Animalkind News

[p]Hello mechies & friends![/p][p]As Steam Next Fest wraps up, we wanted to express our gratitude and celebrate the love and support for our demo! During this time, we added over 10,000 wishlists on Steam, and we loved seeing all the comments, feedback, and streams from our players![/p][p]From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for continuing to root for us! Your support makes Animalkind possible and fills us with joy.[/p][p]We're excited to share some more about what's to come in the near future, so be on the lookout![/p][p]The Uncommon Team 🐾[/p]

[p]We’re back with another update for the Animalkind demo! This patch should address some of the most common issues. Thank you to all of the players (and your friends) who reported bugs or issues. We appreciate you![/p][p]Here are the specific changes this update is bringing to Animalkind:[/p]

• [p]HUD quest tracker opens/closes properly, especially when coming back from closing a modal.[/p]
• [p]Storage box can be picked up and put back down without losing it’s contents (they attempt to be added to your inventory but will drop out in the little boxes if inventory is full).[/p]
• [p]Fishing works as a client connected to a host (i.e. the bug in multiplayer where fish would not appear in inventory).[/p]
• [p]Sam’s shop UI is updated to match the new crafting/shop UI.[/p]
• [p]The button indicators in the HUD should be a little crisper[/p]
• [p]A fix for the dialog issue when getting a recipe unlock in the quest flow; we are not sure we have caught 100% of cases though.[/p]
• [p]Ultra sensitive controller input fixes, most visible in the shared meals UI when switching panes from left side to right and vice versa.[/p]
• [p]Small loc fix with friendship titles being unlocalized.[/p]

[p]Have a wonderful week![/p][p]The Uncommon Team 🐾[/p]

[p]The “co-op update” for the Animalkind demo has gone really well this week and we’ve been taking some time to enjoy Steam Next Fest (see our antics below). But as always we want to ensure that the game is in the best possible shape, so we are releasing a patch.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The general theme of this update is addressing issues and bugs that are impacting demo players. We have also added support for Simplified Chinese, allowing more players to enjoy the game in their language. This is the first language option we are adding to Animalkind and we hope to add more in the future.[/p][p][/p][p]Here are the specific changes this update is bringing to Animalkind:[/p]

• [p]Added support for Simplified Chinese; this setting can be toggled from the Gameplay section of the Settings menu.[/p]
• [p]New sound effects added throughout the game.[/p]
• [p]Zoomies can now collect from bushes and crops.[/p]
• [p]NPCs can now enter their tents occasionally rather than only standing outside.[/p]
• [p]Updated player nametag styling.[/p]
• [p]Updated chat interface animations and transitions.[/p]
• [p]Some objects that required the mech to interact with will now accept the animal as well.[/p]
• [p]Added a small toast animation to the quest tracker icon on quest completion.[/p]
• [p]Addressed a bug where a Recipe unlock sometimes froze the screen.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted settings that caused Tablets, FLOOF codices, and a few other world items to sometimes clip through the terrain and be lost to the void. They should return from the void after you update the game.[/p]
• [p]Addressed a bug where talking to the portal to progress a questline could cause a hard-lock.[/p]
• [p]Addressed a bug with sleep skipping multiple days.[/p]
• [p]Addressed a bug where the recipe unlock celebration gets stuck and locks the game.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Thank you for supporting Animalkind![/p][p]The Uncommon Team 🐾[/p]

[p]Hello mechies & friends! 👋🏽[/p][p]The Uncommon team has been hard at work and we’re happy to announce that the Animalkind demo has been updated just in time for Steam Next Fest, starting Monday, February 23rd at 10am PT. This is a really big update so we wanted to share some details about what you can expect and what to look out for! If you have been enjoying the demo before this and want to continue playing on your island, please make sure to read this full post.[/p][p][/p][p]Co-op Multiplayer 🤝🏽[/p][p]The most anticipated addition to this demo update is the addition of co-op multiplayer, which means you can play with up to four of your friends and explore the island together! You can complete quests and make friends with the adorable characters that reside with you on your island. Invite your friends to your island and prepare to build something fantastic together! We had the pleasure of watching people play this in one of closed tests, and it was so heartwarming seeing people come together and build lovely towns. [/p][p][/p][p]As a special bonus, we’ve also added a shared save system that means any members of multiplayer world will be able to access that world, regardless of who started it or was hosting when they last played! 💾 ↔️ ☁️[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Writing & Story ✍🏽[/p][p]Animalkind’s story and dialogue has been revamped thanks to our writer, Kelsey! The core story and characters will still be familiar, but our characters will have more colorful dialogue, more variety in their conversations, and more depth overall. You’ll also find that you as a player have more options to roleplay in your friendship with the other villagers of Animalkind.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]UI Overhaul 🖱️[/p][p]Alongside many of the gameplay changes, the UI of Animalkind is also being improved! Expect to see the following:[/p]

• [p]Overhauled HUD with cleaner, more contextual UI, reducing clutter, as well as a warmer, cozier feel![/p]
• [p]More consistency across user interfaces, especially amongst inventory, crafting, and the sales box.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]New Items and Customization Options 😎[/p][p]We’re adding new items to the game as well as customization options for both the animals and the mechs. You’ll find some of these items are pretty useful and change the way that you play the game. Thanks to the horde of people that played the pink raccoon in our playtests, the customization options now include some less natural colorings for our playable animals![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Sleeping & Day/Night Cycle 😴[/p][p]We heard your feedback from the first version of the demo and we’ve made a change. Your animal character will no longer be forced to go to sleep! There’s a new user interface indicator for the day/night cycle in the game, which will indicate what time of day it is! Once you have your first housing placed with a bed, you’ll be able to go to sleep during the evening hours. Sleeping is still important because it recharges your mech’s energy, so make sure to crawl into your beds when it’s night time and get a good night’s rest! You’ll find that your gardens and other things grow over night as well.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]And more![/p][p]You’ll find that many aspects of Animalkind that you may have experienced for have been updated and improved. We really appreciate the time and feedback we received from our Alpha players, thank you![/p][p][/p][p]⚠️ PLEASE READ IF YOU HAVE AN EXISTING WORLD ⚠️[/p][p]With all of the changes in this update, existing Animalkind demo worlds will not be available going forward unless you switch to a special version we’ve set up in Steam. You can continue your existing worlds on the version labeled “demo-v1” and you can switch to the other version to play the update. Switching between these versions can be done in your Steam Library by right-clicking on Animalkind and selecting properties. You should see a screen that looks like this (see below).[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]And that is that! Please play our new demo! 🙏🏽[/p][p]As always, our team is looking for ways to make Animalkind the most exciting and enjoyable game it can possibly be, and we can’t do that without our players. If you’d like to support us, please consider playing the demo with your friends, watching content creators, or sharing our game with others![/p][p][/p][p]As we kickoff Steam Next Fest, feel free to share your favorite parts of the new demo, your feedback on what could be better, and any bugs you might encounter while you adventure through your islands! We’re looking forward to hearing from you![/p][p][/p][p]The Uncommon Team 🐾[/p][p][/p][p]Join our Discord Server 🗨️[/p][p]‍Join up to chat with the devs, find fellow villagers to play with, and share feedback. We are actively looking to the community to help shape Animalkind into the best game it can be![/p]

[p]Hi mechies and friends of Animalkind![/p][p][/p][p]A new year has dawned! It is time for us to come out of our cave and awaken from hibernation. Not really, we’ve actually been really busy. We took a brief break for the holidays and new years but we’re back and ready to share more about what’s been going on with Animalkind and what’s coming up next.[/p][p][/p][p]We ended the year launching a new demo on Steam, in partnership with the folks over at PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2025. Since then thousands have played and wishlisted, which makes us very happy. We’re glad that people are enjoying that small slice of Animalkind and are looking forward to it’s release. Thank you for your support, we really appreciate it. With your help we’ve found and squashed bugs of all sorts. With your feedback we’ve gotten many ideas to improve the game and make sure it delivers the experience you’re looking forward to.[/p][p][/p][p]So you might be wondering… what have we been so busy working on? Well, a few things![/p][p][/p][p]Demo Update and Steam Next Fest[/p][p]We’ve been working on a major update to the Animalkind demo (available on Steam!). We want the demo to be the best way for people to learn about our vision and decide whether or not it’s the right game for them. The current version of demo has a lot of great content, but we limited it to single-player in order to make it more broadly available. But we believe the most fun way to play Animalkind is with friends so we’re going to be adding co-op multiplayer to the demo! We'll share details on how this will work in our next update. [/p][p][/p][p]We’re also overhauling many other aspects of the demo. Your feedback was instrumental in helping us sort through ways to improve it and things to add. We’ll get into a lot more detail about these changes in our next update. We expect to launch this updated demo as part of the upcoming Steam Next Fest, which begins February 23rd and ends March 2nd![/p][p][/p][p]New Concepts[/p][p]In parallel, we’re also working on a lot of content and features that are a part of Animalkind but won’t be included in the demo. That’s because the demo really represents the beginning of the game and there are characters, locations, tools and more that come later in the game. We aren’t ready to talk about these additions to the game in detail just yet, but we’re very excited about them. Here’s a little sneak peek into some of the things coming in the future…[/p][p][/p][p]An Adorable New Way to Nap[/p][p]With our adorable animals now getting sleepy every night, we wanted to give them even more adorable places to hunker down and dream. Here’s what it could look like for our dogs and cats out there… I wonder what kind of bed a raccoon might sleep on?[/p][p][/p][p]Pet Beds (concept art WIP)[/p][p][/p][p]Cute Furniture for the Discerning Homeowner[/p][p]What home would be complete without some stylish furniture? Our animals are going to be getting some wardrobes to furnish their homes. Look at those cute wardrobes, I want every color!![/p][p][/p][p]Wardrobes (concept art WIP)[/p][p][/p][p]Of course, this is just a small preview of what’s to come. We hope you’re looking forward to the updated-with-multiplayer version of the demo! We’ll be sharing a breakdown of the demo update and Steam Next Fest in a few weeks.[/p][p][/p][p]Until then… if you’d like to support Animalkind and Uncommon, there are a few ways to do so:[/p]

• [p]Wishlist the game on Steam (it really does help)[/p]
• [p]Continue to share your thoughts and feedback in our Discord or the surveys we send out with each playable version of the game[/p]
• [p]Know someone who might like Animalkind? Maybe send them our trailer or a screenshot![/p]

[p]Thank you again for being a part of the community, for playing, and for cheering us on. We’re grateful to have you! We’re very excited to share more about the updated demo and what will follow.[/p]