Different soil types (terrain tiles variety)
Various soil types to add more colours to the game landscape, and more things to consider for colony planning.
Possible characteristics of soil:
- Fertility: affects farming and gardening. Low fertility increases time to grow, high fertility yields better harvest
- Water permeability: how far ground allows to spread irrigation zone from water
- Stability: how many levels buildings can be stacked on it
- Erosion: how stable ground blocks are around flowing water (theme for a separate suggestion), may collapse.
Some other special effects may apply, like rock takes more explosives to blast, when bog tile is irrigated it's spawns water in itself spreading the irrigation, rocky grounds produce pebbles under flowing water and so on.
Plants and trees also may have preferred and undesirable soils.
Google docs spreadsheet with some ideas and pics: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z_m41cz8AJ6nMMy9_ZGwJjPwBEvDZ4P-DelZJrJLIJA/edit?usp=sharing
Thanks Zam and discord for some of ideas.
Comments: 26
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24 Jul, '21
SkrewnI think it would also be nice to let the player dry the bog tiles if he wants so, especially if they come with strict building limitations.
Any idea what to do with the pebbles coming from the river ? -
19 Aug, '21
Gin FuyouErosion system suggestion is here https://timberborn.featureupvote.com/suggestions/203753/add-erosion-system
I think it would have a really cool synergy. -
18 Sep, '21
Purser MergedTo add another element of difficulty to various maps, there could be a terrain square of rocky or rough land. You would not be able to build on this tile (which will allow for map editors to restrict available land in the early game), additionally crops would not grow here, and a wall of rocky tiles would restrict land fertility near to a body of water. There should be a researchable technology, after which you can task beavers with converting the rocky tile into normal land tiles.
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19 Sep, '21
Gin Fuyou Admin"Suggestion: Rocky Terrain (restricting building areas)" (suggested by Purser on 2021-09-18), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
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27 Sep, '21
DazenithAnother soil type you could have is permanently arable land. I.E. doesn't require nearby water at all.
This would be a nice addition to add in difficult to reach areas of a map as a prize or a way to allow a player to have a small area to more easily maintain a small population at the start. Or a map maker could go full ham and make the entire map permanently arable if they so wish.
Not sure what would be the best name for this type of soil. Perhaps Loam? Or Clay Loam to represent better the water retention it has. -
23 Oct, '21
Kenneth FerlandMy sugjestion is a gradiation from Gravel, Sand, Mud and Clay. Larger particle sizes need faster water to move, but are more porus to water flow/irrigation but also dry faster. A 1-dimensional spectrum is easier for players to grasp even if it's not as accurate as 'Silty loam Clay' vs 'Loamy clay Silt'
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09 Nov, '21
Jaco3011It should match with actual soil types, or at least the most common ones.
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24 Nov, '21
Yukke MergedUnder the current game rules, terrain changes (dynamite) tend to be available at the end of the game, making water control difficult in the early stages. Also, because dynamite is too powerful, it tends to make the terrain perfectly flat, spoiling design diversity and technology.
Therefore, the terrain blocks are divided into three types. Soil can be turned into farmland with current ordinary blocks and can be removed by excavation. Rock can be removed with dynamite and is buried under Soil. Bed Rock is irremovable and corresponds to the current bottom block, but can be layered in map design to form terrain.
If Bed Rock forms the terrain, it is not possible to easily flatten the terrain, and technology and design corresponding to the terrain are required, and various play styles can be created.
Further handling of Soil will be added in the comments. -
24 Nov, '21
SirMichael Admin"Soil, Rock, Bed Rock. Reconstruction of terrain system." (suggested by Yukke on 2021-11-24), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
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25 Nov, '21
YukkeCare must be taken when handling soil as it is not possible to create farmland on Rock or Bed Rock. Soil is stockable and must be stocked. Soil is stocked in the Soil yard. The soil storage area is inconvenient enough to store 9 soils per block, so the difficulty of excavation should be increased. In addition, the Soil storage area where Soil remains cannot be deleted.
We do not provide facilities to generate Soil. This is because if Soil can be generated infinitely, it will end up in a flat terrain due to landfill. -
03 Dec, '21
Rémy Bretin MergedRock vs Soil ground: currently, arable lands can only be destroyed (by dynamites) but can’t be built. It would be nice to make two different ground cubes: rock vs soil.
Rock:
- Anything can be built on rock ground, but only a few things can be cultivated on it (birch trees or berries bushes for example).
- The only way to destroy rock ground would be with dynamites.
Soil:
- Anything can be cultivated on soil ground, but not everything can be built on top.
- can be dug out without dynamites.
- can be built, but only on top of a rock ground. The resources needed would be compost made from a mix of ressources. Birchbark could be used as a resource component to make soil ground.
- it also can be eroded from flooding: the more the cube is surrounded by other cubes, the less erosion it will suffer. For example, 8 surrounding cubes = no erosion, but 0 surrounding cubes = maximum erosion rate. After X days of exposure to water, the soil cube would disappear. This would destroy -
04 Dec, '21
Gin Fuyou Admin"Rock vs Soil ground" (suggested by Rémy Bretin on 2021-12-03), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
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09 Dec, '21
Rémy BretinI really hope that this post would get more attention. I really think this would make the game more chalanging. Right now, except managing the water, all the rest is pretty boring. It's only aesthetic stuff, and almost 0 survival.
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01 Jan, '22
Coatimundi MergedA new biome suggestion: Wetlands/Swamp/Bogs.
Trees can be in shallow waters such as Bald Cypress, Tupelo Gum. Water friendly trees by the shores are River Birch, Swamp White Oak, Weeping Willow, Black Tupelo, Willow Oak and American Sycamore.
Now the cool thing is the Tupelo Gum tree produces unique wood that is prized by woodworkers for its color and patterns; on top of that the tree also makes Tupelo fruit which is utilized by wildlife as a food source and can be used for drinks, marmalades, and sauces.
Along with the trees theirs a numerous amount of plants on the water and land that are unique to swamps. Ie Algae, water lilys, wild grapes, and black alder, plus many more if you dig into it.
Overall I think swamps would make a great edition to Timberborn. If you really wanted to get creative you might even be able to spin a new faction: Swamp Beavers :D -
01 Jan, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin"Wetlands" (suggested by Coatimundi on 2022-01-01), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
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25 Mar, '22
Nyoraia MergedCurrently, there are only two type of terrain blocks: dirt (dry or fertile -- with sides of stone), debris (rocks and wood entangled which can be demolished).
It would be great to have more variety of terrain blocks since one of the main aspect of the game is terrain management (along with resource management and water management).
DIRT
- current terrain block, but the sides should be replaced with a more dirt looking texture. Dirt blocks could only be found as the 2-3 top layers. Dirt blocks could be generated by fertilizing other types of terrain blocks. As mentioned in other suggestions, this could be a terrain block that beaver labourers could remove/move/place without dynamite if a special building is created for this purpose.
STONE
- a stone terrain block. The stone terrain would not be affected by droughts. No crops could be planted on it but building could be built on them. Stone terrain could only be removed with dynamite. Stone terrain would be deeper layers of the -
26 Mar, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin"Variety of terrain type (not just dirt and debris)" (suggested by Nyoraia on 2022-03-25), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
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02 Apr, '22
NyoraiaTUNDRA / ICY DIRT
- dirt block that is fertile during a drought, but icy during the normal season. It could replace dirt on the two top-most layers (height 15-16)
MUD / SAND
- similar to dirt block, but not fertile and cannot be built on (except roads). Could be processed to be changed into regular dirt using other mechanics.
- slower beaver movement when walking on it except if there are roads.
- mud block is created if dirt is flooded for too long. Reverts to dirt during drought if un-flooded.
SLOPE
- a triangular block as an alternative to the stony stairs for a more natural feel -
12 Apr, '22
NyoraiaLAVA
- same dynamic as water but changes the surrounding tiles in "drought" mode (as opposed to making them fertile)
- slower movement than water
- beavers cannot swim in it and beavers become thirsty faster if they are in the drought effect area.
- Has precedence over water for the dry effect if water is nearby
CONCRETE-METAL RUIN BLOCK
- terrain block that looks like concrete and metal, as a remnant of human civilization
- this would be a ground block, not a ressource block, that can be walked on or built on.
- useful for map settings in old human metropolis -
26 Apr, '22
Not a native speaker MergedA new terrain type called 'beach' that maybe has a height of 0.5 and needs to be connected with water
- new decorations like shells/parasols/crabs
- new tree: palm tree with harvestable coconuts than can either directly be turned into food or further processed into coconut milk that's more nutritious than raw coconuts.
- different activities for the beavers: deck chairs to sit on and beach balls to play with
- water wings or lifebelt for the children -
29 Apr, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin"Beach Terrain" (suggested by Not a native speaker on 2022-04-26), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
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15 Sep, '22
MozzarellaHaving different ground types in the game can also be educational.
For instance, the ground underneath Bogs are made from Peat. The O2 levels in the water of bogs are lower than swamps or marshes, and are brown and acidic from the tannin produced by Peat. Peat serves as an important natural CO2 trap, but can also be used for a variety of other things.
There are also certain berries that are native to bogs and peat, like cranberries.
Sand is not merely "sand", but has a few different types as well. Although they are all made out of silica, they were formed in different ways, and have differing characteristics, and uses.
Dirt, or Soil, too, has differing characteristics, like how it is composed. Sand, Silt, Clay, and Ph balance, if we want to be detailed, or simply, its fertility for certain crops. -
01 Nov, '22
Martin Theobald MergedIntroducing multiple soil types would make maps look nicer. Additionally irrigation spread could be based on soil type.
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09 Nov, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin"Allow different soil types with different hydrating profiles" (suggested by Martin Theobald on 2022-11-01), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
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19 Dec, '22
EmperorPoe MergedCreate more options for map creation and editing such as soil types ( Rich green, Rocky brown, Boggy grey). Expand on vegetation and or resource types and varieties. I love where you are so far. I'm excited to see where it goes from here.
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23 Dec, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin"Map editing options" (suggested by EmperorPoe on 2022-12-19), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
