Mars Colony Simulator Demo

Colonizing another planet may not be such a far away dream now, especially since NASA has announced its intention to send a crew to Mars in the next decade. However, getting there is just the first part, because a lot of work is required in order to set up the equipment, perform experiments and generally  just stay alive, due to the harsh conditions on the red planet.

Mars Colony Simulator, as the name implies, simulates the conditions of such a mission and enables you to be a part of it, in order to lay the foundations for a future human settlement. Since the game aims to be as realistic as possible, the mission involves drilling for water, setting up photo voltaic power sources and gathering samples to bring back to Earth, all of which must be achieved while keeping an eye on your own safety.

Thus, survival is important as well, since you must eat and drink water regularly, in order to stay fit and preserve your health. As you might be aware, the conditions on Mars are very different from our planet, mainly because the thin atmosphere is mostly formed out of carbon dioxide and the temperatures range wildly between the two extremes. Because of this, you need to put your suit on before leaving the habitation module, as well as make sure that you do not run out of oxygen while you are outside.

The missions themselves are not exactly exciting, but they are interesting and rather complicated, from a technical point of view. Searching for water or samples is not as easy as you might believe, because you have to use a lot of equipment in the process and make sure that you follow the instructions correctly. You also have to keep an eye on your GPS to find the correct coordinates and never stray too far front he habitation module.

The planet is highly unpredictable when it comes to weather conditions and storms can break out at any time, exposing you to severe temperature drops. Luckily, you are warned about them a few minutes ahead, which should give you enough time to get back to the module and remain safe. However, you can also remain outside, although you need to be prepared to deal with health issues and spend some power re-heating yourself with the help of the suit.

In the end, Mars Colony Simulator is truly an interesting project, although it could use a bit more content and a slightly refined control scheme. However, the idea is definitely captivating and you can lose yourself for quite a while out on the red planet, if only to imagine what it would be like to take a walk on a strange world.