Sci-fi space colony game RimWorld will be getting a free 1.3 update and a new Ideology expansion. A recent post on the game's Steam community page claims the update will be coming "in about 2 weeks", and will bring a host of quality of life improvements to the simulation game. RimWorld is currently on sale, so now is the perfect time to get into the game ahead of its imminent update. There's a full changelog for those of you who are interested in the specifics.
The 1.3 update has been in the works for 15 months, and is bringing numerous gameplay and UI changes. For starters, animals can now be assigned to fenced in pens, so you won't have any more cows roaming into your bedrooms in search of food. There will also be a new straw terrain type and egg boxes to give your colony a more authentic farm feel.
The AI has been revamped also, with neighbouring factions remembering your past deeds, and a new enemy breach raid that will feature new units and weapons designed to tunnel into the side of your base, rather than neatly queueing up outside the front door.
A much needed UI improvement means that there are multiple search bars you can use to instantly find what you're looking for, rather than looking through lists. You can also order fighters to move into formations with just one mouse command, and they are now better equipped to deliver first aid during battle.
The Ideology update adds a deep belief system that you can customise heavily to tailor your colony to a large number of different roleplaying styles. "You can play as tree-worshipping cannibals who carve skulls into every piece of furniture, or blind tunnelers who shun the light, or transhumanists obsessed with perfecting the human form using exotic technology," or any other society you can think of.
The Ideology update also comes with some new content, such as "a sort of Indiana Jones roguelike-type challenge of breaking into ancient structures and facing unknown dangers inside to get ancient treasure."
If you just can't wait until the update goes live, you can play the beta version now. To enter into the beta version, "go to your Steam library, right-click RimWorld and select "Properties", then select the BETAS tab and choose branch 1.3-preview. Restart Steam if needed."