Ludeon Studios has announced the next RimWorld update along with the Rimworld Ideology expansion that will release alongside the full rollout of the RimWorld update 1.3.
What is in RimWorld update 1.3?
The RimWorld 1.3 update has 15 months of work behind it, so it is a fairly meaty one. First up is an overhaul of the way animals work with the colony, as a new pens and fences system has been implemented. Animals are now more productive by default, but some of them need to be kept in fenced pens and led around by farmers. It helps to give the game a more ranchy look according to the developers, and to further add to that is a new straw matting type and egg boxes.
Enemies are going to be more dangerous now against fortified locations. A raid type called breaching will have them bringing special wall-breaking tools to get into the side of the base, instead of all nicely lining up at the front door. Tribals will use a breach-axe, pirates use grenades, and mechanoids will use a new termite mechanoid type.
A quick run down of some the other big changes
- An overhaul of the Faction Goodwill system that will make it easier to tell why neighbors want to kill or help you.
- Search bars all over the interface to make finding things easier
- Colonists can now carry medicine and use it on the battlefield
- Beards! Colonists can now have beards
You can read the full patch notes here.
What is the Rimworld Ideology expansion?
The Ideology expansion is focused around the idea of allowing players to roleplay more. In this expansion, players will be able to create a belief system and their colony will act it out. This can be as varied as tree-worshipping cannibal to dance party techno ravers, with all sorts of things in between as you can mix and match core elements of the belief system, and customize a large variety of elements including individual precepts, rituals, and special social roles.
Beyond that, there is a new quest category where you can hunt for ancient artifacts in an Indiana Jones rogue-like challenge as your colonists break into ancient structures, facing unknown dangers for a chance at that ancient treasure. There are new special trees that are symbiotically linked with dryads who can be controlled and grown in different castes. A lot more was hinted at in the announcement, but we'll need to wait for all the details.
When are RimWorld Update 1.3 and RimWorld Ideology releasing?
Rimworld update 1.3 will be releasing in about two weeks to the stable branch, and Ideology will be released at the same time. If you can't wait though, you can play RimWorld 1.3 right now on the beta branch (find it by right-clicking on the game in your library, and going to properties, then select Betas, and pick branch 1.3 preview).
