FreeCol has had a score of released numbered versions since the project started in 2002. It devotes a web page to nearly every release, linking to them on its Releases page.
Released[]
Up to 0.8[]
- 0.1.0
- FreeCol 0.1.0 - Released 2 January 2003; "Server written in C++ and the client in Java". Explore with free colonist and ship.
- 0.2.0
- FreeCol 0.2.0 - Released 26 March 2003; all in Java. "Europe" and other improvements.
- 0.3.0
- FreeCol 0.3.0 - Released 30 September 2004; code redesigned to make development easier. Many new features, not least the ability to play and win (multiplayer).
- 0.4.0
- FreeCol 0.4.0 - Released 23 June 2005; compatible with J2SE 5.0. Indians (with AI).
- 0.5.x
- FreeCol 0.5.0 - Released 23 July 2006. Computer players and royal expeditionary force get AI, allowing single-player game. More features such as tax, LCRs, and war of independence. 0.5.1 and 0.5.2 made some fixes later in 2006, and 0.5.3 released in December became SourceForge's "Project of the Month" in February 2007.
- 0.6.x
- FreeCol 0.6.0 - Released 16 April 2007 - lots of new features. 0.6.1 two weeks later fixed a few things.
- 0.7.x
- FreeCol 0.7.0 - Released 13 July 2007. Map editor; trade and negotiations with other Europeans. 0.7.1. 0.7.2, 0.7.3, and 0.7.4 followed. 0.7.4 plays well on Windows Millennium Edition operating system, which cannot be said of every modern game release.
- 0.8.x
- FreeCol 0.8.0 - Released 15 January 2009 (after a few months of alpha versions). See http://www.freecol.org/news/freecol-0.8.0-released.html. It too works fine on Windows Millennium Edition.
- Four new nations; new sound effects and terrain graphics; units slide (somewhat jerkily) instead of jumping. But the big thing is reportedly the ability to use XML to define gameplay mechanics.
- FreeCol 0.8.1 was released on 21 February 2009. See http://www.freecol.org/news/freecol-0.8.1-released.html.
- "Standalone servers are restarted automatically" after a win; "fixes several bugs".
- FreeCol 0.8.2 - released 4 May 2009; "fixes several bugs and includes new or updated translations for 36 languages"
- FreeCol 0.8.3 - released 12 May 2009; "fixes some problems with translation keys being displayed instead of the actual text"
- FreeCol 0.8.4 - released 1 August 2009; "fixes several bugs"; stables possibly not working
0.9.x[]
- FreeCol 0.9.0 was released on 1 January 2010 (after alpha versions in Oct and Nov 2009). See http://www.freecol.org/news/freecol-0.9.0-released.html. Better AI; several graphics improvements; minor rule changes; more permissible variety in screen size, e.g. 1024 by 600; pictures of buildings in colony screen.
- FreeCol 0.9.1 was released on 28 February 2010. See http://www.freecol.org/news/freecol-0.9.1-released.html.
- Bug-fixes, notably allowing the King's forces to land after you declare independence. Should accept saved games from 0.9.0 and possibly earlier.
- FreeCol 0.9.2 was released on 7 March 2010. See http://www.freecol.org/news/freecol-0.9.2-released.html.
- Bug and feature fixes: native land claims revert to the moderate level of 0.9.0; Privateer combat improved. Backward-compatible with other 0.9.x saved games.
- FreeCol 0.9.3 was released on 20 June 2010. See http://www.freecol.org/news/freecol-0.9.3-released.html.
- Bug-fixes, notably the "capture despite armed defender" bug. Better and more keyboard accelerators. The first graphical "mod" to be part of a release.
- FreeCol 0.9.4 was released on 8 August 2010. See http://www.freecol.org/news/freecol-0.9.4-released.html.
- Several bug-fixes, notably a leak that was causing 0.9.3 to go slow. A graphical modification (mod) by misiulo adds new graphics for goods and resources. Translations for various languages much improved.
- FreeCol 0.9.5 was released on 4 October 2010. See http://www.freecol.org/news/freecol-0.9.5-released.html.
- Several bug-fixes, including the plugging of more leaks that were causing previous versions to go slow.
0.10.x[]
- FreeCol 0.10.0 (not to be confused with 1.0.0): 0.10.0-alpha was released on 22 January 2011; final version on 12 June 2011. See http://www.freecol.org/news/freecol-0.10.0-released.html
- The alpha "fixes many old bugs and adds numerous new features" - but has its own bugs as an alpha tends to; "should be able to read all 0.9.x savegames"
- The alpha-2 on 10 April 2011 fixed a few problems.
- The final release lists at least six features that bring FreeCol closer to Col1.
- FreeCol 0.10.1 was released on 25 July 2011. See http://www.freecol.org/news/freecol-0.10.1-released.html. Notable "the layout of some reports has been improved, and an alternative Colony Report has been added".
- FreeCol 0.10.2 was released on 5 September 2011. See http://www.freecol.org/news/releases.html. Fixes many bugs, should be compatible with all versions from 0.9.x. Still not perfect. For example, a right-click on a colonist may fail to offer all the jobs that it can do. That has been discussed on the forums.
- FreeCol 0.10.3 was released on 27 September 2011. See http://www.freecol.org/news/releases.html. A "bug-fix release which does not add any new features".
- FreeCol 0.10.4 was released on 27 September 2011, according to http://www.freecol.org/news/releases.html (retrieved 12 Feb 2012) - but see a more likely date on http://www.freecol.org/docs/freecol-changelog-version-0.10.4.pdf. Fixes at least 33 bugs and adds a few features; should be compatible with all versions from 0.9.x. Warning issued by mpope: "0.10.4 has a bad save-corruption bug. Do not use it. 0.10.5 will be out soon."
- FreeCol 0.10.5 was released on 19 February 2012. It's "mainly a bug-fix release ... and the amount of lumber delivered when a forest tile is cleared is now more Col1 compatible."
- FreeCol 0.10.7 is still based on 0.10.4 fixing some of the bugs.
A relatively new feature may pop up at the end of a turn inviting you to reconsider units that might be able to move further. Excellent idea, and will be excellent in practice when it manages to avoid wasting your time asking about units that cannot move in any way, notably ships under repair but commonly also units that have only one movement point left but are in the middle of hills, mountains, or other "2-point" tiles.
0.11.x[]
- FreeCol 0.11.4 was announced at the end of July 2015. Mike Pope messaged list subscribers thus:
- "The FreeCol team are relieved to announce the release of FreeCol 0.11.4. While many bugs were fixed in this release, there has also been progress in completing the required feature set for the 1.0 release. All 0.10.x and 0.11.x games should continue to work with 0.11.4."
- "For more detail, see the release notes."
Envisaged[]
- FreeCol 0.11.0 - scenarios and campaigns; and backward compatibility of saved games; see above heading
- FreeCol 0.12.0 - better gameplay
- FreeCol 0.13.0 - make customizing easier
- FreeCol 0.14.0 - better graphics and audio
- FreeCol 1.0.0 - intended to be "an almost exact Colonization clone"; see FreeCol 1.0.0/Divergences from Colonization for how close it may be
- FreeCol 2.0.0 - intended to be "an implementation of our (and our users') image of what Colonization 2 would have been"