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Maia 0.50 launches, introducing the ability to drug the colonists’ water supply

Maia 0.50 update

Maia might be one of the Early Access title I’m most looking forward to playing at launch. I’ve had it on Steam since the day it landed, and it’s been a constant challenge not to fire it up every time there’s an update for fear of burning out. For those not in the know, it’s a colony management game that’s as much speculative fiction as silly sci-fi, and you can breed chickens, which is nice. 

A new update popped into existence today, 0.50, and marks the halfway point in Maia’s development. A bunch of new features have been added, including custom maps and a new robot, along with a slew of bug fixes. Notably, you can now add lithium to the water supply to manipulate the colonists’ moods, which sounds devious and delightful. 

Take a look at developer Simon Roth starting up a new world and showing off the new features.

New map customisation options mean that you can now select a planet’s climate when starting a new game, along with its size and the abundance of flora and fauna. New trees have appeared as well, which coincides with the introduction of new research paths. You can send out your colonists to take samples from the trees which will, after a bit of work, furnish your colony with fancy research perks, making surviving on the alien world a wee bit easier.

A new robot can be plonked down in your colony, too. It will wander around the place, gleefully repairing whatever needs its magical touch with its repair arm. “This frees up colonists to get on with other tasks like staying alive,” the patch notes say.

There are a few more additions, but it looks like the most important stuff in this update is the long list of bug fixes and tweaks. Roth says that 0.50 is the most stable build of Maia yet, and creates a foundation on which increasingly more complex interactions and mechanics can be added in future updates.

Have a look at the full patch notes here.