The new update is now live on Steam! If Steam doesn't update automatically, use "verify integrity of game cache" to force it download the update.

Update 0.8.0 contains fundamental new systems that will change the way you play. The Happiness System has been replaced by Colony Points. They are earned by distributing Meals and Luxury Items. Instead of having to fiddle around with sliders, this happens automatically now. The confusing "calories" sliders is also gone now. Snacks like cake and chocolate have lost their food value, and the colonists require one proper meal per day.

The old system strongly disincentivized population growth. Happiness Items provided a set amount of Happiness if every colonist received a certain amount of items, regardless of the amount of colonists in the colony. This meant that bigger colonies needed to produce more items to gain the same amount of Happiness. Simultaneously, recruiting more colonists caused Unhappiness due to overpopulation. This made earning Happiness very difficult and counter-intuitive.

Colony Points should do the opposite: they should reward growth. Recruiting more colonists makes it easier to produce and distribute lots of Meals & Happiness Items, resulting in many more Colony Points. These Points can be spent on a range of upgrades. These upgrades have many levels, with rapidly escalating costs. Colony Points are also required for certain unlocks in the tech tree.

These core changes also cause a range of smaller changes. The tech tree has been overhauled. Some unlocks have been merged, others have new requirements. Certain minor items, like the separate coating item required for coating planks, and "fishmeal", have been removed. Other items have been rebalanced. The F1-Quickstart-Menu has been updated, and some achievements related to food, happiness and the tech tree have been changed or removed as well. For full details, check the in-game changelog.

Now that the game has new core systems, it has become easier to add new content. We're planning to add new sources of Colony Points, and new ways to spend them. And of course, we'll be listening to your feedback! Tell us what works and what doesn't, and we'll use that to improve the game in future updates.

Heel veel plezier in 0.8.0 :D

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