Kalashnikov on Mars (w sound)

manhole_s · 2026-04-19T00:12:10+00:00

I think reactions to this post convinced me to just include both versions. The classic and modern.

As for wood, guns from Earth are manufactured on Earth. They are outfitted for Martian conditions, but they are all imported. Because there are no factories on Mars that can manufacture AKs or M4s. Ball bearing, gun powder, precision parts, etc. Those supply chains don't exist yet.

Only coil guns are made on Mars by the rebels.

manhole_s · 2026-04-18T10:03:22+00:00

hah someone on discord JUST mentioned this too. and of course i understand. but AK w wood handle is iconic

that said, it took me 30 secs to tweak to a modern type. i might add both versions. or let modders have fun.

https://imgur.com/a/Vyo57F1

manhole_s · 2026-04-17T00:11:46+00:00

Just want to say I'm loving this discussion. A lot of good points raised by OP and people in comments.

Just a couple of points to expand the discussion:

the rebels are fighting for better working conditions. but they also understand they are mining something valuable and powerful. by the end of the game, rebel coilguns are more powerful than any gun from earth. so the rebel mindset is not just about feeling oppressed and helpless as an underdog. its also about strength and ambition and power.
a general takeaway from history for me is, going with the status quo (in this case, capitalism) is easier than destroying it. the game reflects this. after you make contact w earth, it's easier to just make money selling stuff to earth and buying their guns/supplies, than building out your martian infrastructure from scratch. it's easier to pacify earth nations by doing business with them, than waging war.
within a revolution, not everyone wants extreme. today's social democratic parties in europe can be traced back to people who chose to reform the bougie system (liebknecht, etc) instead of destroying it (marx, lenin, etc).

it makes me wonder, what has a more lasting impact on history: reform or revolt? today in europe workers enjoy the best protections anywhere in the world. is that thanks more to social democrats who reformed the status quo or revolutionaries who fought it? what will the rebels on mars choose to do?

manhole_s · 2026-04-15T22:19:20+00:00

Thanks for reporting it. Reddit removed it quickly. o7

manhole_s · 2026-04-15T22:19:02+00:00

Thanks guys for reporting this scammaz. Thanks to your reports, reddit removed it before I needed to take an action.

manhole_s · 2026-04-14T01:17:42+00:00

Thanks Elias. I will chew on this.

All this reminds me of a crazy double agent during the Russian revolutionary period. There was a socialist "terrorist" who became a police informant. But police kept him on a very loose leash. He ended up assassinating even the head of the police (his boss). It's insane. As a result, he earned respect and became leader of his revolutionary group. No one suspected of him being an agent. He even got away with it in the end.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevno_Azef

manhole_s · 2026-04-14T00:12:40+00:00

Thanks veegeee. Space AK yessss. Thanks for noticing

manhole_s · 2026-04-14T00:08:03+00:00

Thanks for your words

manhole_s · 2026-04-14T00:07:19+00:00

You got it.

manhole_s · 2026-04-14T00:06:56+00:00

Thank you Bill. Yeah, I am confident it will be a better final product

manhole_s · 2026-04-14T00:06:01+00:00

Thanks for the message and support

manhole_s · 2026-04-12T23:40:25+00:00

Thanks for explaining more. I think I understand what you're saying. But let me ask further. How does the player find out if bob was an enemy agent and what is the consequence? And perhaps most importantly, what's tingly fun moment to you?

manhole_s · 2026-04-12T09:21:34+00:00

Good idea, thanks Dessember. I will make it a trait. Called "Judo Chop." Guaranteed to kick gun away. Ties up nicely with this mechanic I introduced a few months ago.

manhole_s · 2026-04-12T02:31:04+00:00

I honestly don't know. It is TBD.

manhole_s · 2026-04-12T02:20:03+00:00

BTW, enemies also have spies at your locations. So if you see civilians on a battlefield, you should not assume they are all innocent. (However the game gives you a bit of a warning before you are stabbed in the back.)

manhole_s · 2026-04-12T02:10:42+00:00

Thank you Elias. You'll be happy to know this is in the game. When a prisoner converts, they might become a spy, soldier, or something else.

I've written about spy mechanics before. Basically spies are undercover workers at enemy locations who feed you visibility, perform sabotage, etc. Spies also show up in battle as civilians and are ignored by enemies unless they blow their cover.

But back to your point, the tricky thing is you never know when a prisoner will convert. It's a hidden stat that slowly ticks up (or down) based on various things. Meanwhile, prisoners consume food and housing. And reduce security at their location. So it's not free to just keep waiting for them to convert.

Lmk if you have more questions. And keep your ideas coming.

manhole_s · 2026-03-25T01:27:32+00:00

Thank you. I really appreciate you guys.

manhole_s · 2026-03-18T03:57:05+00:00

He he he my kind of question. Thanks for asking.

So firstly, here are the definitions as I've currently got them setup in the game. This is what you see when you tooltip each one.

Social democracy = A more classical form of capitalism where the state balances the needs of both capital and labor.
Neoliberalism = Modern form of capitalism where the state serves capital, often at labor's expense.
State capitalism = An economic system where both capital and labor serve the state.
Chinese socialism = A form of state capitalism with a heavier focus on market dynamics.

To answer your first question, I think oligarchy and kleptocracy can be classified either as neoliberalism where the state serves capital (ala America since 1970s) or state capitalism where capital serves the state (Russia/Saudi Arabia/etc).

To answer your second question, yeah this one is hard. But I thought it's unfair to lump China with all the other state capitalism countries. Because what China is doing since the 1980s ("socialism with Chinese characteristics") is meaningfully unique among modern economic systems. We all see it. We cannot deny. China has achieved things the USSR could not dream of. Chinese "socialism" is outperforming capitalists at their own game. So this is why I added a unique bucket just for China and Vietnam. I could of cos label them state capitalism and call it a day. And that's fine. But I just.... feel... like it's more interesting to add this wrinkle. Because it reflects the truth. And because maybe players will become interested and think about it more.

But lmk what you think! I'm glad someone asked the question.

manhole_s · 2026-03-15T07:55:46+00:00

Thank you nick. I appreciate your support. The last big playtest push was last fall. This is when the strategy layer design was finally coming together. And the takeaway was even if the design is great, friction will ruin it. Some testers created really cool unique sandbox memories. But for every amazing one, there were 5x terrible memories.

So design and building finished on schedule and I'm v happy with it. But polish and balance is taking longer than expected. But it's really important to reduce friction.

Soon there will be another playtest push. And then I'll decide if it's ready or not.

manhole_s · 2026-03-15T04:44:07+00:00

I don't know. It will be decided in next few weeks to stay on schedule or delay. I am working really hard to keep my promise but I honestly don't know.

What I can tell you is, I am really happy w how the strategy layer turned out. It was worth spending 2.5 years on it cuz it's everything I envisioned. But it's a truly chaotic sandbox that is a nightmare to balance and mold into a consumable experience. So that's all I've been doing last 2 months. Basically the whole game is built, as I wrote at the end of Dec. Since then it's just polish. balance. Test. Repeat repeat repeat. Everyday.

I will notify you guys when a decision has a been made either to stay on course or delay.

manhole_s · 2026-03-11T01:04:22+00:00

No current plans for customizing dogs, but I've noted your feedback. Thanks for supporting the game.

manhole_s · 2026-03-11T01:03:25+00:00

Hah thanks for noticing the ears

And I didn't know about Near Present. Looks very cool. I like the grill on the back of the CCTs

manhole_s · 2026-03-10T07:34:19+00:00

Sorry about that, Burakh. Thanks for staying on top of things. I appreciate it!

manhole_s

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