2025 has been a very busy year from a development standpoint; however, we’ve regrettably not provided as many updates as we had hoped or that you as players deserve. Firstly, we would like to apologise for not providing more updates on the progress of Pastures New, as there have been many updates and improvements, which we will talk about later in this post.
The plan was to get the basic survival aspect of the game all rounded off and to showcase all that work in a short video so everyone could get the full feel for what Pastures New is trying to achieve. However, we've ended up redesigning more systems than originally planned, as well as future-proofing them, to hopefully make life easier and more efficient in the future. As a team of two, many of these things have just taken a lot longer than we first thought.
We now believe Pastures New core foundations are on much sturdier ground, with all the work which has been done to shore up and improve the fundamental systems. At the end of the day, much of the work we ended up doing would have needed to be completed at some later point if it wasn't done now. So that's why we’ve been missing, with a lack of updates.
Lets now move our attention to what we’ve been busy working on.
Slash System
We’ve overhauled the slash hit system to make it simpler and more straightforward to use and understand. With the inclusion of the “perfect hit” mechanic, and a complete overhaul of visual and sound effects, we believe this will provide an enjoyable experience for chopping trees and smashing rocks.
Inventory Crafting
Inventory crafting has been added to allow players to craft basic tools and with this we’ve added the ability for players to pick up small items such as sticks and small stones.
Farming
Farming was one of the systems we had already set up although we felt it was too restricting and didn’t fit into the game that Pastures New has developed into. As a result, this has been completely redesigned with new cultivated terrain, new plant models, growing functionality, and UI to assist the player in caring for their crops.
Resource Refining
Continuing the themes of mini-games from the hitting system, we’ve also created some fun little mini games for some of the basic resource refining, instead of pressing a magically craft button continuously, there is now some skill and thought behind resource refining.
Building Weather Effects
One of the many visual improvements that has been added is the addition of building weather effects. So now your homes will stay dry and cosy in the wet and snowy weather conditions.
Hunting and Trapping
To allow players more than one method of gathering food, we’ve now added trapping and basic hunting. Hunting is still rather basic, and those deer will still run away at speed so we’ve added some wild boar for you to hunt. Though they won’t accept their fate without a fight, so hunt with caution. We’ll be adding ranged weapons at a later stage, so for now you’ll have to make do with a spear.
Basic Cooking
To make use of all these new foods we’ve set up a basic cooking pot to allow players to create basic meals, to extend their energy beyond what basic food will provide. We’ve got lots of cool plans for cooking, so expect to see lots of additions in this area but for now it's rather basic.
Codex & Inventory Updates
One important system for us to work out and implement was the codex which is the in-game encyclopaedia. This is the place for all information about the game to be stored, from tools, to foods, to plants, and even crafting recipes. We wanted you as players to have access to all the information in the game without having to tab out and have a quick google. For example, if you want to know what a stick is used for, you’ll easily be able to navigate to the codex with a simple click and discover its uses in crafting. While implementing the codex we also overhauled the inventory system by popular demand, to allow for the dragging and dropping of items.
New Character & Animations
A whole new player character has been created with many customisation possibilities available. We will be showing off the customisation part of the character at a later stage, as there is still plenty of work to be done; however, we want you to know that it is one part of Pastures New that is activity being worked on, and it's looking very promising.
With a new character has come an overhaul of all the animations, from tools to locomotion. There is still room for further advancement, although we are very happy with the current improvements. As requested, we’ve added a third person camera so you’ll be able to actually see your character. Redoing all the animations has given us the chance to improve the tool animations and even allowed us to add custom idles per tool.
Exposure System
More recently, we’ve added the basics of our exposure system, meaning the player needs to stay warm in winter and cool in the summer, through fires or clothing. This is a system that will gradually be extended, although it's nice to have the basics in, as it gives purpose behind building homes and lighting fires in winter. It really does add survival to Pastures New.
Going Forward
Going forward, the plan is to keep you all much more in the loop with our progress through messages like these, and hopefully some videos in the new year showing off all the cool features we’ve just discussed. We’ve also got some really cool plans for the new year and we’ll be kicking the year off with two major overhauls the first will be a complete map overhaul. It is key for us to make a more immersive, interesting world, with new biomes and locations.
The second major update will be an overhaul of the building system. This is mainly targeted to make our lives easier, as the current system works great from a players perspective; although from our view as developers it's massively holding us back. We are planning for the future with these updates and hope to make our lives easier, to add many of the great content suggestions that we anticipate being suggested by the community in the future.
Finally, we want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. We are looking forward to sharing more content and news with you in 2026.
Thanks for reading,
Alex & Jon