1. Garden of the Sea (VR)
  2. News

Garden of the Sea (VR) News

New Species Naming Contest: Complete!

[h2]The Naming Contest is completed and we have our name![/h2]

We're both humbled and excited over the engagement you showed in helping us give this new species a name! Both phases are now successfully complete and we are happy to announce we can finally unveil the results!






[h2]Poll results[/h2]
The winner is clear, but it was a tight race for all the runner-ups. The names are listed in the image below in order of most votes at the top and least at the bottom:



A huge congratulations to everyone who both suggested and voted for Molebert! It will from now on be the official name of the new species!




And this concludes our latest Naming Contest. A huge thank you is in order to everyone who joined in!

And as always, feel free to hop into our official official Discord server if you haven't already and say hi. We always love hearing from our players!



Until next time,
// The Neat GotS team

New Species Naming Contest - Phase 2: Vote for your favorite name!

[h3]It's time for phase 2 of the Naming Contest![/h3]

As mentioned in our previous update post we've decided to hold a community contest to decide the name of the new animal species added in the New Island Update.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086850/view/3051724959170874775

Phase 1 is now concluded and wow what a turnout! You all sent us a total of 90 name suggestions which gave us quite the challenge to shrink down to 5 options for the final poll. We loved all the names you sent us, but a decision has to be made so after thinking long and hard we made our choice and are now ready for phase 2 of the contest: It is poll time!

It's your time to step in and make the final decision. Go make us proud, gardeners!



Contest Summary



The overall goal is to give the species of this little fellow a proper name and the road ahead is pretty simple: The contest will be running for about one week total - covering both weekends for you who are busy on work days - and is split in two phases. At the start of each phase we will publish a new Steam post with a link to our Google Form where you'll either submit your ideas (phase 1) or vote for the final winner (phase 2).

Phase 1 was completed last week and we've now successfully reached phase 2.

[h3]Phase 1[/h3]
March 26th -> March 30th (COMPLETED)

Open submission if all your species naming ideas! Submit as many names as you like, but be sure to bring your a-game as only the best names will move on to the next phase.



[h3]Phase 2 [You Are Here!][/h3]
March 31st -> April 5th

The dev team has gone through all suggestions and have selected their top five favorite suggestions from phase 1 which are now battling it out in one final community poll! The winning name takes it all and will be the official name of the new animal species.



Is the button above broken? Click here to go to the poll!




We can't wait to see how this pans out! Cast your vote and we'll be back early next week with the final result.

And as always, feel free to hop into our official official Discord server if you haven't already and say hi. We always love hearing from our players!



Until next time,
// The Neat GotS team

Crystal Island - Bugfix Patch #1

Patch Notes
  • Fixed crash when using Planter Boxes.
  • Fixed bug that caused the home island to reset to its original state after saving the game while on Crystal Island.
  • Fixed bug that could make tools disappear when leaving the home island.

New Species Naming Contest - Phase 1: Submit your suggestions!

[h3]Hello gardeners and welcome to phase 1 of the Naming Contest![/h3]

As mentioned in our previous post we've decided to hold a community contest to decide the name of the new animal species added in the New Island Update.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086850/view/3051724959170874775

We've held several naming polls and contests on Discord and Twitter previously, but this time we wanted to include our community here on Steam as well. So, here we are, and we're excited to see you all joining!

Let's not waste time and get this contest started!

Already know the details? Hop straight to the suggestion form here!

Contest Summary



The overall goal is to give the species of this little fellow a proper name an the road ahead is pretty simple: The contest will be running for about one week total - covering both weekends for you who are busy on work days - and is split in two phases. At the start of each phase we will publish a new Steam post with a link to our Google Form where you'll either submit your ideas (phase 1) or vote for the final winner (phase 2).

There's no requirement to submit a name, so don't worry if you feel you don't have any good ideas to share. If you just want to vote for your favorite submission you are free to wait until we reach phase 2.

[h3]Phase 1 [You Are Here!][/h3]
March 26th -> March 30th

Open submission if all your species naming ideas! Submit as many names as you like, but be sure to bring your a-game as only the best names will move on to the next phase.

Is the image above not showing? Try using this link instead!

[h3]Phase 2[/h3]
March 31st -> April 5th

The dev team will go through all suggestions and select their top five favorite suggestions from phase 1 which will be battling it out in one final community poll! The winning name takes it all and will be the official name of the new animal species.




And with that we conclude this contest started! Good luck to all of you and we can't wait to see what names you'll submit for us.

And as always, feel free to hop into our official official Discord server if you haven't already and say hi. We always love hearing from our players!



Until next time,
// The Neat GotS team

New island update out now!

[h3]Great news gardeners, the new island is finally here![/h3]

We've done loads of tweaking and re-planning and we've finally reached a place where we're happy to consider it ready for Early Access.

We want to start with giving a quick shout-out to everyone who joined in and tested while we worked on this update on the Experimental Branch. Your feedback has been invaluable and we hope you've enjoyed watching this island take shape as much as we loved building it.


[h2]This patch contains changes that will break your save files![/h2]

Due to the complexity of the changes made while adding a whole new island we've unfortunately have had to implement changes that will break your current save files.

Even if they might load for you, many features might be broken on old save files and we can’t guarantee that all the game systems will function correctly. We strongly recommend that you start a new game to ensure that everything works as intended.

Breaking saves like this is sadly one of the risks of early access and we are doing our best to avoid it, but at times it can’t be helped. Thanks for bearing with us!




Now, without further ado; say hello to Crystal Island!



[h2]Uncover the secrets of Crystal Island[/h2]
Just a bit off the coast of your home island you'll find this new mystical island covered with hot springs, red crowned trees and some naturally growing crystals scattered about. The environment here is harsh as an invasive moss covering the ground makes it hard for crops to find space to grow. If you find a patch with tillable soil you'll find that the minerals present will give the plants new and unique colors, so trying to find ways to sustain your plants here may be quite worth your while.

With Crystal Island you'll also find a new quest chain focused on environmental puzzles and unlocking new abilities. Watch and listen to the land around you and find your way to the center of the island where you'll find the first glimpse of the history of this ancient world.



[h2]Travel faster and further with the new Crystal Teleport feature[/h2]
Use the crystals on Crystal Island to upgrade your gloves, unlocking the power to quickly move from crystal to crystal and allowing you to teleport further than ever before. Use your wits and uncover new recipes and materials that will allow you to bring this newfound ability back to your home island.


[h2]Meet new animal friends[/h2]
With this new island we're also introducing a new animal. Native to the Crystal Island and with a love for all things shiny, these fellas know how to live in style!


[h3]Want to help give this little fellow a name?[/h3]

We love involving our community in the decision process and we see this as a great opportunity to hold another naming contest! Get yourself ready and keep your eyes peeled as we'll post an update for each phase of the contest with all the info on how to join.



[h3]Contest Phase 2 is live! Join it below:[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086850/view/3030333493798251294



[h2]Spring has arrived[/h2]
With this update we're also leaving the white frosty grass behind to move into the greener horizons of spring. We've heard many of you have been looking forward to the end of winter so I think this will be some welcome news for you. :)



[h2]What else is new?[/h2]
We've also added new fish types, new resources, tools, craftable items and more! Among the highlights you'll find that you can now craft a grass seed bag which will allow you to re-grow grass on previously tilled soil. We've also added a craftable water pump which will make the chore of refilling your watering can much less cumbersome.

We've added a full patch note list at the very bottom of this post for you who love to stay in the know but you're also always welcome to jump in blind and uncover all the new features as you go. Regardless of method we hope you'll enjoy what you'll see!





That's it for this update! Remember to keep your eyes peeled for the next post launching our naming contest. It should be up in a day or so.

And as always: your thoughts, ideas and feedback are always welcome. You can always reach us here directly on Steam or join our official Discord server to get first access to the latest news and community events.




With love,
// The Neat GotS team





[h2]Full Patch Notes[/h2]
[h3]New Features[/h3]
  • New island biome
  • New animal type
  • New character
  • New quest with multiple objectives and puzzles
  • New tool: Crystal Tuner
  • Crystal teleport mechanic
  • New crafting resource/quest item: Crystal Shard
  • New craftable item: Crystal Pedestal
  • Plant variations for the new biome
  • New soil type: Moss
  • New craftable item: Water Pump (used to refill the Watering Can)
  • New craftable seed bag: Grass Bag (for regrowing grass on tilled soil)
  • New fish type
  • New purchasable item: Garbage Bin (for getting rid of items no longer needed)
  • Added runestones that provide hints to the player

[h3]Updated/Changed Features[/h3]
  • Added a crafting bubble, tool rack and storage crate to the boat
  • The player can now reel in a fish that they have caught, instead of pulling the fishing rod backwards

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]
  • Improved logic for items that the player brings with them on the boat
  • Improved logic for detecting if an item is stuck underground
  • Various bugfixes and improvements