🚀 Venusville 1.9 Demo is Out Now!

It’s been a while since the last demo (v1.7.6 back in May!) — I originally planned to jump straight to the big 2.0 Beta, but since time has flown by, I decided to release one last Alpha demo (v1.9) to bridge the gap. This update is packed with improvements, bug fixes, and some exciting new features to explore while 2.0 continues to take shape!

🌫️ No More Fog — Clearer View, Better Gameplay

I’ve removed the volumetric fog that used to envelope the city — while it added realism, having your whole city submerged in clouds (especially at night) made the game frustrating and sometimes unplayable. Initially I made fog togglable, but nearly every tester simply switched it off. So, in this build, fog is turned off for good. The surrounding clouds remain, but the space between the camera and the city is always cleared, giving you full visibility and letting you better appreciate the city you’ve built.

🧠 Smarter Colonists, Better AI

The AI and pathfinding system has been completely rewritten from scratch. Colonists should now move and work consistently — no more getting stuck or aimlessly wandering!

❤️ New Stat & Behaviour System

The entire status system has been redesigned for more realism and smoother gameplay.

• Colonists won’t refuse to work just because they’re hungry, thirsty, or tired.

• Instead, when their needs are in the red, their health will start dropping and they’ll take short breaks to try to grab food, water, or rest, then head back to work.

• Multiple issues speed up health loss, but they’ll still keep working until their health itself goes red. Which will give a lot more time to react and address they needs.

• They will heal automatically when they statuses are restored.

• Each stat now shows its own yellow/red icon over their heads, replacing the old single “!” icon — making it much easier to identify problems at a glance.

🏠 Dome Improvements

Domes now feature actual opening and closing doors instead of just static frames. Preparation for the upcoming Airlocks!

⚖️ Real City Leaning & Balance Feedback

Previously, imbalance was only shown through a small icon or an optional overlay — easy to miss until it was too late.

Now, the entire city physically leans when off-balance! Add a new building or adjust your balloons or engines, and you’ll see the city tilt in real time, giving immediate, city-wide feedback.

🧭 New Overlays

Originally we only had the Balance and Stress overlay — now there are several new ones:

• Buoyancy Overlay → shows which buildings are heavy or buoyant.

• Power Overlay → visualize power producers and consumers.

• Power Storage Overlay → displays how much power is stored in each building using a clear 3D bar chart.

🤖 Meet the Robots

Yes, robots have finally arrived! Three new types are available in the demo:

• Carrier Robots – Fast wheeled units for hauling.

• Construction Robots – Wheeled builders, twice as quick as humans.

• Worker Robots – Legged units that can operate machinery just like humans (but no hunger, thirst, or sleep needs — only a quick charge).

They’re specialized and efficient, though less versatile than humans. You’ll also find two new interior structures to support them:

• Robot Charger

• Robot Repair Pod

🧩 Other Additions & Improvements

• New models and animations for machines, people, and robots.

• New building and interior icons.

• A complete in-game Wiki with info on gases, resources, buildings, and recipes — all easy to browse directly inside the game.

This version lays the groundwork for the upcoming 2.0 Beta, which will bring even more major systems and polish. Thanks to everyone who’s been testing, reporting bugs, and supporting Venusville — your feedback makes a huge difference! 💛