The Garden Path News

[h2]Hello gardeners,[/h2]

It's been a short while since we shared our last update with you, but it has without a doubt been one of the most productive months for The Garden Path. Development has been gung-ho, and I have some very exciting news to share with you regarding where we are with the game.

Let’s take a look at what’s new.



[h3]Game Updates[/h3]

Lots of attention has been spent on how you experience the garden day to day. The garden now forecasts the weather ahead of time, as well as who will be visiting your garden. On each new day, you’ll now be greeted with an overview of information to help keep you in the loop.

Some characters will let you know what time of day they will be stopping by, and might even dib on other character’s plans.



The encyclopedia tab is now open for business, helping fill you in on what you've discovered across the garden, and what targets you need to meet to attract certain residents.




The errand system has been revamped to allow for more complex errands, as well as supporting multiple errands from individual characters. More errands have been added to keep you busy, and help learn more about the characters and the history of the Garden.

Plenty of new garden furnishings have been added too, including pathing, fencing, and you can now combine certain furnishings too - like placing smaller objects on tables, or hanging items from tree branches.


[h3]Finally…some odds and ends[/h3]

A gentle reminder that there is an exclusive Kickstarter category on our official Discord Community server, which you can join here.

This is a great space to ask any questions you may have about the Kickstarter or the surveys that all backers should have now received, as well as to chat to the team, meet fellow backers, and help me in shaping The Garden Path.

If you backed The Garden Path and want to gain access to the Kickstarter space, be sure to join our server and make sure you’ve sent your Discord ID in with your backer survey. Your backer role will be added then, and you’ll be in!

I also wanted to highlight our TikTok, run by our own Community Manager: Alex. The account is a lot of fun and it’s a great way to keep up to date with The Garden Path.

You can get to know some of the characters, see some sneak peeks into the game, and of course, have a good laugh. There are many bad puns to be found...

If this is something you’d be interested in checking out then you can give us a follow here.



And that’s that. Stick around for more updates on The Garden Path soon!

Until next time…

~Louis

*

Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/nWTg5WvZbU
Follow us on Twitter: @fromcarrotcake
Follow us on TikTok: @fromcarrot cake
Follow us on Twitch: @fromcarrotcake
Follow us on Instagram: @fromcarrotcake

And if you haven’t yet, please consider giving The Garden Path a wishlist and a follow!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638500/The_Garden_Path

[h3]Hello gardeners,[/h3]

Happy late Halloween and Bonfire Night everyone! October was an interesting month for The Garden Path, with a great deal of work going on behind the scenes (some of which is very exciting and you’ll be finding out about very soon).



[h3]#TGPtober was a Cozy Hit[/h3]

Our take on the Autumn Inktober Tradition was a lovely constant throughout October. I had a great time coming up with ideas and illustrations for each new prompt, and it was even better seeing your own designs inspired by the challenge.

I’ve been so impressed by the creativity and love that people have put into this project - from creating charming original characters to trying out new styles and techniques.

While we can’t show off every piece that was created as a part of #TGPtober, we did want to highlight a few of our favourites. Thank you again for taking part in this challenge with me, I hope we’ll have the opportunity for similar events in the future.



1. Piña’s Original Vegetable-Headed Character - @piniaart, on Twitter and Instagram
2. Pixie’s Eleanora and Chester gone Fishing
3. Cat Lind’s Original Vegetable-Headed Character: Luca - @realkenma, on Instagram
4. Evan McIntyre’s Original Vegetable-Headed Character: Cocohead - @ebrownm, on Instagram
5. ​​Sophie C’s Original Animal Traveller: Lillian - @marethyu42, on Twitter
6. Harriet’s Flowers - @DaggerMcTimbers, on Twitter
7. Lily of the Valley by @maps_by_nim, on Instagram
8. Priscilla’s Original Vegetable-Headed Character: Laurel - @crystalunvrs, on Twitter
9. Blind Luck’s Egret Orchid - @blinded_luck, on Instagram



[h3]Some bits and bobs[/h3]

Don’t forget, we have an exclusive Kickstarter category on our official Discord Community server, which you can join here. This is a dedicated space where you can ask us questions about the Kickstarter, chat with fellow backers, and help me in shaping The Garden Path with your feedback and ideas.

If you backed The Garden Path and want to gain access to the Kickstarter space, be sure to join our server and make sure you’ve sent your Discord ID in with your backer survey. Your backer role will be added then!

Work on the physical and digital rewards continues to take place behind the scenes, but we wanted to give you a sneak peek of the special reward for The Collectors - the handcrafted ceramic figurines of some of the garden’s residents. I think they’re looking rather charming...



In last month’s update I spoke a little about how The Garden Path team is expanding, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. I’m pleased to say that not only did we recently bring on Megan as our new Environment Designer, but also that we recently closed applications for a Contract Developer, who will be coming on board to help develop the local multiplayer systems unlocked in our Kickstarter stretch goals.

I feel very fortunate to be in the position to recruit new collaborators to work within bringing The Garden Path to life. I hope this will allow us to create the best version of the game, while making sure that everyone can maintain a good work/life balance.

[h3]Some Game Updates[/h3]

With all the great feedback from the demos, there's been lots more work than anticipated on my plate to update fundamentals on how the game works, plays and feels.

Menus have been simplified and consolidated, and a new contextual control system streamlines how you interact with the Garden, no longer requiring you to equip each tool you wish to use. A new, optional tutorial helps show you the ropes before you start playing so that newer players don't feel overwhelmed.

There have also been updates to the physics of how the player moves to hopefully be more brisk and responsive, as well as improvements to the camera. I've also completely rebuilt how the game delivers ambient noises, like wind and birdsong, so it feels as though it's moving around you as you travel the Garden. Night-time audio has received attention too, for those who found the crickets to be irritating at best.

The new-game menu has been rewritten too, with some more options, and now more than 20 skin tones to choose from (up from the previous three).

I hope it will be worth the extra wait, I'm really happy with the way it's shaping up.



And that’s all folks. Stick around for more updates on The Garden Path soon!

Until next time…

~Louis

*

Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/nWTg5WvZbU
Follow us on Twitter: @fromcarrotcake
Follow us on TikTok: @fromcarrot cake
Follow us on Twitch: @fromcarrotcake
Follow us on Instagram: @fromcarrotcake

And if you haven’t yet, please consider giving The Garden Path a wishlist and a follow!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638500/The_Garden_Path

[h3]Hello gardeners,[/h3]

A late happy Halloween to you all ~ I hope you enjoyed your spooky weekend however you decided to spend it. I am stopping by with a little post to announce that I will be doing another art stream this Wednesday!

Whether you've never popped by for one of my streams before, or have been enjoying the behind-the-scenes look at The Garden Path, this is a great chance for you to ask any questions you may have about the game, see how I work, and help me design some brand new furnishings for the game.

Join me and my regular streaming partner in crime, Crakie, when we go live on Steam and Twitch, from 6am PST / 9am EDT / 1pm GMT / 2pm CET on Wednesday (Nov 3rd).



In our last stream, you decided that you wanted to see me create a new vegetable-headed character: Maurice, the confident Cauliflower (whose final design can be found in our official Discord community ~ which you can join here!).

This time, we decided to take on the runner-up of your votes and create some brand new garden decor that you'll be able to use to adorn your garden, and I look forward to getting stuck in.

So be sure to follow carrotcake on Twitch and Steam, if you haven't already, so you're the first to know when the stream starts:

🌱 Follow on Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fromcarrotcake
🌱 Set a reminder on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/The_Garden_Path/

I hope to see you there, and thank you as always for supporting The Garden Path.

Until next time…

~Louis

*

Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/nWTg5WvZbU
Follow us on Twitter: @fromcarrotcake
Follow us on TikTok: @fromcarrot cake
Follow us on Twitch: @fromcarrotcake
Follow us on Instagram: @fromcarrotcake

And if you haven’t yet, please consider giving The Garden Path a wishlist and a follow!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638500/The_Garden_Path

[h3]Hello gardeners,[/h3]

I hope everyone is doing well - today I just wanted to stop by and share that I'll be back with another art stream next Tuesday (Oct 19th)!

If you've enjoyed seeing the behind-the-scenes of The Garden Path then this is another chance for you to see my work process or ask any questions you might have about the game. Do join us when we go live on Steam and Twitch, from 8am PDT / 11am EDT / 4pm BST / 5pm CEST!

However, while I will be back alongside my regular streaming partner in crime, Crakie, this art stream will be a little bit different, as you can help decide what I work on during the stream.

I'll either be designing:

🪴 A new vegetable-headed character
🪴 New garden decor
🪴 Kickstarter backer artwork



If you'd like to have your say, then head over to The Garden Path's official Discord community to cast your vote ~ join the Discord here!

Be sure to follow carrotcake on Twitch and Steam, if you haven't already, so you're the first to know when the stream starts:

🌱 Follow on Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fromcarrotcake
🌱 Set a reminder on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/The_Garden_Path/


I hope to see you there, thanks for supporting The Garden Path.

Until next time…

~Louis

*

Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/nWTg5WvZbU
Follow us on Twitter: @fromcarrotcake
Follow us on TikTok: @fromcarrot cake
Follow us on Twitch: @fromcarrotcake

And if you haven’t yet, please consider giving The Garden Path a wishlist and a follow!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638500/The_Garden_Path/

The Garden Path has been updated to alpha0.0.33. The patch includes a number of fixes including:

• Interactions that have held-button alternative actions (such as cutting flora) now react based on when the button is released, as opposed to timers. This should make certain actions more responsive, especially on lower-end machines.
  
• Some polish to fishing.
  
• NPCs now self-correct more intelligently when roaming the map.
  

This patch should not affect saves.

Thanks for playing!

~Louis