Author Topic: Race to Mars - a turn-based space simulator game (Read 18999 times)

Velomir · « **on:** 06/27/2013 08:08 pm »

Hi. I am happy to announce the start of the Race to Mars space company tycoon sim on Kickstarter. The game is developed by the INTERMARUM software company from Opole, Poland with the scientific support of the Kosmonauta.net company.

Check it out at the link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/intermarum/race-to-mars

Main website: http://intermarum.com/race-to-mars/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RaceToMars

From the project description site:

Race To Mars is a turn-based, space company simulation game. Become the head of a newly created “New Space” company whose goal is to establish a colony on Mars. You begin as a start-up and develop cutting edge aerospace technologies to reach orbit. Flying beyond the vicinity of Earth, blaze the trail into space and leave the competition far behind on your way to victory.

Our game aims at achieving two goals: promoting the outer space industry and satisfying all fans of economy games. Race To Mars combines the realism of a space-port management sim and approachable gameplay. We assure you that both subject enthusiasts and casual gamers will find this mixture highly entertaining. Our priority is to make an approachable game without compromising its key economic and strategic features.

On the main game screen, there will be the firm’s HQ and additional buildings related to the company’s activities. Most of the buildings will be created during the game, in the development phase of various projects, both major and minor ones. For example, a medium-size launch pad will be developed during R&D activities related to the medium-size rocket.

As an important game element, the player will have to interact with National Space and Air Office, the military, scan new market offers and monitor the activity of competitors. The authors of the game propose a simplified system called “the market”.
--

I am part of the Kosmonauta.net team supporting the game development, so you can ask me some questions as well :-)

Chris Bergin · « **Reply #1 on:** 06/27/2013 08:13 pm »

Looks really cool! And so everyone is aware, NSF is supporting this effort.

NovaSilisko · « **Reply #2 on:** 06/27/2013 09:25 pm »

Very cool. I'm guessing this was directly inspired by Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space?

Velomir · « **Reply #3 on:** 06/27/2013 09:26 pm »

Yes, it was :-)

NovaSilisko · « **Reply #4 on:** 06/27/2013 09:28 pm »

I wish you luck, BARIS was awesome and this looks like it will be a great spiritual sequel to it.

LooZ · « **Reply #5 on:** 06/27/2013 11:35 pm »

Hi, my name is Simon, and i'm owner of INTERMARUM

For sure we need your support, not only by throwing cash in us (but we need it too!

but also by spread the good word about us and Race To Mars.

If you have any questions about game features, feel free to ask. We are here for you!

neilh · « **Reply #6 on:** 06/27/2013 11:40 pm »

This looks really cool, I'll be sure to put in a pledge once I get to my home computer.

Are you planning on having a multi-path tech tree, e.g. heavy-lift vs. medium-lift with depots, ISRU vs non-ISRU, inflatable vs rigid modules, etc?

LooZ · « **Reply #7 on:** 06/27/2013 11:59 pm »

Yes, we did quite a extensive survey of exisiting and future technologies. we aim to provide many different technologies.

Maquis · « **Reply #8 on:** 06/28/2013 12:29 am »

Good day folks, I also am part of this project, however from the kosmonauta.net side, so mostly tech support. Yes, we did consider various options for payload delivery and as such all important ones should be reflected in the game.

Andy DC · « **Reply #9 on:** 06/28/2013 12:52 am »

I look forward to more details. You need a better video on your kickstarter page, as you don't show much, but you say more is coming. Looking forward to that!

neilh · « **Reply #10 on:** 06/28/2013 01:39 am »

Quote from: LooZ on 06/27/2013 11:59 pm

Yes, we did quite a extensive survey of exisiting and future technologies. we aim to provide many different technologies.

Would you be interested in feedback from folks in this forum on the technologies and technology path?

Chris Bergin · « **Reply #11 on:** 06/28/2013 01:52 pm »

Very good start with 63 backers.

LooZ · « **Reply #12 on:** 06/28/2013 02:25 pm »

neilh: Sure!

Chris, thanks. We still could better..

mrmandias · « **Reply #13 on:** 06/28/2013 06:56 pm »

BARIS was oodles of fun. I just donated. This looks like an awesome complement to Kerbal for the space nut or the gaming fan.

LooZ · « **Reply #14 on:** 06/29/2013 12:43 am »

Thanks! It's extremely important for us to get some more attention.

You could aid us by telling your friends about the project and supporting us on forums or social networking sites. Do not hesitate to comment on our Kickstarter and our updates!

If you have the time, we would like you to click the "share" button on the KickTraq website -
http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/intermarum/race-to-mars/

or "yes" here - http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=148496621

QuantumG · « **Reply #15 on:** 06/29/2013 12:52 am »

Looks awesome. I pledged using the Paypal button. Why Kickstarter has different payments for US vs UK is beyond me. Why they don't just integrate Paypal for everywhere, likewise.

Good luck!

LooZ · « **Reply #16 on:** 06/29/2013 04:37 pm »

Our second update just went up, in which you can find a translated interview from a Polish gaming site.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/intermarum/race-to-mars/posts/523778

Archer · « **Reply #17 on:** 06/29/2013 05:37 pm »

Unity engine is able to build builds for an Xbox, and as a fellow game developer I strongly recommend you to port your game on Xbox too.
Only about ~10%-15% of gamers play on PC.

Good luck!

Lar · « **Reply #18 on:** 06/29/2013 06:40 pm »

Quote from: QuantumG on 06/29/2013 12:52 am

Looks awesome. I pledged using the Paypal button. Why Kickstarter has different payments for US vs UK is beyond me. Why they don't just integrate Paypal for everywhere, likewise.

Good luck!

I was trying to figure out why it was asking me about pounds instead of USD. I'm used to paying with Amazon Payments or PayPal

But I'm in, and I posted to FB too. Good luck!

LooZ · « **Reply #19 on:** 06/30/2013 10:15 am »

Archer - we have been thinking about this, but it would require additional funds for X360 licensing and rebuilding the interface so it would work well with consoles. In any case, if the Kickstarter campaign succeeds - why not?

Lar - it's a matter of bureaucracy between Kickstarter and european companies.

LooZ · « **Reply #20 on:** 06/30/2013 06:45 pm »

We just hit 10%!

Thanks for your support.

Aaand new update - What is the general idea of graphics development in this game?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/intermarum/race-to-mars/posts/525300

LooZ · « **Reply #21 on:** 07/01/2013 10:04 pm »

£5144! It was an amazing day for us all! By the article published today on Rock, Paper, Shotgun we've finally break through the broader public and we get 16% of the goal now. Thank you so much!! Keep supporting!

Ps. We just received endorsement from the mars society!

LooZ · « **Reply #22 on:** 07/03/2013 04:46 pm »

A little update.

We get already 21% - 6,391 pounds.

Music in Race To Mars - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/intermarum/race-to-mars/posts/526875
What is the general idea of graphics development in this game? - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/intermarum/race-to-mars/posts/525300

LooZ · « **Reply #23 on:** 07/06/2013 03:50 pm »

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/intermarum/race-to-mars/posts/530666

Update #7 - DevDiary #1 - gameplay with commentary.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask

Velomir · « **Reply #24 on:** 07/06/2013 11:06 pm »

The last days have been a little slow, so some help in spreading the word would be appreciated :-)

Thanks!

Chris Bergin · « **Reply #25 on:** 07/09/2013 05:24 pm »

458 backers, almost a third the way there.

LooZ · « **Reply #26 on:** 07/12/2013 11:05 pm »

We have some new cool stuff (and 500 backers!)

Update #9 - Discover some of the features of Race To Mars - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/intermarum/race-to-mars/posts/536185

Update #10 - Discover some of the features of Race To Mars, Part II - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/intermarum/race-to-mars/posts/536063

Update #11 - Technology Tree - first look - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/intermarum/race-to-mars/posts/536185

Velomir · « **Reply #27 on:** 07/19/2013 08:46 am »

1/3 of the needed funds are pledged :-)

still 8 days to go

LooZ · « **Reply #28 on:** 08/26/2013 02:54 pm »

Despite the unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign on KickStarter, we did not give up! Race to Mars is still being created. In order to speed up the game development, we decided to make it available on the market right now, in its initial form. What we are publishing today is a slightly modified version of the game, which was sent to the media during the KickStarter campaign.

This is the PreAlpha version, which is still missing a few basic components - IT IS A VERY EARLY VERSION! We publish it for all our fans and supporters from the KickStarter campaign.

Right now we are working on the tools and as soon as the Alpha version is reached, which will allow a short game, we will initiate the media campaign. This should take approximately 4 weeks.

Also, right now we need your comments and support, as it has already been very valuable.

We are going to send you updates about the Race To Mars game every second week, so that you should know the current development status. Soon a Linux version should be available as well as a tool to translate Race To Mars to other languages, for what you have asked during the KickStarter campaign.

Of course, we will answer to all your questions or comments, also related to our our website.

For more information, please check our website - www.racetomars.pl

Regards
Szymon Janus
ceo . intermarum

LooZ · « **Reply #29 on:** 09/05/2013 12:19 am »

Race To Mars - new build!

If you haven't bought the Alpha version yet, you can do it at our http://www.racetomars.pl/ webpage!

In the last two weeks we've done the following:

the project manager and engineer generator system (the astronauts still wait for their turn

)
a salary and workforce development system - for engineers and project managers (still, it won't be very visible to you yet)
new gui for engineers and project managers
random events appeared (with no impact to the game yet) all text in the game is now imported to an .xml file
which with our tool will soon allow to translate RTM into any language
we've changed some graphical details and the water
we've added new building shapes for appearance tests
The next build should be also available for linux.

LooZ · « **Reply #30 on:** 10/16/2013 04:21 pm »

Today, Race To Mars - an economy/strategy game where you lead a newly founded Space company onto it's road to Mars - has reached its 5th update.

The game is funded by selling alpha access and has been already bought by over 200 fans. In the current version you can see the new scene design, the techtree and our system for spaceship design. The game is still very early in development and your generosity will greatly help speed up development.

If you are interested, we invite you to buy the game at http://racetomars.pl or to track our progress at facebook.com/racetomars or twitter.com/racetomars.

We would also like to ask you for your support on Steam Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=148496621

Race To Mars - gameplay - october 2013 -

LooZ · « **Reply #31 on:** 01/03/2014 12:11 pm »

We wish we were releasing new builds more often, but in the next couple of days you can expect new version with a lot of changes. All this being a part of preparations for starting Early Access on Steam. Till the release date we will constantly try to add new functionalities, which we will surely inform you about.

We would like to include what’s following:
- change of gui system
- new gui elements (e.g. conferences, random events, administration, university)
- new gui functionalities (e.g. dragging some of windows and hyperlinks to other windows)
- early sketch of the first technology tree in the game
- at least couple of dozens from over 150 already prepared random events
- new, almost final versions of buildings (Administration, Assembly Buildings, National Space Agency, Research & Development)
- fixed: day & night system, weather system and new post-processing
- early version of tutorial
- working Linux version
- early version of monthly and financial reports
- improved performance
and a lot of small fixes.

We hope you will enjoy progress we made. We encourage to follow our profiles facebook.com/RaceToMars and twitter.com/RaceToMars as well as our website racetomars.pl

LooZ · « **Reply #32 on:** 02/28/2014 02:20 pm »

It's only a week till we release Race To Mars on Steam Early Access. Beside that, the game will of course be available on our website in DRM-Free version.

In the version that's going to be released 7th March it will be possible to test basic mechanics of the game and get to know the first space program. For us this is a beginning of even more intense work period, so we're counting for your support and feedback.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/257930

SaxtonHale · « **Reply #33 on:** 02/28/2014 05:54 pm »

Good luck!

It would be interesting to hear about the response you get from the Steam community as you attempt to tap that volcano.

LooZ · « **Reply #34 on:** 03/05/2014 11:28 pm »

Sure thing!

I will let you know.

luinil · « **Reply #35 on:** 03/07/2014 05:14 am »

Do you know when the game will be available on mac ? It seems to be an interesting game and I'll like to try it =)

LooZ · « **Reply #36 on:** 03/07/2014 07:55 pm »

Now!

Early Access version of Race To Mars is already available on Steam! A lot of new features come with a lot of emotions. We’ve done it quite a few times and we can honestly say it’s really fun to launch your satellite into space. You should try yourself

http://store.steampowered.com/app/257930

Actually, we have some problems with Mac, but we are resolving this.

luinil · « **Reply #37 on:** 03/09/2014 11:10 am »

Thanks, downloading now

LOX · « **Reply #38 on:** 07/24/2014 02:58 pm »

Any thoughts on this game so far? I've looked at a couple of youTube videos and the comments don't really fill me with much confidence in terms of actual gameplay yet. I mean, it's been under development for a good year at least now.

One guy tried to make a youTube video and the music drowned out his commentary but he couldn't find any audio sliders in the menu options to simply turn it down. If a simple thing like that isn't already implemented then I'm speechless.

I've read comments like, boring looking spreadsheets, game not very immersive yet, text too small to read and there are grammatical errors too!!

It seems there are so many features yet to be implemented. How often do game updates happen? Will the game ever get finished before people get to travel to Mars in the real world?