Note: not recommended to overwrite existing saves when using the mod. Some mechanics may change, and certain issues could potentially break a save in irreversible ways.
How it works
The mod alternates between summer and winter.
When winter begins, a visible snowstorm front moves across Nauvis. Terrain behind the front becomes frozen: grass, sand, dirt and other tiles are replaced with winter versions, while water becomes ice. During winter, snowfall effects are shown around players.
When summer begins, the front moves in the opposite direction and restores the original terrain.
By default:
- summer lasts 22 hours
- winter lasts 7 hours
- the first winter starts near the end of the first summer cycle (season offset = 21.99) - for demo
- the snow front moves at 7.2 tiles per second
Admins can use /wic-next-season-in-minutes <minutes> to override the time until the next season.
Technical Details
- Efficient chunk-based world state: terrain is tracked in 32x32 chunks instead of per-tile Lua tables
- Compact tile storage: tiles are encoded through a shared palette and packed into byte strings, which keeps memory usage low
- Batched terrain updates: the mod relies on surface.set_tiles(...) with prepared buffers instead of expensive per-tile mutation loops
- Incremental snow front simulation: freezing and thawing advance in controlled strips/chunks, so work is spread over time instead of hitting the whole map at once
Gameplay
- Water bodies can freeze during winter
- Players and enemies can move and build on ice
- Offshore pumps cannot be placed on ice
- Fish cannot be caught when water is frozen
- Structures built on ice will be lost when it melts
Supported:
Feedback is very welcome: please share your observations, bug reports, balance thoughts, and gameplay ideas