Survival space colony sim Maia is really shaping up to be something a wee bit special. Creator Simon Roth’s put together a quick video showcasing the latest alpha build (0.32), which features meteors, tremors, mood lighting and, most importantly, an abundance of chickens.
It doesn’t make space colonisation look particularly glamarous, with gloomy looking colonists getting perked up by the simplest of things – like a new sofa or a bunch of glow sticks.
There appears to be a lot of things to keep on top off. Renewable energy like wind and solar is handy, but intermittent as cloud cover, night and a drop in the wind leave the colony without power. Flags can be placed to get a sense of how strong the wind is and solar panals are affected by shadows – so are best placed out in the open.
This is all important stuff, because a colony without power ain’t much of a colony at all. The simplest of things like lighting have a significant impact on the simulation. With better lights, colonists can work more efficiently, and even the colour of the lights can affect their mood.
While Roth worked away on a simple med bay, he revealed that colonist death will be implemented in the next build. The struggling survivors can die from hypothermia, asphixiation, starvation and likely all manner of nasty things. Instead of having a plain old healthbar, colonist health can be gleaned from things like their resperation or how much they are sweating. Will the chickens be able to rise up and kill their masters? Who knows.
Maia was recently greenlit, and you can preorder it now.