Showing posts with label Mars dome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mars dome. Show all posts

Saturday, July 20, 2024

A long night on Mars in "Fort Solis" thriller game

Fort Solis (2023) is a cinematic narrative-driven science fiction thriller game set in 2080 on Mars. During a night engulfed in a severe sandstorm two mining engineers, Jack and Jessica, respond to an unusual emergency alert from a mining and research station "Fort Solis". The station is on lockdown and seems to be abandoned. The pair separately starts to investigate, what has happened in the base, searching for clues throughout the claustrophobic buildings. Piece by piece they unlock both the various parts of the base and the truth behind recent events there. The game starts as a detective and ends as a thriller.

Jack drinking beer inside Mars base in 'Fort Solis' thriller game

Fort Solis runs on Unreal Engine 5.2 so visually it is really good, especially the character models and animations. The game is not long, you can finish it in 5 to 8 hours even when reading, watching and listening to all of the clues throughout the base. The story will unfold linearly piece by piece, but there are two separate endings possible in the final act of the game.

Visual recap of Fort Solis' STORY

Jack and Jessica are working at a mining rig on Mars
Mining rig on Mars in 'Fort Solis' thriller game
When receiving the emergency allert Jack is driving to the mining station "Fort Solis"
Driving a rover on Mars in 'Fort Solis' thriller game

Driving a rover on Mars in 'Fort Solis' thriller game
"Fort Solis" is on lockdown
Mining base on Mars in 'Fort Solis' thriller game

Thursday, July 4, 2024

Search for a lost colony on Mars in "Deliver Us Mars" adventure game

Sequel to Deliver Us The Moon (2019), Deliver Us Mars (2023) is an atmospheric sci-fi adventure game set in mid-21st century when the ecosystem of Earth is close to extinction due to the effects of climate change. After a mysterious distress call from Mars, Earth’s youngest astronaut Kathy joins an expedition to recover the ARK colony ships stolen more than decade ago by the mysterious science-oriented organization Outward (Kathy's father Isaac is among the leaders of Outward).

Although the story of Deliver Us Mars is strictly linear and you as a player can't impact it, the story itself is well-written and interesting, revealing the truth about the fate of Outward colonists on Mars piece by piece. Some parts of the game felt like a true detective. The atmospheric visual and audial mood of the scenes complements the story well and the final act of Deliver Us Mars features one of the most compelling representations of a human colony on Mars in video games, feeling almost utopian.. especially comparing it to the dying Earth.

Mars colony under a dome in 'Deliver Us Mars' adventure game

Unfortunately, this aspect also leads to some frustration with the strictly linear nature of the game's storytelling - you can't change the main character's endgame decision, no matter how stupid you think it is. Another source of a frustration with the game for some players will be the clunky wall climbing mechanics. Regardless these small issues Deliver Us Mars is a must-play game for any Mars fan.

Visual recap of Deliver Us Mars' STORY

Be aware of heavy spoilers, revealing major story plots.
Even before getting to Mars the expedition is riddled with severe problems
Spaceship approaching Mars in 'Deliver Us Mars' adventure game

Landing on Mars in 'Deliver Us Mars' adventure game
Game's protagonist (main character) is Earth’s youngest astronaut Kathy searching for her father among the lost colonists on Mars
Astronaut on Mars in 'Deliver Us Mars' adventure game
Kathy lands near an abandoned mining facility
Mining facility on Mars in 'Deliver Us Mars' adventure game

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Martian city in "Chaser"

Chaser is an old first-person shooter released on 2003. Today there is no shortage of video games set on Mars, but back then Chaser was one of the few, even if only less than half of the game actually takes place on Mars. It follows a story somewhat similar to that of Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous movie Total Recall (1990) and I reviewed the game here 10 years ago.
Recently I made a second playthrough of the game. Part of Chaser's story takes place in a city on Mars under a large dome and here are some screenshots of the city:
Mars city in 'Chaser' video game

Mars city in 'Chaser' video game

Mars city in 'Chaser' video game

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Spherical underground Mars colony by Michel Lamontagne

One of the weak spots for any domed human colony on Mars would be the enormous pressure difference needed between the higher interior pressure suitable for humans (~ 1 bar) and the near-vacuum exterior pressure of the Martian atmosphere (0.004-0.011 bar). The dome for such a structure should have heavy anchoring deep underground. But there is a much simpler solution - a spherical hermetic structure mostly underground where only the tip of the sphere (visible as a dome) is located above the ground level. Sphere is the strongest geometric shape for containing internal pressure and the structure can be kept in place by the mass put inside the sphere.

Canadian design engineer Michel Lamontagne has created two concept drawings for such a colony where there is only a domed park above the ground level and all the rest of the colony is located below the ground level with a vertical central opening for natural lighting:

Spherical underground Mars colony by Michel Lamontagne
The geodesic surface dome is subdivided into small panes for easier replacement and safety:
Mars colony under a geodesic dome by Michel Lamontagne

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

SpaceX Starship landing on Mars - 4K UHD renders from Elon's Starship update 2022

When SpaceX CEO and lead designer Elon Musk gave his latest Starship update in February 2022, the presentation contained an animation of Starship's mission to Mars with a landing at Mars Base Alpha in the end. Today SpaceX finally gave public access to 4K UHD version of that animation. Here are some images from it.
Starship landing at Mars Base Alpha:
SpaceX Mars Base Alpha from Elon Musk's Starship update 2022
Click HERE for 4K UHD resolution

SpaceX Mars Base Alpha spaceport from Elon Musk's Starship update 2022
Click HERE for 4K UHD resolution

SpaceX Starmen arriving at Mars Base Alpha from Elon Musk's Starship update 2022
Click HERE for 4K UHD resolution
Starship approaching Mars:
SpaceX Starship approaching Mars from Elon Musk's Starship update 2022
Click HERE for 4K UHD resolution

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Martian city on terraformed Mars

Martian city on terraformed Mars – a gameplay art from Terraformers – Mars colonization turn based strategy game released in early access on April 2022 and developed by indie game developer Asteroid Lab. In about a week the game will get a major update, including the ability to continue your game after achieving a victory condition, thus further expanding your civilization on Mars.

Martian city on terraformed Mars (Terraformers game)

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Mars Base Alpha in a crater by Anastasia Volyk & Vladyslav Lysenko

Ukrainian 3D artists Anastasia Volyk and Vladyslav Lysenko have created a concept for SpaceX's Mars Base Alpha in a small Martian crater. The individual habitats scattered on the inner slope of the crater wall are connected with the center of the colony via partially underground hyperloop lines. In the further future hyperloop lines could connect Mars Base Alpha with other human colonies on Mars. I would place Starship launch pads outside the crater.

Mars Base Alpha in a crater by Anastasia Volyk and Vladyslav Lysenko

Mars Base Alpha by Anastasia Volyk and Vladyslav Lysenko

SpaceX Starship launch from Mars Base Alpha by Anastasia Volyk and Vladyslav Lysenko

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Mars colony in Moonshot (2022) movie

Moonshot is recently released (March 2022) science fiction teen comedy set in 2049 when trips to Mars has become routine for skilled or wealthy people. A rich, skilled girl (Lana Condor) and a poor, "mediocre" boy (Cole Sprouse) travel together to Mars, each for their own reasons, and after arrival they both discover those reasons were wrong. Although the movie by itself is quite silly with childish dialogues and cheap interior sets, the CGI for Mars colony exteriors is really good. Here are some HD images from the movie:

Spaceship on launch platform at Mars spaceport

Astronauts orbiting Mars

Spaceship launch from Mars colony

Fireworks at Mars colony

Saturday, February 12, 2022

Elon's latest vision for Mars Base Alpha

During Starship update presentation on Thursday SpaceX CEO and lead designer Elon Musk shared to us SpaceX's latest vision for Mars Base Alpha. Here are some images from the animation.
Part of Mars Base Alpha is covered with a large, transparent dome:
SpaceX's Mars Base Alpha from Elon's Starship update 2022
Starships are landing on landing pads some distance away from the base:
Starship landing pads at Mars Base Alpha from Elon's Starship update 2022
Settlers arriving at Mars Base Alpha:
Settlers arriving at SpaceX's Mars Base Alpha from Elon's Starship update 2022
Animation of Starship landing at Mars Base Alpha shared by Elon:

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Domed Martian city by Indranil Saha

Picture of the Day 20/11/2021 - an early human base on Mars in front of a domed city (Gaia-1) by graphic designer Indranil Saha (known as encreate) from India. More of his art here.

Domed Martian city by Indranil Saha (Encreate)

Sunday, November 7, 2021

SpaceX Starship at Mars Base Alpha by Caspar Stanley

SpaceX's Starship standing in front of a geodesic dome at Mars Base Alpha by Danish freelance 3D artist Caspar Stanley. It's quite likely the first crewed Starships sent to Mars and acting as temporary habitats for the first settlers will stay on Mars forever, forming the basis of Mars Base Alpha built around them, as can be seen in SpaceX's own renderings.

SpaceX Starship at Mars Base Alpha by Caspar Stanley

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Domed Mars colony by Steven Hobbs

Picture of the Day 19/09/2021 - domed oasis and human colony on Mars by Australian graphic designer Steven Hobbs. More of his Mars art here.

Domed Mars colony by Steven Hobbs

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Human colony in a Martian crater by James Vaughan

Picture of the Day 26/11/2020 - Digital painting of human colony in a Martian crater by photographer and concept artist James Vaughan. Note the Lockheed Martin's Mars lander launching from the colony. More of Vaughan's aerospace and defense concept art here.

Human colony in a Martian crater by James Vaughan - closeup
Full painting with a man looking at the colony through a window:
Human colony in a Martian crater by James Vaughan

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Martian colonies in Babylon 5 TV series

Babylon 5 (1994-1998) was a popular sci-fi TV show in mid-1990s. Mars is one of the secondary locations in the show coming into spotlight in the second half of season 4. In the universe of Babylon 5 the rapid colonization and terraformation of Mars starts in mid-22nd century with only limited scientific missions before that. As in almost all fiction about colonization of Mars, eventually there rises a rebellion against Earth's control with an aim for Martian independence. There are around 2 million inhabitants on Mars at the time of events depicted in the show. You can read about Mars in the universe of Babylon 5 here.

Babylon 5 was one of the first TV shows / movies heavily utilizing CGI to depict the exteriors of a human colony on Mars. At the time most filmmakers used miniature sets for that purpose, as in the famous Total Recall (1990). Here is an ultimate collection of CGI scenes set on Mars in Babylon 5; you won't find more comprehensive such collection anywhere in the internet. Take into account the CGI scenes were done in mid-1990s with very limited graphics processing power so the resolution is low.

Mars in Babylon 5 - Mars Dome One in Syria Planum

Mars in Babylon 5 - Mars Dome One interior

Mars in Babylon 5 - Martian colony in Syria Planum

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Mars colony illustrations by Luis Peres

Nice illustrations of a human colony on Mars by Portuguese fantasy artist Luis Peres for "Generation Mars: Book One - Scratching the Surface" by Douglas Meredith. The goal of this book (published on August 2019) and its upcoming series is to provide younger readers with more serious and realistic science fiction that still tackles the main “what if” quality of the genre. It gives a glimpse into what life on Mars might be like for kids just like them.

The main character, Cas, is the first human child ever born on Mars. Martian kids are living what is, to them, ordinary lives in their underground colony, but for the first time they will be allowed to see and explore the surface of their homeworld. The details of the habitat, its life-support systems, and surface suits are rooted in realistic science and technology, with further details explained in a postscript to the book. Future books of the series will address fundamental issues of survival on Mars: air, shelter, water, food, etc.

Mars Colony by Luis Peres - book cover art for Generation Mars - Scratching the Surface

Mars Colony by Luis Peres - book cover art for Generation Mars - Scratching the Surface

Monday, January 20, 2020

Small garden under a geodesic dome on Mars

Picture of the Day 20/1/2020 - small patch of grass with a pond and a cabin under geodesic dome on Mars from Instagram profile @blender_every_weekday.

Small garden under a geodesic dome on Mars

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Large human base on Mars by Manchu (Philippe Bouchet)

Picture of the Day 12/1/2020 - lander landing at a large human base on Mars featuring several residential domes & greenhouses, solar array, tall communications antenna, light reconnaissance plane and enclosed landing pad. It's a concept art by French sci-fi artist Manchu (Philippe Bouchet) from French chapter of The Mars Society (Association Planète Mars).

Large human base on Mars by Manchu (Philippe Bouchet)
Closeup of the central part of the base:
Mars base by Manchu (Philippe Bouchet)