Hi everyone! We made some big fixes over the last week and thought it would be a good idea to post an update.

As with the previous build, if you find your save files are missing, follow the instructions in the README or the previous update.

• Updated the campaign & sandbox mission lists to play a banner reveal animation each time you change your selection
  
• Fixed a texturing artifact in the "Aggregate" tab of the Colony Control Panel
  
• Buildings' dirt skirts are now hidden when in an overlay mode

• Hitting "OK" on a notification no longer auto-hides that notification; you must now right-click on it in the notifications tray (right side) separately if you want to dismiss it
  
• Changed the subtitles options to a trinary system - subtitles will appear by default for anybody whose locale is not English
  
• Improved Medevac sequence in campaign Sandy Gulch
  
• Dockable statistics no longer lose their color when you close the associated chart
  
• Added SFX for dragging docked statistics

• Improved loading of saved-game files

• Fixed shadow flickering artifacts that would happen in some maps with large colonies
  
• Significant improvements to shadows overall
  
• Shielding artifacts now properly stop sandworm / water worm projectiles
  
• Fixed the "Go To" button not going to the correct location on notifications regarding creep spores after loading a saved game
  
• The plates that appear on the left and right sides when you win a game no longer grey out when you hit Esc to bring up the in-game menu
  
• Fixed a bug where you couldn't click on a Drop Pod beacon from the side, only from the top
  
• Hitting Esc to bring up the in-game menu while the UI is hidden (say, via Ctrl-Alt-X) will now un-hide the UI
  
• SHIPE subtitles are now a bit smaller and adjust up or down with the number of speakers
  
• Fixed issues where you couldn't click to drag in the empty space above buildings and it would produce a click sound
  
• Fixed a bug where dragging a building for placement and then clicking the higher-tier version of the same building wouldn't replace the building being dragged with the higher-tier version
  
• Fixed a bug where colonists would incorrectly report the resources they were currently consuming, including disabled and low-quantity resources
  
• Fixed a bug where the mouse cursor wasn't always locking itself to the viewport
  
• Plague spore microbes can no longer infect already-dead citizens
  
• Fixed rare issues with drones not following orders
  
• Fixed some text overruns / text sizing issues, especially in non-English languages

Hi everyone! We made some big fixes over the last week and thought it would be a good idea to post an update.

As with the previous build, if you find your save files are missing, follow the instructions in the README or the previous update.

• Updated the campaign & sandbox mission lists to play a banner reveal animation each time you change your selection
  
• Fixed a texturing artifact in the "Aggregate" tab of the Colony Control Panel
  
• Buildings' dirt skirts are now hidden when in an overlay mode

• Hitting "OK" on a notification no longer auto-hides that notification; you must now right-click on it in the notifications tray (right side) separately if you want to dismiss it
  
• Changed the subtitles options to a trinary system - subtitles will appear by default for anybody whose locale is not English
  
• Improved Medevac sequence in campaign Sandy Gulch
  
• Dockable statistics no longer lose their color when you close the associated chart
  
• Added SFX for dragging docked statistics

• Improved loading of saved-game files

• Fixed shadow flickering artifacts that would happen in some maps with large colonies
  
• Significant improvements to shadows overall
  
• Shielding artifacts now properly stop sandworm / water worm projectiles
  
• Fixed the "Go To" button not going to the correct location on notifications regarding creep spores after loading a saved game
  
• The plates that appear on the left and right sides when you win a game no longer grey out when you hit Esc to bring up the in-game menu
  
• Fixed a bug where you couldn't click on a Drop Pod beacon from the side, only from the top
  
• Hitting Esc to bring up the in-game menu while the UI is hidden (say, via Ctrl-Alt-X) will now un-hide the UI
  
• SHIPE subtitles are now a bit smaller and adjust up or down with the number of speakers
  
• Fixed issues where you couldn't click to drag in the empty space above buildings and it would produce a click sound
  
• Fixed a bug where dragging a building for placement and then clicking the higher-tier version of the same building wouldn't replace the building being dragged with the higher-tier version
  
• Fixed a bug where colonists would incorrectly report the resources they were currently consuming, including disabled and low-quantity resources
  
• Fixed a bug where the mouse cursor wasn't always locking itself to the viewport
  
• Plague spore microbes can no longer infect already-dead citizens
  
• Fixed rare issues with drones not following orders
  
• Fixed some text overruns / text sizing issues, especially in non-English languages

As we get closer to launch, we're finally activating some long-awaited features: Steam cloud saves, multi-language support, and the new Guardian!

There are 3 VERY important things to note with this update!

• The location of saved games has moved! In order to load any previous saved game files, you will need to follow the instructions below.
  
• Aven Colony should now work in languages other than English, but please be aware that some text is missing related to new features added since the last localization pass. We are well aware of this and all of this missing text will be fixed before we launch on July 25.
  
• We'll have further announcements about the new Guardian robot later this week, but for now, don't worry -- he's not as scary as he looks. Yes, he can decimate your colony, but he won't appear until you've started to gather artifacts or encounter Guardians in expeditions, and can be taken down with a few shots from Plasma Turrets. He also appears less frequently if you play at easier difficulty settings or if you play a sandbox map with Environmental Events turned down.

Switching to the Shipping build configuration forced us to move the saved games. For technical reasons, this was unavoidable. This means that when you run Aven Colony, your saved game files won't be there.

Don't panic! Your saved games are still on your hard drive.

Please do the following in order to retrieve your saved game files (i.e. move them to the new directory):

• Right-click on the game in Steam and select Properties
  
• Click the Local Files tab
  
• Hit the "Browse Local Files" button
  
• You should see a batch file called MigrateSaves.bat. Double-click this to move your saved game files to the new location.

New features:

• Added support for separate icons for optional vs "mandatory" mission objectives ("mandatory" = must be completed to win the mission)
  
• Enabled Steam Cloud saves
  
• Added a Hover Guardian that will sometimes attack colonies that have acquired artifacts or have sent out expeditions that have discovered guardians.
  
• The chance of a Guardian attack is based on campaign difficulty and progress through the campaign -- or, in sandbox, the "Environmental Events" setting
  
• Added a new UI when you "Accept Victory" to allow you to instantly continue to the next mission without having to return to the mission picker
  
• Added new gameplay options: "Alerts Can Pause Game," "Auto-Open Referendum Notifications," "Autosave to Steam Cloud," "Invert Y-Axis," "Razer Chroma Enabled," "Close Build Palette After Building Placement"
  
• Added a slider to set the autosave interval
  
• Added 2 new, read-only key bindings, "Place Multiple Buildings" and "Highlight all of Same Type," to make clear what is bound to these keys
  
• Enabled multi-language support. Please note that some text is missing but will come online either at launch on July 25 or beforehand.

Art improvements and fixes:

• Toxic gas particles now look much nicer
  
• In the Statistics tab, there's now a separate button to drag and place the current chart
  
• Lots of UI improvements

Tuning / balancing / minor changes:

• Stats data items now show '%' after the number if they are percentages
  
• Added new Veronika "welcome" salutation voice-overs after her initial salutation
  
• Veronika now says "Greetings, Governor" instead of her normal intro spiel if you're Governor rank but have completed Vanaar
  
• Revised the intro spiel from Veronika in Vanaar to make clear that the mission objectives aren't "optional" exactly but are a lower-priority than your colonists' well-being
  
• Added alternate Veronika voice-overs for crisis warnings and added a new one for plague infections
  
• Added sound effect when deleting a file
  
• Disabled automatically saving the game when winning/losing

Performance optimizations:

• Improved load times
  
• Faster shadowing
  
• Tons of additional optimizations

Bug fixes:

• Lots of text size fixes for non-English-language localization
  
• Fixed some bugs where the "dirt skirts" around the base of buildings could sometimes be incorrect
  
• Charts: fixed a bug with incorrect Y axis calculation on stats with a limited time range
  
• Immigration Center: fixed a bug with text in the selection pane where the text below the progress bar would get misaligned if there was the wrong amount of text above
  
• Fixed a rare shadow flickering bug with very large colonies
  
• Fix for a very rare stability issue

Thank you for being part of the Aven Colony community!

As we get closer to launch, we're finally activating some long-awaited features: Steam cloud saves, multi-language support, and the new Guardian!

There are 3 VERY important things to note with this update!

• The location of saved games has moved! In order to load any previous saved game files, you will need to follow the instructions below.
  
• Aven Colony should now work in languages other than English, but please be aware that some text is missing related to new features added since the last localization pass. We are well aware of this and all of this missing text will be fixed before we launch on July 25.
  
• We'll have further announcements about the new Guardian robot later this week, but for now, don't worry -- he's not as scary as he looks. Yes, he can decimate your colony, but he won't appear until you've started to gather artifacts or encounter Guardians in expeditions, and can be taken down with a few shots from Plasma Turrets. He also appears less frequently if you play at easier difficulty settings or if you play a sandbox map with Environmental Events turned down.

Switching to the Shipping build configuration forced us to move the saved games. For technical reasons, this was unavoidable. This means that when you run Aven Colony, your saved game files won't be there.

Don't panic! Your saved games are still on your hard drive.

Please do the following in order to retrieve your saved game files (i.e. move them to the new directory):

• Right-click on the game in Steam and select Properties
  
• Click the Local Files tab
  
• Hit the "Browse Local Files" button
  
• You should see a batch file called MigrateSaves.bat. Double-click this to move your saved game files to the new location.

New features:

• Added support for separate icons for optional vs "mandatory" mission objectives ("mandatory" = must be completed to win the mission)
  
• Enabled Steam Cloud saves
  
• Added a Hover Guardian that will sometimes attack colonies that have acquired artifacts or have sent out expeditions that have discovered guardians.
  
• The chance of a Guardian attack is based on campaign difficulty and progress through the campaign -- or, in sandbox, the "Environmental Events" setting
  
• Added a new UI when you "Accept Victory" to allow you to instantly continue to the next mission without having to return to the mission picker
  
• Added new gameplay options: "Alerts Can Pause Game," "Auto-Open Referendum Notifications," "Autosave to Steam Cloud," "Invert Y-Axis," "Razer Chroma Enabled," "Close Build Palette After Building Placement"
  
• Added a slider to set the autosave interval
  
• Added 2 new, read-only key bindings, "Place Multiple Buildings" and "Highlight all of Same Type," to make clear what is bound to these keys
  
• Enabled multi-language support. Please note that some text is missing but will come online either at launch on July 25 or beforehand.

Art improvements and fixes:

• Toxic gas particles now look much nicer
  
• In the Statistics tab, there's now a separate button to drag and place the current chart
  
• Lots of UI improvements

Tuning / balancing / minor changes:

• Stats data items now show '%' after the number if they are percentages
  
• Added new Veronika "welcome" salutation voice-overs after her initial salutation
  
• Veronika now says "Greetings, Governor" instead of her normal intro spiel if you're Governor rank but have completed Vanaar
  
• Revised the intro spiel from Veronika in Vanaar to make clear that the mission objectives aren't "optional" exactly but are a lower-priority than your colonists' well-being
  
• Added alternate Veronika voice-overs for crisis warnings and added a new one for plague infections
  
• Added sound effect when deleting a file
  
• Disabled automatically saving the game when winning/losing

Performance optimizations:

• Improved load times
  
• Faster shadowing
  
• Tons of additional optimizations

Bug fixes:

• Lots of text size fixes for non-English-language localization
  
• Fixed some bugs where the "dirt skirts" around the base of buildings could sometimes be incorrect
  
• Charts: fixed a bug with incorrect Y axis calculation on stats with a limited time range
  
• Immigration Center: fixed a bug with text in the selection pane where the text below the progress bar would get misaligned if there was the wrong amount of text above
  
• Fixed a rare shadow flickering bug with very large colonies
  
• Fix for a very rare stability issue

Thank you for being part of the Aven Colony community!

(Full-size version here)

While the Aven Expedition first became aware of the presence of Sandworms during the mission to build a mining colony at Sandy Gulch, subsequent expeditions to Hyla's Crescent and Kelori Strand revealed the presence of a distant cousin, nicknamed "Water Worms" as they inhabit watery tunnels in the few forested areas of Aven Prime.

After some analysis, Expedition scientists determined that Sandworms and Water Worms do not build new holes all at once, as this would require them to move massive amounts of material. Rather, they are believed to build and expand their tunnels continuously throughout their life cycle, gradually digging out and widening their tunnel networks as they grow from tiny larvae to full-fledged mature worms over several decades. These holes are then adopted by their descendants.

Over time, several parts of Aven Prime have become riddled with these enormous underground tunnels, allowing both worm species to flourish.



It is believed that the four massive, bony "fang" structures visible near the mouths of both worm species have several purposes, not only assisting the burrowing process, but also serving as a defensive weapon and helping the worms clear out the occasional pests that attempt to infiltrate their tunnels.

Expedition scientists have also detected small earthquakes in areas with substantial worm populations. As both worm species are believed to be highly territorial, it is theorized that some of these quakes may be related to territorial struggles between the worms for control over different parts of the subterranean tunnel network.

Nearly all of the holes visible in Vanaar, Sandy Gulch, Kelori Strand, and the other landing zones are now believed to have been carved out by sandworms at some point.

Although both worm species occasionally take their territorial instincts out on human colonies of the Aven Expedition, it has been discovered that plasma shots from Watchdog Plasma Turrets will scare the worms into retreat without piercing the worms' thick hides or causing any lasting damage.

-----------

Water worms will be coming to the Aven Colony beta and demo in early July.

Stay tuned! We'll be announcing a new, even deadlier addition to Aven Colony next Friday, June 30.

(Full-size version here)

While the Aven Expedition first became aware of the presence of Sandworms during the mission to build a mining colony at Sandy Gulch, subsequent expeditions to Hyla's Crescent and Kelori Strand revealed the presence of a distant cousin, nicknamed "Water Worms" as they inhabit watery tunnels in the few forested areas of Aven Prime.

After some analysis, Expedition scientists determined that Sandworms and Water Worms do not build new holes all at once, as this would require them to move massive amounts of material. Rather, they are believed to build and expand their tunnels continuously throughout their life cycle, gradually digging out and widening their tunnel networks as they grow from tiny larvae to full-fledged mature worms over several decades. These holes are then adopted by their descendants.

Over time, several parts of Aven Prime have become riddled with these enormous underground tunnels, allowing both worm species to flourish.



It is believed that the four massive, bony "fang" structures visible near the mouths of both worm species have several purposes, not only assisting the burrowing process, but also serving as a defensive weapon and helping the worms clear out the occasional pests that attempt to infiltrate their tunnels.

Expedition scientists have also detected small earthquakes in areas with substantial worm populations. As both worm species are believed to be highly territorial, it is theorized that some of these quakes may be related to territorial struggles between the worms for control over different parts of the subterranean tunnel network.

Nearly all of the holes visible in Vanaar, Sandy Gulch, Kelori Strand, and the other landing zones are now believed to have been carved out by sandworms at some point.

Although both worm species occasionally take their territorial instincts out on human colonies of the Aven Expedition, it has been discovered that plasma shots from Watchdog Plasma Turrets will scare the worms into retreat without piercing the worms' thick hides or causing any lasting damage.

-----------

Water worms will be coming to the Aven Colony beta and demo in early July.

Stay tuned! We'll be announcing a new, even deadlier addition to Aven Colony next Friday, June 30.

Hi everyone,

We discovered some rare stability issues this morning and just posted a hotfix build.

The beta has been updated to 0.1.18886 and the demo build of Aven Colony (previously made available via a PC Gamer key giveaway and the Alienware Indie Game Challenge) has been updated to an equivalent build (0.1.18889).

There are no patch notes since the only changes are fixes for rare stability issues. This resolves all remaining known stability issues with Aven Colony.

Please be advised: if you saved a game in the last 5 days or so and encounter any issues, please try the following:

• Load the game
  
• Save it
  
• Load it again from that save

This may be helpful in some cases to clear out a few rare issues with bad save files.

If you encounter any further issues, please let us know in the Forums!

Hi everyone,

We discovered some rare stability issues this morning and just posted a hotfix build.

The beta has been updated to 0.1.18886 and the demo build of Aven Colony (previously made available via a PC Gamer key giveaway and the Alienware Indie Game Challenge) has been updated to an equivalent build (0.1.18889).

There are no patch notes since the only changes are fixes for rare stability issues. This resolves all remaining known stability issues with Aven Colony.

Please be advised: if you saved a game in the last 5 days or so and encounter any issues, please try the following:

• Load the game
  
• Save it
  
• Load it again from that save

This may be helpful in some cases to clear out a few rare issues with bad save files.

If you encounter any further issues, please let us know in the Forums!

Hi everyone,

The demo build of Aven Colony (previously made available via a PC Gamer key giveaway and the Alienware Indie Game Challenge) had an issue where it was impossible to see saved games in sandbox games.

This bug did not exist in the beta itself and only happened in the demo.

It is now fixed with update 0.1.18856.

Hi everyone,

The demo build of Aven Colony (previously made available via a PC Gamer key giveaway and the Alienware Indie Game Challenge) had an issue where it was impossible to see saved games in sandbox games.

This bug did not exist in the beta itself and only happened in the demo.

It is now fixed with update 0.1.18856.