Nightwater
Last verified 2026-09-14 · Steam app 3983860 · Full release 2026-09-18

Nightwater biomes & resources (Steam island factory)

Expand the island, then automate each resource milestone.

Nightwater (Steam app 3983860, Studio Ashty) is a forage–craft–automate island factory. Demo and long-play footage before the 2026-09-18 full release confirm Forest and Mountain. Steam cites 20+ resources; the table lists HUD names only.

Select Land menu with Manifest button and DEMO cost bar

How to expand biomes

  1. Open the island expand flow at the Manifester in front of the cave (objective text: use the Manifester to expand the island).
  2. In Select Land, pick an available land tile on the diamond grid, then press Manifest when the cost is paid.
  3. Finish Forest land first — tutorial text calls for expanding to unlock the last Forest Biome segment before new biomes open.
  4. Keep hitting resource Milestones (hand gather or harvesters). Milestone Item Unlocks gate new buildings, crafts, and buffs for that resource.
  5. When the objective says unlock the first Mountain biome, Manifest the Mountain land tile and gather its ores.
Objective: Unlock Stone Milestone 1 and use the Manifester to expand the island
Build Mode with objective Expand your Island to unlock the last Forest Biome

Biome · resource table

Biome labels match the Milestones book (Forest Unlocks / Mountain Unlocks) and on-screen “Forest Biome” / “Mountain biome” objectives. Unofficial blog roster names are not used.

Biome (HUD) Resource Gather by hand vs automate / unlock gate
Forest Oak Wood Hand-punch trees from the start. Automate with Primitive Wood Harvester (harvested items count toward Milestone Progression). Wood Gear unlocks on the Oak Wood milestone track (panel shows threshold met at 100 gathered in demo footage).
Forest Stone Hand-mine rock nodes. Automate with Primitive Rock Crusher (harvests rock, clay, and ore in radius). Stone Bricks and the crusher sit on the Stone milestone unlock row.
Forest Clay Hand gather clay nodes (distinct sound/look from stone). Rock Crusher also pulls clay in radius. Clay Brick unlocks on the clay milestone path.
Forest Wheat Hand pick wheat plants. Automate with Primitive Plant Farmer (plant resources in radius; counts to milestones). Early objectives pair Wheat milestones with pipes/chests automation tips.
Forest Wheat Oil Crafted process material used in early build costs (yellow bottle icon on Primitive Pipe / Assembler recipes). Produced from Wheat on the craft/process path shown in long-plays.
Forest Plank Craft from Oak Wood at the Workbench / Assembler. Required for Primitive Wood Harvester, Primitive Chest, and other early builds.
Forest Wood Gear Milestone unlock on Oak Wood. Crafting material for structures and complex items. Feeds into Stone Gear recipes.
Forest Stone Brick / Clay Brick Processed materials on the Stone and Clay milestone tracks. Used as construction inputs for Primitive Assembler and related early machines.
Forest Stone Gear Craft recipe on Select Craft: 1 Wood Gear + 4 Stones → Stone Gear. Advanced crafting material on the stone track.
Mountain Copper Ore Appears after Mountain biome land is unlocked. Hand harvest ore nodes (Discovered popup). Rock Crusher description also lists ore in radius.
Mountain Iron Ore Hand harvest after Mountain unlock (Discovered popup). Same mountain ore loop as Copper.
Mountain Stone Co-drops from mountain ore nodes while hand gathering Copper Ore.
Oak Wood Discovered popup on a forest tree
Milestones book showing Forest Unlocks, Mountain Unlocks, and Wood Gear
Clay Brick Unlocked popup with Clay pickup feed and Wheat milestone objectives
Copper Ore Discovered on a mountain rock node with Stone co-drop
Iron Ore Discovered popup on a mountain resource node
Select Craft menu showing Stone Gear recipe from Wood Gear and Stones

Ages (Steam first-party)

Steam describes progression sticks and stones → Bronze Age → Industrial Era → future, with the Lighthouse as the long-term goal. Demo footage stays in the early Primitive building set plus Mountain ores; later ages are not tabled here.

Related demo footage titles may claim more than this guide carries forward. Sources are listed in the pack HANDOFF / SOURCES only.

Next: Buildings & first automation · Wiki hub

Still unknown

  • Locked Select Land tile HUD names beyond Forest / Mountain.
  • Exact universal milestone thresholds for every resource (panels show run-specific progress).
  • Desert / Snowy Hills / Vulcan / Starlight — held until OCR-locked.
  • Lighthouse, four endings, Sandwich Room, and minigame how-tos — held.