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Hello Fellow Engineers!

Welcome to the Real Civil Newsletter - the only newsletter where ancient bridges go nowhere, skyscrapers go twisty, and tanks come with more saw blades than an architect has opinions.

This week, we’re reviewing:

• Iraq’s soon-to-be tallest tower (built by engineers, not ego)

• A 600-year-old bridge that proves rivers are optional

• A free indie game where I create a weaponized lawnmower and survive a cake invasion

Plus: drones that morph, robots that fix pipes, and a fishing game that may or may not involve emotional damage.

Let’s dive into it 👇

This week, we’re giving away a copy of Becastled and a copy of Puffin Planes! 🏰✈️

Whether you’re into defending castles from cartoon chaos or zooming around in a puffin-powered aircraft (don’t ask, just play), this week’s giveaway has you covered.

And now, the moment of truth… 🥁

🏆 toy.andy🏆
🏆 alexander682872🏆

Check your inbox for your Steam key and get ready to siege, soar, and silently judge poor structural decisions.

Missed out? Don’t worry - more giveaways are coming faster than an architect dodging responsibility.

Want in on the next one? Make sure you vote in this week’s poll.

👷‍♂️ Truss Me, I’m an Engineer…

Baghdad Edition: Towering Over the Architects

Somewhere in Baghdad, engineers just pulled off a flex so hard it probably caused a minor tremor. The upcoming Central Bank of Iraq Tower has officially topped out, and it’s already casting shade on the skyline, and on every architect who thought “twisty” was a structural plan.

This beast of a tower is set to be the tallest building in Iraq, stretching 172 meters (564 feet) into the sky. And while it’s technically still under construction (with final touches slated for completion in 2025), we’re calling it: this thing is an engineering mic drop.

Let’s not pretend this was an architect-led miracle:

• Zaha Hadid Architects may have drawn the scribble, but it was WSP’s engineers who turned that spaghetti-looking fever dream into a seismic-resistant megastructure.

• Built by Daax Construction and J&P Avax, who deserve hazard pay for having to translate architect-speak into actual blueprints that don’t break the laws of physics.

• We’re talking over a million labor hours, 100,000+ cubic meters of concrete, and enough rebar to make even the most stubborn curve behave.

The tower had to overcome:

• A seismic zone, because nature’s got jokes.

• Proximity to the Tigris River, so foundation engineering had to be dialed up to "hero mode."

• The added bonus of a sky garden halfway up, because why not create a jungle in the sky and pretend wind shear isn’t real?

The real win? Engineering made this possible, not some geometry-loving architect scribbling curves like they’re on a sugar high.

⚡ Cool Links

🤖 Mid‑Air Transformer Drone Rolls Onto Stage
Engineers just unveiled a real‑life “Transformer” drone that morphs mid‑flight, smoothly rolling on landing before scurrying away. Watch it shape‑shift like it’s annoyed by an architect's blueprint.

🚧 Cryogenic Hydrogen Storage System for Next‑Gen Aircraft
Researchers and engineers designed a liquid‑hydrogen storage and delivery system that could drastically reduce aviation emissions. Now that’s real engineering.

🌊 Tiny Robots Repair Water Pipes Without Digging
Micro‑robots now fix leaky pipes under roads… no giant excavators (or architects’ useless pretty road plans) needed. The future is here!

🎮 Best Simulation Games of 2025 (Cities: Skylines 2 Tops the Charts!)
TechRadar names Cities: Skylines 2 the top sim of 2025, alongside Kerbal Space Program and Euro Truck Sim 2. Indie devs, take notes, engineer the systems, not just the aesthetics.

🍣 They made me behead fish for financial gains..
Scale The Depths is a fishing game, that's all you need to know!

🧱 Poll Results Are In!

You voted. You yelled (politely). You demanded answers.

And with 62.07% of the vote, the people have spoken: you want the release date.

Well… here it is.

🗓️ ‘Civil Draft’ launches its preorder campaign on July 17th at 5PM BST!
That’s:

• 9AM PT (Pacific Time – West Coast USA)

• 12PM ET (Eastern Time – East Coast USA)

• 6PM CEST (Central European Summer Time)

• 1AM JST (July 18th) (Japan Standard Time – sorry, night owls!)

Mark your calendars, reinforce your shelves, and prepare to overengineer your deck.

But wait, there’s EVEN more.

Every preorder comes with a FREE bonus pack, and here’s where it gets fun:

• This pack contains exclusive alternate art and blueprint variant cards

• The only way to get these is by preordering Civil Draft

• As the community unlocks stretch goals during the preorder campaign, more cards get added to the pack

We’ve got seven new cards lined up - can we unlock them all?

Only you can make it happen. Hit those goals. Fill the pack.

And when the site goes live, one of the first stretch goals will let YOU vote to turn one item or half art card into a full, edge-to-edge rare beauty.

More details coming soon. Start the countdown.

🛎️ Don’t miss it - click below to add the launch to your calendar and be first in line when Civil Draft goes live.

Google Calendar | Outlook | Office365

🐕‍🦺 Paddy’s Corner

Oh dear Pad...

Watch the saddest video on youtube as Paddy breaks his new stick trying to get it past a fallen tree… 😥😥

👾 Indie Game of the Week:

The Central Bank of Iraq Tower may be Iraq’s tallest building, but unlike my tank in Vehicle No. 4, it sadly doesn’t come with spinning saw blades or plasma cannons. Still, it's a real feat of engineering, which means no architects were left unsupervised.

🛠️ Watch me turn scrap into a circular saw death tank in my latest indie deep dive!

🕹️ Then go try it yourself!

👉 Play the FREE demo of Vehicle No. 4 on Steam

The full game launches this August. Build smart, shoot faster.

It’s time for a Bridge Review!

This bizarre triangular stone anomaly might look like a medieval architect lost a bet, but Trinity Bridge in Crowland is pure engineering mischief from the 14th century.

Built to span three converging streams (yes, three), it’s a triple-arch, three-way stone footbridge. Think of it as the medieval roundabout of bridges, only without the traffic and with 100% more genius masonry.

Each arch meets at a central apex, balancing load before "finite element analysis" was even a sketch on a napkin.

And here’s the kicker: the rivers are gone, but the bridge is still standing, because engineers think long-term, and architects think... about aesthetics.

Architects might say, “Why does it go nowhere?”

Engineers say, “Why is it still standing 600 years later, Karen?”

Final Score:
8.7/10 – Ancient, angular, and absurdly ahead of its time.

Extra points for functionality.

🏗 r/realcivilengineer Spotlight

🤔 Thoughts from an Engineer