the new major update (v 0.2.015) is finally released and it contains the new prisoners system, the first parts of the faction system and much more.
Steam Summer Sale First, I want to announce that AColony will be in the Steam Summer Sale on June 29th 2023 with a -30% discount! :)
Prisoners System
With the new update it's now finally possible to lock neutral and hostile colonists in a prison cell and thus make them your prisoners. To perform this action, you must first immobilize a colonist. Once this is done you have a new command option to imprison the respective colonist.
Note: For this command you need a closed room in which you have placed a bed, which is defined as a prison bed.
While you can define a normal room as a prison room, there is now also a new technology that allows you to build various new prison components to create a real looking prison cell.
In addition, the components which get unlocked with this new technology introduce a new room value - the demoralization factor, which can faster lower the morale of your prisoners.
Prison Planning Board
The prison planning board is similar to the medical planning board and shows you an overview of your prisoners and allows you do select prison guards to perform certain actions / interactions with them. These actions are:
Execute
Break will
Persuade to join your colony
Set free
Your prisoners are affected by 2 functionalities playing together:
Morale The morale of your prisoner determines, how high the chances are of persuading him to join your colony or breaking his will, but also the chance of an escape attempt. Morale can be affected by various factors, such as the beauty of the room, the size of the room, the entertainment value of the room, the demoralization factor of a room, as well as hunger and nutrition.
Decision Influences The decision influences determine how high the chance is that you can persuade a colonist to join your colony or to break their will. The main influence here is morale, which tends towards the will-breaking option at low values, and that the prisoner can join your colony at high values.
The menu also contains all the options to select the detailed nutrition and medical care of your prisoner.
Note: This menu can also be opened from a bed marked as a prison bed to get the options before researching the prison technology.
Prisoners (Behaviour)
Normally, your prisoners do nothing but walk or lie around in their jail cell (if you put entertainment components in the cell, they use it, of course). However, it can also happen from time to time that there is an escape attempt, this can come by itself, from a weapon lying around in the cell or from a free path to the map border.
You can also lock several prisoners in the same cell. This affects their decisions but can also lead to fights between inmates if they don't get along. (e.g. if you put 2 prisoners from opposing factions in the same cell)
New Job Section (Prison Guard)
There is also a new job section in colonist overview menu now, which allows you to prioritize your colonists as prison guards. This job section is connected with the charisma skill and in addition, I have added a new trait (prison experience) which impacts the behaviour of your prison guards and prisoners if they have it.
Colonist Traders
Of course, colonist traders... While colonist traders already existed in the game to give you an additional option to get new colonists, you now also have the option to sell your prisoners.
To sell a prisoner, you must first break their will. If the will is broken, this effect lasts for 30 days and you can no longer persuade them to join your colony.
Note: Selling a prisoner to colonist traders will have a negative influence on several factions.
Faction System (Lite)
In connection with the prisoner system, I have also implemented the first functions and menus of the faction system. This system is only the "Lite" version as it only includes the new but general factions.
For this system I dissolved the previous one (this only had a slightly implemented neutral and hostile AI player as the owner of the colonists) and created a new and restructured system, which now contains 4 new and independent (but general) factions:
Wanderers The wanderer faction includes all small communities, groups, and individuals that roam the areas of this world. This faction is generally neutral, but can take revenge for crimes committed.
General Traders The general trader faction is a coalition of different traders who send caravans to the most remote areas of the world. They offer the buying and selling of materials, weapons, food supplies and special objects. This faction is generally neutral, but can take revenge for crimes committed.
Colonist Traders The colonist trader faction is a coalition of shady traders, which is unpopular and frowned upon by many other factions. They mainly deal with buying and selling captive colonists, but also offer other services and special objects. This faction is generally neutral, but can take revenge for crimes committed.
Raiders The raider faction consists of all bandits, raiders, outlaws, bounty hunters and similar figures that roam the areas of this world. This faction is generally hostile to every other faction.
Influences & Consequences
Certain actions affect these factions and determine their diplomacy value towards you. Depending on how this value is, this has consequences for their behavior.
Some influences are for example:
Recently traded
Recently bartered
Completed a quest
Attacking the group
Imprison a member of a group
One group member starved to death in your world
etc
Some consequences are for example:
Impacting the time when new colonists visit your colony
Impacting trading and barter prices
Impacting amount of currency which traders have with them
Impacting radio call prices
etc
Updated Menus
Many menus have been updated and now have a direct link to the faction system. This includes all colonist, construction (like radio station) and event menus.
Updated Radiostation
With the work on the faction system, I have also updated the functionality of the radio station. While in the past it was only possible to choose between 5 different traders, now the player has the option to choose between 2 factions, each with their own different traders. (except for weapons and special traders, which are offered by both factions)
Additional Updates
Prison Brothers (Event)
This update contains a new event which is divided into 2 sub events and offers a new quest to the player.
Prison Brothers A group of escaped prisoners enters your world and offers you a quest to help and protect them. There is also a new functionality, which allows you to mark weapons as quest items so that the prisoners can equip them.
Bounty Hunters After a few days have passed, some bounty hunters are entering the world and trying to kill the escaped prisoners. If you defeat them, you get currency as reward, but also the head of the group will join your colony (this colonists has usually very good skills)
Note: This event appears in the higher tech ages and can replace from time to time the default 'colonist request' event.
Storage Zone Update
The storage zone menu got also some new functionalities which should make the handling a bit easier. On the left side of the menu, it offers the following options now:
Set all section enabled or disabled at once
Switch to a mode where you can see all stored items in this zone
Open all section at once
Close all section at once
Colonist Overview Menu Marker
You can also add now a custom mark to your colonists to identify them better for a certain job. (e.g. you want to mark the colonist with the highest charisma and a related trait for all barter and trading actions)
You only have to right click on the colonist's face in the colonist overview menu.
All Patch Notes
At last I have here a list which sums up nearly all patch notes of this update:
Important all missing translations of the new stuff will come with the next patch (french, japanese, simplified chinese).
added new background track (Impending, by Karam)
added prisoners system
added option to take immobilized hostile or neutral colonists as prisoners
added new quest (prison brothers)
added new event (bounty hunters)
added 5 new events (related to prisoners)
added new jobsection (prison guard)
added 3 new jobsubsection (executer, conversation, provide with food)
added 2 new constructions (prison bed, prison cell closed)
added new construction (prison planning board)
added 2 new constructions (prison door, prison window)
added new technology (prison)
added faction system (lite version)
added new faction (wanderers)
added new faction (general traders)
added new faction (colonist traders)
added new faction (raiders)
added many impacts that relations to faction have
added new weapon (modern crossbow)
modern crossbow can be found under hightech machines at the moment
sniper rifle is available with weaponsIII now
price for colonists by colonists traders are reduced now
captives of colonist traders can have better skills now
captives of colonist traders can have up to 6 talent points now
relationship partners cannot harm each other anymore (on player command)
updated drunken wanderer name panel icon
updated drunken wanderer name panel icon
radio station supports now to call both trader factions
kitchen and big kitchen increasing cooking speed no
fixed some tutorial arrows were incorrect placed after last update
blueprints can now deleted from their own menu too
trees and plants respawn faster when more players on the map now
storage zone menu has option to set all sections on & off now
storage zone menu has option to open and close all sections now
storage zone menu can show current items now
extended equip job to steal items (for prisoners & enemies)
fixed ui bug in bed menu
balanced mood influences on room
added panel to mark colonists in overview menu (right click on face)
mood bar turns red on low mood in colonist overview menu now
and many many smaller fixes
Plans for next Update
At first I had planned, that I will add the new and real factions (beside the general ones) in the next update to the game. But after thinking more about it, I have decided to add at first the animal taming mechanic. That is not only an interesting new functionality, but it would also allow me to create more individual and special factions later - which can spawn with certain pets / animals.
In addition, I also plan to bring new colonists clothes styles and skin colors with the next update. Actually, I wanted to add them with this update, but unfortunately the time for that was running out.
But I've already started and here's a little preview of how new colonist styles might look like: (this is still a work in progress)
I hope you will enjoy this update, Cheers!
May News: Upcoming Prisoners System
Hi everyone,
I'm still fully working on the new update and because it will still take a bit of time until I can publish it, I thought it would be nice to give you a quick news update about the upcoming prisoner system.
I have to say, this post will only focus on the prisoners system - so all other new stuff regarding the faction system, new clothes, skin colors & more will be said when I will finally publish the next version :)
Prison System
The next update will finally bring the prison & prisoners system into the game and will also add a lot of new content which includes for example:
Imprison immobilized colonists (hostile or neutral ones)
New technology (prison)
New furniture (prison door, prison window, prison bed, prison cell closet & the prison planning board)
New clothes (convict clothes)
Conversations / Interactions with prisoners
New demoralization factor of furniture
Sell prisoners to colonist traders
New traits
And much more
Note: all screenshots are still from work in progress
Prison Planning Board
There will also come the new prison planning board, which will give you new functionalities to handle imprisoned colonists. You will also have the opportunity to talk / interact with your prisoners and the following options are already implemented:
Set Free You can set a prisoner free. This will later have a positive effect on the faction whose member you imprisoned.
Persuade to join you colony You can try to persuade a prisoner to join your colony.
Break will You can also try to break the will of a prisoner. This is required in order to be able to sell a prisoner to the colonists traders.
The chances if a conversation / interaction with a prisoner will have success, will depend on a new morale system that will be affected by the way you treat your prisoners, but also by how the cells you put them in are designed. A positive morale will increase the chance that a prisoner will say yes to join your colony. A negative one will increase the chance that you can break his will.
New Job Section
In connection with the new prisoner functionalities, I have added a new job section to the colonists overview menu, which handles all new jobs for a prison guard. As with the doctor job, this job also has a few sub jobs that you can prioritize with the prison planning board.
Prison Events
The next point on my list is to add some new events to make the prison life more vivid. This includes for example:
Prison break
Fight between inmates in same cell
Attacking prison guards
Having a sharpened toothbrush as hidden weapon
I hope you enjoyed this short news and are already looking forward to the next update, Cheers!
April Update | Upgraded Food System & Many Fixes
Hi everyone,
it's time for a new & short update (v0.1.030) and this one is about some changes in the food system and other fixes.
Updated Food System
With this update, your colonists' food system and schedule will change. Your colonists now only need 2 meals per day, which allows you a better management of the meal production. (In the past, 1 colonist needed 3 meals per day which was with only 5 colonists already 15 per day - that was a bit too much)
In connection with the meal schedule, I've also updated many features related to the meals, such as production times, food values, textures, and more. I've also added a new function that allows you to set all schedules to the new system when loading a save file created before v0.1.030. All points can be found in the following section general patch notes.
General Patch Notes
added missing translations for french, japanese & simplified chinese
updated food system
colonists only require 2 meals per day anymore
meals meat level 2 & 3 require wheat as second ingredient now (your jobs in campfires and kitchens will automatically update)
meals bread level 2 & 3 require wheat as second ingredient now(your jobs in campfires and kitchens will automatically update)
many jobs by player command having a timer to ignore schedule now
meals level 2 and 3 are unlocked by tech 'modern machines' now
plant zones having a checkbox now to prioritize seeding before harvesting now
meals have now slightly higher food values
updated meal textures & icons
added positive mood effect for eating meals level 2
added positive mood effect for eating meals level 3
reduced negative effect of hunger & tiredness slightly
added reset option for colonist schedule
added reset option for colonist job priorities
doctor jobs are chosen before schedule now
increased max production & table limit to 999 before infinity
fixed production limit also counted for upgrade jobs
fixed production limit not counted when required resources already on table
fixed quality +0 weapons stats in item info menu not shown
campfire, weapontable, butchertable, furnace & basic sciencetable can be moved now
fixed error shown when attacking wanderer group after you sent them away
fixed tree transparent mode collider layer
fixed terrainrocks seen by tree cut, plant cut and hunt job selecting
fixed solar generators not reacting correctly to tree shadows
equip weapon command panel shows quality level now
fixed coop new game error shown when connecting more often
fixed accept coop invite during active game was possible
Plans for next Update: Diplomacy & Prisoners System
The next point on the list (and also the next major update) is the diplomacy and the prisoner system (finally). This should add a lot of new content to the game like different AI player factions, many new events related to it, skin colors and new clothes for your colonists, the option to capture immobilized colonists, to demotivate & influence inmates and much more.
I've already started with making some models of a jail cell and have here a brief overview of how a prison cell can look like :)
I hope you enjoy this short update, Cheers!
March Update 2 | Weapon Upgrade System, Production Limit & More
Hi everyone,
it's time for a new update (v0.1.025) and this one is about the new weapon upgrade system, a new technology + working tables, the production limit manager and some other fixes.
Weapon Upgrade System
This update introduces a new system to the game - the weapon upgrade and quality system. This system is now implemented for all mechanics including resource burners, storage zones, the trading functionality and more.
Weapon Quality
All weapons have a quality level now, that increases certain stats of your weapons to make them more powerful. The maximum quality level is +5.
New Upgrade Mechanic
In relation with the quality system, I updated all workbenches which are designed to craft weapons and added a new option to upgrade your weapons there.
In order to upgrade a weapon to a higher quality level, you need 2 weapons of the same kind with a lower quality level by 1. For example, to create a weapon +2, you need 2 weapons +1.
In addition, I've added a modifier to the different crafting tables that defines the maximum upgrade level allowed.
Basic workbench (max +2)
Modern weapontable (max +4)
Hightech weapontable (max +5)
Note: At the moment, neutral and enemy colonists only spawn with weapons +0.
New Technology + Constructions
In connection with the weapon upgrade system, I have also added a new technology - Hightech Machines - which unlocks 2 new constructions for the computer age.
Hightech Weapontable
This new machine allows you to upgrade weapons to quality +5. It costs more machine & computer components and increases the work speed by +20%.
Hightech Workbench
This new machine allows you to craft components and ammo of the computer & nuclear age (in the past this was possible on the modern workbench, but this has changed). It costs more machine & computer components and increases the work speed by +20%.
Note: Looks currently very similar to the hightech weapontable.
Production Manager
With the new update, the production manager is finally available, with which you can better control the production of your resources.
In the crafting menus I've also added a new icon to jobs that shows some information and automatically opens the production manager when clicked.
In the new menu you have an overview of all items that can be produced and can set the corresponding limits there. The limits apply to the number of items in all your storage zones.
For example, if you have the meal (meat) production limit set to 10 and you have a campfire (or more campfires) with a meal (meat) job with infinite, your colonists will discard that job if there are more than 10 Meals in your storage zones.
Steam Stuff
I finally found the issue that was causing some players to experience very long loading times in the first splash screen (it could have froze for over 10 minutes). The issue occurred for players with a very large steam friends list - this is now fixed and the game should launch much faster.
General Patch Notes
Important: All missing translations of the new machines, techs & mechanics will come with the next patch.
added weapon quality and upgrade system
updated destroy, storage zone & trading functions for weapon qualities
added production limit manager
added new technology (hightech machines)
added new construction (hightech weapontable)
added new construction (hightech workbench)
resource burner can now auto switch jobs too
long steam init load times fixed when having a lot of steam friends
the game requires steam client to run now (offline or online)
fixed trading table bug (from colonist trader to player trading)
fixed coop bug when mining blocks causing floors to collapse
fixed coop bug that your own tech was shown in research table of other player
fuel rods and hightech age ammo only available on hightech tables now
added +10% work speed on modern workbench & weapon table
craft job select menu has a back button now
changed colors of some tables & some icons slightly
fixed craft menu didn't always close item info menu
balanced colonists spawn rate
reduced general mood change factor by 10%
reduced negative mood effect when colonist is hurt
reduced negative mood effect of small or not beautiful room
reduced negative mood effect of wood enthusiast & rainfriend trait
reduced negative mood effect of eating raw stuff
extended positive mood times for accepting new colonists
reduced negative mood impact for dead colonists
fixed coop error shown while exit game with tech tree panel open
Note: Updated health of the metal door will come with the next patch.
Postponed [Additional Coop Mode]
Unfortunately I have to say that I will add the implementation of the additional co-op mode later in the early access phase. While some tests worked well, some bigger issues occurred, like with the items & owner system (which will get a bigger update with the upcoming diplomacy system).
Therefore I have decided to postpone this functionality for the moment until more points of the roadmap list are fully implemented.
I hope you have enjoyed this update, Cheers!
March Update | Spring Sale, New Technology + New Machines
Hi everyone,
it's time for a new update and this one is about the steam spring sale, the updated demo, a new technology + constructions, a new soundtrack and more.
Steam Spring Sale [-25%] & Updated Demo
On March 16th, AColony goes into its first season sale - the Steam Spring Sale - with a 25% discount! :)
In addition, I have finally updated the demo to the latest version since the old one had its last update in December. The new version now contains all the new functionalities and patches that were also made for the full version.
New Technology: Heavy Machines
With this update, a new technology is added to the game, which unlocks machines to process different materials faster.
Meat Grinding Machine
This new machine allows you to butcher / process corpses +50% faster than with the butcher table.
Modern Furnace
With this new machine, you can extract ores 50% faster than with a normal furnace. Also, wood as fuel is no longer needed as this machine runs on electricity only.
Modern Brewery
The modern brewery is the upgraded version of the normal brewery, and like with the modern furnace, you can craft materials 50% faster, and it's also powered only by electricity.
New Soundtrack
This update also includes a new & additional soundtrack (Return to bygone days | by Karam Bharj) which is played in the background while playing the game.
Patch Notes
- fixed coop bug with forbid function for constructions - fixed that wanderers and traders got a negative mood when their event ended - fixed wrong material impacts were shown on metal doors & windows - a lot of smaller fixes
Note: with the next update there will come more patches, but some of them need still a network / coop test before I can publish them.
Planned for next Update: New Coop Mode
While it has been recommended for some time to add a new co-op mode that allows players to share more of their items, zones & more, unfortunately I was not able to add this new mode in the current update.
It has turned out to be a bit more difficult to add and also requires a bit more testing before I can publish it. (But should come in the next few days / week)
Hope you have enjoyed this update, Cheers!
v0.1.011
Hi everyone, a new patch is out with some fixes (v0.1.011):
- added new scenario option with 15 unlocked techs on start
It's important to say here: a new game could be more difficult in the beginning with more start techs, because the event system, enemies, insect types and more are scaling with your progress in tech tree.
- some mental breakdown times are shorter now - fixed very rare bug when dropping resources in storage zones - fixed doctor priorities wrong saved - fixed that nuclear reactor console cannot be turned on when set to off - fixed hospital room expectation values not shown - fixed that abandoned nest didn't despawn when loading the game - fixed falling asleep from exhaustion while immobilized - fixed centipede butcher job had no path when digging under it - fixed more russian translations + reworked the minute/hour/day system there
Cheers!
February Update | Russian Translation Added + Some Smaller Updates
Hi everyone,
it's time for a short update and this one is about russian language support, some thoughts to the diplomacy system and a summary of all patch notes.
Russian language is available now!
With v0.1.009 it's finally possible to play the game with Russian translations. You can set this if you go to "Settings" in the "Main Menu" and select the appropriate language there. (you have to restart the application after that)
Note: There may still be some overlaps or typos that we missed and will fix
Info about the diplomacy & factions system
While I have already started with the implementation of better shared coop settings (which got often recommended), I will also start with the first point of the roadmap now - and that is the diplomacy & faction system.
The plan is to add more background info and options for the current "factions" (wanderers, traders, raiders), but also to add more factions in general.
For example, colonists with 'gangster' clothes and machine pistols could be a distinct faction for the modern or computer age. If you have some ideas or suggestions for some type of factions (clothes or their behavior), feel free to share them in the comments section!
Summary of all patches
Lastly, I have a quick summary of all the patch notes that have been made in the last weeks:
- fixed bug in drunken wanderer menu when items got updated - added wide screen support (is still in testing) - fixed limited roof destroy & repair access points - extended error log (shows full path + can open logfile location) - fixed online coop relationship action bug - fixed exit game with combined transparent mode error - fixed build move manager not cleared which causes saving error in next games in same session - removed unlock 'metal wall colors' from tech modern medicine (is always unlocked now) - all french translations are added now - fixed error when shooting with ballista at centipede nest (with guardians) - fixed disassemble jobs wrong loaded - fixed relationship partners getting negative mood on load (when sharing room) - fixed error when accepting new colonist and medical room had under 75 beauty value - fixed direct butcher command valid for already decomposing corpses - added machine pistol to weapontable (craft, disassemble) - fixed that pistol was not shown in technology unlock list - fixed error shown when trying to save while in centipede nest quest - fixed error shown when trying to save while centipede guardian projectile explodes - fixed that '0%' was only '%' in attribute menu - removed some warnings - more colonists jobs by player command get not interrupted by schedules anymore - fixed darkfly nest spawns in wrong rotation on client (causing sometimes an error later) - fixed one access point of centipede nest was 1 block off - fixed that quality settings changed screen brightness down to 1 - upgraded steamworks net version - fixed wrong build fail times shown on client - fixed power system coop bug with turret - fixed power system coop bug when loading game - fixed pool billiard update function - added simple auto repair function for save files - some smaller fixes and updates
Hope you all have a good day, Cheers!
v0.1.008
Hi everyone, a new patch is out with some fixes (v0.1.008):
- upgraded steamworks net version - fixed wrong build fail times shown on client - fixed power system coop bug with turret - fixed power system coop bug when loading game - fixed pool billiard update function - added simple auto repair function for save files - some smaller fixes and updates
I have to say, it seems like there were a few more fixes to do which got reported a bit later, because they were related to the power system.
Cheers!
v0.1.006
Hi everyone, a new patch is out with some fixes (v0.1.006):
- more colonists jobs by player command get not interrupted by schedules anymore - fixed darkfly nest spawns in wrong rotation on client (causing an error later) - fixed one access point of centipede nest was 1 block off - fixed that quality settings changed screen brightness down to 1
I have to say, that was an interesting week with a lot of quick patches, I think we have now nearly all bigger problems solved (which were not found or reported in the closed alpha)
Cheers!
v0.1.005
Hi everyone, a new patch is out with some fixes (v0.1.005):
- fixed error when accepting new colonist and medical room had under 75 beauty value - fixed direct butcher command valid for already decomposing corpses - added machine pistol to weapontable (craft, disassemble) - fixed that pistol was not shown in technology unlock list - fixed error shown when trying to save while in centipede nest quest - fixed error shown when trying to save while centipede guardian projectile explodes - fixed that '0%' was only '%' in attribute menu - removed some warnings
btw guys, thank you for reporting issues so quickly!
