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Getting Started
Aim of the game
Whilst each mission will have different objectives, the general goal of the game is to guide your team of robots from a simple stone age settlement through to a bustling industrial colony.
New Players
The first mission of the campaign will guide you through all the basics of how to set up a colony. It will show you how to place Roads and Paths, construct buildings and expand your Territory & Map. It is highly recommended for new players and takes around 15 minutes.
Advisor
From the start of the second mission you have access to the Advisor panel in the top left of the screen. Here you can find any important problems you currently have with your colony or suggestions for tasks to accomplish next.
TOP TIP: You are always able to build Level 1 versions of buildings even after you unlock Level 2. So even if you run out of access to stone you are always able to expand using a Level 1 Watchtower and mine using a Level 1 Surface Mine to continue your colony.
Buildings are where your colonists create and produce resources. Each building has at least one stackbot who drops offs and collects resources to and from road posts.
Placing Buildings
Hotkeys
Hit B to enter building mode.
Or use 1 through to = to jump between building categories and cycle between individual buildings.
Hit R when placing a building to rotate its orientation.
Hit F when placing a building to flip its orientation.
Understanding Energy
Energy is the most important resource in the game. Workerbots need it to chop trees, mine resources and carry out research. Energy is generated at residences by housebots.
There are three levels of Energy resource. When you upgrade a Lumberjack Hut, Surface Mine, Shaft Mine, or Workshop, they will require a higher level of Energy. For example a Level 2 Workshop will require Level 2 Energy which can only be made by a Level 2 Residence.
Your Colony Ship provides a slow supply of Level 1 Energy to ensure you never run out.
Your territory is the area of land that you have control over and you can only construct buildings and mine resources or chop trees that are within your territory.
Expanding Your Territory
Your Colony Ship gives you a small area of territory to begin with. To expand your territory you need to construct Watchtower L1. Once a guardbot occupies a constructed watchtower you will gain new territory.
It's usually best to build watchtowers right on the border to gain the most territory. Also higher level watchtowers (Watchtower L2, Watchtower L3 have a larger radius and will grant you more territory.
Watchtower Territory Stats
| Icon | Name | Territory Range |
|---|---|---|
|
Watchtower L1 | 11 Tiles |
|
Watchtower L2 | 14 Tiles |
|
Watchtower L3 | 17 Tiles |
Expeditions
On some maps resources might only be accessible over water. To set up new colonies on different islands you'll need to set up an expedition at a Harbour and explore the high seas. Once you hit land on your new island, your new Harbour will grant you a small amount of territory to work with. For more information check out the Boats section.
Combat
On some maps you will come across unfriendly robot colonies and eventually your territory borders will meet and the only way to gain more territory will be to capture the enemy watchtowers. Full information on this in the Combat section.
Map
The map can be accessed by the button in the top left of the screen or by the hotkey **[M]**.
It shows you a top-down view of the land that is visible to you along with the amounts of locations of natural resources available to you. You can zoom in and out using the mouse wheel or the slider on the left.
Natural resources outside your fog of war are marked as unknown and may be any natural resource type, but their location can give you a hint about which direction to expand in.