Patch notes 2022-06-09 (Experimental)

Hello everyone!

Starting today, you get to test the next big thing in Timberborn - the mechanized beavers, a.k.a. golems. If you want to know more about how they came to be, why we’re adding them, and what else is coming with Update 2, read Developer’s Log #5: Golems first.

If you need a refresher on how to play on Experimental Branch, check this thread.

Patch notes 2022-06-09 (Experimental)

Update 2 adds an entirely new in-game system and with the reworked needs, this might turn the balance upside down (hi, Vecna). Please start a new game and share your opinion! During the Update's experimental phase, expect us to make numerous changes based on feedback from players.

Golems - general notes

Golems are super-efficient mechanized beavers that perform most duties of regular beavers. Faction-specific features and buildings are described further below.

• New dweller type: golem. Golems work at all available workplaces with an exception of Inventor, Observatory, and Power Wheel. Golems are not affected by working hours and regular needs but they need to be manufactured and taken care of.
• Only select workplaces are available to golems right from the start. The rest needs to be unlocked with Science Points.
• Windows and entrances of buildings where golems are employed light up in light blue rather than normal yellow.
• New building: Golem Parts Factory (1 worker, powered). It uses faction-specific recipes to produce Limbs, Chassis, and Heads. Iron Teeth also have access to a Golem Repair Kit recipe.
• New building: Golem Factory (2 workers, powered). Assembles a golem from 4 Limbs, 1 Chassis, and 1 Head.
• New hazard: if golems are not properly maintained or disposed of, they will explode and leave behind wreckage that negatively affects beavers and other golems walking by.

Golems - Folktails

Barrelbots are limited-lifespan golems that help Folktails with their favourite jobs so that their chonky overlords can spend more time enjoying life in the wasteland.

• New golem type: Barrelbot (+25% Farming efficiency, +25% Cooking efficiency; +25% walking speed when wet and for some time after leaving water).
• When a Barrelbot’s durability drops to zero, it starts wandering around before exploding and leaving dangerous wreckage.
• New building: Biofuel Refinery (2 workers). Creates Biofuel from Carrots, Sunflower seeds, Potatoes, or Spadderdock seeds.
• New building: Biofuel Tank (unmanned). Barrelbots stop here to refuel.
• New building: Disposal Facility (1 worker, powered). Recycles expiring Barrelbots before they explode. You regain some resources in the process.

Golems - Iron Teeth

Cogheads aid the Iron Teeth in hard industrial labour. Properly maintained, they will do that indefinitely, but their delicate metal parts require carefully planned out areas of operation.

• New golem type: Coghead (+25% Woodworking efficiency, +25% Metalworking efficiency; -25% walking speed when in water and for some time after leaving water).
• When a Coghead’s durability drops to zero, it starts wandering around before exploding and leaving dangerous wreckage.
• New building: Control Tower (unmanned, uses SP to operate). Allows Cogheads in range to operate efficiently. Outside of the Tower’s range, Cogheads suffer from -75% Working speed and -75% Walking speed.
• New building: Charging Station (1 slot, powered). Cogheads need to visit this building to be wound up.
• New building: Maintenance Station (1 worker, powered). Using repair kits produced at Golem Parts Factory, Stations restore Cogheads’ durability and prevent them from exploding.

Science Points

In addition to implementing multiple Science Points consuming unlocks, we’re adding new ways of generating SP.

• New building: Numbercruncher (Iron Teeth-only; unmanned, powered). Running endless calculations to predict all 14,000,605 post-apocalyptic beaver futures, this automated structure generates SP for everyone to enjoy.
• New recipe in the Mine (Folktails-only). Instead of digging up hooman junk, Folktails can search for underground traces of human civilization, learning a lot and earning SP.

Needs rework, part 1

As explained in the Developer’s Log, what you see below is just a part of a larger update. We’ll deploy further changes, new statuses, and related buildings onto the experimental branch later. Also, we’re aware that today’s changes may result in a difficulty spike, especially if you load a pre-patch game in progress, so be prepared, start a new game, and share your feedback!

• Hunger and Thirst needs have been renamed Food and Water, respectively.
• Food and Water needs can now reach negative values which are displayed on the new bidirectional status bars. The longer a need remains unsatisfied, the longer it takes to recover.
• When Food and Water needs are below 0, negative effects kick in. Hungry beavers suffer from lower carrying capacity and work speed, and thirsty beavers both work and walk slowly. Extensive periods of hunger and thirst still result in death.
• The “Work Speed” bonus is now split into general Work Speed (increasing all work speed) and separate “X Efficiency” bonuses, applying only to a certain group of jobs (for example, Woodworking).
• Building panels now contain information about which effect (for example: Cooking efficiency increased by Roofs) affects that building’s operations.

Balance

We’ve tweaked some numbers, and we’ll tweak more after we hear your golem- and needs-related feedback.

• Gear Workshop: Gears now take 3 hours to make, instead of 6; storage space for Gears and Planks has been expanded from 8 to 10 to compensate for the larger output.
• Large Metal Platform: now costs 1000 SP to unlock.

QoL and UI

• All workers and dwellers assigned to a building are now highlighted on the map after selecting it (and vice versa).
• Range lines are now always displayed outwards from the District Center.
• Added “blocked entrance” warnings.
• Updated several status and building icons.
• Unavailable workplaces and dwellings are no longer counted in the free slot numbers.
• It is no longer possible to build dynamite at the map’s lowest possible level. A beaver is not a mole, m'kay?

Misc.

• Updated smaller buildings (Bench, Beaver Statues, Scarecrow, Bell) so that they can be built under platforms.
• Fixed the Observatory’s erroneously huge hadron collider.
• Iron Teeth Haulers now also provide nutrient delivery services as part of their already exhausting jobs.
• Left-handed mouses are now supported.

Bug fixes

• Engine no longer burns logs when paused.
• A Certain Building We Tried To Rework But Failed (For Now) no longer uses water when paused.
• Fixed a bug that caused stairs to limit ranges.
• Tribute to Ingenuity no longer works at full efficiency when not fully powered.
• Construction sites can no longer reach over 100% progress. No, not even the Iron Teeth ones.
• The number of vacancies can no longer reach negative values.
• Removed the flame from Shrine’s construction site preview.
• Fixed a visual bug in the Distribution Post’s model.
• Fixed a bug with the “Migrate” button getting blocked in the District Center panel.
• Fixed a bug with shafts not rotating.
• Fixed a bug with the “Paused” status icon not appearing immediately.
• Status icons no longer appear above beavers’ heads after clicking them while they’re inside buildings.
• You can no longer catch your beavers in inappropriate positions after loading the game.