- Hydro is 35% OFF during Steam's Summer Sale - 27 June 2026
Steam's Summer Sale is Here!The Steam Summer Sale has begun, and now's a great time to get into the old abandoned power-house and help the folks down at the Township Carnival get their merry-go-rounds running, and help the hospital deal with their recent influx of patients!Just watch out for the nay-sayers who want to jam things into your water wheel...and the (at times) somewhat cynical newspaper press...Don't let the chance slip! The river never rests and the town needs your help!Happy generating! ⚡
- Hydro v1.30 brings performance optimizations and more! - 15 June 2026
Hi everyone!I thought I would drop an update for Hydro that should improve the performance of the game on a range of hardware, as well as some more cool features!Here are the details of this v1.30 update! (confirm the version number from the Main Menu)I have implemented a 60 FPS frame rate lock for the game. This should result in reduced GPU usage across the board...your GPU shouldn't be maxed-out at 99% anymore! (unless you are running on older hardware - however you should still notice improvements in that scenario too!) In my testing, this change results in much smoother game play across the board, as the game should hold a consistent FPS with less (if not no) frame rate spikesI have added a scroll-bar for the Game Options dialog box in the Pause menu for easier navigationThere are now 'Tool Highlights' that display the locations of the Hand Oiler and the Cleaning Bucket! This can be…
- Hydro v1.29 small patch - lighting improvements - 17 May 2026
Hi everyone!Here's another small, but mighty patch for Hydro. This one focuses mostly on 'natural' lighting levels in the buildings - both during the day and night. Previously these were painfully low especially at night time with the lights off. Whilst 'real', this didn't lend well if you were playing and the fuses suddenly went out. Now, you'll notice (some pics below too for comparison) that building interiors at night (and also during the day) will be better lit. Of course, powered lighting remains mostly unchanged, but those will add ontop of these new increased natural light levels. This has been done for the power station main building, the sleeping quarters and also the storage unit.ALSO: the flashlight's strength has also been GREATLY improved...so much so it might glare out a bit on close inspection of some things, but if you stand back a bit more, you should be OK. The overal…
- 30% off Hydro during Steam's Spring Sale! - 20 March 2026
Spring time is here for Hydro and during Steam's Spring Sale, you can get 30% off the game. If you've been holding-back, now's the time to jump in! 🛞🌊Please also consider Wishlisting my upcoming game, Empire Water Works, to stay up to date with the development process and be the first to find out when the Demo hits and the game releases!
- Small bug fix to Hand Oiler position in Guided Tutorial - 19 March 2026
v1.28 -Small but important bug fix to resolve a recent issue that was causing Hand Oiler to become virtually impossible to be picked up by the player during the Guided Tutorial after the recent changes to the interact dot precision. This bug was only encountered during the Guided Tutorial. Re-positioned the default position of the Hand Oiler during the Guided Tutorial. All fixed! :)
- Some robust updates arrive in Hydro v1.27! - 15 March 2026
Hi everyone! I trust you are well. I can't believe it's the middle of March already! Here is another 'regular' update which brings a slew of cool new enhancements to the game.This takes the game to v1.27 (check the version on the Main Menu of the game).Improved (precise) interaction with 'pickup' itemsMost items that you can pickup now sport a much more precise interaction system, where you must point the interact dot directly at them, before you can pick them up - and not just stand near them as before. This small (but mighty) change means that you can now pickup items in close proximity of one another, with much more precision!Note: the Generator Grid Fuse unfortunately misses out on this improvement (for now), due to the way it needs to work with the Grid Fuse Holders. I will however review this in future and endeavour to apply this more precise interaction logic to the Generator Gri…
- Empire Water Works announced! - 30 January 2026
Hi everyone, I have some exciting news to announce! I am currently developing a brand new game: Empire Water Works! Like Hydro, it will be developed using Unreal Engine 5 and also like Hydro, I will be listening to community feedback and together we can make this the best game it can be!Needless to say, I will continue to support Hydro and continue to update it over time, so keep your feedback coming in that regard. Your support is very much appreciated!For more information on Empire Water Works, please see the links below and Wishlist today if you like what you see 😎Steam Store page:Announce trailer:Dev Log #1:Stay tuned to my YouTube channel for more news and updates on this game as time goes on!Cheers
- Hydro v1.26 small patch is here - 19 January 2026
Hi everyone!I hope your New Year 2026 is off to a flying start! I thought I'd release a small patch for Hydro to address some recent concerns/feedback as well as drop a few quality of life updates as well. All is revealed below...Oil consumption has been REDUCED by 25% across the board! This means both the stock gear oil pump and the upgraded gear oil pump will enjoy 25% less oil consumption (all min/max values for both upgrade states were changed). This means you'll have better chances of seeing the day through with just one oil can and in my testing, even the higher unit Township Demands (75-80 units) should be achievable on a single oil can refill (provided your Grid Power Insulators are not too dirty, causing you to continually re-sync to the grid and losing time). Needless to say, an upgraded oil pump will now enjoy a much better runtime between oil refills.Related to oil consumpti…
- Seasons Greetings! And a thank you... - 20 December 2025
Dear Hydro custodians,As 2025 wraps up, I want to thank every one of you for supporting me and the Hydro project this year.Hydro is my first-ever game and it was developed by just me. I only started learning Unreal Engine 5 in late 2024, so seeing how far the game has come since those early days has been incredible, and your support has made it possible!Working on Hydro has been exciting and a huge learning experience and I'm happy to share that I have begun tinkering on a brand new project! I’ll share more when the time is right.I’ll of course continue improving Hydro, and your feedback has been essential, so please keep it coming.I have a feeling 2026 will be even bigger!For now, I hope you enjoy seeing-out 2025 doing whatever you love; whether that’s relaxing indoors (maybe with some Hydro?), heading outdoors, or spending time with friends and family.P.S. If you haven’t tried Hydro y…
- Hydro v1.25 mini-update - 22 November 2025
Hi everyone,Just a small update this time to address some niggly issues:Bug fix: previously, if a player selected items for repair on the Repair Worksheet at the Workbench, then cancelled out of the form then re-entered the form and chose to repair different items, the previously-selected items would still get repaired. Fixed!Reduced the fatigue one-off gain when picking-up oil cans and battery acid by well over 50%!Note that I have also updated the PDF Game Manual, adding information around some of the more recent changes such as the Repair Worksheet, Generator Air Flow Meter, Instrument Sensors and the Sleeping Quarters Fusebox.Check out the latest version of the manual below!https://harmanmotorworks.com/hydro/manual/HydroGameManualv104.pdfUntil next time, happy generating! ⚡
- Hydro v1.24 has landed! - 11 November 2025
Hey everyone!Another busy month for Hydro updates, and here is yet another 'regular update' which boasts a number of exciting new additions and fixes. This takes Hydro to v1.24 (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game). Let's jump in to what this update is all about!New fuse/sensor repair interface: 'Repair Worksheet'Repairing multiple items was previously getting cumbersome and as more fuses and sensors got added to the game, Hydro desperately needed a way to show/'inspect' for current condition at the Repair Workbench. Then, only OPTIONALLY allowing repair of desired items AS NEEDED, instead of just repairing everything in the player's inventory.Behold, the new Repair Worksheet! Now, you can inspect and only choose to repair items which have a low repair (condition) value! Save time and optimise your repair process!Note that you can only inspect/repair what is in your Pocke…
- Upcoming v1.24 update brings a new Upgrade and enhanced Workbench repair! - 9 November 2025
DEV UPDATE INCOMING!Hi everyone,Veteran Hydro employees should be able to spot the difference (new addition) in the first pic below...That's right, with the upcoming v1.24 update, a new upgrade option for the power station will be available: a Generator Air Flow Meter! No more will you need to listen-out for a blocked air filter or constantly go outside to check its dirt level...this handy need gage will give you an idea of how much 'blockage' is preventing cooling air from reaching the Generator!Also - the fuse & instrument sensor repair process at the Repair Workbench has been greatly improved - using a brand new Repair Worksheet that allows for individual component inspection and optional repair! No longer will the workbench simply repair everything in your Pocket Inventory...you can now inspect and choose exactly what items get repaired: Plus, a bunch of other QoL and bug fixes are…
- Hydro v1.23 is here! - 5 November 2025
Hi everyone,We are now in November and here's the first update for the month. This is v1.23 (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game).Let's jump into what's new with this update!'Instrument Sensor' mechanicThis is a brand new game play mechanic: "instrument sensors". These new sensors behave similar to the fuses, but have new functions in that they send 'signals' from devices to certain instruments or gauges in the power station. Like fuses, sensors will 'wear down' and degrade over time, before failing completely. They can be removed by the player and will appear in the player's Pocket Inventory. From there, the player can take the sensors to the existing Workbench in the Sleeping Quarters for their repair. The first two sensors to be implemented are for the Generator. These are located on the left side of the Generator on a brand new 'Generator Sensor Panel'.Speed sensor -…
- HYDRO MAJOR UPDATE v1.22 is HERE! - 29 October 2025
Hi everyone, I know it's almost over, but October 2025 is actually a BIG milestone month for Hydro, as it marks a whole year since I began the Hydro project! (I officially began development back on October 6th, 2024). To celebrate, I've been working busily on a MAJOR UPDATE for Hydro over the past few weeks and here are the fruits of that labor!This is the very first MAJOR UPDATE for Hydro since its full version release less than 3 months ago, and this one adds a HEAP quality and feature updates! Let's get into it...RANDOM TELEGRAPH MESSAGE SEND/RECEIVE FAILURESAs part of this update, the telegraph units are now looking worse-for-wear by default and more prone to randomly failing to either send or receive telegram messages...these failures can now occur even if the Accumulator is charged sufficiently (>50V). Note that a previous update (v1.19) which introduced telegraph send/receive fai…
- Hydro v1.21 is here! - 11 October 2025
Hi all! Get ready for another update to Hydro, taking it to v1.21 (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game). This update brings a number of improvements, once again many of them being feedback items from the community! Here's all the details: OIL STAIN ADJUSTMENTSOil stain growth within the power station (from the line shaft) has been slowed by 70%! This means that oil stains should now take at least a few in-game days to reach full size. This is more realistic and hopefully less frustrating for players who are here to run a power station (who isn't?)Cleaning oil stains now also happens quicker, with each 'wipe' cleaning-off more of the oil stain. Less time spent on your knees, and more time spent running the power station! ⚡ WIDGET ENHANCEMENTSA number of improvements have been made to the 'widgets' (subtitles/tooltips) that appear when you interact with items around the pla…
- Hydro v1.20 is live - 5 October 2025
Hi all,I hope you're enjoying Hydro. Here's a quick update to bring the game to v1.20 (confirm the version from the Main Menu). This version delivers a number of quality of life and bug fixes:During the gear oil refilling process, the camera is now much more 'focused' and it's no longer possible to move your head all around the place whilst being frozen in place (note: this only affects those players who have the 'Low viscosity gear oil' difficulty setting disabled). This should help increase the realism factor for this procedure (in the future I may look at implementing this camera focus for other processes such as applying upgrades, cleaning various items, etc, too).Bug fix: previously, if the Accumulator charge level was zero and the player saved and then reloaded the game, the Accumulator low charge 'buzzer' would play on game load - this was not realistic as the buzzer cannot sound…
- Hydro v1.19 mini-update - 29 September 2025
Hi all,September is the month that keeps on giving! We are now at v1.19 of Hydro (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game). Nevertheless, I'm calling this an October update - but don't worry, there will be plenty of further updates in October as well, I'm sure. 😅This mini-update provides a few cool updates and feature additions. The major item being that the Telegraph system is now affected by your Accumulator charge! In real life, telegraph systems were generally powered by batteries in any case, so it made sense to tie Hydro's telegraph system operation into the Accumulator. And this certainly will add another 'dimension' to the game play aspect. No longer can you ignore your Accumulator charge as much as you may have before...Battery-powered Telegraph SystemA low Accumulator charge now intermittently affects the sending and receiving of telegram messages! Reliable sending…
- Hydro v1.18 is here! - 27 September 2025
Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well. September has been a BUMPER month for game updates and here's yet another update for Hydro, taking it to v1.18 (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game).Here's a rundown of what's included...Grid Fuse HoldersNo more having to leave your valuable Generator Grid Fuses laying around on the ground! Now, you can store up to two (2) such fuses in the brand new fuse holders within the power station! These are located on either side of the Accumulator bank (one of them is slightly hidden behind the power station door when it's open). You can store and retrieve the fuses at will with the F key, and their position is saved in the save game per normal. Note: if you are already holding a Grid Fuse when you attempt to interact with a Fuse Holder to retrieve a fuse, you will effectively 'swap' the fuses over - i.e. you can only ever hold one Grid…
- Hydro v1.17 mini-update - 16 September 2025
Hi all, a quick update to solve some bugs and provide some QoL. This takes Hydro to v1.17 (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game). Rare bug fix: in some instances following replacement of the Grid Fuse and obtaining grid sync again, if the player subsequently interacted with something else with the 'E' key, they would be erroneously electrocuted. This has been mitigated and should no longer occur. Reduced rate of window dirt accumulation by 50% across the board; note that some windows still accumulate dirt quicker than other windows (based on their position), but all dirt rates have been reduced by 50% compared to prior to this update Bug fix: the Accumulator charge ammeter would continue to indicate a charge even if Fuse no.3 was blown (and Accumulator was no longer charging). This has been fixed Added a dirt mound under roof-mounted grid insulators. No more need to jump o…
- Hydro v1.16 mini-update - 14 September 2025
Hi all, It's been a busy weekend of updates for Hydro! This is update v1.16 (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game).This mini-patch addresses a few recently-discovered bugs and adds some adjustments and tweaks to the recently-added lightning introduced over the weekend in v1.15.The details of this update are below:Bug fix: previously, if you removed the Accumulator Charge fuse (no. 3) from the fusebox whilst the Accumulator was charging, the Ammeter charge gauge would still read a charge (even though the Accumulator was no longer charging) - this is now resolved (the gauge will read zero as there is no Accumulator charging occurring when the no. 3 fuse is removed)In the Difficulty Settings dialog box, renamed the 'Mouse Sensitivity' and 'Invert Mouse' settings to be more generic 'Camera Sensitivity' and 'Invert Camera Pitch', as these settings also affect game controllers a…
