Second post in the ColonySim devlog series. This time — two new resource gathering systems, seasonal balance, and how the game finally got sound.

Forests and water — more than decoration

In the first release, forests only gave wood and water only gave... water. I wanted the environment to play a bigger role in the colony's economy. That's how hunting and fishing came to be.

The Hunter's Lodge is placed on a forest tile and gathers game. Game becomes meat, and then — cooked meat or stew. The catch is that each forest tile forces a choice: a lumber camp for wood or a hunter's lodge for meat. This creates an interesting decision — what does the colony need more right now?

The Pier learned to catch fish. It now has two modes: gather water or fish. Fish can be eaten raw, or turned into fish soup — which is more filling, quenches thirst, and boosts happiness.

Seasons as a gameplay element

Just adding new resources isn't enough. I wanted seasons to actually affect strategy. So hunting is more effective in winter (+50%) but harder in summer (-25%). Fishing is the opposite — better in summer (+25%), but ice fishing in winter is tough (-50%).

This forces you to plan ahead: stockpile fish in summer, switch to hunting in winter. A simple rule, but it adds depth.

The game got sound

Before this update, ColonySim was completely silent. Playable, sure, but it feels so different when you hear the rain, rumbling thunder, or howling blizzard 😊

I added atmospheric music, UI sounds, and weather ambient. Plus separate volume controls — so everyone can tweak it to their liking.

Small but smart improvements

Beyond the big features, there were plenty of smaller but important changes:

• Per-slot worker settings — you can now set the mode and recipe for each slot individually, not just for the whole building.
• Resource reservation — buildings pre-book the materials they need so workers don't sit idle.
• Migration balance — if only one gender remains in the colony, the chance of the opposite gender migrating increases.
• Smart workers — they stopped starting new work cycles right before bedtime.

What's next

I want to rework the event system — make events more diverse, with choices and consequences. Also planning to split buildings into indoor and outdoor, so weather actually matters.

You can try ColonySim on itch.io — free, right in your browser.