Timberborn News

Hi everyone!

Steam Awards are upon us, and we'd be honored if you voted for Timberborn in the "Labor of Love" category above. Timberborn has been in the works for over five years already, and the category's name perfectly summarizes what this game means to our small studio. And if you haven't had a chance to experience that for yourself yet, you can now grab Timberborn at a 20% discount!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1062090/Timberborn/

We're also launching a new bundle with our fellow countrymen working on Medieval Dynasty. If you want to see how hoomans built their towns in the past - before eventually turning Earth into a barren wasteland under the rule of beavers - it's a perfect choice. And the discount is even higher!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/36623/Medieval_Beavers/

[h2]Update 5 - TL;DR[/h2]
Finally, we want to catch you up on the status of Update 5, the upcoming content patch that brings the most significant changes since the Early Access launched in 2021. Update 5 has been receiving tweaks on the Experimental Branch for several weeks now, and the new content has already evolved compared to what we described in the original announcement.



Here's where we're at with Update 5 today, collected into handy bullet points.

• The update's highlight is badwater (currently in its third color iteration). Badwater is fluid, toxic waste that flows from Badwater Sources and taints regular water sources during badtides (see below). As explained in the post linked above, we strongly believe this new challenge makes the gameplay deeper and more varied, prevents "solving" a map too early, gives map creators extra tools, and addresses several common requests from players.
  
• Badwater fully uses in-game water physics, powers up water wheels and so on. Most importantly, it mixes with regular water.
  
• On top of badwater sources that burst with waste during wet seasons, we've added a new in-game season called badtide to the rotation. When a badtide triggers instead of a drought, badwater starts flowing from regular water sources.
  
• Beavers exposed to badwater may become contaminated. Contaminated beavers turn into zombeavers are very slow and refuse to work. They must be cured using faction-specific methods - either in special pods (Iron Teeth) or with herbal medicine (Folktails).
  
• Badwater not only limits the irrigation range of regular water, but also kills all plant life in affected areas. The effects become more severe with higher badwater concentrations.
  
• To deal with badwater, you can use standard hydroengineering tools such as dams and floodgates. There are also special new buildings: dedicated badwater pumps, faction-specific barriers that limit contamination spread, and different high-end structures that seal badwater sources. The Iron Teeth seal even allows the flow of badwater during drought if that's what you need.
  
• Badwater also has a positive side - it's turned into the extract. This new resource is used to enhance bots, breed adult kits in Iron Teeth-exclusive Advanced Breeding Pods, and even produce more powerful dynamite.
  

• Speaking of terraforming, it is no longer exclusive to bots. The mechanical beavers have another distinct advantage, though - they're immune to contamination.
  
• For the update's launch, all built-in maps will be reworked with badwater in mind. Right now, 9 out of 11 maps are ready.
  
• Update 5 also adds many new decorations and attractions, most of them faction-specific. These range from lanterns and hammocks to exercise plazas and air tunnels. Here's a spoiler: there's more coming.
  
• We've implemented multiple quality-of-life tweaks. Keybindings are now customizable, saves have previews and extra details, custom map creators can add thumbnails and descriptions.
  
• Update 5 features numerous other additions, some long overdue. These include the removal of the irrigation tower (!) and adding tree-cutting animations (!!!).
  

We're not ready to share the main branch release date of Update 5 yet as we still have more things coming! Stay tuned for further updates - and if you want to read the full patch notes, go here.

If you don't want to wait and are ready to try the sometimes-quirky experimental builds, check the instructions here. Be sure to let us know your thoughts afterward - we appreciate your feedback, and that's how we decide what needs extra work.

Thanks, and... please do remember about us in the Steam Awards voting above, will you?

- Team Timberborn

[h2]Bugfixes[/h2]

• Fixed beavers getting stuck while cutting trees.
  

Hello everyone,

It’s time for another batch of experimental tweaks to the Update 5 content! We’ve updated badwater colors, added a new model for the Herbalist, and changed the maps (including Helix Mountain which now features badwater). Most notably though, Timberborn is no longer missing one of the most important animations. You can now actually see your beavers cutting trees!

[h2]Visual[/h2]

The first version of badwater could be mistaken for lava, and the second resembled sewers too much. Today, we’re trying to strike the right balance between these two extremes. Also, Herbalist no longer uses the old Healer model.

• Updated colors for badwater and extract.
  
• Updated the Herbalist’s model to better correspond to its current role (see below).
  

[h2]Animations[/h2]

The first recorded request for proper tree-cutting animations in Timberborn is from 1784. We’re so happy we’re finally here!

• Added tree-cutting animations for beavers and bots.
  
• Trees are now swaying while being cut.
  
• The dev team can now sleep at night.
  

[h2]Maps[/h2]

The work on getting the built-in maps ready for Update 5 continues.

• Remade Helix Mountain, our inspired-by-community map. It is now badwater-compatible.
  
• Made smaller tweaks to Craters, Meander, Terraces, and Waterfalls. Thanks for the feedback, everyone!
  
• Removed that randomly placed birch tree from Plains.
  

[h2]Balance[/h2]
Apparently, the Decontamination Pod was so comfy some beavers would often overstay their welcome. On the other hand, the Hard difficulty was sometimes a little too brutal.

• Contaminated beavers placed in Decontamination Pods now recover faster.
  
• On Hard difficulty, the first badtide can now hit after two cycles of the grace period (up from one).
  

[h2]Audio[/h2]
How about some new, bubbly sounds?

• Added new sounds to the following Update 5 buildings: Centrifuge, Grease Factory, Decontamination Pod, Badwater Source, Exercise Plaza, Advanced Breeding Pod.
  

[h2]Keybindings[/h2]
The newly added keybindings required a little extra care.

• Hitting Esc while setting up a new keybinding now closes the window.
  
• It is now possible to use Ctrl + mouse wheel to go through the main categories on the toolbar. Shift + mouse wheel goes through the buildings within the selected category. We estimate this saves you about 1 kcal per two-hour game session.
  
• Updated default keybindings in the map editor.
  
• MacOS users can now use CMD in keybindings.
  
• Updated several default keybindings on MacOS to use CMD instead of Ctrl.
  

[h2]UI and QoL[/h2]

• The post-crash screen now includes a text box. You can use it to explain what happened before the game exploded. This comment will be included in the crash report.
  
• It’s now possible to preview a building before unlocking it. To unlock the building, either try placing it down in the preview mode, click the dedicated button, or hit Enter with the building selected.
  
• Updated icons for Badwater Sources, Water Sources, and Badwater Rig.
  

[h2]Bugfixes[/h2]

• The camera now focuses correctly on water pumps, rather than on their pipes.
  
• Fixed a minor highlighting bug caused by moving between categories on the toolbar.
  
• Fixed a bug with stranded sheep left at the base of a cliff beavers not dying.
  
• Fixed a bug with multi-key keybindings not fitting the UI.
  
• Stranded bots that run out of fuel now correctly use the stranded animation.
  
• Buildings that make a terrain cutout (such as Underground Pile) now include the terrain cutout in the construction stage.
  

[h2]Misc.[/h2]

• Added missing Update 5 translations.
  

[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]

• Badwater bodies with bottoms and sides entirely built with levees no longer contaminate tiles next to them - this time for real.