Magical Harvest News

Hello Farmer!

Animals


There are more farm animals in Magical Harvest than in traditional farming games. This is due to our "crossbreeding" system. This means that you can partially crossbreed animals to get magical animals.
Currently, the focus is on creating the 27(!) farm animals. First the 3D models are created, then textured and then the animations follow. This takes a lot of time, but it's worth it. It will probably take most of the month just to make the models and textures. The animations will follow later.

The current progress and therefore finished animals and information about them can be found on our Patreon page (viewable for free).

Demo
We had last released the demo and a big update to it. However, the demo is now offline on Steam - why? While trying to make last-minute-performance improvements, some bugs occurred. Fixing them would have taken more time and been irrelevant to further progress.


Thanks to the demo, however, we have already implemented many things into the game that will simplify future development and save us a lot of rework. Now, however, we are back to adding new features and adapting the world based on our insights.

One point, for example, is the reworking of the entire appearance of the game world. It will look much more coherent and better for the performance of the game (less/hopefully no lags on older computers or on the Steam deck).
The current pictures of the environment are not final, but it will go in that direction.


We wish you a wonderful Christmas season! Enjoy the advent days!
See you on 15 December for the next update!

Are there things you want to know from us? Write to us!

Best regards,
Your Magical Harvest Team
Isa & Marie

Finally! The demo update!
We have decided to end the revision of the demo at this point! The creation and improvement of the demo has brought us a lot further. We were able to identify the main problems (e.g. performance) and were able to implement and improve many things that will save us a lot of rework for further development.

A big point that comes next is to create a more suitable environment. In the demo there are still some placeholder assets in use and we also need to adjust a few things for performance. First of all the trees. This means a complete overhaul of the environment and the first test runs are very promising.

Unfortunately, thanks to Corona, we were still a bit stuck in the progress, so we'll refrain from making any more improvements to the demo. Otherwise we'll probably never really get any further :D.

Currently, we are also trying to write more information on our Patreon page. A lot of it will be more "behind the scenes", the story around the characters and hyldena and also a bit more personal.

[h3] Here are the patch notes for the demo:[/h3]
Settings:

• added German localization
• renamed settings to "System Settings" and added a "Game Settings" menu
• System settings: - added Language-dropdown for selecting language (currently English & German)
  
• Game settings: - added header font dropdown to change the header font
  - added font dropdown to change the base font
  - added a text speed selection
  - added a toggle for metric or imperial measuring system
  - added a toggle for time format selection
  - added a toggle to toggle on/off the additionally Magical-level icons
  

UI-Adjustments:

• reworked all UI visuals with a much cleaner style
• Item icons: a small roman number in the bottom left shows the magic level of this item additionally to the coloured background. Can be turned on and off in the game settings
• Items have two types of icons now: one outlined for the smaller displays and one "illustration"-type of icon for the bigger displays.

Other:

• added controller support
• added SteamDeck support
• added Cloud-save
• sensor for multiselection reworked
• the helpers at the top middle part of the screen have been reworked
• added some more input possibilities - Tool-usage: right-mouse-button or Space - Multiselection cancel: left-mouse-button or E - Interaction: left-mouse button or E
• game fits in most screen ratios now (horizontal ratios above 4:3 resolution)
• bugfixes

Best regards,
Your Magical Harvest Team
Isa & Marie

Hello together!

We've had a lot to do in the last two weeks!
The UI has been redesigned and there is definitely a difference in quality. We are still implementing controller support, which is a bit more nerve-wracking than we first thought. Every UI window has to be adjusted and button helpers have to be inserted and displayed correctly. But it's progressing well.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Crossbreeding test:
Last week, we participated in a GameJam to test the Magical Harvest breeding system.
(What is a GameJam? It is an attempt to create a finished game within a certain period of time. These are, for shorter Jams, usually smaller games of a few minutes playing time. The duration of a jam varies from 24 hours to a few days. There are also longer, more challenging jams.)

The GameJam lasted 5 days and in this time we created the small game "Monster Book of Monsters" where you can crossbreed monsters. The mini-game included in it is the precursor to the breeding system between different species in Magical Harvest. The game was well received and therefore passed the "user test".
You can play the game (for free) here: Itch io - Monster Book of Monsters
As we worked under time pressure, we couldn't come up with high quality 3D models and animations.

Next Bachelor: Zarek
In addition, the illustration of the next bachelor is finished: Zarek.
Zarek is a Nereid and fisherman, but he prefers to fish with his spear than with a fishing rod. He is very self-confident and has a dream which he is trying to fulfil. Would you like to help him?
More information about Zarek will follow soon!
Artist: Ulfenheim



What's next?
We will continue to work on the demo. Unfortunately, we also have trips abroad coming up, so that will set us back a bit more in terms of time. But we'll do our best to have an update available at least in November, which will significantly increase the quality of the game.

Best regards,
Your Magical Harvest Team
Isa & Marie

What exciting days!
You've been able to play the demo on Steam and Itch.io for a few days now.
Now there is a lot for us to do! The first goal is to improve the pre-alpha demo, especially in the visual aspect, in order to continue the development of Magical Harvest.
Also

• Implementing the localization options (German for now)
  
• Controller support (and thus Steamdeck support)
  
• Players can change the font in the options
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Most of this is already done, but currently, the whole UI is being visually reworked. This will take more time, but it will make the UI much better and more fitting!

We have already received feedback regarding the demo and thank you for it! Every feedback helps us to know if we are going in the right direction (which is the case) and where we need to rework.
Things that have been noted and need to be improved (besides the graphical aspects):

• The puzzles in the mine are too hard.
  
• The old farm was not found/only found with difficulty.
  
• The Steampage (will be adjusted after the graphical revision).
  

An update for the demo will follow as soon as the above things are done, which may take a good 3 weeks.

[h3]First character![/h3]
The illustration of Neria from the race Drakys was created by the talented hand of Ulfenheim . Based on this, the portraits are created with different facial expressions that will be used for the dialogues. We will introduce them in more detail later.
Currently, the merman Zarek is being worked on (Nereid race).


And now... back to work. The UI is waiting.

[h2]Hyldena is waiting for you! [/h2]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

You can play through the first spring, which takes around 5 hours, as often as you want.
Discover the first farming features, catch all types and colours of fish, ad explore the mine with its riddles.
Maybe you can find all the magical shards, but this might be not as easy as it seems in the beginning.

We appreciate every feedback! You can write it directly in the game and send it to us there to help us to improve the game.

Sadly, the donation-dlc is currently not working thanks to a miscommunication between Steam and us. If you want to support us otherwise, consider becoming a Patreon to gain some benefits or donate on itch.io.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/moonflamegames
Itch.io: https://isavii.itch.io/magical-harvest-demo

Thank you very much for playing the game!
We wish you a lot of fun in Hyldena!

Best regards,
Isa & Marie