It's been a busy few weeks!
We want to say another massive, heartfelt thank you to all of you for playing, reviewing and enjoying our game! We have been hard at work addressing all of your feedback and hope you've been enjoying the improvements we've been implementing to Skystead Ranch.
From the now usable chests, new camera controls and numerous bug fixes, we are proud of what we have been able to add to Skystead Ranch in a few short weeks! We hope you've enjoyed these changes too and would love to hear your thoughts on what we've implemented as we believe there is always room for improvement! 💖
Here's a breakdown of what else we've been working on and what to expect in the coming weeks.
Preparations Begin for Sky Island Events and Parties!
Something that has been on the roadmap for Skystead Ranch since almost the beginning, is seasons events! With Easter just around the corner, we have begun preparations for the first major in-game event!
Firstly, we need a place for the events to be delivered! Check out the new Event Pier large buildable spot that Laura is working on, it's still a work in progress so check it out in the game when the events begin to see the final product.
Yolk
With the first event being our Easter Eggstravaganza, we of course are adding an Egg-based Skylet! Check our Yolk which Jack created on stream last week! The VOD of this stream is available on our YouTube if you want to see more in-depth behind-the-scenes.
We don't want to give too much away about the event before it goes live, so check back in April to see what magical activities we have in store for you!
A Free Beach Island Update
A huge thank you once again to our Kickstarter backers who got us over the line for our Beach Island stretch goal! With your help, we are now able to create a whole new island for you all to play on and find even more exotic Skylets!
Coming in the next couple of months is a whole new, free addition to Skystead Ranch. Make sure you have the lift and water wheel built to take the trip down to the beach along with brand new Sand and Deep Water spells! 😎
These new spells will be crucial for you to attract a whole new array of Skylets! Jack is working hard right now to get these cute additions ready! If it loves the hot sands or cool deep water, you can expect to find it with the new additions to your spell book!
This is Nessi, a large, water-based Skylet that you will have to learn how to attract and befriend!
As you can see, they are still a work in progress (hence not having any eyes yet!), but it hopefully gives you an idea of what you can expect with this free addition coming soon!
Player House Progress
Another big request from you all is the player house which we are very excited to get working as we planned! Laura has been crafting a variety of in-house furniture for you all to buy and build when the house becomes usable!
You'll notice there are a variety of beds, this is due to the request from players to be able to pass the time quicker when you want day or night to come back around! We didn't originally plan for the ability to skip time in Skystead Ranch but your request for this makes sense to us and so Laura is laying the groundwork for Rob to add this with the rest of the house implementation.
Let us know what you think of the designs!
What's Coming Next?
We're working around the clock to get the roadmap promises implemented along with all of the important bug fixing, so thank you all for your patience in getting this ready! We still have a few bits to do to get up-to-date with the roadmap and these will be getting added in the coming updates.
Rob our programmer is taking a much-needed break over March since he is over 200 hours over his work hours! That's real dedication and we know he needs to take time to fully relax and recuperate. This means there won't be any updates throughout next month, but you can expect to see a whole bunch of big exciting things in April when he's back and ready to go!
Thank you for your understanding and we wish Rob the best break ever to get back to normal! 💖
Skystead Merch
A little treat we've been working on outside of game development is some Skystead Ranch-related merch! From embroidered hats to mugs and posters, we have some exciting things in the pipeline! Keep an eye on our news and website for when these go live to purchase so you can represent your Skylets outside of your Ranch!
Patch Notes V1.0.41
New Features
- The Settings Menu now supports controller!
- Added press and hold functionality to quickly navigate UI with a controller.
Bug Fixes and Misc
- Fixed a bug that stopped Skylet info cards from appearing in the cave.
- Skylets can no longer get stuck on any of the Kitchen equipment.
- Corrected a typo in the Roadmap screen.
- Removed additional engine light from the Sky Island Light object. Now only toon lighting exists as intended.
- The cooker now uses toon lighting when activated.
- Fixed a bug where when building an object, the forward direction of the object was visible when it shouldn't and vice versa. For example, the Fishing Hole no longer shows this arrow and the Simple Sundial now does.
- Fixed a bug where some users got locked into a position where they didn't own the Rock Spell but it was tagged as purchased.
- Fixed a bug where purchasing a new buildable item in the shop could sometimes allow you to access an object you shouldn't have access to.
- The buildable objects tab in the shop now is split into two sections (purchased and available to purchase). Very much like the Spells tab and the Large Buildable tab, hopefully, this makes the page a lot more satisfying as you can visually see how much you have progressed on this screen.
- The Watering Can is now fixed. This is an item that we were using for giveaways for launch. If anyone wants a key for one of these, just message either Toastie_Lee or Toastie_Rob in our Discord 🙂
- Minor issue but the default text for which terraforming mode you are in when you first enter the cave now defaults to the intended "Earth".
- Fixed a bug where some settings menu items weren't accessible on a controller.
- Many controller camera inputs have changed to give better control and to better support the free-look camera setting.
- The rail bolts on the cave entrance asset no longer have flipped normals.
- Disabled the wind movement effect on the smaller tree asset because the base of the trunk was moving back and forth when it shouldn't.
- Fixed an issue with Nomshroom Item causing the player to be pushed around
- Fixed the hit box of the Growl Hut so you can walk inside.