In short, available water simulation models vary depending on the intended use. However, we realized having it properly simulated would be a game changer, which would also enable tools such as dams-a concept criminally underused in games.īefore Kamil started his work on in-game water physics, he researched scientific publications on the subject, including Fast Hydraulic Erosion Simulation and Visualization on GPU by Xing Mei, Philippe Decaudin, and Bao-Gang Hu. Originally, water wasn’t simulated-it simply covered select areas on the map, powering-up water wheels, and during droughts, its level would need to simply drop. That’s what pushed us toward implementing water physics and irrigation mechanics. Our main idea for Timberborn has always been “build a beaver city in the post-apo world," and we knew we wanted droughts in the game. Constant water-related logistical challenges add both to the city-building mechanics and Timberborn’s beaver vs. In the game, we've got dams, pumps, terraforming machines, and much more. ![]() The dry/wet season dynamic is crucial for Timberborn’s gameplay, and the player is given lots of tools to handle the water's storage, retention, and direction. Here’s what happens in Timberborn when you let the water flow through the wasteland. It also evaporates, which becomes more visible during recurring, increasingly harsher droughts that turn off the water sources. Thanks to the water physics we’re about to cover in this article, the water spills over, creating waterfalls and basins where the elevation is lower. ![]() Since it’s a beaver game, your colonists can also traverse water areas just fine, and even do some work underwater.Įach Timberborn map is made of layers of cuboid tiles, with multiple water sources scattered around. Beavers drink it, use it in the production chains and as an energy source (thanks to water wheels), and, probably most importantly, as a way to irrigate the wasteland, turn it green, and sustain plant life. All the city-building efforts are centered around water, though. Timberborn is a city builder, as the main goal is to create a thriving beaver colony in the post-human wasteland. If you didn’t play our game, that’s a shame, but for now, here’s a recap of how we’ve realized its “beaverness” so far. No wonder carrots are one of the basic foods consumed by Timberborn beavers. When you think of beavers, you probably see cut trees and a landscape changed by dams. ![]() The species' signature abilities and affinity for water are the cornerstones of Timberborn’s gameplay. But we didn’t choose these rodents just because they’re cute chonkers. In our game, the player picks between two factions of bipedal, futuristic beavers. …and then turns it into a sprawling city in the desert. In Timberborn, the player begins with a small beaver village… Our studio is based in Poland, and in 2021, we launched the early access version of our first game, the post-apocalyptic city builder Timberborn. Hello, we are Kamil Dawidow, game co-director, and Michal Amielanczyk, comms manager, from Mechanistry. In this edition, the developers behind busy beaver city builder Timberborn tell us about how the game's unique irrigation systems were designed using real-world modeling to inform how water interacts with land. Earlier installments cover topics such as the memory-altering mechanics of adventure game RE:CALL, the appeal of distorting the nostalgic and familiar for the sake of terrifying your audience with Choo Choo Charles developer Gavin Eisenbeisz, and teaching the player to find the beat through environmental cues in Melatonin.
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