Mars Mission For Lunar Flight

Having seen the NASA Curiosity mission touch down on Mars in spectacular fashion last weekend, Sean Edwards, the developer behind space haulage sim Lunar Flight (reviewed rather positively in the current issue), has begun work on a content upgrade that will allow players to fly their lunar module across the surface of the red planet.

The new level won’t just offer a palette change, although Earth’s nearest planetary neighbour will obviously look a lot different to la Lune. Edwards says we can expect “a variety of terrain features, eroded from water flows, dusty clouds and dense fog” and that the iron oxide-rich particles of Mars will over time collect on your ship as you ferry supplies between waypoints, and perhaps join in the search for life. Perhaps we’ll even get to carry the Curiosity rover around – that would be fabulous.

The main difference between lunar and martian flight will be in how the Lunar Module handles: “For the experienced module pilot, Mars offers a new set of physics dynamics to add to the mix. With it’s higher gravity constant and low atmospheric density creating drag, fuel consumption will be higher. This will be a level that you will want to have your LM upgraded for but the mission rewards will be worth it.”

There’s no release date for the upgrade, but once completed it will be made available for free, “to say thank you to all the people who have supported the project thus far. You have been waiting for something new to play and the update will include additional Achievements to get and a new highest Rank, Level 8.”

Time to start levelling up.