Buckle up everyone, as Orange Season v0.5 is finally here!
The changelog this time is much larger than usual, so I'll try to keep things short. Feel free to reach out if you want to know more about any change.
New Mouse Controls:
Playing with a mouse was too complicated before, but now almost everything is done with a left mouse click. The game will automatically determine what it should do based on what you clicked on. A few actions still have specific commands, like double clicking to remove a building / fence / machine / sprinkler. You can also right click an item or tool on the HUD to quickly use/consume it.
New Save System & Steam Cloud:
I changed the way the save files are stored. From now on, the game will generate a file with your character name that will hold all of your data. Those files can be opened and modified with any text editor (like windows' notepad) but be careful of what you change, because you can easily break the data structure too. The game will also sync your save files with Steam Cloud now, so you can play the same save file on multiple computers. Do make sure all of your computer clocks have the right time, or this feature may cause an older save to overwrite a new one.
New Menus and Interfaces:
The thick of this update is that every menu screen has changed: the game loading, title screen, main menu, storage, shipping bin, trash, item shops, animal shops, recipe list and probably more that I'm forgetting right now. I'm very excited to finally share all those new interfaces, because I've been working on them since last year. A few of them (like the tool list) may be looking incomplete because they are prepared for some new features that are not yet implemented in the game.
Maps:
Probably the most requested feature of the game on recent times, the maps are finally in. Press the map key anywhere to load a map showing the whole area you're in and the location of any villagers within it. The villagers will appear inside their houses if they are awake there, but will disappear from the map if they are unavailable.
Credits Screen:
Press the map key on the title screen to access the game credits.
New Teleporter Requirements:
You'll need to befriend Annie and complete a series of tasks to receive the teleporter now. If you load a save file that already has the teleporter, it will be removed from your inventory.
Machines:
You can now ask Viktor to build machines for you, like the mayo maker and cheese maker. Put an item in, get another item out of it. There are no timers, but with the exception of the hay and feed makers, you can only put in one item at a time.
Portraits of the main characters:
Your own character and the first 10 marriage candidates now have a portrait picture that will be displayed whenever they say something. Some of those characters had their styles changed on this update as well. And since many people had trouble with her name, Cinth was renamed to Cindy.
New Conversations:
Every character that received a portrait on this update also received dozens of new conversations. Only one of the new conversations will be triggered per day and it'll usually be the first thing the villager will say that day. Most of those are related to the beginning of the game, so don't mind if a character you've been talking to for ages suddenly act like they barely know you. Tasks and Cutscenes may require you to have seen some of those new interactions.
Some of them can only be triggered during spring, but it doesn't need to be on year 1.
New Tasks:
Other than the tasks I mentioned on previous items, there are also new fetch quests. Nothing too exciting, but they can give you some extra friendship points.
New Tool Behaviors:
Some tools will work in a different way now. The watering can will always be used on it's max level, so you don't need to hold the tool button anymore. The sickle will also be used on it's max level when cutting weeds, but it will only cut crops if you click on them (one at a time). When cutting crops with the sickle, there's a chance you'll receive back a seed for it. Cutting weeds with the sickle will also give you the weed item that you can now use to make hay. The other tools like the hammer, axe and hoe do not have an area of effect. The axe and hammer will always have the strength of it's max level, while the hoe will have a faster animation and a largely reduced stamina consumption when upgraded.
Changed availability of animals in shops:
I've reduced the number of animals available for sale on the shop (for example: 8 kinds of cow instead of 32). Mostly because there were many animals that were only a couple pixels different from others. Now each animal is unique.
Changed Crops/Seeds Prices and Growth Time:
I changed the prices of several seeds and crops to rebalance everything. A few seeds also changed their growth time, but those changes were minimal.
New weekly shop:
On saturdays, you can find the salesman on the restaurant, where he'll be selling you random items that you've shipped before, as well as some very rare items that can fetch a high price.
Pause time inside houses:
Previously the game would only pause the time inside your own house. Now it applies to all houses. Many players asked for this and it also makes things easier on my side, as I no longer need to implement Serge kicking you out when you decided to sleep right in the middle of the store. Sleeping on the floor will not recover stamina and fatigue when if time is paused.
Even more:
There has been a lot of other small details that I changed during all this time that this update was cooking. See if you can find anything.
Next Update
This is not yet a promise, but version 0.5.1 is planned for August. It should include the portraits of the other villagers and some new festivals, among other things.
I'm also working towards completing the dating system, which will be included on version 0.6.
