Heard of the Story? News

Here comes the first update of the year - hope you've all been enjoying 2026 so far! Just a few small, and some much needed things whilst I work on the bigger things! Also spent a fair bit of time creating some behind-the-scenes robust dialogue testing systems, so should make future bugs in this area less likely too :)
[h2]❤️ Relationships[/h2]

• Added visual reaction for villagers responding angrily to insults and bad gifts
  
• Added sound effect for giving a gift
  
• Limited relationship changes from insults to once per day
  
• Fixed gifting menu closing a bit glitchily
  
• Fixed relationships hearts reaction getting cut off too early
  

[h2]🪑 Seating[/h2]

• Added sitting hints to help with the placement of chairs, benches, and tables
  
• Fixed being able to connect benches to tables
  
• Fixed sitting on wooden benches
  

[h2]🪲 Other improvements and bug fixes[/h2]

• Added an icon for the 'throwing snowballs' interest to the journal
  
• Switched the workshop and tavern prosperity requirements around
  
• Fixed hint for interacting with fields
  
• Fixed sleeping screen sometimes getting stuck
  
• Fixed merchants getting stuck when celebrating new building completions
  
• Fixed villagers getting stuck in conversation if spoken to after remarking
  
• Fixed immediately leaving conversation if re-entering dialogue too quickly
  
• Fixed triggering special action when navigating menus via the controller's left trigger button
  
• Fixed market stall items showing interaction hints
  

With yet another winter comes another update, been busy these last few weeks rounding it off - I hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all those that celebrate :)

[h2]🌽 New fields[/h2]

This update allows you to grow carrots, oats, and cabbages with three new plantable fields. Each has its own distinct look and growth progression!

Related to this, the nourishment value and cost of all crops has been adjusted to be more balanced, so that each one is useful in its own way. Likewise, growth time is much longer for wheat and flax fields - counter-balanced by higher yields upon harvesting. Porridges can now be cooked without the bakery, and cabbage can no longer be eaten raw (what would do that anyway?)

Not really holidays-themed but something that I think will bring a lot of joy to farming in your towns or villages :)

[h2]🎁 Changed Relationships & Gifting[/h2]

This update also brings along a change in how relationships are built with villagers. Previously, you would generally only progress through quests - specifically completing two quests to reach the maximum. Now, you'll need to incrementally bond with villagers day-by-day via:

• Completing a quest
  
• Talking to a villager
  
• Giving them a gift
  

Gifting is a new mechanic and conversation option that allows you to pick one item to give to your villager, and depending on their likes and interests, this may result in a favourable or unfavourable reaction. Along with this comes plenty of new dialogue for all sorts of personality types.

Finally, each of these interactions will only increase your relationship once a day, so you'll have to make sure you chat with your fellows more often :)

Now you can give little presents to your villagers throughout this festive period too! 🎄

[h2]🧤 Gloves and Snowballs[/h2]

There is now a new binding "R" (or "Left trigger" on controller) for triggering an extra action. I would like to eventually turn this into a sort of action wheel, where you can pick from a variety of options, but for now it is simply a way to collect snowballs during winter without always having to see a tooltip above you all the time. Meanwhile, during spring, summer, and autumn, you can also use this button to lie down (no longer will villagers be the only ones who can!)

To be able to pick-up snowballs, you'll have to either tailor or purchase yourself a new accessory: gloves! It's sort of in the middle of the crafting tree and comes in two colours: brown and beige. Fret not though, merchants will be quite likely to bring it during winter time if you lack the skills.

And once you have snowballs, well, I'll let you figure it out ;)

[h2]🐜 Bug fixes and other improvements[/h2]

• Villagers will now in general react to being hit by any hurled object
  
• Fixed items not transferring instantly after finishing trading
  
• Fixed thrown items not landing correctly
  
• Fixed crop positions changing throughout their growth cycle
  
• Fixed LOD distances on wheat fields
  
• You can no longer trade for nothing or with nothing
  
• Fixed villagers being hyper-focused on harvesting only one field no matter how many you had
  

[h2]💬 Dialogue[/h2]

• Added a lot of new personality-based dialogue surrounding interests and disinterests rather than just "I like gathering". They will now see these as their favourite three and most hated three activities.
  
• This normal likes and dislikes remain and can still be conveyed about any activity, but these random spiels will no longer show up in the journal. Essentially, things now have to be a villager's important hobby to be marked down
  
• Improved grammar surroundings buildings, experiences, and expectations
  

[h2]🌾 Fields[/h2]

• Improved the visual progression of wheat and flax; there are now five distinct visual stages to each and flax has its own versions as opposed to looking just like wheat in its growing phases
  
• Changed field progression to be based on time rather than the number of nights
  
• Fixed watering effect moving with the player and abruptly stopping
  

[h2]🐞 Others[/h2]

• Added branches to pine tree forests for newly generated worlds
  
• Villagers can now read books and examine things whilst sitting down
  
• Shift and caps lock are now listened to in the previously updated fields of the new adventure screen
  
• Fixed transparency issues when decorating and placing certain things
  
• Fixed villagers getting stuck because of trying to complete goals whilst sitting down
  
• Fixed villagers repeating some long actions right after each other (for example, sitting at a tavern, getting up, and then immediately going for another drink damn drunkards!)
  

[h2]🍂 Seasonal changes[/h2]

• Villagers now make various new season-specific remarks
  
• You will now see a cosy warm drink when visiting the tavern during autumn and winter
  
• Birds will no longer sing during the winter season in forests
  

[h2]🚶Improved start adventure screen[/h2]

• Controller movement is now much better supported
  
• The keyboard is now automatically shown in Steam's Big Picture mode and on the SteamDeck
  
• Added a randomise button for your appearance to the new game screen
  

[h2]🐛 Other improvements and bug fixes[/h2]

• Improved the sleep screen with a loading bar and some other extra cute pieces
  
• Updated the bakery and smithy oven to be more artistically consistent and fix floating issues
  
• Villagers are now able to make remarks while sitting down on decorations too
  
• Added sounds to villager card games
  
• Villagers witnessing a building completion will now feel good from it (depending on their personality)
  
• Fixed smoke instantly hiding after finishing with an oven
  
• Fixed being able to walk through the workshop table during building construction
  

[h2]Sitting[/h2]

• Added the ability for villagers to sit on chairs, benches, and anything sittable :)
  
• You can now sit on the decorations other villagers place
  
• When sitting down, you now sit-up in the same place as you sat down in
  

[h2]Fields[/h2]

• Added a use for watering pots! You can now water fields to increase growth rate (finally giving watering pots a use), and made fields take 4 days to fully grow instead of 3 (if unwatered)
  
• Fixed fields still growing in the winter
  
• Fixed fields not loading at their correct growth phase
  

[h2]Other improvements and fixes[/h2]

• Added villager stories for reading
  
• Improved construction placement and finishing effects
  
• Fixed not being able to craft specific variants and colours in the tailor
  
• Fixed villagers getting stuck in the depths of mines
  
• Fixed villager speech bubble text overflowing when longer than 3 lines
  
• Fixed occasionally not being able to enter your house
  
• Fixed some parts of stories being skipped