pressing a button.

Overall, its a simulation that definitely has value, for those of us who enjoy doing things other than blowing stuff up, in our gaming. They are clearly planning a lot of content for it in the future, and I think they are hopeful that the modding community will really add a lot of content, just like the community has done for arma. 

[Staggerwing]

I grabbed it as well but I still have not set up my WIN7 box after moving into my new house. Hopefully I can make room for it soon in the spare room among all my as-yet unpacked boxes.

[Nefaro]

So it doesn't have much sandbox?

[mikeck]

Just seems a little....dry. I dunno.... Driving a remote control car at 2 miles an hour through the desert picking up rocks and dirt and sticking thermometers into the ground just doesn't seem that exciting. I think I will stick to blowing stuff up