Hello everyone,
The game build has been uploaded so feel free to check it out. It has been quite busy week with work being done on quite a few areas of the game and some of them are ready to show you all.
This is a work in progress model of a Hibuna goldfish. Which depending on where I look on the internet is also called the Common Goldfish or a Red Crucian Carp. You would be surprised how long we spend trying to find the correct names and descriptions to match the visual appearance of our fish. Surprisingly, information found on the internet is not always in accordance with the truth. We have instead ordered a few well respected books/encyclopaedias about fish, one specifically about goldfish which will clarify all in the near future.
As was said before the model is not done yet. Everything is more or less in the right place. The next step is to refine the shapes of the head and body and do another pass shaping the fins. Then small variations will be made to distinguish the genders. there is not a huge amount of difference between male and female Hibunas so we will rely on slightly changing some proportions and shapes a bit so the models are not identical to the naked eye. Furthermore they will be painted with variations. Male Hibunas, much like other goldfish, have these little white dots near they gills.
It is long overdue that we update the in-game help system so it actually provides help to players. In the previous two weeks we have seen some players express frustration about not knowing how to navigate the camera or are baffled by how the plumbing system works. We don't really have an excuse for not providing such simple features such as in-game help other than we have just been working on everything else in the game. Nevertheless every week from now on we will do our best to add new entries to the help system and update existing ones when we make a change. We have begun with help for the main controls and a more detailed explanation of the current state of the plumbing system. The button for quick help can be found in the top right corner of the screen.
Yes we have added cheese to the game. It is quite often used as bait by people looking to catch fish for sport or food because it's scent underwater is quite strong and curious fish cant resist a nibble. According to most online sources a good number of fish should not actually eat cheese long term because they do not have the ability to digest animal fat. This does tie into some features will be adding later to do with food.
The quality of food that players feed to their fish will affect their lifespan and behaviour over time. If players feed their fish the same fish pellets for a long time their happiness will decrease and their lifespan will shorten. Feeding them some of the more interesting foods we have been adding in previous weeks will have different outcomes such as increases happiness, longer lifespan, increased chance of breeding (ooh la la), reduction of stress etc etc etc. Not to mention in career mode the more interesting food will have a higher cost so players will need to balance their finances in order to feed their fish a really healthy diet. In the forums a food list will shortly be posted that will list all the food currently in the game as well as what we are planning to add so we encourage you to check it out and make suggestions once it is posted.
We are also adding cheese now for reasons explained below.
August 1st is National Swiss Day and our company is based in Switzerland, Furthermore some of you may have seen that Fishery has been on sale this week along with around 50 other Swiss games. So to commemorate these events we thought it would be fun to add the Swiss cheese and the floaty duck painted as the Swiss flag.
Next week we are taking a little bit of a break from normal work because it is my birthday and I have not really had a break yet this year. However knowing myself I will probably finish the goldfish model and add more entries to the in-game help. Also the FAQ on the forums needs updating along with the fish list. The suggestions made by people in the fish list thread has been fantastic and it is just growing and growing. I urge you you all to check it out and contribute.
More lists will certainly be added either tonight or over the weekend. As mentioned above there will be a food list. We are certainly going to add a plant list, coral list, decoration list etc. It really helps us to see what art content we can prioritise so we can reward you all for you patience.
There will of course be an update post like this one showing development progress next week so stay tuned for that. We wish you all a good weekend.
The Fishery Team