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Settings Guide: Best Graphics, Performance & Game Mode Tips

Settings control how Timberborn behaves before and during a play session: difficulty and drought parameters, map and save options, UI and input preferences, and a few global gameplay toggles. Properly configuring Settings tailors challenge, pacing, and convenience to your preferred playstyle.

Game mode (difficulty) and Custom Game

  • Game Mode selects a preset difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard) or lets you create a Custom game with fully adjustable variables.
  • Each preset defines starting population (adults/children), starting resources, consumption multipliers, drought parameters, injury chance, refund rate for demolished buildings, and other core values.
    • All modes begin with the same default starting adult/child counts but differ in resource/consumption and drought settings.
  • Custom mode exposes the same variables so you can mix and match values from the presets or create unique combinations.

Drought and cycle settings

  • Droughts are the principal long-term hazard: during a drought natural water generation (flowing water) gradually stops and remaining surface water evaporates; only stored water (tanks, reservoirs) remains available.
  • The Drought Duration setting is the upper bound for drought length (the duration at 100% handicap).
  • Handicap Multiplier and Handicap Period control how droughts scale early in a playthrough:
    • Early droughts start shorter than the maximum duration; the Handicap Multiplier is the starting fraction of the Drought Duration.
    • Handicap Period is the number of cycles required for the Handicap Multiplier to increase to 100%, scaling drought length each cycle until it reaches the full Drought Duration.
  • The game also provides ranges for non-drought cycle length (wet/temperate vs dry windows) which vary by difficulty.

Consumption and population settings

  • Food and Water Consumption multipliers alter per-beaver consumption rates across the colony; Easy reduces consumption compared to Normal/Hard.
  • Starting Food and Starting Water are adjustable per game mode; Easy provides higher starting supplies.
  • Injury Chance and other survival-related variables are defined per difficulty.

Working Hours

  • Working Hours sets how many hours per cycle beavers spend working versus resting and fulfilling needs.
  • Default is 16 hours; adjustable from 0 to 24.
  • Increasing working hours raises productivity but reduces leisure and sleep time, which can lower need fulfilment and lower breeding chances; reducing working hours has the opposite effect.

Map and Map Editor settings

  • Create New Map: enter map dimensions (valid range 4–256 tiles per side) to generate a fresh map.
  • Select Map: choose a map for a new game; custom maps appear after default maps.
  • Edit Map: open the Map Editor by selecting a map; Map Editor includes terrain sculpting tools and a water simulation toolbar with controls to pause/run/reset/hide water and resources.
  • Map Size is stored in save files and controlled by the MapSize singleton.
  • Save/Load Map windows let you browse the map directory, load, save (prompt for name if unnamed), and exit the editor with confirmation when leaving.

Save files and locations

  • Game saves are single files with the .timber extension, listed in the load menu in descending creation date. You can delete or load saves from this menu.
  • Platform save locations:
    • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Timberborn\Saves
    • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Timberborn/Saves
    • Linux (Proton): /steamapps/compatdata/1062090/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/My Documents/Timberborn/Saves (paths can vary with Proton configuration); native Linux builds may use ~/.config/unity3d/Mechanistry/Timberborn/Saves
  • To share a save, copy the .timber file to another player’s Saves folder. Saves created with mods may be incompatible without the same mods installed.
  • The game creates periodic autosaves; if a save fails to load, try autosaves or backups.

UI, input and convenience options

  • Settings include UI and input toggles such as locking the in-game cursor to a single monitor and displaying large resource numbers in shortened form (e.g., 69.4k). Hover to see exact values.
  • A built-in Screenshot tool saves images to Documents/Timberborn/Screenshots; F10 saves current resolution, Ctrl+F10 saves an upscaled image.
  • Key Bindings are accessible through a dedicated Key Bindings screen.
  • Overlays (water depth, soil moisture, building connectivity, etc.) are toggleable from the top toolbar or hotkeys; consult the Settings/controls for complete hotkey lists.

District settings and distribution

  • District Distribution Limits are configurable per district at Distribution Posts and in the District UI:
    • Low limit: resources below this value are kept within the district and prioritized by inbound distributors (interpreted as “import/export to at least”).
    • High limit: resources above this value are prevented from being carried into the district (“import to at most”).
  • Import behavior for pass-through districts follows the same rules: a district set to “Do not import” will not import but can still export; other import modes allow both import and export.

Miscellaneous toggles and editor tools

  • Configuration options (booleans) exist for gameplay and sandbox conveniences such as:
    • Disable Science Cost (unlocks locked buildings automatically)
    • Enable Instant Build (placed structures are built instantly at no cost)
    • Enable Map Editor Tools (access editor tools during normal play)
    • Enable All Faction Buildings (toggle access to all faction buildings; availability has changed across versions)
  • Banner images and other UI assets in editors accept common image formats; ideal banner graphics are square (e.g., 1024×1024 PNG).
  • Exit Game from the main menu quits immediately (no confirmation). Exiting the Map Editor prompts for confirmation.
  • Main Menu provides Continue, New Game, Load Game, Create New Map, Edit Map, Settings, Credits, and links to feedback/Discord, language selection, and version info.
  • New Game leads through Faction → Map Selection → Game Mode (or Custom Mode) → Start.

This covers the in-game Settings and related screens that let you configure difficulty, drought progression, map creation/editing, saves, UI and district distribution behavior.

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