Hey everyone! The next release is coming later today or tomorrow, and it brings one of the most requested features: random map generation with seed sharing, alongside a brand-new Mountain map to test your colony planning.
Random Map Generation & Seed Sharing
When you finish the game at Level 30, you can start a new run, choose a new powerful perk, and select a map to play on. In this update, maps with random generation will let you enter a six-digit seed, or simply roll a random one.
Because generation is deterministic, the exact same seed always creates the exact same map layout, terrain, and resource distribution. That means you can share your favorite high-yield seeds with the community (or keep your best seeds secret!).
Seeds govern a mix of global and map-specific rolls:
- Global rolls: Determine overall resource abundance and bias (leaning toward Ice, Sand, or Carbon), how many Ancient Ruins are scattered across the world, and whether a map is generous or punishing overall.
- Highlands rolls: On the new Shattered Highlands map, seeds also affect pocket count and size, the chance of empty buildable pockets, canyon width, meltwater channel length, and more.
Some seeds will be especially strong, while others will be rough - but every seed is designed to remain fully playable.
Map Overview: Four Worlds to Settle
With the arrival of the Shattered Highlands, commanders can now choose from four distinct colony maps:
- Original – Old Channels (Available at TFI 0): Your starting map. It will stay handcrafted, so random seed generation is not available here. While it is probably still one of the more straightforward maps, it remains a great place to learn the game. 🙂
- Stormworld – Tempest Barrens (Available at TFI 10): Dust storms arrive every 30 minutes and last for 5 minutes, making Battery Banks essential. On the bright side, this map has dense resource deposits that last longer, and Outposts cost 50% less.
- Prospector – Deep Frontier (Available at TFI 10): Resources near the center are scarce, so you will need to explore early. Surveying is 50% cheaper and the market has 2× larger thresholds, but buildings cost 20% more.
- Highlands – Shattered Highlands (Available at TFI 20): This map is mostly mountains, with pockets of rich resources hidden throughout the terrain. Dust storms happen every 2 hours instead of every hour. Chains are stronger here, giving a +30% bonus per input instead of +20%, and Wind Turbines produce 50% more power. Buildable space and resources are more limited overall, but there should still be plenty to work with. Surveying mountains is also 2× harder.
I’m excited to see which seeds people discover first. Get ready to roll a seed, navigate narrow passes, and start sharing map codes!