Astro Colony News

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)

Hey Astro Modders!
In this update, modkit is getting big improvements.
There is a new version ready to download!

First thing what you will notice is a way cleaner UI with only necessary buttons remaining.



With a new FLOW asset now is possible to handle Init, BeginPlay and EndPlay.


Modders are finally able to control a game in the most important moments:

• INIT - is perfect to configure game values, adding new recipes
  
• BEGIN PLAY - is great to interact with all game actors, spawning new actors
  
• END PLAY - can be used to clean the game state when map finishes
  

Previously to add new game items (like walls, floors, devices, blocks) modders had to place every new asset in the original directory Game/Items.
Right now, each asset will be automatically picked up, as long as it is part of the Mod directory.



There is a new example showing how a new smelter is added to the game just by creating a config and placing a new asset in the MOD directory.


In the modkit there are now 3 possible actions (buttons) located in the toolbar menu:

• Create MOD
  
• Package MOD - creates zip which can be tested and uploaded
  
• Upload MOD (new) - uses Steam authentication to upload mods to CurseForge
  

Uploading mods becomes extremely easy. It only requires running Steam in the background, which will let you send mods directly to your CF library, at the same time sharing them with Astro Colony community!

Steam authentication is a big step towards having Steam Workshop integrated.
Soon, it will also be possible to upload your mods directly to the Steam.

Check documentation since there are more ways to control and modify mods, new utility functions.

All you need for modding is Unreal Engine 4.27 downloaded from Epic Games:
https://www.epicgames.com/

and on the same hard drive the AstroColonyMOD project, which you can download here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_a7RrhsYSqnMV-JhTC6RtUcS5hPwbkI9/



Please join Discord modding channel where you can share your thoughts and get modding advises.
Expect more announcements soon regarding modding contests.


Our friends just released their game Lumencraft.
It has a bundle right now with Astro Colony, so please tell your friends!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/30055/Automation__Exploration_Bundle/
I cannot wait to see your creations!
See you soon Colonizers!