Hey everyone! This update is about making a developed colony more interesting to run. There are new ways to concentrate production, protect valuable stock, improve a crowded market, and make use of difficult terrain.
Three New Late-Game Buildings
- Boost Tower unlocks at Level 18. It gives every eligible building within 2 tiles two extra adjacency bonuses, costs 18,000 Gold, and uses 8 MW. Towers stack, so careful placement matters.
- T4 Storage Expansion unlocks at Level 20. It adds 80 shared capacity for Robotics, Servo Actuators, and Pioneer Seedlings for 24,000 Gold and 3 MW.
- Market Exchange unlocks at Level 22. Each one adds 10% of base market capacity and recovery speed to every resource market, for 20,000 Gold and 4 MW. Multiple exchanges stack.
There is also a new Tier 4 Trade Logistics upgrade line from Level 24. Each rank adds 25% demand and recovery to Tier 4 markets, giving the final resources a more reliable place to go.
Copper Reaches the Deep Frontier
The Prospector map now includes copper deposits in canyon crevices, so Copper Extractors have a role there as well. That map is meant to reward a different expansion plan, and the extra deposit type makes its large resource clusters more useful throughout the tech tree.
Mountain Ridges are also no longer a permanent dead end. Terrain Engineering can flatten a ridge into ordinary buildable ground for 10,000 Gold. It is a deliberate trade: the resulting tile can hold normal construction, but it can no longer host a Wind Turbine.
Booster Cards Are More Predictable
I adjusted several boosters so they are easier to save for a specific moment:
- Production Boost now doubles live production for 2 minutes. Using another while it is active adds 1 minute.
- Survey Boost now halves the Gold cost of your next 50 tiles, instead of being a short timer.
- Rapid Construction now completes every building that is currently under construction.
- Gold Supply Drops now scale with both colony level and Terraform Index.
Contract Rerolls are now easier to reach directly from Mission Control, too. They replace available offers while leaving active contracts untouched.
Terraform Economy Balance
The new biological supply chain needed stronger returns, while its final projects needed clearer weight. Growth Medium now sells for 54 Gold instead of 30; Biomass rises from 180 to 200; and Pioneer Seedlings become a Tier 4 resource worth 900 Gold, up from 280.
At the same time, the biggest campaign milestones cost more: Seed Labs are now 70,000 Gold, Canopy Seeders 15,000 Gold, and the Biosphere Relay 300,000 Gold. The Relay also now requires 50 Robotics, 50 Servo Actuators, and 50 Pioneer Seedlings.
Finally, the Building Finder and production screen received a usability pass, making it easier to see what is built, active, producing, and consuming. Thanks for playing and for helping tune the road to a greener Mars. Happy colonizing!