EleSigma

Hey, so I've enjoyed the work you guys have done and just came back to this game after some time away from it. Here are my suggestions after playing through it again: I think the rocket is an important, but overlooked part to the game, especially with Expedition 1 now being announced. Rockets should be researchable and factor into budget I think. It wouldn't play too much of a role early game with the starter rocket being able to carry up to medium sized loads and maybe one researchable for the larger loads and longer distances (like the asteroid belt), but later on when the manned missions start you would have to make a rocket capable of carrying a crew, supplies, and building materials. *For the newly announced Expedition 1 content, there should be many steps to landing a man on Mars, Before you're driving large mobile bases across the dunes there has to be the very first steps which is to successfully land the first people on Mars and get them back without killing them as well as making an outpost that would be not be permanently manned (that is only having astronauts occupy the base in intervals and the base not being self-sufficient and having to be resupplied). Two ways I can think of off the top of my head that this could be done is having the missions based on the Mars Direct plan and NASA DRM (Design Reference Mission) proposals (which itself is based off of Mars Direct). I linked some very general information below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Direct http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_reference_mission_3.0 http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/leag2007/presentations/20071001.drake.pdf As for colonization, one of the popular ideas at the moment is to first send remote controlled robotic workers to Mars with building materials to the red planet. The robots would be controlled from Earth and would be used to set up the foundations for the base, such as drill holes, insert metal frames into holes, building frames for shelters and then constructing the outer wall of the shelter. Then send colonists to finish the job by putting up the insulated walls, hooking up power, air, water, etc. and attach inflatable habitats to the shelter that would make more room and allow things like greenhouses to be built. *Even though there isn't much in the way of information at the moment so I could be saying things that are already confirmed? Also as a far out there suggestions I would pay for a Take on Mars moon and/or space station expansion, just a suggestion though. :P

Though the large windows on the second level won't make it in? I don't think I would want nearly unfiltered solar radiation shining in on me all day when radiation is put into the game. The port-holes on the upper level are ok, but the large panoramic windows are a bit much I think.

After looking at the manned landing module in the game I did a quick sketch of a design of my own. http://i.imgur.com/Eos6g3B.png (127 kB) It makes the capsule smaller as the one currently in the game is too large for re-entry and with current set up is a bit wasteful with space. This capsule removes the supply/cargo hold on the bottom, which could be a separate, unmanned landing craft. The lander is composed of two levels, the top being where the pilot sits, would have a pull-down glass MDF display similar to the interior of the newly unveiled Dragon capsule and would seat up to four people. Here there would be 3 port-holes to view the outside of the capsule and a door with retractable ladder to exit the capsule from. The top level can also be sealed and depressurized to act as an airlock. The lower level is accessed using a ladder in the floor of the top level via a sealable hatch. The second level contains two rooms, the room the ladder access opens into is the lab, which would contain equipment to study regolith, rocks, environmental effects on certain materials, and basic food growing tests. The second room would be the habitation area, hosing the life support, having deployable beds, a shower, toilet, and housing food and water storage in the floor. The lower level does not have any windows to save space, weight (windows are heavy) as well as protect the structure of the capsule and protect the astronauts from long term exposure to unfiltered solar rays. Landing would happen with the drogue being deployed, followed by retractable thrusters firing extending from the craft and firing until landing. Also deployable landing legs of course for stability. Which I forgot to add to the sketch. :( Though I don't think it will be represented, but in transit the lander would be attached to a service module that would hold extra fuel, air and water for the journey to Mars. The vehicles and any extra cargo would be sent in an unmanned capsule before the manned mission would arrive, with the manned mission touching down near the cargo capsule.

I imagine we'll be seeing a lot of bug fixes after they finish the game in the next two months, so I wouldn't worry there. :) On the manned missions, I think that's how they're planning on it to work? The manned missions will happen in the campaign after you've completed all the rover missions if I remember right. There will probably be final rover missions dealing with finding a suitable spot for the manned mission to land or something. On that note, the manned landing capsule prototype in the game right now looks like a combination of three modules in one though with the 3 level capsule (supply/cargo, habitat, landing/return module). It makes me think that your manned mission will start with everything you need to set up a base, skipping the resupply missions. I don't know how to feel about this though. So far the manned portion of the game feels like it's going to be rushed due to the obvious time constraints the devs have. I'm curious on how things like power, water, and air supply will work. Again I'm afraid that with only two months left that the team might be forced to rush such mechanics. Please let there be power cables, air, and water pipes :P Plus you have other partially or not implemented features like the rocket launch, radiation, micro-meteorites, proper battery drain and recharging and the like. :D

You mentioned something in he past about having two months left of development time. Is that to finish the entire game or just to finish the manned missions? Also after the two months are up will we still be seeing features being added?

Subscribed? I have the game set to "developer" mode so that it downloads the developer updates, if that is what you mean. Anyways I didn't get a hotfix download I'm afraid, I uninstalled the game, reinstalled it, then installed the latest developer update. It's still the latest update (minus the hotfix), so it crashes when I try to load the manned Victoria Crater scenario or try to place the scout buggy in the editor. I verified integrity with no success either. :(

I will try this, I've narrowed it down to the manned scout buggy. It freezes my game whenever I try to place it in the editor. So I will verify my data integrity soon.

With the latest Dev update, trying to load the updated Victoria Crater (manned) scenario causes the game to freeze while loading. It doesn't do this on any of the other scenarios though.

So how has progress been in the last few weeks?

Have you checked Deimos? You can launch probes at it.

Yes, iirc it's going to be the "part 2" of the campaign. After you meet the right conditions with rover exploration and research, then you'll be able to go to manned exploration. There should be an achievement for tracking down and making manned contact with the first probe you landed on Mars.

So this morning I was playing the career mode and I connected to my rover that was in the middle of a wind storm to find it being rocked by the wind and hardly able to move against the wind. I connected to another (that had lost a wheel earlier due to driver error :P) and found it had been toppled over. I thought martian wind wasn't supposed to be that strong due to how thin the atmosphere is?

I'd like to suggest that there be a negative effect to using too many glass window panels. Each glass window panel should make it harder to heat a room and a room and protect less from solar radiation. Would it be possible to have shudders that could go over the window panels that could be opened and closed via switch? So they can be closed off to prevent strain on the colony heating and to keep whoever is in the room from getting a nasty dose of radiation from being in the room too long. :P

Nice, I like the new 3D printer concept as well as how your marsonaut is put into the vehicle when you drive now. I have a question though, are the colony parts and 3D printer going to look the same in the final version or are they temporary "proof of concept" pieces? Not to be nitpicky but they just look a bit too sci-fi with the glass panels (it's not going to stop radiation or retain heat) and the 3D printer looking like a teleporter. I'm probably thinking too much on it. I'll get back to swimming around in the Victoria Crater filled with water. :P It's a good update, I'll be on the lookout for bugs.

Good to hear. :) Though I find it hard to give much feedback and suggestions at this point, as a fan I have no idea where this game is going anymore to be honest. If you had asked me when I first bought this back on August 2nd I would have said that I think the game's goal was to become a Mars rover simulator allowing you to explore Mars with a progressing technology from the 1970's to 2013-ish with the added twist of being able to customize your Mars craft. Then 0G probes with Deimos was added, then an Asteroid, and now manned colonization. I have no idea what will come next and what is finished or not, Phobos? our moon? Ceres? Vesta? Space Station construction? Are the unrealistic elements like the landers/rovers only using power for movement and robotic appendages, no time delay and unlimited 0G probe fuel intentional to make things a little easier? Or will the game bring those areas up to par with the other more realistically simulated parts of the game? It's hard to give good suggestions and feedback when I can't grasp on what the long term vision for the game is. But I do know whatever it is, it will be great. :)

For the latest version when you start a new campaign, on the Mars landing site map the two new locations don't appear (Ptolemaeus Crater, Isidis Planitia). I've found that saving and reloading the game causes the new locations to appear and be selectable. Deimos has a texture problem on the site map, I didn't have the problem in the previous version. It currently looks like a space station. :P http://i.imgur.com/IOe3263.png (1006 kB)

I like what I've seen so far. I look forward to what you have store in the next few months. :) For the Marstronaut, maybe something to add in later on would be radiation? Mars has a bit of it hitting its surface which would prevent a human from being outside long on the surface, even with a good space suit on.

So on the latest Developer patch, whenever I try to start a new game or scenario, instead of being put into a vehicle I'm instead put into free fly mode. Trying to change modes does nothing. I flew around the demonstration map and found the astronaut I was supposed to be in. Here's a picture of a very dead astronaut to prove my point: http://i.imgur.com/bUCWRN4.jpg (165 kB)

Thanks! :) Also another thing is major locations that would be hard to represent such as Valles Marineris and Olympus Mons. Due to their shear sizes more than one map would have to be made to give these places justice. I would suggest instead of making a map called "Olympus Mons" or "Valles Marineris" that covers only a small piece of the area you could make multiple maps focusing on points of interest within the locations. Valles Marineris in particular has a few named locations within it such as the Melas Chasma and Lus Chasmata. Though these two locations would be hard, if not impossible for a lander or rover in the first part of the game, possibly during the manned missions one could send a mobile outpost to these areas? Edit: For inspiration for early manned missions, I suggest looking at "Mars Colony Online". An obscure old game that eventually became the prototype to the now released "Mars Colony: Challenger".

This is a pleasant surprise, I had to stop playing around October and I just started playing again this last week and I'm amazed by all the progress made and then I see this to top it off. :) I wonder how the manned mission will start? Will it be a Mars Direct style mission where a temporary base is made and after two or three more launches from Earth it's built up into a permanent colony? Anyways I can see great things for this branch of the Take On series, Take On Luna and Take On Space Station anyone? :D (I was going to say Take on Jupiter but covering Jupiter and its moons would be a task about as big as an Arma game)