Settlement Overview

Byproducts: nearly every recipe now leaves waste behind, so recipe pages list byproducts alongside ingredients.
Garbage &amp; recycling: waste sorts from mixed garbage down to pure materials, and can be recycled back into stock.
Pollution has four kinds: acid rain, chemical, soil and heavy mineral, each settling into the ground differently. Pollution guide &rarr;
Modules reworked: upgrades are now Basic / Advanced / Modern / Specialty , one per slot, driving the same bonus system as talents. Module guide &rarr;
Fresh water: machines need it &mdash; water drawn from the ocean has to be desalinated first.

Settlements are a community of citizens that have banded together under agreed-upon rules.

"Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor."
-Arnold J. Toynbee

A Settlement can be created by a collection of Citizens to enact a government within its areas of Influence.

There are three levels of settlements:

Towns are collections of citizens.

Countries are collections of Towns and citizens.

Federations are collections of Countries, Towns, and citizens.

Settlement Concepts

Founding - Multiple citizens can join together to found a new settlement.
Citizenship - Citizens may be granted special rights and privileges, and being a citizen of a settlement increases its power.
Influence - Settlements will cast an influence in a radius around certain buildings within which laws and property rules are enforced.
Settlement Property - The more citizens in a settlement, the more property can be claimed.
Culture - Culture allows settlements to exert influence on neighboring settlements, which can lead to their annexation.
Annexation - Settlements can take over other settlements or homesteads if their culture levels are high enough.
Property Crisis - If a settlement loses citizens, it may not be able to maintain the property that is already claimed.