Hey Survivors, we have another small hotfix coming your way today.

Game Version: 1001551

Bug fixes

• Fixed Xbox One Paradox Account login
  
• Fixed tourist expedition exploit
  
• Fixed In-Dome building pack localization
  
• RC Safari visiting tweaked
  - The RC Safari should show it has a maximum of 10 passengers
  - Increasing the wait time before departing

Known issues

• Windows 7 always starts in windowed mode
  
• Rocket Naming does not stick on saves created before the hotfix. Renaming functions correctly with new games.

Game Version: 1001539

Bug fixes

• Fixed Windows 7 startup crash
  
• Fixed crash that often occurred on Mega Dome completion in existing save games.
  
• Fixed an issue where colonists suddenly committed suicide in large numbers.
  
• Fixed an issue where colonists stopped aging and tourists didn’t want to leave Mars after 5 sols.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Low-G Amusement Park awarded a lot more satisfaction than intended.
  
• Fixes Rocket naming issue
  
• Terra Tourism text change in English only (for now) to fit with the new tourism reward mechanic.

Known issues

• Windows 7 always starts in windowed mode

Greetings, Martians!
I am happy to see you again, and it is with great enthusiasm that I present to you this Content Creator Pack that I created. For those who don’t know me, I’m Silva, and I started modding strategy and RPG games in 1997. After a very long break, when the excellent Surviving Mars (2018) was released, I resumed modding. I had very little knowledge of 3D and programming, but that didn’t discourage me from making a large number of mods that were very well received by the gaming community. Modding has allowed me to improve my 3D modeling and programming at lightning speed.

And today Paradox contacted me to create this Content Creator Pack, giving me the freedom to choose the theme, the features to be added, and any other content. My specialty as a modder is to create new buildings, so I chose this type of content for this Pack. You see, they are not just new building skins but entirely new buildings, with new gameplay features for some of them.

[CCP trailer on YT]

The design of this Pack was done in two phases: in the first one, I wrote the game design and created each asset to make a mod. The second one was handled by Abstraction Games for the integration of my work into the game as true DLC.



I decided to focus on simple but interesting gameplay elements for the players and to limit asset animations to ensure final quality. I chose to make exclusively 8 new buildings to place in the Domes, trying to be faithful to the graphic style of the game.

I was inspired by the requests of the players, but also by my own experience, to add to the mechanics of the game and bring novelty and fun. Big settlements pose a lot of problems when the population becomes very large and the current buildings are not adapted to accommodate so many people. For example, the kindergarten is too small, so I decided to make a bigger one as well as a big school that has the feature of being a Spire, plus an improvement to give the trait of Genius to a small percentage of students.



In the advanced settlements, the number of retiring settlers also becomes a housing problem as they take essential housing for workers. This situation can cause labor problems in some Domes. This is why I have integrated a new type of residence exclusively reserved for retirees. Health can also become a big problem when there is a large population; infirmaries are too small, and medical Spires are not a priority in the choices of players. To solve this problem, I included the design of a Martian Hospital that will be able to cope with the influx of many patients.

The smaller Domes, where the choice of buildings is important because of their reduced space, are often without security or health facilities. This is why I created the Medical Post and the Security Post occupying a single box but with smaller capacities.



Another interesting building is the TV Studio, which is a new workshop where your settlers will produce Reality Shows for the Earthlings. Each broadcast will increase your funds. Finally, I added “Smart Apartments,” a new residential building halfway between the “Apartments” and the “Smart Complex.”



Most of the buildings are unlockable by technologies and have upgrades.

To create all these assets, I used the same tools as for modding, namely: Blender for 3D modeling, Substance Painter for texturing, and the Mod Tools from Surviving Mars to add assets to the game.

After I wrote the game design of the Content Pack, it was validated by Paradox. I didn’t make any sketches or concept art to start the 3D modeling of the buildings. I had a very precise idea in my mind of the general design of my models.

Once the 3D was finished, I created the textures, respecting the graphic style of the game. Then again on Blender, I had to configure the scene for export to the game, i.e. configure the materials, the lights, and the collision boxes, as well as indicate the position of some decorative objects (benches, trees, etc.), the access paths to the building for the settlers and the door animations.

Once everything was set up correctly, I exported my asset so that it could be used by the game. I still have to create the templates and some programming to make the buildings playable for the players.



I would like to close by thanking Paradox for the trust they put in me to create this “Content Pack Creator.” It’s a great experience for a modder, and it’s an excellent approach by Paradox to want to promote modding for their games and reward the most active creators.

See you soon in the Surviving games!

Silva

Game version
PC: 1001514

Changes to tourists

• Tourists have a new Satisfaction stat, which tracks how much each tourist is enjoying their holiday.
  
• Tourists no longer pay 10M funding upon arrival. Instead, they pay funds when departing from Mars based on how much they liked their holiday, shown in the Satisfaction stat, rated between 1 and 5 stars.
  
• Tourists now board any nearby rocket when they are looking to go home (instead of only boarding rockets that just landed).
  
  New Feature: RC Safari
  
• The new RC Safari allows you to create sightseeing tours around your colony for tourists to enjoy.
  
• Set waypoints near domes, wonders, vistas, rock formations, and many other sights to increase the satisfaction bonus tourists get from the safari.
  
• Order the new RC Safari from earth, or complete the Rover Printing research to build these yourself.
  
  New Tourist Buildings
  
• Hotel: Provide tourists a luxurious place to stay on Mars; spending the night increases their Satisfaction. Hotels can be built after completing the Smart Homes research.
  
• Low-G Amusement Park: Provide tourists with the best ways to experience the low gravity environment. Visiting tourists get an extra bonus to their Satisfaction.
  
  Other changes
  
• Adjusted the deadlines for the Tourist Trap challenge, which now also gives 20 tourist applicants at the start.
  
  
  
  
  “In-Dome Building Pack” CCP
• Smart Apartments: Apartments that provide the same luxuries as smart homes.
  
• Senior Residence: A lovely place for your senior residents to retire.
  
• Large Nursery: A larger version of the nursery, able to house more children.
  
• Medical Post: For when you need a smaller infirmary in the area.
  
• Hospital: A larger, more relaxing version of the infirmary. It also comes with the exclusive Remote Medic upgrade, which reduces the number of colonists required per shift.
  
• Security Post: A more compact version of the Security Station.
  
• TV Studio Workshop: A new workshop building which also generates funding.
  
• School Spire: Build the school as a spire building. It comes with the exclusive Superior Education upgrade, which has a small change to give the Genius trait.
  
• 2 new colony logos: Colonization Effort, Red Target

Go to Mars and support the fight against COVID-19! In an effort to support WHO in their efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, Paradox is holding a fundraiser sale on Steam!

Surviving Mars is included in this sale, together with Hearts of Iron IV, Cities Skylines, Age of Wonders Planetfall, BATTLETECH, Shadowrun, Tyranny, Pillars of Eternity, and Knights of Pen and Paper 2.

The sale ends on April 3rd, 7 PM CEST, and all of the proceeds will go to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO.

Check it out here: Paradox Interactive Covid-19 Fundraiser

We just deployed the Evans Update, which brings fixes for some of the reported issues for both Surviving Mars and Green Planet. It will also solve issues in Space Race and Project Laika.

Surviving Mars:

• Fixed an issue that caused colonists' suffocation when moving between domes. This issue was reported here.
  
• Fixed an issue that would cause the game to freeze when a drone is trying to create a stockpile at an invalid location.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused colonists to roam outside their domes when dehydrated.

Green Planet:

• Fixed an issue that causes the colonists to roam outside when dehydrated.

OSX Version:

• Fixed an issue that caused noticeable frame drops when displaying a lake. This issue was reported here.

Thank you all for giving us a tremendous release for Green Planet - which has thrust Surviving Mars into the spotlight all across the internet and on Steam. We've had so many players come back to the game for this expansion!

We know there were some bugs, as is usual for any release, and we're happy to have squashed a bunch of them. If you're still having trouble playing the game, please go to our support forum or just click CTRL + F1 to send us a report from directly within the game!

Green Planet:

• Fixed several game freezes (reported by the community, related to RC transports in savegames, and Dozers)
  
• Fixed terraforming info showing in infopanels in savegames started without Green Planet
  
• Fixed Transport Optimization tech applying to RC Dozer
  
• Fixed Lakes to check local (actual) temperature to determine frozen state (not global temperature)
  
• Fixed terraforming buildings' Amplify upgrades to take into account Overcharge Amplifications breakthrough
  
• Fixed RC Transport interacting with Open Farm crops
  
• Fixed endless (toxic or water) rains
  
• Fixed Outdoor Farms harvest not being collected by Drones
  
• Added harvest information in tooltip of Open Farm
  
• Added check for breakthrough availability when terraforming is disabled

Space Race:

• Fixed flying Drones coming back to life after destruction
  
• Fixed flying Drones affected by explosions when too high
  
• Fixed Advanced Stirling Generator heat output in a cold area/during cold wave

Project Laika:

• Added Encyclopedia entries for Ranch and Outside Ranch

Main Game:

• Fixed crash when constructing buildings at the map border
  
• Fixed several game freezes related to wisps (St Elmo's Fire Mystery)
  
• Fixed game freeze occurring when a Drone is destroyed while embarked on a Rover
  
• Fixed old savegames not applying current logic when accepting trade offers/converting Landing Pads
  
• Fixed savegames displaying Seeds as farm crops in games without Green Planet
  
• Fixed Drones unloading resources from Expedition Rocket when resources are loaded by RC Transport
  
• Fixed events effects continuing when the event is completed (broken Drones in "Drone Prototypes")
  
• Fixed display of tooltip in "Clear" button in Infopanel
  
• Fixed display of dome radius
  
• Fixed camera issue while zooming out during an ongoing marsquake
  
• Fixed Drone behaviour when changing priority during construction (building is no longer cancelled)
  
• Fixed resource allocation when destroying buildings
  
• Fixed scripting logic choosing invalid events from planetary anomalies
  
• Fixed colonists living in the nursery (it's time to grow up!)
  
• Fixed Rocket cargo display when returning from expedition
  
• Fixed Landing Pads becoming unusable after rocket construction
  
• Fixed Trade Rockets accepting wrong amount of resources in automated mode
  
• Fixed Large Dumping Site infopanel slider behaviour for desired amount of waste rock (controller-only)
  
• Fixed UI scale not allowing passenger selection when set to maximum
  
• Added hover and click sounds to main menu news feed
  
• Added separate spots and fixed orientation of drones when constructing Rockets
  
• Latitude and longitude coordinates are no longer translated to allow coordinates sharing in non-English versions of the game

Modding:

• Added modding functionality for FX elements (sound, decal, light, colorization, particles)
  
• Added modding functionality for Animals & Vegetation
  
• Added Tech Field ModItem
  
• Added message to indicate if a detected scripting error is related to a mod
  
• Tables for Rival Colonies converted to global for easier modding
  
• Updated modding documentation

PS4 version specific:

• Fixed linking PDX account when exiting PSN and restarting console

Art asset fixes for the following additional content:

• Green Planet
  
• Space Race
  
• Project Laika
  
• Digital Deluxe Edition
  
• Colony Design Set

Thank you to all of our beta testers, you have been amazing.

New Features:

• 5 Landscaping tools/buildings - Flatten terrain, create Ramp, Change Surface texture and construct Small Rock Formation or medium Rock Formation. They're available since start and do not require research. The Flatten and Ramp tools consume a lot of drone time and require or produce excess of Waste Rock. The Rock Formations are constructed with Waste Rock. The Change Surface tool consumes drone time and damages the local soil quality.
  
• 3 Special Projects - Capture Meteors, launch High-Speed Comm Satellite and Launch SETI Satellite. They become available when the first batch of Planetary Anomalies gets discovered (Sol 10-15) and do not require previous research. These three act as alternative sources of raw materials (Capture Meteors), sponsor research (HGS Satellite) and funding (SETI Satellite).
  
• 2 new buildings - Large Dumping Site and Rocket construction site. The significantly larger dumping site is because we're now producing and consuming far more Waste Rock. The construction of Rockets was added as an alternative to the buying of Rockets, which is not possible when you lack Funding. The Large Dumping Site is not locked via research, the Rocket requires Advanced Rocketry to be researched. (Advanced Rocketry is a vanilla tech that now enables the construction of Rockets, as well.)
  
• Self-sufficient dome - you can now place a Basic Dome with minimal life-support buildings. You only need to connect it to a power source. Once constructed, the structures will act as independent buildings. International Mars Mission has a free prefab of the self-sufficient dome.
  
• New event chains - 19 for the base game, 1 for modding purposes, 9 for Space Race DLC
  
• New research UI with vertical flow replaced the old research UI

Other Fixes and Improvements:

• Added order-queuing for Rovers
  
• Added multi-selection of units for mouse and keyboard and hybrid control schemes. You can use lasso or double-click over a unit type to mass-select nearby units of the same type
  
• More informative reasons for unavailable diplomacy options
  
• Fix for proper show/hide behaviour of hex ranges of domes for outside workplaces
  
• Build Menu: Rovers are moved to separate sub-categories
  
• Added conditions where colonists can change dome regardless of home availability in other domes
  
• Double click or Controller Button (X) on items in the build menu, which require known but non-researched techs now open the Research UI
  
• Trade rockets to rivals are not automated by default
  
• New Photo Mode effect added - Motion Blur
  
• Added "-nomods" launch option, allowing to start the game without mods. To set this option, you need to open the game PROPERTIES from the menu in Steam (left-click on the game in Steam Library). In the first tab GENERAL open SET LAUNCH OPTIONS. A small popup window will open where you can enter text. You need to enter: -nomods

Special thanks to our closed-beta testers who helped us with this change! And also with the Modding-related fixes below

Modding-Related Fixes and Improvements:

• Documented the Lua loading procedure, mod versions and dependencies, creating mods for DLCs and other minor documentation updates
  
• Added a filter for mods compatible with the game version
  
• Build menu subcategories are now presets, which can be easily added with mods
  
• Added a set of mod items that add easily modifiable options to your mods
  
• Fixed 'copy from' field in building template mod items and mission logo mod items
  
• Unused tech field icon property removed
  
• Mod dependencies show if the mod they depend on is missing or incompatible (outdated)
  
• Added a sample story chain
  
• Improved mod upload - it provides status update, better UI flow, feedback about report upload problems
  
• [PDX modding] Fix to enable auto-update of mods from PDX modding backend
  
• [PDX modding] Fix for re-uploading mods to PDX modding backend to keep their dependencies entered in the web interface

• New resource and global parameters which track terraforming progress
  
• New terraforming buildings in a separate build menu section
  
• New special projects with global effects
  
• New tech field – Terraforming – which unlocks buildings, resources, special projects
  
• New breakthrough techs focused on terraforming
  
• New disasters – Toxic rain and Marsquake
  
• Vegetation on Mars – plant it, watch it thrive or wither and die
  
• New main menu background video and updated Surviving Mars logo
  
• New Green Planet wallpapers
  
• New terraforming milestones
  
• 10 new achievements / trophies

• Pets are coming to Mars: 25 different pets of 10 animal types will start living alongside colonists after Founders stage is over, there are enough colonists and comfort is high enough. Pets include cats, dogs, penguins, platypuses and more.
  
• 2 New buildings for in-dome and outside-of dome animal husbandry produce Food for the colonists
  
• Domesticated animals are coming to Mars too: 4 types of animals for each of the new buildings will provide different options

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwMMEWmKgGk
Green Planet is available now worldwide! Take on the greatest challenge of Mars with global terraforming by implementing new technology, buildings, and resources. Mars will soon be a second home for humankind

You've made it to Mars, you've landed your colonists and began a new home, but now it's time to take up the greatest challenge yet: making Mars feel like home. In Green Planet you will take on terraforming at a planetary scale with all new buildings, resources, technology, and special projects!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/952890/Surviving_Mars_Green_Planet/
Cost: $19.99 / €19.99


Project Laika is an animal pack that the community named for us, and it's releasing alongside Green Planet

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1042360/Surviving_Mars_Project_Laika/

• 25 different pets that will appear alongside your colonists
  
• Livestock and ranches to grow food for your colony
  
• Cost: $5.99 / €5.99

YES!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/802700/Surviving_Mars_Season_Pass/


If you purchase one of our bundles or Season Pass, you get a discount on the price!


Here on our forums!
Here on Steam!



Feature Breakdowns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ieYJrZuISk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bkzCLJb8yQ

Dev Diary #1 - Terraforming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtijP5PltXQ

Dev Diary #2 - New Buildings & Tech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU1yP0VbsLc

Dev Diary #3 - Vegetation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keCzhazAeCE

Dev Diary #4 - Disasters & Special Projects
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRVJ_kT8A_4

Dev Diary #5 - Armstrong: FREE Update
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCxoupxnZjw

Hello fellow survivors!

We’re back with another dev diary for Green Planet. Today we will be discussing the awesome free update, which is going to be released together with Green Planet and Project Laika DLCs. We’ve added a bunch of new content and Quality of Life improvements in this update, the most notable new feature being landscaping. All owners of Surviving Mars will get new Special Projects, events, research UI, multiselect, rover orders queue, and new buildings as well.

The Armstrong update is going to add a new section in your Build Menu: Landscaping. This new section contains the following new tools Flatten terrain, create Ramp, Change Surface texture and an option to construct Small Rock Formation or bigger Rock Formation.



The Flatten terrain tool allows you to select a flat surface on Mars and protrude it, leveling the terrain where it passes. It allows you to fill craters, extend plateaus or clear rough terrain for construction. Once you select an area to flatten, the tool will create a new landscaping project which is visualized with a construction hologram on your display. Each landscaping project evaluates the underlying terrain and calculates how much soil is needed and if excess soil is present. Then your drones will deliver or remove the Waste Rock as needed to complete the project.



The Ramp tool works similar to the Flatten tool but it allows you to connect two flat surfaces with different elevations, creating walkable ground between them.



The Change Surface tool marks an area, which will be gradually reworked by your Drones. They will break the rocks to make sand, or replace sand with rocks.



Additionally, you can use your excess Waste Rock to construct various Rock Formations. These are purely decorative combinations of rocks, which can be placed on flat surface. They were created for those moments when you have made Mars too Earth-like and want to bring back some natural Martian landscape.



The Armstrong update comes with 3 free Special Projects: Capture Meteors, launch High-Speed Comm Satellite and Launch SETI Satellite. They’re marked on the Planetary View with blue icons and become available as soon as the first batch of Planetary Anomalies gets discovered. Usually, this happens at Sol 10-15.



The Capture Meteors mission tasks one Rocket to go and divert meteors towards Mars. The Meteors then fall as Meteor Storm, leaving Metals and Polymers deposits. Just bear in mind that the storm may hit your colony.

You can construct orbitals by sending a rocket loaded with resources to deploy either a High-Speed Comm Satellite or SETI Satellite. HSC Satellites grant you daily sponsor research, while SETI Satellites grant additional funding.

The Armstrong update comes with 20 new events, scripted specifically for the early days of your colony and will grant you various benefits that will boost your expansion early on.

We’ve added 2 new buildings in the Build Menu as well: Large Dumping Site and Rocket Construction Site. The Large Dumping Site allows you to store more Waste Rock in a tight area and you can now construct Rockets the same way you construct Rovers. But you’ll need to research Advanced Rocketry to construct Rockets.



As part of our on-going efforts to redesign Surviving Mars’ UI, the Armstrong update comes with a flashy new Research UI, better suited for our everlasting modding community.



Last but not least, the Armstrong update is going to introduce 2 long-since wanted features: multi-selection and rover orders queue.

You can now drag select colonists, drones or rovers and then assign them the same task. Relocating all colonists of a Dome to another one has never been quicker!

To queue orders, select a Rover and then hold Shift while clicking on various points of interest. You can now task your Explorer to scan all anomalies on the map in a given order and then return back to the safety of the colony.



The Armstrong update is coming with a long list of QoL improvements, optimizations, balance changes and bug fixes. Stay tuned for our next dev diary, which is dedicated to the ultimate goal of the terraforming initiative, making Mars hospitable for life outside of the dome.

Ivan Grozev,
Lead Designer,
Green Planet