Weather

Weather in the world of Timberborn has three possibilities and each possibility has different impacts on game mechanics.

Temperate

 Temperate can be described as "pleasantly sunny, with zero chance of adverse conditions". It is a time of abundance and renewal for the  beavers and the lands of Timberborn.  water sources are producing flowing pure water, a life-bringing and life-sustaining, natural resource and  badwater sources are producing badwater.

Now that water and badwater are flowing through streams, reawakening life in the land, it is time for the beavers to prepare and stockpile supplies for the ever approaching  drought or  badtide.

A new game always begins with temperate weather.

Drought

 Drought can be described as "relentlessly sunny, with zero chance of flowing water".

Before the start of a drought a player will be shown a visible warning in the in-game user interface. This warning provides an estimates the number of days left until a drought starts. Final preparations for the drought should be completed very soon after the appearance of this notification.

Once a drought starts the strength of  water sources and  badwater sources begin to weaken resulting in a lessening of new flowing water and badwater creation. This weakening will continue until the flow of water and badwater has completely ceased. Water and badwater will not flow again until temperate returns. The only sources of  water and  badwater during a drought are water tanks and pump-able water and badwater stored in reservoirs.

Evaporation is also a consideration during droughts. Since no more water and badwater are being produced, any water and badwater present on the map whether in lakes, ponds, streams, and/or other bodies of water and badwater will eventually dry up leaving water tanks as the absolute last source of water and badwater during a drought.

By default, as the game progresses, droughts become longer with a semi-random pattern. Depending on a player's choice of game mode droughts can be milder (easier) or harsher (harder) than normal.

Badtide

Before the start of a drought a player will be shown a visible warning in the in-game user interface. This warning provides an estimates the number of days left until a drought starts. During badtides, both  Water Source and  Badwater Source emit  badwater.

• At the start of a badtide, the contamination of water sources starts at 50% and gradually increases to 100% over 12 hours. The contamination starts decreasing 12 hours before the badtide ends.
• When temperate weather returns, the contamination is at 50%, and then instantly drops to 0% as water sources start emitting pure water.
• The first badtide triggered on a new game on easy and normal difficulty always lasts one day. The length of a drought or a badtide is now adjusted based on how many times that particular event has struck the settlement already.
• Beavers walking or swimming in badwater may become  contaminated.
• Bots cannot become contaminated.
• The irrigation range of contaminated water bodies gradually decreases as the badwater concentration rises. At 50% badwater concentration, the water body no longer irrigates the surrounding areas but it doesn’t contaminate them either. With badwater concentration above 50%, the water body starts contaminating the ground and actively killing plant life. The contamination’s range depends on the badwater’s concentration
• Plants affected by badwater contamination survive 0.2–0.3 days.

Notes

The chance of upcoming hazardous weather is influenced by both the initial game setting AND the current streak of consecutive same-weather events.

For example, (assuming a default 40% chance of badtide)

• After 5 consecutive droughts, badtide chance is increased to 70%
• After 7 consecutive droughts, badtide chance is increased to 100%

The lower the initial badtide chance, the higher the streak can go before it affects the base chance, and vice versa.

• A 30% badtide chance will need 8 consecutive droughts before any changes to the base chance.
• A 50% badtide chance will be increased after 4 consecutive droughts.

This streak factor also applies for droughts. The modified chance revert to the default value after the streak is broken.