The indie colony management sim Rimworld officially launched in October 2018 after spending more than five years in early access status, but developer Ludeon Studios is still working on it. The studio announced today that a major free update and a new expansion called "Ideology" will be coming soon.

The 1.3 update is "pretty big" and represents roughly 15 months spent on the game, and includes (among other things) a new system of animal pens and fences, a reworking of the faction goodwill system so that more capable enemies use special tools to breach base defenses instead of breaking in through the front door to be added, drugs that settlers can carry and use, and beards. Why beards?"

"People have beards, and they look great because they look like beards," Rudeon explained.

Naturally, there are many other additions, adjustments, changes, and modifications.

More important, however, is the "Ideology" update, which aims to give players more control over the narrative aspects of the colony. Developer Tynan Sylvester said it was a reaction to seeing players building colonies based on certain "themes" such as pirates, cannibals, and nomads.

"I thought: that's the 'ideology' we've spent the last 15 months working on," Sylvester wrote,

and "I thought: 'What if we could create a new colony based on a specific theme?'"

"In this expanded version, you can create a new belief system and play it out in the colony. You can play as a tree-worshipping cannibal who carves skulls into every piece of furniture, a blind tunnel dweller who shuns light, or a transhumanist obsessed with perfecting the human form using exotic technology. Or they can be nudists, drug-addicted mystics, piratical plunderers, philanthropic givers, pain-loving animal sacrificers, dance-party techno-ravers, rustic ranch cowboys, and many more."

Players can mix and match various elements of their belief system, customizing individual elements as they see fit, from basic commandments and rituals to clothing, tattoos, and beards. The expansion, described as "like an Indiana Jones roguelike-type challenge," also offers new dryad creatures, space drone hacking, and a nice new "Archonexus ending" category of quests.

The Rimworld 1.3 update is currently scheduled to be released in a couple of weeks, around mid-July, but Ludeon warns that this is subject to change. Those who want to try it now can enter the preview branch on Steam: right-click RimWorld in the Steam library, select "Properties," choose the "Beta" tab, and select the "1.3-preview" branch. You may need to restart Steam to complete the procedure.

The Ideology extension will be launched at the same time. While waiting, you will see the following new screen.