Colony sim game 'Rimworld' is now in Beta

Promotional photo from "Rimworld's" Steam pageSteam

Colony sim game "Rimworld" has finally entered its beta stage.

An update was posted onto developer Tynan Sylvester's YouTube channel on Nov. 17, and in it, he explains "Rimworld's" transition into its beta stage alongside the changes made, the tweaks to gameplay, and the brand new things the game will have to offer its players.

At the beginning of the video, one of the things Sylvester introduces is the addition of place names to the world map. While not a large change, Sylvester mentioned that he hoped it would add some "narrative depth" and flavor to the expanding universe of "Rimworld."

In addition to this new feature, new biomes have also been added for players to explore. One of the biomes that was introduced in the video was the swamp biome and three types of swamps. The tropical swamp, temperate swamp, and cold bog. The swamps are filled with vegetation, and while they don't cover a lot of area, they are hard to navigate through and add to the game's fighting mechanics.

Changes have also been made to the way fights play out in "Rimworld." Now, when players engage in combat, a narrative of sorts will pop up. This resembles a record of the ongoing events and is a way to keep track of how things played out. According to Sylvester, each swing, dodge, or jump will be recorded in this story log so players will be able to read about their battles if they wish to do so.

New quests, new weapons, new mental breaks, and new rewards have also been added to the game.

Video game enthusiasts who already own "Rimworld" on Steam, will receive the update for free. Those who don't own "Rimworld" can purchase it on its respective Steam page alongside its downloadable content packs (DLC). The game is currently in beta, so players might encounter bugs here and there but the developers are working hard to add even more content to the ever-growing colony sim.