Building a colony from nothing
AColony starts you with a few colonists and limited resources in an unknown world. From there you build up a settlement: multi-story buildings, bases dug into the ground or cut into mountains, and rooms filled with furniture, pictures and decoration. You also research technologies to unlock better weapons, items, machines and construction parts. The technology tree has over 50 fields split across four ages: basic, modern, computer and nuclear. Alongside building and research, you manage electricity with generators, batteries, consumers and switches, and you craft items, weapons and components.
Playing together online
Online co-op puts you and another player in the same world, each controlling your own colonists. You can trade resources with each other, treat each other's colonists medically, work together on events and attacks, and build relationships between colonists across both players. There are quests from neutral colonists, including online co-op quests, plus a trading system for regular traders and for player-to-player trades. Note that the 3-4 player co-op mode is still experimental.
Colonists and the world around you
Every colonist is an individual with expectations, mood, injuries and illnesses, skills, talents and traits. Expectations rise as your community grows: members may ask for their own room, specific furniture or special rooms. Mood should stay positive, since a bad mood can lead to dangerous situations. Injuries and illnesses range from stab wounds and bleeding to poisoning and disease, and traits bring both benefits and drawbacks. The world is not quiet: wanderers, traders and other groups visit regularly, while hostile colonists, dangerous animals and intelligent insects may take notice of you. Nature itself can also threaten your colonists. Stationary weapons like turrets and artillery help you defend what you have built.