Devlog #9: A Mouse and a Garden

Hey Farmers!

Well, I promised one last devlog before the unstable build came out. And obviously, it's fast approaching.

Sorry for the lack of updates, replies, and welcome messages! I usually try to stay on top of that, but I've been putting the nose to the grindstone for the last week to make sure everything will be done in time.

I said that it would be here before August was over, and I intend to stick to that (even if some features have caused some issues behind the scenes, but LUCKILY should be handled now).

I wanted to go over a quick list of all the things that have been worked on that you can expect to see in the next build real quick.

THE DRYAD OVERHAUL AND NEW DRYAD!

Obviously, as usual, the next major build will include a new dryad! The Potato Dryad was shown off earlier, and most of you are already acquainted with her (especially if you've been a part of the discussions in the Discord server).

But of course, on top of that, all Dryad Care systems are being completely redone from the ground up. You can now see how close a Dryad is to growing to the next size, as well as how much Happiness and Water they have, so that you know when they need to be cared for.

The care minigames have also been changed. Once per day, they will want you to talk with them, bring them an item, and pleasure them in order to bring their happiness up. Doing all three will max out their happiness quickly each day.

And watering them is far more simple now and much quicker to do. It also has a very new popping animation for when things go a bit too far...

BRIE THE BARN MOUSE!

It seems there's a mousey voyeur in the barn these days. Brie will watch from afar and be startled if you get too close. She won't talk to you right away, but maybe once you've filled all three barn stables, she might be more willing to chat.

She's of course the new cheese-loving denizen of the farm, and will happily help you upgrade the size of the barn for future cows to come if you bring her enough of her favourite treat.

What could that be? Cheese, of course!

QUALITY OF LIFE!

Lots of quality of life changes have been the focus of this update, as well as getting systems ready for future updates (Like a future relationship-building system for each of the girls, where you can slowly gain favour and form bonds with each villager, and maybe even blossom love! Those of you who spotted the Relationship Bar on the dialogue boxes, good eye.)

On top of that, things like shown above, the refrigerators that allow you to access food from anywhere, even in the Feeding Minigame, as well as being able to give cows Digestion Potions straight from the minigame as well in order to not have to stop gameplay just to go into the Gift inventory.

Small annoyances like this that have caused people grief during gameplay has been my main target to get rid of with this build. The hope is to completely get rid of these little annoyances so that Gorge Valley feels much less like "a fetish game that is worth playing just for the cute cow girls" and more of an actual fun game experience as well.

However, despite this, I'm hoping that there's still plenty content to sink your teeth into this build as well!

There's a few more planned things as well, like Sky's next weight stage. Although, with the time crunch, that might have to wait until the Stable Build version. We'll have to see if that gets delayed or not. Right now, my main priority is getting the update out on time as promised.

Until then, farmers! You'll hear more from me very soon! ❤️