I was browsing through the internet to see if there are any interesting online games to try when all of a sudden I found this one. It was posted for downloading at
this website. Unfortunately, the website went down shortly after downloading it. I don't know why. It was also available at DiscoveryChannel.ca.
Anyways, I decided to try out the free Race-to-Mars simulator. Well, for something that was free, I was a bit impressed by the graphics, but the interaction provided by the simulator was not impressive. It only has three single-player missions and there are no available servers, even though the simulator is better suited for online play. As for the single missions, you get three option:
1. Run around chasing Martian dust devils while having to take at least four clear snapshots of the little demons before the alotted time.
2. Run around collecting 75 rock samples.
3. Find and rescue the missing astronaut who got stranded in the terrain.
I'm guessing that the simulator is a work in progress since the folks who designed it [www.virtualheroes.com] have it posted on their website as a mere video demo. I'm not sure if there is going to be any improvements or if this is the final product. Anyways, here are the shots I took.
This is a shot of me operating a robotic drone while on a mission to look for dust devils.
This is me at the base standing near a laptop that allows me to control the robotic drones. The three solar arrays you see in front of me are what allows me to recharge my O2 tank while also recharging the batteries on the drones and SEVs [solar-electrical vehicles]. They're scattered around the map.
This is me operating the CEV. This thing is real fun to drive around as long as you don't forget to refill your air supply and batteries.
And this is me picking up the stranded astronaut. I was trying this mission online. Apparently, it seems that you can make your own dedicated server based on any of the three missions listed above.
That's all there is to it. I'm very hopeful that the sim will improve [assuming they're still working on it]. Overall, the sim can be fun.
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