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D.O.R.F. is designed so that the ground itself is part of the fight. The developers have described craters from heavy weapons, trenches dug by infantry, workers that reshape the land, stacking cliffs, destructible bridges and water that can flow and drain. Much of this is still being built. The August 2026 development update said that month went almost entirely into terrain features, and that more terrain work would come before the map makers start on complete maps. The game had not been released as of September 2026, so this page describes planned and in-development features, not a finished product.

Terrain Deformation

A terrain-altering warhead was added as a last-minute addition before the Kickstarter trailer was recorded, as described in the End of March 2026 update. The End of March 2026 update described it as a simple system for now: a shell craters the ground where it lands, with settings for how large the crater is.

Most weapons will not do this. The developers said it would get annoying if every small explosion warped the terrain, so terrain deformation warheads are reserved for very heavy weapons, which the update named as heavy artillery and superweapons.

Worker Terraforming and Trenches

Craters are meant to be only the start. Worker units are planned to level terrain by hand and to dig pits or raise mounds. In a November 2023 reply the developers gave three uses: flattening ground to extend how far a base can be built, digging ditches, and piling mounds that slightly slow approaching vehicles. The March 2026 update added that these earthworks can complement a base's defenses.

Basic infantry are planned to dig trenches that shelter defending troops. A trench dug wide enough can also hold vehicles and field artillery. In April 2026 the developers listed occupying trenches among the jobs meant to keep infantry useful at every stage of a match, alongside storming and garrisoning buildings (see Combat and Unit Control).

Ground Types and Slopes

Ground type already affects movement. In November 2023 the developers said terrain types such as pavement raise or lower the speed of certain units, and that players will eventually be able to build pavement, though that feature had not been added at the time.

Slopes are handled partly by the "3D Sprites" shader shown in June 2025, which lets vehicles tilt and pitch even though they are 2D sprites. The developers said this fixes vehicles staying oddly flat while driving up or down a slope. A March 2025 list of remaining work also included changing unit speed on uphill and downhill movement and taking that into account in pathfinding.

Cliffs, Bridges and Roads

Cliffs were a weak point early on. In July 2023 the developers said the map editor of the time did not really allow cliffs or elevated terrain. By March 2025 the goal was cliffs that work like building blocks, which can be stacked and painted in the map editor instead of the fixed-height cliffs used in many older 2D RTS games.

The August 2026 update covered this dynamic cliff system in detail. Cliffs can stack to any height and blend into ramps, which allows paths up onto plateaus and narrow ridgeway passages. Each cliff piece is modeled in Maya, detailed in ZBrush and textured in Substance, then rendered with custom depth sprites so that units drive over and behind the pieces correctly. The first batch came out misaligned, with visible seams and bad depth data, and went back for rework. Once the layout is settled, the team plans concrete, metal and asphalt cliffs for megacity maps and other urban areas.

The same update listed further terrain work:

• Destructible bridges of several kinds, including large freeway overpasses and small river crossings for infantry. Preliminary work on these was shown.

• Dirt roads. The artwork was finished and needed to be cut into pieces and added to the terrain ruleset; the depth maps reuse those of the flat and ramp tiles.

• Narrow mountain passes, named as one of the map features the terrain work is meant to allow.

The developers want all terrain features finished before the map makers build complete campaign and skirmish maps, so that levels do not need to be redone later.

Water

Water is planned to be partially simulated instead of existing only as fixed terrain tiles. The December 2025 naval design post said water levels will be dynamic: if the ground holding back a reservoir is destroyed, the water drains and flows from tile to tile. The developers gave three reasons for the approach. It fixes a number of graphical problems, it lets water work with the terraforming features, and much of the code already exists, because the flow simulation written for pipeline structures can be adapted to water on terrain. The April 2026 update grouped dynamic water with cliffs and roads in a planned overhaul of the terrain system.

Water matters in combat as well. Standing in water gives infantry some protection from flames, and larger bodies of water are the setting for naval combat and amphibious transport routes.

Biomes and Map Themes

The developers have named several environments they plan to add. The dates show when each was described.

The April 2026 update expected the terrain overhaul covering snow and Megacity terrain to start around early summer 2026. By the end of August the team was working almost entirely on terrain and planned to continue in September.

Weather, Light and Time of Day

In April 2024 the developers said weather will most likely be a cosmetic effect, though something like lightning storms might be added. In August 2024 they said they were unsure about weather and would almost certainly not add a day and night cycle, since it creates problems of its own.

Lighting does much of the atmospheric work instead. The lighting design described in 2023 is meant to let a map's sun position be shifted, so some maps can be set at unusual times of day. Since March 2026 each map can also have its own haze and fog settings, and fog can be made thicker at low or high elevations, for example to create misty lowland bogs. Thicker fog makes the beams of spotlights and vehicle headlights more visible. As of the March 2026 update, maps were limited to 100 light sources, and the team planned to move to Forward+ rendering to lift that cap.

Fire

Fire is a hazard, not just an effect on damaged buildings. The developers have said fire can spread and kill or injure units. A June 2025 reply added more detail:

• Fire patches hurt units that get too close, and units generally try to avoid crossing them.

• Water gives infantry some protection from flames.

• Flamethrowers and certain other weapons can hit infantry garrisoned inside buildings, and flamethrowers are useful for clearing infantry out of trenches.

• An accuracy penalty for flame weapons against vehicles was not planned at the time, though it was not ruled out.

Flame weapons turn up across the roster. The Warband Tribes are planned to field Raiders with Molotov cocktails and fuel supply vehicles armed with flame weapons.

Civilians, Critters and Map Detail

In April 2026 the developers said civilians, civilian cars and harmless wandering critters are definitely in the game. More hostile wildlife was possible but not guaranteed.

The April 2026 update showed civilian vehicles being finished and added: buses, semi trucks, and trailers such as fuel tankers, freight trailers and mobile homes. They are more than scenery. Like the scrap piles already on maps, civilian vehicles can be hauled back to base by resource units and turned into resources, and some trailers hold supplies and fuel that can be used. Derelicts can be salvaged and plane wrecks harvested as well; the details are in Resources and Logistics.

Infantry can garrison civilian buildings. The old Powerplant and wind turbine sprites became map props after the May 2026 rework made Power a resource for The Collective only. In May 2026 the team also planned to hire contract artists for in-universe advertisements and propaganda posters to dress the maps.

Underground Features

Since 2023 the developers have talked about a planned subterranean mechanic, and the press kit mentions mining ore beneath the surface. In August 2023 they said the underground mechanic was still a long way off, and no development update through August 2026 confirmed that ore tunneling had been implemented. The May 2026 update did describe planned Warband tunnel networks that move supplies and troops between two entrances out of sight.