This mod introduces custom colony designations that blend vanilla resource focuses into unique and efficient dual-role settlements.




Going to version 2.0.0., Hybrid Colony Designations (HDC) changes the file structure of the mod. Some files were deleted, some were renamed, and others split into multiple files. This was necessary for ease of maintenance as the mod continued to grow and I became aware of potential risks with the current structure. These file changes altered no internal ID values and are 100% backwards compatible, but Steam does not delete old files when applying new ones. That means you will likely have multiple and conflicting sources for some of these designations when upgrading from HCD 1.x to HCD 2.x. the immediate impact of this conflict, in my own testing, is relatively benign. The old designations will be overwritten by the new ones, but you might see a lot of noise in the error log. It's quite possible that most players will never notice how disgruntled this makes the engine parser. Regardless, there is a simple fix for this: UNSUBSCRIBE from HCD and then load the launcher. Steam will delete the mod. Then RE-SUBSCRIBE and continue on. It will be re-downloaded with all the latest files.

• 14 Hybrid Designations:[list]
  
• Rural World – back from the dead: balanced food, minerals and energy production
  
• Fringe Planet – same thing, but for gestalt empires
  
• Planetary Archive – research with unity governance
  
• Global Grange – community driven farming for food and unity
  
• Powerstead Assembly – energy production and political action
  
• Stonehall Union – miners flexing their will through hard work and smart lobbying
  
• Ironmonger Enclave – industrial mining meets trade logistics
  
• Agribusiness Hub – agrarian output with local traders
  
• Energy Brokerage Exchange – power generation and economic synergy
  
• Drawcast Hold – vertical mining and alloy production
  
• Coremill Ward – vertical mining and consumer goods production
  
• Mantleworks Institute – deep bore mining powered by engineering
  
• Splicegrove Combine – genetically enhanced agriculture and bio-science
  
• Energenesis Array – advanced energy generation and applied physics
  

Twice the bonuses at half the potency for less-focused colony roles

Localizations provided (Most of the big ones)

Works fine with a mid-game install. At least for me.

Designed for compatibility and immersion in a vanilla+ setting[/list]

In the early stages of the game, full planetary specialization isn’t always realistic. You’re often working with whatever bonuses the galaxy gives you - sometimes a mix of mineral output, trade boosts, and scattered deposits that don’t neatly align with a single designation.

Hybrid designations are made for those kinds of worlds. They support planets with multiple or mismatched bonuses, letting you take advantage of what's available without leaving potential on the table. Rather than forcing a strict economic identity, these designations provide flexibility and meaningful bonuses for mixed development.

They’re especially useful for empires playing tall or managing just a handful of colonies, where each planet needs to perform across multiple economic roles. Hybrid designations also make adaptation easier, allowing you to pivot as your needs evolve, whether you're scaling up mineral output, boosting unity, or responding to shifting strategic priorities. And for those with a strong RP vision, these designations can reinforce the kind of worldbuilding you have in mind.

Hybrid designations won’t solve everything, but they allow you to work with what you have and still get solid results.

• AI empires won’t use these. That’s on purpose. Balancing for AI selection introduces more opportunities for unexpected consequences than something this niche could justify. That said, weighting for automated colony designation was implemented.
  
• Does not automate building queue*. I have not written an AI plan for these designations. This is doable, but not currently on the project map. For now, only use this mod if you intend to manually set your build queues.
  
• Return of some old friends. The "Rural World" and "Fringe Planet" designations are the same, as close as I could manage, as the designations that were in the game before 4.x removed them.
  
• Access limitations are inherited. Hybrid designations honor the restrictions of their vanilla parents. For example, Farming designations are unavailable to empires that don’t consume food, so the Rural World (which combines Farming along with Mining and Energy) will be restricted accordingly.
  
• Bonuses are balanced. Each designation is tuned to roughly match an average of the bonuses from the vanilla designations it fuses. You're still better off if you can specialize, in most cases.
  

* I have added experimental AI build plans for Rural and Grange. Unsupported. Seems flakey. Use at your own risk. Which has always been the case with using automated build queues.

• Safe to use with most mods - This mod does not overwrite any vanilla files, so conflicts are unlikely. It adds new colony designations using standalone scripted triggers.
  
• No hard dependencies - It works on its own but plays nicely alongside mods that add new buildings, districts, or empires.
  
• Load order recommendations - Place below major overhauls (like Gigastructural Engineering, ACOT, or NSC). Place above UI mods or visual tweaks - they don’t interact with designations.
  
• Mod triggered effects may skip hybrids. Traditions or events from mods that reference specific designations (like how Adaptability gives technicians a bonus on Energy Designation planets) may not affect hybrid colonies unless manually patched by you or another modder. The vanilla ones, however, are baked in.
  

While I still have many ideas for new hybrids, I want to take pause and back-fill some of the existing ones to work with empire types that have been excluded due to theme conflict or different gameplay mechanics. For example, there should be a version of Drawcast Hold that works for hive minds, and a version of Planetary Archive that makes sense for players using the Wilderness origin. I'd also like to get AI build plans working for each of these designations, but that requires significant research and testing. There is a lot of room for growth with this mod, but it has to be managed with restraint to avoid flooding the designation screen with rarely-chosen options that make it harder to find what the player actually wants.

If you want a bit more flexibility on your colony designations, this mod is for you. If you need even more options, well, you can drop a suggestion in the comments and we'll see what's possible.

Hybrid Colony Designations - For Planets That Multitask Better Than You Do!