Colony Commander Field Manual
Welcome to Bee Hive. Every part of your colony follows living honeybee behavior—from warmth spreading across honeycomb walls and figure-8 waggle dances to colony housing and 47°C hornet defense.
1. First 3 Minutes Survival Guide
- Let Scouts Explore the Meadow: When your hive begins, Scout Bees fly outward across the island to discover wildflower groves and perform figure-8 Waggle Dances at the heart of the comb.
- Build Refineries & Nurseries: Select [2] Honey Vat, [3] Pollen Silo, or [4] Brood Nursery from the bottom build bar and click any green-highlighted hex next to your existing comb.
- Inspect 3D Cutaway Rooms ([L]) & Individual Bees: Press [L] to zoom into animated 3D cutaway room interiors, or click any bee to see its live thoughts, cargo, and role in the Inspector.
- Unlock Skills ([T]) & Defend the Hive: Open the 16-node Colony Skill Tree with [T], build Propolis Guard Bastions ([6]) on outer comb edges, and assign your Guard Bees to Squad 1 (Ctrl+1).
2. Honeycomb Stations, Cutaway Rooms & Production Recipes
| Station & 3D Cutaway Room | Hotkey | Construction Cost | Production Rate & Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wax Comb Foundation Wax Shaping Workshop |
[1] | 10 Wax (100 HP) | 1.0 Honey → 0.5 Wax / sec; expands buildable honeycomb space |
| Honey Evaporator Vat Honey Ripening Room |
[2] | 25 Wax, 5 Propolis (200 HP) | 2.0 Nectar → 1.0 Golden Honey + 0.1 Wax / sec (2 worker slots) |
| Pollen & Bee Bread Silo Pollen Mixing Cell |
[3] | 25 Wax, 5 Propolis (200 HP) | 1.5 Pollen + 0.5 Honey → 1.0 Bee Bread / sec (2 worker slots) |
| Brood Incubation Cell Warm Brood Nursery |
[4] | 30 Wax, 10 Honey (150 HP) | 1 Egg + 5.0 Bee Bread → 1 Adult Bee (20s at 32–36°C); grants +5 Housing (+7 with upgrade) |
| Royal Jelly Alveolus Royal Jelly Kitchen |
[5] | 50 Wax, 20 Propolis, 20 Honey (250 HP) | 2.0 Bee Bread + 1.0 Honey → 0.5 Royal Jelly / sec (2 worker slots) |
| Propolis Guard Bastion Guard Post & Armory |
[6] | 40 Wax, 30 Propolis (500 HP) | Fortified 500 HP perimeter post (4 guard slots); slows raiders and alerts nearby defenders |
| Thermal Climate Vent Warming & Cooling Vent |
[7] | 20 Wax, 10 Propolis (150 HP) | Fresh air cooling (-1.8°C/s when outdoor air is cooler than the room; 3 worker slots) |
| Queen’s Royal Chamber Royal Sovereign Sanctum |
[HQ] | Heart of the Hive (1,000 HP) | Permanent throne room of Queen Aurelia I; radiates Queen Pheromone & anchors colony |
3. Colony Housing & Bee Roles
Your colony’s housing capacity is shown in the top bar and inside the Colony Radar & Role Allocation panel. Total Colony Capacity combines your Starting Hive (10), Brood Nurseries (+5 each, or +7 with Hexagonal Cradle Expansion), Comb Size Bonus, Food Stores (-4 if Honey and Bee Bread run dry), Winter Cluster (-6 during Winter Deep Frost unless removed by Sovereign Metropolis Charter), and Skill Tree Upgrades. From the Radar panel or the Bee Inspector, you can recruit new Forager, Nurse, Guard, or Scout bees and switch worker roles anytime.
4. 16-Node Colony Skill Tree ([T]) & Royal Pheromone Surges
- Industry & Alchemy: Copper Condenser Coils → Pressurized Fermenter Vats → Centrifugal Jelly Distiller → Master Alchemist Conveyor.
- Colony & Brood Logistics: Hexagonal Cradle Expansion → Royal Nurse Academy → Corbiculae Pollen Baskets → Sovereign Metropolis Charter.
- Defense & Warfare: Propolis Bastion Plating → Barbed Venom Stingers → 46°C Thermo-Balling Mastery → Valkyrie Guard Garrison.
- Exploration & Pheromones: Aero-Wing Harmonics → Waggle Dance Mastery → Winter Cluster Insulation → Perennial Meadow Symbiosis.
- Royal Pheromone Surges (30s Active Boosts): Trigger Nectar & Station Overdrive (15 Honey, 5 Wax), Royal Brood Surge (2 Royal Jelly, 12 Bee Bread), Thermal & Propolis Ward (12 Propolis, 12 Honey), or Zephyr Flight Boost (12 Honey, 10 Pollen).
5. Hive Temperature & Brood Care
Every honeycomb room shares warmth with its 6 neighboring cells and the outdoor weather. If a Brood Incubation Cell drops below 28.0°C for 10 seconds or rises above 38.0°C for 8 seconds, the brood is lost and the cell needs cleaning. Select the cell and click Clean Cell (or press [C] / send a Nurse bee) to restore the nursery.
6. Keyboard Shortcuts & Touch Gestures
- Camera & Cutaway Zoom: WASD or Arrow Keys to pan (hold Shift to move faster, or hold Space + drag mouse), Q/E (or [/]) to rotate in 60° steps, +/- to zoom, L to toggle 3D Cutaway Room View, H/Home to center on the Royal Chamber, and R to reset the camera.
- Progression & Swarm Command: T opens the Skill Tree & Royal Surges, B triggers Nectar & Station Overdrive, G selects all Guards, F selects all Foragers, N selects all Nurses, Ctrl+A selects all workers, Ctrl+1..4 assigns Squads S1–S4, and Alt+1..4 selects a squad (double-tap to center camera).
- Room Actions & Windows: Z Warm Room, X Fan Cool, C Clean Room, Delete Demolish, F1–F3 / Tab switch map views, M toggles the Radar window, and I toggles the Inspector window.
- Mobile & Trackpad Gestures: Two-finger pinch-to-zoom, two-finger twist-to-rotate, long-press to rally bees, double-tap on a bee to select all bees of that role, and the bottom Pan / Box / Rally touch mode bar.