Solar Explorer: New Dawn 9+

One trick pony lacking critical info and options

[edit: +1 star for dev response].
As a Kerbal vet I had high hopes for this game, but was very disappointed. Many basic features this game needs to be fun / interesting are missing. I shouldn’t have to but I will list them here:

1. Choosing your own re-entry plan as part of the planning element.

2. A readout of total delta-V and duration of each re-entry stage during staging and actual play. Need impact time displayed as well. We have no idea what a good velocity is during the various stages so we can’t budget fuel use.

3. Maneuver thrusters DO NOT use the same fuel as the main engines and should not become disabled if you run out of main fuel.

4. Allow the user to adjust fuel load during planning stage, which affects TWR, delta-V, CofG, etc.

5. WAY more equipment options for basically everything in planning stage.

6. A strategic element where you actually plan the missions to satisfy overall planetary goals given a budget and other limitations. Your scope is WAY too narrow for this to remain interesting for more than 10 minutes.

I hate to say it but Simple Rockets has you beat and that’s a much older game that is basically made in Flash. New Dawn has lots of potential, but it needs to be fleshed out into a more engaging game.

Developer Response ,

Sorry to hear that you were disappointed. However, your comparisons and suggestions suggest that you may have expected a spaceship simulator out of a lander arcade game, in which case I can understand why you'd be disappointed.

Just to clarify, this is an arcade game, first and foremost. It doesn't claim, nor attempt to be a simulator of any kind at all. Hopefully, this clarification can help other players reading the reviews, avoid similar disappointments.

5 stars just for the hard work and creativity!

I think this is a great mobile game with very nice and fluid graphics, fitting and soothing music, and enjoyable gameplay. Nice job! I love how you’re very open to adding and improving to the game based on others’ input because that is the definition of an open-minded and successful creator. This game has plenty of potential for sure. Maybe the solar system could be moveable? The planets/moons could also be rotatable, there could be mini-games where the gameplay is different. The game is currently repetitive, you know? Very fun to play, but even as it gets more challenging, it’s the same movements and goals. Implementing iCloud save would be very helpful too if it doesn’t have it already. But I love the game’s mechanics, and I admire the work put into it! Can’t wait to see how the game evolves!

(One issue right now is that I’m stuck - I finished the missions on the moon, and I don’t know what to do to move on to Mars. I know that I need more resources, and it looks like I should replay the first missions, but I did and haven’t gotten more resources. What should I do? I’m sure I’m missing something.)

EDIT: I just read another review where you explained it. So I have to keep repeating the missions to gain resources. Never mind then, all good!

Ended my search for a good mobile game + a few suggestions

I’ve been getting frustrated lately because alot of mobile games these days have poor graphics, ridiculous ads and get boring after an hour or two. I came across this game in my desperate search for a good game and I was skeptical at first because of the cost, but after all the reviews were positive I installed it. This game is probably the best 2.99 I’ve spent with my apple account so far. The graphics are of Xbox/PS4 quality and the controls are incredibly smooth. My only critique would be for there to be a few more customizations available. Perhaps different tiers of landing legs that would be necessary for larger fuselages and would allow for higher touchdown velocities or optional meteor shielding to increase the HP of the craft. The higher the tier of these items, the more mass they would have and therefore play a role in the TWR of the craft. The discovery of this game has ended my long search for a good game and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining game.

Developer Response ,

Thank you very much for playing and rating the game :) There are a lot of different options that will be coming into the game as time goes. At the moment I am dealing with a multi-platform release, so that is the priority, however, once that is done, then my sole focus will be on implementing new updates for the game and supporting it. Thank you for the feedback, it is very much appreciated.