Hello, everyone!

It is time to unveil the next major update for your favourite human-free, beaver-rich city builder - now live on Timberborn’s experimental branch!

Update 1.1 features a very healthy dose of new content and quality-of-life additions:

• Statistics for goods and population

• New watertight buildings

• Tier 4 monuments

• More faction-specific attractions

• Desert plant: Succulent

• Updated maps

• New beaver workwear and more.

Now, let’s get into the meaty details!

The new content is available to all game owners brave enough to give it a test spin on the experimental branch. Check this forum thread to learn how to participate.

How to play on Experimental[vip1.qiannidekk.tk]

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about what has been happening in your settlement - or in a particular district - we’ve got you covered. The game now tracks changes in population and the goods count and presents them on adjustable graphs that are not only pretty but also help you identify and fix many oversights. And yes, if you see some resemblance to the popular Goods Statistics mod… that’s probably because its author, eMka, is our talented programmer.

• New feature: statistics for goods and population. You can select the time range and switch between global and district views. The numbers are not available retroactively - the game begins tracking them after you open your save on the 1.1 build and start playing. 

• Added the Goods statistics tab to the Settlement Panel. Use it to see how the stock, production, and consumption for particular goods changes.

• Goods’ tooltips now include a mini chart showing their stock levels over the last 10 days.

• Added the Population statistics tab to the Settlement Panel. Use it to see the evolution of your population or parts of it, for example only bots. Here, you will also find information on changes in well-being, housing, and employment.

Ever since we’ve implemented 3D water physics and 3D terrain, our players have been asking for more tools to better utilize features such as aqueducts and huge artificial reservoirs. Today, we’re happy to give you three new watertight objects that all water engineers should enjoy.

• New building: Airlock (300 SP; 15x Log, 8x Gear, 4x Metal Block). It’s like a tunnel but integrated in a levee. Your beavers no longer need to climb stairs to traverse a water reservoir - just let them cut through!

• New building: Impermeable Power Shaft (300 SP; 12x Log, 6x Gear, 10x Metal Block). Integrating the energy network next to water reservoirs - for example to connect a Mechanical Pump at the top - could sometimes get clunky. Now it’s easy to seal the deal.

• New building: Compact Mechanical Pump (4000 SP; 50x Gear, 25x Treated Plank, 25x Metal Block; 700 HP). With this mechanical wonder, you may pump water directly from one side of the wall to the other, creating an advanced canal system in no time. Its shape and stackability also unlock some previously impossible setups.

• Updated building: (Deep) Mechanical Pump. In light of the addition above, we’ve updated the existing Mechanical Pump’s model. It now only costs 2000 SP to unlock and 50x Gear, 15x Treated Plank to build. It also consumes less power, down to 500 HP.

We felt the game could use something in between the existing Tier 3 monuments and the endgame Wonders. With the new additions, your beavers’ achievements can be marveled at by all commuters.

• New building: Hall of Abundance (15 000 SP; 700x Plank, 300x Treated Plank, 500x Metal Block ; Folktails-only). Now that’s an animal crossing.

• New building: Arch of Progress (15 000 SP; 600 Plank, 300x Treated Plank, 600x Metal Block; Iron Teeth-only). Iron Teeth may not be a subtle bunch, but hey, their triumphs deserve a properly sized tribute.

It is not just about the grand designs! In Update 1.1, each faction also receives two new, unique attractions. 

• New building: Sauna (300 SP; 10x Log, 10x Plank, 5x Gear; Folktails-only). It is hot in the wasteland, sure, but nights get cold, and there’s no better place for some friendly gossip.

• New building: Domed Garden (60x Plank, 40x Gear; Folktails-only). When there’s no shade and respite, you need to create some on your own.

• New building: Massager (150 SP; 10x Plank, 5x Gear; Iron Teeth-only). After a hard workday, even the Iron Teeth are ready to show their gentler side.

• New building: Dance Pit (1800 SP; 60x Plank, 20x Gear, 30x Metal Part; Iron Teeth-only). Alternatively, playing some beaver bangers at full volume and letting off steam also works.

In a world where much of the land is arid, it makes sense for flora to adapt to the harsh conditions. Introducing… the Succulent! This unique, spiky plant grows only on dry land, and it stores water - not much, but harvesting it may one day save your thirsty population.

• New plant: Succulent. This plant grows only on dry land and will die if overwatered. It can be added through the map editor as well as grown in-game by the Forester.

• Succulents store water, which can be harvested after Lumberjacks cut them. Warning: due to all these spikes, Injuries may occur.

• Added Succulents to all built-in maps.

Who doesn’t like it when their cat beaver wears a cute little hat?

• Gifted helmets to scavengers and miners.

• Gifted caps to foresters.

• Gifted bags to gatherers.

• Gifted lederhosen suspenders to lumberjacks.

We love all the crazy automation setups you’ve been sharing since Timberborn 1.0 launched! Today’s change to relays should make it easier to create multi-condition automation networks with fewer objects to maintain.

• Relays now support more than two inputs.

Getting prettier every day, eh?

• Water particles are now more complex and three-dimensional.

Sometimes, players fail to notice that things are going south. And since nobody wants cute little beavers to die in vain, today we’re making some changes sponsored by Pina’s fledgling company, One-way Hauling Services Ltd.

• The death status icon is now shown at the top of the Alerts section - this only applies to deaths not caused by old age. The alert blinks dramatically as the counter increases.

• Dead bodies now stay visible until they decompose for 24 hours.

• Death status icons were updated to stand out more. They are now also displayed over the dead bodies, serving as a grim reminder of the player’s possible wrongdoings. (Similar to the alert, they do not appear over beavers who died of natural causes).

We believe that the in-game reward for unlocking a wonder (the flexible start becoming available on the completed map) could also be easier to notice and understand.

• Updated the wonders’ description panel with map completion details. 

• On the map selection screen, incomplete maps now display an empty box. For complete maps, the map unlock status tooltip was updated.

With several new attractions and monuments added to the mix, it was time to give the well-being buildings a balance pass. Also, we’re rounding up the numbers for the Observatory.

• Well-being gained from the following attractions now doesn’t drop as fast: Contemplation Spot, Lido, Scratcher, Swimming Pool, Rooftop Terrace, and - especially - the Campfire.

• Carousel: reduced SP unlock cost from 700 to 600 SP.

• Wind Tunnel now costs 100x Plank, 50x Gear, 50x Metal Block, up from 75x Plank, 30x Gear, 50x Metal Block. Also increased the unlock cost from 700 to 800 SP.

• The Observatory now produces 12 SP per hour, down from 10 SP per 0.75 hour.

• Removed Sluice, this time for good. Yes, we removed it in 1.0 when we added automation to the game, but the pre-existing Sluices would still appear in saves loaded on a 1.0 build. When you load such an old save on 1.1, Sluices are replaced with Fill Valves. This means you will likely want to adjust the Valves’ configuration, and in some setups, consider adding Contamination Sensors.

• Several commonly used 1x1 buildings, such as the Small Pile and the Breeding Pod, can now be placed in a line, similar to how Paths work as of 1.0.

• Reduced Dance Hall’s height so that it fits neatly under Overhangs.

• Badwater Discharge has been renamed to Badwater Pressurizer, which better reflects what the building does.

• (Deep) Mechanical Fluid Pump has been renamed to simply (Deep) Mechanical Pump. The shorter naming is more practical with the addition of Compact Pumps.

• Fluid Dump has been renamed to Discharge, removing the last remaining use of the term “fluid”.

• Tooltips are now shown one frame earlier. 

• Updated the name of Agora in Simplified Chinese to make more sense.

• In the map editor, the Delayed activation checkbox is now properly copied when using Copy Settings. 

• Fixed the incorrect counting of goods consumed by some buildings, like the Steam Engine or the Mud Bath.

• Goods stored in Breeding Pods, Firework Launchers, and wonders are now correctly included in the district's total resource count. 

• Fixed clipping visible upon selecting the Bot Part Factory being built on top of a finished Bot Part Factory.

• Lodge's roof no longer clips with AoE tiles.

• Tunnel's construction base no longer clips with the Shower's floor.

• Water no longer clips with one side of the Throttling Valve.

• Fixed a visual issue with the Vertical Power Shaft’s upper frame.

• Fixed lights lighting up incorrectly in Agora and Motivatorium right after placing them.

• Fixed a gap in the Power Shaft-to-Barrack connection.

• Fixed Food Factory’s incorrect model block object.

• Fixed the visuals on the Reserve Tank.

• Mangrove trees no longer levitate.

• Revised Pine’s icon.

• The Aquatic keyword is now correctly formatted in the buildings’ descriptions.

• Icons for Iron Teeth’s goods are now always rotated the same way across the UI.

• Contaminated beaver status was reworded to Beaver is contaminated - to be similar to other statuses. Consistency is everything.

• The construction guidelines toggle now correctly switches its tooltip between hide and show states. 

• Fixed some microstuttering on macOS.

• Fixed random crashes when loading the game. 

• Fixed a crash that had 0.0000000002% chance to occur when spawning a new object in the game. Yes, we did calculate that.

Hello, everyone!

When we announced our first official mod competition, we were not sure what to expect. We asked ourselves: Will people care? Well, let’s just say that after reviewing all 77 submissions (*), we realized there is so much good stuff it would be so dam difficult to choose the best entries.

Since this is our first mod contest, we’ve decided to bend the rules this one time only… in your favor, of course.

On top of the three winners who win 750 EUR, two handmade wooden beaver figurines, a place in the in-game credits, and a special rank on our Discord, as well as the three runner-ups (250 EUR, two figurines each), our team picked seven extra honorable mentions across all categories. The honorably mentioned will each receive a sweet merch pack from us.

(*) The number of mods published in the contest period was higher but sadly, not everyone submitted their work via the entry form. We'll try to make that requirement even more visible next time.

Without further ado, here are the winners of the first Timberborn Mod Contest!

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3723216060There were several new beaver factions in the contest, but the Dirtclaws - coupled with all the extra mining-oriented mechanics, waste management, and trading - quickly emerged as our favourite due to the sheer amount of original content, its quality, and how much it changes the game while staying true to what Timberborn is about. If you yell “rock and stone” every now and then, this one is for you!

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3729089910This new faction also comes with a set of extra cool game-changing mechanics, turning Timberborn’s gameplay on its head. It may take a moment to understand the faction’s unique approach to living in harsh conditions, and the blizzard of new mechanics may be overwhelming, but figure it all out and you will have a grand time, chilling with Frosty Whiskers.

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3726327418Our studio’s official take on endgame buildings is wonders, and Grauschweif’s idea was to give the beavers a megatree that needs to be carefully nurtured across the entire playthrough. We really appreciate the extra angle Timberborn’s gameplay gets with this, with an overlapping objective that can be both a reward and a punishment.

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3723883597We are floored by the quality of work REDIC put into the alternative - yet fitting Timberborn’s aesthetics - designs for the existing in-game buildings, as well as a few extras they included. Judging by the community’s universal love for this creation, it is quite a common sentiment!

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3727516178This extra beaver faction ties neatly into the existing Timberborn mechanics, especially the badwater interactions. This applies to the grown flora, the beavers themselves, and there are even some other clever general additions, such as the water turbine. We can’t wait to see how the mod develops, especially the aspect of beavers going feral.

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3725316552The final honorable mention in this category goes to one of the most prolific Timberborn mod creators we have in the community. If you’ve ever wanted the campaign mode in the game, with role-playing choices and events, you may now create it thanks to this mod. Extra kudos go to Luke for preparing the sample campaign, Campfire Mystery.

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3714134407Speaking of Luke’s many creations, we were really impressed with this take on the in-game toolbar. This mod shows that, while typically used in other genres, the radial menu is a huge boon even in the underexplored beaver city-building genre, speeding up all kinds of gameplay actions! As a side note, we want to give our winner a shoutout for Dynamic Tails & Banners. While submitted to the Tails & Banners category, it is an unmatched mix of QoL, new content, and new patterns. Highly recommended!

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3716896142While it is already possible to plan out parts of a colony in the base game, with this mod, you are no longer limited by whether or not a particular building was already unlocked. In other words, you could make plans for your grand metropolis before your first Sawmill starts operating. If you want to avoid redoing your colony, this is the way!

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3724431393If you’re a beaver overseer that likes to know what their workers are doing - or a content creator who names their beavers after viewers, hoping nothing bad happens to them - you will love this neat addition. With this mod, you can click a beaver to see what they are currently doing and where they’re headed - route visualizations included.

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3730009785While it is possible to simply switch to the Big Picture mode on Steam without leaving the game, ModMenu makes it much easier to navigate Timberborn’s vast mod repository, check dependencies and identify possible conflicts, and even create and share mod loadouts - very helpful when you alternate between playthroughs requiring different mod combinations.

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3728664719We adore these colorful designs with floral motifs - and we can easily imagine beavers putting up banners with mythical forest creatures like squirrels to add color to their wasteland homes. By the way, we also liked the other, albeit much more toned in color, pattern collection published by zazu - the Wood Workers. Check it out as well!

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3726255745This collection of banners is smaller but fits existing Timberborn aesthetics very well - and acknowledges that life in the post-apocalyptic world can get dangerous. Perhaps with one of these, you will avoid some explosive accidents down the road. Yeah, right.

https://vip1.qiannidekk.tk/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3730313578Here, on the other hand, we have a large collection of 95 tail patterns (some of them being recolors). These designs are pretty subtle and add a great selection of patterns that do not break immersion while still allowing you to customize your dwellers’ most important asset.

We’ll contact the winners, runner-ups, and the honorably mentioned via email in the coming days. It’s a long weekend in Poland, so please bear with us.

And once again, from all of us at Mechanistry, we thank you for all your amazing submissions to our Mod Contest. Even with the extra prizes, there are so many others that deserve praise, so be sure to check out all the other entries on Steam Workshop (just search for ModContest1).