hey, what's the name of the song that played in game before you put it on Steam? I really liked it but could never find it on YouTube cause I didn't know what its name was.
I liked this game and will be pointing people at the Steam version. To expand on my review about what I didn't like in this otherwise good game:
-A simple tutorial might've been nice. Just a few-turns-long thing where you're told to build a power array at point X and hook it up, then connect a water plant to a base with pipes. A new player might get confused, saying "what do you mean it's still not hooked up?" and not realize when you need tunnels, pipes and wires. Might also point out the ability to set buildings to 1/2 or off, which can become important.
-I never made much use of the late-game soil enhancer devices, maybe because I had set the map to have adequate water... but if I hadn't there wouldn't have been enough spare water for them anyway.
-In the late game, happiness only affects the ability to get 0%, 50% or 100% of the new colonist batch. I found it rewarding to try to get the happiness stat up, but would've liked it to have some greater effect like increased productivity. Also, for there to be some other way to raise it. I'm imagining something like "create a constant resource drain because you're manufacturing luxury goods", "genetically engineer people so they can now reach workplaces without using tunnels", or "start trade with another colony to lose X resource but get a net gain of Y".
Great feedback, thanks. Tutorial is already implemented for Farlanders: Prologue in a similar way as you describe. Also, I invite you to join our discord. It's not very active yet, but should be more alive after prologue is released.
Unfortunately, at the moment you can't. You have to wait for a proper release on Steam & itch.io. Although, we are planning to release a free Farlanders: Prologue soon.
You are right. I took the music from https://incompetech.com/, it's a very popular resource, so there is a chance that it's not the last time you heard this theme :).
Version 0.3.1 is definitely more balanced than 0.3.0. I can confirm that 0.3.0 had issues with game balancing as described by user Namtom below.
I think terraforming can still be improved in 0.3.1. The terraforming options you get are mostly random and many times I find them quite useless, especially if you get several items mixed together (e.g. TNT, fire, toxicity and clouds next to each other). These complex terraforming options usually do nearly as much harm to the landscape as they are helpful.
Many times I wish I could transform that annoying mountain or canyon in the middle of my settlement into something useful. But since you need two to three applications of terraforming for that (e.g. TNT, cloud, cloud for mountains), it takes a long time and is usually not worth to bother .
I believe it would be more fun, if the terraforming items you get on specific days would be more balanced. In the current version, you get quite similar terraforming options each time, i.e. you get three times options with mostly clouds on one terraforming event, three times mountains mixed with either fire, clouds or TNT the next event, three times random sets including minerals the next event and so on. I suggest to make it more even, i.e. you get a set of three clearly different terraforming options on each event. This way you will most likely get the chance to use TNT, clouds, clouds in consecutive terraforming events, which is what you need if you want to transform a mountain to fertile soil. With the current system, you sometimes need half the game to get the right terraforming items to achieve that, which as I said before is not worth bothering then. This I consider somewhat frustrating.
By the way, I have beaten 0.3.1 several times now on hard and once on very hard. I could not beat 0.3.0 even once. I have to admit though, that I usually restart the game several times until I get what I consider beatable starting conditions. The randomly generated maps sometimes end up in the game being unbeatable in the given time (at least for me).
I played 0.20 at least 50 times and found it highly addictive.
0.20 was a much simpler game than 0.3.1 and I am not sure yet which of the both I prefer. Certainly 0.20 was easier to master while still rather addicitive.
Thanks a lot for such detailed feedback! I agree that terraformation requires improvements. Even more, in my opinion, terraformation is the reason why the older version might feel more fun to play. I see a few problems with it right now:
I'm not happy with how maps are generated. Level generator is too random, and maps usually have a lot of free space which can make terraformation unimportant, or even useless.
As you pointed out, sometimes terraformation patterns are pointless, and order in which they appear is unpredictable.
Because of that, working on terraformation is one of my priorities in the next major update (0.4). Also, I have a few more ideas on how to improve it:
Add option to hide terraformation pattern into the stash for later use.
Mineral and water terraformation types are boring in most cases because you just put them near existing resources to get an efficiency bonus. So I'm thinking about adding a new logic. For example, instead of existing "mineral deposits with 2 new mountainsnearby" terraformation pattern, there will be a "mineral deposit that requires 2 existing mountains nearby" terraformation pattern.
Not sure if those ideas would be as fun as it sounds to me on paper, but I'll test them.
Thank you for spreading the word. I'm considering adding a science resource and tech tree. Also, consider sharing your feedback in the form - https://forms.gle/Sm5nC6dC2wSc1qGg9 (if you didn't already).
I've now played the 0.3 version several times. I really like it even though it feels quite challenging after the first version and I still don't get all the things affecting happiness. But hey, colonizing a new planet is not fun. :D
One annoying bug to fix in the future versions: When terraforming is selected, you have to be extra carefull NOT to have some building construction selected at the same time. If you click to do the terraform you might end up building something by mistake even if you thought you were about to do terraforming. Improvement suggestion: When selecting a terraform piece, deselect all building pieces currently selected and vice versa to prevent accidental construction.
I've done this mistake by accident myself several times now.
Thanks for the feedback! I'll fix the bug that you mentioned in the next small update. Also, what in your opinion was too hard during gameplay? Was it the number of available free workers, limited amount of some resources, or maybe something else? I'm asking because I want to make a little shift in game balance, to make the game a little easier, but to do so I need more feedback on specific rough gameplay parts.
Most often I seem to get into this chain reaction: happiness is getting low and I start to lose people (or not getting enough of them) which leads to everything failing OR to increase happiness enough I need to use quite a lot of resources to cover the building costs. I tend to start running out of food at some point. Often it takes most time to get enough fertile soil for farms, depending on the map of course. However, it's also possible that I haven't learned the right balance yet...
To my opinion, the costs of buildings is a lot more balanced now than in the previous version.
I analysed my difficulties more and noticed that the negative happiness spiral is always the following:
1) Happiness is going doing. 2) Raising happiness would require buildings which need a high number of people (parks and restaurants). 3) Because of the happiness level, I can't get enough people to join my colony to raise the happiness. 4) Happiness keeps going down which is the end OR I ran out of food because farms also require people.
Improvement suggestion: Adding a building option to improve happiness which doesn't require people at all.
the game seems good but there is a issue with the fact that i downloaded the game with the itch.io application and it thinks its using the game without permision
I guess that's because itch app expects a standalone build for your OS, which is paid that's why you don't have access. I'll try to find a solution with the help of itch support, but I need more details from you. You didn't purchase a full version of the game, right? The game is downloaded, but you can't run it because of the 'no permission' error? If you could provide a screenshot as well, that would be great.
I was able to run the game on my Mac with this trick given by the OSX user guide (which also means you trust Andriy 100% not running any malicious software with the game):
Open an app by overriding security settings
You can open an app that isn’t allowed to open by manually overriding the settings in Security & Privacy preferences.
In the Finder on your Mac, locate the app you want to open.
Most apps can be found in the Applications folder.
Control-click the app icon, then choose Open from the shortcut menu.
Click Open.
The app is saved as an exception to your security settings, and you can open it in the future by double-clicking it, just as you can any authorised app.
I love this game, but there should be ways to recuperate from running out of money from the start. If you can't get mines before you run out, you're practically finished (as far as I know).
i like the game and it is a good start and is butiful but right now but, its a little to bassic i only got about 2 hours of play time before i got bord, to improve this mabey add some new featers like mining and other structres and being able to interact with the inviorment a little more this would add much more fun and i could play this game weeks on end without being bord but as an over all it has a unique experience and i could see it becoming a populer itch.io game in the future but for right now im just going to stick to cosmoteer
I really enjoyed this game! Beautiful and detailed art, mood is perfect, theme is executed really nicely.
However, it has a few rough edges.
I took a long time to understand all the mechanics. For example I was confused that water didn't appear when terraforming (because I was placing them on rocks, which turns them normal land).
The game is very difficult, but it seems that the difficulty varies wildly depending on your generated map. The lose states can be quite unsatisfying. For example, if you run out of metal and just can't build, you feel doomed. Same if you just can't build enough houses.
There are lots of other little things that could do with polish and fixes, but you've mentioned you're working on version 2--I look forward to playing it.
suggestion: if you keep the current objectives for version 2, maybe let the player continue to play with the next easier objective after he ran out of time instead of giving up on the colony. If a player fails to reach the population within the time limit for medium, maybe they can still have fun trying to get there within the limit for easy mode.
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hey, what's the name of the song that played in game before you put it on Steam? I really liked it but could never find it on YouTube cause I didn't know what its name was.
Did this use to be available somewhere else? I seem to distinctly remember playing it, but I haven't rated it on here.
Dang, had I known beforehand that it's only for Windows on Steam, I would have given my key away.
Now I claimed it and it's Windows only.
*pout*
I hope you're planning a Linux version too? Pretty please?
I think I already answered your question on Discord, but for everyone else that might be interested, yes, we will release a Linux version as well.
I wish there was still a web version. I have neither the money nor the type of computer to be able to download this game.
I liked this game and will be pointing people at the Steam version. To expand on my review about what I didn't like in this otherwise good game:
-A simple tutorial might've been nice. Just a few-turns-long thing where you're told to build a power array at point X and hook it up, then connect a water plant to a base with pipes. A new player might get confused, saying "what do you mean it's still not hooked up?" and not realize when you need tunnels, pipes and wires. Might also point out the ability to set buildings to 1/2 or off, which can become important.
-I never made much use of the late-game soil enhancer devices, maybe because I had set the map to have adequate water... but if I hadn't there wouldn't have been enough spare water for them anyway.
-In the late game, happiness only affects the ability to get 0%, 50% or 100% of the new colonist batch. I found it rewarding to try to get the happiness stat up, but would've liked it to have some greater effect like increased productivity. Also, for there to be some other way to raise it. I'm imagining something like "create a constant resource drain because you're manufacturing luxury goods", "genetically engineer people so they can now reach workplaces without using tunnels", or "start trade with another colony to lose X resource but get a net gain of Y".
Great feedback, thanks. Tutorial is already implemented for Farlanders: Prologue in a similar way as you describe. Also, I invite you to join our discord. It's not very active yet, but should be more alive after prologue is released.
How can I buy an itch.io version for $10 right now?
Unfortunately, at the moment you can't. You have to wait for a proper release on Steam & itch.io. Although, we are planning to release a free Farlanders: Prologue soon.
This is the best game I've ever played after star wars
I just watched this video
and listen to the music in the first minutes!It's the farlanders tune, isn't it? Heard it for so long, I think it's burned in me brain :-)
You are right. I took the music from https://incompetech.com/, it's a very popular resource, so there is a chance that it's not the last time you heard this theme :).
I actually heard it again in a video of the channel "Atrocity Guide".
I think it proves your good choice and what a fine tune it is :-)
cant play anymore=[
Why? What happened?
I like this game a lot.
Version 0.3.1 is definitely more balanced than 0.3.0. I can confirm that 0.3.0 had issues with game balancing as described by user Namtom below.
I think terraforming can still be improved in 0.3.1. The terraforming options you get are mostly random and many times I find them quite useless, especially if you get several items mixed together (e.g. TNT, fire, toxicity and clouds next to each other). These complex terraforming options usually do nearly as much harm to the landscape as they are helpful.
Many times I wish I could transform that annoying mountain or canyon in the middle of my settlement into something useful. But since you need two to three applications of terraforming for that (e.g. TNT, cloud, cloud for mountains), it takes a long time and is usually not worth to bother .
I believe it would be more fun, if the terraforming items you get on specific days would be more balanced. In the current version, you get quite similar terraforming options each time, i.e. you get three times options with mostly clouds on one terraforming event, three times mountains mixed with either fire, clouds or TNT the next event, three times random sets including minerals the next event and so on. I suggest to make it more even, i.e. you get a set of three clearly different terraforming options on each event. This way you will most likely get the chance to use TNT, clouds, clouds in consecutive terraforming events, which is what you need if you want to transform a mountain to fertile soil. With the current system, you sometimes need half the game to get the right terraforming items to achieve that, which as I said before is not worth bothering then. This I consider somewhat frustrating.
By the way, I have beaten 0.3.1 several times now on hard and once on very hard. I could not beat 0.3.0 even once. I have to admit though, that I usually restart the game several times until I get what I consider beatable starting conditions. The randomly generated maps sometimes end up in the game being unbeatable in the given time (at least for me).
I played 0.20 at least 50 times and found it highly addictive.
0.20 was a much simpler game than 0.3.1 and I am not sure yet which of the both I prefer. Certainly 0.20 was easier to master while still rather addicitive.
Thanks a lot for such detailed feedback! I agree that terraformation requires improvements. Even more, in my opinion, terraformation is the reason why the older version might feel more fun to play. I see a few problems with it right now:
Because of that, working on terraformation is one of my priorities in the next major update (0.4). Also, I have a few more ideas on how to improve it:
Not sure if those ideas would be as fun as it sounds to me on paper, but I'll test them.
Bought the game, told others about it. Nice to see a space colonization themed game!
It'd be nice to see some extension to the tech tree, more things to do. Maybe a science resource produced by labs?
Thank you for spreading the word. I'm considering adding a science resource and tech tree. Also, consider sharing your feedback in the form - https://forms.gle/Sm5nC6dC2wSc1qGg9 (if you didn't already).
Thanks! Yes, I plan to release the game on Steam. Not sure if I need a publisher now.
The core gameplay loop in this is solid, nice work!
I played the free online beta. Great game!!
I've now played the 0.3 version several times. I really like it even though it feels quite challenging after the first version and I still don't get all the things affecting happiness. But hey, colonizing a new planet is not fun. :D
One annoying bug to fix in the future versions: When terraforming is selected, you have to be extra carefull NOT to have some building construction selected at the same time. If you click to do the terraform you might end up building something by mistake even if you thought you were about to do terraforming.
Improvement suggestion: When selecting a terraform piece, deselect all building pieces currently selected and vice versa to prevent accidental construction.
I've done this mistake by accident myself several times now.
Thanks for the feedback! I'll fix the bug that you mentioned in the next small update. Also, what in your opinion was too hard during gameplay? Was it the number of available free workers, limited amount of some resources, or maybe something else? I'm asking because I want to make a little shift in game balance, to make the game a little easier, but to do so I need more feedback on specific rough gameplay parts.
Most often I seem to get into this chain reaction: happiness is getting low and I start to lose people (or not getting enough of them) which leads to everything failing OR to increase happiness enough I need to use quite a lot of resources to cover the building costs. I tend to start running out of food at some point. Often it takes most time to get enough fertile soil for farms, depending on the map of course.
However, it's also possible that I haven't learned the right balance yet...
To my opinion, the costs of buildings is a lot more balanced now than in the previous version.
PS: I've been only playing on "normal" mode.
I analysed my difficulties more and noticed that the negative happiness spiral is always the following:
1) Happiness is going doing.
2) Raising happiness would require buildings which need a high number of people (parks and restaurants).
3) Because of the happiness level, I can't get enough people to join my colony to raise the happiness.
4) Happiness keeps going down which is the end OR I ran out of food because farms also require people.
Improvement suggestion: Adding a building option to improve happiness which doesn't require people at all.
Great game!
Very good game! Congrats!!!
The game is amazing, congratulations!
I think this is about as perfect as I could do it - Maxed population, only 7 extra food, 3 extra water, and 2 extra energy.
It only took over 2 years in sandbox mode. :)
GREAT GAME!!!
I enjoy the game even though I let my colonist die
love it :)
that is impressive
the game seems good but there is a issue with the fact that i downloaded the game with the itch.io application and it thinks its using the game without permision
Same issue here, it doesn't seem to play well with the itch app.
I guess that's because itch app expects a standalone build for your OS, which is paid that's why you don't have access. I'll try to find a solution with the help of itch support, but I need more details from you. You didn't purchase a full version of the game, right? The game is downloaded, but you can't run it because of the 'no permission' error? If you could provide a screenshot as well, that would be great.
I was able to run the game on my Mac with this trick given by the OSX user guide (which also means you trust Andriy 100% not running any malicious software with the game):
Open an app by overriding security settings
You can open an app that isn’t allowed to open by manually overriding the settings in Security & Privacy preferences.
Most apps can be found in the Applications folder.
The app is saved as an exception to your security settings, and you can open it in the future by double-clicking it, just as you can any authorised app.
Thank you for sharing a solution! I will include this information in 'Download & install instructions' if you don't mind.
Go ahead! Happy to help! :)
I love this game, but there should be ways to recuperate from running out of money from the start. If you can't get mines before you run out, you're practically finished (as far as I know).
i like the game and it is a good start and is butiful but right now but, its a little to bassic i only got about 2 hours of play time before i got bord, to improve this mabey add some new featers like mining and other structres and being able to interact with the inviorment a little more this would add much more fun and i could play this game weeks on end without being bord but as an over all it has a unique experience and i could see it becoming a populer itch.io game in the future but for right now im just going to stick to cosmoteer
I really enjoyed this game! Beautiful and detailed art, mood is perfect, theme is executed really nicely.
However, it has a few rough edges.
I took a long time to understand all the mechanics. For example I was confused that water didn't appear when terraforming (because I was placing them on rocks, which turns them normal land).
The game is very difficult, but it seems that the difficulty varies wildly depending on your generated map. The lose states can be quite unsatisfying. For example, if you run out of metal and just can't build, you feel doomed. Same if you just can't build enough houses.
There are lots of other little things that could do with polish and fixes, but you've mentioned you're working on version 2--I look forward to playing it.
suggestion: if you keep the current objectives for version 2, maybe let the player continue to play with the next easier objective after he ran out of time instead of giving up on the colony. If a player fails to reach the population within the time limit for medium, maybe they can still have fun trying to get there within the limit for easy mode.
Very nice game, finished it once on medium (took me several attempts)
It was tricky to learn that you need to wait for the terraforming (because I could skip the level without terraforming, I did not notice it at all).
Maybe just ask the player to actively choose "Don't Terraform" so he cannot move to the next level.
Good point, I will add it to my list, cheers