Getting Started Playing Space Colony
The game itself contains all the basic information you need to get started. Check the printed manual for system requirements, installation instructions and details on many aspects of the game. Be sure to play the brief, in-game tutorial before beginning the missions. I also recommend playing the main game missions (or at least a few of them) before venturing on to the Galaxy Mode and Sandbox Mode missions. During missions you can receive hints by clicking the flashing light bulb icon near the bottom left of the screen, and you can get info on any object by clicking on it when no colonist is selected.
In addition to all the helpful stuff the game designers have included, this site has various resources to help you master and enjoy Space Colony. The main sections are linked in the menu at left.
You'll also notice loads of hotlinks on most pages on this site. Click these for pop-up information windows with quick briefings on everything from game controls and screens to objects, resources, etc. You must have a java-enabled web browser for these pop-ups to work. Also, if you have a pop-up blocker program, either add spacecolonyfans.net to the whitelist (sites where pop-ups are allowed) or CTRL-click (or whatever your program requires) to open the links. My pop-ups only contain game information, no advertising or other harmful stuff.
Bypassing the False Trojan Alert Bug
Trying to run Space Colony may trigger a false alert from your virus-protection program. For some reason, a number of virus protection programs misidentify Space Colony as a particular trojan horse program, known by several names: Backdoor.Ranky (Symantec), Troj/Ranck-Fam (Sophos), Trojan-Proxy.Win32.Ranky (Kaspersky), Win32/Ranck (CA), Win32/TrojanProxy.Ranky (ESET).
If a scan of your system shows no other problems, if the only time you receive this alert is when you try to run Space Colony, and if you are running a legitimate copy of the game, you can safely assume this is a bug. In order to run the game, you'll need to temporarily disable your virus scanner for just as long as it takes to get the game started. Once you're playing, you can re-activate your virus protection to run in the background.
Special thanks to secatur and Mike, from the SpaceColonyForever Yahoo! group, for their help troubleshooting this issue.
Game Modes & Options
When you start Space Colony, the main menu shows you four buttons: Play, Tutorial, Settings and Editors.
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Play - Click this button to access more the different gameplay options. These include the following:
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Play Space Colony - A series of linked missions make up the main game. Until you have completed a mission, the subsequent missions are blacked out on the selection screen. After the first 8 missions (on planet Catherwood), you can choose to follow the civilian or military path. (Choosing one doesn't rule out the other. You can always play the other set of missions later.) Detailed walkthroughs for each are included in the walkthrough section.
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Galaxy Mode - In addition to the main game's civilian and military missions, there are more missions to be found under Galaxy Mode. Run your cursor over the planets to display each world's name and then click to access the missions. Hints for each are included in the Galaxy Mode section.
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Sandbox Mode - Eight more planets await your exploration. Here you have a fixed crew roster, but the goals are open-ended. Explore the planet, build what you want to and just have fun. Details on each planet including available colonists, resources, buildings, etc., can be found in the Sandbox Mode section.
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Play User-Created Games - This is where you access missions you have designed yourself or missions made by other players that you have downloaded. See the Planet Editor, Campaign Editor, Downloads and Links sections of this site for more info.
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Load Game - Click this button to load a previously saved game from any of the above categories.
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Tutorial - New players should try this brief introduction, which explains such basics as bridge functions, controlling your operatives, placing and using objects, managing colonists' needs, the work shift, etc.
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Settings - Click this button to change video and sound options, select MP3 music tracks to play during the game, and manage identities so more than one player can enjoy the game on the same computer.
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Editors - Includes the Planet Editor and Campaign Editor, which are used to create your own playable Space Colony missions. (Each tool has a section of this site devoted to it.)
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Back/Exit - This button appears on most game screens. Click it to return to the previous menu or, from the main menu, click it to exit the game.
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Text and site design copyright © 2004- Stellalune. Game art, screenshots, Space Colony name and logo copyright © 2003- Firefly Studios and Gathering of Developers. All rights reserved. See the main page for copyright guidelines.
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