Colonists --> Survivors/Citizens/Refugees

[apljee]

Can we be serious here? The game shouldn't be calling our space-crash survivors colonists. Colonists are where it's intended to build a city/town somewhere and live there - I think a better suited name would be survivors, citizens or refugees because colonist basically implies that it's intended that they were to crash and land on a Rimworld.

[Keychan]

Well colonist are those who reside in a colony.  Yes you are crashed spaceship survivors, but you're also a colonist because you're part of a colony and live in it.  Also, by following the ending, it's implied that you're on a colonial mission because you're just hopping planets on the rim of the universe to inhabit them, giving the game title Rimworld.

Having the title citizen because colonist doesn't fit is a really odd suggestion.  When I think citizen, I think someone bound by a large state, which obviously isn't the case and a colonist fits much better in the situation you're in.
Refugees are those who are fleeing from something, like a disaster or war, which isn't always the case.  Some crash survivors could have just been adventurous or just some merchants on a crashing cruising vessel.

[StarBlazer]

I see how this is more logical but maybe just in the beginning phase it should be survivor or whatever,then as you get the actual colony name it can be colonist. Pretty small thing to worry about. Plus,lets be honest, I'm sure a lot of people usually play Rimworld and dont bother leaving your little humble colony until a very long time.

[Tynan]

I've thought of this, but there really is no word that fits better.

Settler - same problem
Survivor - too general, your enemies can be survivors if they survive your gunfire to escape
Citizens - incorrect as there really isn't a government
Refugees - this denotes a person fleeing from danger/persecution, which your colonists in RW aren't
Castaways - correct for the first three people, but doesn't apply to others who are recruited or join later

Everyone gets 'colonist', even though it's not *quite* accurate.

[Kegereneku]

Idea :
- Let player modify that field for each colonist
- Have the Tales system refer to it

[Wujc]

I assumed whole time that they are colonists against their own will. They were in deep sleep whole time in some cargo ship that for some reason (space pirates or just by accident) crashed and they are forced to colonise that piece of land in order to survive. Not everybody like their colony.
I contemplate about space ship goal every time i play game new game. In your colony you have more and more new people, old folks can be dead already few months. Is it realy shared goal of all people to leave planet in space ship? Or some of them, maybe majority get used to harsh life in colony and they choose life inside it instead of leaving into maybe more dangerous new adventure?
What if pirates and other colonies have same shared past? Did they crashed here before you? Maybe some pirates are even from same cargo ship, they just dont share your ideas and want to claim everything by force in order to survive!
At start they are all full of joy (maybe becouse they survived so bad crash), but as times pass and that space ship project takes longer and longer they maybe realise they finaly live their lifes here. They even start to think they have so big surplus of resources, that they DESERVE better conditions in colony. They can be driven by that escape goal at first, but time start to take own tax.
Maybe they didnt want to be colonists, but but they defenetly become ones.

[Pirx Danford]

Well personally I like to think of my people as
Rimmers

Colonist did not faze me though...

[BetaSpectre]

Blank of insert town name
Colonist has its own flair and I kinda like it. Though more options are always better so maybe a way to change it? Like let us rewrite in pirate if we wanted

[Vexare]

Survivor - too general, your enemies can be survivors if they survive your gunfire to escape

I don't think this is too general at all, and I would prefer it to 'colonist' for at least the starter characters. Many of them do not fit the 'colonist' title at all when some are criminal kingpins (Vector is a fav of mine) or other quirky professions.

I get it what the OP is saying though. It's kinda bugged me they are "colonists" as well because it may be sending the wrong message to players (like me) who are expecting a long-term colony building sim game rather than a scenario campaign game where you are fighting to survive with an end-goal of escaping the rimworld you're stranded on.

Now, *if* you decide to add additional outcomes / scenarios such as sandbox colony building for longterm society building play (a la DF/Gnomoria style gaming) then please do give individualized titles like colonist. I personally hope you are able to find a way to make that possible with choice given to the player on how they want to play the game rather than forced ending.

I like the fact that new folks you take in have different titles and I think there's a lot of room to adjust that based on the situation... "escaped slave" and "tribal runaway" and "crashed ship survivor" etc etc. Adds variety to your people.

[Monkfish]

Meh, semantics.

[tresflores]

 like the fact that new folks you take in have different titles and I think there's a lot of room to adjust that based on the situation... "escaped slave" and "tribal runaway" and "crashed ship survivor" etc etc. Adds variety to your people.
[/quote]
i agree it whould add some more R.P. and flavor to the game

[skullywag]

I call them if(pawn.Faction == Faction.ofColony) but thats just me.

[pollgg12]

Why not make up a name for them like how stalker did it HERESSSSSSSSSSSSS A LIST

planter
Worlder
Huem
Neo colonist (Neo anything might fit) neo scavenger
Jov's
harborer 
expat
prodigal
renegade
derelict
splinter
candidate
A color

I dont even know most of these are kinda really bad but its kinda hard to name someone so vague as "someone who is trying not to die"

[apljee]

In truth, I think that everyone's titles could be unique - as some others have said above, it doesn't feel right to call crime lords Colonists. But making everyone's titles unique would be quite different.

[Johnny Masters]

Well personally I like to think of my people as
Rimmers

Colonist did not faze me though...

I like this route. Perhaps not necessarily a Rimmer, but you know, something lore related.

I can picture an 80's intro with a passing text explaining how in the future, after some cheesy catastrophe (probably nuclear) the universe turned into a really unstable place, and people who gets lost in the far corners of the galaxy core are know as ..[insert cool name here], and this is their story. [epic song by basil poledouris begins].