Hi everyone,

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

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!

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?

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

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

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!

Hi everyone,

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

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

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

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

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!

Hi everyone,

The 1.5.4 update for The Colonists has gone live!

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.

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!

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

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 we've 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!

Hi everyone,

The latest 1.5.2 update for The Colonists is available!

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!

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.

• 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

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:

• 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!

Hi everyone,

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


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.

• 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!

Hi everyone,

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

• 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!

Hi everyone,

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

• 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

Hi everyone,

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

• 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

Hi everyone,

Here's what's new in this month's update:

• 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