Coral Island News

Greetings artists of Coral Island! 💖

We have a little event for the coming Valentine!

We heard your plea about wanting a longer hairstyle, what if we said, you get a chance of having the hairstyle of your dream in Coral Island?
Submit your fan art with the themed we have provided, and get a chance for your hairstyle to be featured in Coral Island!

Please submit your Fan Art in IG, Discord, or Twitter!
The chosen fan arts will be contacted by the team.

For more info, check out the pictures here! 🌟





We look forward to your submission!
Stairway Team

Welcome to the December 2021 Coral Island development update!

Please check out our Steam page to wishlist the game and find out more: swg.gg/corstm


This month, we'll go over the highlights of Alpha v0.06. Take a look at Giants gameplay and how Town Rank will work in the game.


Alpha v0.06 will launch on January 10 @ 11:59PM PDT.


[h2]Happy Holidays[/h2]

Happy holidays from everyone at Stairway! Here's to a great 2022.



[h2]HD Wallpaper for Backers[/h2]

We'll be sending HD/4k versions of this wallpaper early next year, and it will come in both horizontal and vertical orientations. Thank you to all backers. We hope you like it!


[what's the first thing you noticed?]

[h2]Giants Gameplay Prototype[/h2]

At long last, we're ready to talk about Giants!


Giants are farm helpers that you'll unlock as you progress through the game. By deciding which totems to craft and where to place them, you have ultimate control over the type of help you get on your farm.








[craft and place totems to get some help on your farm!]

There are three types of craftable totems: water, harvest, and animal totems. Today we're going to take a look at the Water and Harvest totem.


[h3]Water Totem[/h3]

Place Water Totems to get help watering tilled soil. Please note, Alpha players that the Water Totem will replace any previously placed Sprinklers on your farm.



Now, for a look at the water totem in action:



[Totems activate when a Giant is about to work its coverage area]



[who doesn't get happy when their work is done for the day]

[h3]Gather Totem[/h3]

Place Gather Totems to get help gather items on your farm. They come in handy to harvest crops and collect items from processing and artisan equipment.



Now, for a look at the Gather Totem in action:



[REDACTED is skilled at Gathering]


[It's not all work and no play for the Giants. Or err... nap time]

[h3]Collecting Gathered Items[/h3]

The Giants will place gathered items inside a plant pouch, and it's conveniently located to the left of your house.



[worth checking the plant pouch now and then...]


[h3]The Three Giants[/h3]

Although each Giant can work on all farm tasks, they excel at one thing. To unleash the full potential of a particular farm task, you'll need to unlock higher grade totems and develop your relationship with the Giants.



[h2]Town Rank[/h2]

The residents of Coral Island want to improve the town, for good reason!

The town rank comprises four key components: Heritage, Fame, Museum, and Ocean. We've added a special tab in the UI to keep tabs on your progress and figure out ways to earn points.


[WIP of Town Rank UI]

As you increase the town's rank, shops will have an easier time sourcing items, which means new things for you to buy. And well, who knows what other shops you'll attract to town.

[mock up of store selling new items after town rank increases]

The town hall houses a monitor that tracks your progress toward increasing the town rank.


[that's one big monitor]


[h2]Other updates[/h2]

For 0.06:

- Q&A system with NPC testable with Yuri, more information available in Discord
- Several map tweaks have been made
- Opened up the blocked path on Hillside
- Functioning gates for fences
- New buildings on the map?
- Manual cooking!
- Cherry Blossom main festival objective implemented
- New interior music, check it out
- Various bug fixes and optimizations

[h2]What's next?[/h2]

For Alpha v0.07, we've got the following planned:

- Renovated museum
- Heritage implemented (temple offerings)
- More interiors and exteriors
- Refreshed 10m diving maps
- Rebalanced mastery progressions
- And more!

Changes for 2022:

- We're increasing the time between Alpha updates from 1 month to 2 months. For example, Alpha 0.07 will launch in March 2022
- We will continue posting dev updates every month




Thanks for reading,

Stairway Team

Welcome to the November 2021 Coral Island development update!

This month, we'll go over the highlights of Alpha v0.05.

Alpha v0.05 will launch on November 30 @ 11:59PM PDT.


[h2]We're Grateful[/h2]

Everyone at Stairway has a lot to be thankful for this year. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!




[h2]Cherry Blossom Festival[/h2]

We've completed most of the assets for the Cherry Blossom festival. To avoid spoilers, we'll only be showing the entrance and lake area:



Below, the decorated lake and a sneak peek at the Cherry Blossom festival music!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



[h2]Festival Day Decoration[/h2]

Themed umbul-umbul (penjor) are displayed around Coral Island on festival day. The goal is twofold: communicate that it's festival day and help guide players to the festival area.



Umbul-umbuls will be decorated differently based on what festival is being held:



[hmm, mooncake!]



[an early in-game look what the umbul-umbul will look like]


[h2]Fast Travel[/h2]

Oh, the places you'll go!

Introducing the fast travel system. As you progress through the game, you'll unlock tokens that can be used to activate teleport spots around the map. Here is a look at it in action:



[alpha players, please note that fast travel will be limited to 5 areas for now]



[whoooooosh]


[h2]Farm Building Upgrade[/h2]

More room for farm friends! Alpha players will now be able to upgrade both the coop and barn building. There is a total of one upgrade for each building, giving you a maximum capacity of 8 animals per building.



[the upgrade flow]



[one can never have too many chikins]


[h2]Revamped Buildings[/h2]

This month, we're showing off the interiors for the clinic and school. As for exteriors, we'll be showcasing what the townies call the dump.


[h3]Exteriors[/h3]



[no comment]

[h3]Interiors[/h3]



[the clinic]



[the school]


[h2]Revamped Grass and Mines[/h2]

Progress continues to be made in the mines, and grass. Yes, we finally have grass!

[h3]New Environtment Grass[/h3]



[we're still in the process of applying grass across the map]



[a close up of the new grass]

[h3]Mine Earth Theme[/h3]

A lot of progress was made on the mines this month. An additional 15 levels have been redecorated with improved assets!



[mineeeees!]


[h2]Edited Dialogues[/h2]

More edited dialogues, for this month!




[h2]Other Updates & Behind the Scene[/h2]

- The Q&A system with NPC's has been delayed to next month
- Woodlands is now open to Alpha players
- 'Grass' now drops from scything grass. The mill is required to process `grass` into `fodder`. Fodder can now be dispensed inside coop and barn provided player has a Mill.
- Added music for buildings, including Carpenter, General Store, and more!
- Basic town rank implemented. For now, you can earn points by donating to the museum, planting super coral, and completing sesajen offerings at the temple. As town rank increases, merchants will have more items to sell


[h2]What's next?[/h2]

Next month, for Alpha v0.06, we've got the following planned:

- Giants gameplay
- Town rank fully implemented
- Q&A system with NPC
- HD Wallpaper for backers revealed and delivered
- And more!

Thanks for reading,
Stairway Team

Welcome to the October 2021 Coral Island development update!

This month, we'll go over the highlights of Alpha v0.04.

Alpha v0.04 will launch on October 31 @ 11:59PM PDT.


[h2]Happy Halloween![/h2]

Spooky, but then make it *Coral Island*.




[h2]Bug catching[/h2]

Get your Bug net ready! We're releasing an early WIP bug-catching system! Eventually, you will donate bugs and unlock an area for them at the Museum (not ready for Alpha). In the meantime, purchase a bug net at the Beach Shack, and start catching!

P.S. the bug models are placeholder and not final.



[There are different types of bugs depending on the time of day, location, and seasons.



[Not a-sneaking-type of farmer? Don't worry. Find slow bugs. Shown above: caterpillar. Adorable and slow.]



[Careful though! Some bugs are very fast and perceptive of human movement. Sneaking might just be necessary to catch them.]

Thank you to all the backers that made bug-catching a reality in Coral Island. This is one of the first stretch goals we unlocked on Kickstarter.


[h2]Player house upgrade[/h2]

You can now upgrade the house! In the first house upgrade, you will receive a kitchen that allows you to cook various dishes. Pay a visit to the Carpenters and they'll be able to help you with upgrading the house. Make sure to bring enough money!



[the exterior of the first house upgrade]



[look at all that space, plus a built-in kitchen!]


[h2]Coral Shopping[/h2]

Have too much money and don't know where to spend it? Worry not. Introducing Coral Shopping! Here you'll find items to complete your Kitchen. Check out the channel on your TV to find out what's for sale. Then, head to Socket & Pan to make a purchase. New items are available for purchase every Tuesday!



[a look at what the shopping flow looks like... purchased items are installed in your kitchen. Anyone else feel a little nostalgic?]


[h2]Cooking part 1[/h2]

In Coral Island, there are two ways to cook. By recipes and manual. You can simply click on any learned recipe on the recipe tab or do it the old-fashioned way, mix and match. High risk, high return, right?



[there are around 10 utensils to collect... I spy, with my little eye, a Blender, Grill...what else?]



[recipes tab are the easiest way to cook things you've already cooked before]



[the manual tab is for the adventurous; mix and match utensils and ingredients and unlock recipes yourself through trial and error. PS, please don't mind the placeholder art above]

Please note Alpha players, only the recipe section is available in the 0.04 update.


[h2]Revamped Buildings[/h2]

This month, we're showcasing Socket & Pan, Salon, Community Center, and Jim's house. Keep in mind that Salon's, animal shelter's and clothing store's features are NOT ready for Alpha...that said, don't let it stop you from exploring the interiors. There might be interesting notes in there.


[h3]Exteriors[/h3]



[Socket & Pan]



[Jim's House. This is where Jim, Lily and Theo live.]


[h3]Interiors[/h3]

The animal shelter is where you'll go to adopt a pet. For all the Kickstarter backers with the Pet Design tier, this is where you can meet your pet! Also worth noting, the Community Center is one of the largest interiors we've worked on to date.



[The Community Center has 5 rooms inside it: Yoga room, White Flamingo clothing store, town hall, library, and an animal shelter. We're not going to show more due to SPOILERS]




[Salon]



[Socket & Pan. Submit your TV shopping orders here!]


[h2]Cutscenes & dialogue[/h2]

More edited dialogues, more cutscenes, more fun!




[h2]Other updates[/h2]

- Added a WIP Town Rank system, check it out in the community center
- Experimenting with additional simplified daytime music
- Experimenting with cloud shadows in the game
- Display player objective in the Diving UI level selector
- Completed exteriors not listed: Mansion and Clinic
- Unlocked the Look Out area, now accessible to Alpha players
- Added a WIP glossary section to the main UI


[h2]What's next?[/h2]

Next month, for Alpha v0.05, we've got a lot planned:

- Open up the Woodlands area to Alpha players
- Unlock farm building upgrades (for barn and coop) and the Greenhouse
- First version of the Town Rank system that ties the game together
- New Q&A dialogue system with NPC's (unlock questions/topics to discuss with an NPC as you get closer with them)
- More revamped buildings (exteriors and interiors)
- And much more!



Thanks for reading,
Stairway Team

Welcome to the September 2021 Coral Island development update!

This month, we'll go over the highlights of Alpha v0.03 and provide an update on Coral Island's release.

[h2]Ranching part 2 (mooo)[/h2]

Ranching sees a big update this month. We release the barn, which allows you to purchase your first Barn animal, baby & adult cow. You'll buy the Barn from the carpenter and the cow itself from the Ranch. While at the Ranch, be sure to purchase a Milk Pail so you can get to milking!


[baby & adult cow, just mooing around the barn]


[over time, baby cows turn into adult cows]

Move or sell farm animals


[please excuse the programmer UI art for the move and sell buttons, lol]

[h2]Fishing Gameplay[/h2]

For all of you fishers out there, your time has finally arrived. You can finally fish in the game! Currently, there are only about 10 fish you can catch. Where you find them depends on where you'll fish: in the ocean, river, or lake.


[purchase a fishing pole at the Beach Shack]

Please be mindful! Cast length in our game impacts the size of fish you are likely to catch. For example, a shorter cast has a higher chance of catching a small fish like the goldfish.


[how long you hold the cast button will determine the cast length]

[h2]Map 2.0 (featuring player tracking!)[/h2]

Player tracking on the map was one of the most requested features we received after launching Alpha. With the new map, you'll be able to do just that!


[check it out, that's you, Player!]

We're working to tie the map tracking experience with the social mastery component of the game. By acquiring the appropriate skill and heart level with an NPC, you'll be able to see an icon of them on the map.


[we are still playing around with the NPC icons for the tracking feature]

[h2]Revamped exteriors[/h2]

More revamped exteriors this month! We want to highlight the Beach Shack, Millie's house, Frank & Erika's house, and last but not least, a new coffee spot. Check it out!


[consider stopping by the Beach Shack!]


[Millie's house]


[Frank & Erika's house]


[new coffee spot, and what's that other thing?]

[h2]Revamped interiors & mines[/h2]

Reworked interiors accompany the new Beach Shack and Barn. In addition, new rooms have been added to already accessible interiors. We also start set dressing the mines in preparation for the game's story. So far, we've decorated the first 5 levels. More to come next month!


[checkout the Beach Shack]


[updated mines, what do those carvings mean...]


[updated barn]

[h2]Other updates[/h2]

> Added the ability to move or destroy farm buildings
> Added a `LookAtFunction`. NPC's turn their head to look at Player when they are near
> Added preliminary assets for the `SuperCoral` questline
> Dormant oil rigs placed in a couple of spots around the island by Pufferfish
> Farm buildings turn translucent when you are behind them
> New, unrevealed NPCs roaming the island
> And much more behind the scenes

Check out some images below of these other updates:


[go to the carpenter and purchase a move or destroy order for your buildings]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[NPC's now look at you when you are near them]


[early assets placed to get a feel for the Super Coral questline]

[h2]Early access launch delayed[/h2]



[h2]What's next?[/h2]

Next month, for Alpha v0.04, we hope to release Bug-catching gameplay, the ability to upgrade your house, additional revamped buildings, tons of heart cutscenes, and much more!



Thanks for reading,

Stairway Team