Timberborn News

Hi there!

If you missed the memo, Timberborn Early Access launches September 15! There’s a lot of new stuff coming to the game, some of which we’re still keeping a surprise. But today, let’s talk about the second playable faction, the Iron Teeth beavers!

We have first revealed the faction in a trailer shown at Awesome Indies Show Gamescom by IGN. If you have missed it, here it is again, this time without our comms manager's cat tree and babbling.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


Compared to Folktails, Iron Teeth are the busy beavers. They’re doing their best to harness the wasteland, viewing tormented Earth as timbertech testing grounds. They live to work, not the other way around. For them, technology is both a means and a goal. Take water, for example. For these beavers, it is a measurable power that keeps gears running rather than nature’s gift of life.



We wanted Iron Teeth to be more or less a counterpart to Folktails. Our idea for their colonies was to use that darker, industrial theme with blocks of tall, brick-like buildings. Engines are there too, emitting smoke and propelling Iron Teeth’s progress forward. Because of their reliance on power and higher water consumption, we envision the Iron Teeth settlements as tighter, more squeezed in and vertical compared to Folktails’ vast villages in the midst of golden fields.


The Iron Teeth are also a perfect example of how iterative our work on Timberborn has to be. We were looking for a way to make this faction feel very industrial and productivity-driven. Adding engines and other machines shows their affinity for timber-tech, sure, but we needed something special. So, we looked at the cozy lodges of the Folktail families, and we decided to give the Iron Teeth something entirely different by separating adults from kits. We wanted adults to live in cramped barracks – that perhaps wouldn’t even satisfy Comfort – while kits would grow up in kit-only nurseries.

Nurseries have been scrapped... but our beaver-eyed viewers might have spotted them in Timberborn's early access trailer, which was recorded while they were still a thing.

The idea looked good on paper, but Nurseriers turned out to be a balance problem (a few nurseries would be enough for a huge town) and hard to explain. So, even though we had a really nice 3D model, we had to scrap them and eventually replace. Breeding Pods work much better in both regards, but also feel more post-apocalyptic AND add a unique “production chain”. You'll read more about them in a moment.


The settlements built by the Iron Teeth might strike a Folktails fan with their different, Timberborn-e feel but that’s okay as Jakub Mathia, our Art Director, is ready to explain:

They were going to be the tough, hard-working guys, we knew that right from the start, and the name *Iron Teeth* came up early. No wonder their graphite-like, bluish fur resembles steel, while their buildings are covered with wooden roofs similar to patinated metal. The engineering feats of this faction pushed us to search for inspirations in the 19th-century industrial revolution. We matched that with the architectural shapes and colors influenced by the native communities of the Middle East and Latin America, resulting in the orange-and-indigo mix you can see.

It's the little things like subtle patterns on the fur.

An old screenshot showing older textures and models. The large building in the center was a "new" Builder's Hut before the idea of District Centers was born, and the Hut received yet another model.

Michal Zomerski, Timberborn’s 3D Artist, chimes in to talk about the design process behind the Iron Teeth buildings. Thanks for the spoilers ahead of the next paragraph, Michal. Sheesh.

The Iron Teeth live in the industrial barracks and the London-like rowhouses, and they get to stack their log piles, which means densely populated areas quickly turn into tall clusters of buildings. But we didn’t want to just give them cuboid blocks of flats, hence the slanted walls and a design that allows power shafts to connect “through” windows. On the other hand, we got to play with metal and, for example, redesign the engine. This one has a dedicated power connector which allowed us to play with the model and draw inspiration from DaVinci’s works.

Also, here’s a bit of beaver trivia. Beavers’ incisors (teeth) have an orange enamel because of a high amount of iron. Also, Timberborn’s working title was Iron Teeth. Makes sense, huh?

[h3]Faction trait[/h3]
While Folktails' never-ending appetite results in higher food consumption, Iron Teeth use more water.
They work hard and need to quench their thirst often which results in 15% more water consumption.

The above has been removed with the addition of Difficulty Modes where you can customize the consumption rates regardless of faction.

[h3]Housing[/h3]
Comfort is not that important to Iron Teeth – if you get a place to crash after a shift with a roof over your head, that’s enough. They grow their vertical settlements by squeezing their kin in the following buildings:

• Rowhouse – Tall and narrow building that houses five beavers.
  
• Large Rowhouse – Even taller, these rowhouses are for eight beavers.
  
• Barracks – A large, space-efficient dwelling for ten dwellers.
  
• Large Barracks – Perfect for groups of workers, this box of a house has a capacity of sixteen dwellers.
  

[h3]Breeding[/h3]
The work consumes so much of Iron Teeth life they have abandoned the traditional beaver ways. To ensure proper growth of the next generation, the Iron Teeth have invented breeding pods. All newborn kits begin their life in those, suspended in a nutritious liquid. To sustain growth, the “beaver juice” has to be refilled. All adults in the colony share that duty.

• Breeding Pods. This is Iron Teeth’s only way of bringing kits to the world. After a kit is born and placed here, all adult beavers will bring water and berries to sustain the growth. Once it's grown enough, the kit will leave the tank to live in a harsh environment and grow further, eventually becoming an adult. Other beavers argue that this process might be going too far.
  

[h3]Other unique buildings[/h3]
Iron Teeth are industrious and their unique buildings are designed to increase their productivity and efficiency, even at a cost of fresh air in the neighbourhood.

• Industrial Log Pile. Wood is in constant demand and it’s easier to store it when you’ve got specialized warehouses. These are Solid which means they are stackable, and they don’t have to be placed on the ground.
  

• Deep Water Pump. In Early Access, water pumps are no longer limited to one tile of depth – and the Iron Teeth upgraded their pump even further so they work up to SIX levels deep.
  

• Engine. The pinnacle of timbertech is only available to the Iron Teeth, offering supreme energy output in exchange for fuel and the need for an employee. Other beavers wouldn’t approve of burning wood and the smoke that comes with it, but the Iron Teeth don’t mind.
  

While this is a global change – Folktails also profit from it – the work on Iron Teeth pushed us to change how metal works. Scavenger’s Hut was replaced with a Scavenger Flag. The beaver employed there is tasked with gathering scrap metal from ruins in range. Scrap metal is then processed into usable metal blocks in a brand new, powered building: a Shredder.



In Early Access, we’re adding new ways of utilizing metal such as the advanced Suspension Bridges. You might have spotted them in the Early Access trailer (or the Iron Teeth trailer, for that matter). You can build them in different sizes – and you can place new buildings below them. There will be more but you will need to wait until Wednesday for that. Why?


Timberborn releases at 5 PM CET, September 15, 2021.

A week before, we’re going to start a series of daily previews here on Steam. Every day, we’ll look at a different aspect of Timberborn’s gameplay and how it looks in Early Access. If you’ve just discovered the game, this will give you a more in-depth overview of Timberborn’s features. If you’ve been following the beavers for a while, expect quite a few surprises.

Until then!
Timberborn Team

Hi everyone.

We’ve spoiled the date already, but please watch the official trailer – which has just premiered at Future Games Show Gamescom – and act surprised.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
That’s right! Your favourite lumberpunk city-builder is just three weeks away and will launch on September 15, 2021.

We’ve been hard at work for the past months, building on the great suggestions from our demo players. There’s A LOT of cool new stuff coming with the release, some of which you may see in the video. Most importantly, we’re adding the second playable beaver faction, the Iron Teeth.

If you want a closer look at their industrious beaver ways, we have another reveal for you. A little earlier today, the Iron Teeth segment aired during Gamescom’s Awesome Indies Show.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We’ll have more details about Iron Teeth in a devlog next week. Also, in the week leading up to launch, we’ll have a countdown with daily previews focused on different aspects of the game and what’s new. Full patch notes will go up on the release day (September 15, remember?).

We will also be inviting the media and content creators to Early Access so if you want your favourite streamer or YouTuber to check the game out, tell them about your beaver demands!


For now, here’s a non-exhaustive list of what to expect from Timberborn Early Access at launch:

• Two playable beavers factions. Folktails are the more nature- and farming-oriented of the two, while Iron Teeth favour rapid industrialization. Each faction looks and plays different, and has access to faction-exclusive buildings.
  
• Droughts. The post-apocalyptic world alternates between temperate and dry seasons, with droughts becoming more frequent and threatening over time. Any gameplay limits are gone so let’s see how long your beavers can last.
  
• Water-related gameplay. We know you like this one so we’ve expanded that quite a bit. We’ve added floodgates, a way to transport water to higher areas, depth markers, and more – oh, and the beavers are now able to swim, gather, and build underwater.
  
• Scalable settlements. Districts are the new way of growing your beaver colonies. They make beginnings easier and add another layer of fun to later stages thanks to trading routes and migrations.
  
• Timbertech and vertical architecture. There are many new buildings in the game, and with the new district system and the need to survive as long as possible, efficient space management is crucial. That’s why we’ve also implemented overhead bridges.
  
• UI and localizations. Timberborn has a brand new UI and the game will be available in all 11 planned languages. This includes the Simplified Chinese, Korean, and Japanese translations missing from the demo. Thank you for your patience!
  
• Map Editor. The game will come with a set of 7 new and updated maps built by us but you may create more. Our user-friendly map editor allows you to create new maps and edit existing ones. You can then share them with the community.
  
• And more! The game looks better, has a beautiful soundtrack by Zofia Domaradzka, plays at much higher framerates, and received a lot of other improvements.
  

Timberborn Early Access will be available for PC & Mac, will cost $24.99 (with regional pricing), and we’ll have a 10% launch week discount for early adopters.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1062090/Timberborn/
So yeah, September 15. It's finally happening! Please share the news and join us on our Discord if you have any questions!

Best,
The Very Excited Timberborn Team

PS Check out the updated Steam page for a bunch of new screenshots. There are some surprises.

Timberborn ticks all of my boxes. Humans have been wiped out, the animals are now in charge, and beavers can build cities. Smart critters and no humans? Sign me up. Yes, my boxes are very specific. And you won't have long to wait if you feel the same way, as an Early Access release date was announced during the Future Games Show...
Read more.

Hi everyone!

Here’s a heads-up: this weekend marks your final chance to play Timberborn Demo, because we’re going to take it down on Monday, August 23, 2021.

But do not despair. We’ll make up for that just a few days later, on August 26, 2021. We’re coming to our first-ever Gamescom – with not one, but TWO announcements. Both are related to a certain big thing, and we hope you’ll find them Extra Amazing.

[h3]Awesome Indies Show[/h3]
For the first major reveal, watch Gamescom’s Awesome Indies Show hosted by IGN. It starts on August 26, at 11.30 AM PDT (8.30 PM CEST) and you can watch it here.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Future Games Show[/h3]
The second big reveal will follow soon after as part of Future Games Show Gamescom hosted by GamesRadar. This event begins on August 26, at 1.00 PM PDT (10.00 PM CEST). You can watch it here.



You’re going to see something entirely different at each show and you probably don’t want to miss either of them. And if you want to speculate a little, remember to hop on our official Discord.

Cheers!
Timberborn Team

[Update on August 23, 4 PM CEST] Aaand the demo is gone. Big thanks to the 150.000 people who have played it! We hope you enjoyed tackling the double drought and survived it more often than not.

We hope you’ll join us this Thursday at Gamescom for the TWO grand reveals we’ve prepared.

Hi everyone!

Time to announce the next big thing coming with the early access launch of Timberborn: the district system. Districts make growing your settlements easier to understand at the beginning and more fun later. They also improve the game’s performance. Oh, and they give your beavers a chance to swim. What is this sorcery, you ask? Keep on reading because there's a lot to unpack.


With districts, the previous range system is going away. There are multiple reasons for that, but here’s a sample from Jon Biegalski, one of our game designers:

The old system was quite simple but often left players confused. For example, if you wanted to build something with logs, the construction site needed to be in the range of both Builder's Hut and Log Pile. Also, some beavers would remain unemployed even though there were jobs available, as they lived too far away. These issues made the beavers less productive in the long run, and the districts fix that.

Add in some awkward situations where beavers starve with a full warehouse nearby or work in areas too far from their favourite carousel, and you get a picture. But that's in the past now!



In Early Access, you begin with a single, new building: District Center. It replaces the batch of starting buildings you know from the demo. All future buildings that have entrances need to be connected to a Center via paths – or just won’t work. That also means that you now need paths on roofs, dams, or platforms. Because of that, placing paths is now instant and no longer needs workers. Also, paths now work underwater. What?! Okay, okay, we’re getting there.



Under the new system, beavers diligently follow the paths you’ve built, moving between their homes, workplaces, attractions etc. but there are exceptions. Beavers who enjoy fieldwork such as cutting trees or working in ruins continue to do that within range of their workplaces. Builders construct buildings within the district. The district expands as you add paths.


Each District Center has a limited range (measured in the length of outgoing paths). After you select a building, coloured lines appear, making it easy to identify. Lines turning red and disappearing are a sign that the area is too far from the Center. In other words, you’ve expanded far enough to consider setting up another district. If a building is not connected to a Center, the game will remind you about that.



To set up a new district, you put a (free) micro building called Gate anywhere on a path, effectively setting up a district’s border. Then, you put a new (also free) District Center somewhere behind that gate.



Your initial District Center comes prefilled with starting resources and all District Centers also employ a few builders. As there's no starting warehouse now, we’ve made adjustments to some other buildings such as Lumberjack Flag or Gatherer Flag that now have some storage capacity.


Each additional district starts empty so it’s a good idea to send some of your beavers and goods there. Transferring colonists is easy. You select an origin District Center, pick a destination counterpart and choose how many adults and kits should be relocated – and off they go. You can rename your districts, just like you do with the beavers, so they’re easier to keep track of.

A new district could also use some resources, and that's where trading routes come in. You establish them using two new types of buildings: Distribution Centers and Drop-off Points. Distribution Center in District A allows you to choose a Drop-off Point in District B and which goods (e.g. Carrots or Flour) to ship there. Beavers from the Center will then pick up the selected goods from a warehouse and start moving them. You can set per-district minimums and maximums to control import and export.



On that note, you can now switch between Global and District views. In the Global view, you see total numbers for your population, goods, wellbeing etc. The District view – opened via a list or by selecting a building – displays values for the district only. This allows you to create specialized districts, helps running large cities, and adds another layer to the game in the form of transporting goods.


You keep reminding us that beavers can swim. We know, we even had swimming pools back in alpha! And now that the world alternates between wet and dry seasons, and you manipulate water levels with dams and floodgates, we're revisiting that. Sooner or later, some of your paths disappear underwater or you need a road in an area that hasn't dried up yet. You could use platforms but hey, beavers can swim!



In Early Access, when you place a path (on the ground or, as described above, on platforms, rooftops etc.) and it ends up underwater, it remains usable. In shallow waters, beavers are swimming on the surface. If the water is deeper, they dive. Flooding a building disables it and swimming is rather slow, so you will generally still want to build above water. But beavers are no longer afraid to get wet and they go about their day (carrying goods etc.) even when it involves swimming.

And YES, you can build underwater if you wish. There’s now even an additional toggle that makes the water transparent so you can see what your rodents are up to in the depths.




Districts solve problems often expressed by the newcomers but there’s more to that. The old range system made running large colonies calculation-heavy, resulting in bad framerates, especially after increasing the in-game speed. Districts helped us solve a lot of issues on the performance front. Let’s hear from Kamil Dawidow, one of Timberborn’s programmers:

With districts, obligatory paths and swimming, beavers have a much easier time navigating the settlement. They do not need to recalculate their routes all the time as water levels change or you put new buildings in their way. And since they now operate within districts and only follow paths (not all the terrain), less data is stored and processed. For example, a hungry beaver’s algorithm works faster when it simply needs to check if there’s food in the district’s warehouses or not – and then has less ground to cover, establishing an optimal, non-exhausting way there.

Finally, to help you use districts and the now-omnipresent paths, we’re adding a feature desired by all vertical architecture enthusiasts. You will be able to view your settlements layer by layer. This helps you create complicated multi-level megastructures, maintain hidden buildings, or check for missed unconnected paths. It works great paired with the water transparency toggle.



As you can see, districts are quite a chunky feature. They make running beaver colonies swimmingly fun – and dam, we can’t wait to see you go crazy with them in Early Access!

To make the wait easier, here's the final treat for today. Two talented members of our Discord community, Synthron and DerHouy, have written and recorded an awesome Timberborn song. We thought it deserved a proper BMV (beaver music video). Enjoy!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]