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Take On Mars

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By NAG3LT09-09-2013
BloodyFanGirl (editor)
StuntmanLT (editor)
Take On Mars

The Defence

Developer:
Bohemia Interactive
Publisher:
Bohemia Interactive
Genre:
Simulator
Release Date:

The Prosecution

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz
AMD Athlon Phenom X4
VGA:
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
AMD Radeon HD 3870
RAM:
2 GB
HDD:
2 GB
DirectX:
9.0c

While Bohemia Interactive is mostly known for their ARMA military simulation series, the studio has also started making different kinds of simulators in their “Take On” series. The first game in the series - Take on Helicopters - aimed at replicating the experience of flying civil helicopters, with realistic controls and physics. While not the most exciting experience, the simulation part was done very well. The second and the latest instalment in the series - Take on Mars - is currently in development. This time around you control probes and rovers exploring the surface of the red planet.

Unlike its terrestrial brother, ToM appears to take more liberties with the realism for the sake of gameplay. In real life it takes half a year to reach Mars, but the game ignores this completely. Also, due to the great distance between the planets, light and radio signals from Earth can take from 4 to 20 minutes to reach the surface of Mars. In the current build of the game you can only control rovers on the surface directly and any lag between planets is ignored. Historically the furthest rovers with direct remote control were Soviet “Lunokhod” Moon rovers with a Ping of 1.5 seconds between Earth and Moon. This was not very comfortable but it was good enough for slow rides over a static landscape. The real Martian rovers have some autonomous controls, while ground control sends them the prepared routines at the start of each Sol (Martian day). While Take on Mars does not do this, the developers have mentioned that they want to add this level of realism as an option in the future.

Rovers tend to take selfies after landing.

Rovers tend to take selfies after landing.

Even with all these simplified elements, there are plenty of authentic details in the game to consider it a faithful simulator. Currently, it offers the ability to explore three 4x4 km locations based on the real data from Mars surveys of Victoria, Kaiser and Gale craters. Even with the 3x faster speed compared to the real rovers, it can still take hours to drive between the points of interest in each region. You can send landers and rovers with the proper scientific equipment to take the measurements on the surface. Missions start in the Martian atmosphere, when descend systems fire up for the safe landing. While the automatic system usually manages to do it well, there is always the risk of a hard landing. The damage system is constantly at work, so your equipment can fail during a harsh landing or while carelessly driving on an uneven surface. So it is encouraged to drive the rovers carefully to keep them fully operational. There is also an option to choose a real-time mode, where the time of day on both Earth and Mars will correspond with the current time of day at each location.

Currently, there are two main game modes – scenarios and space program. In space program, you start with a budget and a few tools available for the exploration. You can spend that money on satellite mapping of Martian locations to prepare for their exploration and on equipping you landers and rovers. In each location there are missions available that can either be completed by sending a new vehicle from Earth or assigning an existing rover. Each mission gives some money after it’s completed, while main missions can unlock further missions and advance technology levels. As the technology level advances, more vessels and equipment becomes available allowing more missions to be taken. There is a suggested vehicle for each mission as well as the ability to construct your own. Too many failures or excessive spending may leave you with no way to proceed and will be an effective game over. In the scenario mode, all that matters is the mission at hand. You are given a specific vehicle and a mission to complete with no long term risks. Finally, as expected from Bohemia Interactive, there is a level editor allowing you to create your own scenarios.

The mission public knows best - taking photos on Mars.

The mission public knows best - taking photos on Mars.

Overall, Take on Mars is a nice space simulator that has a lot of potential to excel at what it does. Playing it properly will require patience and a lot of time, so it is not a game for those who want constant action. However, it should be a very interesting and educational experience for simulator fans. The in-game missions reference a lot of Mars’ geological features and its history, while the finished game is planned to include more detailed measurement techniques. The game is already available on Steam as an Early Access title and there are still a lot of unfinished things and bugs at this stage. It is already the best way to experience what modern Mars exploration feels like and may become even better if the developers add an even higher level of realism.

Comments (8)
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Posts: 3290

No!

No Walrus!

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Posts: 267

As it's moddable, Walrus AI is always a possibility

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Posts: 3290

More important question.

Does it have Walrus AI?!

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Posts: 267

Actually, learning curve is not very steep due to how slow the standard gameplay is most of the time.

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Posts: 1548

This looks really cool though I'm sure its not as it has a very steep learning curve. No time for steep learning curves :(

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Posts: 3290

Shh. My version sounds funnier

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Posts: 267

Office complex is not Mars, it is your space control centre on Earth. It also has a green backyard for rover testing.

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Posts: 3290

Wait, wait, wait, wait...

There's an office complex on Mars?

Were Indian call centres starting to ask for too much money!?