generated · v0.1.19Alpha v0.1.19

The rules as shipped

Generated by cargo xtask specs from the same definitions the game imports. The design document is the vision; this is the truth. The same page as Markdown lives in the repository.

calendar · eras · levels · building kinds · materials · goods and recipes · policy · needs · events · water · settlement · tunable rule reference · templates · world recipes · climate · styles and lenses · controls ·

Calendar, site and founding

A year is 360 daily ticks; planting is day 70 and harvest day 250. The water model steps every 30 days. The default site is 384 × 160 × 384 metres with the sea at 26; the default city has 20 founders, 14 cities abroad, 800 walking citizens and 140 route searches a day. The founders carry 260 grain and 90 timber, a treasury of 250 and a legitimacy of 0.6000000238418579.

Eras

An era is left when every gate is met; the gates ease off once the calendar is past the era's nominal year (and scale with era_threshold_scale). The last era has no gate.

FoundingMedievalRenaissanceIndustrialModernContemporary

era	nominal year	storeys	storey height	level ceiling	leaves at: people	treasury	literacy	built voxels	min years
Founding	1,100	1	3	22	48	120	0	1,200	12
Medieval	1,250	2	3	38	420	3,000	0.12	14,000	90
Renaissance	1,450	3	3	56	1,100	12,000	0.32	45,000	80
Industrial	1,650	4	3	74	3,000	40,000	0.6	120,000	80
Modern	1,850	9	3	90	7,000	120,000	0.85	280,000	70
Contemporary	1,970	22	3	100	—	—	—	—	—

What each era changes.
era	fertility	mortality	extraction	recovery	efficiency	literacy ceiling	trade reach
Founding	0.175	1.35	1	0.28	1	0.02	120
Medieval	0.17	1.2	1.2	0.4	1.12	0.09	320
Renaissance	0.16	1	1.45	0.54	1.3	0.26	700
Industrial	0.145	0.85	2.1	0.68	1.6	0.5	1,600
Modern	0.085	0.45	3.2	0.84	2	0.8	4,000
Contemporary	0.052	0.3	4.2	0.94	2.4	0.97	12,000

The materials an era builds with, and the paving ladder footfall climbs (wear needed → surface).
era	poor wall	rich wall	frame	roof	window	civic	paving
Founding	daub	timber	timber	thatch	air	rough stone	60 → packed dirt
Medieval	daub	rough stone	timber	thatch	air	cut stone	60 → packed dirt; 400 → gravel; 1200 → cobble
Renaissance	daub	brick	timber	tile	glass	cut stone	60 → packed dirt; 300 → gravel; 900 → cobble
Industrial	sooted brick	brick	iron	slate	glass	cut stone	50 → packed dirt; 250 → gravel; 700 → cobble; 1800 → setts
Modern	concrete	brick	steel	concrete	glass	concrete	40 → gravel; 200 → cobble; 600 → setts; 1500 → asphalt
Contemporary	concrete	curtain wall	steel	concrete	glass	curtain wall	40 → gravel; 200 → cobble; 600 → setts; 1500 → asphalt

Levels

Every building carries a level from 0 to 100, read off its fabric and capped by the calendar (from 8 in 1100 to 100 in 2000) and by the era.

year	calendar ceiling
1,100	8
1,250	23
1,450	43
1,650	64
1,850	84
1,970	96
2,000	100

Building kinds and crafts

kind	civic	works	defence	land
heap	no	no	no	no
hut	no	no	no	no
house	no	no	no	no
tenement	no	no	no	no
farmstead	no	no	no	yes
stock pen	no	no	no	yes
plantation	no	no	no	yes
granary	yes	no	no	no
warehouse	no	no	no	no
workshop	no	yes	no	no
sawmill	no	yes	no	no
quarry	no	yes	no	no
mill	no	yes	no	no
forge	no	yes	no	no
factory	no	yes	no	no
market	yes	no	no	no
town hall	yes	no	no	no
church	yes	no	no	no
school	yes	no	no	no
hospital	yes	no	no	no
tower	no	no	no	no
palisade	yes	no	yes	no
wall	yes	no	yes	no
gate	yes	no	yes	no
garrison	yes	no	yes	no
bridge	yes	no	no	no

The eight crafts that learn to build them: shelter, keeping, making, defence, husbandry, winning, assembly, crossing.

Materials

Durability is the years a course stands before it is more patch than fabric.

grass
220 y

dirt
220 y

sand
220 y

clay
220 y

stone
220 y

iron ore
220 y

coal
220 y

water
220 y

trunk
220 y

leaves
220 y

crop
220 y

packed dirt
220 y

gravel
220 y

cobble
220 y

setts
220 y

asphalt
220 y

timber
90 y

plank
65 y

thatch
30 y

daub
60 y

rough stone
280 y

cut stone
400 y

tile
170 y

brick
200 y

slate
170 y

glass
100 y

plaster
60 y

iron
130 y

sooted brick
200 y

steel
160 y

concrete
160 y

curtain wall
100 y

rubble
220 y

scaffold
65 y

ash
220 y

town flag
220 y

banked fire
220 y

ice
1 y

snow
1 y

firn
1 y

glacier ice
1 y

dark timber
90 y

pale timber
90 y

ochre wash
60 y

rose wash
60 y

blue wash
60 y

green wash
60 y

red paint
65 y

green paint
65 y

blue paint
65 y

ruby glass
100 y

cobalt glass
100 y

amber glass
100 y

emerald glass
100 y

gilt
130 y

material	durability	flammability	structural	built	solid	road	burns to	collapses to	made of	salvages to
grass	220	0	no	no	yes	no	grass	grass	—	—
dirt	220	0	no	no	yes	no	dirt	dirt	—	—
sand	220	0	no	no	yes	no	sand	sand	—	—
clay	220	0	no	no	yes	no	clay	clay	—	—
stone	220	0	yes	no	yes	no	stone	stone	—	—
iron ore	220	0	no	no	yes	no	iron ore	iron ore	—	—
coal	220	0	no	no	yes	no	coal	coal	—	—
water	220	0	no	no	no	no	water	water	—	—
trunk	220	0.3	no	no	yes	no	ash	trunk	—	—
leaves	220	0.5	no	no	no	no	air	leaves	—	—
crop	220	0.6	no	no	no	no	air	crop	—	—
packed dirt	220	0	yes	yes	yes	yes	packed dirt	packed dirt	—	—
gravel	220	0	no	yes	yes	yes	gravel	gravel	0.30000001192092896 × stone	0.25 × stone
cobble	220	0	yes	yes	yes	yes	cobble	cobble	0.699999988079071 × stone	0.6000000238418579 × stone
setts	220	0	yes	yes	yes	yes	setts	setts	0.699999988079071 × stone	0.6000000238418579 × stone
asphalt	220	0	no	yes	yes	yes	asphalt	asphalt	1 × concrete	0.6000000238418579 × stone
timber	90	0.7	no	yes	yes	no	ash	air	1 × timber	0.800000011920929 × timber
plank	65	0.7	no	yes	yes	no	ash	air	1 × timber	0.800000011920929 × timber
thatch	30	0.95	no	yes	yes	no	air	air	0.07999999821186066 × grain	—
daub	60	0.35	no	yes	yes	no	rubble	air	0.4000000059604645 × clay	0.30000001192092896 × clay
rough stone	280	0	yes	yes	yes	no	rough stone	rubble	1 × stone	1 × stone
cut stone	400	0	yes	yes	yes	no	cut stone	rubble	1.399999976158142 × stone	1.2000000476837158 × stone
tile	170	0	no	yes	yes	no	tile	air	0.800000011920929 × clay	0.5 × clay
brick	200	0	yes	yes	yes	no	brick	rubble	1 × brick	0.8999999761581421 × brick
slate	170	0	no	yes	yes	no	slate	air	0.800000011920929 × stone	0.699999988079071 × stone
glass	100	0	no	yes	yes	no	glass	air	1 × glass	0.699999988079071 × glass
plaster	60	0.1	no	yes	yes	no	rubble	air	0.5 × clay	0.30000001192092896 × clay
iron	130	0	yes	yes	yes	no	iron	iron	1 × iron	0.949999988079071 × iron
sooted brick	200	0	yes	yes	yes	no	sooted brick	rubble	1 × brick	0.8999999761581421 × brick
steel	160	0	yes	yes	yes	no	steel	steel	1 × steel	0.949999988079071 × steel
concrete	160	0	yes	yes	yes	no	concrete	concrete	1 × concrete	0.6000000238418579 × stone
curtain wall	100	0	no	yes	yes	no	curtain wall	air	1 × glass	0.699999988079071 × glass
rubble	220	0	yes	yes	yes	no	rubble	rubble	—	0.5 × stone
scaffold	65	0.7	no	yes	yes	no	ash	scaffold	1 × timber	0.800000011920929 × timber
ash	220	0	no	no	yes	no	ash	ash	—	—
town flag	220	0	no	yes	yes	no	town flag	town flag	0.5 × cloth	—
banked fire	220	0	no	yes	yes	no	banked fire	air	0.20000000298023224 × timber	—
ice	1	0	no	no	no	no	ice	ice	—	—
snow	1	0	no	no	yes	no	snow	snow	—	—
firn	1	0	no	no	yes	no	firn	firn	—	—
glacier ice	1	0	no	no	yes	no	glacier ice	glacier ice	—	—
dark timber	90	0.7	no	yes	yes	no	ash	air	—	—
pale timber	90	0.7	no	yes	yes	no	ash	air	—	—
ochre wash	60	0.1	no	yes	yes	no	rubble	air	—	—
rose wash	60	0.1	no	yes	yes	no	rubble	air	—	—
blue wash	60	0.1	no	yes	yes	no	rubble	air	—	—
green wash	60	0.1	no	yes	yes	no	rubble	air	—	—
red paint	65	0.7	no	yes	yes	no	ash	air	—	—
green paint	65	0.7	no	yes	yes	no	ash	air	—	—
blue paint	65	0.7	no	yes	yes	no	ash	air	—	—
ruby glass	100	0	no	yes	yes	no	ruby glass	air	—	—
cobalt glass	100	0	no	yes	yes	no	cobalt glass	air	—	—
amber glass	100	0	no	yes	yes	no	amber glass	air	—	—
emerald glass	100	0	no	yes	yes	no	emerald glass	air	—	—
gilt	130	0	no	yes	yes	no	gilt	air	—	—

Goods and recipes

good	base value	bulk	available from	perishable
grain	1	0.5	Founding	yes
fish	1.2	0.4	Founding	yes
timber	1.4	0.5	Founding	no
stone	1.8	0.9	Founding	no
clay	0.9	0.9	Founding	no
brick	2.6	0.9	Medieval	no
charcoal	2.2	0.5	Founding	no
coal	1.9	0.9	Industrial	no
iron	6	0.3	Founding	no
steel	11	0.3	Industrial	no
cloth	5	0.12	Founding	no
tools	8	0.12	Founding	no
glass	9	0.12	Renaissance	no
concrete	3.4	0.9	Modern	no
ale	2	0.4	Founding	yes
luxuries	22	0.05	Founding	no

recipe	inputs	output	from era	labour (worker-days)
kiln	2 × clay, 0.5 × charcoal	1.600000023841858 × brick	Medieval	1
charcoal burning	3 × timber	1 × charcoal	Founding	1.2
brewery	2 × grain, 0.10000000149011612 × timber	1.5 × ale	Founding	0.8
weaving	0.6000000238418579 × grain, 0.10000000149011612 × timber	1 × cloth	Founding	1.6
smithy	1 × iron, 1.2000000476837158 × charcoal	1 × tools	Medieval	2
glassworks	1 × clay, 1.5 × charcoal	1 × glass	Renaissance	2.2
blast furnace	2 × iron, 2.5 × coal	1.600000023841858 × steel	Industrial	2.4
cement works	2 × stone, 1 × coal	2.200000047683716 × concrete	Modern	1.4
manufactory	1 × cloth, 0.6000000238418579 × coal	0.5 × luxuries	Industrial	2

Policy

The levers a governor has, their defaults and how far they go. Friction is what the citizens resent per year.

lever	default
allow_density	yes
conservation	no
fire_code	no
flood_works	no
garrison	0.1
grain_reserve_years	0.5
public_works	0.25
relief	0.05
schooling	no
tariff	0
tax_rate	0.1
tribute	0

rule	value
friction_conservation	0.04
friction_fire_code	0.05
friction_floor	-0.12
friction_relief	1.4
friction_tariff	0.4
garrison_max	0.6
grain_reserve_max	4
public_works_max	0.9
relief_max	0.5
tariff_max	1.5
tax_max	0.6

Needs

What the city wants per head before it studies a shortage.

rule	value
church_per_head	0.08
garrison_per_threat	0.2
housing_slack	4
production_per_head	0.15
school_per_head	0.15
shortage_gate	0.2
storage_min	120
storage_years	2.5
study_required	24

Events

The shapes of fire, plague, war, earthquake and siege. The base chances are tunables.

rule	value
fire_dryness_max	1.5
fire_dryness_min	0.45
fire_dryness_pivot	1.6
fire_exposure_floor	0.3
fire_unbuilt	0.2
plague_crowding_cap	3
plague_severity	0.06, 0.34
plague_years	1, 4
quake_brittle_new	0.7
quake_brittle_old	1.25
quake_fires	4
quake_harm	0.7
quake_legitimacy	0.08
quake_liquefaction	0.4
quake_min_harm	0.03
quake_radius_base	24
quake_radius_per	110
quake_vents	90
sack_loot	0.6
sanitation_industrial	0.8
sanitation_modern	0.12
siege_assault_ratio	1.6
siege_blockade_grain	0.35
siege_lift_ratio	0.6
war_cap	0.3
war_min_population	150
war_min_threat	1.1

Water

Floods and what the town does about them; the bank heights are tunables.

rule	value
bank_greening_per_year	120
bank_recovery_dry_days	360
drainage_per_year	45
embankment_era	Renaissance
embankment_treasury	400
flood_grain_loss	0.15
flood_harm_base	0.22
flood_harm_drained	0.35
flood_harm_per_course	0.12
flood_min_voxels	40
step_days	30

Settlement and peoples

rule	value
max_cultures	12
max_expedition	24
min_community	3
min_expedition	8
min_organizers	8
traffic_cell	4

Tunable rule reference

Every dial the tuning page, a preset in assets/tunables/ or the browser build can turn, with the default the rule always had.

water

dial	default	min	max	step	what it does
stream_drain_days	90	1	360	1	Days for an unsupported stream to drain from its head to its outlet.
flood_bank_natural	1.25	0.5	4	0.05	How far over bank-full the river must run before it is in the town.
flood_bank_embanked	0.55	0	3	0.05	What an embankment adds to that.
flood_bank_works	0.25	0	3	0.05	What the flood-works policy adds to that.
flood_chance_per_over	1.1	0	4	0.1	Flood chance per unit the river stands over the bank, capped at 0.85.

events

dial	default	min	max	step	what it does
fire_base_chance	0.035	0	0.3	0.005	Yearly base chance of a fire breaking out, scaled by how much of the standing town still burns and how dry the year was.
fire_code_factor	0.35	0.05	1	0.05	What a fire code does to the town's exposure: thatch banned, tile in.
plague_base_chance	0.012	0	0.2	0.002	Yearly base chance of plague, scaled by crowding and the age's sanitation.
plague_crowding_per	900	100	5,000	50	People per unit of crowding in the plague roll; a town this size is as crowded as it gets before the ceiling of three.
quake_base_chance	0.002	0	0.1	0.001	Yearly earthquake chance on a site that shakes at all.
quake_per_seismicity	0.02	0	0.5	0.005	Yearly earthquake chance added per unit of the site's seismicity.
war_chance_per_threat	0.35	0	1	0.05	Chance of war per unit of threat above one, once the town is worth marching on.
market_shock_chance	0.05	0	0.5	0.01	Yearly chance of a market shock abroad.

settlement

dial	default	min	max	step	what it does
settlement_separation	48	16	200	4	Cells between one village core and the next, leaving room for fields.
founding_population	32	4	400	4	People a settlement needs before it counts as a village of its own.

peoples

dial	default	min	max	step	what it does
branch_years	35	1	300	5	Years a daughter village must stand before it can take its own name.
branch_population	34	4	400	2	People a daughter village must hold before it can take its own name.

people

dial	default	min	max	step	what it does
food_per_head	0.85	0	4	0.05	Grain one person eats in a year, in stock units.

eras

dial	default	min	max	step	what it does
era_threshold_scale	1	0.1	5	0.1	Multiplies every era's population, treasury, literacy and building gates: below one the city advances early, above one it lingers.

economy

dial	default	min	max	step	what it does
tax_friction_free	0.12	0	0.6	0.01	The tax rate nobody resents; friction starts above it.
tax_friction_slope	2.2	0	10	0.1	Friction per unit of tax above the free rate.

Building templates

A template is a kind of building as slots with options; a level is one step of it. The chooser picks, the compiler draws, the city measures. Browse them.

template	kind	craft	min footprint	levels	slots
house	House	Shelter	5 × 6	hut → cottage → house → townhouse	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes)
hut	Hut	Shelter	5 × 6	hut	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes)
tenement	Tenement	Shelter	6 × 6	lodgings → tenement → block	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes)
forge	Forge	Make	4 × 4	smithy → forge → ironworks	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes); hearth (open, oven)
mill	Mill	Make	4 × 4	mill → tall mill	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes); wheel (side, none)
workshop	Workshop	Make	4 × 4	shed → workshop → works	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes)
granary	Granary	Store	4 × 4	store → granary	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes); raised (staddles, ground)
warehouse	Warehouse	Store	5 × 5	warehouse → bonded store	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes)
church	Church	Civic	5 × 7	chapel → church → minster	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes); tower (low, tall, none)
market	Market	Civic	5 × 5	market cross → market hall	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes); sides (open, stalls)
town hall	TownHall	Civic	5 × 5	moot hall → town hall	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes)
school	School	Civic	5 × 5	schoolroom → school	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes)
garrison	Garrison	Defend	4 × 4	guardhouse → garrison	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes)
farmstead	Farmstead	Grow	5 × 6	croft → farmstead	walls (daub, timber, stone, brick, plaster, concrete); roof (gable, hip, flat); storeys (1, 2, 3, 4); chimney (none, one, two); windows (few, many, none); porch (none, front); annex (none, lean-to, tower); yard (open, fenced, walled); trim (plain, dressed); flag (no, yes)

World recipes and features

recipe	features	description
plain valley		The site exactly as terrain generation makes it.
karst valley	Caves, Cliffs, Basin	Limestone country: cave systems under the hills, a sink basin, a few cliff bands.
alpine gorge	Gorge, Cliffs, Plateau	A Schlucht cut from the river's head into the mountain, stepped cliffs above it, a high plateau.
terraced highlands	Terraces, Ridge, Caves	Gentle farm terraces up the valley sides, a ridge across the head, caves in the ridge.

feature	what it does
caves	Worm tunnels under the hills, each with a mouth on a slope, kept above the tide.
cliffs	Steep ground stepped into rock bands: an escarpment where the hill was a slope.
gorge	A deep, narrow U-shaped cut along a wandering line between two anchors.
terraces	Heights quantised to a step between two elevations, for farm terraces.
plateau	A mesa with a flat top and a steep rim.
basin	A hollow the water model turns into a lake if the rain allows.
ridge	A spine between two points.
crater	A bowl with a raised rim.

Climate epochs and snow

scenario	enabled	glacial period	glacial amplitude	secular period	secular amplitude	keyframes
natural cycles	yes	900	2.6	110	0.9	—
little ice age	yes	900	2.6	110	0.9	y0 +0.4000000059604645 °C ×1; y180 +0.4000000059604645 °C ×1; y230 -1.600000023841858 °C ×1.149999976158142; y330 -1.399999976158142 °C ×1.100000023841858; y380 +0 °C ×1; y520 +0.30000001192092896 °C ×1; y640 +1.7999999523162842 °C ×0.949999988079071
ice age	yes	900	1	110	0.9	y0 -3.5 °C ×1.2000000476837158; y250 -4.5 °C ×1.25; y400 -1 °C ×1.0499999523162842; y600 +1 °C ×0.949999988079071
steady	no	900	2.6	110	0.9	—

The cryosphere's defaults: degree-day factors in mm per degree-day, thresholds in mm of water.
rule	value
aspect	0.8
enabled	yes
firn_ddf	2.2
firn_to_ice_mm	1,800
first_layer_mm	60
flow_rate	0.1
flow_threshold_mm	2,500
ground_relax	0.003
ice_ddf	1.3
ice_share	0.35
lapse	0.32
layer_mm	250
max_half_layers	16
permafrost_days	720
rain_melt	0.35
snow_ddf	2.8

Styles, scale and lenses

style	unit	description
palim	1	The simulation's own colours, a metre a unit, drawn as runtime pixel art.
vivid	1	Saturated, strongly grained, a meadow of tall grass and flowers.
sprite	2	Chunky pixels: two units a metre, flat surfaces, voxel people, no grain — the pixel-art look.
miniature	0.5	A model on a table: half a unit a metre, voxel people, soft muted colours.
winter study	1	Snow and ice read first: cool palette, no shader snow so only the lying voxels show.
picturesque pixels	1	High-detail voxels and hand-drawn pixels with generated, softly interlocking edges.

The render unit runs from 0.25 to 4 per simulated metre (default 1); material is stored at 32 voxels per metre. Playground maps: height, change, snow and ice, fertility, water. Scheduler lanes: realtime, background, idle.

lens	what it shows
material	What every voxel is made of: the material colour of the top of each column.
era	The era that laid each built voxel; untouched ground is greyed. The palimpsest itself.
water	Standing water, saturated soil and the river: what the water model holds this month.
cultures	Town ground in the colour of the people who hold the nearest settlement.
territories	Town ground by settlement number, whoever lives there.
fertility	How well each column grows things, one being the site's ordinary ground.
snow	Snow, firn and glacier ice lying on the ground as voxels.
traffic	Where people actually walk: crossings this decade, and the wear they leave.

Controls

key	does	group
up / down	choose a setting	launcher
left / right	change it; hold shift for a bigger step	launcher
R	roll a new seed	launcher
Enter	found the city	launcher
Esc	close inspection or menus, then return to the launcher; quit from the launcher	launcher
F1	the city: calendar, age, people, purse, legitimacy, threat	views
F2	the works: what is standing, levels, the building programme, streets, the wall	views
F3	people: headcount, what everybody is doing, the year's demography, trades	views
F4	the ground: what is left in the site, salvage, what can be walked to	views
F5	the sky: the season, the weather, the year's rain, the lakes, the flood plain	views
F6	economy: treasury, the fields, stores and prices, the year's production	views
F7	the world outside: the trade ledger, who the city deals with, the danger	views
F8	learning: the study in hand, the last survey, how good each craft has got	views
F9	chronicle: the city's own memory, newest first	views
F12	the peoples: who lives here, where they came from, how they get on	views
G	open or close the engine panel: entities, design, terrain, playground, climate, style, tasks	panels
Tab	hide the whole frame and give the city the window	panels
Space	pause and run	time
1 to 5	1, 4, 16, 60, 180 days per second	time
right-drag	orbit	camera
wheel	zoom	camera
W A S D / arrows	pan	camera
Q / E	raise and lower	camera
, / .	turn the camera one step left or right	camera
M	switch between material colour and colour by the era that laid it	lenses
V	turn pixel art on or off	lenses
P	show or hide the citizens	lenses
Z	show or hide quiet building labels	lenses
X	toggle the X-ray cutaway	lenses
[ / ]	lower or raise the cutaway layer; hold to repeat, shift moves eight	lenses
\	show all caves and excavated holes together	lenses
F10	toggle settled-territory outlines and village markers	lenses
F11	toggle field boundaries: green planted, gold fallow	lenses
left-click a building or road	inspect it in the world; Edit structure opens its voxel blueprint editor	editor
Alt + left-click	remove one 3.125 cm voxel under the pointer	editor
Alt + Shift + left-click	add one voxel of the pointed material against that face	editor
Shift + click (editor)	erase a cell of the draft	editor
Esc (editor)	discard the draft and return to the city	editor