Today is the day and the second major update to my game Behind the Horizon goes live.
This time it is about making it much easier for new players to enter my world and to improve the communication between game mechanics and players.
In the two months since release, I noticed that there were many areas in the game where players wanted more information and especially a more direct access to them.
In this update I have therefore added tooltips in many places that describe items and functions briefly and directly. There are also many new shortcuts to access game menus or functions..
Some of the new tooltips can also be switched off, in case they become superfluous at some point and only interfere with the flow of the game.
The harvesting tools (sickle, basket and ladder) have been given a completely new feedback system that, in addition to their function of harvesting, they can also serve as tools to identify plants and trees and give information about them. For example, they can tell you the name of the plant, the time needed for seeds to germinate, or whether plants are flowering at this time of year, and so on.
The communication with tamed farm animals has also been heavily revised and now offers the possibility to speak to the animals as usual, so that they follow you or work for you, or (from a greater distance) to call up a small window with information that shows the name of the animal, how many days it has been tamed, whether it is housed in a stable, whether it can be sheared or milked, etc..
For NPCs there is a similar function and in the corresponding window you can then see the name, the profession and the affection you have collected from this inhabitant so far.
The game manual has also been heavily revised and is now more appealing and it is easier to find the desired information there.
Basically, this big update is also related to the previous V1.21-V1.28 in which many other functions were already implemented in this context.
- Automatic tooltips for items in many menus were introduced there, as well as the large-scale overview of the ground conditions at your farm.
- In addition, many more quests have been given a destination area.
- The whole system of speech bubbles from the player has been redesigned and many messages now contain specific information instead of a short statement like "Impossible!".
- There is an option to add a marker on the map that is saved with the game.
- Sorting items into chests is now easier than ever, as items search for the pile to add to within all crafting chests.
In addition to all this, there are of course the usual little things like fixing small bugs that pop up every now and then.
You can read the full patch notes in the community section.
And now I wish you continued fun in Behind the Horizon!