Timberborn News

Hi everyone!

Holidays are upon us, and we have another batch of Update 5 tweaks for your merriment. Most importantly, badwater’s harmful effects on the land (reducing the irrigation’s range and contaminating the ground) now kick in at different concentrations. Also, Thousand Islands was reworked.

Need a refresher on how to play on the Experimental Branch?
Follow the instructions found here.



[h2]Badwater[/h2]
Previously, badwater affected surrounding areas by limiting irrigation ranges and contaminating the ground simultaneously. Now, these effects trigger at different badwater concentration levels. This makes it less of a binary mechanic and adds more impact to the partial contamination.

• With badwater below 50%, the irrigation range decreases, depending on the concentration. At 50%, the water body no longer irrigates the land but doesn’t contaminate it yet. This means the affected plant life withers at its “regular” speed.
  
• With badwater above 50%, the water body starts contaminating the ground and actively killing plant life. The contamination’s range depends on the badwater’s concentration. At 100%, the effect is similar to what we had before today’s update.
  

[h2]Maps[/h2]
The eleventh built-in map has just received its badwater-filled iteration. Thousand Islands is known for its water-themed challenge, so we had to figure out how to preserve its unique setup and add meaningful badwater interactions. It is also a good example of why the badwater changes listed above make sense to us. Check the map out and let us know what you think!

• Updated map: Thousand Islands now features large amounts of badwater. Swim carefully!
  

[h2]Balance[/h2]
Alright, we’re going easy on you. Mother Nature won’t always be so gentle, though.

• Increased the minimum number of cycles before badtides hit to 7 (on easy difficulty), 5 (medium), and 3 (hard).
  
• Removed Terraforming Station from the game. It had its purpose when terraforming was exclusive to bots, but in Update 5, this duty is also handled by the regular beavers.
  
• Terraforming is now performed by builders.
  

[h2]Misc.[/h2]

• Added Rubble Removal Tool 5000™ to the toolbar. Cleaning the leftovers has never been easier!
  
• Renamed Temple and Shrine to Agora and Contemplation Spot, respectively. The previous religious connotation didn’t make much sense to us. The Temple’s flavor text was also updated.
  
• (Late note missing from the original announcement) Added two extra shaft connectors on the sides of the Engine (at no extra cost!).
  
• Updated models for all bridges to make them stand out more with crowded colonies in the background.
  
• The ground is now hidden when previewing buildings with underground parts such as the Underground Warehouse.
  
• The standard buttons and headers used in the main menu etc. are now scalable.
  
• Updated the text in removal tools’ tooltips to be consistent across the category.
  
• Updated the look of the “Unlock this building” button.
  
• Updated the text on the “Clear this key binding” button.
  
• Added audio cues to transitions between seasons.
  
• Added missing sounds and the flavor text to Motivatorium.
  
• Reordered the Well-being buildings to match their increasing Science costs.
  
• Removed the extra arrows from the map selection list.
  

[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]

• Fixed the brush flickering in the map editor, caused by changing its - the brush’s - parameters.
  
• Fixed a bug with saves not updating correctly after the system clock switches from daylight saving time. If you’re playing Timberborn at 2 AM, we admire your dedication.
  
• Removed that randomly placed tree on the Meander map.
  

Hi everyone!

Big thanks for the extensive feedback we’ve been receiving from you since Monday’s patch. Today, we’re fixing several outstanding issues but if you notice any further quirks, be sure to let us know!

[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]

• Fixed several scenarios where adding a single water tile actually reduced the water body’s irrigation range. Thank you for the detailed reports such as this one!
• Fixed a bug with the Temple’s extract-fuelled flame not going out even when no extract was in the building’s inventory.
  
• Borders of contaminated ground are now not as sharp and jarring.
  
• Dandelions are now categorized as ingredients, similar to coffee beans.
  
• Fixed a minor translation error.
  

In today’s not-so-small update, we’re changing (and adding) attractions. The irrigation algorithm receives an important tweak (bye-bye, Water Dump trick). We’re also adding the ability to build mirrored buildings. Oh, and the extract is now green (again).

Need a refresher on how to play on the Experimental Branch?
Follow the instructions found here.

[h2]Attractions[/h2]

With this update, Folktails finally get to show off their dancing skills, and the Iron Teeth now get their daily dose of propaganda high culture. We’ve also updated the attractions to accept resources carried by haulers, opening up the ability to add new types of attractions to the game.

• New building: Dance Hall (1200 SP; 100 logs, 50 treated planks; 20 metal blocks; Folktails-only). All Folktails, old and young alike, are famous for their sick moves. Now, they can finally hit the dance floor!
  
• New building: Motivatorium (1200 SP; 75 logs, 100 gears, 20 treated planks; requires 200 HP to operate; Iron Teeth-only). Here, the Iron Teeth proletarians unite to collectively remember what their society is about.
  

• Updated building: Mud Bath. The new cost is 40 logs, 20 gears and 50 treated plank. This building now needs a steady supply of dirt.
  
• Updated building: Decontamination Pod. The new cost is 20 planks, 5 gears, and 5 metal blocks. This building now needs a steady supply of extract.
  
• Updated building: Temple. It now needs a steady supply of extract, which is being burnt inside to assist in, um, reaching a higher state of contemplation. The flames were updated to reflect that.
  
• Updated building: Engine. Not necessarily an attraction but now working in a similar fashion, it no longer has workers. The engine will keep working as long as haulers continue delivering logs.
  

[h2]Irrigation[/h2]

Recent changes may have crippled the infamous Water Dump trick but we’re done with half-measures… or at least we think we are, as our players’ creativity knows no bounds.

• The irrigation algorithm now takes into account the area of water bodies. Smaller water bodies irrigate smaller areas.
  
• [Missing note added on 2023-12-05] Soil now absorbs water much faster from small water bodies.
  
• Made small changes to most maps to address the change above.
  

[h2]Seasons[/h2]

You’ve made it clear that it should be easier to notice that the seasons have changed. We’ve added fancy new splash screens that should be really difficult to miss.

• Added a splash screen at the start of each season.
  

[h2]Flipping[/h2]

This is the end of an era! Starting today, buildings no longer have entrances available only on one side - you can flip them. We’ve added this feature to all buildings with asymmetrical door placement, plus some others where it made sense (such as most monuments).

• Added the ability to flip most buildings before placing them (default hotkey: F).
  
• Removed Mirrored Lodge and its memorable flavor text from the game because it’s now simply possible to flip the regular version.
  

[h2]Visual[/h2]

What was once green, is green again.

• Updated the extract’s color to a different shade of green.
  
• Updated the model for the Iron Teeth version of Rooftop Terrace.
  
• Badtides now use slightly different fog colors.
  
• Updated the models and lights in Numbercruncher, Underground Pile, and Engine. Door and window lighting is now exclusively used to indicate the type of a building’s workers.
  
• Reduced Bot Assembler’s height to one tile.
  

[h2]Map editor[/h2]
In the map editor, it is now possible to add a custom image as the map’s thumbnail. This feature supports transparent PNGs so you can also use it to add a layer of extra elements - such as your logo - on top of a regular thumbnail image. In other news, you can now also simulate droughts and badtides without leaving the editor.

• Added the ability to add custom images as map thumbnails via a file browser.
  
• Added new buttons that allow you to simulate droughts and badtides within the editor.
  
• The direction of the terrain brush can now be changed with dedicated buttons rather than just hotkeys.
  

[h2]Misc.[/h2]

• Books and coffee are now consumed before the beavers enjoy their time in attractions such as carousels. This should make it easier to hit higher well-being levels.
  
• Reordered attractions and needs to match their increasing science points costs and well-being gains.
  
• Added looping sounds to Centrifuge.
  
• Added selection sounds to Badwater Dome, Badwater Rig, Badwater Discharge, Wind Tunnel, Scratcher, Clock, and Brazier.
  
• Added missing flavor texts.
  
• Added members of the localization team to the in-game credits.
  
• When there is no keybinding set for a tool, it’s no longer displayed as “Binding undefined”.
  
• With the UI hidden (Ctrl+H, remember?), pop-up windows such as the deletion confirmation box now cause the UI to be unhidden rather than blocking the game. The UI will also reveal itself to comfort you after you hit Esc in a panic.
  
• The post-crash screen now includes extra information if your game is modded. Please remember that disabling all mods is often the best way to fix crashes, especially after updating the game.
  

[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]

• Fixed a bug that caused beavers en route to cut a tree to stop in weird places upon loading the game.
  
• Fixed a bug causing contaminated beavers not to be counted against the automated migration limits and minimums.
  
• Fixed haulers’ backpacks clipping through in several attractions and decorations.
  
• Fixed maple syrup barrels clipping through the terrain.
  

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