Welcome to the very first BitColony dev diary! In this post, I'll be diving into the origins of the game, how it evolved from a simple project into what it is today, and give you an overview of what's been developed so far.

BitColony will release this summer, and only be priced at $4.99 USD!

Believe it or not, BitColony was never meant to be a game.

It all started as a personal project to create a lightweight, platform independent CPU renderer. I began by building a custom graphics library from scratch, and after about two weeks, I was rendering basic shapes on the screen. From there, I started developing a small toolset to support the renderer and improve lighting and rendering.

The entire rendering engine was built using Java-19, without any third party libraries. With its robust and simple rendering loop it is capable of handling a surprisingly complex game world.

After some time, I realized the renderer lacked direction. I needed a project that would stress-test and guide its development. So I set out to build a small game as a use case, and before long, that small game became BitColony.

BitColony is a text-heavy, systems-driven company management game. It features multiple interconnected subsystems, each one impacting the others, resulting in a deep strategic experience.

Lets take a look at the major components of the game.

There currently are three planets, and three moons in the Bit system, with more planned in future updates:

Merk: A hot, inhospitable world filled with corrosive gases. Terraforming Merk is a massive challenge requiring immense resources.

Skipidon: Your lush homeworld and the seat of government in the system. It's fertile and easy to settle.

Muna: Skipidon's single moon. Covered by a vast dust sea, Muna has limited resources but serves as a fast and efficient logistics hub.

Marnus: A barren and cold desert planet with valuable natural minerals.

Synnon & Detrus: Twin moons orbiting Marnus. Both are barren, smaller versions of their host planet.

Subsidiaries allow you to establish semi-autonomous branches of your company. These subcompanies participate in various markets and generate profit for you based on market conditions. While you don't need to micromanage them, you can alter their spending strategies to better align with shifting economic tides.

Skipidon's government is dynamic and central to gameplay. There are several forms it can take, each impacting your role:

Democracy: The starting government of Skipidon. Every party proposes and votes on these laws.

Corporatocracy: Corporations (like yours) gain voting influence when the votes are too close. Your influence scales with the amount of money your company has.

Company Rule: Complete company control of the government. Any law that is proposed from any party is immediately voted on by you, and no one else.

Dictatorship: One party rules them all. No other party can propose laws, and the party that is in charge does not vote on laws, everything they propose instantly becomes law.

You can influence government through bribery, propaganda, assassination, lobbying, or even abolishing it altogether to install corporate rule. Alternatively, you can leave Skipidon entirely and declare yourself an independent nation.

Once you have space travel, you can begin creating a web of logistics between planets and moons that ensures your colonies are getting what they need. These logistics routes use biofuel and cost money to maintain. If either runs out, deliveries are paused.

These orders can carry resources infinitely, once, or until a certain amount of materials has been sent.

The economy includes several distinct markets that evolve over time. Each has momentum that can cause prices to surge or crash. Subsidiary performance is closely tied to these markets, so adapting your strategies during downturns (especially when markets fall below 1) is critical.

There are over 100 unique research projects to unlock, ranging from new buildings, management strategies, government interference, and infrastructure upgrades. Research is conducted via research stations that you place on planets or as orbital research stations. Assign them to any project and watch your company evolve.

Satellites are costly but powerful. Their functions include planet surveying, research enhancement, message transmission, and terraforming. You can also build orbital cities to house populations that pay taxes directly to you.

That's all for now!

Thank you for following along in this first dev diary. Stay tuned for future entries where we'll go deeper into specific systems, features, and updates. If you have any questions or want to see a certain topic covered, feel free to leave a comment!

Until next time!

• Fixed boss passive triggering each time it was hit under 100 health
  
• Fixed inner demon triggering on 2 strength instead of 3
  
• Fixed freak weak art
  
• Fixed incorrect damage calc with weak on enemies
  
• Fixed rip so it doesn't create copies when you play it
  
• Fixed Curse collector saying exhaust instead of pocket
  
• Added some clarification to the black market event

• Changed cursed mask it's playable
  
• Changed protein from so it gives 3 strength instead of 2
  
• Nerfed the Gnaw & Order card so it costs 1 mana and it's max combo effect deals 3 damage repeated instead of 10 (We just forgot to change this back during testing)

The official Reaper Rules community art competition has begun!
Show your talent, earn in-game recognition, and have your art immortalized in the world of Reaper Rules!

1. Post your artwork on X (Twitter) using the hashtag #FTArtCompetitionRR

2. Follow our official X account: @FinalTimeGames

3. Comment below this Steam post with:

   • Your X handle (@)

   • The link to your artwork post

⚠️ We ask for both your @ and the link to ensure we can find your entry even if the link breaks.

Only those who complete all three steps will be eligible for public voting.

• One entry per person

• AI-generated art is not allowed — your submission must be 100% original

• The theme is open, but your artwork must be inspired by the world of Reaper Rules (characters, environments, atmosphere, etc.)

• All art styles are welcome: digital, traditional, pixel art, 3D, painting, and more

• No size restrictions

• If you win 1st place, your artwork will be adapted as the game’s cover for a limited time

  ⚠️ To avoid cropping, we recommend using the original cover's dimensions as a reference.

• Start: July 6

• Submission Deadline: July 20

• Voting Results Announced: August 1

• Your artwork becomes the official game cover for a limited time

• Featured in the main menu with:

  • Artist name

  • Artwork description

  • Personal bio and social media

• 1 extra game key to gift a friend

• Special spotlight in the Steam Community

• Featured in the main menu with artist name, bio, and social links

• 1 extra game key

• Community spotlight on Steam

• The Reaper Rules dev team will select the finalists

• The community will vote on our official X account: @FinalTimeGames

• The competition will only be valid if there are at least 10 participants

• By entering, you agree to let us use your artwork in-game and in promotional materials (with full credit, of course)

Leave a comment below this post with:

• Your @

• The link to your artwork post

Good luck!
— Team Reaper Rules

🔔 Note: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will also receive an exclusive digital medal to showcase on their profiles and social media.

Hello fellow structures! Can you believe that half the year's gone? WILD!

Anyways, June was pretty nice to me -- lots of progress on the game, time well spent with friends, and even performed a pole choreography to Glass Cages from Rift of the Necrodancer! It just feels nice to finally find some sort of rhythm when you're your own boss, I'm trying to ride the momentum all the way to release!

Time for updates!

It means a lot to me! It's such a gift to get to see people play the game for the very first time. If you end up streaming it, I try my best to catch the VODs later on.

Also, don't forget to leave reviews! (I read all of them! From criticism to nice comments to funny ones)

Yes, a totally normal \[rhythm minigame]... Nothing more to it... (hehe)

Showing the game in Japan (again), please swing by if you're in town!

Absolutely wild to have it be seen by so many people!

Here's one of my favorite comments:

Also, I was part of an interview where I may have said some choice words... hm....

(no further context provided)

i'm most active on bluesky and tumblr (but still post elsewhere too)

• Highlights on mushroom tiles
  
• Undo can now be done across restarts
  
• An undo or restart cancels a slug's move animation
  
• Can quit immediately after a slug has fallen, without needing to undo/restart first
  
• Probably something else I'm forgetting

Greetings Oaklings,

A smaller patch coming this time around.

The Oaken Tower discord server reached 500 members, a huge thank you!
Invite link: https://discord.com/invite/SFruNNHWbH

If you haven't already, please consider leaving a review on the demo page. It helps A TON! Thank you ❤️

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3692220/Oaken_Tower_Demo/

Morph Potion (20g): Transform an item into another random item.

Morph Vial (8g): Transform an item into another random item of the same rarity.

🔴 Prices of Burn/Bleed/Poison potions generally increased.

🔴 The "Treasure Vault" lucky reroll from Carmen has been moved over to the slightly more unlikely bucket (60% / 40%)

🟢 Walk on Water (Carmen, day9): +1000 max hp --> +1300 max hp.

🔸Fixed the Goblet sound effect to match the volume of the rest.

🔸Healer's Oath text specification: "When another item heals".

🔸Fixed game crash when creating infinite loops of items triggering each other.

🔸If you gift King Midas a goblet, the new Goblet effect will now be stated on the Goblet infobox

//Bocary

• Use any game save you have,

• All dead stuff much be within your standard locked FOV,

• You can add indicators to show all of the dead things, but they must all be clearly visible (you can turn off grass to help),

• No mods, no cheats, no altered images (besides indicators should you wish). Keep it clean,

• Upload your screenshot in the #events channel,

• Use the tag #Screenshot and include how many victims you have,

• Top 3 most kills will win exclusive Zero Sievert stickers,

• Winners will be revealed in the July 17th dev update

  • Please beware, you may be charged a customs fee depending on your location,

• Only open to individuals 18+ in the EU, UK, or US,

• Toxic behaviour will get you disqualified, no exceptions,

• Ask questions, share strats and keep it respectful,

If you're not already on the official ZERO Sievert Discord server, join now!