Colonization port v0.1.12

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 v0.1.12

• The port now keeps everything in its own folder. A Steam or GOG game it unpacks goes into a
  game folder next to Colonization.exe (or the colonization script), together with your
  saves, the folder it remembers and the log. Nothing is written to your user profile any more
  (%LOCALAPPDATA%, %APPDATA%, ~/Library/Application Support, ~/.local/share,
  ~/.config), so the whole thing can live on a USB stick. To update, unzip the new kit over
  the old one and your game folder and saves stay.
• Coming from an older kit: the first start unpacks the game again into the new place and copies
  your saves over from the old one.
• Saving and loading work in deep folders too. Windows' old file functions refuse a path of 128
  characters or more, and a game inside Steam's own folder gets close to that.

Download	Platform	Start
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip	Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows)	Colonization.exe
colonization-port-linux-i386.zip	Linux (a Winelib program: needs Wine with its 32-bit part)	./colonization
colonization-port-macos.zip	macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit)	./colonization

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 game folder inside the kit's folder, and the game runs and saves
  there. Nothing goes into your user profile. To update, unzip the new kit over the old one: the
  game folder and your saves stay.

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 v0.1.12. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.