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See the Mars colonization game killed by The Sims
Artist Ward Moore has on his site details about SimMars, a Maxis game that was apparently canceled in the 90s once the company realized how successful The Sims was going to be.
You can see plenty of concept art on the site. Furthermore, Mr. Moore describes the game's premise as follows:SimMARS was intended as a role playing game, using KIM STANLEY ROBINSON Trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars) as an inspiration. The goal is to successfully colonize Mars using NASA inspired technology. The user had to creatively impliment the available martian resource and plan their living around the 6-month cycle of supply ships...Because of this premise, aesthetics revolved around the real world constraints of habitats and supplies being packaged and arriving in a chemical propelled rockets, arriving on the martian surface, after which they endure the corrosive effects of wind and radiation. Bots and Rovers are the preferred method of maintenance and travel. Coordinating assets and creatively recycling existing material creates martian civilizations.
Space Colony was great and all, but it's too bad we never got something more serious like this.
(Thanks Superannuation and Shacknews!)
By eight at 12:07 PM ON 10/13/09
I would totally go for this game. If they knew the Sims was going to be a success, why would they cancel this? Sure the gameplay is a bit different, but it seems like they killed an awesome idea that could help them push the market, and maybe expand their user base.
Pure folly, I say.
By Joshua at 12:18 PM ON 10/13/09
From what I understand, Maxis was a bit of a mess coming off a gazillion mediocre spin-offs. Then EA bought them in 1997, and told them to focus on only a few games. SimCity 3000 was a big hit (if not what it was originally going to be), and The Sims was as well. EA, being EA, basically told them to forget about SimMars after that.
So, like anything else, you can pin this one on EA at least in part.
By Neuromancer at 12:38 PM ON 10/13/09
Damn I really wanted this game too.
By Anonymous at 1:03 PM ON 10/13/09
Man, that sounds cool.
By Marcin at 1:55 PM ON 10/13/09
That looks like it could have been really good. I'm going through the "Mars" trilogy right now, and the best part is definitely the early "mars pioneers" aspect of it. Would've been fantastic to try my own hand at it. Hmm, wonder if it simulated the Reds and the Terraformers eventually too? :)
By Anonymous at 2:11 PM ON 10/13/09
This coulda been really good, but then I really wanted Outpost to be good, and it wasn't. You know what would be a great fit for a Mars game? An Alpha Centauri mod. Somebody get on that please!
By m0ggY at 3:33 PM ON 10/13/09
Why did you have to show me this Tom, now I really want to play this. I also want a new Sid Alpha Centari 2.
By Felipe 058 at 4:06 PM ON 10/13/09
Crap, this could've been awesome.
By dmonaco at 7:32 PM ON 10/13/09
I can already hear the "Incoming Supply Ship" or the "Warning, decompression of Section (blank), personnel at risk!" vocals.
This of course, is yet another thing I can blame EA for, since I was always blaming them for the ultra annoying The Sims series and a long list of other Gamer sins.
By 3pmusic at 10:55 PM ON 10/13/09
I would buy this in a heartbeat.
By FSkornia at 1:20 AM ON 10/14/09
I also think this would have been an awesome game - and probably much better than Spore was. I will also second the desire for Alpha Centauri 2 - with all the great advances made on the Civilization front, AC2 would be absolutely incredible.
By joesocwork at 9:16 PM ON 10/14/09
I remember SimMars as a potential Sim City 4 mod being done at the SimTropolis fansite a few years back. But I don't know what happened to it.
By Mr. C at 2:44 AM ON 10/18/09
I would love this game. Someone should make this game since EA will not or will they.
By joesocwork at 2:45 PM ON 10/19/09
Ah, Glory Days, Mr. C! :D
By Maniac at 3:23 PM ON 10/19/09
There is a Mars mod for SMAC:
http://www.civgaming.net/public-files/smac/scenarios/Mars.zip
There is a SMAC mod for Civ4:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=278
By Xap at 7:27 AM ON 11/08/09
This is really unfortunate. I would've loved to play it! - As it looks, it would have incooperated many ideas brought forward by real people from the MarsSociety.org
Xap:
This is really unfortunate. I would've loved to play it! - As it looks, it would have incooperated many ideas broug...More »