My Time at Sandrock is the second game in the My Time series, following My Time at Portia. It is currently being developed and self-published[1] by Pathea Games.
About[]
As the successor of My Time at Portia, key aspects from the predecessor return, such as crafting, resource gathering, and farming. The player character will take on the role as Builder in the dilapidated oasis town of Sandrock, a rough desert environment with scarce resources compared to the lush world of Portia, and attempt to rebuild the town to its former glory.
Game features[]
| Game features | |
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 Characters |
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 Social |
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 Locations |
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 Items |
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 Missions |
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 Handbook |
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 Calendar |
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 Miscellaneous |
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Platforms[]
The game will first be available on Windows 10 PCs via Steam, Epic Games, and WeGame. It is technically possible for Sandrock to run on Windows 7, though Windows 7 is not officially supported.[2] In addition, Sandrock runs on Steam Deck, tested by Pathea.[3]
Sandrock was launched on November 2, 2023 for Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Xbox One/S/X and Sony PlayStation 5. The Sony PlayStation 4 version is planned to launch sometime in early 2024.
A Mac release is not currently planned, though it is a possibility; more information regarding a Mac version may be given closer to the official release of the game.[4]
Languages[]
The demo and beta version are both only available in Chinese and English. More languages will be supported in Early Access.
Development[]
Teaser image posted August 2020[5]
During My Time at Portia's extended Kickstarter campaign, a DLC set in Sandrock was listed as the ultimate stretch goal, but this goal was not reached.[6] Despite this, a multiplayer Sandrock DLC was mentioned since early 2018 in various developer comments on Steam.[7][8] No official news about it was announced and few details were given at the time.
Teaser image posted September 2020[9]
Later, the possibility of having one or more games set in the Portia universe was mentioned by developers on the Steam forums[10] and the Steam profile page of the developer Loah mentioned My Time at Sandrock by name.[11]
In October 2019, the purported Sandrock DLC was confirmed to not be a DLC at all, but rather a new game. A Kickstarter campaign for My Time at Sandrock launched in October 2020.
The first visual of the game was released on August 13, 2020[5], depicting a young character with short black hair (later confirmed to be the male default player character, Max) overlooking a foggy, moody scene.
In November 2020, it was revealed that My Time at Sandrock takes place on a 40% larger map than My Time at Portia and the player will face a harder challenge to collect even basic resources. The player will start by recycling metal scrap and collecting stone, as well as collecting water.[12] The player cannot expect to be able to collect water from Martle's Oasis, and even live next door to a Hazardous Ruins.[12] It was also revealed that fast transport will take place by riding Yakmels instead of the Dee-Dee Transports used in My Time at Portia.[12] The game will feature a series of romance missions for each marriage candidate, gradually deepening the relationship between the player and the romanced character.
Sandrock remained in Kickstarter-exclusive beta access through the end of 2021.
Steam Wishlist campaign
The ability for children to grow up, one of the most highly-requested features in My Time at Portia, was listed as a stretch goal during the Kickstarter, though it was not reached. However, on December 22, 2020, Pathea announced a Steam Wishlist campaign. In exchange for more people adding My Time at Sandrock to their Wishlist on Steam, new features will be added to Sandrock, ranging from makeup and more in-depth furniture customization to the ability for children to grow up. The game had already been wishlisted by 92,000 people at the wishlist campaign's start. The 250,000 wishlists goal was reached on June 2021 meaning that kids will grow up to at least primary school age.[13] In November 2021, the wishlist count reached 400,000 unlocking two additional romanceable characters, Ernest and Jane. The total number of wishlists cannot be seen publicly. The campaign can be viewed here[14] and will end when Sandrock releases in Early Access.
On April 8, 2022, My Time at Sandrock got permission to release in China.[15][16]
The Early Access version of My Time at Sandrock was released worldwide on May 26, 2022.
On June 7, 2023 a release date trailer was published which revealed the full release of My Time at Sandrock to arrive on September 26, 2023 on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox One/Series S/X.
Reception[]
Media coverage[]
WePlay Expo 2020[]
Pathea's WePlay Expo 2020 booth
Pathea Games hosted a six-space booth at the WePlay Expo on November 14-15, 2020, a gaming convention held in the Shanghai World EXPO Exhibition & Convention Center in Shanghai, China,[17] to promote My Time at Sandrock. Visitors to the booth were the first to play a public demo of the game.[18] The booth featured a large backdrop of the Sandrock landscape, desert-themed decorations such as fake cacti, sand, and piles of straw, several minecarts and wooden crates used as tables and chairs to allow players to try out the demo, and a Western cowboy duel-inspired game where participants were given toy pistols and a staff member officiated the duel. Many staff members wore cowboy-inspired hats and clothing, including blue bandannas emblazoned with the word "Sandrock," to fit with the theme, and one staff member cosplayed as Amirah.[19] Staff appearances included Pathea Games founder Zifei "zede05" Wu, vice president Aaron Deng, My Time series director Zhi Xu, and series producer Wei Yan.[18]
Reddit AMA[]
A Reddit AMA ("Ask Me Anything") session was hosted on November 19, 2020 and can be viewed here. During this AMA, many questions regarding My Time at Sandrock, My Time at Portia, the My Time world in general, game design tips, and more were answered.
Similarities and differences from My Time at Portia[]
There are some similarities between the two games in the series, though a key difference from My Time at Portia is that My Time at Sandrock will feature both singleplayer and multiplayer game modes. These game modes will be separate experiences, and the multiplayer mode is not required for enjoying the singleplayer mode. The timeline of My Time at Sandrock begins a little earlier than the story in My Time at Portia and ends a little later.
Though the maps of Portia and Sandrock are of the same size (two kilometers square), My Time at Sandrock will feature a 40% bigger map due to not having the Western Sea taking up a large chunk of the available area, like in Portia.[12]
As for other similarities, a few characters appear in both games and the Builder is involved in establishing a tunnel between the two communities. However, for the most part, Sandrock's plotline, characters, and environment are all new.
Gallery[]
Concept art[]
Loading Screens[]
Promotional[]
Collector's edition[]
My Time at Sandrock collector's edition
Beside standard edition of game there is extraordinary collector's version. This version contains:
- standard physical version of game
- Monster Pensky plush toy (6,7")
- A Logan story 40-page comic book
- Builder licence with an envelope
- Wooden standee Logan & Nia
- Wooden workshop craft (5,5" x 6,7" x 5,9")
- 4 colors player dress suit (digital content)
- 4 colors player swimsuit (digital content)
System requirements[]
| Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|
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OS: Win 10 |
OS: Win 10 |
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ Kickstarter description. "The second thing we want to do is to self-publish. We feel like that if we handle all the publishing duties ourselves, we’ll be better positioned to service all the different platforms in a timely matter. This will also take some extra budget."
- ↑ Pathea Games Discord, beta-exclusive channels. Beta player testing throughout 2021.
- ↑ Twitter. @MTaSandrock. Published November 21, 2021.
- ↑ Sandrock Kickstarter FAQ. "Will My Time at Sandrock appear on the Mac?
We would love to get Sandrock running on the Mac. But it requires a lot of optimization as most Macs don’t have independent graphics cards. In the same breath, players still wondering about the Portia Mac situations should know that once we finish porting Portia to the mobile, optimizing that game for the Mac should become a lot easier.
Will a Mac version of My Time At Sandrock be available in future?
We currently are not working on a Mac version of the game, but would like to do one at some point. We can give more information regarding this closer to our full release date." - ↑ My Time at Portia kickstarter extension
- ↑ Developer zede05's response in the My 3 hours in My Time in Portia.... Steam forum thread: "Here's a nugget, we will seriously consider adding in coop for the DLC of Portia (Sandrock), but that's far away, after we're done with this game first. :)" January 26, 2018.
- ↑ Developer AaronDeng's response in the More updates after full release? Steam forum thread: "... if we did a good job about optimization and finished the main story we will consider about to make DLC base on another city in this post-apocalyptic world.'" August 7, 2018.
- ↑ Announcement on Steam, September 29, 2020
- ↑ Developer Loah's response on the More QoL!! Steam forum thread. December 3, 2019.
- ↑ Developer Loah's Steam profile: "My Time at Sandrock - TBA"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Pathea Games Reveals More Details About My Time at Portia Sequel, Techraptor, November 6th, 2020
- ↑ 250K Wishlist Reached Before Early Access!. Steam announcement. Published June 7, 2021
- ↑ Wishlist Sandrock Now for More Features! Steam. Published December 22, 2020.
- ↑ A bright not from China gaming licensing has resumed, Niko, April 12, 2022.
- ↑ Official announcement NPPA
- ↑ WePlay 2020 official website. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 WePlay MEET UP. Steam announcement. Published November 12, 2020.
- ↑ Reddit gallery. u/yxywc001. Published November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.