How has it been a month already Hey everyone, that's right it's been one month now since the release of Horticular and we just want to say thank you to everyone who has bought or wishlisted the game since it's first announcement right up to release and beyond. Because of the great support you've shown it's allowing us to continue adding to Horticular in a range of fun and exciting ways - we've had a lot of people asking about future plans for the game and we wanted to share with you the initial roadmap which will hopefully take us into the start of 2025 (how is August already!?)
AS WITH ALL ROADMAPS, THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS DEVELOPMENT CAN BE A PESKY LITTLE THING AND SOMETIMES LITTLE KEEPERS GET INTO THE CODE AND JUST MAKE THINGS NOT PAN OUT FOR VARIOUS REASONS. With that said, what do we have planned for the next few updates outside of hotfixes? Well, the first thing is going to be a big QoL patch which sets its sights on addressing some of the issues players are having with the habitat mechanic. It won't fully resolve all issues as some of these are by design for the game (you have control over the placement of plants and garden items, the creatures have control over their own lives gosh darn it). However we do understand some mechanics either haven't panned out as intuitive or fun as initially planned so here is what the first update is looking like it will consist of...

Root Refinement (September) - FREE UPDATE

Refines the existing experience with the goal of making the game more approachable via QoL, without adding new mechanics or major alterations. Below are some of the planned changes, anything that says Testing is well, in testing, and may not make it to patch.

• Large UI settings tailored for small devices or playing on screens farther away. The notable example is the Steam Deck which defaults to the large UI mode.
• New controller glyphs for common brands Playstation/Switch/Steam Deck.
• Polishing the habitat experience to make maintaining existing habitats smoother.
• Add a method to peacefully let a creature leave or leave a habitat. (No more needing to banish the poor things)
• Unify the UI experience more as the current habitat overlay displays less info than the tool, forcing players to use the tool on habitats just to see its details.
• New ways to control habitat formation. Think scarecrow but for all creatures.
• Some way to prohibit curious creatures altogether for given species.
• Booster item or so for creature attraction speed.
• Testing: Warning when an item wrecks a habitat.
• Testing: Habitat nudging.
• Testing: Will try to think outside the habitat square to see if theres a different way to go about the habitats that doesnt alter the mechanics and still keeps the independent nature of the animals. For example not concretizing habitats until the player settles a creature, allowing for a larger range of settling options.
• Will not: Allow the player to freely add/zone habitats as the puzzle and joy of discovering species depends on the independent nature of the animals.
• Settings to customize the experience further.
• Further tutorial polish.
• Some minor content cut from the initial release.

We would have hoped to have this out sooner but Horticular has been chosen to be shown at the Indie Arena Booth at Gamescom this year (come say hi if you're attending for some sweet Horticular swag)! This means Robert will be out of development action whilst manning the booth - though it does mean we can see some of this update in action and see how players respond to some changes. Following the meaty QoL patch work will begin on the next major update with some seasonal stuff released in the mean time such as:

Halloween Update - FREE UPDATE

Minor content update providing a spooky theme, some minor temporary themed gameplay, and a new creature (bat).

December Holidays Update - FREE UPDATE

Minor holiday-themed update with some temporary associated gameplay. After the themed updates we then move on to the first DLC for the game. Our philosophy with our paid DLC is to release a free update alongside them which will add new QoL mechanics and new features that work with the base game and it's content, alongside a chunk of new content that works directly in unison with these new mechanics. With that said, here is what we have planned

Colder Climates (Winter 2024-2025) FREE UPDATE & PAID DLC

Update that takes the game into colder climates, adding snow and alpine landscapes with new properties, some mechanical twists, and content holistically packaged. The DLC portion of the update will have most if not all of the major additions, but the free update might still contain some mechanical additions.

2025 Onwards

We have some interesting things planned after this first DLC (again, subject to change) but here is a couple of hints for future things in emoji form - leave a comment if you can guess what they hint at (one emoji per update / DLC) Again, thank you all so much for the interest you've shown in Horticular, whether you've played the main game, the demo, wishlisted it, made a mod, or even just interacted on a steam post or our socials - it's been a wild ride and we're glad to have you along for the next leg of the adventure.