Tornado: Research and Rescue

Released: May 29, 2023
Platforms
Last updated: 14 Sep 2026, 04:42 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

16 Sep 2026Developer post
Barns, Farms & Industrial Zones - v0.32.0
v0.32.0 is part of my ongoing effort to make the map feel more alive and populated. I still have a long way to go but this feels like a step in the right direction. We now have farmsteads that are procedurally generated, the positioning and types of silos, hay bales, vehicles, ho
12 Sep 2026Developer post
v0.31.0 - Tornado Logbook & Updated Tornado Behaviour
I am genuinely excited to release this update! (v0.31.0) it introduces a tornado logbook, consisting of personal bests/records and an individual record of every tornado you intercept. Each photo you take is associated with each tornado, so you can go through your logbook, see key
06 Sep 2026Developer post
Introducing the SD60 Freight Train! - v0.30.0
Version 0.30.0 brings something I have wanted to add for quite a while: a freight train and level crossings, in this case the SD60. There will always be at least one freight train line, maximum two, and freight trains will move along them between 10-40mph. There are also level cr
05 Sep 2026Developer post
v0.29.0 - Road Signs & Major Optimisations
v0.29.0 brings procedurally generated road signs and major optimisations to debris physics and ground scouring rendering. I was able to increase my debris limit from 400 to 1000 while streaming and saw no lag or stutter while multiple towns got impacted. I also purchased several
01 Sep 2026Developer post
v0.28.0 - Introducing Ground Scouring
Only one change in this update (v0.28.0) - ground scouring! The terrain texture is updated and vegetation is stripped from the ground, including grass, shrubs, corn and even in extreme cases leaves from trees! This adds to the atmosphere of the game, as you close in on the path o
29 Aug 2026Developer post
Tutorial/Email System - v0.27.0
There's been an influx of new users recently so I decided to introduce a type of in-game tutorial in v0.27.0 You will receive an email introducing you to the game and explaining basic vehicle and camera controls. Then as certain events happen (tornado touches down, a populated ar
26 Aug 2026Developer post
Vehicle Physics Update & Headlight Illumination - v0.26.1
Just a small update for v0.26.1: The yellow truck will actually get lofted in strong winds now - some values got reset while preparing the DLC which essentially made vehicles not respond to wind very much The headlights on the yellow truck will actually illumate now Enjoy! :)
Just a small update for v0.26.1:

The yellow truck will actually get lofted in strong winds now - some values got reset while preparing the DLC which essentially made vehicles not respond to wind very much
The headlights on the yellow truck will actually illumate now
Enjoy! :)
Original post
25 Aug 2026Developer post
Red Truck DLC Coming Soon! Map Generator Fixed - Instant 100km Map Generation!
This update brings a LOT of change (v0.26.0) - the biggest is that this build will make your game ready for the Red Truck DLC releasing on Friday! This DLC will give you both a great looking 90's era truck as well as the ability to chase with two probes - twice as much data, twic
This update brings a LOT of change (v0.26.0) - the biggest is that this build will make your game ready for the Red Truck DLC releasing on Friday! This DLC will give you both a great looking 90's era truck as well as the ability to chase with two probes - twice as much data, twice as many chances to deploy successfully!
The next biggest change is that the map generator was massively optimised and can now generate 100km maps in less than one second. The career mode map is now 50x50km instead of 20x20km, and Sandbox mode will allow you to generate maps up to 100x100km!
Motion blur can be disabled in settings
There is now a 'Global Volume' and 'Engine Volume' setting slider in the settings menu (Press 'esc' while playing)
The vehicles now have 7 gears instead of 5, so no more continuous high-pitched revving
Emissive materials are enabled on the trucks now, so the lights will visibly illuminate (except for the main headlights on the yellow truck, there's a little materials glitch which I will fix in a minor patch hopefully tomorrow)
Tornadoes now have different "profiles" (wedge, rope, cone, stovepipe etc) and the debris cloud rendering changes accordingly
Post-processing has been adjusted to increase the lighting/exposure slightly, hopefully increasing the general visibility and ease-of-use in-game
If you like the look of the truck, please consider adding it to your wish list to be notified when it's released on Friday!
As always, enjoy! :)
Original post
10 Aug 2026Developer post
v0.25.0 - Tornado ETA, Improved Power Flashes & Probe Camera Optimisations
v0.25.0 is pretty small but definitely improves the visuals and performance: The probe camera has been further optimised, and now the main gameplay camera is disabled in the background while viewing the probe camera for vastly improved FPS There are now multiple types of power fl
v0.25.0 is pretty small but definitely improves the visuals and performance:

The probe camera has been further optimised, and now the main gameplay camera is disabled in the background while viewing the probe camera for vastly improved FPS
There are now multiple types of power flashes, with variations in brightness, colour, frequency etc.
When power lines are impacted, additional power flashes are generated from the position of the power lines
When located on a tile with residents (Trailer park or houses), if a tornado is heading that direction an ETA countdown will show how long you have before impact
An icon has been added above the siren to make it easier to locate and more obvious it's something you can interact with
Career mode advances every time you exit a session, so you can now progress through the season without having to use skips to advance the date
As always, enjoy! :)
Original post
08 Aug 2026Developer post
v0.24.0 - Houses, Sheltering, Improved Sirens & More!
v0.24.0 brings a lot of new features to the game, and improves existing ones: There are now tiles with houses on them and they need to be warned just like trailer parks. You can shelter in a house and you will be fine as long as you stay inside - once a house starts to break apar
v0.24.0 brings a lot of new features to the game, and improves existing ones:
There are now tiles with houses on them and they need to be warned just like trailer parks. You can shelter in a house and you will be fine as long as you stay inside - once a house starts to break apart you can no longer enter it to shelter
The siren model has been improved from the oversized Nintendo 64 graphics-looking one to a high quality, realistically scaled siren
The scenario editor now shows a white circle on each node on the path, so you can see how big the tornado funnel is at ground level is at that point. The editor also calculates the timestamp for each point so you can add time-specific notes
I have used the scenario editor to improve the Bridge Creek/Moore 1999 scenario - I actually recorded a real-time playthrough and synced it with news footage: Bridge Creek Moore 1999 - Tornado: Research and Rescue
Map generation has been tweaked, making crossroads more likely resulting in a slightly better grid-like map generation
When the tornado hunts, instead of aiming at the exact location of the player, it aims at a random point near the player every few seconds, this causes it to meander towards you, and if sheltering you can watch while it wiggles and "hoovers up" the rest of the neighbourhood
The day/night cycle options in sandbox mode were buggy and have been fixed
In career mode, once it reaches midnight a new forecast is generated and your career-calendar is advanced one day
Also in career mode, if you return to the main menu without analyzing data it is automatically cashed out
NOTE: I am currently sick and haven't been able to playtest as thoroughly as normal, please report any game-breaking bugs either on the discord server or reply to this post and I will fix them ASAP
Original post
03 Aug 2026Developer post
v0.23.1 - Improved scenario editor
v0.23.1 brings some minor fixes and improvements to the scenario editor: You can now move individual nodes by default, or use SHIFT+CLICK to move the selected node and all subsequent nodes as one solid block You can open broken scenarios so that you can fix them in the editor The
02 Aug 2026Developer post
In-Game Scenario Editor! - v0.23.0
The major update here is the in-game scenario editor (accessible from the main menu). It is a very early prototype, and you will still have to make some edits to the scenario json file yourself (just to add a description, set the scenario start time, and the player initial spawn
01 Aug 2026Developer post
v0.22.0 - Improved Radar & Hook Echoes!
With v0.22.0 the biggest change is to the radar: Improved algorithm for generating supercell radar visualisations Initial implementation of hook echoes, these are experimental and results may vary, but the game now has them :) Improved wall cloud and tail cloud rendering, wall cl
30 Jul 2026Developer post
Introducing Tail Clouds v0.21.1
This is just a minor update for v0.21.1 I noticed that tornado funnels were rendering through the wall clouds, so this patches the wall cloud rendering so that hopefully doesn't happen anymore (it will by design for mega-wedges as the tornado funnel absorbs the wall cloud as part
28 Jul 2026Developer post
v0.21.0 - Chemical Polarisation, Improved Lighting & Wall Clouds
v0.21.0 introduces a few nice changes: Improved lighting and post-processing Improved wall cloud rendering Chemical polarisation: you can polarise chemicals to have the opposite effect to normal, so you can now also weaken tornadoes, shrink tornadoes, make the paths *more* unstab
27 Jul 2026Developer post
Tornado: Research and Rescue Has Been Completely Rebuilt
Over the past several months, the original 2023 version of Tornado: Research and Rescue has been replaced by a complete rebuild created from scratch in a new Unity project. The rebuilt version has already been available as the main Steam build, but the store page, screenshots and
Over the past several months, the original 2023 version of Tornado: Research and Rescue has been replaced by a complete rebuild created from scratch in a new Unity project.
The rebuilt version has already been available as the main Steam build, but the store page, screenshots and trailer still represented the much smaller game that originally launched. Today, the Steam page has been completely refreshed to properly introduce what Tornado: Research and Rescue has become.
Why rebuild the game?
As the scope of the game expanded, it became increasingly difficult to develop the original project into the storm-chasing experience I wanted to create. Rather than continuing to build on foundations that were no longer suitable, I started again with a blank project.
This allowed nearly every major system to be reconsidered and rebuilt, while retaining the central idea of chasing tornadoes, collecting scientific data and helping communities threatened by severe weather.
What has changed?
The rebuild introduces a much deeper and more varied storm-chasing experience, including:
Completely redesigned tornado and weather systems.
Procedurally generated forecasts, road networks, towns and chases.
Larger environments with more freedom to plan your intercept.
Scientific probes that record wind speed, pressure, temperature and dew point.
Warning and rescue gameplay with consequences for communities in the tornado’s path.
Expanded career progression, equipment upgrades and research systems.
Experimental chemicals that can alter tornado behaviour.
Improved vehicle handling and controller support.
New destruction, visual effects and precipitation-wrapped storms.
Extensive performance, interface and quality-of-life improvements.
Every forecast now presents a different combination of risk and opportunity. You will need to interpret the conditions, locate developing storms, position your equipment, warn threatened towns and decide how close you are willing to get.
Watch the new trailer
A completely new trailer and collection of screenshots are now live on the Steam page, showing the rebuilt game as it exists today.
This is not a separate sequel or a new purchase. Everyone who already owns Tornado: Research and Rescue has access to the rebuilt version.
Thank you to everyone who has played, shared feedback, reported bugs or supported the game since its original release. The rebuild provides a much stronger foundation for everything still to come.
Read the forecast. Deploy the probe. Warn the towns. Survive the chase.
Original post
25 Jul 2026Developer post
v0.20.1: Performance Profiles, Improved Vehicle Handling, Minor Annoyances Fixed
The goal for this was to fix minor (and some major) annoyances: The drifting behaviour of the truck has been dialed back to keep it controllable You can now enter your vehicle easily without the probe menu interfering You can enter your vehicle even if you park near a siren The m
24 Jul 2026Developer post
Rain-wrapped monsters, power slides, and more!
v0.20.0 completely changes the feel of storms and tornadoes: they are now even more ominous with procedural and randomised rain-wrapping! I have also slightly reduced the grip on the rear tyres, and made the truck slightly biased towards oversteer, this now allows you to do power
22 Jul 2026Developer post
EAS Warnings - v0.19.0
New features in v0.19.0: You can use the EAS alert button once per tornado to warn all towns on the map Death can be toggled off in sandbox mode How much tornadoes react to chemicals now also depends on the forecast, higher CAPE and SRH = bigger reactions to chemicals Bug fixes:
21 Jul 2026Developer post
Introducing Death & Vegetation Bug *Finally Fixed* - v0.18.0
v0.18.0 brings some much needed features and bug fixes. Most importantly, the vegetation disappearing bug is finally fixed! It turns out the asset I purchased to render vegetation had a bug in it, which meant that only vegetation along the bottom-left-to-top-right diagonal would

Updates & announcements

Why rebuild the game?

What has changed?

Watch the new trailer