Make sure you are subscribed to our Mars Horizon Newsletter[aurochdigital.us7.list-manage.com] to get these updates direct to your inbox and join our Discord [discord.com]to talk to other Mars Horizon and Space fans.

We’ve turned our afterburners up to maximum this April as we rocket towards another successful milestone. The key underlying systems that govern our surface view gameplay are now in a playable state! Rovers are deployable upon the surface of Mars and can impart on extra-terrestrial excavations.
 
Our hex based gameplay is now tangibly tessellated with the fog of ignorance, providing a wealth of necessary tactical decision making as rovers are piloted across the hazardous terrain of distant celestial bodies.
 
Supporting the rovers from the atmosphere are our flybys and orbiters. These payloads, despite never interacting with planetary surfaces directly, provide invaluable information in the form of surface scans. All of this functionality is in game and is granting the whole team a great deal of perspective on how these systems feel when interacting.
 
Dust storms, volcanos, chemical rain, and more hazards are all taking shape. These perilous environmental events display the true dangers of our neighbouring planets. Players will have to map out their steps very carefully when searching for the essential ingredients that make up the potential for life.
 
Breathing a sonic soul into our solar system has been a focus this month. Work on the implementation of the soundscape of Mars Horizon 2 has begun in form of background music for all scenes. Payload sound effects and stingers for all UI are providing real depth to gameplay interactions.
 
The entire team has been getting hands on with the build and we couldn’t be more excited for what the next month holds.

- Matt Holmes, Producer for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life

Earlier this month, we met up at the Auroch Digital offices to record something which we look forward to sharing with you in the future.

Stay tuned for more info soon... 🎥

Through Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life's inclusion, we were delighted to be part of the Earth Appreciation Festival, which took place on Steam between the 23rd and 29th of April. The annual event, which is ran by our friends at Stray Fawn, Slug Disco, and Mechanistry, celebrates the beauty of our green planet and the marvellous diversity of life as we see it.

Thank you for having Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life be part of the festival and hopefully everyone who experienced the event was able to check out some great games that celebrate our planet! 💚

We were delighted to be included in Mezha Media's 'Best Games About Space' shortlist[mezha.media] with the original Mars Horizon! 🙌🏻

Mars Horizon is in fantastic company as the other games on the list are all tremendous examples of stellar space games.

Thanks again to Mezha Media for including us and we encourage you to check out all the games on the list[mezha.media], too!

Our partners for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life, the European Space Agency (ESA)[www.esa.int] announced earlier this month that they have been working with Epic Games to include a realistic Moon mission, which is available to play in Fortnite! [www.esa.int]

Lunar Horizons is available now in Fortnite, where it can be experienced using code 3207-0960-6428 or by searching for ‘Lunar Horizons’ in Discover. We hope you enjoy checking it out!

With the new direction of Mars Horizon 2 and the screenshots we shared this month, there's never been a better time to follow our social channels! This will ensure that you don't miss out on the cool content we'll have to share throughout the development journey and some behind the scenes looks at what we get up to. 👀

• Mars Horizon 2 Official Twitter
  
• Mars Horizon 2 Official TikTok[www.tiktok.com]
  
• Auroch Digital Discord[discord.com]

In recognition of World Earth Day[www.earthday.org] on April 22, 2024 we’re taking part in a weeklong Steam festival to celebrate the beauty of our green planet, and the marvelous diversity of life as we see it. This year’s selection of games shows off the Earth at its best, and inspires us to protect the environment that we all depend upon. Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life looks forward to finding life in our solar system, but reminds us to treasure the life that we already have here on earth.

With climate change, pollution, overpopulation, and conflict, the future of our planet’s delicately balanced ecosystems is far from guaranteed. Check out the festival to have a look at games offering a glimpse of the dire possibilities that show how much we'd miss our natural world if we lost it forever.

• 🌍 Earth Appreciation Festival - Ends April 29th🌍

Climate change issues and Auroch Digital 🌍

At Auroch Digital we are passionate about fighting the global climate crisis. We've done podcasts, and given talks about these issues and we are passionate about working with partners who care about these issues too. Our partner for Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life is the European Space Agency (ESA) - learn more about this in our Steam post. We recently celebrated some good news from ESA where they are accelerating the race towards clean energy from space.

To hear more about Auroch Digital's views on Climate change listen to our Podcast episode - Games Development and Climate Change | S7 E4[aurochdigital.podbean.com] with guests Dr Benjamin Abraham and Steven Webb, we explore why it is the Games Industry is a key component in the movement against climate change.

You can also watch a talk by our Studio Director Tomas Rawlings about Sustainability - Can the game industry grow without destroying the planet?
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2281620/Mars_Horizon_2_The_Search_for_Life/