Welcome to your MineColonies experience on the Shadows of Aethro Forge server. This mod allows you to build a fully functioning town with NPC citizens who gather resources, construct buildings, craft gear, and defend your colony.
This guide will help you get started without needing to rely on staff interference — because here, your colony is truly yours.
To begin your colony, follow these steps:
1. Craft or acquire a Supply Camp or Supply Ship. You’ll need:
You can craft them using a Supply Camp/Ship Token (search in JEI).
2. Place the Supply Camp or Ship. Right-click the item to preview placement. Make sure you’re outside the radius of any other colonies.
3. Use the Town Hall block inside the camp/ship. Right-click the Town Hall block to officially create your colony.
4. Start building your core structures.
5. Assign workers. Once you have Citizen Huts, citizens will spawn. Assign them to work using the job buildings.
6. Upgrade and expand. As your colony grows, upgrade buildings to unlock better performance and higher population caps.
* Keep a Builder assigned at all times. No other building gets built or upgraded without one. * Citizens will not work without food. Build a restaurant early or supply food manually. * Each building has a minimum Builder level needed for upgrades. Train your builder. * Use Warehouse + Courier to automate resource delivery between buildings. * Colonists will not work at night until you build a Guard Tower and assign guards. * Avoid overbuilding too fast — citizens take time to train, and jobs need resources. * Always check for pathing issues. Colonists are dumb and get stuck a lot.
Q: Why won't my builder build anything? A: Make sure you’ve hired them, given them a Builder’s Hut, and provided the materials they request in the Hut’s inventory.
Q: Why are my citizens starving? A: Build a Restaurant, hire a cook, and supply it with food — or manually feed them until it’s running.
Q: Can mobs attack my colony? A: Yes. Colonies can be raided during Siege Events once you reach a certain size. Build Guard Towers to defend.
Q: What’s the best first job after Builder? A: Usually Forester, Fisherman, or Farmer, depending on your biome and food needs.
Q: How big can my colony get? A: The default max is 4 citizens per Citizen Hut level. Upgrade those huts to grow.
'Need help on the server?' Ask in discord or visit shadows for the full Forge server overview.