Steam News28 March 20263mo ago

Devlog #4 - Water Management

Water Management Water is one of the most important factors in Agrocracy that affects plant growth. In this devlog, the water management system will be discussed.

In this update5

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Full Agrocracy update

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What changed

0 fixes0 additions6 changes0 removals

Balance

changedSoil Moisture and Water BalanceThe game tracks water in the soil turn by turn. Each field has a moisture level in millimeters, capped by field capacity - how much water the soil can hold. Drainage is a land-wide infrastructure upgrade that increases field capacity by 30%. Cheap, passive, always worth installing early. Every turn moisture is calculated:

changedSoil Moisture and Water BalanceInfiltration - not all rain reaches the roots. Loamy soil absorbs most of the rainfall. Sandy soil catches less than half. The rest runs off.

changedSoil Moisture and Water BalanceEvapotranspiration - water lost to air and plant activity. Scales with temperature, sunlight, and crop type. A cucumber field in July loses double what wheat loses.

changedSoil Moisture and Water BalanceIrrigation - your controlled water input from one of four systems.

changedHow Water Affects GrowthOptimal range - full growth, slight bonus at the sweet spot around 50-60% of field capacity.

changedHow Water Affects GrowthToo wet - roots suffocate. Growth and health drop. Heavy rain on poorly drained soil creates this.

Agrocracy changes

changedThe game tracks water in the soil turn by turn. Each field has a moisture level in millimeters, capped by field capacity - how much water the soil can hold. Drainage is a land-wide infrastructure upgrade that increases field capacity by 30%. Cheap, passive, always worth installing early. Every turn moisture is calculated:

changedInfiltration - not all rain reaches the roots. Loamy soil absorbs most of the rainfall. Sandy soil catches less than half. The rest runs off.

changedEvapotranspiration - water lost to air and plant activity. Scales with temperature, sunlight, and crop type. A cucumber field in July loses double what wheat loses.

changedIrrigation - your controlled water input from one of four systems.

changedOptimal range - full growth, slight bonus at the sweet spot around 50-60% of field capacity.

Water Management

Water is one of the most important factors in Agrocracy that affects plant growth. In this devlog, the water management system will be discussed.

Finding Water and Wells

Every land sits on top of a groundwater table at some depth: shallow, medium, or deep. You don't know which until you run a Geological Survey. One survey per land, permanent result.
That depth determines what kind of well you can build.
You need a well in order to have an operational irrigation system.
Shallow Well - cheap, but only reliable on shallow groundwater.
Deep Well - expensive, but guaranteed to hit water on any land. No gamble, just cost.
One functional well per land. That's the bottleneck.
This isn't how real hydrogeology works, but for the purposes of a game it creates a meaningful decision: gamble cheap or invest safe.

Soil Moisture and Water Balance

The game tracks water in the soil turn by turn. Each field has a moisture level in millimeters, capped by field capacity - how much water the soil can hold. Drainage is a land-wide infrastructure upgrade that increases field capacity by 30%. Cheap, passive, always worth installing early. Every turn moisture is calculated:

New Moisture = Current + Rain Infiltration + Irrigation - Evapotranspiration

Infiltration - not all rain reaches the roots. Loamy soil absorbs most of the rainfall. Sandy soil catches less than half. The rest runs off.
Evapotranspiration - water lost to air and plant activity. Scales with temperature, sunlight, and crop type. A cucumber field in July loses double what wheat loses.
Irrigation - your controlled water input from one of four systems.

How Water Affects Growth

Moisture is one of the five growth factors (alongside temperature, sunlight, day length, and soil quality).

Too dry - growth stagnates, then plants wilt. Sustained drought kills crops.
Optimal range - full growth, slight bonus at the sweet spot around 50-60% of field capacity.
Too wet - roots suffocate. Growth and health drop. Heavy rain on poorly drained soil creates this.

Combined with Liebig's Law (the worst factor limits everything), a single dry turn can undo weeks of otherwise perfect conditions.

Irrigation Systems

All systems require a working well. They can coexist on the same land.

System	Water/turn	Cost	Upkeep	Scope	Survives harvest?	Cereals	Vegetables	Fruits
Pivot	70 mm	expensive	high	land pool, toggled	yes	yes	no	no
SDI	45 mm	moderate	moderate	land-wide, toggled	yes	yes	yes	no
Drip	35 mm	cheap per ha	moderate	crop	no	no	yes	yes
Sprinkler	25 mm	cheap per use	low	manual, one-time	N/A	yes	yes	yes

If you like the complexity of the water system, don't forget to wishlist the game.

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Source

Steam News / 28 March 2026

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