Hello Ranchers!
Today we have a small update to celebrate the beginning of Spring, and although we are currently unable to make any changes to the gameplay due to working on the UE5 upgrade, we were able to add some cosmetics to the game!
From the character creator you can select Easter themed apparel, and from the general store you can purchase an Easter themed egg basket!
UE5 Upgrade Upate
I want to thank you all for your patience and understanding with the current work we are doing on the UE5 upgrade. Here's what we're working on:
Enhanced Visuals
The engine upgrade will allow us to push visuals to the next level, with enhancements to lighting, environments and more.
We've made some improvements to some livestock and animals, including wolves, chickens, roosters and chicks. The open world in Ranch Simulator will feel more alive as we are about to start work on creating new sound effects, animations and general signs of life!
Optimisation Improvements
Something we've been hearing loud and clear from you, the community, is that performance needs improving. Especially for larger ranches with more livestock, We expect to see notable improvements to framerate for some of you, depending on your PC and specs, once we have upgraded to UE5.
Currently we have improved the lighting and performance, and have successfully ran a test on the Steamdeck for the first time. The environments and lighting shown in these work in progress images are still subject to change.
New Content and Improvements - Pets, Controller Support, Achievements and more!
We're delighted to reveal what we have planned following the Unreal Engine 5 upgrade, including a number of community-requested features and enhancements:
- Pets - yes, we can confirm that dogs and cats are coming to your ranch! 🐶🐱
- Steam achievements
- Controller support
- Animation rework
- Various gameplay improvements based on community feedback
Happy ranching!
The Ranch Sim Team