Hello gardeners,

How was your November? Its certainly been a busy month for The Garden Path. This is an exciting update, with a new Autumn trailer to reveal, plenty of game updates, and even some release date news. Lets get started.

Autumn Trailer

While we may be inching ever closer to the end of Autumn and the oncoming of Winter, its not too late to enjoy the comforts of the season. What better way to feel cosy, then, than with a brand new Autumnal trailer for The Garden Path? Take a peek inside the Gardeners journal, and say hello to some familiar travellers. [previewyoutube=lkt9u-Lv8aQ;full][/previewyoutube] Not only that, but with this trailer were also revealing that The Garden Path will now be blooming in Spring 2023! I understand this might be a disappointing set-back for some, as I had hoped to have the game ready before the year came to an end. It's important to me to make sure I get the game right, and while many have enjoyed the game during our demos and beta builds, with so many more fresh eyes on the game there has been a wealth of feedback for me to work through - be it something 'not feeling right', or sometimes not understanding why certain parts of the game work the way they do. Myself and the team came to the decision that this extra breathing room would be the best option to ensure that the final product is as good as possible when it comes to launch. The game is already so much stronger than it would have been had I decided to keep the builds closed, and I'm confident in how the game will shape up in 2023 - I'll be keeping you posted in my updates as usual! I hope it'll be worth any extra wait - it's well and truly been a privilege having anyone waiting on my work at all.

Game Updates

0.6 has been in-the-works since the summer, and it's a great relief to finally start introducing the changes into the main game. Starting today, the update will be rolling out to different beta platforms for testing. Welcome to the Garden: Weyley and Terracotta! These two sisters will travel to your Garden on-schedule, and carry with them on their caravan all sorts of different garden furnishings they've collected on their travels - they'll be the go-to for larger decorations, planters and paraphernalia. Unlike other travellers, Weyley and Terracotta's stock will be available in the Garden to browse, so you can get a real-world before you buy. Also, before arriving in the Garden, they will notify you when they'll be visiting, and what items they'll be especially looking out for - giving you time to gather-up and get the best deals.
To help keep you notified while playing, the function of the community board has been expanded to support bulletins. While the daily report keeps record of what's happening that day, bulletins will help to give you a heads-up on what will be happening in the coming days. You can now also view the daily report from the community board, should you wish to read it again.
The social tab in the game's overview is now fleshed out to help bring the Garden's residents to the forefront. You now have a record of the residents living in your garden, and your progress to unlocking a new resident. Locked residents are even automatically ordered, so you can see who you're closest to unlocking.
Those who joined me in last week's stream will know we can also welcome in two new residents - Jaime and Leslie! Perhaps no taller, nor wider resident has stepped into the garden until now.
And you might not have to wait too long to meet them, as each day a new resident will now visit the Garden whether unlocked or not. If you haven't met the requirements to unlock a resident, a random resident will visit the Garden to say hi, giving you a chance to see just whos wandering around, and who you might want to stay. Remember: how you customise the Garden will change who wants to call your garden their home. The Garden designer was introduced in the summer to help those who wanted to plot out their vision for the Garden, and now it's becoming the central place to alter and preview your garden design. All furnishings in your inventory can now be accessed through the designer menu, and selecting furnishing from your inventory will also open the menu. It's now much easier to place paths, fencing and garden furnishing while also building projects of your own.
Much of the guess-work has been removed in a small rework of the game's star system. Names of stars now always show, no matter whether you've observed the star or not - important for residents that require certain stars to be unlocked. Observing stars now reveals their unlock requirements. Star maps no longer observe a random star in the sky, but can be used from the star map to unlock a star of your choosing. Constellations are also no longer hidden, allowing you to see which stars you need to focus on to unlock a constellation.
Tea has also received a shake-up. You can now purchase and collect different 'vessels' for containing your tea. You'll start the game with a camping flask, but you'll soon be able to browse and collect various teapots and gaiwans to best suit the tea you're brewing. Different vessels will be able to carry different capacities of tea, keep your tea warmer for longer, or have effects on the brew itself. And new on your equipment list - your favourite mug! A variety of mugs will be available to purchase from travellers for you to sip from. These changes are in place for a planned rework of the player stat system, toward something that feels more impactful while playing - more on that coming soon.
Dye colours are also now shown on botanical items, so you can start to track which items to collect for which colours, as the dye system is rolled out in the coming months for hair and clothes.
And that's me all caught up. Looking forward to hearing any and all feedback. As with any new features in the beta, there may be quirks, oddities, and breakages, all of which I'll be working through in December. Otherwise, plans are to begin a steady trickle-in of 'mini-content' - all the furnishing, clothing and stories that have been in the works but yet to be finalised. Work on finishing up multiplayer and the Switch version begin in January - so hopefully we'll start seeing some footage of each soon, stay tuned! Until next time Louis, carrotcake * Join our Discord server Follow us on Twitter: @fromcarrotcake Check out our TikTok: @fromcarrotcake Find us on Instagram: @fromcarrotcake Keep up via Mastodon: @ldurrant https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638500/The_Garden_Path/

[ 2022-11-30 16:35:16 CET ] [ Original post ]