Hi everyone, Happy New Year! 2024 was a big year for The Colonists with the release of the New Lands DLC, multiplayer mode as well as 12 frontiers (we're now up to over 50!). Frontiers will continue in 2025 bringing a different challenge each month. There will also be new maps, work on further improving multiplayer stability, random generated multiplayer maps as well as ongoing QoL improvements. As always feedback and suggestions are hugely appreciated, either to dev[at]codebyfire.com or on our Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/thecolonists

January Frontier

If you're new to The Colonists, every month there's a new map to play which has a custom set of rules and goals. Try and complete the goals as quickly as you can and see where your colony ranks on the leaderboard. (Or just chill and enjoy a new map!) January's frontier will test your layouts and resource routing abilities by limiting you to just one, very productive, sheep farm. Good luck!

Recent Patch Notes

V1.9.9

• January Frontier
• Fixed random map generation allocating starting locations that were not near some stone (since V1.9.6)
• Turned off festive decorations
• Reverted pumpkin farms to vegetable farms

V1.9.8

• New multiplayer co-op campaign mission
• Fixed newly placed or removed shaft mines not being updated in map in the map editor
• Fixed situation where construction would be oversupplied if resource allocation was recalculated while a stackbot was dropping off a construction resource to the construction site

You can check out the full list of changes for all previous updates and patches here: https://codebyfire.com/colonists/wiki/index.php/Patch_Notes. Thanks!

[ 2025-01-01 18:20:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, Multiplayer is here! This is a bit of a soft launch so there are a selection of co-op and PvP maps to play while I iron out any issues, made any further refinements made from player feedback and do a further AI pass. I'll add more maps based on the favourite modes and map types.

Co-op Campaign

There are currently two peaceful missions and two military co-op missions where you'll need to work together with a friend towards the shared goals co-ordinating your exploration and tactics while sharing resources using the new shared storage yard.

Shared Storage Yard

This is a new building available in multiplayer mode. Once both players construct the matching parts of the building over the territory border you'll be able to share resources by simply setting rules as normal and then the other player's buildings will be able to source resources from your storage as if it was any other building in their colony.
If you'd like more co-op campaign maps let me know!

PvP

There are three initial PvP maps of differing lengths to play: [olist]

Duel - Compete against another player on a single island to see who can make the most money in 9 months. Sell early, rush for territory or sneak about the back of the island?

The Eye - Battle for ownership of runestones - a small one will earn you 1 point per day, while a large one will earn you 2 points each day. Make sure your supply lines to the frontline are good as you fight to see who collect the most points by the end of the 12 month timer.

Five Islands - Starting on each side of the map, get your boats up and running and decide where to land your expeditions or harass the enemies' colonies while selling what resources you can spare. It's a race to $2000! [/olist] If you'd like more PvP maps let me know!

Live Score Widget

A new feature for multiplayer games is the live score widget on the left hand side of the screen. This allows you to keep track of how each player is progressing on the victory conditions without having to open the mission info panel. You can toggle it on and off using the arrow.

Network Players Panel

You can view player's network info on a new panel in the top left of the screen. A slow ping should not make much difference to the gameplay but if a player is consistently below 60fps other players' games will have to pause sometimes to allow the player to catch up.

Game Speed

A multiplayer game will default to 2x speed but the speed can be changed if all players agree using the game speed request system in the top right of the screen.

Desyncs

If a game does desync it should automatically recover after 20-30 seconds. If anything else goes wrong try saving and reloading the game. Please report any issues to me at dev@codebyfire.com or on Discord (https://discord.gg/thecolonists). So find a friend and work together in the co-op campaign or battle it out for supremacy - good luck!

Release Notes

V1.9.0.5

• New road/path placement functionality - hold [Alt] to continue a new road/path from completed road/path
• [Multiplayer] Private games now use the host's region for improved ping
• [Multiplayer] Fixed AI going storage yard crazy
• [Multiplayer] Fixed client getting stuck on 'waiting for host to submit' at end of co-op military game
• [Multiplayer] Fixed potential region-based issue with joining games
• [Multiplayer] Fixed co-op military games getting stuck on waiting screen for clients after victory screen
• [DLC] Fixed bug where game complete would not trigger if only one tile of crashed colony ship was inside territory
• Fixed territory overlay being offset by one tile when placing a harbour
• Fixed graphical issue in military/multiplayer game where you'd sometimes get black corners in tiles when expanding territory
• Fixed errant line on transport section of technology overview screen

V1.9.0.4

• [Multiplayer] Fixed issue with some players joining a game by temporarily hard-coding region selection

V1.9.0.3

• [Multiplayer] Smoothed out some game complete issues for clients in co-op campaign maps
• [Multiplayer] Added client-save message when host is saving game

V1.9.0.2

• [Multiplayer] Fixed Duel PvP map's time limit being 1 month instead of 9 months
• [Multiplayer] Fixed repeatedly trying to join a game with the wrong password sometimes getting stuck

V1.9.0.1

• [Multiplayer] Fixed first co-op campaign loading the wrong map
• [Multiplayer] Fixed instance of hosting a game, leaving, then trying to load a multiplayer game generating an error
• [Multiplayer] Fixed close button not working on multiplayer scenario selection
• [Multiplayer] Fixed text and icon on runestone capture notification
• [Multiplayer] Fixed text on shared storage yard notification

V1.9.0

• [Multiplayer] Multiplayer soft launch! 4 co-op campaign maps, 3 PvP maps available
• Fixed incorrect fishing station production rate display

[ 2024-05-21 13:45:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Multiplayer Beta Week

Firstly, huge apologies, I've had to push back the release of multiplayer for a week to May 16, sorry to everyone looking forward to it. The good news though is that one of the reasons is the new multiplayer features being added which I think make both Co-op and PvP modes a bunch more fun and they just need a little bit more testing and refinement. Here's a quick overview:

Co-op Campaign

Grab a friend and play a short new campaign which includes both economic and military maps. Use the new Shared Storage Yard building to share resources and work together to achieve the mission goals. Compete on the leaderboards for the best shared colony strategies.

Time Limited Games

If you want to play a definitively shorter game or a longer game then set a in-game time limit and see who comes out on top by the end, with the winner having made either the most money or the points from...

Point Games

A new mode where points are gained for capturing runestones within your territory. Capture large runestones to double your points!

Public Beta Week

You can now playtest all these features on the new multiplayer beta on the development branch on Steam. All feedback is appreciated!

Patch Notes

V1.8.0.19

• Fixed instance where bridge connection could be broken by placing a building between first tile of bridge and entrance of another building
• Fixed floating watchtowers sometimes not unloading all construction resources when a boat docks
• Fixed floating watchtower territory overlay graphics being a tile off sometimes

V1.8.0.18

• Fixed display issue on DLC panel if all scenarios have been completed
• Fixed colour unlock showing in game complete panel for main campaign missions

V1.8.0.17

• Fixed potential display issue on DLC panel if all economic scenarios had been completed
• Fixed it not showing your rank on the game complete screen after completing a campaign or DLC mission
• Tweaked wheat farm numbers so that three fields are significantly more productive than two fields
• DLC Mission 4 changes - tweaked end section with more rocks

V1.8.0.15

• Fixed no audio on Linux
• Fixed well animation
• Fixed medals not showing on mission panel inside DLC games
• Fixed issue of frontiers possibly not loading due to SSL certificate issue

V1.8.0.14

• May Frontier
• Fixed fish not appearing on random maps
• Fixed challenge win screen showing bandaged bot
• Fixed road and paths being able to placed underneath elevated track when there isn't room
• Fixed bridge connection potentially breaking when removing adjacent building
• Fixed rail bridges being allowed to be placed too low over roads, potentially causing printed bot routing issues
• Fixed money graphs and income rates not working for random map games
• Fixed bug with fishing spot if a queueing fishing boat was redirected by a change in priority locations
• Fixed edge case where a resource would incorrectly by assigned to an expedition collection at Harbour B via a direct boat route from Harbour A and Harbour A had a storage only export rule for that resource
• Fixed issue with very steep roads causing an issue with carrybots
• Fixed walls being visible outside fog of war
• Fixed numbers on input section of production graph for bridge construction yards
• Fixed being able to select construction yard which is already assigned
• Fixed clicking on assigned construction yard in bridge UI not jumping to location
• Fixed clicking on assigned bridge in construction yard UI not jumping to location
• Fixed tooltip incorrectly showing on elevated track sections
• Performance improvement with large colonies with lots of full storage yards
• DLC Mission 1 changes - moved crashed colony ship location so it's not so far away
• DLC Mission 2 changes - added a little extra stone to starting island
• DLC Mission 3 changes - tweaked small island shape and access
• DLC Mission 4 changes - added more coastal rocks to end area, changed gold medal time

[ 2024-05-09 08:55:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

• Improved resource route calculations when boats and trains have routes covering several buildings
• Fixed edge case bug when using braided roads and two carrybots would pick up the same resource
• Fixed not being able to play military maps in sandbox mode without AI
• Fixed military overlay icon not showing on floating watchtowers
• Fix for loading a game which had had an error related to removing a sea transport route
• Removed a couple of test maps from showing in sandbox selection
• Fixed demand count on category icon in bottom left not including demands for resource categories (e.g. Food)
• Tweaked DLC Mission 1 land to make bridge placement easier at location east of colony ship
• Fixed construction yard bot idle reason message when no bridge assigned
• Fixed construction yard show irrelevant number on input graph before bridge is assigned
• Improved fishing station selection collider

[ 2024-04-14 11:02:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone,

April Frontier

If you're new to The Colonists or haven't been back for a while, every month there's a new customised map to challenge yourself against. Try and complete the goal as quickly as you can and see where your colony ranks on the leaderboard. (Or just chill and enjoy a new map!) This month your bots have combined two of their favourite things - monuments and chocolate! Get harvesting those cocoa beans and see how fast you can construct a chocolate monument - good luck!

New Map Fishing Section

A new addition in V1.8.0.9 is a fishing section to the in-game map. Seek out off-shore fishing spots for lobster or fish in the DLC or use to keep track of shoreline fish in the base game.

DLC Tweaks and Fixes

Thanks to everyone for their feedback on the New Lands DLC, especially all the suggestions and bug reports to help improve the game and to round off the rough edges. There's a list of the changes and fixes in the patch notes below:

V1.8.0.10 Patch Notes

• Added sea fishing locations to DLC random maps
• Enabled desert wells in DLC random maps
• Fixed Desert Well range checking
• Full sculpting enabled in random maps
• Fixed instance where, when placing track after a curve, selecting a down slope would give you an up slope and vice versa
• Improved terrain adjustments when placing track and should no longer break roads and paths
• Fixed boats not going under bridges when there's enough room
• Added tooltip to indicate whether boats can pass under a bridge that's over water
• Fixed steel bridges visuals looking odd during placement
• Fixed bridge placement niggle when mouse was colliding with bridge segments
• If a boat has three or more stops and a stop is destroyed/lost, the routes are recalculated without that stop, rather than cleared entirely
• Fixed UX issue where placing expedition harbour did not auto exit out of expedition harbour placement mode
• Fixed priestbot not cycling between target buildings if two buildings targeted
• Added bot printer section to relevant buildings' construction panels
• Sandbox option Everything Researched now fully researches repeatable techs
• Stopped Floating Watchtower showing in expedition panel in non-DLC games
• Increased max allowable slope for roads and paths slightly
• [Mods] Updated ui.json to better handle multiple mods
• [Mods] In-game Reload Codex reload construction UI properties
• [Mods] Default port expedition now correctly set for custom harbours

Full list of changes for previous patches can be found here: https://codebyfire.com/colonists/wiki/index.php/Patch_Notes Back with more multiplayer and other news soon! Thanks!

[ 2024-04-06 23:01:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, I'm super happy to announce that the first expansion pack for The Colonists is now live!

New Lands DLC

New Lands brings new ways for your robots to move around the map and expand their colonies. Bridges can span gaps short and large, train tunnels let you access cut off areas and there are various new buildings as well as a priestbot to give your colonists a productivity boost! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2784480/The_Colonists__New_Lands/ There's a new challenging campaign where your goal is to find and rescue the crashed colony ships of your anthrobotic cousins and unlock some snazzy new custom colours for your colonies along the way too. All these new features can also be played with random maps, in sandbox mode as well as enabled in the custom maps you make in the map editor and that can be published to Steam Workshop. I'm looking to forward to seeing all the new maps and mods!

Multiplayer

Multiplayer will be coming to The Colonists on May 9th! There'll be PvP and co-op modes as well as different game types for long or short games so stay tuned for more updates on that.

V1.8

V1.8 brings a few updates to the base game, some QoL tweaks, UI improvements and gameplay tweaks. Also the details are listed in the Release note below. Once again thank you to all the community members providing invaluable feedback and to everyone doing amazing work on the translations. If you're like to make a suggestion, or have spotted an issue, head over to the Discord server or email me at dev[at]codebyfire.com. I hope you enjoy it and I'll be back with April's Frontier and more multiplayer news soon! Thanks!

V1.8 Release Notes

New Lands DLC
• Bridges - Allow your bots to traverse over small and large distances using wooden, iron and steel bridges
• Train Tunnels - Reach previously inaccessible locations or create shortcuts by tunnelling through hills and mountains
• Floating Watchtower - Claim territory on usually inaccessible shorelines and use to attack enemies from the sea
• Church & Missionary Outpost - Generate Holy Energy which can be used by the priestbot to give blessings to buildings, increasing the worker bots' productivity
• Fishing Station - Send a fishing boat out to fishing spots to harvest fish and lobster, a new luxury food for L3 residences
• Mint - Produce gold coins to use at the workshop to research repeatable technologies
• Repeatable Techs - Research the same tech multiple time for cumulative boosts
• New 6 Map Campaign - Four peaceful and two military maps in new campaign
• Unlockable Colony Colour Schemes - Unlock colourful new schemes for your colonies through the campaign Base Game Updates
• Gameplay - Significantly boosted output of L2 & L3 lumberjacks huts and L2 & L3 surface mines
• Gameplay - Added fadeout to trees when placing roads, paths or building nearby so you can now more easily see what you're doing
• Gameplay - New terrain type: mud - allows road and path placement but not buildings
• Gameplay - New terrain type: prairie - allows animal grazing but not crop placement
• Gameplay - New victory condition type - locate crashed colony ship(s) that are placed somewhere on the map
• Gameplay - Rewrote cost calculation system for roads to allow better spreading of resources over alternative routes
• Gameplay - When calculating transport route for a resource to a building, it now searches all possibilities from solution road post, avoiding a potentially slightly longer route
• Gameplay - Fixed particular instance where, when placing a road over a kink in the terrain, it would break an adjacent road tile connection
• Trains - Rail track can now be placed outside your territory
• Trains - Train stations can now be placed onto existing track
• Trains - Train stations now show potential track when placing
• Trains - [Ctrl] and click a track section to starting building from it
• Trains - Improved track height overlay graphics when placing track
• Trains - Fixed floor graphic of 'Slope In Out' section
• Game UI - Split food buildings into two separate sections
• Game UI - Added sub graphic for arrived resources to bar progress to boatyard panel
• Map Editor - New market panel allowing custom settings for any resource
• Map Editor - New map panel showing top down overview and list of all resources on the map, similar to the in-game version
• Map Editor - Added sandbox options when testing a map
• Map Editor - Significantly improved edges when terrain painting (still not 100% perfect but a lot better!)
• Map Editor - Added a contour mode back in
• Map Editor - Improvement visuals for player colony ship placement with option to show initial territory
• Map Editor - Much improved victory condition panel
• Map Editor - Much improved players panel
• UI - New main menu layout
• UI - New save/load game panel with thumbnails, metadata and improved performance
• UI - Improved performance when loading local scenarios
• UI - Improved placement of individual tech info panel on research panel
• General - improved loading time when opening the game
• General - improved loading time when loading a savegame

[ 2024-03-28 01:31:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone!

October Frontier

It's that time of your again and this year the pumpkin harvest is plentiful! For this month's Frontier map your bots have landed on a planet without Iron Ore, but luckily there's a high demand for pumpkins at the Space Port. With some new larger farms at your disposal, grow pumpkins as far as the eye can see and trade your way to the goal of a Medium monument in this month's frontier - good luck!

Sneak Peek

As well as the upcoming multiplayer feature, there's also some new content coming your way... Here's a tiny sneak peek:
Stay tuned for more news soon!

Featured Workshop Map

There's an extra special custom map this month from 7up, who has created a map to celebrate the fifth anniversary of The Colonists. It contains all sorts of cool custom buildings and resources, go and check it out! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3044110070

V1.6.7.3 Release Notes

• October Frontier
• Pumpkin season has arrived
• Fixed bug where if a resource was destroyed from using "Destroy All Resources" at a storage yard and it had a destination building, it wouldn't trigger the building to redemand it
• Fixed a potential miscalculation on the space port resource demand count when adjusting a selling rule
• Fixed dark blurriness effect when trying to scroll beyond the bounds of the game world
• Fixed "hole" in sawmill footprint
• Small visual tweak where bots will now turn faster at higher game speeds
• [Mods] Fixed localisation not resetting after being modified from a mod
• [Mods] Custom building icons (and other UI icons) no longer create mipmaps (which was making them blurry)
• [Mods] Fixed a bug with loading a save game which was started with a mod which included a custom PlantableFieldInfo (edit: new games only)
• [V1.6.9.1] Fixed bug when loading an October Frontier game
• [V1.6.9.1] Fixed bug when opening the boats panel if a boat was on an active expedition and hadn't built a harbour yet
• [V1.6.9.1] Fixed bug when trying to play Anniversary Workshop map

Big thanks for everyone's continued feedback and input! If you'd like to give some feedback on the game, discuss frontier strategies or experiment with mods then head over to our Discord Server!

[ 2023-10-04 13:38:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone!

Multiplayer Beta

If you've always wanted to play The Colonists against your friends then good news, multiplayer is coming! There's a beta now available for anyone to try, just switch to the 'multiplayer' beta on Steam. The beta is still in development and is currently PvP only. Co-op modes along with further gameplay tweaks to be added soon. Please let me know any comments, feedback or bug reports in our Discord server or to dev@codebyfire.com - thanks!

August Frontier

This month the brewery bots have gotten creative and brewed up a special concoction - chocolate stout! This beer is so powerful it can power L3 miners and lumberjacks instead of L3 Energy. It's a race to mine and sell salt, quartz and gold - good luck!

Featured Workshop Maps

Here are this month's five specially selected player-created maps - go check them out and let the creators know if you enjoyed them! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2967220443 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2991719135 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2893731942 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2995086196 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2871061616

V1.6.7.3 Release Notes

• Fixed a savegame not loading properly if a wheat field had previously burned due to territory loss and had not been removed
• Keycodes Mouse2-Mouse6 (extra mouse buttons) now supported in custom hotkey window
• Added custom upload image option added for custom maps as alternative to screenshotting the map
• Fixed two field vegetables not matching farmbot visuals when returning to vegetable farm
• [Modding] Now supports a higher number of custom textures (internal atlas sheet can now go beyond 4196x4196)
• [Modding] Now supports custom expeditions
• August Frontier
• [V1.6.7.1] Fixed No Icon showing up on Storage Yard resource selection panel
• [V1.6.7.1] Changed August frontier description to include Space Port limit change
• [V1.6.7.2] Fixed frontier bug when a chocolate stout resource was produced and a L2/L3 residence had a demand waiting
• [V1.6.7.2] Chocolate Stout now shows up as separate resource in bottom left resource list
• [V1.6.7.3] Fixed fish icons in map editor

If you'd like to give some feedback on the game, discuss frontier strategies or experiment with mods then head over to our Discord Server. Thanks to everyone there for their continued testing and feedback!

[ 2023-08-07 11:10:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone!

July Frontier

This month's frontier is all about mega powerful monuments! Each monument has a 4x increase to their boosts to super-charge nearby bots. Your colony ship also comes with the resources for a small monument so use that early boost wisely!

Featured Workshop Maps

Amongst this month's five new featured custom maps a special shoutout goes to 7up who's modded in some excellent new buildings and resources in their Willy Wonka themed map - check it out! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2991719135 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2985915106 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2961896941 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2967220443 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2945365266

V1.6.6 Release Notes

• July Frontier
• Fixed a few recent Workshop maps not playing correctly
• Fixed custom plot growth tooltips
• Added filter for available mod selection
• [Modding] Custom space port ships now supported

Thanks again to everyone on the Discord Server for all their continued suggestions and feedback! If you do find a bug or have an issue please use Bug Reporting information page. Back with more news soon!

[ 2023-07-01 22:02:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone!

June Frontier

A new month means a new frontier! This month's frontier shakes your early strategies up as L1 residences produce Energy twice as fast and lumberjack huts use twice as much. Upgraded roads work twice as well though so good luck!

Multiplayer Beta

Good news if you've always wanted to play The Colonists with or against your friends, we'll be announcing a multiplayer open beta soon, keep your eyes out!

Featured Workshop Maps

Here are five more excellent Steam Workshop maps from players - a mix of old and new, peaceful and military. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2977297621 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2965727984 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2151517242 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2900486435 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2708748079

V1.6.5 Release Notes

• June Frontier
• Fixed fog of war not applying to fixed scenario games where it should (custom maps)
• Fixed proximity boost UI panel bug
• Fixed [Tab]bing through building levels
• Fixed selected map panel disappearing when subscribing to a Featured map
• [Modding] Special storage component now supports startingItems going beyond outgoing storage limit

Huge appreciation to everyone on Discord Server for all their ongoing testing and feedback! If you do find a bug or have an issue please use Bug Reporting information page. Thanks!

[ 2023-06-01 22:17:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

V1.6.4.2

• Fixed occasional issue with construction button not responding when starting level

[ 2023-05-08 10:36:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone!

May Frontier

A new month means a new frontier! This month's frontier brings a new twist - all mines only require Level 1 Energy and there are natural resources everywhere. Plan your strategy and build that large monument as fast as you can!

Featured Workshop Maps

Here are this month's five great Steam Workshop maps that you can also find in-game under Custom Maps - a mix of old and new, peaceful and military. We'll feature five more next month! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2967220443 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2961896941 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2809456141 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1728517177 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1911765928

Steam Workshop Embeddable Mods

When creating custom maps you can now embed mods as well as linking to existing Workshop ones, so it's now a whole bunch easier to create maps with your own custom settings and content! For more information on making mods check out the Community Wiki

V1.6.4.1 Release Notes

• May Frontier
• Local mods are now embedded in custom maps and will upload along with the map when published to Steam Workshop
• Fixed AI building excessive storage yards
• Rebuilt terrain overlay graphic system for modability and improved performance
• Added ability to set a market resource to be sell only or purchase only in market.json
• Added ability to set players starting money with players.json
• Added ability to easily set preresearched tech in techs.json
• Reworked boat expedition code for future updates

Thanks to everyone on Discord for their support & ongoing feedback! If you'd like to be first to hear about major updates to The Colonists and about new games from codebyfire, you can follow us on Steam, subscribe to our newsletter or join our Discord server. Codebyfire on Steam Codebyfire Newsletter Discord Server See you soon!

[ 2023-05-02 16:58:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, The April Frontier is live! This month's challenge is all about mega sheep farms - 3x production but 2x pasture size - you'll need new layouts to best optimise all that resource flow. Good luck! Also, thanks to the brilliant community translators, The Colonists now officially supports Turkish!

V1.6.3.1

• Added support for April fronter
• Added Cancel Expedition button for boats assigned to an expedition
• Fixed Cursor Constrained not being remembered properly between sessions
• Fixed techs not preresearching when testing custom maps with mods
• Terrain graphic overlay system rebuilt for modability
• SetTerrain now sets terrain categories
• On tech tree panel, a researched technology icon no longer shows padlock if completed but doesn't have required techs researched (only relevant when using preresearched techs)
• Enabled Turkish language

Thanks!

[ 2023-04-02 17:46:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A few tweaks and fixes from the last couple of of patches:

V1.6.1.8

• Fixed boats not docking correctly at flipped harbours
• Fixed bots auto-destructing after printing if there was a terrain kink in a road on the route to their building
• Fixed resources disappearing in certain situations where a 'Banned Except Storage' rule was on the road post of the target storage yard

V1.6.1.6

• [Modding] New terrain types can now be added in a terrain.json file
• [Modding] Added ability to customise categories in the global storage section in the bottom left of the UI
• [Modding] Now handles invalid meta.json more gracefully
• [Modding] Added directory name as ID to local mod info panel
• [Modding] Custom victory conditions in maps with mods can now show correctly
• [Modding] When creating a custom map, it now remembers mods you select to a different list than the mod list used for playing random or sandbox games
• [Modding] Fixed fog causing blackout issue with mod prefabs using the standard shader in map view
• Fixed scaffolding not showing for upgrading buildings
• Fixed captainbots not appearing on clippers
• Fixed Road Layer L2 floor not showing
• Fixed "Infinity" showing occasionally in resource rate production stats
• Fixed production rate values not showing correctly for a few buildings
• Fixed text rendering of building limit section in construction panel
• Fixed error when monument boost is off map
• Fixed Korean font issue
• Stackbot pick up and put down animations now take into account road and path speed multipliers
• Added rating buttons to game complete screen for workshop maps
• Added water and wheat to 'Alcohol' resource preset

Thanks!

[ 2023-01-29 16:14:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Happy New Year! Like every month, January brings a new frontier to compete in, but this one comes with a new twist. Starting with no territory limits, how much money can you make inside 4 months? Good luck!

V1.6.1.4

• Added Featured tab for workshop maps panel, showing a selection of the best old and new player created maps
• Fixed train engine being offset when created at train station with certain orientations
• Maps with mod dependencies now auto download the mods when starting a game
• Fixed error when returning to main menu after playing a custom map with victory conditions

[ 2023-01-03 11:09:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A few small fixes:

V1.6.0.3

• Fixed watchtowers sometimes not firing arrows (Disable then Enable to fix any existing watchtowers that are stuck)
• Fixed bug when removing existing sheep and cow fields from farms in savegames before V1.6
• Fixed clicking Main Menu on challenge complete screen not going back to main menu
• Fixed [Alt] removing path from road also removing road visuals
• Updated German and Brazilian Portuguese translations
• (V1.6.0.3) Fixed issue with placing paths on tiles that had previously contained buildings

Thanks!

[ 2022-12-27 22:35:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, Mod Support is here for The Colonists!

Mod Support

You can now create, share and play custom buildings, resources, ores, flora, research and more on Steam Workshop. Activate local or subscribed mods when starting random maps, sandbox games or when creating custom maps in the map editor. Check out the Community Wiki for information on how to get started making mods, access to the base json and some example mods. You can also join the #modding channel on our Discord server for help and tips. There's plenty to experiment with and try out as well as more to come, so if you have any feedback, suggestions or issues I'd love to hear them on Discord or at dev@codebyfire.com.

V1.6 Release Notes

• Added Steam Workshop mod support
• [Shift] +10/-10 functionality added to changing trade rule amounts
• Space port resource information for "this visit" now doesn't clears until the ship has fully departed
• Stackbots no longer load Energy fuel to worker bots if building production is paused
• Added construction import settings to settings copy and paste [C] & [V]
• Added construction import whitelist functionality to building upgrades
• Fixed victory conditions UI not updating when building is dismantled or destroyed
• Festive decorations turned on

Special thanks go to the Discord members for their testing, bug reports and feedback Happy Holidays everyone!

[ 2022-12-24 20:21:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

• Fixed game freezing when starting a frontier and then going back to the main menu

[ 2022-11-10 13:26:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

V1.5.20 is another small interim update with a few small fixes and tweaks.

• Added a separate import list for construction resources
• Added icon overlay to building if any import or export rules exist
• Fixed changing export rules on buildings not necessarily calling all the correct triggers for resource recalculations
• Fixed space port not resetting demand count on ship departure
• Fixed a particular situation where game wouldn't accept adjacent building placement
• Fixed layer height reset upon clearing natural resources not confirming which could have lead to potential weirdness when loading a save game
• Fixed on military gain process not taking into account final tiles causing low stone/tree notification messages not to count properly
• Fixed stackbots moving to the wrong locations when loading and unloading resources from boats and trains (this was only a visual issue)
• Added two more stackbots to the train station building
• Made all building construction incoming stacks to 12 instead 8
• Fixed [Escape] while text editing triggering in-game menu
• [V1.5.20.1] Fixed boat-related error in V.5.20 causing the game to freeze
• [V1.5.20.2] Fixed being unable to save a loaded game in V.5.20

[ 2022-11-05 00:15:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, V1.5.19 is a small interim update adding support for September's Frontier.

• Support for September Frontier
• Fixed random map generation occasionally putting a rock on top of surface deposits, causing it to disappear when a save game is loaded
• Added option to carry over or disregard Steam Workshop Id when saving a custom map from an already published map
• Fixed victory icons on custom map info panel

Back with more news soon!

[ 2022-09-01 21:28:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

• Added fish amount option to random map generation
• Support for June Frontier

[ 2022-05-31 22:41:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

• Support for May Frontier
• Fixed Mission Panel not updating when a victory building had finished construction
• Fixed changing sandbox settings mid-game not affecting building availability correctly

[ 2022-05-01 09:19:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A small update including support for March's frontier, which offers something a little different this month.

Release Notes

• Support for March Frontier
• Fixed building connections not being recalculated when standalone road post placed
• Fixed bug with not resetting track selection when destroying track
• Fixed bug with loading a savegame where camera is out of range and can't be reset
• Fixed bug when starting dismantle with building production panel option
• If everything else is equal (priority, building type, stored/incoming resource count), resource routing now takes into account a building's production cycle progress
• Boat and train will leave immediately if port or station has all resources on export blacklist
• Printing Press tech production bonuses now show correctly
• Production halted overlay icon shows for under construction building
• Fixed incorrect rank messaging on challenge complete window
• Under construction boats with custom names won't change name when they're constructed
• Stop showing boat tutorial in challenge mode
• (Belatedly) turned off festive decorations

Mod support is still the next feature to be added, it's just unfortunately been delayed. More updates on that soon. Once again I hugely appreciate all the feedback and bug reports please keep them coming. Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2022-03-03 12:06:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, This is a small update with a few fixes and some festive decorations! Also, if you haven't seen it yet, there is still time to take on December's Frontier!

Release Notes

• Turned festive decorations on!
• Fixed bug when harbour expedition was sourcing resources from directly connected building and resources weren't being delivered
• Fixed tile highlights not showing when going between Info and Upgrade panels on the watchtower
• Watchtower Upgrade highlights now includes tiles already in your territory
• [Tab] will now scroll through building instance panel tabs
• Hold [Alt] to delete path connections when clicking 'remove' on a road
• Resource storage panel now includes space ports if resource in outgoing or has purchase order
• Minor UX improvements to building import and export selection panels
• Fixed en route beer being incorrectly counted towards the goals in the beer challenge V1.5.16.1
• Fixed bug from V1.5.16 where cleared natural resource tiles on randomly generated maps (inc. Frontiers) would cause terrain issues and affect bot movement
• Fixed bug with loading savegames before V1.5.16 which contained one way track signals

Thank you once again for all the feedback! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2021-12-18 18:52:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Release Notes

• Fixed map editor not loading correctly

[ 2021-10-26 08:59:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, It's time to enjoy the annual pumpkin harvest along with a handy new custom views feature. Oh, and there's still to take part in October's pumpkin-selling frontier!

Custom Views

You can now save camera locations in your game and return to them instantly with a key press. You have nine slots to use with default hotkeys of [1]->[9] on the keyboard keypad. Hold to set the view and tap to go to it!

Release Notes

• [NEW!] Custom views - default hotkeys are [1]-[9] on keypad. Tap to view, hold to set.
• Enabled pumpkin harvest visuals!
• Added Dismantle button to bottom right of in-game UI
• Added hotkey for Dismantle mode - default: [G]
• Harbours now recalculate queueing locations when a nearby harbour is built in order to avoid conflicts
• When placing a fixed entrance height building (usually shaft mine or train station), adjusted tiles should no longer go beyond steepness that prevents road or path placement
• Fixed rubble getting being non-removable in non-saved proc-gen game
• Fixed fuel consumption stat not being added when building is monument boosted
• At the workshop, the second stackbot can now provide research resource as soon as energy resource is consumed instead of waiting for 1st stackbot to return
• Fixed cursor locking if cursor was previously constrained when clicking 'Revert' on screen setting confirmation window
• Resource icons in space port panels now have correct rollovers
• Fixed edge case where upon tree growth, lumberjack bot stayed idle if the stackbot was busy
• Adjusted trade ship interval to bypass rebuild hack during ship departure
• Alert icon for road post connection now won't show if directly connected by a path to a bot printer building
• AI now won't build L2 watchtowers, but will upgrade to them from L1 watchtowers
• Map Editor - fixed issue with new proc gen custom map showing up with 'outside territory' lighting
• Map Editor - cleaned up UX with 'set starting location' buttons

Thank you to all the players who submitted bug reports and suggestions! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2021-10-18 21:39:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, This month's update has a new frontier, a new boats panel along with some improvements and fixes.

September Frontier

This month you get a small headstart in the desert where the race is to produce beer and bread as well as squeezing a medium monument in. Good luck!

Boats Overview Panel

There's a new panel available in the top left of the screen where you can view all of your boats and their current status.

Mod Support News

Mod support is nearly there and will be entering a beta this month. Follow progress on Discord (https://discord.gg/thecolonists) or look out for more news on that soon.

Release Notes

• [NEW] Boat list panel - lists all the boats in your colony
• Added options to unlock all campaign missions and clear all campaign progress
• Spruced up buildings list panel and building entries in resource production, demand and storage panels
• Fixed military campaign savegames resetting difficulty to 'normal' when loading a savegame
• Fixed data leak in AI players which could cause saving to fail in very long and very large games
• Changed vegetable and wheat farmbots to prioritise seeding over harvesting
• Fixed issue where upon construction, storage yards with rules already added would not necessarily source resources from the closest buildings
• Fixed bug where storage yards could show up twice in the resource demands panel
• Resource will no longer self-destruct when arriving at a road post which a newly created transport rule which would affect the resource's journey. If full ban, resource will attempt to turn around and find a destination. If ban except storage rule then resource will search in all directions for a valid storage yard
• Fixed issue with water jumping when changing game speed
• Fixed issue with harbour's import rules being ignored when sourcing expedition resources via boat routes
• Fixed import rules of train station being ignored when direct connection to harbour which is sourcing expedition resources
• Added difficulty info to in-game scenario panel
• Disabled up/down arrows and added message in resource demand panel about building construction priority
• Fixed issue where destroying a building which had en route resources whilst the building panel was up could cause resource en route highlight icons to incorrectly remain visible
• Fixed issue with colony ship printing duplicate bots after placing/removing buildings at tick 0
• Fixed potential rare issue where building height adjustment could get locked
• Changed map editor water so it stays at maximum height to make easier to distinguish underwater tiles
• Show challenge complete screen even if no trophy earned
• Now only shows challenge complete screen when started as a challenge game (i.e. challenges won't register in campaign mode)
• Fixed boat challenge victory condition goal not updating unless panel reopened
• Updated Unity version to hopefully fix alt tab crash/freeze issue
• Fixed hitting Return or Escape not advancing OK Alert Windows like 'New Version' available
• Campaign screen now resizes and adds a scrollbar for squarer resolutions
• Fixed an issue where custom maps wouldn't run if an AI player was first in the player list
• Fixed up some progress bar alignment issues on construction, dismantling, expedition and military panels
• Increased size of resource progress bars a little on construction and upgrade panels
• Fixed surface miner bot appearing black when zoomed in very close
• Fixed not returning to main menu when trying to load a savegame that couldn't be found
• Fixed gold icon incorrectly showing against military times in campaign screen

Massive thanks to everyone who's posted or sent their feedback and bug reports, it helps a huge amount. See you next month! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2021-09-02 08:03:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A small update this month, unless you like to build your robot colonies in Japanese!

July Frontier

There's some water to be crossed in this month's frontier, or is it better to go over land? Play July's frontier and see where your best time ranks on the leaderboard.

Japanese Localization

Thanks to our amazing community translators you can now play The Colonists in Japanese! (Also, keep your eyes out for the Japanese launch of the console version this month)

Release Notes

• Wheat farmbots now head to the nearest corner of the wheat field to sow/harvest
• Wheat farmbots can also now use the gap in the side of the building
• Fixed wheat farm and vegetable farm showing incorrect lower production rate when monument boosted
• Added Japanese option

Back with more updates and mod support news next month! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2021-07-12 17:18:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, V1.5.12 has just gone live, here's what's new:

June Frontier

The June frontier brings something a little different this month - all L1 and L2 techs are preresearched so it's a turbo-charged race to build the Large Monument!

Balancing

The production processes of buildings have been tweaked behind the scenes to more accurately match production and consumption rates between buildings. Most are small changes, the biggest change comes on the cocoa farm which was way too low!

• Sawmills (+10.5%)
• Blast furnaces (+12.9%)
• Blacksmiths (+21.4%)
• Brickyards (+19.9%)
• Tanneries (+21.8%)
• Paper mills (+18.2%)
• Printing presses (+12.1%)
• Steel mill (+18%)
• Glassworks (+22%)
• Fletcher (+22.6%)
• Weaponsmith (+21.2%)
• Wells (-7.1%)
• Vegetable farms (+19.6%)
• Cider presses (+10.5%)
• Breweries (+21.4%)
• Cocoa farms (+109.2%)
• Chocolate factories (+27.7%)

Extra stackbots have been added to many of these buildings as well as to the medium and large storage yards. Also the speed boosts of stone roads/paths and brick roads/paths have been increased by 5 and 10% respectively.

Release Notes

• Balancing tweaks for production buildings to more accurately match respective production rates, as well as extra stackbots.
• Increased stone road and path boost speed by 5%, resulting in 50% speed boost over dirt
• Increased brick road and path boost speed by 10%, resulting in 100% speed boost over dirt
• Bots will now work in clearance mode when the outgoing resource stack is full
• Fixed bug when placing roads and paths over broken terrain which could sometimes cause broken roads and building entrances
• Significantly improved issue of being able to zoom through the terrain
• Fixed invalid queuing locations being generated for harbours in tight spots which could cause problems when multiple ships using the harbour
• Fixed bug from V1.5.10 where a resource might not head to a building for construction if the building's production incoming resource stack is full (e.g. flour mill full of wheat)
• Fixed Orchard production rate displaying incorrectly in construction UI
• Fixed hang when opening Info panel on Colony Ship in game with territory disabled
• Fixed the game not applying saved UI text size option when opening the game
• Fixed train station not creating track when placed on edge of map

Console News

In case you missed it, The Colonists is now available to play on console! Find all the info here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/677340/announcements/detail/3085505759883522690 Once again, a big thanks to everyone providing feedback, suggestions and bug reports, see you all next month! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2021-06-01 09:24:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Colonists is available on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch right now!

The Auroch Digital team, Code by Fire, and Mode 7 are happy to announce that The Colonists is now available on consoles! Grab your copy here:

• Xbox
• PlayStation
• Switch

Youll be able to build your dream settlement and chase productivity zen from the comfort of your sofa, or even on the go! The console edition of The Colonists will include both peaceful and military campaign modes, as well as challenge trophies, and sandbox mode.

Here's a reminder of what's new in The Colonists Console Edition?

The Auroch Digital team have worked hard to make The Colonists just as awesome on consoles as it is on PC so they've added:

• New Controls: Re-designed controls from the ground up to feel natural and fun on consoles
• Controller Optimized UI: Re-imagined user interface to be more accessible for players of all types
• New Robot Hats: Some little cute touches here and there including some snazzy new robot hats (TeaBot's hat is our favourite )

[previewyoutube=fuRCTfYFEWI;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2021-05-04 11:37:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone,

April Frontier

The April Frontier is live! There are some unusual prices in the market this month... time to make some money and don't forget about your monuments!

Clearance Mode

There's a new clearance mode option for lumberjack huts and surface mines. This means your workerbots will not generate resources once they come back from their jobs - handy when you just want to clear out areas of trees or resources!

Release Notes

• Added clearance mode for lumberjack huts and surface mines
• Added tree amount setting for random map generation
• Added option to destroy all resources at a storage yard
• Increased maximum edge panning speed
• Fixed shaft mine not stopping demand for Energy when production halted
• Fixed occasional crash on random map generation
• Fixed roads not get monument boost when placed after monument is complete
• Fixed bug with watchtowers firing on destroyed or lost watchtowers
• Fixed dismantling of watchtower not recalculating available watchtower tiles
• Fixed edged case with roads somehow having negative traffic costs
• Fixed water displaying slightly wrong after destroying boatyard
• Fixed boat captain bot sometimes disappearing if origin boatyard is destroyed
• Fixed guardbot not animating when reloading
• Fixed camera hotkeys not updating if changed mid-game

Console News

The Colonists is coming to console! Find more info here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/677340/announcements/detail/6357366798704456124 Thanks to everyone for all their feedback and comments - it really makes a difference! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists See you next month!

[ 2021-04-04 10:30:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Auroch Digital team, Codebyfire, and Mode 7 are happy to announce that The Colonists will be coming to PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch this year! Youll be able to build your dream settlement and chase productivity zen from the comfort of your sofa, or even on the go! The console edition of The Colonists will include both peaceful and military campaign modes, as well as challenge trophies, and sandbox mode.

What's new in The Colonists Console Edition?

The Auroch Digital team have worked hard to make The Colonists just as awesome on consoles as it is on PC, here's what's new:

• New Controls: Re-designed controls from the ground up to feel natural and fun on consoles
• Controller Optimized UI: Re-imagined user interface to be more accessible for players of all types
• New Robot Hats: Some little cute touches here and there including some snazzy new robot hats (TeaBot's hat is our favourite )

To celebrate the upcoming console version of the game Auroch Digital are doing a giveaway. 10 lucky people signed up to the Colonist mailing list will win a copy of the game on console on release. Youll also be the first to receive all the latest news about the console edition, including the release date.

• Sign up to The Colonists Console Edition mailing list and enter the giveaway

[ 2021-03-16 13:58:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone,

March Frontier

It's the March Frontier! This time you get a bit of starting help with some money and some tech already researched, but it's a tricky starting location.... the race is on to build a medium monment!

Release Notes

• Fixed bugs with dismantling train stations and harbours esp. mid construction
• Made export rules available for all buildings when dismantling and takes into account construction materials
• Expedition resources can now be recovered from dismantling harbour
• Dismantling harbours and boatyards now don't disappear when dismantling complete
• Added cocoa beans to resources in bottom left
• Added fade to palm tree in lumberjack priority selection mode
• Improved map fit when at minimum zoom
• On map, added ability to click visibility header icon to toggle all resources on or off
• Can now place standalone road post with [Alt]
• Fixed bug where occasionally at workshops resources would be allocated when there wasn't room, causing an error
• Fixed issue with trade ship departure if space port rules removed and resources destroyed whilst a bot is fetching a resource for sale
• Fixed cow farm field contiguous verification not always working correctly
• Fixed bug with loading game at exactly one game tick
• Fixed some pathing issues related to flat tiles that are the exact same height as sea level
• Fixed issue when pressing return on name editing not immediately focusing back to game
• Added construction job progress percentage to builder bot tooltips

Once again, big thanks to everyone for their bug reports, feedback and comments! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks, see you next month!

[ 2021-03-01 12:49:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Release Notes

• Fixed lumberbots getting stuck and when trying to chop down a tree on a very steep slope (including one on the very edge of the February Frontier map)
• Fixed game freezing when loading a savegame in which the lumberbot had gotten stuck

[ 2021-02-19 11:35:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Release Notes

• Fixed leaderboards not working from previous build

Sorry about that!

[ 2021-02-11 20:06:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Release Notes

• Fixed starting height not being set correctly when creating flat custom maps
• Changed printing order of bots for watchtowers

[ 2021-02-10 17:59:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone,

February's Frontier

A new month means a new Frontier! This map is all about expansion and cow farm production - how quickly can you store hide and sell milk? And don't forget the monuments!

Release Notes

• Added the option to use procedural generation when creating a custom map
• Added in-game leaderboard button for campaign and custom maps
• Added warning about existing export rules when dismantling a building
• Export rules can now be changed during dismantling
• Export rules now apply to resources reclaimed from dismantling
• Fixed error and potential freeze when loading savegames where a bot printing queue contains a bot for a non-existent building
• Fixed surface deposits not being see-through when in priority selection mode on a surface mine
• Fixed the game placing an initial field tile when clicking on the no farm fields warning icon
• Fixed monument boosts not being removed during dismantling
• Fixed incorrect messaging on subpanel when placing non contiguous farm fields
• Fixed 'Flora_42_Name' showing up in certain places
• Fixed game time using plurals of month and day incorrectly
• Printer now doesn't go through animation for bots that no longer need to exist

Discord

If you'd like to chat about the game or preview new features before they go live, come and join the Discord! https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks, see you next month!

[ 2021-02-01 11:21:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, V1.5.8 is a small update with January's Frontier and few bug fixes:

Release Notes

• January's Frontier
• When setting lumberjack priority tiles different graphics are now shown depending on whether the tile is occupied by a tree or not
• Tweaked tree opacity values when setting priority tiles so it's easier to see through to tiles
• Fixed bug when stackbot direct building delivery was interrupted by road post placement
• Fixed bug on Screen Settings window with setting and saving 'Cursor Constrained'
• Fixed Screen Settings window 'applyable' state not always initiating correctly
• Fixed edge panning in Windowed mode
• Fixed being able to click through an alert window (e.g. closing game menu when showing save game warning)
• Fixed warning icon not showing up on fields tab for Vegetable Farm and Wheat Farm

Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2021-01-04 16:09:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, Here's a small Christmas update to enjoy with your robot friends!

Festive Decorations

It's that time of year again, spruce up your colonies with some festive decorations - christmas trees, presents and as many snowbots as you can build!

December Frontier

In case you missed it, December's Frontier is active and will run until the end of month. How quickly can you build five small monuments?

Spanish Localization

Thanks to the terrific work of our community member Shekerd, the game is now available to play in Spanish!

Release Notes

V1.5.7

• Christmas trees, presents and snowbots are back!
• Added option to hold [Shift] when adding Whitelist/Blacklist buildings to keep panel open
• You can now remove the Colony Ship road post if you have 'free road post placement' setting active
• Fixed workshops being dismantled showing up as idle
• Fixed water-breaking bug when destroying a harbour or boatyard on water above sea level and game loading issue after that
• Recompleted Korean translation (thanks to interp)

V1.5.6

• Game is now available in Spanish!
• Fixed some UI overlapping on blacklist/whitelist rules panels
• Fixed offset of chocolate factory rollover info
• Fixed one island entry not displaying beer count correctly on Beer Challenge
• Fixed medal times not showing for challenges

Next Year

We'll be back next year with more frontiers and more updates. Thanks as always to the great community for their feedback and testing - you can join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/thecolonists See you next year!

[ 2020-12-18 17:49:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, This month we have two new buildings, new resources and November's Frontier!

Chocolate Factory & Cocoa Farm

You have a new way to feed your colonists - chocolate! Build a cocoa farm to harvest the cocoa beans, gather the milk from the cow farm and then combine them at the chocolate factory for a brand new level 3 luxury food!

November Frontier

November's Frontier is live and has a particularly chocolately flavour!

Release Notes

V1.5.5

• NEW Chocolate Factory and Cocoa Farm! Supply your Level 3 Residences with chocolate
• Fixed some issues with tooltips not showing up when hovering over farm fields
• Fixed watchtower not resetting priority target after being captured
• Added help section to research panel
• Fixed tooltip staying open when right-clicking to close window whilst hovering over 'all resource' rule on a vehicle transport stop
• Fixed right-clicking to close window whilst hovering over resource still opening the resource panel
• Added tech icons to construction and upgrade panels
• Better messages when farmbot is idle and waiting for something to grow
• Steam achievements are reapplied on opening game, in case they didn't didn't register with Steam at time of achievement

Modding

Mod Support is still under development, find out more in the #modding channel on our Discord server.

Next Month

Deveolpment has started on one way roads and if you'd like to test this new feature out then head over to our Discord to try them on our development branch later on this month. Thanks as ever to all the community members for their testing, bug reports and feedback! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2020-11-01 23:39:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, The 1.5.4 update for The Colonists has gone live!

Pumpkin Farms

The leaves are falling and the temperature is dropping, it's that time of the year again - the pumpkin harvest! For the next month the pumpkin farm is available and your colonists can enjoy their mysteriously processed pumpkins.

October Frontier

In case you missed it, Frontiers are a recently added feature where every month a new map is created with different goals to try and complete. October's Frontier has just appeared and has a seasonal theme, check it out!

Release Notes

V1.5.4

• It's Harvest Time - Pumpkins and the Pumpkin Farm are back!
• Players now can replay old Frontiers but times won't be recorded
• Added tracking information for Challenges in the mission info panel
• Increased max train speed by 25%
• Added skippable warning to deleting savegame in load game window
• Added beer to alcohol category preset
• Fixed saved SFX volume not being applied on opening the game
• Fixed deconstructing workshops counting as idle
• Fixed an instance of possible space port ship freeze
• Fixed visual ui bug with resource rules overflowing on boat/station stops
• Fixed bug with being able to place train tracks below sea level
• Fixed import building selection sometimes including irrelevant building types

V1.5.3

• Enabled deconstruction for buildings under construction
• Added 'Tiny' option to random map generation options
• Fixed shaft mines on random maps occasionally blocking each other
• Additional tweaks to proc gen to reduce chances of getting inaccessible shaft mines
• Fixed storage yard still demanding resources after dismantling has started
• Added overlay to watchtowers under construction to indicate territory gain
• Fixed surface mine construction storage only being 4 resources instead of usual 8
• Fixed incorrect mission names showing for some campaign missions in info panel

Modding

Mod Support is currently under development, if you'd like to help test or make mods for the game then come and join us in #modding on our Discord channel.

Next Month

Next month we're got two brand new buildings arriving! If you can't wait, head over to our Discord to try them on our development branch later on this month. As always, a huge thanks to everyone for their testing and feedback, it's really appreciated! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists See you next month!

[ 2020-10-01 22:44:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, The latest 1.5.2 update for The Colonists is available!

Frontiers

The new Frontiers mode allows everyone to compete on the same procedurally generated map each month. At the start of every month a new Frontier is released with a different goal and can be played for the duration of that month. August's Frontier is available now - good luck!

Dismantling Buildings

If you ever find yourself short of materials then you can now dismantle any building and recover the resources that were used to construct a building. You can find this option on the info panel for any fully constructed building. Any unusued resources for production can also be recovered.

Release Notes

• NEW! Frontiers Mode - Compete against each players on a new map each month!
• NEW! Dismantle Ability - Dismantle any building and recover construction resources
• Adjusted market prices for resources to better reflect production costs
• Added Continue Game option to main menu
• Minor optimisations to rocks and carrybot animations - large colonies may see a small performance boost
• Fixed new trains not have upgraded storage after Steam Engines II is researched
• Added warning when upgrading a building with import rules
• Fixed shaft mine deposits placed precisely at sea level not being usable
• Fixed counts of adjacent natural resource surface deposits of different types displaying incorrectly on the map

Thanks to everyone for their continued testing and feedback! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb

[ 2020-08-02 13:56:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, Thanks for all the support and feedback for the random map generator in the V1.5 update, all your comments and reviews really contribute to further development of the game! Once again, initial testing of mod support will be opening soon so if you're interested please join the Discord server for all the info. Today's update, V1.5.1, is now available and brings a few small improvements and fixes:

Release Notes

• Improved Key Bindings window usability
• Random map generation tweaks: a little more space around colony ship; fixed bug where mountain mine could be located in invalid position in the sea; a little more landing space on shorelines generally.
• Fixed sandbox games not being recognised as sandbox games
• Fixed not being able to create a road over a flat section of train track
• Fixed monument boost not applying to workshops
• Fixed bug where placing a building right next to a shaft mine could incorrectly adjust a tile on the mine track
• Fixed expedition resources not showing on a harbour's 'en route' panels
• Fixed bug related to destroying a road post at a expedition-created harbour and it not calculating path directions correctly
• Fixed input resource rates for buildings not being displayed correctly when building has a monument boost
• Fixed incorrect idle message for road layer when they're waiting for resources
• Fixed bakery, flour mill and harbour not having correct destruction models and effects
• Game no longer lets you draw paths over broken terrain that it can't autoadjust
• Tweaked large harbour footprint so it can't be placed where there's no room for the queueing location
• Source and destination buildings are now clickable on an individual resource's journey panel
• Bots will now (mostly) return to a printer when their building or road is destroyed
• Made some fish more accessible on campaign map 8
• Tweaks to some steep shoreline in campaign map 5

Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2020-07-11 11:03:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, That's right, it's the random map generator update!

Random Map Generator

You can now procedurally generate maps to play on! There's a core random game mode which includes optional victory conditions as well as the ability to create a map in sandbox mode. You also have the following customisation options when generating a map:

• Map Size: Small (160), Normal (200), Large (240) or Huge (300)
• Biome: Default, snow or desert
• Water: Little, some or lots
• Natural Resources: Few, some or lots

Please let me know how you get on - we have a dedicated #proc-gen-maps channel in our Discord server for feedback and further ideas.

Patch Notes

• Random Map Generator! Procedurally generate maps with various settings in either main random map mode or in sandbox mode
• New mission info panel - better contextual information about the mission or map you're playing, including an option to edit sandbox settings mid-game
• Fixed some instance of auto terrain adjustment not working correctly when placing road and paths over broken terrain
• Fixed placing harbours over existing roads causing issues
• Top left buttons now have a selected state
• Few more localisation fixes

Once again, huge thanks to everyone providing feedback, bug reports, suggestions and reviews, it's massively appreciated and really helps support continued development of the game. Next month will be the first phase of testing for mod support for the game, so if that's your thing please join in on the #mod-support channel on Discord! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Help And Bug Reporting: http://codebyfire.com/colonists/help Thanks!

[ 2020-06-26 11:50:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A patch has gone just out with some small tweaks and fixes as well as Czech language support!

Patch Notes

• Added Czech localisation
• Fixed en route counts (number in green circles) not always decreasing correctly when a resource arrives (from V1.4.3)
• Tweaked bakery production numbers up slightly and added another stackbot
• Fixed resource demand urgency not always being calculated correctly for boat construction
• Fixed list of residences not being filtered by level on Energy storage panel
• Fixed enemy AI bug when trying to upgrade road layer
• Fixed being able to place a harbour outside your territory
• Fixed constrained cursor setting not working correctly
• Fixed a few missing localisations
• Fixed rare instance of not being able to load a savegame on mission 4

Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2020-05-21 20:56:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A small patch with the following fixes and improvements has just gone out:

Patch Notes

• Fixed bug when loading a savegame with user-generated map which had territory turned off and it removing some territory from around your colony ship
• You can now have a building's construction paused immediately if you place it while holding [Alt]
• Building overlay construction icon now displays paused state
• Priority layers at lumberjack hut, forestry and surface mine now auto clear if occupied by a road, path or building
• Fixed bug where road/path placement would highlight an invalid route using tiles that were partially under water
• Fixed small bug with priority tile settings where releasing Shift key and mouse button could set invalid tiles

Thanks for all the feedback! Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2020-05-13 17:17:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, Here's a look at what's new and improved in this month's update:

Patch Notes

• New military campaign map - The Three Hills
• Game now auto-adjusts the land when you place roads and paths over steps in the terrain
• Watchtower Ownership Overlay - when you select the info panel on watchtowers it now shows you an graphic overlay indicating which tiles would be lost if you destroyed that watchtower
• Option for free resource creation at storage yards added to sandbox mode
• Various small improvements to enemy AI
• Fixed scores not being submitted for non-military custom maps from the Workshop
• Fixed bug where boat could leave early if only resources to unload were using harbour as a transitory stop
• Fixed resources sometimes going to storage yards that are under construction
• Fixed potential bug when road posts are modified that are connected to expedition harbours that are under construction
• Fixed shaft minerbot appearing out of the back of the mine
• Fixed watchtower damage smoke effects not clearing when upgrade completes
• Fixed a couple of inaccurate building descriptions
• Fixed bug where enemy bots would not appear correctly if they went into then came back out of fog of war
• Fixed leaderboard button incorrectly showing on military maps
• Added warning message for adding an import rule to a building under construction

Thanks to you all for your continued feedback, it's massively appreciated. Remember to check out our Discord for the latest builds and chat, and we'll be back with another update soon! Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb

[ 2020-05-09 22:14:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, Here's what's new in this month's update:

Patch Notes

• Added challenges panel so you can keep track of your progress and a notification screen for when you complete a challenge
• Added option for x8 speed (use at your discrection, your framerate may suffer a bit)
• Added option to invert zoom
• Added extra sub-panel on boats and trains resource panel to show which resources are being unloaded and added details to harbour's boats panel to show a boat's status with that harbour
• Added visual to show upgrade range of a watchtower when on upgrade panel
• Improved performance a bit when rendering wheat fields
• Fixed bug when pressing Escape on the 'unsave progress' window
• Fixed error when storage yard sourced resources beyond capacity, caused by having a combination of rules which exceeded capacity
• Fixed bug where demand groups couldn't be reordered in resource category panels (e.g. fuel)
• Fixed edge case where enemy colony ship would self-destruct if entrance tile was captured but none of the main tiles
• Fixed an issue with very busy harbours where incoming resources could potentially get sent to the wrong storage pile and eventually bring everything to a halt
• Fixed bug where if a boat's transport route is cleared whilst it's heading from the queueing location to the dock then the next queued boat wouldn't be triggered
• Improved resource movement behaviour on very busy large harbours with multiple road posts
• Added extra stackbot for harbour
• Some small AI improvements
• Turned default ambient occlusion setting for linux to off

Thanks to everyone for all their suggestions, bug reports and feedback. Look out for more updates next month, including some new maps. Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2020-04-05 17:54:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A small patch for The Colonists with the following fixes:

Patch Notes

• Fixed bug where, when a boat is docked, changing its route whilst a stackbot was fetching a resource to load onto it could cause the boat to become stuck at the harbour.
• Fixed bug where on a rare occasion resource might not be sent on from a storage yard
• Fixed issue where resources at a storage yard were not always correctly being sent to another storage yard
• Fixed rare instance when storage yards weren't requesting all the resources for their rules
• Fixed final determining factor of resource exports judged to be equal (same 'prioritised' destination building and same resource type) to use oldest assignment instead of newest
• Fixed bug where some tooltips, such as a boat status on the harbour panel, wouldn't clear if the panel was closed using right-click
• Fixed VSync settings not being saved between sessions

Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks for all the continued feedback!

[ 2020-03-04 10:42:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, The Achievements update for The Colonists has just gone live! Here's all the info including new mechanics, fixes and tweaks:

Achievements

There are 27 achievements to collect including special speed-run challenges based on four of the campaign missions. Each challenge has a unique goal and each has three levels to achieve, Expert, Champion and Legendary, the last of which will require the smartest and most efficient colonies to complete!

Storage Yard Mechanics

Storage yards now creates 'demand' in the same way as other buildings. These demands are visible resource demands panel and can be moved up or down the priority list, again like demand types. The 'weight' of a storage demand is based on the fill percentage of the resource at the storage yard. For example, say you have a lumberjack hut and two storages yards ('A' and 'B') and 'A' has a rule for 5 Logs and 'B' for 10 Logs. The first Log will go to 'B' (wherever it is located), the second Log to 'A', the third to 'B', the fourth to 'B', the fifth to 'A' etc. So in summary, the weight for each storage destination is determined by 1) fill percentage 2) total potential storage 3) distance. This new behaviour gives you a more even and controllable distribution of resources to multiple storage yards around your colony.

Storage Yard to Storage Yard

Utilising the new demand mechanic above, resources can now be sent from storage yard to storage yard. You can set this up by creating import or export rules on the relevant building.

Patch Notes

• Hotkeys (default [C] & [V]) for copying and pasting settings of buildings (export & import) and road posts (blacklists and whitelists)
• Small Storage Yard now only requires logs to build
• Added multi-selection to resource selection panels
• Added resource group presets to blacklist resource selection panels
• Added expedition resources to demand panels
• Changed idle port and station stackbots to prioritise load and unloads of vehicles first
• Items waiting at harbour or train station are now rechecked for optimal routes when a new route is added
• Adding an import rule now forces an resource export check at the targeted building if source building already had an import rule
• Fixed issue with resources being incorrectly routed in and out of large harbours
• Fixed salt being able to mined with L2 surface mine
• Fixed bug which occurs when placing a watchtower when the logs demand panel is open
• Fixed export from space port bug when selling rule is removed and resource are waiting to be loaded
• Fixed bug when clearing a boat route and assigning to an expedition while boat is docked at harbour
• Fixed bug with vegetables in vegetable plots displaying weirdly after a little while
• Fixed bug with vegetables not showing up on game load
• Fixed hit box on vegetable resource
• Fixed issue where sometimes a train wasn't created due to miscalculation of train route limits
• Fixed lumberjack pathfinding not being completely accurate in finding the nearest tree
• Fixed bug where, when a building's panel is open, the green in-world highlight markers weren't being created when a new resource was assigned to the building
• Fixed issue where multiple top left panels could be overlaid after entering and leaving the research or map screen
• Fixed not being able to set fuel consumption buildings as export on storage yards
• AI enemy can now cancel research if project has been idle for too long
• AI enemy has smarter placement of fletchers
• AI enemy has smarter upgrading of watchtowers
• Fixed bug with en route resource highlighters not always showing up correctly
• Fixed order of medals in mission goals panel
• Fixed internal tree count when if lumberjack chops a tree which leaves your territory during the chopping process
• For export and import building lists, disabled already existing options
• Vegetable Farm construction time and resources now same as Sheep Farm
• You can now sculpt tiles with trees on
• You can now sell Logs at the Space Port for a small amount of money
• Small storage yard and steel mill have an extra stackbot
• Bots are now printed in the order of oldest first instead of most recent first
• Improved accuracy of distance sorting for priority layer buildings (lumberjacks, foresters, miners)
• Removed rogue underwater clay deposit on 'Island Hopping' mission
• Added option to show the game tick alongside the day

Links

Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks to everyone for all the continued feedback, bug reports and suggestions!

[ 2020-02-27 16:31:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A special Winter update of The Colonists is available! Here is all the info for V1.4.0:

Festive Decorations

Give your colony a festive feel with Christmas trees (plant them near monuments), snowbots (created by the Foresterbot) as well as presents and candy canes!

Enemy AI Updates

The enemy AI has been reworked and improved and now includes a new Hard mode which also gives enemies a 25% bot boost. There's also a new military mission in the campaign with more to come in the future.

Patch Notes

• Fixed an issue in some instances with resources that are waiting at harbour not getting rerouted
• Fixed storage yards not showing in storage panel for resource categories (food etc)
• Fixed an error related to rerouting a boat that is currently queueing to same harbourissues not being able to set export whitelists from/to buildings under construction

Links

Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks for all the continued feedback and happy holidays!

[ 2019-12-24 23:26:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A small update for the weekend, here what's new in 1.3.6.4 patch for The Colonists:

Patch Notes

• Added VSync option
• Linked mouse button 4 and mouse button 5 linked to rotate/flip
• Improved height collision detection for rocks on steep slopes (principally affecting Mission 11)
• F12 should now work again for directly capturing Steam screenshots. F10 is the hotkey for Postcard Mode.
• Fixed bug with loading a game and if a train was queuing at a station it would not move
• Fixed being able to incorrectly select small harbours for lugger routes
• Fixed issue when losing territory tile with a path and it potentially not recalculating connections for affected buildings
• Fixed incorrect message for when trying to place watchtower too close to other military buildings
• Fixed bug allowing you to place watchtower anywhere in tutorial
• Fixed quality settings panel not behaving correctly from V1.3.6.3

The AI updates are still available to preview on our development branch: https://www.notion.so/Development-Branch-d73d417d8c944d8c98a19be0a9d7d929 Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks for all the continued feedback!

[ 2019-12-14 18:36:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, The 1.3.6.3 patch for The Colonists is now available - here are the changes:

Patch Notes

• Added ability to pause building upgrades
• Added track buffers to indicate end of track
• Added skippable warnings for cancelling upgrades and research
• All resources waiting for assignment are now rechecked immediately when an export rule is added
• Upgrading buildings can now be added to export whitelist
• Fixed Printing Press II research not affecting Printing Press production time correctly and changed to 50% increase
• Fixed mining rates on Shaft Mine construction panel not increasing with relevant research boosts
• Fixed export whitelist filtering for buildings under construction or upgrading
• Fixed incorrect storage counts for Food, Alcohol and Fuel
• Fixed Residence upgrades not updating previous Energy storage count correctly
• Fixed idle workshop check not being trigger when using 'free construction'
• Fixed idle workshop check not being trigger when research was cancelled
• Fixed resources bought at Space Port showing creation building as 'unknown building'
• Fixed graph not clearing when switching from multiple output resource buildings
• Fixed two random crash bugs
• Tweaked Glassmaking, Scaffolding III and Construction III, Wheat Farming, Breadmaking and Brewing requirements

If you'd like to preview the AI updates that will be coming soon then head over to our development branch! https://www.notion.so/Development-Branch-d73d417d8c944d8c98a19be0a9d7d929 Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2019-12-10 11:07:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, An update to The Colonists has just gone live! Here's what's new:

One Way Train Signals

Get more control over your train routes with the new one way signal. You can place this signal on any piece of track, making it easy to create circular train routes!

Unrestricted Elevated Rail Sandbox Option

Create enormous unsupported bridges, go over the top of mountains or build track spirals with the new option for Sandbox Mode!

Patch Notes

• NEW - one way train signals allow you to create circular train routes
• NEW - defy physics with the new unrestricted elevated rail option in the sandbox
• Fixed train sometimes getting stuck if route was not found and then track was modified
• Fixed upgrade costs not taking into account reused resources when starting an upgrade
• Fixed occasional instance where an invalid transport connection was created when a watchtower was captured, causing further bugs
• Fixed surface mines and shaft mines showing up in building lists on storage panels for resources they don't mine
• Stopped auto setting building name if already set by player
• Hotkey [H] in map editor now goes to centre of map
• Fixed missing help text for road post transport connections panel
• Fixed incorrect icon on road layer upgrade panel
• The pumpkin harvest has finished, but The Colonists still like their vegetables!

Thanks for every suggestion, bug report and bit of feedback. Look out for more updates next month! Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2019-11-26 19:56:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A small patch is out with the following fixes and improvements:

• Fixed bug which caused an expedition boat to become stuck if it had to queue at the harbour it needed to load expedition resources from
• Fixed tooltips for Orchard Plots and Cobbled Roads icons being the wrong way around
• Boats now go over underwater rocks
• Boats no longer sail through rocks
• Tweaked rock height detection numbers to be more accurate when using elevated rail
• Fixed crash bug caused by creating parallel roads between the same two road posts
• Fixed boundaries of brewery and wheat farm footprints

Again, thanks for all the feedback, keep it coming! Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2019-11-12 17:37:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, V1.3.5.4 is now available with a few improvements and bug fixes:

• - Hold [Ctrl] when placing the end road post of a new road to continue building a new road from that tile
• - Improved visuals and tooltip messages for setting road waypoints
• - Added build mode hotkey to key bindings
• - Tweaked brewery production numbers
• - Fixed bug where changing the route or clearing a route of a boat whilst its queueing at a harbour could potentially cause it to behave unexpectedly or become stuck at a harbour
• - Fixed resource exports not being checked immediately after a boat or train route is modified or added
• - Fixed being able to create one tile length paths as destroying them sometimes created a resource routing bug
• - Fixed bots printed at Large Harbour sometimes going to wrong flag and not going to their destination in certain circumstances
• - Bots printed at Large Harbour no longer walk through bot printer
• - Fixed resources being attempted to be routed through invalid buildings if both resource supplier building and invalid building were connected to a harbour or train station by path but supplier building's path was too long to be a direct connection (over 20 tiles).
• - Fixed pumpkins resource not selectable
• - Field placement mode is now automatically entered when clicking on the farm fields tab
• - Fixed pumpkin farmer harvest animation sometimes not matching pumpkin field
• - Fixed closing add vehicle stop side panel not adding add transport button
• - Fixed incorrect value and overflow of cash victory graphic bar
• - Fixed padlock icon not showing on level 1 tab for locked buildings
• - Fixed trader reputation display sometimes stopping working on market panel

Thanks to everyone's suggestions and feedback and remember you can join us on Discord to hear about and test out the latest new features! Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2019-11-08 14:17:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A special Halloween update of The Colonists is now available! Here is all the info for V1.3.5:

Pumpkin Farm

Give your colonists a seasonal treat with the new Pumpkin Farm! Providing another source of food for Level 1 Residences, Pumpkin Farms take up less space but have long pumpkin patches so you'll need to plan your layouts!

Patch Notes

• Italian and Brazilian Portuguese localization
• Space Port no longer needs any resources to construct
• Harbours no longer require pier tiles to be inside territory
• Building upgrade costs now take into account previous level
• Added Boat Building II research which is needed to build Luggers
• Luggers now a bit faster and have more capacity
• Implemented acceleration on boats
• Fixed 'all resources' on whitelists causing problems (also removed that option as it's the default behaviour)
• Fixed workshop import whitelist not accepting all possible research resources
• Fixed some issues not being able to set export whitelists from/to buildings under construction
• Fixed destroying import building not auto removing it from another building's import whitelist
• Fixed track breaking if placing a high train station
• Reduced adjustable height a little of train stations to avoid some entrance issues
• Fixed mislabelled resource categories on flag rules panel
• Fixed rules tab count for boats and trains for item categories
• Fixed close button on boat selection panel
• Fixed notification icons on newly unlocked buildings not being reset on game load
• F12 no longer trigger screenshot mode, now only dedicated hotkey does (default F10)
• Two fixes for games erroring when trying to load

Links

Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2019-10-25 18:31:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, There's a new update available containing the following bug fixes and improvements:

• Fixed trains getting stuck if meeting at a station at the same time
• Fixed some instances where train and hopper sequence would get confused when reassigning a train route
• Fixed road cost calculations not working correctly in a loaded game
• Improved route recalculations for resources waiting at a road post of a blocked road
• Captured Colony Ships are now connectable and functional buildings
• Fixed bug where rubble of buildings could not always be removed
• Fixed stutter caused by resources arriving at buildings which were directly connected to the harbour from where they'd been delivered
• Fixed transport rules not always affecting resource demands correctly
• Fixed potential stutter affecting large colonies with full storage yards
• 'Blacklist' and 'Whitelist' can now contain individual resources whilst 'Blacklist Except Storage' and 'Whitelist Storage Only' contain 'All Resources' respectively
• Fixed import building selection list not showing Food producing buildings for residences
• Fixed import buildings not always being taken into account when a building sources a resource
• Sculpt modes now cycle when you press the Sculpt Mode hotkey
• Fixed pipette mode where level of copied building was being overridden by last selected building level
• Path drawing now lets you cross roads (path behaviour is the same but it's now more obvious when creating paths)
• Fixed incorrect 'loading' label in boat storage panel
• Made 'whitelist storage only' 'all resources' combined with individual 'whitelist' resources behave as expected
• Fixed error message not being parsed correctly when track placement blocked
• Fixed icon for train route selection and improved font spacing and resizing
• Fixed incorrect count on the resource transport rule tab
• Fixed and improved visuals on resource transport rules panel to show boats and trains
• Fixed formatting on resource destroy warning message
• Fixed mission complete camera angle
• Improved some German localization

Thanks to all the players providing feedback and bug reports and to our community translators. Stay tuned for more content updates soon! Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2019-10-11 14:22:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, A new patch has just gone live with a few small improvements and bug fixes:

• Change your colony colour at any time with a new panel on your Colony Ship!
• Harbours can now be an export target for buildings holding or producing expedition resources.
• Fixed one off selling rules not working.
• Fixed issue with printed bots sometimes going cross-country to their destination.
• Fixed game defaulting to languages still in development (Russian and Italian).
• Fixed bug in tutorial if you close the Lumberjack Hut construction panel.
• Fixed some font inconsistencies with accented characters.
• Fixed a few localization entries.
• Improved a couple of icons.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback! Follow the latest dev builds on our Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

[ 2019-10-02 20:38:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, V1.3.4 of The Colonists live! Here's what's new:

Localization

The Colonists is now available in German, French, Chinese and Korean! A massive thanks to all the translators and if you'd like to be involved in a community translation for your language get in touch here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/677340/discussions/0/1735469327939468875/?ctp=3

Monument Bonuses

Monuments now give a speed boost to all nearby bots increasing building productivity and road throughput, the power of the boost increasing with the size of the monument. Monuments are limited to one each (unless victory conditions state otherwise) so use them wisely!

Resource Statistics Panel

Each building now lists all incoming and recently arrived resources and where they came from. You can select any of the resources and it will display the route to the building, their estimated arrival/journey times as well as the option to destroy that resource.

Bug Fixes and Improvements

Check out our full patch notes, including an improved destroy mode and more sandbox options. https://www.notion.so/Patch-Notes-f0b271ceafc34a3a8330adf3034cb18f

Next Updates

Our next update is adding a new AI Hard mode, some new campaign maps as well as some new buildings and resources. If you'd like to test these new features out whilst they're in development then head over to our Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists

Links

Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2019-09-17 12:04:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, V1.3.2 of The Colonists has gone live! Here's what new:

New Campaign Missions

There are two new single player campaign missions where your goal is to earn money by buying and selling resources in the market as well as managing construction of your grand monuments.

Custom Map Leaderboards

Each custom map in Steam Workshop now has its own leaderboard where players can compete for the best time!

New Help & Wiki

We have a new help site explaining more features and strategies in depth as well as a wiki containing the stats for all the buildings, resources, research, and more. New help: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb

Bug Fixes & Improvements

There have been bug fixes and small improvements too, you can check out the full patch notes here: https://www.notion.so/Patch-Notes-f0b271ceafc34a3a8330adf3034cb18f

Next Update & Translations

Follow on Discord for the latest on the next updates which will include a brand new AI Hard mode as well as new AI campaign missions to challenge yourself against. We've also been testing some localisations of the game - if you're interested in contributing to a community translation of a language then please get in touch, full info here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/677340/discussions/0/1735469327939468875/

Links

Help And Bug Reporting: https://www.notion.so/The-Colonists-Help-0f8b20f71a96426490fbfbff5511e3bb Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2019-06-25 22:38:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone,

Mac/Linux

Support for Mac and Linux platforms has gone live! If you're on recent OSX version or Steam-compatible distro then you should now have access to the game in your library.

Translations

We're also now working on localisations of the game - if you're interested in contributing to a community translation of a language then get in touch, full info here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/677340/discussions/0/1735469327939468875/

Next Update

Follow on Discord for latest news of the upcoming update, including new campaign maps and a new hard AI mode - https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2019-06-03 10:51:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, The Colonists are back with some big updates! Heres what new in V1.3:

Map Editor

Ccreate, share and play custom maps using Steam Workshop. Sculpt land and sea, place trees, rocks and resources, and set your own victory conditions.

Elevated Trains

Free your train network with the elevated railway system that can span channels of water and glide over the top of buildings.

New Large Harbour and new Lugger Boat

Large harbour can load three boats simultaneously and has two entrances. Lugger boat can carry more resources.

Transport Improvements

You can now apply rules to individual stops for boats and trains, harbours and stations now have separate rule lists for importing and exporting. Trains now block each other and stations can support multiple train stops. Trains can now also transport construction materials to stations under construction.

Other Updates

New Large Storage Yard - can store more resources, has two entrances and has a bot printer. Postcard Mode - create snappy screenshots of your colony. Map Improvements - fixed black lines, added double-click to go to location, more accurate panning and zoom uses mouse position. Each research technology now has its own icon. Road posts now have a darker colour if a rule is applied. Added notification icons when a new building or a new level of a building is unlocked. Many other small improvements. Thanks to everyone who has been playing the game so far, all your feedback, suggestions and bug reports have been incredibly useful! Please get in touch if you have any issues with the latest features, we'll be continuing to improve them as well as work on more updates including new campaign maps and AI improvements. Vote for features youd most like to see on our roadmap and remember you can follow development progress as well as play the very latest builds on our Discord server.

Links

Help And Bug Reporting: https://trello.com/c/2uryGdlJ Roadmap: https://thecolonists.featureupvote.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2019-04-29 19:30:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, After a short break we're back with some updates!

Changelog

Added best times leaderboards for campaign economy missions - optimise your colonies and compete for the fastest times. Brand new robot model and animations for Forestry bot, Blast Furnace and Blacksmith bots and Baker bot. Updated system for calculating how buildings are connected to road posts and other buildings. Each connection is now listed in a new building panel and can be visualised within the world. This refactoring also fixes some lags and freezing issues. Forestries can now plant all types of tree available in the game with varying growth times and terrain requirements. Updated Wheat Farm production stats and added animations for Wheat Farmer bot. Fixed bug with Lumberbots and Minebots passing through rocks and potentially getting stuck on slopes. Increased reputation gained per dollar transaction in the Sandbox Market. Small improvements to tutorials in Mission 1 and 2. [V1.2.1.1] Fixed loading old savegames which had other AI players [V1.2.1.1] Fixed issue where building connections could get confused when removing roads [V1.2.1.1] Fixed being able to sculpt a tile with a path on

Map Editor Beta

In order to get lots more playable maps available for everyone I've been focusing on developing a Map Editor which will allow you to create, share and rate your own maps and scenarios. The first beta version has recently been made available on our development branch so if you'd like to check it out early and provide feedback and suggestions whilst it's refined please head over to our Discord for the full details.

Transport Update

We're also progressing on the next Transport Update which is going to include improvements to the boat and train systems as well as bridges! Look out for more news on this very soon.

Links

Help And Bug Reporting: https://trello.com/c/2uryGdlJ Roadmap: https://thecolonists.featureupvote.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2019-01-23 00:45:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's Deal: Save 25% on The Colonists!*

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

*Offer ends Thursday at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2019-01-22 18:05:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, Some new features, improvements and bug fixes have just gone live, here's a quick breakdown:

Changelog

[NEW] Endless Sandbox Mode - Buy and sell resources at the Space Port building, increase your Trader Reputation and create ongoing colonies in Sandbox Mode [NEW] Charcoal Burner - Convert Logs into Fuel as an alternative to Coal for all Coal-fired buildings [NEW] Additional landscaping tools which allow you to tweak the terrain to your own aesthetics [NEW] Custom Colour - In Sandbox Mode you can choose a custom colour for your colony Removed slope restrictions for building placement Construction and Research processes now consume resources by their delivery date resulting in more balanced resource demands Fixed Export building not being removed when it's destroyed Fixed Road Layer bot getting stuck sometimes Fixed landscaping bug when removing Harbour Fixed natural resources sometimes appearing dark Fixed not being able to set individual storage rule to 'any' Fixed a couple of incorrect L3 road/path junction tiles Improved notification UI Improved storage rule icon UI [V1.2.0.1] Fixed loading a sandbox market-enabled game not showing Space Port as in the construction options [V1.2.0.1] Fixed not being able to re-order Fuel building priorities [V1.2.0.1] Fixed being able to navigate expedition boat before expedition resources had been fully loaded, leading to incomplete harbours [V1.2.0.1] Fixed destroying a harbour with a single unconnected road post not resetting tile properly which could lead to future issues with building roads [V1.2.0.1] Fixed Cow Farm production rates (now maxes correctly at 6/day) and fixed location of initial field when flipped Up next I'm going to be looking at improvements to ports and train stations among other features and we're also in the final stages of a Mac version. If you'd like to check these out as they're being developed please drop into the development branch of the game and let me know your feedback on Discord!

Links

Help And Bug Reporting: https://trello.com/c/2uryGdlJ Feature Vote/Roadmap: https://thecolonists.featureupvote.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks!

[ 2018-12-02 11:53:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, The newest patch has just gone live, here's what's new:

Changelog

[NEW] Added ability to prioritise tiles for Surface Miners Fixed expedition boat being allowed to leave before all expedition resources had been fully loaded Fixed potential issues when destroying a building led to resources rerouting back to same building Fixed bug where Stackbot would become stuck if resource it was picking up was manually destroyed Fixed bug with Road Layer bots upgrading the same road tile and sometimes becoming stuck Fixed transport rules being ignored in rerouting when harbour was initial transport node Fixed bug where Orchard Field and Wheat Field couldn't be removed in certain situations Fixed incorrect boat construction notification icon Fixed high level mine buildings not showing up in resource production panel Fixed maximum field tooltip showing incorrect text sometimes Prevented farm fields from being rotated which led to incorrect field graphics Wheat fields now burn properly Making a new path now triggers idle Road Layers Changed in-game time display to past tense to match time displayed elsewhere Cow Farm's initial field now aligned to left edge of building Sandbox - AI difficulty level can now be set or turned off complete on military maps Mission 6 - tweaked fishing locations Mission 4 - added underground Clay mine [V1.1.2.1] Fixed bug with start military map without AI in sandbox mode I'm still continuing to look at any issues that are reported but I'm also starting to look more at improvements and new features. Currently in development is the Endless Sandbox Mode, if you'd like to test it out head over to our development branch or ask in Discord.

Links

Help And Bug Reporting: https://trello.com/c/2uryGdlJ Feature Vote/Roadmap: https://thecolonists.featureupvote.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/thecolonists Thanks - back with more soon!

[ 2018-11-12 17:13:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, The mid-week patch has just gone live, here's what's new:

Changelog

Fixed resources waiting at harbour not rerouting properly if their next sea route is removed Fixed bug where loading a game which had a new colony harbour with no watchtower would not let you build a watchtower Fixed bug where carrybot would get stuck if resource it was carrying was manually destroyed during drop off phase Fixed bug where harbours on steep slopes could have their entrance land connection to the road post broken causing stackbot routes to break Fixed error caused by loading a game in which a expedition boat had had its original harbour destroyed Fixed cancelling and restarting upgrade potentially causing overflow in the progress bar Fixed error caused by destroying storage yard Fixed best time display on scenario screen Halved Bakery coal consumption Added ability to set import whitelists for storage yards Added hotkey for skipping destroy warning (default is Left Alt) Fixed Engineering showing negative number Adjusted Cow Farm so it only needs one starting field and is indicated more clearly in placement footprint Road Posts can now be placed at harbour entrances if the original is accidentally removed Mission 3 - added more stone to starting island Mission 5 - added more stone, more gold, removed green terrain which was not fertile Mission 6 - added Casual mode Mission 7 - added more coal Mission 9 - added more fertile land and more resources Mission 10 - added Casual mode and infinite stone resource for AI [V1.1.1.2] Fixed issue with placing fishing huts next to other fishing huts sometimes [V1.1.1.2] Fixed destroying a boatyard not resetting tiles properly Thanks to everyone who has been in touch providing feedback, suggestions and bug reports, they all really help. We've got some exciting things entering testing tomorrow, please head over to Discord if you'd like to try them out!

Links

Help And Bug Reporting: https://trello.com/c/2uryGdlJ Discord: https://discord.gg/3xD3BCe Thanks!

[ 2018-11-07 01:49:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, I've just pushed a new version live, here are the updates and fixes:

Changelog

- [NEW] Sandbox Phase 1 - Explore layouts and experiment with your Colonists on any current map with customisable options including auto-research, optional fog of war, optional territory and free construction mode - [NEW] Harbour/Station Rules - Apply blacklisting and whitelisting rules to harbours and train stations in the same way you can with road posts - Improved resource routing along roads - routing now takes better into account blocked carrybots and busyness of road posts - Implemented 'collapsing' watchtower state - once captured, watchtower repairs must start within a certain time or the building will be lost - Fixed weaponry and repair demands not being flagged as urgent on occasion - Fixed repair demands not showing up on resource demand list - Increased watchtower projectile range - Fixed bug where destroying a road without affecting road posts was not clearing formerly attached building's routes to road posts - Increased stackbot path delivery distance, preventing issue where resources were assigned along long paths but not delivered - Fixed error where savegame would not load - Fixed edge case where stackbot fetching a resource from a building when the destination building is destroyed - Fixed issue where you could end up with an unremovable solitary flag if it was connected to a harbour on the starting island - Fixed bug where direct delivery of expedition resources from storage yard were not being delivered - Fixed boat and train names force-including worker bot name - Fixed bug where road tile would not be removed correctly if sharing a track tile leading to prevention of building placement - Fixed error with orchard field being lost leading to watchtower capture failing - Fixed Weaponsmith sometimes causing a game freeze - Fixed error when placing wheat field on edge of map - Removing track now longer has the possibility of deforming roads - Fixed burning VFX on residences - When placing buildings, switching level of building remembers rotation and flippedness - Added underground Coal Mine to Mission 2 - Enabled unusual aspect ratios [V1.1.0.2] - Enabled Sandbox button - Fixed incorrect mission links in sandbox map selection

Links

If you continue to have any issues please follow the instructions here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/677340/discussions/0/1735468693695851518/ and I will look into them straight away. If you would like to vote on what you'd like to see in a future version head over here: https://thecolonists.featureupvote.com/ And we have our Discord here: https://discord.gg/3xD3BCe Thanks, keep the feedback coming!

[ 2018-11-04 00:43:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, Thanks for the great response to the game so far - all the comments, feedback and reports have been super useful and it's great to see all the different colonies that are being made! Firstly, a new patch has just gone live with some fixes and updates:

Changelog

[V1.0.3] Fixed bug where clearing a boat route while boat is docked could prevent it from moving after new route is applied Fixed bug where Harbour stackbots could become stuck if delivering resources to a boat whose route is cleared Fixed bug where direct delivery of Harbour expedition resources from a Storage Yard could stall Fixed bug where road post rules were ignored if road post was first node on route Trains now wait until fully unloaded (if possible) before leaving station When a Storage Yard's export building is destroyed, it is now automatically removed Fixed incorrect Mission 10 scenario goal (applies to existing games) Fixed water not being navigable in Mission 10 (new games) Fixed camera angle for Large Monument mission completion Added ability to customise last notification hotkey (middle mouse button) Added Road Post advice when several roads are blocked Added Steel to global resource icons Fixed [No Resources] displaying on global Food and Alcohol resource icons [V1.0.3.1] Fixed camera going to last notification on middle mouse down, rather than on click (action is rebindable in settings) I'm continuing to look at the remaining issues, including a few military edge cases, and will be patching those up as quickly as possible.

Sandbox

We also have the first of the Sandbox Mode under testing on our development branch so if you'd like to try it out, check our Discord channel for more info.

The Future

I really believe in the potential of The Colonists and that there's a lot scope to take the game further. I'd like your input on what you'd most like to see in a future update so there's now a feature vote where you can let me know your favourite ideas as well as a suggestions channel on Discord.

Links

Feature Vote: https://thecolonists.featureupvote.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/3xD3BCe Optimisation Tips: https://steamcommunity.com/app/677340/discussions/0/1735469230215457061/ Help and Bug Reporting: https://steamcommunity.com/app/677340/discussions/0/1735468693695851518/ Thanks!

[ 2018-10-31 00:36:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, Thanks again for all the great feedback so far - we have a new patch with a few more fixes for you all:

Changelog

[V1.0.2.3] - Fixed bug where boats could leave a harbour while a stackbot was still interacting with it, causing the bot to get stuck - Fixed cancelling colony expedition resource collection potentially causing an error [V1.0.2.1] - Fixed issue with listing savegames with PCs running certain regional calendar systems - Fixed bug with storage yard being placed with shared path to harbour and then expedition resources being sourced from there - Fixed bug when Residence completes upgrade and the stackbot happened to be delivering a resource into the residence, creating a chance it could stall later on - Fixed harbour construction resources being incorrectly delivered to outgoing storage if delivered directly from another building - Fixed edge case where boat would leave whilst harbour bot was on way to unload a resource, which could lead to issues - Fixed Road Layer bot getting stuck sometimes when conflicting with another Road Layer bot - Fixed Road Layer bot idle pose so it resets correctly after worker animation - Fixed Salt description which had incorrect mine levels - Fixed savegame not loading for people with unusual calendars Development continues apace on the sandbox mode, you can head over into the Discord server to be able to try it out when it's first available -> https://discord.gg/3xD3BCe Thanks!

[ 2018-10-26 22:14:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the comments and feedback so far! If you haven't seen it yet we have a Discord you can join here: https://discordapp.com/invite/veqVRpe An initial game patch has just gone live which fixes a few issues:

Changelog

- Fixed HQ and cow farm resource ratio slider bug which could also halt production at that building - Fixed issue where game wouldn't load if you were on a OS with an unusual calendar (e.g. Thai) - Fixed Mission 3 location where harbour would not have enough room for queue buoys - Fixed incorrect Mission 6 goal - Fixed edge case bug where boatyard stackbot would not deliver the last Planks to the boat construction - Fixed colony boat not immediately leaving boatyard if target harbour has only one boat and that boat is en route - Fixed 'Find Coal' and 'Research Mining I' advice items not disappearing once completed - Fixed sea animation speed carrying over from previous game - Added more room in Mission 3 to the south east of the starting so a harbour has enough space for queueing boats I've also begun working at getting a sandbox mode into the game - please see the pinned post in the Discussions for more info - and I'll be continuing to any look at any issues that get sent in. Thanks - stay tuned for more updates soon!

[ 2018-10-25 22:43:48 CET ] [ Original post ]