After years in development v8 of the factory management RTS Mindustry is out

Mindustry is a free and open source open-ended factory management game with RTS and tower defense elements, with a major new update finally out. The previous version 7 released all the way back in November 2022, so we've been waiting a while for this!

So what actually is it? Imagine if Factorio had a baby with a traditional base-building RTS game. Build up factories and expand across multiple levels campaigns playable solo or online with others. That gives you the basic gist of what you can expect from it. While the game is free and open source (GPL license), you can buy it on Steam to support development and get some extras like achievements, seamless multiplayer and map browsing/Workshop support.

Version 8 of Mindustry brings with it a campaign overhaul, improved multiplayer, improved unit pathfinding, command queuing for units, an improved map editor, a big improvement to the audio and so much more. It sounds like a truly excellent update to the game.

The main changes for v8 of Mindustry:

Serpulo Campaign

• The entire Serpulo campaign has been overhauled; most maps have been completely reworked
• All sectors from the tech tree now have unique icons
• Launch pads have been reworked, and now require landing pads at destinations
• Difficulty modifiers have been added, for those who find the new campaign too difficult (or too easy)
• All procedurally generated base sectors on Serpulo have been replaced with player-submitted ones
• Core zones have been added to several maps, allowing for multiple cores to be placed, like in Erekir

QoL

• Building plans are now synced to other players in multiplayer
• Locations can now be pinged on the map (Default key: P)
• The camera can now be "detached" from the unit if enabled in the settings
• Buildings like sorters and unit factories can now be configured as plans before placement by ctrl+clicking the plan
• Improved unit pathfinding
• Added queuing of command for units
• Stances for boosting, patrolling, holding fire and more
• New commands for mining specific resources or moving unit payloads continuously
• Multiple unit factory blocks can now be selected at once via rectangle selection

Mapping

• A new 'marker' system for world processors, allowing rendering of arbitrary game sprites or shapes in maps
• A new UI for viewing and editing world processors easily
• A data patch system for modifying weapons, stats and other attributes of blocks, units and items per-map or per-server
• Improved in-game editor UI with support for editing terrain
• Buttons to toggle specific layers in the map editor
• New decorative metal & colored blocks

Audio

• Completely reworked most sound effects, with an emphasis on Serpulo
• Updated audio system to allow for a much higher active sound cap
• Added sounds for many new events, such as units walking
• Improved audio behavior in general; sounds should cut each other off far less frequently now

Misc

• Colored Serpulo turret bullets based on their bullet types
• Added new ammo types for Erekir turrets
• Added a few new utility/production blocks for Erekir
• New instructions for displaying text in logic displays, as well as a new tiled display block
• Rendering performance optimizations
• Many more things; it's been 2+ years, so I've probably forgotten something

Future Plans

• As many might have noticed, this update does not have the Neoplasm faction content that was shown ages ago in various places; that will be my main focus in v9.
• Many user-submitted Serpulo sectors still need a lot of work, so expect further updates on that front.
• The campaign(s) still lack any kind of conclusive "ending" or story, but I'm still deciding on whether a proper story would fit the game, or whether it would be viable at all. I'm not sure if people even want yet another rework to the campaign.
• The Erekir campaign will likely be undergoing a similar rework to that of the Serpulo campaign, but that may only be added in v10 or beyond.