Deeper Cultivation — a big update before the second demo
Hi! Since you last saw The Headlands, the game has gone deeper. I called this update "Deeper Cultivation" — because while adding mechanics, I dug myself into development up to my ears. Here's what's new.
Vehicles actually drive now
Tractors used to just appear next to the field. Word is the local Old Soothsayer teleported them. But the Old Man moved to the city, so now the machinery drives on roads like everyone else.
Most trucks now also have a special bed for carrying tractors. If the head farmer allows it — the tractor loads itself onto the platform, rides as a passenger to a distant field, and gets on with its job. The truck will pick it up from the field on its own too, if needed. It looks the way it should look in the countryside: a column of machinery crawling along a dirt road at dawn. And the fleet has grown in the meantime — 6 new trucks and a fresh tractor in the garage.
20 crops, and each one has its own story
From buckwheat and wheat to poppy, flax, and sunflower. And now there are vegetables too — potatoes, carrots, onions, beets, garlic — with a dedicated vegetable harvester to match.
Each crop has its own growth time, its own yield, and its own market price — and prices live a life of their own. You can time the moment and sell high. Or you can grow a perfect field of buckwheat right when the market crashes. Not pleasant, but true to life 😄
The time of day, and that same sunrise
The sun moves across the sky now. In the morning fog settles over the fields, daylight is bright and even, and toward evening comes that same golden hour — warm low sun, long shadows, air like honey. If there's no time to wait — there's a skip to the next day. The atmosphere of a 2000s village is now in the air itself, not just in the machinery.
A thousand little things you won't notice (and that's good)
Most of the time went not into new mechanics, but into polishing the old ones. Field work windows now remember your choice of machinery. The garage interface has been reworked. Popups behave predictably, the camera doesn't jerk around, and controls feel cleaner. Small things — but they're exactly what makes a game pleasant to play.
What's next
Ahead lies the second demo with all of this inside. I'm working on machinery wear and repair (the service station is already standing, Sydorovych is looking for mechanics), loans, and expanding the story. I'll announce the demo date separately — stay tuned 🙂
If you enjoyed The Headlands — add the game to your wishlist on Steam. For me, a solo developer, every wishlist truly means a lot.
Thanks for being here ⚙️🌾