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Colonists are the brave souls who decide to settle on Mars, risking death and injury with no possibility of rescue. Colonists begin arriving after you create a dome colony that can sustain human life, and they require careful attention and care. Each colonist has their own personality and unique preferences, and these traits evolve over time.
Colonists need oxygen, water, and food to survive.
Colonist Behavior
Colonists act completely autonomously. Players cannot micromanage them, only provide the necessary facilities: housing, workplaces, and venues to satisfy their interests. Players can manually reassign each colonist’s housing and workplace, but the proper way to manage a colony is through setting dome policies, specialization policies, training required specialists at the Mars University, and filtering suitable applicants from Earth.
Housing Assignment
After arriving on Mars, colonists will try to find residential buildings within walking distance.
Child Housing Rules:
- When colonists are born, they are immediately considered children and need housing
- Children prioritize nurseries within the same dome, and will not automatically relocate even if adjacent domes have vacancies
- Children can only be guided to relocate through dome policies or the Spaceport Hub
Adult Housing Rules:
- Unemployed colonists will try to relocate to domes with jobs, even if their current dome has housing
Work Assignment
Colonists begin looking for work at 6 sol. Work assignment follows these priorities:
- Player manual assignment has the highest priority (manually assigned colonists will not automatically change jobs for 5 sol)
- Building priority: High-priority buildings are staffed first
- Specialization matching: Specialists prioritize jobs matching their specialization
- Automatic adjustment: The system takes 1-2 sol to automatically balance staffing
Work Range Limitations:
- Can only work in the residential dome or adjacent domes (one passage distance)
- Cross-dome work has a -10 performance penalty
- Can relocate to other domes via shuttle at the Spaceport Hub
Health System
Health Threshold
| Low Health Penalty | -10 Morale |
| Medical Check Buildings | Clinic, Medical Center |
| Recovery Per Visit | Fixed health value |
| When Low Health | Cannot work (unless has 'Fit' trait) |
When health is low, colonists will actively and frequently seek medical check services until health is restored above the threshold. Other buildings also provide health recovery, but colonists will not actively seek these services.
Sanity System
When sanity falls below the threshold, colonists will actively visit medical buildings that provide sanity recovery (Medical Post, Clinic, Hospital, Medical Center), and will visit multiple times consecutively until sanity is restored.
Special Cases:
- Only colonists with the “Hypochondriac” flaw will actively seek sanity recovery services
- Other colonists (such as those with the “Gamer” trait) can only passively recover sanity by satisfying interests
Comfort System
Comfort is passively increased through daily activities:
- Daily sleep
- Daily meals
- Other activities
Mechanism: When visiting service buildings, colonists only gain comfort if their current comfort is below the building’s “service comfort” rating. Colonists will not actively visit buildings to increase comfort.
Interest System
Each adult colonist has a predetermined number of interests based on specialization, traits, and flaws. Possible interests include:
Social, Relaxation, Dining, Drinking, Shopping, Exercise, Gaming, Luxury, Gambling, Medical
Children only have Play as an interest.
Mechanism: Colonists will only visit service buildings that match their interests. If interests cannot be satisfied (building doesn’t exist or is full), their comfort will decrease.
Attribute System
Each colonist has four core attributes, with values ranging from 0-100:
| Attribute | Affects | Ways to Increase | Decreases From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | Determines if can work | Medical checks, rest | Lack of resources, disasters, chronic illness |
| Sanity | Affects breakdown risk | Medical services, satisfying interests | Disasters, work stress |
| Comfort | Affects birth rate | Service buildings, high-quality facilities | Lack of services, poor living conditions |
| Morale | Affects work performance | High attributes, good traits | Low attributes, bad events |
Age Stages
Colonists are divided into 5 age stages (unit: sol):
| Age Stage | Age Range | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Child | 0-5 sol | Cannot work, can only attend school and use playgrounds/nurseries, only interest is “Play” |
| Youth | 6-10 sol | Can work in all buildings |
| Adult | 11-30 sol | Can work in all buildings |
| Middle-Aged | 31-60 sol (without Stem Reconstruction) 31-80 sol (with tech) | Approaching retirement but can still work |
| Senior | 61+ sol (without Stem Reconstruction) 81+ sol (with tech) | Cannot work, random chance of death per sol, cannot reproduce (unless “Forever Young” tech researched) |
Birth Mechanism
Birth Rate Calculation
| Fertility Formula | ((Comfort-30)/10)% |
| Minimum Comfort | 30 (requires medical check) |
| Stable Population | Comfort 66.4 |
| Rapid Growth | Comfort 100 (+7.5%/Sol) |
| Fertility Conditions | Male-female pairing, fertile age |
Birth Rate Factors:
- Requires fertile male-female pairing (children, seniors, “other gender” cannot reproduce)
- Fertility chance per couple per Sol: ((Comfort-30)/10)%
- Birth rate reduced by 50% when there are homeless in the dome
- Birth rate reduced by 100% when 1/4 of population is homeless
Population Trends (based on 55 sol fertility period):
| Average Comfort | Children per Couple | Population Trend |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | 1.375 | Inevitable extinction (-1.1%/Sol) |
| 66.4 | 2.0 | Stable population |
| 70 | 2.475 | Stable growth (+0.85%/Sol) |
| 100 | 4.125 | Rapid overload (+7.5%/Sol) |
Specialization
Specialization System
| Specialization Types | 8 types |
| Mismatch Penalty | -50 performance |
| Learning Path | Mars University |
| Learning Duration | Depends on individual performance and tech |
Specialized colonists perform better in matching workplaces. Non-specialized colonists suffer a -50 performance penalty in jobs requiring specialization, but specialists have no penalty in non-specialized work.
Specialization Types Table
| Specialization | Ideal Workplace | Interests | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Specialization | Non-specialized work (Restaurant, etc.) | Social, Relaxation, Shopping | Poor performance in specialized jobs |
| Botanist | Farm | Relaxation, Shopping, Luxury | Trained expert in farm work |
| Engineer | Factory | Relaxation, Shopping, Dining | Trained expert in factory work |
| Geologist | Extractor | Social, Shopping, Drinking | Trained expert in extractor buildings |
| Medic | Clinic, Medical Center | Social, Shopping, Luxury | Trained expert in medical work |
| Scientist | Research Lab, Hawking Institute | Social, Relaxation, Gaming | Trained expert in research |
| Security | Security Station | Social, Relaxation, Exercise | Trained expert in security |
| Tourist | No work | Travel, Sightseeing | Excited tourists seeking vacation experiences beyond Earth |
Specialization Policies
Each building requiring personnel has specialization policies:
- No Restrictions (default): Anyone can work
- Specialists Only: Only corresponding specialists can work
- Reject Specialists (non-specialized buildings): Prevents specialists from wasting time on low-value work
Trait System
Traits are defining characteristics of colonists that provide various bonuses or penalties. Some traits also add additional interests to colonists.
Perks
Perks are beneficial traits that should be prioritized when selecting applicants.
Acquisition Methods:
- Come with applicants
- Randomly gained when children visit playgrounds or schools
- Can replace flaws when visiting Sanatorium with Behavior Shaping upgrade
- Randomly gained when Morpheus Project Wonder is operational
- Can gain “Fit” trait from Outdoor Gym
Important Perks List:
| Perk | Effect | Additional Interest |
|---|---|---|
| Celebrity | Generates 30M funding per sol when comfort ≥70 | - |
| Composed | All sanity loss halved | - |
| Empath | Increases morale of all colonists in dome by +5 (stackable) | - |
| Enthusiast | Work performance +20 when morale ≥70 | - |
| Fit | Recovers +5 health when resting, can work when health is low | +Exercise |
| Gamer | Recovers +5 sanity each time visiting gaming service building | +Gaming |
| Genius | Generates +150 research points per sol when sanity ≥70 | - |
| Hippie | Gains double comfort in gardens and parks | - |
| Nerd | Gains +10 morale after researching tech (lasts 3 sol) | - |
| Party Animal | Gains +10 comfort when visiting social service buildings | +Social |
| Religious | +10 base morale, will not commit suicide when sanity is low | - |
| Roughneck | No comfort penalty when eating unprocessed food or homeless | - |
| Saint | Increases morale of all religious colonists in dome by +10 (stackable) | - |
| Sexy | Comfort +50 when calculating birth rate contribution | - |
| Survivor | Loses less health when lacking food/water/oxygen or in power-down dome | - |
| Workaholic | Personal performance +20, no penalty from heavy workload | -Relaxation |
Flaws
Flaws are harmful traits that should be avoided when selecting applicants.
Removal Methods:
- After researching “Space Rehabilitation”, each applicant has 50% chance to lose 1 flaw when launched
- Can be removed by visiting Sanatorium: Alcoholic, Chronic Condition, Coward, Gambler, Glutton, Lazy, Melancholic
Major Flaws List:
| Flaw | Effect | Additional Interest |
|---|---|---|
| Alcoholic | Work performance -10, can be caused by sanity breakdown | +Drinking |
| Chronic Condition | Loses -8 health per day | - |
| Coward | Sanity loss from disasters doubled | - |
| Dust Disease | Loses -10 health per day during dust storms (even inside dome) | - |
| Gambler | 50% chance to lose 20 sanity when visiting casino | +Gambling |
| Glutton | Consumes double rations | +Dining |
| Hypochondriac | Randomly visits medical buildings, loses -10 sanity if cannot visit | +Medical |
| Idiot | 10% chance to cause malfunction at workplace | - |
| Infected | Loses -12 health per day, can infect other colonists in dome | - |
| Lazy | All work personal performance -20 | - |
| Loner | Loses -4 comfort per day when living in dome with population >30 | -Social |
| Melancholic | Additional -20 performance penalty when morale <30 | - |
| Renegade | All work performance -50, may cause crime events if security stations insufficient in dome | - |
| Whiner | Loses -10 sanity when comfort <30 | - |
Quirks
| Quirk | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Biorobot | Synthetically created humans, breathe/eat/sleep but don’t age or reproduce | Positronic Brain |
| Clone | Lifespan is half of natural humans | Cloning Technology |
| Dreamer | Interacts with shared dreams, loses sanity during visions before “Inner Light” completion, gains +10 performance after completion | Inner Light Mystery |
| Founder | One of the first Mars colonists | Arrived during founder phase |
| Mentor | Randomly spreads own traits to people in same dome with fewer than 3 traits | Applicants/Birth/Events |
| Martianborn | Never homesick, can be greatly enhanced by Martianborn tech | Born on Mars |
| Refugee | Work performance -50 (lasts 5 sol), high chance (15%) to become renegade, not homesick | Events |
| Tourist | Doesn’t work, provides funding and new applicants when returning to Earth based on satisfaction, first chance to leave after 5 sol, loses satisfaction if staying over 10 sol | Applicants |
| Vegetarian | Don’t worry, they’ll tell you | Applicants/Birth |
Management Strategy Recommendations
Early Colony (First 10 sol)
- Prioritize: Applicants with Survivor, Fit, Workaholic traits
- Avoid: Chronic Condition, Glutton, Lazy flaws
- Specialization Ratio: 2 Scientists, 2 Engineers, 2 Geologists, 1 Medic, rest non-specialized
- Facility Priority: Medical → Food → Entertainment
Mid-Game Expansion (10-50 sol)
- Build Mars University: Train non-specialized colonists
- Optimize Birth Rate: Maintain average comfort ≥70
- Specialization Policies: Enable “Specialists Only” for key buildings
- Filtering Mechanism: Use sponsor traits to selectively choose applicants
Late-Game Optimization (50+ sol)
- Trait Optimization: Use Sanatorium to remove flaws, Morpheus Project to add perks
- Population Structure: Maintain age gradient, avoid aging population
- Multi-Dome Management: Use dome policies to automatically balance population
- Research Breakthroughs: Forever Young, Stem Reconstruction to extend working lifespan
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