Hello everyone!

Once again, thanks for the amazing reception of Timberborn Early Access. We’re now preparing more content and features, following up on the players’ suggestions. If you want to tell us what you want in the game, it’s best to use either the forums, Discord, or this bug/suggestion tracker.

In this update, we’re fixing more bugs, improving the tutorial, and preparing for a hefty content patch that's going to drop on your beavers in the future. We now also have in-game fences. As mentioned here, we’re working on a better save system as well but it’s not ready yet.



We’ve updated the tutorial. It is still focused on the basic aspects of running your settlement so let us know how you find it after the changes!

• Added additional tips to the tutorial.
  
• Icons related to the currently active tip will now blink.

There’s a large content update coming that will make good use of the updated needs system, and we’re already preparing for that. No spoilers yet, but it will be something tasty.

• Needs displayed in the Well-being panel and after clicking a beaver are now grouped (for example, Hunger, Thirst, and Sleep are now Basic needs).
  
• Needs previously reserved for adults are now also available to kits. What it means is that it is now possible to reach population well-being of 15.

We’ve added three types of decorative fences. Go ahead and customize your settlements further! Also, Paper Mill has a new model.

• New building: Log Fence (150 SP, 3 logs)
  
• New building: Plank Fence (150 SP, 3 planks)
  
• New building: Metal Fence (250 SP, 3 metal blocks)
  
• Paper Mill now has a new, symmetrical model that’s easier to use and connect power to.
  
• Fixed the lighting in Rooftop Terrace.

• It is no longer possible to build Floodgates on top of the 3x2 roof.
  
• Lists of goods (for example in the Distribution Post) are now sorted alphabetically based on the localized names.
  
• Beehive no longer increases the growth progress of withered crops.
  
• Fixed Depth Marker’s behaviour when built on a platform.
  
• Fixed global height limits on water levels – the water on the map can now be as high as the highest allowed buildings.
  
• Fixed a bug with overlapping in-game text.
  
• Metal Blocks are now properly saved as "MetalBlock" in savefiles.
  
• Fixed rare cases when beavers refused to plant at certain spots.
  
• Flag workers will now try to move currently carried goods to a warehouse if their flag is paused/destroyed.
  
• Buildings will no longer display "vacant" warnings if they're paused.
  
• Fixed performance drops that happened when large numbers of unemployed beavers tried to resupply Breeding Pods with no resources available. They were just trying to help, mkay?
  
• Fixed a problem with “leaking” map edges after placing and removing a water source in the map editor.
  
• Fixed a problem with the flooded/not flooded status on rotated Water Wheels.
  
• Fixed a crash caused by deleting a Deep Water Pump built at the highest possible level.
  
• Fixed a problem with the Underground Warehouse’s entrance being blocked when built at the lowest possible level.

• The player logs now include more information about the user’s hardware configuration. It helps us identify scenarios where crashes and other problems occur on a specific setup.
  
• There are now limits on the values entered on the Custom Difficulty Mode screen.
  
• Map Editor now allows adding multiple ruins at once by dragging a cursor.

Hello everyone.

The reception of Timberborn Early Access has blown our minds. In the first seven days since launch, the game sold over 130,000 copies and maintained 94% positive Steam reviews.

After three years of work and all the stress in the final weeks, we couldn’t ask for a better reward. For that, a big thank you to everyone who has supported us – at launch and before. We love you all.


This is just the beginning of a great beaver journey and we have plenty of work ahead of us. We’ve been receiving a lot of feedback from you - which is great because we develop Timberborn based on your voice.

As for our plans for the near future: while we have hotfixed the most outstanding issues, we’re still working on more bug fixes. If you encounter any crashes, please send us the logs - it helps big time. Our other immediate priorities include a better tutorial and improved save system, which will hopefully lead to the addition of cloud saves and GeForce Now support.

Other than that, we’re tinkering with new content big and small, digging through the many awesome ideas we’ve seen posted by our players. You’ll know more about that in the near future, and we hope it will tickle your fency.

We'd like to invite you to join Jon and Michal for a post-launch live stream tomorrow, September 24, at 3 PM CEST! We'll answer questions and give you some tips on how to get your beaver settlements going. Oh, and you might win a copy of the game.

Where to watch?

On our Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mechanistry
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimberbornGame
Or below:

Okay, enough talking. We’re back to work and see you tomorrow!
~Team Timberborn

Fixes:

• Fixed Folktails not reproducing as often as they should.

Crash fixes:

• Invalid map names no longer crash the game.
  
• Placing a building or a map editor object in the lower right corner of a map no longer results in a crash.

Other fixes:

• Some of the issues with clicking load not doing anything are now resolved. Please let us know if the problem persists for you. It appears that for some people it is caused by certain antivirus software. Whitelisting helps some players. We’re working on a permanent fix.
  
• Floodgates synchronized to their neighbors after the construction now display their level correctly.
  
• You can no longer choose locked Iron Teeths by pressing Enter in the new game screen (lol).
  
• 3x2 rooftops are now walkable.
  
• A minor translation fix.

Crash fixes:

• Deleting a Breeding Pod will no longer cause a delayed crash

Minor:

• Fixed a typo in PL translation for no goods in stock

Big thank you to everyone who submitted crash reports! We were able to resolve the most common bugs, complete list below.

Crash fixes:

• Linux users should now be able to load their savegames.
  
• Unselecting a Distribution Post cancels route creation instead of crashing the game.
  
• Using an illegal character in the save name no longer results in a crash.
  
• A rare crash caused by selecting a building is now fixed.
  
• Some previously missing redistributables are now automatically installed by Steam.

Minor:

• Resources required to complete the construction of a Distribution Post are now visible.
  
• Fixed a minor terrain rendering bug.

Howdy!

The age of lumberpunk beavers begins today: Timberborn Early Access is now available!



This release was made possible by thousands of players who played the alpha, then beta, then demo, and shared their feedback with us – and to all of you, big thanks from everyone at Mechanistry. We hope you’ll join us now because Timberborn is in its best shape yet!

There’s a lot of new stuff. We’ve been previewing that over the past week so if you need more details, check the following previews, each focused on a different aspect of the game.

• Droughts and difficulty modes
  
• Playable beaver factions
  
• Water gameplay and terraforming
  
• Timbertech and vertical architecture
  
• Maps and Map Editor
  
• UI and localizations
  
• Music and life of a beaver colony

If you want to dive deeper, check the lengthy patch notes we’ve just posted on the forums. But why just read when you can play the game yourself?

Timberborn is now available for PC and Mac in all 11 planned languages. You can purchase Timberborn Early Access for 24.99 USD with a launch week discount of 10%. Regional pricing applies so check how much it actually costs in your region.

The game is also available bundled with the soundtrack by Zofia Domaradzka!

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

Grab the game and let us know what you think because the great beaver journey begins today! Once again, big thanks from everyone at Mechanistry.

-Bartek, Kamil, Pawel, Jon, Kuba and two Michals

Hi everyone!

Tomorrow is the B-day – Timberborn Early Access launches at 5 PM CEST and we can’t wait to hear what you think. In our final preview, we’re taking a brief look at the aspects of running your beaver settlement we haven’t touched before. But first, the surprise.


For Timberborn Early Access, we have teamed up with a very talented Polish composer Zofia Domaradzka. You could already hear some of her new tracks in the demo, but for launch, we’ve got a full soundtrack comprising 11 beautiful songs. The tracks you already knew have been properly mastered and in some cases partially re-recorded with live instruments. The main menu theme is a perfect example of that. Play the video above and you will hear the difference.

You have been asking us if we were going to make the soundtrack available outside the game. We’re happy to announce that you can now find Timberborn Official Soundtrack on Zofia’s artist pages on Spotify and Apple Music!

Here's the tracklist:

1. We Are Timberborn
   
2. Water That Gives Life
   
3. Fruitful Hardship
   
4. Thirsty Lands
   
5. The Cycle of Nature
   
6. Hopeful Calmness
   
7. Strong Together
   
8. Mystery of the New Day
   
9. Seasons Change
   
10. When All Life Goes to Sleep
    
11. Harvest Time

Listen to Timberborn OST on Spotify and Apple Music

We will also make the soundtrack available for purchase in a bundle or separately as a DLC here on Steam. It will cost USD 6.99 (before regional pricing and launch week discount of 10%).

Whether your beavers live at all is mostly dependent on droughts and your successes with water engineering and growing the colony. But there’s more to that.



We have talked about that in greater detail in our second devlog, but here’s an abridged version. As your settlements grow in size, you need to add additional districts to the starter one. Districts are where your assigned beavers live, work and play – and to set up one you build a district center as well as city gates.

Usually, you will also want to transfer goods – and denizens – between districts. Maintaining a balance between districts is crucial to the success of your population, and there are many approaches to using this system. For example, you may try to make each of them a self-sufficient village, or opt for specialization, where each district handles a specific branch of production. Just remember to choose a suitable name for each of them!



Just as is the case with districts, you can rename your beavers. And once you have that little Justin prancing around, take good care of him. That means ensuring all his needs are met. At the moment, each beaver has a set of needs such as Comfort or Spirituality that yield benefits such as faster movement or longer life expectancy. To satisfy those, you can’t just rely on industrial buildings – a temple or a press that prints good books help with other elements of a beaver's life.

Each beaver is individually simulated and you need to find a proper balance to satisfy as many needs as you can (or want). Feeding and keeping the colony hydrated is crucial, but we’re talking highly advanced beaver society so don’t miss out on other aspects of their life.



You may be doing your best to keep beavers happy, but the dry seasons inevitably come and become deadlier and deadlier. To prepare for the drought, you may need to change the working hours – and Justin will no longer enjoy the short, sixteen-hour shifts. That way, you will increase your productivity but in the long run, this exhausts your beavers. Also, remember that not everything happens instantly. If you want to send an emergency caravan to another district, do it before the night falls.

In Timberborn, beavers operate on a day and night cycle, and you will see them engage in beaverish activities such as camping after work. Later at night, when they’re hidden in their lodges, they will also make an effort to increase the colony’s population… if they’re in a proper mood (and if they’re Folktails). Iron Teeth, on the other hand, maintain their Breeding Pods before a good night’s sleep. Each colony works differently and it is your job to make sure it operates smoothly.



Even though we’ve been focused on the more utilitarian buildings and the “survival” affairs, you are already able to customize your settlements. The ability to stack buildings atop one another, the modular platforms, dams, and power shafts give you large freedom of managing space.

You are also free to create fields and orchards of any shapes you want, and the dynamite allows you to terraform the land to match your vision. Finally, there are decorative objects you can use - we have roofs in a few shapes, benches, shrubs, as well as some other gadgets, including some fresh ones.

How will YOUR beavers feel in their post-apocalyptic home when the floodgates open TOMORROW?

Oh my, oh my, oh my! Join the hype on Discord.

This is getting too real – in just two days, players of the world will set up their post-apocalyptic beaver colonies. There are many changes but some will be visible right away as soon as you start a new game. First of all, the game is now available in all 11 planned languages, including the Asian languages we didn’t have in the demo. Second – we now have a brand new UI.






Here are two samples of the new UI. The first one is taken in Global view at 120% UI scale, the second one is a District view at 100% UI scale. You can scale Timberborn's UI at will and you will read about views in a moment.

While we have no doubts this one is much prettier than what we had before, this is a huge change and it may take a moment to adjust. Also, we've heard some early comments about the new UI's accessibility to colorblind and visually impaired players. Let us know if the current iteration is problematic for you and we'll try to make adjustments as quickly as possible.

Now, let’s break down the most important elements of the new UI.

We have replaced the miniature 3D renders with hand-drawn icons and added new, more visual tooltips. The sheer amount of new buildings meant we also needed to rearrange the toolbar. While the categories stayed the same, some feature many more objects and might require a little rearranging in the future.

After you select a building or a resource, you will see a new, easier-to-read panel that features a toggleable element – the description and flavor text frame. Most clickable elements on the map now come with a little bit of text – a quote, a lore tidbit etc. If you want to read a building’s flavor, you need to build it first.

We have updated the way in-game time, beavers’ work time as well as weather (previously: seasons) are displayed. We now have a forecast bar that helps you notice that the drought is coming and will tell you much more you need to endure to survive. It is also easier to change how much your beavers work.

The upper panel displays the number of available resources. On the left, you can monitor basic stats for your population. Remember that what you see here depends on whether you have chosen the global or district view. We have updated these panels to include icons instead of pure text, and you are now able to expand and collapse the lists.


You can read more about the editor here, but our easy-to-use map-building tool has also received a UI overhaul to match the current in-game UI.


To round things up, we also have this particular screen. Of course, we hope you'll never get to see it in-game but... things happen.



To make it easier to navigate your settlements, we now have a few tools that help you see what’s going on. Because we now have districts (more on that here), you’re able to switch between the Global and District-specific Views. When in the district view, you only see numbers related to that particular district. Switching to the district view is a matter of choosing a district from a dropdown list or clicking a building belonging to that district.

You are also able to toggle the view between vertical layers, making it easier to maintain stacks of buildings, check the situation in tunnels etc.

Finally, because beavers will now continue to use underwater paths, build, and gather resources, you can toggle water transparency at will, not just when building.



With the annoying Unity bug squashed, we were able to add the three missing Asian languages to the game. This means that the whole game is now available in all planned languages:

• English
  
• Polish
  
• French
  
• German
  
• Spanish
  
• Brazilian Portuguese
  
• Russian
  
• Simplified Chinese
  
• Italian
  
• Japanese
  
• Korean

Additional languages may become available at some point of Early Access either due to huge demand or as a community project. We should have more details about that in the future.

Which language are you going to play in? Let us know, and if you're on our Discord, you can do that in Polish as well! Siema!

Hey everyone!

One of the reasons Timberborn encourages vertical architecture – which we previewed yesterday – is the need for efficient space management. We kept that in mind while designing the Early Access maps. But what if you'd rather play on a map that’s as flat as a pancake? Or on an area completely covered with jagged cliffs? Well, fire up the map editor and find that out.



The in-game map editor is the same tool we use to create Timberborn maps. Over the course of the game’s development, we have prepared – and scrapped – many levels, and now so can you. The best thing is that once you’re done, sharing the map with others is a matter of copying a file.

The map editor is accessed via the main menu. You can create a new map – just pick a custom map size and you’ll be thrown onto an empty, rather depressing wasteland that needs your creative touch. Thanks to the magic of the terrain-altering brushes you will be able to shape it down to a voxel. Changing the map’s heights is the main job here but keep the future waterways in the back of your mind.

If you want your map’s denizens to survive, you will need to set up water source blocks and choose appropriate water strength. Then you can just run the simulation to see how water behaves, where it spills uncontrollably, etc. You can pick spots for natural barriers and think of possible ways the player will play with water during both wet and dry seasons.

Or you can go crazy and build a madman’s test scene that makes it barely possible for the beavers to survive. Your call.



Either way, your finishing touches involve sprinkling trees and berries around the map as well as placing the clusters of human ruins. You have complete control over what you put on the map but you don’t need to place each pine sapling by hand – simply increase the brush size and choose a mixture of resources. Then, you just place the starting location – and that’s it!

An alternative to creating a brand new map is to pick any of the existing maps included by us or a community creation. You can then edit it in a similar fashion.



Regarding the maps we have included in the game: when you download Timberborn’s early access version, it will come with 9 maps created by us. Each of them is designed to be a different challenge.

We want you to have an element of surprise when Early Access hits on the 15th, so we won’t show them all. But here’s a recap:

• Plains is the classic map some of you might already know, with a lot of flat spaces and a big river going into a lake.
  
• Thousand Islands is filled with water and the challenge comes with going through it or blocking it to acquire more farmland.
  
• Likewise, Lakes gives you a lot of small spaces to put water through, irrigating a lot of land.
  
• Terraces is a very vertical map that starts you on a plateau with a small stream nearby and makes you go down, instead of up.
  
• Mountain Range is the newest map and slightly smaller than Terraces, but is somewhat similar — the water going out of the mountain you start on quickly falls into a ravine and doesn't irrigate that much land.
  
• Even smaller than that is Meander which features a single twisted river going around an elevated terrain the beavers start on.
  
• Waterfalls is another older map with a few waterfalls and a fairly flat terrain near the river after the falls.
  
• Canyon is the same valley with a small river that you've seen in the demo, with some small tweaks to make it easier to place bridges here and there.
  
• And Diorama is a tiny challenge map that makes your settlement look like a model village.

What kind of map would YOU like to grow your colony on when Early Access begins?

Remember that our Discord has a section where Timberborn players share all their creations. We have art, music, even puzzles — and starting with the 15th, custom maps will be there too!