Timberborn News

Because of the holidays, we’ve been a little silent… but we are now back in action (and larger than ever – more on that next time)! If you’re following the news section here on Steam, you know that Timberborn’s closed beta is underway and has received a few important updates.

[h3]Here's a quick summary:[/h3]

• We have new models for our flora – trees and berries. We're about to release new, optimized models for the crops as well.
  
• Labor house and labor flag have been replaced with four separate structures. Work continues on a slew of brand new buildings with fresh functionalities.
  
• We fixed quite a few issues (such as the beavers’ inability to demolish resources) and improved the game’s balance.
  
• Most importantly, we have upgraded the rendering engine, improving the GPU performance by up to 50%, and added real shadows.
  

Some of you might be wondering: why haven’t I received a beta key yet and can’t play with that myself?

[h3]Closed beta access
[/h3]
For starters, we sent out a small-ish wave of invites this week and we have more to come. And if you haven’t signed up for the beta access yet, here’s the form you need to fill.

Now, there’s another way of getting the key – either for you or your friend. If you visit us on Twitter within the next few days, you'll find a giveaway there. You can get the beta key for a measly price of “retweet & follow”! We want more people to know about Timberborn, so we hope you join the party!

ːsteamhappyː JOIN THE TWITTER GIVEAWAY ːsteamhappyː

[h3]What's coming?[/h3]

Speaking of Twitter, expect a lot of tasty sneak-peeks there. This week, for example, we showed you the work-in-progress on the reworked natural resources system. Soon, you will be able to build fields and orchards in any shape you want! That's just an option, though. You could also turn them into a glorious mess similar to this:



That’s just one of the many features we are working on, including new buildings, races and ways of customizing your settlement. Dams are coming together, too. However, we want to know what YOU would like to see in Timberborn.

[h3]Community showcase[/h3]



Soon we're going to invite you to share your wildest Timberborn dreams in a new format. Here's a hint: our official Discord channel will come in handy, and you can already join the discussion. Plus, you're going to find a lot of great community creations there. Just look at this marvellous structure built by seedback!



Or check out one of the amazing entries to our beavart contest, courtesy of Bunfire~ (a.k.a. @Lowest_Fi on Twitter – be sure to have a look if you're into chibi art :3 ).



Okay, we think the message is clear here: you just need to join our Twitter giveaway and win that beta key.

Seriously though – we look forward to communicating with you on a more regular basis. It's about dam time.

We have released a small patch that fixes demolishing resources. Beavers will now successfully remove mature trees and bushes from the map, so your crews can go back to messing with Mother Nature.

A fresh update to Timberborn Closed Beta is now live! We call it "The Shadow Update" because, you guessed it, it adds shadows to the game. Here's a complete list of changes:

[h3]Things cast shadows[/h3]
We think they look gorgeous but you're the ones to judge, so send us your feedback! Best seen in High or Ultra quality.

[h3]Redesigned flora[/h3]
Trees and bushes have a brand new style to better match the overall aesthetics of the game.

[h3]Graphics performance[/h3]
The game's GPU performance is now considerably better. In practical terms it means that if you play on Low quality, the game runs up to 50% faster than before, and if you're on Ultra quality, it both looks better and runs about 10% faster. Note that this update focuses on graphics performance which mostly affects the FPS on normal speed. Future updates will improve the CPU performance, which will allow you to reach higher populations, while playing on faster speeds.

[h3]Balancing[/h3]
- The middle/half-grown stage of trees and bushes has been removed. This is meant to simplify this part of the game, in preparation for new resources that we plan to add in the near future.
- Birches now grow 35% faster but yield 1 log instead of 2, differentiating them from Pines.

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]
We have fixed a bug which caused the game to crash for a few people over the last week. Thanks to everyone who submitted the crash reports.

The new build is already available on Steam. If you don't have a beta key yet, you can get a chance to get one by filling out this form: https://mechanistry.com/betaform

We have just released a fix to a bug which caused the game to crash when selecting a dead beaver.

A new update just went live addressing a number of issues related to audio:

• We have redesigned the underlying audio system. This should improve performance in certain situations as well as fix problems reported by many of you, such as distorted / crackling sound or no audio at all.
  
• Trees and bushes now emit a distinct sound when selected. Shafts also emit a sound on a close up.
  
• We have identified another bug causing beavers to ignore some trees marked for cutting or demolishing. This is hopefully now fixed.