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Captain of Industry News

Update 3 is here! Trains, Space Program, Asteroids, UI, and more!

We are happy to announce that Update 3 is finally here! Lay tracks, move cargo, and revolutionize your island’s logistics with powerful trains. To conquer space, take your industry to orbit and unlock endless possibilities with unlimited end-game!

Check out our trailer to see all the new cool stuff in Captain of Industry!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Our own translation tool is live!

We now have our custom-made translation tool running at hub.coigame.com. You can support our game by helping to translate it into your language! Also, be sure to check out the blueprints and maps created by our wonderful community - or upload your own!

Update 3 changelog (patch notes)

v0.7.0 (Update 3)

[h2]Backwards compatibility[/h2]
  • Saves from Update 2 are compatible with Update 3. However, due to various changes, existing factories may need updating.
  • You can still play Update 2 on Steam, if you want on branch update2-legacy


[h2]Notable breaking changes[/h2]
  • Removed Bricks and replaced with simpler concrete recipe made in Kiln.
  • Glass Maker I now returns broken glass, not slag.
  • 2x Glass Maker II needed per Blast Furnace II.
  • FBR now consumes significantly more yellowcake and costs Titanium to build. Machines supporting it have updated ratios, and both reprocessing and enrichment now require more power.
  • Consumer Electronics, Solar Panel (Mono) now require Aluminum (not steel).
  • Lab Equipment II uses glass instead of steel; production ratios overhauled.
  • Thermal Storage now returns water, not depleted steam.
  • Belt & pipe usage increases maintenance; long versions use more power (discount removed).
  • Oil: Naphtha/Diesel cracking no longer outputs sour water (removed sulfur loop).


[h2]New feature: Trains[/h2]
  • Added trains, train stations, and train tracks building.
  • Two types of locomotives: steam and diesel.
  • Grid-based train tracks construction supporting 16 cardinal directions. For more details see Captain’s diary #45.
  • Train tracks can be elevated and constructed on pillars up to height of 5.
  • Signal-free train routing supporting complex scenarios such as sidings, round-abouts, or waiting bays. For more details see Captain’s diary #46.
  • Modular train stations allow continuous train loading. For more details see Captain’s diary #47.
  • Advanced features like train arrival limits or load/unload conditions are also supported.
  • Signaled level crossings allowing vehicles to traverse train tracks safely.
  • Train path-finder runs on a background thread, not affecting game performance in a significant way.


[h2]New feature: Offices and focus system[/h2]
  • Build offices to leverage your growing population.
  • Offices assigned with workers and given Office Supplies, provide Focus points which can be allocated into modifiers and perks similarly to edicts but without Unity cost.
  • This is an end-game mechanic allowing you to scale your population and overclock parts of your industry.
  • For more details see Captain’s diary #48


[h2]New feature: Space program, asteroid mining[/h2]
  • Rockets can now deliver cargo to orbit.
  • Added option to build, upgrade and maintain a space station.
  • Space station provides advanced research, unity bonus and research efficiency bonus.
  • Upgrades are unlimited, the only real limitation is how effectively you can scale.
  • Added a second tier of Rocket.
  • Added a new mechanic to search and deliver asteroids in order to mine them at your island.
  • For more details see Captain’s diary #48



[h2]New feature: Infinite research[/h2]
  • Extended the research tree with 18 new infinite research nodes that provide significant bonuses and allow to overclock your industry to new possibilities.
  • Repeatable research nodes get more and more demanding - providing a significant end-game resource sink.
  • Advanced research nodes also require space points supplied by an operational space station.


[h2]New production chains[/h2]
  • More than 40 new products.
  • Added smelting and production of Aluminum and Titanium.
  • Added production of diamonds.
  • Added Electronics IV produced from Sapphire wafers and diamonds.
  • Added products for the space program - space probe parts, station parts, crew supplies, compact reactor and more.
  • Added Luxury goods as a new product into settlements.
  • Added The Internet as a new module providing computing to settlements.


[h2]New content[/h2]
  • New Ore sorter II with 10x more throughput than tier I.
  • New mineable resources: uranium, bauxite (aluminum ore), and titanium ore, added to all maps.
  • New Settlement IV.
  • Added Pipe IV with throughput of 900 per minute (compared to 450/m of T3 pipe).
  • Added 24 new contracts.


[h2]New mechanics[/h2]
  • Added support to define power consumption multipliers per recipe.
  • Added option to set FBR breeding ratios for allowing dedicated breeder reactors and more advanced configurations.



[h2]Maps[/h2]
  • Added a new map, Dragontail Isle, that is currently the largest official map in the game (22 km^2), where logistics via trains will be necessary.
  • Updated existing maps:
    • New Haven: land area increased from 4 to 11 km^2
    • Armageddon: land area increased from 17 to 20 km^2
    • The Beach: land area increased from 5 to 14 km^2
    • Curland: land area increased from 5 to 16 km^2
    • Golden Peak: land area increased from 3 to 16 km^2
    • You Shall Not Pass: land area increased from 6 to 18 km^2
    • Crater (from Supporter’s edition): land area increased from 7 to 18 km^2
    • Insula Mortis was retired but will be available on CoI Hub


[h2]New user interface[/h2]
  • Complete UI overhaul
  • Overhauled more than 60 entity detail windows, statistics, codex window, HUD, blueprints and more.
  • Fully overhauled statistics with new bar charts, pie charts and better context information.
  • Significantly increased responsiveness and speed of computationally expensive UI components such as conveyors/pipes construction and building/blueprint construction.
  • Introduced new quality of life features
  • Storage slider to limit products output to belts & pipes.
  • Pinning windows, maximizing some windows.
  • UI now surfaces much more information thanks to rich floating windows.
  • Actual fuel, maintenance consumptions
  • Vehicle attributes shown in vehicle depot.
  • More information about mechanical shafts.
  • Ability to inspect machine buffers.
  • Toolbar overhaul
  • Toolbar groups items by tier reducing clutter.
  • Added Toolbar sub-categories for a more goal oriented approach.
  • Added search box into Blueprints and Contracts.
  • Codex window
    • Added machine information pages.
    • Added option to build machine directly (ctrl + click).
    • Added history navigation.



[h2]Updated content and mechanics[/h2]
  • Increased maximum height of conveyor and pipe support pillars from 3 to 5.
  • All vehicles can now travel under obstacles such as pipes given sufficient clearance. For example, T1 excavators or haul trucks have a clearance of 4 and can travel under a pipe at height 5 or higher.
  • Controlled areas of mine and forestry towers can now be a polygon instead of just a rectangle.
  • Increased maximum area of mine and forestry towers.
  • Increased maximum vehicles limit from 180 to around 400 (depending on infinite research level).


[h2]Graphics[/h2]
  • Improved overall scene lighting and color grading.
  • Introduced new texture quality setting that controls resolution of displayed textures.
  • Increased resolution of many textures by 2x and 4x.
  • Updated 3D models for conveyor belts, pipes, lifts, robotic assemblers (T4 and T5), rocket launch pad, and many products.
  • Improved ambient occlusion rendering of various models.


[h2]Performance Improvements[/h2]
  • Increased vehicle path-finder performance by 40%.
  • Trees
    • Trees rendering is now ~3x faster, increasing overall game FPS by 10-25% in the early game.
    • Tree stumps rendering is now ~10x faster.
    • Growth of trees and decay of stumps no longer cause any CPU overhead, FPS increase 5-10% for saves with lots of forestry action.
    • Trees highlight rendering (harvesting selection) is now 5x faster, removing FPS drop when shown.
    • Trees selection and deselection operation is now 7x faster, removing lag when selecting large groups of trees.
    • Optimized data structures and algorithms for trees, reducing per-tree memory footprint and increasing performance of operations such as tree search for harvest by ~3x.
    • Optimized game initialization and loading, resulting in faster load times by a few seconds on average.



[h2]Balancing[/h2]
This is just a simplified summary
More details at www.captain-of-industry.com/post/update3-is-out

Captain’s diary #49: Update 3 Release Date Change and New Content!

Hey everyone! Captain Filip is back again! Update 3 is getting closer and closer so we have prepared another post for you to reveal more information. We also had to reschedule our launch. So let’s go!

Launch date

I know we promised you that Update 3 is launching on 20th of May. It turned out that day was already busy with launches so, with a heavy heart, we had to move our launch date to 14th of May. We apologize to anyone who expected the update to come out 6 days later.

With that out of the way, let’s discuss the new content! In the previous post we managed to cover a decent portion of the space program and hinted at new production chains but this time I would like to dive deeper into it and also cover other changes we made.

Today we'll showcase Aluminum production, train crossings, new assembler models, settlement services, new and updated maps, increased vehicle limits and bricks removal!

Jump over to our blog for the full post as we have lots of videos to show off new content!

Captain’s diary #48: End-game, space program, launch date & more

Hey everyone! Captain Filip here to talk more about our upcoming Update 3. This time you will learn about the new content, pricing changes and also the launch date for Update 3! So let’s dig in!

Space Station

In Update 3, we will be adding a space station. It is going to be very simple and driven through the UI (similarly to the world map). The main purpose of the station is to give those rockets you launch a meaningful purpose and to motivate you to scale your industry even further.

We had been holding off on space program content because we wanted to do something immersive and detailed. But we realized that such high expectations from our side were only limiting how your island’s industry could scale even now. The more we thought about it, the more we felt that even a simple space program was really missing.

The main reason we’re keeping it simple is that we're developing this in parallel with already massive projects, such as trains and the UI overhaul, which are all coming together in Update 3. But another reason is that we want to test the waters and see where our next steps should go.

The new space station coming in Update 3

Similar to nuclear reactors, we did some research on the ISS to understand the mind-blowing complexity of a project like that. We tried to integrate mechanics inspired by real-world space stations, and, of course, we didn’t leave out any mechanics that could send your station into a death spiral because we can’t have only positive reviews (that would certainly look suspicious!).

The space station requires regular deliveries of maintenance parts. It also needs a crew, which must be rotated periodically to limit their radiation exposure. Regular deliveries of crew supplies, including food, water, and medicine, are essential. The station can be upgraded, and upgrades are practically unlimited. Running it doesn’t cost Unity; it’s only about how many rockets you can send fast enough to keep it functional. So it’s entirely up to you how far you want to push your island’s space program.

Space station parts are also made out of chemical fuel because fun fact: if the ISS wasn’t reboosted every couple of weeks, it would eventually burn up in the atmosphere.

The launch pad will be able to load products onto rockets and dispatch them automatically. Products get supplied via ports.

So, what do you get out of running a space station besides some extra anxiety? First, prestige, which comes in the form of extra Unity. The second bonus is space research efficiency, making research cheaper which is an important factor, but we’ll cover that later. But the most important reward is space research points, a commodity required in your research labs to perform the most advanced research projects. And finally, it also provides a satisfying display of rockets launching regularly, desperately trying to keep the station from completely disintegrating in orbit. :)

The space station will, of course, introduce new products and recipes, but I’ll cover that in a future blog post.

We are looking forward to enabling even greater scaling by giving the space program a real purpose.

Infinite research

We know that after hundreds of hours of gameplay, reaching the endgame can feel like hitting a cliff where everything is done, and there are no more goals to push towards. Adding more and more end-game content is nice, but it only delays that cliff; it doesn’t resolve it entirely.

Because of this, we’ve decided to introduce incremental end-game research nodes that will allow you to push your island even further with powerful bonuses. These can range from increased housing density and higher crop yields to more significant perks like an increased vehicle limit or better fuel efficiency. However, these nodes will become increasingly expensive, requiring a well-established and large-scale operation to progress. This is where the research efficiency bonus from the space station (mentioned earlier) will be particularly beneficial.

A detail of an incremental research node in the new UI.

Many of these end-game research nodes will require scaled-up and operational space station.

Additionally, we will be rebalancing the research to make progression a bit more demanding in terms of resources. Until now, research has been relatively easy to power through and sometimes new content was being unlocked so quickly that players couldn’t even keep up. This adjustment will ensure a more engaging and rewarding research experience. The goal is not to make it drag on for too long but to motivate players to scale up their production even more.

Asteroids

The new space program brought an interesting opportunity. What if the very late end-game wasn’t just about contracts, but you could keep your mining fleet in action forever?

In Update 3, you’ll be able to perform controlled asteroid drops onto your island to gain more mineable resources. Once you reach the end-game, you can launch space probes to search for asteroids. When you find one you like, you can attach boosters to it and bring it to your island. This means you can “refill” your island’s mines as much as you want.

Once you find an asteroid you like, you can bring it into orbit by attaching boosters to it.

However, this won’t be free. In addition to the regular resource costs and the need to launch probes and boosters into orbit using rockets. You’ll need plutonium for the space probes (for Radioisotope thermoelectric generator) and, later, enriched uranium for the asteroid boosters (Ion Thrusters). So yes, FBR is about to go into overdrive!

An asteroid is on its way toward Earth.

Hopefully, the braking boosters won’t malfunction during asteroid descent so you don’t end up like the dinosaurs. We understand that technology like this is pretty far-fetched, but it allows us to experiment with end-game mining and its economy.

Captain, we might have miscalculated the final asteroid landing position...

We’ve also improved vehicle pathfinding, making it 40% faster, allowing us to increase vehicle limits in hopes of making mining even more scalable.

With that, we’ll also be nerfing recycling. Recycling was originally very generous, designed for times when we had smaller maps and nothing but contracts. But with all the progress, it now feels overpowered. Currently, you can reach 90% efficiency, but we’ll be reducing that to 75%, with the last 5% being hard to reach unless you have a larger population.

Our new illustration, which appears while an asteroid is descending toward your island.

Offices & focuses

Currently, the optimal way to progress through the game is to keep your population as small as possible, and that’s not great. We’re not saying you should be forced to scale your population, but we want to give you incentives to do so, especially for those who want to grow their population without just being punished for it.

This is where a new mechanic comes into play. You’ll be able to build Office buildings to activate Focuses. Focuses work similarly to edicts in the Captain’s Office, but instead of costing Unity, they require a dedicated workforce to maintain. Offices come in three tiers, allowing you to allocate anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of workers. Once staffed, offices generate Focus Points, which can be assigned to Focuses that provide various bonuses.

The new offices come in three tiers, allowing you to scale how many workers you “spend” in your focuses.

The main goal of these bonuses is to help you scale your population up. They might increase research efficiency, provide more Unity, reduce consumption, or boost yields. Focuses only work if an office is staffed and running, so you can think of them as a more scalable version of edicts. Offices also require Office Supplies to operate, which consist of Electronics II, Paper, and Household Goods. Offices also return recyclables.

Recipe for office supplies production. Exact quantities are not yet balanced.

Focus Points can also be increased by providing offices with computing power. Additionally, a repeatable research option will allow you to further boost Focus Points generation.

Office buildings share a central UI where you can apply focus points. Note that all values shown are provisional and will still be subject to balancing. There will also be more focuses available.

Another key addition is that you will receive a research efficiency bonus based on your population size. The idea behind this is simple: the more people you have, the higher the chance that someone smart emerges :) This also serves as a reward for players who choose to grow their islands.

Also if you have a specific wish for interesting focuses or infinite researches let us know in the comments or via discord.

New production chains

We are also introducing new production chains, including Aluminum and Titanium, along with their corresponding ores. Bauxite will be available through the world map, contracts, and asteroids, while Titanium will be obtainable only from contracts and asteroids. Since these are end-game materials, their processing will be a bit more involved. But don’t worry as we’ll cover those details in a future blog post.

There will be also more products necessary to facilitate the space program. One of those is Electronics IV.

The new diamond reactor (HPHT) produces synthetic diamonds from graphite. Diamonds are input for Electronics IV, which is required in advanced stages of the space program.

Update 3 launch date and pricing

Without further ado, we’re excited to announce that Update 3 will be launching on May 20, 2025!

We know many of you have been eagerly awaiting news, and we truly appreciate your patience. After Update 2, we dedicated a month to fixing bugs and making improvements, and since then, we’ve been going full throttle to bring you something truly special.

This update is massive. It includes 1.5 DLCs worth of content plus a complete UI overhaul, making it feel almost like Captain of Industry 2. Many teams wouldn’t even attempt a full rewrite of core infrastructure, whether it was the terrain system in Update 2 or the UI in Update 3, mid-project. But for us, making COI the best it can be is something we are proud to strive for. As a small indie team, we’re working tirelessly to make that happen, and we can’t wait for you to experience it in May!

Update 3 will be fully compatible with your current saves. Ensuring this wasn’t easy, but we put in the extra effort because we know how much time and dedication many of you have invested in your factories. We want you to be able to continue right where you left off while enjoying all the new features.

[h2]Price Change[/h2]
We will also be increasing the price of the game from $29.99 to $34.99 (with a similar percentage increase for other currencies). This price change will take effect one month before Update 3 launches, as otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to offer a discount during the Update 3 launch.

We’re adjusting the price due to rising development costs and because we continue to add substantial content to the game. Update 3 brings trains, a space program, offices, new production chains, a complete UI overhaul, and more - like I said, it’s 1.5 DLCs worth of free content. And this is not our last update.

In past updates, we’ve made massive efforts to improve performance, allowing for more scalability (check our past blog posts for details). In Update 2, we introduced the map editor for community-made maps and revamped our terrain system to support larger maps. For Update 3, we’re rewriting the tree rendering pipeline to allow for even bigger maps and we’ll keep pushing the boundaries to expand map sizes further.

On top of that, past updates have added a ton of new content, including custom terrain surfaces, transport lifts, hydrogen vehicles, several tiers of nuclear reactors with advanced processing chains, ore sorting, and more. We’re also continuously improving graphics to enhance the overall experience.

We are also continuously improving graphics. In Update 3, you can look forward to new robotic assembler models (Robotic I on the left, Robotic II on the right).

Trains - More than just cool clips

We haven’t been overly verbose about what’s happening with trains, mostly just showing final clips of them in action. But I want to assure you that this has been a massive effort. We’ve had to handle fuel, maintenance, difficulty settings, track pillars, collapses, recovery, train construction, truck crossings, and tooling for rail placement, high-performance pathfinding, etc. Beyond just making trains work, we’re also trying to innovate with signal-free train networks and batched train loading, as you could have seen in our previous posts.

One key advantage of trains over conveyor belts or pipes is their ability to form an interconnected network rather than just point-to-point connections. When a new station is added to the network, it automatically gains access to all other connected stations. Additionally, a single rail can transport multiple types of products, making trains an incredibly flexible and efficient logistics solution. Besides that, in Update 3, belts and pipes will now require maintenance. We have also adjusted how long belts consume power, increasing their power demand slightly since they were previously heavily discounted. On top of that, we’ll be rebalancing certain production chains, and with the addition of new end-game content, this will lead to more cargo in transit. We are also working on increasing map sizes and introducing a new map specifically designed to take full advantage of trains.

That’s everything I have for you this time. If you have any questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you on our Discord, Reddit, or you can bug Marek on his regular Saturday's stream. :) See you in our next post!

Captain's Diary #47: Batched train loading and departure rules

Ahoy, everyone, and welcome to our first diary post of 2025. I’m Captain Marek and I am here to share the latest updates on our upcoming train feature. This time, we’re diving into the nuts and bolts (or should I say the wagons and modules) of train stations, loading/unloading, and train refueling. Just like our last post on train routing and signaling, this one is packed with innovation, so grab your conductor’s hat, and let’s get rolling!

This post contains lots of embedded videos showcasing our train stations, so head over to our website to read it: Captain's Diary #47: Batched train loading and departure rules

Captain’s diary #46: Innovation in train signaling

Ahoy! I am Captain Marek and I’m thrilled to introduce a game-changing feature in the upcoming Update 3 – a brand-new, innovative train traffic system! This system is designed to handle even complex rail networks effortlessly, all without requiring you to build explicit signals. Simply lay down your tracks, and the trains will run smoothly without any hiccups or delays.

This post contains lots of embedded videos showcasing our new system, so head over to our website to read it: Captain's Diary #46: Innovation in train signaling



[h2]Dev live stream[/h2]
Tomorrow, on October 13th, I'll be live-streaming the new Signal-Free system on YouTube and Twitch! Come by to see it in action!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Ada Lovelace Day[/h2]
Finally, we are also celebrating the Ada Lovelace Day to commemorate the first programmer in the world along with other games that are not only fun to play, but can teach you to think like a true engineer and feel like a tech wizard! If that sounds like your niche, head over to the event page, you can get some great discounts too!