Hi everyone!

I\'ve been wanting to write an update post for Goodlands for a while now. I got out of school back in June, so I\'ve had quite a bit more free time to work on development for the past month and a half. There\'s so much to share, but first two main items to discuss:

1) I\'m taking the demo down on August 13. At this point, I\'m fully focused on the development of the full release and, because of this, I don\'t have anymore updates planned for the demo. The demo is also quickly becoming [u]unrepresentative[/u] of the full game, and I only want to put the best foot forward when marketing Goodlands.

2) For the full game, I\'m planning on a release in December 2025/January 2026. I\'ve made a lot of progress towards this goal over the summer once I\'m back at school I\'ll be primarily working on content creation (making characters, quests, skeletons, easter eggs, etc.) in addition to multiplayer integration :)

Now for specific updates:

A common refrain in the demo feedback was the desire to forgo the dig site fetch quests and get some more hands-on gameplay related to excavation. My solution to this is having short mini games related to the three tools (shovel, pickaxe, and jackhammer). For each mini game you successfully complete, a fossil crate spawns in. Failing a mini game means your crew will come in to help it will take them a day to produce one fossil crate. So, with this model you can excavate the site entirely in a matter of minutes, as long as you pass all the mini games :)

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/d6c00d6737aac02e13b0731b41ac3e2cfb1733d4.gif\"][/img]

There are now three fossil crates per site instead of one, and each fossil crate corresponds to a portion of the bones found at the site. So, if you deliver less than three crates, you\'ll only be cleaning a portion of the bones. Here you can see some combinations of bones for the hind legs of the albertaceratops depending on which crates have been delivered. I\'ve also added in a zoom feature for cleaning :)

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/c312bfde25995bdba5f744c13daa7b093e6d886f.gif\"][/img]

The difficulty of the mini games varies across dig sites, so I\'ve added in this little sandbox near the main campsite where you can practice the mini games to your heart\'s content (and adjust the difficulty, too).

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/dc74b1c558f682c9a62cc1ea9560ed4f1ae75012.gif\"][/img]

Speaking of dig sites, when you discover a site you get this cool print out from your ground penetrating radar machine.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/c6615b9c1b984a11e0640590ef8e2b22117197b8.gif\"][/img]

In other news, I\'ve implemented fishing into the game at long last! The gif might be hard to understand because it is like 5 fps, but the mini game is essentially a hybrid of the Stardew Valley fishing game and the bouncing DVD logo from way back. You have to try and keep your bobber on top of the fish as it bounces around the box. There\'s still a lot that I need to add to make fishing complete; as it stands currently, it is one of my top priorities for this month.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/89d27032c843103f5eaf2b61eff9cb5f2624bf56.gif\"][/img]

Another common request from demo players was an enhanced map and a quest log. Well, we\'ve got that now! I made this three ring binder that has tabs for map, excavation sites, minor fossils, NPCs, notes, fish, cows, and polaroids. Here\'s a look at the map. You can click on the grid to get an up-close view of that section on the right. There will be icons on the right that you can click on to get more information. There will also be a marker denoting player/truck location and more landmarks to help with orienteering.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/b67beaa238073e0bc6ce9f292a5c0e7f003178c0.gif\"][/img]

For the NPC section of the binder, I wanted cute photos of everyone you meet along with information about what they want/need from you and where they are in the park. When you first talk to a new NPC a polaroid photo will be taken of them and added to the binder... as you can see happening with Larry below.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/28030f94583b0b226895ccfa90bb1378afe46bd8.gif\"][/img]

Here\'s how all the 2D cows will be found... jumping on haystacks around the park! (Credit for this cow goes to Vertebral Giant). The cows will also appear in your binder as you find them.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/35118c732c7f52f17ff0d3f00ddff4858025a140.gif\"][/img]

I\'ve also been working on truck upgrades. Here\'s the nitro boost upgrade. I actually got this working ages ago, but I had to update the code this summer so I\'m showing it off now.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/c660f30f3ab4c05302bc1bc107b89bcd6aa7097e.gif\"][/img]

A big update is the caravan/trailer. Instead of a tent, your character will sleep in this trailer (now that\'s an upgrade!). This will also be where you can modify the look of your character. But the best part is that you can add a hitch to your truck and take the trailer anywhere in the park. This means you can sleep anywhere you want! If you want to fish for a whole week, you can plop the trailer down next to the lake and go crazy. Or maybe you need to work on my dig sites in a far-off corner of the park... just bring your trailer with you and hang out there for a few days. I think this will help make the size of the park much more manageable in the full release.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/60bc2adb3f384459c68fbf74eb63054c90250229.gif\"][/img]

There\'s also now a proper inventory system! You can access any item in the back of your truck and carry it around. This allows for consumable items like dino-mite, fuel cans, etc. as well as tools like a fishing rod, pickaxe, etc. It also means you can hand-deliver items to NPCs.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/0afd2cd66b31fafdaa401d2c50bcc2f6de8022fc.gif\"][/img]

Here\'s the pickaxe in action cracking open rocks to find amber (currency). Amber can be used to buy consumables, truck upgrades, fishing gear, and more.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/6a30dc348ac03e493a566e41293e5c6a41c8fa97.gif\"][/img]

Last thing, I haven\'t really worked on this over the summer at all, but I think it\'s worth showing here. I\'m planning on integrating multiplayer into Goodlands. As stated above, that is one of the main things I\'ll be working on over the next few months in preparation for launch. Here\'s a gif from a multiplayer test I did with my wife earlier this year.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/41392584/6d1eca06c27c20f848ce6e4fec38b2fbb333b1c6.gif\"][/img]

So, that\'s about it for gifs! There\'s a lot of other things I\'ve been cooking up that I can\'t show off right now, but I hope this gets you excited for the full release at the end of the year. I\'m also working on all the bugs that you all have reported, as well as features that make the game more accessible and enjoyable to interact with (making the truck handling better, improving the camera, etc.).

Lately, I\'ve been most active on the Goodlands discord , which you should join if you want more frequent development updates. I\'m also very receptive to feedback and suggestions, so it\'s a good place to make an impact on the game.

If you enjoy posts like these please comment below. I\'d be happy to make more.

Thank you for your continued support!

Josh

Hi everyone! Exciting news for those of you who want to make an impact on Goodlands! If you've played the demo, then you might've bumped into Randy, who has a 2D cow... I want to give him a whole herd for the full release of Goodlands, and I'm hoping you all can help me out!

Please submit original 2D cow drawings for use in the full release of Goodlands. All artistic abilities are welcome :)

Some general guidelines:

• Please submit an image with dimensions: 1280 x 720
• The image must be recognizable as a cow...
• Please keep the cows appropriate (no gore, sexual themes, etc.)
• Images must be exclusively your own work (no use of copyrighted imagery, please!)
• If you would like to be credited for your cow, please provide the name you wish to use
• Be creative all skill levels are welcome! Variety is the goal :)
  

Hi all! I got a bug report in the discord earlier today and this is the patch report for it :) I think it was caused by the recent QoL #2 update...

• Main bug report: Spencer should not be able to interact while he's in the truck, but he could if the player is positioned very specifically! This led to a player having all their tickets stolen (the horror!). I've fixed this, and the Spencer quest line should work as intended now :)
• I added Nico the Nyctosaurus (a new pterosaur I modeled this weekend with a crazy crest) on top of the skull hill to further attract new players to this fossil's location.
• Spelling error in the 100%-ed invertebrate fossil display has been rectified.
  

Hi everyone!

I'm trying to shore up the demo in anticipation of Steam Next Fest next month. As such, I've been going through feedback I've received from all of you (along with things I've noticed streamers encounter) to make the demo that much better for future players. So, thank you to those of you who have left me feedback and bug reports they really help.

As it stands, there's still a lot I want to implement, but here are the changes that come with this updated build:

• Drastically lowered sensitivity for camera (main game) and crosshairs (fossil cleaning mini game), which should help with on-boarding
• There are now button glyphs for Xbox and Playstation controllers (instead of those silly "button west" etc. prompts) Steamdeck glyphs will be coming in a future update!
• I switched the joysticks for the fossil cleaning mini game (I hope this is better!)
• The sensitivity on the gamepad has been scaled to better match mouse sensitivity
• Fossil cleaning mini game SFX slider now works lol
• When taking a selfie, pressing the button again will get rid of the photo faster
• Spencer's interact outline is no longer visible when taking a selfie with him
• Spoiler warning: [spoiler] Officer Beak now has special dialogue once you find out Ova is stealing eggs [/spoiler]
• Spoiler warning: [spoiler] Quetzalcoatlus posing for a photo on a hoodoo now has dialogue! [/spoiler]
• Ranger Carlos no longer gives the clue about a dig site if you've already discovered it
• Transition animation for entering/exiting buildings has been sped up (still working on optimizing so the actual time to load the scene is lower)
• Other bits and bobs :)
  

Hi everyone!

I passed my final exams last week (phew!), so that's freed me up to make some fixes to the demo. I have a few quality of life updates to the demo based on problems I've noticed through your amazing feedback, and by watching streams.

The big points:

• The default sensitivity for the cleaning game has been lowered significantly.
• Input in the opposite direction of the truck velocity will now cause the truck to brake (a lot of players didn't realize that "space" is the brake button but now if the truck is moving forward, "S" also works!).
• The player can exit the truck at slightly higher velocities now.
• The truck handling has been modified slightly there should be less fishtailing, however the truck may flip more easily. I'm sure this is going to take more troubleshooting, but I hope it's moving in the right direction.
• There is now a slight delay after talking with an NPC to avoid situations where players accidentally restart the dialogue (I hate it when that happens!).
• Dig crew member will now mention sleep the first time you deliver a needed item to reinforce that idea.
  

Hi again! Just wanted to drop in and say that the discord server for Goodlands is up and running! Join if you'd like to keep updated on development or chat more about the demo, dinos, etc.

We hit 1,000+ unique players on the demo today, too! Really cool stuff.

I'm also thinking that sometime in the next month or so I'll do a beta test for a new-and-improved version of the fossil cleaning minigame.

Thanks to all of you for being so supportive. I hope to see you in the server soon :)

Hi everyone!

I've heard from a lot of people that the mouse/look sensitivity kinda sucks! I've messed around with the settings and I think I've got the sensitivity to a much better place. One player who reviewed the demo pointed out that the mouse seemed to be clamped to a maximum speed (which was true!). So I've switched to a different setting for the camera, along with new sensitivity values, and I think it feels better.

You may still need to adjust the sensitivity (and there is still no separate x vs. y slider), but I hope that the camera feels less unwieldy at this point. For those of you who have already played some, the camera sensitivity will be set to the new mode the next time you load the game. I hope it makes the demo more enjoyable/playable :)

Please let me know if it feels worse, or if it's still not in a place that you would like!

Thank you to all of you who have tried the demo and given me feedback! You're amazing!

Additional changes in this patch:

• Y-Axis inversion is no longer the default (sorry about that!)
• Ann gives a button prompt the first time she radios you
• Tori at the camp tells the player to sleep when they run out of fuel
  

Hi all! Thanks for playing the demo I hope you're having a good time with it :)

Two players alerted me to a bug with the invertebrate fossil achievement: despite finding 8/8 invertebrate fossils, the steam achievement was logging it as 7/8.

This patch fixes that issue, and it also should award players who have found all 8 invertebrate fossils with the achievement the next time they load their save file.

If there's any issues with this, please let me know!

Thanks for all the support,
Josh