Check out the latest developer spotlight video for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life, a strategy space exploration simulation game developed by Auroch Digital. Players will venture out into the galaxy to search for life beyond Earth and deal with the hazards of the solar system. Make decisions on what planets to visit, how to get there, what to bring on said mission, and more crucial decisions that build to the ultimate goal. Take a look at the developer spotlight video as Lead Designer John O'Donnell and Junior Programmer Siddharth Mishra go over the game's direction and provide new information as to what players can expect. Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life is coming soon to PC.
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00:00In Mars Horizon 1, you played through historical events, getting humankind to Mars.
00:13Mars Horizon 2, however, tells a different space exploration story, the search for life.
00:18Since announcement, we've been working hard with our partners and space exploration experts
00:23to craft an authentic story.
00:25Now that the project has developed, it's evolved into an experience we can't wait
00:28to show you.
00:42In Mars Horizon 2, The Search for Life, you'll be writing history, continuing our story of
00:46humanity in the stars.
00:47This time, we'll be landing on Mars and beyond, sending out your rovers to search
00:51for life, dealing with the hazards of the solar system, and going even further into
00:55the future.
00:56We looked at games like Civilization, which really allow the player to explore, and this
01:00inspired us to tell our story about the future of space exploration.
01:04We even have a hex grid to support this exploration gameplay, and multiple ways to win.
01:09You can go for a science victory, a media victory, or a combination of those.
01:13The players will make decisions at multiple different levels on how to run their agencies.
01:18Where are you going to look next?
01:20What are you going to send there?
01:21What sort of technology will that mission need?
01:23How long will that mission survive?
01:25How are you even going to get there?
01:26Every time you play, life will be hiding somewhere new, so your strategy will have to adapt as
01:31the mystery reveals itself.
01:33Will you be able to make those crucial life discoveries before your rival agencies discover
01:38them?
01:39The exploration gameplay on the surface has been a really interesting feature to work
01:42on.
01:43I've always been a massive fan of strategy games, so working on a hex-based game like
01:47this has been a dream come true.
01:49One of the challenges we faced in code was creating terrain which wraps to the east and
01:52west on the planet's surfaces.
01:54This feature was important to us so we could give players the experience of exploring the
01:58entire planet.
01:59We had to work really closely with our art team to achieve this, and we're incredibly
02:03proud of the result.
02:04One of the most significant challenges Code had to deal with was to create this scalable
02:09system that can deal with intricate and interconnected mechanics that the game offers.
02:15From astrobiology to rocket science, our game encompasses a wide array of mechanics, and
02:20each action that the player does, it triggers a ripple effect throughout the gameplay.
02:25To ensure an authentic experience, we have integrated numerous avenues through which
02:29the player can express their different approaches to discovering life.