Ahoy, Tinkerlanders!
The wait is over, v0.3.0.0 'Towns & Dwellers' update is ready to be played… on the unstable branch!
Bear in mind that even when we've tried our best to catch and fix all issues, the QA we can do as a small team is nothing compared to thousands of players. That's the whole point of releasing the unstable branch before moving it to stable, so we can do a larger scale test to be sure that everything works as expected.
While the game is in the unstable branch, we'll be doing daily patches to fix any issues that might arise. And while we try to keep up with all the bug reports that you send us, please forward all of them to either the Discord community, or the Bug Reports section in the Steam forums so we don't miss it.
The build should be stable enough to play (to the point that we didn't have any issues during our test playthroughs) — We’ve fixed every problem we’ve been able to find so far, but be aware that playing in the unstable branch might be a bumpy ride.
How to Join the Unstable Branch
If you’re happy to give it a try, here’s how to hop in:
Right click Tinkerlands in your Steam library.
Click Properties.
Go to the Betas tab.
Select unstable from the dropdown list.
Steam will then automatically update Tinkerlands to the unstable version.
Important: We strongly recommend backing up your save files before playing on unstable. You can find them here: AppData/Local/Tinkerlands
Now let’s make a one-stop recap of everything that just landed: what’s new, what changed under the hood, and how it all fits together!
Day & Night Islands – A New Journey
Time to pack your bags – Day Island and Night Island are open for business (and trouble). These aren’t just “two more maps”, they’re whole new chunks of progression, systems and story hooks.
Day Island – Explore a lush new region with its own dangers, quests and mysteries.
There you can find the Dryad settlement. Talk to the locals, snoop around their homes, take on quests, and slowly piece together how life works out here.
The Great Tree Dungeon – A massive tree rising from Day Island that you can actually enter. Expect branching paths (literally), side rooms, loot pockets, and enough danger to make victory feel earned.
A new language to learn – Day & Night folk speak their own tongue. Find dictionaries, learn the language, and unlock quests that reward recipes and other goodies. Progress here feels less like “checking nodes” and more like moving into someone else’s culture.
Night Island – Darker, moodier, and a full of secrets. Enemies hit harder, routes are riskier, and preparation actually matters now.
New devices – While exploring, you may stumble upon a mysterious machine used to transform items. Experiment a bit and you might find your new favorite tool for gearing up on the islands.
In short: if you like exploration, lore, and carefully built dungeons, this is your update.
NPCs & Town Life – More Than Background Decoration
We’ve spent a good chunk of this cycle on making your town and its inhabitants feel less like props and more like an actual community.
Friendship System & Gifts – You can now build Amity with several NPCs. Give them presents, figure out what they actually like, and enjoy special rewards or perks when you hit higher friendship levels. (Yes, guessing wrong is part of the fun.)
NPC Combat & Death – NPCs will now defend themselves and help you fight nearby threats. The downside? If they die, they’re out for a while. You’ll see a countdown below their name until they respawn, so try not to drag them into every lost cause.
Visual glow-up – Some NPCs got subtle visual updates to better match their roles and personalities. Nothing game-breaking, but just enough for you to occasionally think “wait, you always looked that cool?”
New Systems – Build, Ride, Zap, Enchant
Alongside new locations and NPC behaviors, v0.3.0.0 ships a whole toolbox of systems that change how you move, build and fight.
Mounts
No more crossing huge regions on foot if you don’t want to. Hop on your mount and cover long distances much faster. Great for checking remote places, visiting NPCs, or doing a quick “I forgot something in that chest 5 miles away” run.
Enchantment System
Welcome to the build-crafting playground.
Runes – Slot these into your weapons and tools to gain unique effects.
Rune Shards – Use them to upgrade your favorite runes and push a specific playstyle further. Whether you’re min-maxing for a specific dungeon, or just want a pickaxe that feels oddly overpowered, Enchantments are here for you.
Weather System
Clear skies are nice, but now you’ll also get other special weather patterns across the islands. They don’t just look pretty – some have gameplay effects. For example, a golden sky can improve your luck and increase the chance of finding rare items.
Roof & Lighting Systems
Roofs now hide what’s inside until you’re in the right spot, making exploration feel more tactile: step in, reveal the space, enjoy the “aha!” moment. A new lighting system and top lighting make interiors and night-time exploration feel more atmospheric and readable.
All of this together makes bases feel cozier, dungeons moodier, and screenshots much more screenshot-button-worthy.
Navigation & Saves – Getting Lost, But on Purpose
This update also brings a rework of how you uncover and navigate the world.
Map items – Use maps to permanently uncover cells on the world map. Progress now feels more deliberate and less “oops, I accidentally revealed half the world”.
Random maps – Still exist for quick reveals when you just want to see “what’s around here”.
Compass tweaks – The compass now erases a single cell instead of wiping the whole map. No more accidental “I pressed a button and everything disappeared” moments.
Save system upgrade – Under the hood, the navigation changes are tied into a new save format. It’s more robust and future-proof, which helps us keep iterating on navigation and world structure without nuking your progress.
You get more control over how much you see and when, and we get a saner base to build the future of Tinkerlands on. Win–win.
Small But Mighty: Extra Toys
Mushroom Growers – Place one, come back the next day, and harvest a random mushroom. You can obtain it from the Witch after reaching max Amity – a neat little reward for players who invest in their relationships.
Much more – Did we say that you get the Mushroom Growers for reaching max Amity with the Witch? Well, there's quite a lot more NPCs with their unique rewards...
What’s Next?
For now, we’d love you to just dive into v0.3.0.0 (unstable): explore Day & Night Islands, test your builds with Enchantments, befriend (and occasionally accidentally kill) NPCs, and see how the new systems change your usual routes and routines.
As always, your feedback is what shapes the future of Tinkerlands. If something feels off, broken, or just strangely fun, let us know here or in our Discord!
Always ready for hotfixes,
The Tinkerlands Team