Reviews for Mars Colonies Demo

[CloakedOne]

After skimming through comments..people here are both stupid and can't type.

As for the game, that's quite original project. Well, not as a sim, mind you. But the design and concept.
It actually can be a bit difficult due to need of resource management.
So far I pretty much like it. Although there are two things that annoy me.

First - It's progressing at turtle speed. Sometimes when waiting for materials, and afterwards, for colonists to pick the stuff and do their thing, I totally wish to be able and speed the time flow of the game.

Second - The fact that metal deposits can run out, is a real low blow. Considering that each time 'mine' needs to be placed a bit further away..cable costs extend. And before I know it, I'm spending tons to get components from Earth...a real ploy that one.

Regardless, all in all, good stuff to play.

Kendja responds:

Glad you liked it!

You can now speed up the time flow by holding [S] key.

For mines - I've lowered "order"prices a bit, so I hope it's a little more balanced now. Also you can try to build Power Stations next to the buildings if they are too far away from the main base.

[Solidny]

Great strategy! However, it did take make some time to understand all factors and the way interface works, so maybe a better tutorial is certainly welcome. Also, limited management of employees' tasks is something I'm not used to in a strategy game. Still, it was great to build my own colony.

[Fullfist]

I didnt have issues figuring it out, although it does take a little bit of time (only latter i discovered that the main base is also a +8 power source)

and the tiny tiles very annoying when i hate to lay down the pipes
minor interface issues.

overall, kept me glued!

[NonStereotype]

Fun, well-made game but I did run into a couple of problems. The tutorial was a little lacking so I was struggling setting up my base early on, which was pretty frustrating.
Also, your little guy's AI gets annoying constantly running off on their own and getting killed. Having more option to control their movements/tasks would fix this (eg: setting them to mine a particular rock).
Overall, it was very entertaining.

[woepsie]

Awesome. Well done!

Lots of cityplanning (layout and build order); enough micro management to give you freedom, but you can also leave it; it's slow, so you can take your time and hit the FastForward button when you're ready; cool graphics (makes me think of a cuter Dune II), cool music!, good sounds; the difficulty lies in finding the right tactics, not in surviving waves of enemies, so after every mission restart you learn something more ; most awesomest currency; pew pew lasers; lots of alliterations;

I had no problem understanding the game (hurray for tooltips). There were a few things i had to figure out, but nothing illogical, and for me it added to the charm. (the D'OH moment when i found out pipes and cables can go on the same square, when i was in mission 5... hehe)

It's a slow game, so i'm glad you added a FF button. It makes a world of difference.

When the colonists come back from a fight they don't charge their weapons, so when i buy a few more and then try to zerg before i build base, the "older" colonists leave battle after 2 shots. This is kinda annoying. And when an enemy building is almost down, and an enemy comes out, they all go after him, while the building could be out in 3 seconds (Yes, and then i got killed and invented some new swearwords). But i guess cursing at your fighters is part of RTS games :)

An in-mission save system would be nice, for after a heavy battle or when searching for water. Then again, it might make the game too easy, so i'm not sure if it's a good idea.

Rotating buildings would be nice, although right now it adds to the planning element.

Well, it seems i debunk all my own criticism, so you did real well :) After i finish the game i will definitely check out the new project.

Hmm now, if the fight takes too long, i might get in trouble with food, but if i rush my hydroponics i'll be low on iron, which i'll have to buy anyway, because that iron area is so far away i'll have to spend a lot of components, so i need a factory, but then i don't have anything for oxygen supply. Then again, now it's only 1 enemy, and in 5 minutes it might be 5. But maybe i should go after the raiders first, in stead of the loonies, they can drop pods. But for them i need more soldiers etc etc etc. Ah what the hell, for Science!