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Steam News1 July 20265d ago

Empire Water Works Demo 20260624C is live!

Hello fellow pump house masters! I've been busily working away on updating the Empire Water Works Demo yet again and I hereby present to you, demo build 20260624C!

Full notes

Full Empire Water Works update

Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.

Repeated intro

Hello fellow pump house masters!

What changed

1 fix6 additions3 changes0 removals
  • Balance
  • Gameplay
  • Fixes
changedBalance: reduced the coal sack yield by 1/2 (50%). Previously, a coal sack could provide between 29-31% coal. This meant that the entire coal hopper could be filled with just 3 coal sacks! Now. each coal sack only provides between 14-16% coal refill to the hopper, meaning it will take at least 6 coal sacks to totally fill the coal hopper from completely empty. Note with new damper, it's possible to cut coal usage by 60-70% so a 50% reduction in coal sack yield should not hurt anything. In any case, I am providing an additional THREE coal sacks upon New Game start, just in case (meaning there are now a total of ten (10) coal sacks provided to you for free when starting a new game)
addedQoL: along with the above balance change, I have now prevented player from refilling coal if coal hopper deems itself to be wasting coal if player adds another coal sack to it (making it technically overfull); you will notice grey interaction text on-screen if it's not possible to fill the hopper currently (due to it being too-full)
addedFeature: implementing optional boiler PRIMING! (boiler overfilled with water) This is a rather simplified implementation for now (I will be expanding this out and refining it during Early Access dev and beyond - to include other component damage from priming). Basically, gradual boiler integrity loss now occurs if boiler water level is > 100%! The integrity loss only occurs if fire temp is > 250c (and integrity loss occurs faster the hotter the fire is). Note that this new 'feature' is behind a checkbox game option setting, and OFF by default ...as it's all to easy to overfill the boiler in my testing! If boiler integrity falls too far, it can result in a boiler explosion...and in my testing...if you've overfilled it to 120% with a super-hot fire, then it's basically game over (you won't be able to reduce the boiler water level to 'safe' levels before critical integrity loss occurs)...so use this setting with caution!
changedQoL: tuned the damper a bit more....implemented a new, cleaner 180 degree (half-moon) arc for it instead, for more intuitive use. Also, the 'authority' of the damper when turned right down to zero has been improved, so it drops the fire temperatures more effectively; for those already using the damper previously, note that the new damper will stabilize temps at the 'horizontal' position now, and if it's pointing full downwards, it will sharply decrease fire temps now
changedQoL: a new poster which shows each reservoirs total gallons PLUS the amount of gallons each PSI equals. This was previously rather 'hidden' in the Ledger and only displayed if player took water pressure readings
addedNew demo day limit option! 7 or 14 days (default is still 14). Players starting a new game can now select 7 days if they want a quicker, more 'compact' demo experience; note that at 7 days length, you should only expect to be able to complete 2-3 contracts max, and only unlock 1 upgrade in most cases.

Empire Water Works changes

changedBalance: reduced the coal sack yield by 1/2 (50%). Previously, a coal sack could provide between 29-31% coal. This meant that the entire coal hopper could be filled with just 3 coal sacks! Now. each coal sack only provides between 14-16% coal refill to the hopper, meaning it will take at least 6 coal sacks to totally fill the coal hopper from completely empty. Note with new damper, it's possible to cut coal usage by 60-70% so a 50% reduction in coal sack yield should not hurt anything. In any case, I am providing an additional THREE coal sacks upon New Game start, just in case (meaning there are now a total of ten (10) coal sacks provided to you for free when starting a new game)
addedQoL: along with the above balance change, I have now prevented player from refilling coal if coal hopper deems itself to be wasting coal if player adds another coal sack to it (making it technically overfull); you will notice grey interaction text on-screen if it's not possible to fill the hopper currently (due to it being too-full)
addedFeature: implementing optional boiler PRIMING! (boiler overfilled with water) This is a rather simplified implementation for now (I will be expanding this out and refining it during Early Access dev and beyond - to include other component damage from priming). Basically, gradual boiler integrity loss now occurs if boiler water level is > 100%! The integrity loss only occurs if fire temp is > 250c (and integrity loss occurs faster the hotter the fire is). Note that this new 'feature' is behind a checkbox game option setting, and OFF by default ...as it's all to easy to overfill the boiler in my testing! If boiler integrity falls too far, it can result in a boiler explosion...and in my testing...if you've overfilled it to 120% with a super-hot fire, then it's basically game over (you won't be able to reduce the boiler water level to 'safe' levels before critical integrity loss occurs)...so use this setting with caution!
changedQoL: tuned the damper a bit more....implemented a new, cleaner 180 degree (half-moon) arc for it instead, for more intuitive use. Also, the 'authority' of the damper when turned right down to zero has been improved, so it drops the fire temperatures more effectively; for those already using the damper previously, note that the new damper will stabilize temps at the 'horizontal' position now, and if it's pointing full downwards, it will sharply decrease fire temps now
changedQoL: a new poster which shows each reservoirs total gallons PLUS the amount of gallons each PSI equals. This was previously rather 'hidden' in the Ledger and only displayed if player took water pressure readings

I've been busily working away on updating the Empire Water Works Demo yet again and I hereby present to you, demo build 20260624C! (confirm the version from the main menu)

Here's what's coming down the tubes:

  • Balancereduced the coal sack yield by 1/2 (50%). Previously, a coal sack could provide between 29-31% coal. This meant that the entire coal hopper could be filled with just 3 coal sacks! Now. each coal sack only provides between 14-16% coal refill to the hopper, meaning it will take at least 6 coal sacks to totally fill the coal hopper from completely empty. Note with new damper, it's possible to cut coal usage by 60-70% so a 50% reduction in coal sack yield should not hurt anything. In any case, I am providing an additional THREE coal sacks upon New Game start, just in case (meaning there are now a total of ten (10) coal sacks provided to you for free when starting a new game)

  • QoL: along with the above balance change, I have now prevented player from refilling coal if coal hopper deems itself to be wasting coal if player adds another coal sack to it (making it technically overfull); you will notice grey interaction text on-screen if it's not possible to fill the hopper currently (due to it being too-full)

  • BUG FIX: relating to player getting 'trapped' occasionally between firebox door and boiler if they stand in a certain spot when opening f/box door

  • Feature: implementing optional boiler PRIMING! (boiler overfilled with water) This is a rather simplified implementation for now (I will be expanding this out and refining it during Early Access dev and beyond - to include other component damage from priming). Basically, gradual boiler integrity loss now occurs if boiler water level is > 100%! The integrity loss only occurs if fire temp is > 250c (and integrity loss occurs faster the hotter the fire is).

    Note that this new 'feature' is behind a checkbox game option setting, and OFF by default...as it's all to easy to overfill the boiler in my testing! If boiler integrity falls too far, it can result in a boiler explosion...and in my testing...if you've overfilled it to 120% with a super-hot fire, then it's basically game over (you won't be able to reduce the boiler water level to 'safe' levels before critical integrity loss occurs)...so use this setting with caution!

  • QoL: preventing cleaning fire tubes further if tubes are 100% clean

  • QoLtuned the damper a bit more....implemented a new, cleaner 180 degree (half-moon) arc for it instead, for more intuitive use. Also, the 'authority' of the damper when turned right down to zero has been improved, so it drops the fire temperatures more effectively; for those already using the damper previously, note that the new damper will stabilize temps at the 'horizontal' position now, and if it's pointing full downwards, it will sharply decrease fire temps now
  • QoLa new poster which shows each reservoirs total gallons PLUS the amount of gallons each PSI equals. This was previously rather 'hidden' in the Ledger and only displayed if player took water pressure readings

  • QoL: scaled the boiler 'big cloud' steam effect based off boiler integrity. Now, only when it's at 0% integrity, will the cloud be as big as it used to be...and that's a signal there is definitely something wrong!

    'Normal' (undamaged) boiler:

    Low boiler integrity (DANGER!):

  • New demo day limit option! 7 or 14 days (default is still 14). Players starting a new game can now select 7 days if they want a quicker, more 'compact' demo experience; note that at 7 days length, you should only expect to be able to complete 2-3 contracts max, and only unlock 1 upgrade in most cases.

  • Bug fixfixed errant natural light downstairs in basement at night
  • Balanceadded 3x more coal sacks to game world on new game to help mitigate aforementioned coal sack yield halving

  • QoL: new poster (technical bulletin) re: damper use! To let players know they should be using it to save coal!

    QoL: for 'sudden' bolt failures, implemented a variable 'cooldown' period of time before allowing re-triggering of a bolt-failure chance! This means that you should no longer experience the (occasional?) frustration of having tightened a bolt and then seeing it 'fail' again immediately...

  • Bug fixes: various misc. additional bug fixes to small to mention

Here's a few screenshots showing some cool additions to the pump house:

I feel as if I am getting closer and closer to the 'finalized' version of the demo, but as always, I invite you to leave feedback in this thread for my consideration.

Note that there are still a few more niggly things I want to fix if I can, and I will endeavour to sort these out over the coming weeks.

A rather exciting phase of development will soon be occurring once the demo is deemed to be as 'polished' as can be (hopefully not long now!), as it means I will be more comfortable beginning Early Access development in earnest (I can't wait!).

Thanks for all your support!

P.S. Please note all my socials in the post below, including a new Patreon where I post behind-the-scenes content as time goes on.

You can join for free and see glimpses of insider content, and/or choose to support me financially and receive additional content and get your name in the game's credits once we hit Early Access and beyond! (note, please only consider paid support if you're truly passionate about the game - it is by no means a requirement!)

Once we hit Early Access dev I intend to give paid members the full tour as the Empire experience starts getting built-up! Plus I will be running occasional polls involving members so you can help further shape the game!

https://steamcommunity.com/app/4302300/discussions/0/562534952466534326/

Source

Steam News / 1 July 2026

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