Miner Wars 2081 promises to be a combination between Descent, Elite/Freespace & Red Faction


Keen Software House announced today their outcomes of GDC 2012 in San Francisco. According to the developers, about 98% of visitors had never heard of Miner Wars before and it seems that everyone loves the idea of Descent + Elite/Freespace + Red Faction combined with a fully destructible environment. In fact, Miner Wars 2081 seems to be the only game in the world with a fully destructible environment as no other comparable game utilizes this feature to such an extent.
In addition, Keen Software House have released a new public demo for it. This new demo comes with a brand new inventory screen and inventory icons, major performance optimizations, rear-view camera (for looking behind your ship), new textures and prefabs for seven factions in the game (currently accessible from Editor God Mode), and HUD notifications for damage, incoming enemy, solar flare, low fuel. Furthermore, prefab and missile explosions now damage all objects nearby (area damage), whereas harvester device, drill, and weapons now drain energy from your batteries.
The new public demo also features a Solar System Map that allows for easier long-distance travel, many new models and prefabs, playable prototype of first three missions and enhanced visual effects with better particles and lighting.
Those interested can download the new public demo from here.