Coloniser News

[p]Salutations, Colonisers!
[/p][p]In the last dev diary, we talked about teaching Coloniser what information to send to each player and just as importantly, what not to send.
[/p][p]But there’s another side to that problem.
[/p][p]Before the game can decide who should know something, it first has to answer a much simpler question: What’s actually nearby?
[/p][p]RTS games constantly ask questions like:[/p]

• [p]“Which enemies are within attack range?”[/p]
• [p]“What resources are close to this villager?”[/p]
• [p]“Who should this tower shoot at?”[/p]

[p]Without any optimization, the only way to answer those questions is by checking every entity against every other entity. With large matches, that quickly turns into tens of thousands of distance checks every tick, even when most of those entities are nowhere near each other. That kind of work adds up fast - especially once AI, combat, and abilities all start asking the same questions at the same time.
[/p][p]To fix this, we implemented a system called spatial partitioning.
[/p][p]Instead of treating the world as one giant list of entities, the game divides the map into smaller regions and keeps track of what’s where. That way, when a unit asks “what’s near me?”, the game only looks in nearby regions instead of scanning the entire world.
[/p][p]In Coloniser’s case, this means a query that used to check thousands of entities now typically checks a few dozen. Essentially, this means the same result, but radically less work on the processing side
[/p][p]Units in Coloniser are always moving, so the system needs to handle change efficiently.
[/p][p]To do that, we use a structure that allows entities to move slightly without constantly rebuilding the world layout. Units can reposition freely within their local area, and the system only updates things when it really needs to.[/p][p]
We also split the world logically:[/p]

• [p]moving things like units and animals[/p]
• [p]mostly static things like buildings and resources[/p]

[p]Each is handled in a way that makes sense for how often it changes. It might not seem like a big deal, but this system quietly powers a lot of gameplay like: soldiers finding enemies, towers choosing targets, healers looking for injured allies, colonists searching for resources and area-of-effect damage finding valid targets. Instead of each unit doing its own expensive search, the game batches these queries together and processes them efficiently in parallel. The result is AI that reacts quickly without eating up performance.
[/p][p]Spatial partitioning helps the game find relevant entities quickly.
Interest Management decides which of those results are actually sent to each player.
[/p][p]This is where the two systems come together. Together, they allow Coloniser to run large battles efficiently, keep AI responsive, avoid unnecessary work and scale to bigger maps and player counts. Here is how the game behaves with spatial partitioning and interest management applied:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]There are still some improvements we have to do in these two areas, but we are very close. And you know what’s cool about all this? These are all under the hood improvements. Aesthetically, you won’t see any change. However, you will feel it: smoother performance, fewer spikes, AI that keeps up even when things get chaotic.
[/p][p]And it gives us a much stronger foundation for everything that comes next. You’ll see this with your own eyes with the upcoming demo, but more on that soon. And if you want to try it even sooner, be sure to request the playtest on our store page.[/p][p][/p][p]We’re still not done with dev blogs, so stay tuned![/p][p][/p][p]Cantos Games[/p][p][/p][p]Discord Youtube Reddit X/Twitter Bluesky Instagram Facebook[/p]

[p]Salutations, Colonisers![/p][p][/p][p]Let’s talk about the issue a lot of you experienced during the demo and playtest sessions. Let's talk optimization and some of the things we are doing!
[/p][p]As Coloniser keeps growing into a large-scale multiplayer RTS, we ran into a familiar problem: the game knew too much.
[/p][p]Every player was receiving updates about every unit on the map - even units hidden by Fog of War or fighting battles on the other side of the map. That’s fine early on, but once matches get big, it becomes a serious performance bottleneck. Some of the players reported those issues during our demo. Here is how it tended to behave:
[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]While the game improved performance-wise since the early days, there is still much to do about it. [/p][p][/p][p]So instead of trying to push all that data faster, we stopped and asked a simpler question: Why are we sending it at all?[/p][p][/p][p]That question led us to a system called Interest Management.[/p][p][/p][p]The idea is straightforward: if your units can’t see something and can’t interact with it, your game client shouldn’t know about it. Not hidden, not ignored - just not sent.[/p][p][/p][p]In other words, the network now follows the same rules as Fog of War.[/p][p][/p][p]And when it comes to enemy units, they are no longer always loaded “just in case.” Instead, they’re streamed in and out based on visibility. As an enemy approaches your army, its data starts arriving and the unit appears. When it leaves your line of sight, it’s safely removed again.[/p][p][/p][p]Some units may exist just outside vision - known to the server, but still hidden by Fog of War. Those would only become visible when they truly enter sight. The important part is that visuals and networking are finally in sync.[/p][p][/p][p]Fewer units active at once means less memory use, less network traffic, and much smoother performance during large battles. Instead of everyone processing everything, each player only processes what actually matters to them.[/p][p]
But this is only one part of our optimization process. Think of this segment in a way who gets the information. The other part is how the game finds things efficiently in the first place and for that we’ll have to talk about spatial partitioning.

That is the material for the next blog, so stay tuned![/p][p][/p][p]Cantos Games[/p][p][/p][p]Discord Youtube Reddit X/Twitter Bluesky Instagram Facebook[/p]

[p]Salutations, Colonisers![/p][p][/p][p]The demo has officially ended! Thank you for joining us during this period - we hope you enjoyed your time with the game. It would help us a lot if you could fill out this short feedback form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfX-vg5nnr-p2V9APJg9Uv6oHMSQgZn_07D4QoVslHq23ULcw/viewform
[/p][p]Your answers will give us a clearer picture of the current state of the game and help guide our next steps.

So, what's next for us?[/p][p][/p][p]We’re temporarily locking the demo and playtesting access while we work on several major changes that will significantly improve gameplay and introduce new systems and features.

We'll talk about those things in our blogs here and on our Discord, so be sure to join us there.

For now, here is a tease of stuff we are working on:[/p][p][/p][p]How does it seem to you? Did you enjoy the demo? Let us know in the comments. Also, wishlist the game, follow us on Steam, tell your friends, content creators as next year is going wo be huge![/p][p][/p][p]Cantos Games[/p][p][/p][p]Discord Youtube Reddit X/Twitter Bluesky Instagram Facebook[/p]

[p]Salutations, Colonisers!
[/p][p]Servers are reset and progress is wiped in order to fix a bug that caused some people to be stuck in loading, never to enter the game. We try our best to avoid these things but it had to be done now as we want for everyone to play the game and have a nice session over the weekend. [/p][p][/p][p]Without further ado, DEMO. STARTS.NOW. [/p][p][/p][p]Let us know how it goes, and when you have time - fill out this form as it will give as a nice feedback if we are on the right track.[/p][p][/p][p]And join our Discord server for the additional feedback, opportunity to talk other players, and a chance to talk to the devs.[/p][p][/p][p]Stay tuned!

Cantos Games

Discord Youtube Reddit X/Twitter Bluesky Instagram Facebook


[/p]

[p]Salutations, Colonisers!
[/p][p]Are you ready? Coloniser demo is now ready to play for everyone! Here is the new trailer to celebrate this event:
[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]What Coloniser is about:[/p]

• [p]Classic old-school RTS experience expanded into massive multiplayer.[/p]
• [p]Rise through the eras and unlock new units, technologies and research options.[/p]
• [p]Play on a grand map with regenerating resources with respawning NPCs and wildlife.[/p]
• [p]Large scale unit controls, battles and sieges.[/p]
• [p]Forge alliances or declare war on other players.[/p]
• [p]Collect valor and rise up on the leaderboards.[/p]
• [p]Defeat is not an end - Start again, rebuild, and seek vengeance against your attackers. Each return is another chance to rise again.[/p]
• [p]Dominate before the demo ends![/p]

[p]You can play the demo here:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]What you need to know about the demo availability:[/p]

• [p]Demo start 27th November, 12PM GMT / 7AM EST / 4AM PST[/p]
• [p]Supports up to 30 players per server at the moment. This will be expanded to 90 over the course of the development.[/p]
• [p]Demo ends on December 8th (Monday),  12PM GMT / 7AM EST / 4AM PST. This may extend depending on the amount of players, server stability and overall rhythm of the game.[/p]

[p]After you’ve played the game, it would help us a lot if you could fill out this form and let us know your impressions on the current state of the game. 
[/p][p]The last time we launched a public demo was during Steam 4X Fest, and a lot has changed since then. Your feedback helped us get here. There is still a lot to do, but we know this is a marathon, not a sprint. If you’re curious about what has changed since the last version, check out the highlights below:
[/p][h3]Replenished resources and reappearing NPCs[/h3][p][/p][p]Resources replenish after some time - After a certain time , every type of resource will appear scattered around the map in random-ish zones , thus replenishing the total amount of resources on the map. The only resource that reappears in the same location are trees. Enemies will also appear after some time and those raider outposts will now fight back - thankfully, they can be destroyed.
[/p][h3]Map changes [/h3][p]The current map is now split into biomes indicated mostly by different tree colors. Have fun finding them. This is still a work in progress, but we are building on these. Ground textures now have smoother transitions. Forests are now impassable terrain, creating hard environmental obstacles while still being gatherable. The logic of players' spawn points was also reorganized for better balance. The map itself received a few touch ups to make it more visually interesting. 
[/p][h3]Notifications everywhere[/h3][p][/p][p]You'll get notified when you've been attacked and the attack indicator will appear on the map. Chat system will detect when an alliance has happened and/or war has been declared. War declaration is public and alliance notification just happens between allied parties. In addition to this, the Chat system colors are updated to make messages easier to tell apart and text easier to read.[/p][p][/p][h3]Leaderboard[/h3][p][/p][p]By pressing V on your keyboard, you'll see what players are on the server and how many Valor do they have. This will register all the Valor you've acquired. Spending is not traced. Collect valor by attacking NPCs, fight other players and fortify your defenses.[/p][p][/p][h3]Updated visuals[/h3][p][/p][p]The cursor changes graphics depending on the action. New building damage and destruction systems implemented. Some buildings received updated visuals. The server screen now shows all registered players, instead of only active ones.[/p][p][/p][p]And various other tweaks, fixes and improvements.

Let us know how the demo/playtest goes now and share your impressions in the comments and join our Discord server for the additional feedback and a chance to talk to the devs.
[/p][p]Don’t forget to wishlist the game, tell your friends and leave a review of the demo[/p][p][/p][p]Cantos Games[/p][p][/p][p]Discord Youtube Reddit X/Twitter Bluesky Instagram Facebook[/p]