Fishing Patch out now!
Gosh y’all - it’s been a while since we released a whole big patch for Garden of the Sea, but here we are with not one, not two, but three really big updates for you, bundled into one handy-dandy patch! We’d love to take a moment to tell you about all the juicy new code behind these updates, and what it means for you.
TLDR;
At the beginning of 2020 we began work in earnest on reworking the system in Garden of the Sea which handles the Save Game data. This was a huge undertaking, since we quickly learned that we would need to create a save system which future-proofs (as much as possible) for future content updates, and doesn’t just save stuff that’s been built in the past. That way everyone who has bought and played the game in the past can easily open up a newer version of Garden of the Sea and their save data will be intact, their progress saved.
Once that was done, work started on our Fishing Patch. Alongside this, we also began work on what we are calling the Painting System. Both of these systems are designed to broaden the interaction possibility with the other systems currently in-game, and provide little moments of fun and customization that we felt fit really well within this universe.
The painting system allows you to utilize the vibrant colors of several plants you’ve cultivated, mirroring their hues on any crafted item you have unlocked and built in the world. Make your house truly spectacular with bright purples and blues, or maybe set up a row of pastel fences around your precious radishes (you can never be too careful with those cheeky puffkins around). We really want to open up the door to even more customization and personalization in your garden, and making this island your home.
The fishing system was a natural extension of the in-game boat (our ode to smooth locomotion) and something that we always knew was going to exist in the game, but we were never sure exactly _how_ it would exist. Would you have a hook? Was the game easy with no skill-check? Was it difficult with no fail-state? Was it frustrating, or relaxing? In the end I think we landed on a good balance of the above, in large part thanks to the help and feedback of our wonderful Discord community. The fish also have a pond to help nurture the fishies you’ve found and brought home to your island.
So without further ado - here are the patch notes for this Fishing, Painting, and Save System update for Garden of the Sea:
[h2]Bigger stuff[/h2]
[h2]Smaller stuff[/h2]
Good to know
Save files are now saved in %userprofile%/AppData/LocalLow/Neat Corporation/Garden of the Sea/Saves instead of your Documents folder
It will not be possible to load your old save files, even if you copy them to the new directory
TLDR;
- Fishing mechanic/gameplay added.
- Painting system for all crafted items.
- New quest to unlock the boat, painting system, and fishing rod.
- Save system rework.
At the beginning of 2020 we began work in earnest on reworking the system in Garden of the Sea which handles the Save Game data. This was a huge undertaking, since we quickly learned that we would need to create a save system which future-proofs (as much as possible) for future content updates, and doesn’t just save stuff that’s been built in the past. That way everyone who has bought and played the game in the past can easily open up a newer version of Garden of the Sea and their save data will be intact, their progress saved.
Once that was done, work started on our Fishing Patch. Alongside this, we also began work on what we are calling the Painting System. Both of these systems are designed to broaden the interaction possibility with the other systems currently in-game, and provide little moments of fun and customization that we felt fit really well within this universe.
The painting system allows you to utilize the vibrant colors of several plants you’ve cultivated, mirroring their hues on any crafted item you have unlocked and built in the world. Make your house truly spectacular with bright purples and blues, or maybe set up a row of pastel fences around your precious radishes (you can never be too careful with those cheeky puffkins around). We really want to open up the door to even more customization and personalization in your garden, and making this island your home.
The fishing system was a natural extension of the in-game boat (our ode to smooth locomotion) and something that we always knew was going to exist in the game, but we were never sure exactly _how_ it would exist. Would you have a hook? Was the game easy with no skill-check? Was it difficult with no fail-state? Was it frustrating, or relaxing? In the end I think we landed on a good balance of the above, in large part thanks to the help and feedback of our wonderful Discord community. The fish also have a pond to help nurture the fishies you’ve found and brought home to your island.
So without further ado - here are the patch notes for this Fishing, Painting, and Save System update for Garden of the Sea:
[h2]Bigger stuff[/h2]
- Save system overhaul (now built to be far more robust for future updates).
- Fishing mechanic first version implemented (yay!).
- Fish system for pools of fish in the ocean of varying types.
- Quest-line implemented for unlocking the boat.
- Painting system for customizing crafted items implemented.
- Quest-line added for paint blob recipes and functionality.
[h2]Smaller stuff[/h2]
- New pot-pot animations added and implemented.
- Art polish and tweaks on several plant types and textures in-game.
- Fishing pond added near home to house new fishies.
- Fishing rod island for acquiring fishing rod implemented.
- Seagull creature added to indicate fish regions.
- Cave area added on back side of tallest island.
- Colors for all crafted items implemented.
- Colors for tools now implemented.
- New VFX for fishing, painting, and potpot anims implemented.
- Pre-populated planter box recipes added.
- Several new fish types added with dynamic fish colors for fishing system.
- Sound and music for new mechanics and systems implemented.
- Updated to latest version of gestrument.
- Rumble haptics fixed for most hardware.
- Index grabbing functionality tweaked to feel better.
Good to know
Save files are now saved in %userprofile%/AppData/LocalLow/Neat Corporation/Garden of the Sea/Saves instead of your Documents folder
It will not be possible to load your old save files, even if you copy them to the new directory