Community23 May 2025Devlog #6The new tutorial is content complete, so now I’m testing it with people and making edits based on that. So far, it seems to be helping! Hopefully, I’ll know when the update will be released the next time I post! Thanks for being patient with me, and I hope everyone has a great weekend, Michael
Hey everyone, Just wanted to give a quick update about what I’ve been doing. I’ve decided to recreate the tutorial from the ground up. The new tutorial will be broken up into multiple chapters and have challenges along the way to test your knowledge. There will also be a larger focus on showing how the different economic systems work since this is the brain that drives the whole game. I’m makin…
Thanks to everyone who has been playing Dissent on Mars ! We really appreciate the support. Now that some time has passed, I’d like to talk about my plans for the future. There are two things I’d like to address: 1. the wrong impressions people are getting before playing, and 2. the steep learning curve. The art style for Dissent on Mars is similar to Prison Architect and Rimworld . Unfortunate…
Dissent on Mars is now available on Steam! You can also pick up a Deluxe Edition that includes the Dissent on Mars: Daytime Soundtrack and Dissent on Mars: Nighttime Soundtrack . Thanks to everyone for the support, and I hope you enjoy the game! Michael
I’m excited to announce that the soundtracks I made for Dissent on Mars are now available! There’s the Dissent on Mars: Daytime Soundtrack and the Dissent on Mars: Nighttime Soundtrack . You can buy them on Steam ( here and here ), or Bandcamp ( here and here ). If you’d like to wait for a small discount, they’ll be included in a Deluxe Edition of the game that will launch on Monday. If you lik…
Finally, after 5+ years of development, Dissent on Mars is coming to Steam on April 7th! To help celebrate, we’ve released an updated version of the trailer. Check it out: Nothing is perfect, but I can honestly say I’ve put everything I have into this game. This has been a dream project of mine for 13 years, and it’s hard to put into words how it feels to finally be here. This wouldn’t be happe…
Different types of random events can occur in Dissent on Mars . In this post, we’re going to talk about random events that may require some detective work to address. Detective Events I tried designing a randomly generated detective game many years ago and was never happy with it. I’m glad I was finally able to scratch that itch with some of the events in this game! Here are some you can expect…
Different types of random events can occur in Dissent on Mars . In this post, we’re going to talk about news stories, which can be used to influence people’s behavior in the colony. News Stories If your colony has a news center, colonists can report on stories from around the solar system. Some stories require the reporter to have a specific charisma skill, so you may not be able to report on e…
There are different types of goals you can achieve in Dissent on Mars . In the last post , we talked about global goals and long-term goals. Today, we’re going to look at short-term goals, which are randomly generated based on colonist requests. Short-Term Goals Many different short-term goals can appear, and the objectives may be different each time you see them. For simplicity’s sake, I’m jus…
I’ve tested Dissent on Mars for 60+ hours on a 64GB eMMC Steam Deck and I think it runs great! I’m pretty sure it would be Deck Verified if Valve reviewed it. Here’s some more info: Input - The correct controller glyphs are displayed. - An on-screen keyboard is used for text input. Display - The Deck’s native 1280x800 resolution runs great. - I’ve never had any issues reading the text. Hope you…
There are different types of goals you can achieve in Dissent on Mars . In this post, we’re going to look at global goals and long-term goals, which are used together to compare the performance of different societies. Long-Term Goals Long-term goals measure the performance of your society using a variety of different metrics. Here are some you can expect to see: An Efficient Economy - Create an…
Each colony in Dissent on Mars has laws that provide additional rules based on the constitution. In the last post , we started exploring some of the laws. Today, I’d like to talk about the last batch of laws your colony can have. Consumption Rights The constitution determines the different ways colonists can receive income, but some of the amounts they receive are set by laws. For example, you…
Each colony in Dissent on Mars has a constitution that determines the rules for how the colony operates. In previous posts, we’ve explored the different parts of a constitution: allocation systems , property rights , money , consumption rights , and decision making . Today, I’d like to talk about laws, which provide additional rules based on the constitution. Revolution If enough people are pro…
Each colonist in Dissent on Mars has a unique personality that determines how they behave. Today, I’d like to talk about some of the traits colonists can have and how they impact the game! Bootlicker In the last article , we talked about the different ways decisions can be made in a workplace. Depending on their personality traits, some colonists may prefer having input, while others may like b…
Over the last year, we’ve dived into the different choices you have for designing a society in Dissent on Mars . We’ve talked about allocation systems , property rights , money , and consumption rights . Today, we’re diving into the final choice: decision making. Depending on how productive property is owned, workplaces may have an individual owner or a group of owners. So, how should owners ma…
Dissent on Mars is now one of the top wishlisted upcoming games on Steam! Thanks to everyone who wishlisted it or helped spread the word, we couldn’t have done it without you. It’s taken a long time, but it looks like we’re on track to finally release the game next year. We’re still promoting it, so if you haven’t wishlisted it or told your friends yet, we’d appreciate the help. Hope everyone h…
We finished overhauling the buildings last week! Let’s dive into how it works. You can still place pre-made buildings like before, however, if you want to customize the entire building you can do that too. You can place the walls and floors individually, which enables you to create oddly shaped buildings, and the objects inside can be placed wherever you want. We also added a bunch of new objec…
The Steam Endless Replayability Fest starts tomorrow, and Dissent on Mars is included! If you haven’t played the demo yet, now is the perfect time since we’ll be taking it down after the fest ends. And don’t forget to wishlist and follow it so you can stay connected with us as we finish this final trek of development! I hope everyone plays some awesome games this week, Michael
Hey everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but we’ve been busy behind the scenes. Our main focus has been promoting the game, but doing that let me take my design hat off and see the game more clearly. I’ve been working on this version of Dissent on Mars for four years, and most of that time was spent on the economy and government design. That’s the main focus of the game, so that makes…
We just released a new trailer for Dissent on Mars ! This one focuses on an allocation system called democratic planning. In democratic planning, producers and consumers work together to create a plan for the entire economy. In some ways, this is the inverse of a market; instead of encouraging competition, this system encourages cooperation. Hope you enjoy it, and don’t forget to wishlist and f…
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Steam Next Fest livestream! I had a great time hanging out with everyone, and I hope you did too. If you missed it, here’s a recording: Throughout the week we had ten giveaway winners! Congrats to XD Mich, Fischyk, EuroBlue, Maka, ZERO, AKEPasarea69, JhonnySkeiner, Paulchen, _A_pol_A_, and Jelly! I sent everyone a friend request, and have been DMing the key…
Hey everyone, I’m excited to announce that Dissent on Mars is a part of Steam Next Fest! We’ll be running a livestream throughout the entire festival where you can enter to win free copies of our previous games Pillar and The Path of Motus . Be sure to check out the livestream to see how you can enter, and don’t forget to wishlist and follow the game! ;) Have a great Next Fest, Michael
Check out the livestream during Steam Next Fest to see how you can win two of our previous games Pillar and The Path of Motus , and don’t forget to wishlist and follow Dissent on Mars ! ;) Have a great Next Fest, Michael EDIT: Congrats to our final batch of winners ZERO, AKEPasarea69, JhonnySkeiner, Paulchen, _A_pol_A_, and Jelly! Check your DMs for the keys!
Check out the livestream during Steam Next Fest to see how you can win two of our previous games Pillar and The Path of Motus , and don’t forget to wishlist and follow Dissent on Mars ! ;) Have a great Next Fest, Michael EDIT: Congrats to our winners so far: XD Mich, Fischyk, EuroBlue, and Maka! I'll DM the keys to you. :D
Hey everyone, We just launched a free demo for Dissent on Mars on Steam! Hope you enjoy it, and don’t forget to add it to your wishlist so you’ll know when the full version is out! Thanks, Michael
Having an income lets people buy products, but which principles should determine how we receive income? In Dissent on Mars, your answer to this question changes the rules of the game. Let’s dive into these concepts so you can see how they work in-game! For Need If citizens receive income for need, income could be provided to cover everyone’s need for food, hygiene, and more. Once your colony is…
As we get deeper into the holiday season, I think it’s a good time to tackle a subject that’s on everyone’s mind. We love it, we hate it, we chase it… yup, you guessed it: money! Let’s dive into how it works in Dissent on Mars . The first thing you should know is that Martians don’t use the same currency as Earthlings, so don’t expect to see any dollars, pounds, or euros. Instead, they use a ne…
Hey everyone! Just wanted to give a quick update about what I’ve been up to. As of today, the game is feature complete! My plan is to polish one last thing, and then focus 100% on promoting the game and getting it released. If you missed it, I published a few blog posts that go into more detail about how the game works. The first one is about different types of allocation systems , and the seco…
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Announcements are the developer’s own posts to the game’s Steam news feed: updates and their patch notes, in-game events, releases and sales. The important ones are marked on the players chart.