A World That Runs Without You
Ships, Colonies & Commerce is a 2D sailing simulation set in a procedurally-generated Age of Sail world. There are no scripted quests or predetermined storylines. Every war is economic. Every company rises or falls on its balance sheet. The world doesn't wait for you to act — it's already moving.
A Disk-Shaped World
Each game generates a unique disk-shaped world with continental landmasses, island chains, and vast open ocean. The terrain is shaped by realistic height fields, carving out natural harbors, mountain ranges, and river systems. Climate zones determine what each region produces — grain in the lowlands, timber in the midlands, silver in the highlands.
Prevailing wind belts and ocean currents create natural trade corridors and strategic choke points. Storm zones make certain passages dangerous but profitable. Every world feels distinct, but every world makes geographic sense.
Supply, Demand, and Consequence
The economy isn't abstract — it's visible. Hinterland buildings (farms, mines, lumber camps) produce raw materials that flow to ports. Ports grow populations that consume food and produce finished goods. AI merchant ships carry cargo between ports, seeking profit.
Prices respond to supply and demand in real time. Blockade a port and watch prices spike. Flood a market with cheap goods and crash the local economy. Found a colony on fertile land and watch it grow from outpost to thriving city.
No Kingdoms. Only Companies.
The world is ruled not by monarchs but by trading companies. Each is procedurally generated with its own name, flag, color, personality, and leader. Some are mercantile and cautious. Others are aggressive and expansionist. A few are outright piratical.
Companies own ports, employ captains, set tariffs, form alliances, and declare wars. Relationships shift over time based on trade, conflict, and diplomacy. You can join one, found your own, or play them against each other.
Five Ways to Play
The simulation doesn't prescribe a playstyle. These emerge naturally from the systems.
The Honest Trader
Buy low, sell high. Learn the trade routes. Time your voyages with the wind. Build a reputation that opens doors and lowers tariffs.
The Cartographer
Chart unknown coastlines. Discover uncontacted ports. Find the passage through dangerous waters that others won't risk.
The Raider
Prey on merchant convoys. Raid enemy ports with planned assaults or reckless skirmishes. Burn what you can't carry.
The Coin Counter
Mint your own currency. Back it with silver — or don't. Manipulate markets. Buy shares in rivals. Win without firing a shot.
The Admiral
Build fleets. Form convoys. Coordinate broadside attacks. Plan raids with strategy and intention. Take ports by force and hold them.
The Governor
Found settlements on unclaimed land. Build infrastructure. Grow a village into a city. Defend it from rivals who covet what you've built.
Built on Systems, Not Scripts
Ships, Colonies & Commerce is built from the ground up with an Entity Component System architecture. Every ship, person, port, building, and document is an entity composed of data components processed by independent systems. This means emergent behavior is the default, not the exception.
The game is written in Go with the Ebiten game engine. The simulation runs deterministically from a world seed. AI ships navigate, trade, fight, and form convoys using the same systems available to the player. There are no special rules for AI — they play the same game you do.