Cowboy Life Simulator News

[h2]Howdy, partners![/h2]



Odd Qubit here, coming back to you with yet another devlog. A lot has been going on for us – conferences, industry events, playtests, and tons of new features coming… But that’s not the focus of this devlog. Let’s talk history!

An immersive 3D life sim set in the Wild West should obviously follow all the rules of historical accuracy of the times, right..? Well, not ‘round here, cowboy. We prefer the rule of “cool” over all the strict rules that make you feel like you’re right in the middle of history class. We do love history, but we love having a blast with all this even more!




[h2]Easter (Western..?) Eggs[/h2]

So better keep your eyes wide open in search of all the easter eggs we’ve scattered throughout the map! Little nods to your favorite pop-culture pieces, real world history… And in the meantime – can you find all the little references we’ve hidden in the in-engine screenshot at the top? The longer you look, the weirder it gets!

Think you’ve caught them all? Don’t be shy, let us know – list everything you’ve got in a message after giving us a follow on our Instagram over at @odd.qubit!

Combine that with joining the Cowboy Life Simulator Discord server, and you’re just gotten yourself a complete package of being the first to see all the ins and outs of what we’re up to. Can't wait to see you there!


Happy trails, friend.
[h2]Wishlist Cowboy Life Simulator today![/h2]

Saddle up and settle in! We’re excited to announce that starting today, May 27th, “Cowboy Life Simulator” is joining the ranks in Steam’s Open World Survival Crafting Fest 2024! The event runs until June 3rd, giving you an entire week to immerse yourself in this Wild West sim like you haven’t before.



Why should you check out “Cowboy Life Simulator”?

Expand your very own ranch, tend to your cattle, and grow your crops. Gather essential resources from the untamed wilderness, craft items to aid your survival, grow into your local community, and uncover the mysteries of the wild land around you. Whether you’re all about building up your ranch or venturing into the unknown, you’ll find plenty to keep you hooked for hours.



Here’s what you can look forward to:

• Expansive Ranching: Start from humble beginnings and transform your homestead into a sprawling ranch.
  
• Resource Gathering: Venture out to collect wood, plants, and other crucial resources.
  
• Crafting System: Create tools, equipment, and items to enhance your cowboy-rancher lifestyle.
  
• Exploration: Roam freely across diverse, open-world landscapes filled with hidden treasures and dangers.
  
• The Wild West Experience: Live the life of a cowboy with immersive graphics and detailed environments.
  

Get your free copy of the demo now!

We’re super excited to announce that the closed edition of the playtests of Odd Qubit’s “Cowboy Life Simulator” being published by RockGame is officially kicking off!

[h3]Intro[/h3]
Cowboy Life Simulator is evolving! We’re actively enhancing the game with fresh content and features to ensure an immersive experience. Devs are still looking into some bugs and optimization, but the good news is there’s a bunch of new content implemented into the game, with plans for much more to come in the near future!

[h3]About the playtest[/h3]
We're eager to make every aspect of Cowboy Life Simulator shine! While we're polishing up the settings, enhancing the furniture placement, and refining the horse interactions, we'd love to hear what's capturing your heart. Tell us about your experiences:

• How are you enjoying the construction features?
  
• What are your thoughts on the world map? Does it draw you into the adventure?
  
• How about the work on the farm – is it motivating and rewarding enough?
  
• How engaging are the decoration and furniture arrangement features?
  
• Overall, do you find the game intuitive and fun to interact with?
  

Your feedback is crucial for us to make game better! We’re looking forward to your answers, thoughts, and opinions! You can find the link to the playtest questionnaire in the game’s main menu.


Recommended system specs for testing
(at least) 16GB of RAM | an i-7 Intel processor | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060]

I dare say that in many places our game looks better than some productions of a company making AAAA games. A bold statement, but justified. While traversing our world, I often find myself stopping for a moment to admire what I have on the screen.

However, let's recall how our world looked a little over a year ago.


We were not satisfied with that. We decided to make the whole game world from scratch. We asked ourselves at the beginning: what should our world look like?
We all unanimously answered that it should be nice and cowboyish.

However, nothing is as simple as one would like. We do not have a lot of resources that would allow us to put a large amount of detail in each location. For this reason, we decided to focus on landscapes. We try to keep our levels clean, not cluttering them with unnecessary detail where it could distract the player's eye from a nice view. This is facilitated by the light styling of our graphics.
When working on a level, we constantly think about the fact that there has to be "something" in a place and it has to be about "something." We collect a variety of images for inspiration and turn the coolest ones into something you'll see in our game.


In the end, what did we come up with?
So we decided to divide our map into 3 main regions, which you can see below.

[h2]Step [/h2]
This is the area we spent the most time on and went through the most iterations. This is where the player will spend the most time, because this is where they will build their farm.


[h2]Trappers' grounds[/h2]
Here we built a factory where trappers trade in various goods. It is mainly mountains and forests.


[h2]Desert[/h2]
The player gains access to this area only in the third act of the game. Somewhere here there is a mine that is very worth visiting.


Something we are particularly proud of is how the look of our game changes from hour to hour. Every morning and evening, it's a moment where I stop and wonder why I'm just sitting in front of a computer making games, instead of being a cowboy and being able to look at such things live.


But what does it look like from the level designer's side?

It just looks like CHAOS. With the red poles, we mark for ourselves things that look bad or something needs to be improved. The blue ones are pastures, and the green ones are some other important locations.

And in the screenshot below you can see something you can't see in the game. Various types of triggers, splines and such.


There are also some interesting slip-ups. The following screen shot was taken by our art director after someone added fish swimming in a pond. Something was messed up with the scale.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

• Total Interactivity: Every item in the game can be moved and placed on your farm, offering unparalleled customization.
  
  
• Crafting & Selling: Build furniture and sell it for profit, avoiding the traditional grind.
  
  
• Freedom in Decoration: Place any item anywhere it fits, without restrictions.
  
  
• Interactive Items: Items like lamps and bottles add realism with their interactive capabilities.
  
  
• Flexible Crafting Stations: Move crafting stations as you please, except for the fixed larger ones like blast furnaces.
  
  
• Building Expansions: Upgrade your buildings for more space and functionality.
  

We're inviting you to sign up for playtests to help shape the game. Visit Cowboy Life Simulator's Steam page to join.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1151380/Cowboy_Life_Simulator/



Stay tuned for more updates and join us in bringing the Wild West to life!

**The Cowboy Life Simulator Team**



Don’t miss this chance to join the Cowboy Life Simulator community and have a blast in the Wild West. Join our discord server to be in touch: https://discord.gg/B48g4PD
Yee-haw! 🐎

Odd Qubit Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/OddQubit

Rock Game Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/fRockGame

Rock Game Twitter - https://twitter.com/tRockGame

Rock Game Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/RockGameSA