Magical Harvest News

[h3]Hello, magical farming friends! [/h3]

The development for the demo version is going on and in the last two weeks a lot has happened!

We have a few more concepts for water creatures to fish e.g., jellyfish, eel or oyster. In the demo you should be able to fish at least 20 different water creatures in addition to their color variants. Fishing locations are the farm, the sea and the mine.

Cooking has been finished and some recipes have been added, but the price and quality of the products are still to be calculated. In addition, the products do not yet have any effects when eaten.



The big area Mine is 98% finished for the demo version. There are still a few puzzles missing, they will be adjusted at the end when the demo is playable. In the mine, 3 types of stone, 3 ores and 3 crystals can be mined, as well as 3 types of mushrooms can be found. The mine can be explored and expanded piece by piece to unlock new areas.
Every Monday, the collectible objects in the mine are reset. In between, however, the mine also recovers a little every day to provide a supply of mining products.
This can still change in the course of development.



Implementing light in the mine was a big part that took some time... There will definitely be a slider in the settings to manually adjust the brightness (for some, the mine might look a bit dark).



In addition to the mine, melting metals into ingots and cutting raw gemstones into jewels are now available.

New 3D objects have been added or revised:
Crystals T1-T3, kitchen (still without decoration), ore smelter, gem cutter, alchemical, workbench, bed, bookshelf, nightstand.
Our placeholder character has now clothes adapted to the graphic style.

In addition to these main areas, general background improvements have also been made for a better game flow.



[h3]Planning until July 15 [/h3]
The following areas are scheduled to be done by July 15:

These are partly rather small projects, so there might be time to implement more things.
Furthermore, is pending:

In two months, the demo version should be ready. Especially the tutorial will take a long time, so we have to invest a lot of time to make progress.

In the meantime, we wish you a nice summer!
Enjoy the weather and have fun!

Best regards,
Your Magical Harvest Team
Isa & Marie

[h3]Hello, magical farm friends![/h3]
Decisions have been made in the last two weeks that you may be happy about. Originally we were going to focus on implementing all the core content this year, but now that the game cycle around the farm is done, we are putting the focus on creating a demo-version!

The mating of animals will still be missing, otherwise, all content around farm life is planned, including mining ores and crystals from the mine and fishing for first fish and their color variations.



Crafting-wise, you'll be able to do the normal crafts, cook, and brew potions. The decoration mode may be taken out entirely or will be limited, as the current decorative objects are just placeholders and we are focusing on the assets on the core gameplay loop.
The plan is to have the demo completed in September. Then our first playtest will be at a public gaming event in Sweden, and by Steam-Next-Fest in October it will be available online on Steam.



The time frame is quite tight, but we are confident to be able to give you first glimpses with this demo version in October! The demo version can be seen as a kind of pre-alpha version and of course there will be some changes to the final version.

[h3]What was done in the last two weeks?[/h3]

[h3]Planning until July 1st:[/h3]
For the demo version the following areas should be implemented:

There is a lot to do!
Therefore... let's go on!

Best regards,
Your Magical Harvest Team
Isa & Marie

[h3]Hello magical farm friends![/h3]

Here is our first devlog entry on Steam. We want to show you who is working on Magical Harvest, what is the current state of the project and what will happen next.

Currently we are two game developers from Germany, living in Sweden with 3 cats for over a year now. We mainly have programming experience, but except for the music and sound effects, we make the game completely ourselves.
The planning of Magical Harvest started in November 2021, the programming started one month later.

We love farm games and fantasy and that's why we mix both in our game. We are passionate about the deep story in The Elder Scrolls and want to bring a bigger story into Magical Harvest than is usually done in farming games. In terms of gameplay, the (former) Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games are the main inspiration for gameplay, but Stardew Valley also has an influence on Magical Harvest.

If you want to know more, you can write with us in our Discord channel and also express your own ideas and wishes. Click here:


The goal is to program the core content of the game this year. Next year these will be improved if necessary and we will focus on the graphical aspect, add content and put the game together. Currently we are working partly with preliminary placeholder assets (e.g. the decorations in the farmhouse or from outside), but mainly the current farm plants and fish and most of the inventory icons are finished.
Besides the programming, the characters, farm animals and story are designed, and the first farm plants are created.

[h3]What is the current state of the project?[/h3]
The following content has already been programmed:

[h3]What core elements are still missing?[/h3]

More in planning:

From now on we will report monthly on progress here and also what is planned for the next month.

June planning:

So, follow us here for more updates and have a great time!

Your Magical Harvest-Team,
Isa & Marie
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Are you wondering which races and factions are living in Hyldena? Here comes a short overview of the 3 Factions and 5 Races.

[h2]Factions[/h2]
The town Dragonreath is run by 3 factions, each of which lives out its own ideas about magic.
The city is divided accordingly into three districts, where the inhabitants live their daily lives.

• Sidus-order
  The Sidus Order focuses on pure magic and the 'scientific' aspect. In their opinion, magic is connected to everything and flows back and forth, with the nodes being the stars. Thus, the Order is very focused on the stars and the cosmos. The Sidus Order experiments a lot with magic and tries to improve the world with it and with spells.
  In the eyes of the Sidus Order, they are the most important faction, because magic and knowledge is everything in their opinion. Anyone who claims otherwise and does not study the 'real' magic is beneath them.
  Because of the disappearance of magic, the order is in quite a turmoil and they are desperately trying to find out the reason and how to solve the problem. Thus, they are very fixated on their own studies.
  
  
• Shailyn-alliance
  The Shailyn Alliance is ancient, and according to their beliefs, true magic is the light itself. Magic can only be powerful if it is pure and connected to the light. The Shailyn Alliance does not deny that other forms of magic exist, but in their eyes it is only an abstract, misguided type of magic. For this reason, they also have a problem with the Obsideran Pact, as the members of that particularly contaminate and destroy magic.
  With the disappearance of magic, the relationship between these two factions is more strained than ever. The Shailyn Alliance blames the Obsideran Pact for the disappearance, and if they weren't so busy saving magic with sacred rituals, they would probably try to harm the Obsideran Pact.
  
  
• Obsideran-pact
  The Obsideran Pact is strongly connected to the darkness. They believe the darkness is the origin of everything: life begins in the darkness before you are born and ends with you returning to the darkness. Accordingly, the same is true of magic.
  To exploit the power of magic, they use dark rituals. They believe in the power of the strongest and see predators that hunt at night as a kind of role model.
  The disappearance of magic has made relations with the other factions more sensitive, especially with the Shailyn Alliance, as they see the Obsideran Pact as the source of the problem. Fortunately, they are immersing themselves in their dark rituals to bring back magic instead of seeking violence.
  

[h2]Races[/h2]

• Humans
  Probably the most adaptable race of Hyldenas is that of humans. While they were once not appreciated by the other races, they have since more than proven themselves. They have produced great mages, as well as healers, explorers, and discoverers.
  Humans are very flexible and often approach things in new ways instead of walking old paths. Typically, they connect everything they see and experience, which can also be discovered in their style of clothing and lifestyle.
  Because of their adaptability, they can be found in all factions and stubbornly try to show that even races that don't have the 'natural gift' can be just as successful as long as you have the passion for it.
  
  
• Ki'shen
  These people were once blessed by the gods and are now closely associated with animals. Ki'shen have the gift of calming magical creatures and befriending them. They typically have animal ears that help them hear better, as well as tails that help them with balance.
  Ki'Shen are very open-minded and optimistic by nature, which they often express with bright, friendly colors in their clothing. However, due to the disappearance of magic and the associated disappearance of magical beings, many Ki'shen lose their optimistic attitude.
  They believe in the connection between magical creatures and the cosmos, which is why they invariably join the Sidus Order.
  
  
• Elves
  Elves are considered by many to be particularly graceful and majestic. They stand out because of their long pointed ears and their majesty. Elves often seem perfect in everything they do. This is probably because they rarely deviate from their way of doing things and try new things.
  Elves like to be seen as mythical and are originally very connected to magic by nature, so the loss of magic hits elves especially hard. Because elves are careful to maintain their reputation and be untouched by worldly things, they are also often described as arrogant.
  For elves, light is very sacred, so it is not surprising that they are found in the Shailyn Alliance.
  
  
• Drakys
  A proud race, but distrustful of other races. Drakys are characterized by their scaly tails, horns, and scales that protect part of their skin. Because of their appearance and the coincidence that the black dragons disappeared when this species first appeared, the myth arose that they were descendants of those black dragons.
  Because of this myth, the belief that they could turn into dragons and destroy whole areas, existed for a long time, and they were persecuted for it. However, with time this belief disappeared and the Drakys, who originally lived in the mountains, began to live with the other races in the cities.
  The Drakys are more likely to be found in the Obsideran Pact, as they are naturally more gifted in the use of dark magic. However, they are valued not only for their talent with dark magic in the Obsideran Pact, but also for their alchemical talent. But not everyone appreciates this, and some still believe that they make poisons rather than useful alchemical potions.
  
  
• Nereids
  Due to the fact that their former home - a city in the sea - was destroyed, Nereids had to get used to life on land. As a result, they are more open to new experience and curious about the life on land. Nevertheless, they are always surrounded by a longing for the sea.
  Some of them have the goal to rebuild their old homeland, but they also appreciate the advantages of country life: varied food, the exchange with the other peoples and cultures, but also the expansion of their knowledge with the use of magic.
  Even though they have now fully adapted to a life on the land, their culture is still closely linked to the ocean, as well as to the moon and the stars, which determine the tides. That is why Nereids are often represented in the Sidus Order, but there are also some representatives of this race who prefer the Obsideran Pact.
  

[h3]Clothing[/h3]
Here follows the rough concept art of the clothing style of the races.
Humans: more medieval oriented
Ki'shen: cute, kodona-fashion-oriented
Elves: elegant, a little traditional-chinese style included
Drakys: leather-oriented with dragon-elements
Nereids: light, thin fashion, maybe a bit warrior-style