Astro Colony News

Hey Astro Colonists!

The first Major update "Architecture & Design" just went live!
You can download it from Steam.
To celebrate this moment with you, Astro Colony is starting a discount week (-25%).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1614550/Astro_Colony/

What's new?





With many new architecture blocks and 3d models, it's now possible to design a space station of any kind and shape. Combining them will allow creating also round shapes like a tunnel.


Walls & Floors have many different shapes you can pick from. Some of them are combining two themes, so it's finally possible to match different looks.

In addition, there is a section of big sides with unique appearance.




It's a powerful tool to experiment and design different station layouts and to place them in the world.
I encourage you to experiment with:

• automation - inventing the most efficient setups for your catchers/smelters/conveyor belts etc.
  
• design and decoration - creating blocks/walls/devices with different attachments on them
  
• complex architectural structure to build your colony
  

In addition to systems mentioned before, there are also new decorations which can be directly attached to any surface (device, block, floor, wall, etc). It will be treated as part of it. Each attachment will be rotated/removed together with the device.


Attachment and decals are not following a grid, so you can place them anywhere.





There is a new way of selecting grid objects in the 3D space. The selection tool creates a volume that can be easily controlled with arrows or specifying dimension directly. It can also filter item types (ex. wall, floor, block).

There are still more things coming to the update later this week:

• sharing blueprint and copying them
  
• multiplayer Blueprint support
  
• system to rotate/scale every attachment
  
• more attachments
  

I hope you will have a lot of fun playing Astro Colony!
Please share your creations - and soon blueprints - with the Astro Colony community:
https://discord.com/invite/EFzAA3w


For players who love to read changelist ;)

• new shapes blocks / wall / floors with many custom objects
  
• blueprint designer and construction blueprint systems
  
• selection tool to select 3d
  
• theme and color systems allowing to customize objects
  
• new interactive elements - info screens, lights changing color
  
• new snap elements - decals / 3d attachments
  
• pathfinding checks multiple routes and finds the shortest valid path
  
• pathfinding respects walls and doors to navigate AI / Humans
  
• mid-air block placement changes - stack water cells possible, logic blocks for pipes

If you want to see this update in action, you can join my stream on Thursday and Saturday 20CET.

Thank you for all suggestions which made this update possible!
Tefel (Terad Games)

Hey Astro Colonists!

After a very long waiting and preparation, finally there is the date of the update!
Architecture Major update will be available on Monday 5th June 18:00 CET.
The game will also get a discount for about a week to celebrate the new version released!

If you don't know what to expect, here is a small sneak peek of upcoming features:

[h2]Blueprint Designer[/h2]
A huge part of the update is a quick way to design parts of the station - combining walls, floors, architecture blocks and devices together.


Then with a simple click, the blueprint can be constructed.


Each blueprint can also be part of the hotbar, which makes it easy to use.

[h2]Architecture[/h2]
There are many architecture shapes and design elements which can nicely fit into a grid system.
As you may know, previously all Astronauts ignored walls and doors. This is now going to change, so please be sure that your creations are respecting new rules ;)



[h2]Themes[/h2]


There is a new theme system implemented which allows assigning many different looks to any object in the game. In addition, each theme can be customized with colors of your preference.

This creates endless ways of designing your Astro Colony!

[h2]Attachments[/h2]


In addition to systems mentioned before there are also new decorations which can be directly attached to any surface (device, block, floor, wall, etc). It will be treated as part of it. Each attachment will be rotated/removed together with the device.

Right now, more than ever, the game needs your support.
If you believe in the project, please don't forget to leave a review, share suggestions and obviously test the new version!

Thanks guys for being with me so long!
Tefel (Terad Games)

Hey Astro Colonists!

In preparation of a major content update, I want to improve overall performance and stability for both single and multiplayer.

Knowing how much you struggled with AI disobedience, I finally managed to improve them.

[h2]Pathfinding[/h2]
As you can see, with the new pathfinding astronauts and bots are finding the shortest path.
It checks all possible ways to reach buildings and picks the best result.
This also prevents from having invalid paths - showing the red line.


Previously, bots only checked the closest point, which could create a problem when it wasn't really reachable by any path.


In the new solution, multiple points path is checked, so it's finding the best match.

[h2]Game performance[/h2]

I managed to improve performance of giant stations, which now scale way better and let you enjoy the game in high framerate practically indefinitely.

The station before the update had some optimization issues, but with a few tricks - more LODS, better CPU calculations or disabling distant particles - it now runs at 60+ fps.

Expect more optimization improvements in the future, especially one improving movement of a space stations.



[h2]Multiplayer[/h2]
After many reports regarding sync issues, I took time to look into all of them and ensures that savegames can now sync without issues when starting a multiplayer game from a savegame.

[h2]Bug fixes & improvements[/h2]

• fixed an issue with upgrading devices not having a correct state (showing red)
  
• fixed an issue where gates couldn't animate when resource moved through
  
• fixed an issue where max request resources stopped at 100
  
• fixed an issue where more transport bots were assigned than specified
  
• fixed a multiplayer issue where asteroid catcher would block another player when possessed by 2 players
  
• fixed a multiplayer issue where starting players would force gravity mode
  
• new auto-generated names for game lobbies
  

Please don't forget to leave a review if you played a game and enjoyed it, so it can be supported for years to come!

Thanks guys so much for support!
Tefel (Terad Games)

Hey Colonizers!

It was a very busy week!
Astro Colony traveled with me to America for the Pax East in Boston.
It was a great experience seeing players trying out Astro Colony for the first time!
The game has been presented on a Steam Deck which worked very smoothly.

[h2]Steam Workshop[/h2]
As you may know, the last few updates were dedicated to the Mod system.
There was still one thing missing which was highly requested: sharing mods via Steam Workshop!
Now this is finally possible! You can simply upload a mod using a new version of a Modkit.



https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_a7RrhsYSqnMV-JhTC6RtUcS5hPwbkI9/view?usp=share_link

Even if this decision in the future may make some mods less accessible for other platform users like GOG and Epic Store I decided to make it possible.

To make your creation more accessible and popular, consider publishing it to both Workshop and Curseforge.

[h2]Standalone MOD Uploader[/h2]

Modkit has a new standalone app which is authenticating Steam login for you!
You just need to make sure that your Steam launcher is running in the background.
This will ensure that your profile is linked and you can preview your Mods and be able to add new!



You can easily upload new mods to selected platform:

• Steam Workshop
  
• Curseforge
  

[h2]Pax East[/h2]

Pax East is a one of the biggest events, so I was extremely happy to be able to showcase the game at that time. I met many other game developers and publishers. It was a very important experience for me, seeing many players trying Astro Colony for the first time.



Thanks to feedback and interaction I will be able to improve the game in the future.

[h2]Steam Deck compatibility[/h2]
During the event I've been able to test how the game is performing on a Steam Deck.
There were a few minor issues like a guidebook videos not playing, that have now been resolved.



[h2]What's next?[/h2]
A major update is around the corner, so please be supporting and stay tuned!

See You soon in the next update!

Hey Astro Colonizers!

It's time for a small update and an announcement!

[h2]Steam Cloud[/h2]


In the new version there is a Cloud savegame system which makes easier switching from one device to another, for example Steam Deck.

After closing the game, your savegames will get automatically uploaded to the cloud and imported to the new device on launch.

[h2]Spring Sale[/h2]


The game is currently participating in the Steam Spring Sale until March 23!
If you still have the game on your wishlist, now is a perfect moment to grab it with a discount.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1614550/Astro_Colony/

Recently, I've been updating the game and fixing some mods issues.
Steam Workshop support is coming soon and a next big content update somewhere in April about the architecture, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to share it with me.

Thanks guys so much for support!
Tefel (Terad Games)