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Colonization port v0.1.11
Pre-releaseSid 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
- Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
COLONIZE.EXE(for exampleC:\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.
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
- Start the launcher from the kit's folder:
Colonization.exeon Windows,./colonizationin a
terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOSbrew install --cask wine@devel; on
Debian/Ubuntusudo 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.ISOorCOLONIZE.GOG
once (a few seconds) into
a folder of its own --%LOCALAPPDATA%\colonization-port\gameon Windows,
~/Library/Application Support/colonization-port/gameon macOS,
~/.local/share/colonization-port/gameon 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.
