Coloniser News

Salutations, Colonisers!

The new patch is ready for playtesters. It has a new system, balancing tweaks, some asset polishes and a lot of quality of life improvements. Read the log below for the full info:

[h2]Valor System - New Feature[/h2]


Valor is a new system that we introduced in order to provide better flow to the gameplay progression and solve some balancing issues.

Valor is a unique resource that you will earn through proactive gameplay, while rewarding them for capitalizing on the unique facets of each tribe. It will serve as a crucial component for researching technologies, recruiting advanced or unique units, and progressing through different eras. Valor may also be used to speed up technology research time or building construction time.

Here is the current state of Valor in this build:

• Valor is currently required to advance from Era 1 to Era 2.
  
• Valor is gained by killing Raiders and hostile animals. We plan to evolve this over the course of the development.

There are plans for more Valor-related features, but more on that later - for now, let us know how the system functions and is it fun.

[h3]Quality of Life Improvements[/h3]

Performance & Gameplay Improvements:

• Fixed several rotation issues affecting building placement.
  
• Sizes of buildings' selection grids and gaps between buildings should be consistent now.
  
• General performance and stability improvements implemented.

Resources:

• New berry bush model implemented.
  

Environment:

• Fog of war color and appearance adjusted. Before it was pure black, but now it’s more of a maroon color.

Animations & Design:

• Animals now have correct attack animations.
  
• Garrison (Era 1 & 2) received more details and better textures.
  
• Archery Range (Era 1 & 2) received more details and better textures.
  
• Stables (Era 1 & 2) received more details and better textures.
  
• Lumbermill (Era 1 & 2) received more details and better textures.

UI:

• The Main UI panel received a bit of change. Should be clearer to use now.
  
• Toast UI notifications adjusted.
  
• New selection highlights are implemented to work properly on sloped terrain with the new selection outline system.

Sounds:

• Some sound effects were adjusted from 3D to 2D as they were too distracting when you hovered over them.

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• Fixed the issue where you would get stuck on joining an AWS server while four other servers were already running.
  
• Fixed the issue where projectiles' path and attack animation of ranged units looked unnatural.
  
• Fixed the issue where the ability to shoot arrows would be missing for existing defensive buildings after AWS server was stopped.
  
• Fixed the issue that caused Supply Wagon units to have unaligned hitboxes.
  
• Fixed the issue that caused Outpost to have a 3x3 selection grid.
  
• Fixed the issue that caused Stronghold to have a 6x6 selection grid.
  
• Fixed the issue where multiple buildings didn't fit the new selection grid.
  
• Fixed the issue where units would lose idle animation after killing an enemy.
  
• Fixed the issue that caused selection grids of buildings and resources to flicker. They were also hard to notice.
  
• Fixed the issue where an incomplete defensive building would shoot arrows towards enemies.
  
• Fixed the issue where Numpad 2 and Numpad 8 keys had unintended behaviour with Control Groups.
  
• Fixed the issue that caused Gamphas' attack stat to be too low when compared with armour stat of some of the units.
  
• Fixed the issue where moving the game screen to another monitor and entering Settings would change the resolution tab to the lowest one.
  
• Fixed the issue where you could see resources depleted by other players which disappear upon entering their Line of Sight.
  
• Fixed the issue where the appearance of building & resource selection squares were cut/partly hidden under the ground on an uneven terrain.
  
• Fixed the issue that caused the appearance of red highlights on domestic animals.

And that would be all for this round of updates and improvements! Share your impressions in the comments and join our Discord server for the additional feedback and a chance to talk to the devs.

If you have any questions, be sure to check our previous post, where we answered some frequently asked questions.

We’ll have more improvements next week, so stay tuned!

Cantos Games

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Welcome, Colonisers!

The game is progressing well and with all of the things that are happening behind the scenes we’re making some adjustments. In particular we’ve decided to reformat how we post our patch notes and introduce proper dev blogs. These development blogs will show what we’re working on, the challenges the team is facing, and how we’re approaching these complications. Hopefully, this will give you and other players more insight into the game development process and allow you all to contribute observations and notes. We really value and appreciate your feedback and as much as possible try to consider it when we’re designing the game. But more about that in those updates.

If you are a new player that encountered our game by recommendation or accident, you probably have some questions. We’ll try to answer them below, so without further ado…

[h3]➤ What is Coloniser about?[/h3]
Coloniser is a massive persistent online RTS where survival is key. Progress through eras, forge alliances, and secure resources in an evolving alien world filled with danger, potential, and rich stories to uncover. Engage in large-scale warfare, leading epic battles for dominance!

[h3]➤ How would you explain the gameplay of Coloniser?[/h3]
Think RTS elements of Age of Empires 2, mixed with Rust survival elements and throw in multiplayer into that foundation and you get the jist of how the Coloniser will function.

[h3]➤ How will the online part function?[/h3]
Matches last up to 90-days and each server shows which day it is on and when the match will conclude. Players may join at any time if there is space available. If you are eliminated you may rejoin the server and start fresh.

[h3]➤ How many players does it support?[/h3]
Coloniser currently supports 16 players over 90 days in an RTS setting (with a higher number of controllable units), but we're working to increase this number to 90 players.

[h3]➤ 90 players over 90 days? Why so much and for so long?[/h3]
We believe that the PvP and team dynamics of very large servers, maps, and player counts will be a fun way to explore trade, diplomacy, and various tactics.

[h3]➤ Will new players be able to join mid game? How will that function when it comes to balancing?[/h3]
Players can join at any time after the server begins if there is room. You will start with the same basic level of resources each and every time you join. This can be tough if you start later on a server but there are spawn locations all over the maps, so if you are eliminated early you will respawn in another location. We also have a “Valor” mechanism we are introducing shortly and that will help players in older servers who are eliminated to rebuild a bit quicker.

[h3]➤ How will you prevent cheating and other potential explorations that some players may attempt?[/h3]
We prefer to leave the game experience as open-ended as possible and we will have only limited anti-cheat at release.

[h3]➤ Will it have a single player campaign?[/h3]
During the Early Access phase, we plan to have a small single player campaign that will function as an introduction to the game's systems and mechanics. We will introduce a full campaign for each of the tribes after Early Access.

[h3]➤ When is the game launching?[/h3]
We're still working on making a solid foundation for the game. That, along with the player's feedback, will influence the Early Access release. We'll update everyone once we have a date for it. Playtesting is available now and all the way through Early Access.

[h3]➤ For how long will the Coloniser be in Early Access for?[/h3]
Coloniser will be in Early Access for at least a year. During that time and depending on the features we implement, this will help us determine when the Early Access period will end.

[h3]➤ What languages will the game support upon its release?[/h3]
At launch, Coloniser will support English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, and Polish language. Additional languages will be added after Early Access.

[h3]➤ How much will Coloniser cost?[/h3]
We'll announce pricing once we get closer to the official release. Right now we are focused on making a good game.

And that would be all the important stuff for now. Did we miss anything important? Let us know in the comments.

Also, join our Discord as it is the fastest way to get all the necessary information and talk to the devs. We also have a Facebook, Reddit, X/Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram and Youtube account. It would help us a lot if you would follow us there and spread the word about Coloniser - we’re here to stay and create a wonderful community.

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Cantos Games

The servers were full for nearly a week after this most recent patch. We tried to get more up, but "unfortunately" we had more people playing then we anticipated. We are working a massive update to our server system (waitlist, higher player counts, faster load times, servers with friends, etc) and will share more soon on when it will be available.

[h2]What's New in this Patch?[/h2]
Huge changes to our combat system and unit stats that more effectively balances the different unit classes and roughly "doubles" the length of battles. Walls are also more effective and much more difficult to destroy without siege.

Note: As part of the balancing unit stats including healthpoints are much higher then they will be long-term. We just have them at the higher numbers to expedite balance testing.

[h2]Feature / Balance Changes[/h2]

• Minimum damage reduced from 5 to 1.
  
• Attack and armor stats adjusted for several units—primarily Bladeguards and Sentinels—to reduce overpowering with the new damage formula.
  
• Military buildings still retain higher resistance, addressing community feedback.
  
• Catapult and Ballista: Adjusted attack, area damage, and attack speed to rebalance their effectiveness.
  
• All units’ health doubled (+100%) to lengthen combat duration, encouraging more tactical engagements.
  
• Visual reworks complete on most Era One buildings.
  
• Arrow projectile visuals have been updated once more.
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Numerous projectile-related bugs have been resolved.
  
• Health bars have been partially updated; more improvements coming soon.
  
• Previews for new buildings have been fixed.
  
• Stronghold material assignation corrected.
  
• Line of sight corrected for several units.
  
• Collider sizes updated for all animals.
  
• Health bars realigned for all units.
  
• UI tweaks: Multiple small interface updates and polish.
  
• Attack animations that were previously cut short are now fully playing.
  
• Projectile VFX tweaked for a more natural appearance.
  
• Colonist’s first attack no longer gets cut short.
  

General Notes
We're making great progress on several impactful system changes that will gradually start to roll out into the Playtest these next several weeks and onwards. This patch includes improved projectiles (more below).

[h2]Gameplay & Mechanics[/h2]

• New Projectile System: Added non-homing projectiles with group and area-of-effect (splash) damage. (note: temporary vfx for splash projectiles)
  
• Projectile Pathing: Updated to appear more natural and consistent.
  
• Improved Animation Systems: Timing and Sequence Adjustments
  

[h2]Visuals & UI[/h2]

• Updated Homestead Visuals
  
• Updated Turret Visuals
  
• Enemy Healthbars: Now visually respond to incoming damage.
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Unit Cancellation: Fixed bugs related to unit cancellation and receiving your resources back.
  
• Farm Animations: Colonists inside farms now use correct animations.
  
• Healing Animations: Should now play correctly.
  
• Scipio / Justiciar Animations: Gathering animations are now functioning as intended.
  
• Death Animations: Should now trigger and play properly.
  
• Attack Animations: Fixed issue where animations were getting cut short.
  
• SFX Bugs: Minor sound effect bugs have been fixed.
  
• Typos: A large number of small text/tooltip typos have been corrected.
  

General Notes
Playtest is still going full swing so please join the waitlist for access. We've paused the Demo in order to get the newest updates delivered to the playtest quicker. Our team has been working hard on the feedback from Steam Next Fest and we've started to push out updates to address those items. Some of the smaller visual/performance tweaks will show up this month, but larger items like the new server waitlist/higher player counts will take more time.

This is another smaller patch with minor visual improvements, notably to farms, and bug fixes. Our next patch will be out early this week with several more noticeable changes.

[h3]Improvements/Adjustments[/h3]

• New Farms (note animation needs continued work)
  
• Improved Stronghold design with additional details
  
• All buildings with modest texture improvements
  
• Added some new main menu sprites
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where players could get stuck connecting when the server was full
  
• Non-aggresive and domestic animals are stuck in a looping death animation
  
• Text for selecting multiple buildings has a grammar issue
  
• Debug text #SEARCH_OPTION and #HOME is visible in the menu
  
• Chat lacks option to send a direct message to other player
  
• Audio sliders are reset upon entering the Settings menu for the second time or restarting the game
  
• The glow effect is too slow for Stone, Food & Ore resources
  
• HP bar for animals is missing