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Colonization port v0.1.11

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@dderevjanik dderevjanik released this 18 Oct 19:54
· 113 commits to c6145efec69fe8d03b83c5465db306b79b9a26ce since this release

A sailor in the crow's nest points toward land

Sid Meier's Colonization for Windows (1995), ported to modern systems from its byte-matched
reconstruction. No game files are included: you need your own copy of the game -- either
Colonization for Windows (1995, patched or not), or Steam's or GOG's Colonization, whose
disc image (COLONIZE.ISO, COLONIZE.GOG) carries the Windows edition.

What's new in v0.1.11

  • Wide screens and zooming out (#7): a map window larger than the map -- a 2560- or
    3440-pixel-wide screen, or zoomed out on a smaller one -- showed a black band on the left and
    drew discovered land as ocean next to its units. The map now starts at the window's left and
    top edge, with black beyond its east and south edges, and every square is drawn where it is.
    The 1995 game had the same flaw, but no screen of its day was large enough to show it.
Download Platform Start
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows) Colonization.exe
colonization-port-macos.zip macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit) ./colonization

This release was built by hand, without CI, and has no Linux kit: on Linux, keep using
v0.1.10's until the next release.

How to run

  1. Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
    • Colonization for Windows: the folder with COLONIZE.EXE (for example C:\MPS\COLONIZE);
    • Steam's Colonization: its install folder, the one with COLONIZE.ISO
      (Steam: right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files);
    • GOG's Colonization: its install folder, the one with COLONIZE.GOG.
  2. Start the launcher from the kit's folder: Colonization.exe on Windows, ./colonization in a
    terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOS brew install --cask wine@devel; on
    Debian/Ubuntu sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt install wine wine32).

The launcher finds the game in the folder it was unzipped into (or one it is given: Colonization.exe "D:\Games\Colonization", ./colonization /path/to/game), checks COLONIZE.EXE's SHA-256, and
remembers the folder. It looks in the current folder, its own folder and the one above it, and
the folder used last time; failing those it asks, with a folder dialog, until one holds the game.

  • Colonization for Windows: the game runs in its own folder, reads its pictures, sounds and
    data there and saves there, as the original did.
  • Steam or GOG: the launcher unpacks the Windows edition from COLONIZE.ISO or COLONIZE.GOG
    once (a few seconds) into
    a folder of its own -- %LOCALAPPDATA%\colonization-port\game on Windows,
    ~/Library/Application Support/colonization-port/game on macOS,
    ~/.local/share/colonization-port/game on Linux -- and the game runs and saves there.

If it does not start or stops: colonization-port.log beside the launcher says why, and a crash
leaves colonization-port.dmp there too; please send both.

How it was tested (status/*.json at this release)

  • Windows x86 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
  • Linux program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
  • The rules: the port plays the same saved games turn for turn with the original, compared
    at every step of every turn; the screens: 9 scripted UI sessions.
  • On a real Windows machine: Windows 6.1 build 7601 SP1, 64-bit, v0.1.1 windows-x86 (2026-10-11).

Known limits

  • A Steam or GOG copy (the original 1995 release) lacks the patch's COLDATA9.DLL: the Jukebox's
    Control Panel and the Cheat menu's dialogs crash. Everything else plays.
  • The Windows game plays its music from the CD's audio tracks; a disc image has none.
  • The macOS and Linux kits run through Wine; they are not native programs.

Version v0.1.11. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.