Everything is rolling forward smoothly just as it was described in the last blog post. I’m working reduced time, keeping up with website, PR, paperwork and legal essentials, while writing designs. Piotr is working full time, slamming those designs into the game and refining the technicals.

Things are progressing as fast as they ever have, so the next alpha will be the biggest jump in features you’ve seen by far.

Here is a quick overview of some stuff that’s been added:

Colonist family and social relationship system. Brothers, sisters, parents, children, aunts, uncles and so on are all randomly generated. So e.g. your colonist’s brother can appear as a refugee (or a raider!) Colonists develop lover relationships – and break them off. People have opinions of each other which change with circumstances (e.g. you botched my surgery and cut my eye out – I hate you! Or, you’re my brother – I love you!). Social interactions play out different ways with different effects, depending on who is communicating and what they think of each other. People can have “social fights” from social interactions gone wrong. Marriages with ceremonies. Divorces. Love and heartbreak. Multi-person beds. Social bonds with animals. Tons more in this system. But no kids (yet – that’s a whole other ball of wax).

People who leave the map while traveling, fleeing, being kidnapped, etc. can come back later as raiders, visitors, joiners, etc.

New diseases with new mechanics. Carcinoma (on any body part). Fibrous mechanites, sensory mechanites. Gut worms. Muscle parasites. Trauma savant. Asthma.

New “firefoam popper” provides a way to combat fire besides punching it.

Prison breaks. Prisoners pick the locks, get out, seek weapons and work as a group to escape.

Tons of other over and under-the-hood improvements.

Can’t wait to get it to you guys. I’ll be back in March. (edit: I’m not sure when the alpha will actually be finished. It could be after March – just to be clear).