SunnySide News

[h2]Hey everyone![/h2]

We just released a small update for SunnySide that addresses a few issues. Even though this isn't a big update, we wanted to share some details about what's included!



With the previous update, we reworked cooking in SunnySide to make it more approachable. However, this introduced some issues for a handful of recipes. Out of the 375 recipes available, around 8 became unattainable under certain circumstances.

These 8 "nuanced" recipes essentially share the same ingredients but differ in proportions. As you might guess, this caused logical conflicts when determining what the player intended to cook. To address this, these 8 recipes now require more precise attention, unlike other recipes after patch 10, their ingredient counts must now be exact. Bulk cooking will not work with these specific recipes.

We plan on developing a more permanent solution later on. But since some of these items, notably "Okayu," are vital for progressing through the skill tree, we felt an immediate patch was necessary.

Here are all of the "nuanced" recipes:

• Cooked Sticky Rice
  
• Okayu
  
• Flatbread Dough
  
• Pie Dough
  
• Bitter Mash
  
• Hoppy Mash
  
• Malty Mash
  
• Sweet Mash
  

We've also implemented more optimizations and performance improvements. While these adjustments might not be immediately visible, they've significantly enhanced game stability, resulting in fewer potential crashes and stutters during your gameplay experience.

If you want to make sure that you have the update, check the game version on the main menu or the pause menu, on the bottom right of your screen. It should read "1.20.3-Main".

Thanks for reading our patch notes, and we'll see you in the next update! 💚

[h2]Hey everyone,[/h2]

First off, a huge thank you to everyone who participated in our SunnySide Player Survey! We received over 1,000 responses, and the insight you shared is already shaping the way we move forward. Your feedback has been incredibly valuable in helping us decide where to focus our efforts, and we’re excited to share what we’ve been working on!


We’ve gone through all the responses and compiled the data, below, you'll find some charts breaking things down visually. Here’s a quick overview of what we learned:

Optimization and performance improvements were the top request, so we’ve started addressing this right away.
Many of you shared frustrations with certain mechanics, and we’ve made some key quality-of-life improvements based on those, some included in this patch. We also saw some really thoughtful feedback on gameplay balance, usability, and general experience improvements, we hear you, and we’ll continue working on these!

Let's also take a look behind the curtain at the results of the survey:




We know that a smooth experience is key to fully enjoying the game, and from the survey results, it’s clear that optimization is a top priority for many of you. While performance improvements have been an ongoing effort, we’ve made major strides in this update, focusing on areas that needed the most attention.

Our goal is to make SunnySide feel better to play across the board, whether you’re farming, exploring, or diving into the depths of the caves. This update lays the foundation for future optimizations, and we’ll continue refining performance over time.

• Cave Level Performance: We focused on improving performance in all cave areas, with Lush Caves receiving an extra aesthetic overhaul alongside optimizations.
  
• Overworld: General optimization pass across various areas to improve stability and performance.
  

We’re not done with optimizations yet, but this is a big step in making SunnySide run smoother!


Alongside performance fixes, we tackled some of the most requested QoL changes!

[h3]Summon & Dismiss Sparky Anytime![/h3]
You can summon or dismiss Sparky anytime from your inventory!

• We saw a lot of requests for this, many of you wanted a way to dismiss Sparky while exploring, and now you can! Just open your inventory and press the Dismiss Sparky button.
  
• Don’t worry, he’ll still appear when needed for cutscenes, cave navigation, and fights.
  

[h2]Animal Happiness & Needs Overhaul[/h2]
We saw a lot of feedback about animals not staying happy consistently, which was frustrating for many of you. Pets and farm animals are an important part of the game, so we’ve reworked how they manage their needs to make them more reliable, responsive, and overall happier.

• More reliable: They now handle their needs much more efficiently.
  
• Better optimized: This should reduce weird behaviors and glitches.
  
• Happier animals overall!: Works for both pets and farm animals.
  

[h2]Cooking System Rework[/h2]
We heard you, cooking has been a bit too difficult, so we made it more forgiving!

• Recipe detection is now more lenient: You don’t have to be as exact with ingredients and can put more than needed in the mixing circle.
  
• You can cook multiple servings at once: Just add multiple sets of ingredients!
  
• Be careful: If you use extra ingredients, they won’t be refunded if not used up!
  

We also want to take a moment to say something personal. Your messages in the survey truly meant the world to us.

SunnySide’s development has been a journey, filled with ups, downs, and some really tough moments. The kind, encouraging words so many of you shared in the survey were a huge boost to our spirits. We’ve been through a lot as a studio, and hearing your support, excitement, and even just kind words of appreciation reminded us why we do this in the first place.

Seriously, thank you. It means more than we can say.

If you want to make sure that you have the update, check the game version on the main menu or the pause menu, on the bottom right of your screen. It should read "1.20.2-Main".

We’ll be back with more soon! 💚

– Aftabi Games Team

We’ve put together a player survey to gather your thoughts on SunnySide’s future. Your feedback is incredibly important to us, and it will help guide what we focus on for our upcoming updates.

If you’ve been following our recent announcement about the current state of SunnySide, you’ll know we’re facing some tough decisions as a team. This survey will help us understand what matters most to you so we can prioritize the right areas.
[h2]What’s in the survey?[/h2]

• Your thoughts on SunnySide’s current features
  
• What you’d like to see improved or added
  
• How you feel about updates and localization
  
• General feedback to help us make SunnySide better
  

It should only take about 15 minutes to complete, and your responses are completely anonymous.





Thank you so much for your support. Every bit of feedback helps us grow and improve, and we truly appreciate you being part of this journey with us. 💚

We wanted to share some important news about the current state and future of SunnySide. Back in November, we held a livestream where we explained the situation in-depth. You can check it out below, but we wanted to provide you all with a written TL;DR as well.

Over the past few years, we’ve been as transparent as possible with you all. Now, with SunnySide in its current state, we need to share some hard truths. Due to our publishing deal, we as the dev team are not making any money from SunnySide to sustain ourselves. This means that, in order to ensure our studio’s survival, we have to move forward with production on new games.

Because of this, we’ve made the tough decision to temporarily pause work on major updates and new content for SunnySide while we focus on securing the future of our small studio. In the meantime, we will continue to release small patches, performance improvements, and bug fixes, but we’re taking a step back from larger updates to get to a better place as a team.

We plan to release an update of this type in Feb of 2025, but please note that, due to our publishing situation, no new content will be added to the game until we, as a studio, can afford to create it ourselves.

You can watch the livestream where we went into more detail and answered many of your questions here:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We’ve also posted a personal message from Siavash and the team over on our subreddit over here.

You can also check out our official update we posted on our twitter back in Novemeber here.

SunnySide was our first game, and we’ve learned so much from it. We recognize (and admit) that we made mistakes, but we’re not giving up on our passion. We hope you can understand our position and continue to support us as we work through this. While it may seem like we’re moving on and leaving SunnySide behind, that’s not the case. We have so much love for SunnySide and truly hope to return to it and give it the polish it deserves, one way or another.

Additionally, In the coming days, you might notice our company name on Steam changing to Aftabi Games. This rebranding is unrelated to SunnySide or our publishing deals. We discussed this in more detail during our livestream, and we encourage you to watch it for the full story.

In short, the change is the result of both a lawsuit over our previous studio name, "RainyGames," and a desire to better align with our studio's identity. From Siavash:

"When I first started the studio, I was the only one working on almost everything, and my old nickname, 'Rainy,' felt fitting. But as our team has grown, I wanted to move away from a name tied to a single person and instead choose something that reflects the personality and vision of the studio as a whole."

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. As part of our plan to get back on our feet, we’re working on a new, smaller-scale game that we’re fully funding and planning to publish ourselves, at least for now. If you’re interested in following our journey with the next game or want to support us further, please check out our Discord server here.

We appreciate you all more than we can say.
– Siavash, Sydney and the Team

Hello everyone! It’s time for another SunnySide Update, and this one is BIG!

We’re introducing a whole new way to play SunnySide, and we’re excited about the new possibilities and features it brings to the game.


Sandbox Mode is a new way to enjoy SunnySide! It skips all of the introductory quest lines and cutscenes and puts you right into your first farm, ready for action. YOU get to decide what is unlocked, and when.

[h2]What is Sandbox Mode?[/h2]
When starting a new game, you will now be presented with two play options: Story Mode or Sandbox Mode. Story Mode will take you to the RPG/Cozy select screen as normal, but Sandbox Mode will skip this entirely. Instead, you’ll be asked to customize a variety of game mechanics to suit your play style.

Here’s a full list of all your new options. You can select or deselect them at any time during gameplay:

[h3]Buildmode[/h3]
All Blueprints Unlocked Checking this box means: All building blueprints will be made available right from the start of the game, or Unlock them immediately when checked.

Free Building Checking this box means: Building blueprints no longer require any materials to complete. This option is especially powerful when combined with “Auto Deposit Requirements” option in buildmode and will allow you to one-click place-n-build any blueprint.

Build Anywhere Checking this box means: Build blueprints anywhere in the world. As you can imagine this can cause problems with NPCs, cutscenes and the world of the game as a whole, so please use it responsibly and do not lock any of the poor residents of SunnySide inside tiny houses.

Skip Collision Check (when building) Checking this box means: You no longer need to cut the grass around an area to build. (This also eliminates the check for the character, so be careful not to lock yourself inside anything)

Unlimited Drone Range Checking this box means: You can fly your drone anywhere in the world without limitations. Like the build anywhere option, as you can imagine, this option will give your drone access to areas that otherwise would not be accessible through a normal playthrough. So please keep that in mind when flying around SunnySide and Higashi! But if you’re curious about how we put together the world of SunnySide, go ahead and explore and investigate, just be careful of reaching the world’s edge :)

[h3]Gameplay & Progression[/h3]
Starter Money Checking this box means: Customise how much money you start the game with. You can choose between Default (150 cupules), No money (for extra challenge) or Millionaire (5 million cupules) which would mean you never need to worry about money again.

Unlock All Cooking Recipes Checking this box means: Like the build blueprints, you will start the game with all cooking recipes already discovered, or Unlock them immediately when checked.

Acquire All Songs Checking this box means: This will populate the KoiBeats app with all the songs in-game. Enjoy the tunes!

Max All Skills Checking this box means: All of the skills in the game will be set to the maximum level (level 30) from the start, or immediately when checked.

Free Skill Tree Requirements Checking this box means: As you know, each skill on the skill tree requires you to donate a specific item to unlock it. This option will bypass that, allowing you to unlock any skill so long as you meet the required level.

Unlimited Energy Checking this box means: Never run out of energy again while keeping busy around the farm!

NPC Gender Preferences Checking this box means: As you might already know, SunnySide’s romantic options all come with their own pre-determined gender preferences regarding you, the player. If you’re ever worried about not being able to romance your favourite character with your specific gender selection, this option is for you. All NPCs will be compatible with you once you turn this option off.
Please Note: Some stories might seem odd, dialogue has not been adjusted.

Unlock All Farms Checking this box means: Certain farm locations in SunnySide are locked behind cave story progression. If you’d like a quicker start to your farming empire or would like to stick to the overworld, turning this option on will unlock all of these farms for purchase. Please keep in mind that using the elevators in these hidden locations WILL cause problems for the natural quest progression in the caves.

Own All Farms Checking this box means: Don’t want to spend the cash on each farm? Just turn this option on and you will own all 4 purchasable farms from the beginning. Make sure you unlock them, too!

[h3]Farming and Animals[/h3]
Pests Do Not Steal Checking this box means: We’ve had a chat with the foxes and raccoons of SunnySide and they’ve promised to stop stealing your crops or traumatising your chickens if we give them a treat. We’ll handle the regular treat giving, don’t you worry. ;)

No Crop Death Seasons Checking this box means: Your crops almost always stay alive unless they reach the end of their life cycle. Plant anything in any season!

No Plant Size Restrictions Checking this box means: You can plant trees and large crops in smaller plots and planters. Please use responsibly, and note that there may be some graphical weirdness.

Happy Animals Checking this box means: Your farm animals will always be happy and content, regardless of their living conditions.

[h3]Caves[/h3]
Friendly Enemies Checking this box means: Enemies in the caves will no longer chase you. They won’t even spot you to cause you trouble. You can however still attack them if you wish. Sneak attack!

Disable Mini-Bosses Checking this box means: The Caves of SunnySide come with a pretty simple quest loop, each cave level has 4 power nodes to be activated, and each power node is guarded by a miniboss. This option will disable those mini-bosses, so you can access the power nodes peacefully.

Disable All Cave Barriers Checking this box means: We know that some of you really didn’t like the colour-coded gates inside of the caves of SunnySide. This option will allow you to forever get rid of them and explore the caves at your own pace. Keep in mind that triggering the final boss battles of each level without properly going through the questline of each level will very likely cause problems.

Some of these options are also adjustable once the game has started through the new "Sandbox App". So if you’d like to adjust things later you can always do that while the game is running.

[h2]What is still available in Sandbox Mode?[/h2]
The entire tutorial questline of the game, (including most overworld quests that unlock different systems and aspects of the game) may be gone, but in exchange, you'll start the game right away on your farm with all quest related progressions unlocked. (Yes, this includes vehicles and horses)

All NPC stories are still accessible in Sandbox mode through normal hangouts. The Cave questline is also entirely open and accessible and you can start it simply by visiting the Caves.

It's also worth noting that Steam achievements are disabled on a Sandbox Mode game.

[h3]But this update is more than just Sandbox Mode! [/h3]

We’re really excited to finally introduce two new (and HIGHLY requested) Phone Apps:

[h2]New “Skills” App[/h2]
We’ve added a whole new app in the game that allows you to check your skill progressions without having to visit the Kashiwa Shrine. With this new app, you can check your XP and level for each Skill category. You will also be able to see all the available skills in each category, if they can be unlocked, and what item is needed to unlock them. Keep in mind that you still need to visit the shrine to unlock skills.

[h2]New “Profile” tab on the Squirrel IM App[/h2]
We’ve heard you and we’ve added a new tab to the Squirrel IM app so that you can now change your name, birthday, profile picture, username and bio at any time using the app. You will also be able to reference what section of the Gender Slider you selected when creating your character.

We’ve also fixed a few pesky bugs:

Sparky should now steal moves from enemies successfully. Keep in mind that certain skills are "un-stealable" by Sparky but we have fixed the bug that constantly displayed the message "No acquirable skills found".

We’ve also removed the invisible wall that was blocking you from exiting the secret area unlocked from the Lush Level of the caves. Feel free to forage to your heart’s content now!

Lastly, we’ve also added a new secret to the map that is only accessible through Sandbox Mode! Have fun on the hunt and feel free to join our discord server if you need help finding and solving this new mystery!

For an extra boost, here’s is a clue about where to find this new secret that will unlock a special item in the game:



The version number for this update is 1.20.0, and is listed at the bottom-right of the screen in the main menu or while pausing the game. If your game is on that version, you’ve got the update! If Steam hasn't prompted you for an update, it is usually dispatched slowly to each region. If you'd like to force Steam to update the game, fully restart Steam (close it from your system tray or task manager).

Please note that due to some internal changes with our publisher, we haven't been able to localise this update yet. We will be working on pushing an update with all of the Sandbox text localised.

Thank you so much for reading the patch notes! If you’re enjoying SunnySide, please let us know by leaving the game a review, it helps us immensely! Your feedback is our best source of information on what we should focus on next
Thank you again for loving the game, for reporting issues to us, and for your continued patience! We’re committed to making SunnySide the best it can be!

See you in the next update!

-The RainyGames Team