Our earliest design goal with Whiskerwood was to explore vertical construction. This is why every gameplay mechanic in Whiskerwood interacts with verticality in some way -- be that terrain, pollution, terraforming, heating, or logistics.
Verticality as Design Challenge
Our prior game, Railgrade, was an early exploration of vertical gameplay, but limited to logistics. As we developed the game further, we found that logistics alone was not enough. We felt verticality deserved more mechanics and simulations.
Now, with Whiskerwood, we're crafting an entire game around verticality, with mechanics for pollution, heating, sunlight, and (of course) logistics. There are trade-offs for building vertically vs horizontally, and there should be a constant push and pull between density and expansion. Building upward might help reduce logistical distances, create more compact heating areas, and centralize your storage. But it can also leave your Whiskers depressed from the lack of sunlight or choking on pollution. More thoughtful construction patterns can allow in more light, or let wind push out the pollution -- but you will also be contending with dense, puzzle-like construction restraints.
Terrain Pushing Up and Down
As you play Whiskerwood, you'll find yourself chasing forests and berries upwards on mountain islands. We wanted players to start on the shorelines, and over time chase their way to a more challenging, vertical situation. By mid-game, you should find yourself nearing the mountain peak or tunneling underground to connect new islands.
Of course, not all islands are the same, and each type of island brings its own challenges and rewards. There are a few rare islands with flatter terrain. These may seem easier to optimize, but may prove too small or too barren to mine for resources. I suggest most players start on the more flush volcanic islands, which are rich in resources. Though they may lack enough arable land to farm effectively, this can be resolved with terraforming. More on that later.
No matter what your starting island, moving up (or down) presents a number of logistical challenges.
Housing & Services
With Whiskers roaming farther from their homes, you must decide whether to build houses and places to eat near the mountaintop, or to build slides that can take them down the slope quickly. Both are decent approaches with different costs.
Other services will become less centralized as you move up the mountain. This means more places that need to be heated, and more resources spent on keeping Whiskers warm during the winter.
For anything involving pipes, you will have to expand your network both vertically and horizontally, which can get quite expensive. For example, if you want to avoid Whisker travel time for bathing and hygiene, you'll need to build showers near the mountain top, and provide the necessary infrastructure.
Logistics of Goods
If you go up the mountain to pursue wood and other materials, those resources must come back down the mountain eventually. You will need to decide how you distribute these resources to your down. Will you put whiskers in charge to carry them all the way down, or use belts to move everything to a central location?
Elevators, slides, conveyor belts, and every flavor of stairs will help create an effective path up your mountain island. Toward the late game, trains can help alleviate the challenges of vertical and horizontal travel as well. If you reach the end of your tech tree, you can even use steam jump pads to effectively launch your Whiskers up the mountain.
For a deeper look at this type of logistics optimization, check out this dev diary about the Machines of Industry.
Mastery Over the Terrain
As your Whisker colony grows, you will be able to dedicate a work force to terraforming. Digging is the first type of terraforming you'll be able to do. Whiskers are good at digging, and mines carry the bonus of rich Ores. Intentionally mined areas can help you expand your town, smooth out logistics, or even expand your farmland. (Watch out though, because mined cells will be low fertility at first.)
If you've unlocked the requisite Schematic, you can even start building new land. This type of terraforming is a byproduct of Stone disposal. Your mining operations will generate large amounts of Stone, which is a useless resource gained from non-Ore mine cells. Stone cannot be traded or sold, and at best can be used to construct cold and damp housing. If left unchecked, it will clog up your storage infrastructure and you'll find your warehouses overflowing with stone.
When this happens consider disposing of the excess in the Stone Droppit. This special building allows Whiskers to dump stone and accumulate it into new terrain cells. These terrain cells can be used to construct new land, build bridges, create more farmable areas, or even build land into the ocean,
Our Dutch readers will recognize this as a powerful technique when combined with Steam Pumps.
Thanks for reading!
Daniel Dressler
Lead Programmer on Whiskerwood
More Whiskerwood Dev Diaries
In case you missed them, be sure to check out our other dev diaries for Whiskerwood:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2489330/view/658207707628569427
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2489330/view/515221043692962197
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2489330/view/523104697900335294
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