Weather

Weather

The game features a dynamic weather system that affects gameplay elements like water regeneration, crop growth, and solar power production. Weather changes every 15 days (a fortnight), with the year divided into 24 fortnights (360 days total).

Weather Types

• Sunny:

 ** Sun Intensity: 100%
 ** Rain Intensity: 0%
 ** Description: Clear skies with maximum sunlight, ideal for crop growth and solar power but provides no rainfall.

• Cloudy:

 ** Sun Intensity: 80%
 ** Rain Intensity: 0%
 ** Description: Overcast skies with reduced sunlight, often a transition between Sunny and rainy weather.

• Rainy:

 ** Sun Intensity: 50%
 ** Rain Intensity: 50%
 ** Description: Moderate rain, contributing to water regeneration for groundwater, farms, and rainwater harvesters.

• Heavy Rain:

 ** Sun Intensity: 20%
 ** Rain Intensity: 100%
 ** Description: Intense rain with minimal sunlight, significantly boosting water regeneration but potentially challenging for crops.

How Weather Changes

• Weather is generated yearly by the game's weather provider, creating a schedule of 24 fortnights.
• Each new day, the current weather is determined by the fortnight index: (dayOfYear - 1) / 15.
• The next weather is set to the following fortnight, with a 3-day transition period for smooth visual changes.
• On January 1st, the next year’s weather is generated, influenced by the previous year’s final weather to avoid abrupt transitions (e.g., a rainy end to the year increases the chance of rain at the start of the next year).
• The system avoids three consecutive rainy fortnights to prevent excessive rainfall periods.

Weather Chances

Weather probabilities depend on the game's difficulty setting and the year, as the total annual rainfall intensity (RainPerYear) decreases over time. The following are approximate probabilities for Normal difficulty:

• Years 1–9 (RainPerYear = 400%):

 ** Sunny: ~21.9%
 ** Cloudy: ~46.9%
 ** Rainy: ~29.2%
 ** Heavy Rain: ~2.1%
 ** Expected Rainy Days: Approximately 112 days (7 Rainy fortnights + 0.5 Heavy Rain fortnights × 15 days).

• Years 10+ (RainPerYear = 300%):

 ** Sunny: ~45.8%
 ** Cloudy: ~32.5%
 ** Rainy: ~18.3%
 ** Heavy Rain: ~3.3%
 ** Expected Rainy Days: Approximately 78 days (4.4 Rainy fortnights + 0.8 Heavy Rain fortnights × 15 days).

On Easy difficulty, rainfall is more frequent (RainPerYear starts at 450%), while on Hard difficulty, it’s less frequent (RainPerYear starts at 350% and drops to 250%). The previous year’s final weather slightly influences the first fortnight of the new year, but this effect is minor.

Gameplay Effects

• Water Regeneration: Rainy (50% intensity) and Heavy Rain (100% intensity) increase water availability for Groundwater Wells, Farms, and Rainwater Harvesters. See the Water page for details.
• Crop Growth: SunIntensity affects growth rates, with Sunny and Cloudy providing more sunlight for crops.
• Solar Power: Weather impacts the output of solar panels, as detailed below.

Climate Variations

The weather system introduces long-term climate changes based on difficulty:

• Easy: Wetter early game (450% RainPerYear), drying to 350% after Year 15.
• Normal: Balanced rainfall (400% RainPerYear), drying to 300% after Year 10.
• Hard: Drier conditions (350% RainPerYear), further drying to 300% (Year 10) and 250% (Year 20).

These changes simulate a drying climate, making water management more challenging over time, especially on Hard difficulty.

Solar Panels

The output of the Solar Panel depends on weather conditions:

Weather	Production
	Solar Panel	Solar Panel (Mono)
Sunny	+128 KW	+160 KW
Cloudy	+102 KW	+128 KW
Rainy	+64 KW	+80 KW
Heavy Rain	+26 KW	+32 KW
Average*	+104 KW	+131 KW

* Average for Normal difficulty, Years 10+ (RainPerYear = 300%). Averages are lower in earlier years (e.g., 95 KW / 119 KW in Years 1–9) due to more rainy weather reducing solar output.

Water Replenishment

Rainy and Heavy Rain weather types contribute to water regeneration for Groundwater Wells, Farms, and Rainwater Harvesters. For detailed rates and averages, see the Water page.