Floodgate

Floodgate is a building used to control water flow by adjusting the effective height of a barrier. The structure’s height can be set to any value between 0 and 1 (inclusive) in 0.05 increments, and water levels above the specified height spill through the floodgate while water at or below that level do not flow through. The floodgate affects water depth over a one-tile range of adjustment, so its maximum blocking depth is 1 tile when fully raised.

The floodgate provides three commonly used discrete adjustment options that represent useful control points in gameplay. Setting the height to 1.0 raises the floodgate to a full 1 tile and completely shuts the gate, blocking up to 1.0 tile of water. Setting the height to 0.5 positions the gate half a tile high, allowing some water to flow over while maintaining a 0.5 tile blocked depth. Setting the height to 0.0 lowers the gate fully so it blocks 0.0 tiles and allows the maximum amount of water through. Which setting is best depends on the local hydraulic situation and the player’s goals at the moment.

Floodgate include an option to synchronize the height of all adjacent floodgates. This synchronization option is enabled by default, causing neighboring floodgates to match heights unless the player explicitly disables synchronization for a specific gate.

• Floodgate height adjustment range is 0.00–1.00 in 0.05 increments; water above the set height spills through while water at or below the set height is held back.
• The effective blocking depth equals the set height and the floodgate’s maximum blocking depth is 1.0 tile when set to 1.0.
• Three commonly used preset positions are 1.0 (completely closed), 0.5 (partially closed/open), and 0.0 (completely open); choose among them based on desired retained depth and permitted flow.
• Adjacent floodgates can be synchronized; the synchronization is turned on by default to keep neighboring gates at the same height.