Kokorokon came and passed, and it was great! We were happy to talk with lots of you and present the game to an entirely new audience: Anime Lovers! The -75% Discount for Kokorokon will run 1-2 more days, so if you want to grab the game, best do it now :) There is a new Update on the Beta branch with a couple of fixes - in part mentioned by you during the convention. We're testing and expanding on it, so if you try it, let us know if you encounter any problems. Once stable, we will move these fixes towards the main branch - with a few surprises! Finally, a friend of ours released his first game on Steam last night and we suggest to definitely check it out -> https://store.steampowered.com/app/3222950/Project_KNOSSOS/

• Fixed French Spelling/Grammar
• Remastered Dialogue Audio (ongoing)
• Reworked Journal:
  • Improved Filters and Tracking
  • Added Memories
  • Changed Rewards to have to be claimed
  • Improved Visuals and Animation
• Reworked Shaders: Cell Shading
• Updated buildings, added Snow to them in Winter
• Fixed a bug with Steam & Discord Rich Presence Initialization
• Fixed a bug with townspeople leaving lights on during the day
• Fixed Description for Chapter 3 not showing up
• Fixed a loading issue with Rosa Mayer's Grocery
• Fixed several bugs with paying Lukas (Story: The bill comes due)
• Added Info when Stores are closed at the current location
• Updated Pathfinding
• Fixed Music during Intro Cutscene
• Minor Changes preparing for 0.4.0

We will be attending Pixel Vienna 2024 as part of the cre-at Indie Area! Playtest the latest build with us and chat about Game Development. Attendence is free so if you're in Vienna, be sure to come by - not just for us, but also Pixel Vienna with great lectures. Save the Date:

• November 8th 2024 10 AM to 6 PM
• November 9th 2024 10 AM to 6 PM

Welcome to a little town in the Austrian Alps called Hochboden! This marks the official Early Access Release of "The Shepherd: Black Sheep". Thank you to everyone who contributed in some form or another already!

Feedback

The Release: 0.3.0

• Seasons are visually more distinctive (ongoing changes)
• Visuals have been improved for most aspects of the game
• More music has been added
• Localization updates

• Release of Chapter 3: Settled In
• Release of Exploration with the first Hiking Area, unlocked in Chapter 3

Additional stuff we got to today for 0.3.1:

• Fixed giving gifts to Townspeople
• Improved gravity's hold on dog treats, so Rocky can eat them *chomp*
• Fixed Spelling and Grammar in German Localization

The Road ahead

• Training Update for Competitions
• Sheepherding and Dog Show Competitions
• Chapter 4 release
• Graphics overhaul
• Tutorials rework
• Journal rework

We've been working hard to integrade Feedback from Gamecity Vienna into the Demo already while working on new features for release, despite team members being sick! We hope you enjoy the Demo and we can't wait to show you what's next.

Patch Notes

• Fixed an issue with VoiceOver
• Fixed ItemIcons for Torch and Stick
• Improved Rocky's animation handling during training
• Fixed a bug in Rocky's Brain causing him to run off for no reason at all
• Fixed a bug making Items unusable in Training after having used one before
• Improved choice viewport scroll in Dialogues
• Fixed an issue with French and German Locales being swapped in some places
• Reduced Speed of Herding EdgePan
• Fixed Locales in Herding Pop Up
• Improved Herding Visuals
• Added Cooldown to Herding Commands, reduced whistling
• Improved MM & Training Scene Visuals
• Fixed a bug blocking a loaded Encounter from finishing
• Fixed a bug allowing to take a turn too early in Encounters
• Reduced glint in Rocky's Eyes
• Improved Tutorials (ongoing)
• Added new Hochboden Background Music
• Adjusted Audio Mix
• Made first trust value lower in Story

Today the Austrian Streamer Low3t plays the Demo live as Developers answer your Questions in chat! Tune in at 10:30 AM CEST today for a quick look at the Demo during Steam Next October 2024. This stream will only be available in German and the game will be played in German as well. Good hike!

Hello Steam Next! Welcome to all the players trying out the Demo of The Shepherd: Black Sheep for the first time during Steam Next (October 2024). We're looking forward to your feedback on our Discord! There will be a patch later this week adressing some of the bugs and feedback provided during Gamecity Vienna where we were happy to meet a lot of you!

Patch Notes:

• Fixed a bug with Selling not Triggering required Story Task
• Fixed a bug with not stopping highlighted Buttons
• Fixed a bug that could break dialogue sometimes
• Rebaked Lighting in Hub
• Added a cutscene to coming home
• Added Matthias Model
• Updated Several Icons
• Rebalanced and polished Herding
• Added Pause on Steam Overlay
• Animation Pass (Shrug, Surprise, Lipsync, Blinking)
• Updated Several Textures

Thoughts:

Were thrilled to announce that our first game, The Shepherd: Black Sheep, a captivating and cozy RPG set in the Austrian Alps, is now listed on Steam! During Steam Next in October youll be able to Demo the game, followed by an Early Access launch as soon as its ready. Developed with immense dedication by our team, we aim to complete Early Access to the game this very year. So get ready to climb the Alps in The Shepherd: Black Sheep and experience an unforgettable adventure thats bound to leave you hooked! Herd sheep, play with your trusty Shepherd dog, and meet all the folks in town. But beware! Danger may lurk around the next bush in the form of a wolf, and its your duty to protect the flock together with your canine best friend. Stay tuned for more updates as the release draws near. Well keep you informed with Devlogs and special treats, so join our Discord or follow us on Social Media!