Great news gardeners, the new island is finally here!

We've done loads of tweaking and re-planning and we've finally reached a place where we're happy to consider it ready for Early Access.

We want to start with giving a quick shout-out to everyone who joined in and tested while we worked on this update on the Experimental Branch. Your feedback has been invaluable and we hope you've enjoyed watching this island take shape as much as we loved building it.

This patch contains changes that will break your save files!

Due to the complexity of the changes made while adding a whole new island we've unfortunately have had to implement changes that will break your current save files.

Even if they might load for you, many features might be broken on old save files and we can’t guarantee that all the game systems will function correctly. We strongly recommend that you start a new game to ensure that everything works as intended.

Breaking saves like this is sadly one of the risks of early access and we are doing our best to avoid it, but at times it can’t be helped. Thanks for bearing with us!




Now, without further ado; say hello to Crystal Island!

Uncover the secrets of Crystal Island

Just a bit off the coast of your home island you'll find this new mystical island covered with hot springs, red crowned trees and some naturally growing crystals scattered about. The environment here is harsh as an invasive moss covering the ground makes it hard for crops to find space to grow. If you find a patch with tillable soil you'll find that the minerals present will give the plants new and unique colors, so trying to find ways to sustain your plants here may be quite worth your while.

With Crystal Island you'll also find a new quest chain focused on environmental puzzles and unlocking new abilities. Watch and listen to the land around you and find your way to the center of the island where you'll find the first glimpse of the history of this ancient world.

Travel faster and further with the new Crystal Teleport feature

Use the crystals on Crystal Island to upgrade your gloves, unlocking the power to quickly move from crystal to crystal and allowing you to teleport further than ever before. Use your wits and uncover new recipes and materials that will allow you to bring this newfound ability back to your home island.

Meet new animal friends

With this new island we're also introducing a new animal. Native to the Crystal Island and with a love for all things shiny, these fellas know how to live in style!

Want to help give this little fellow a name?

We love involving our community in the decision process and we see this as a great opportunity to hold another naming contest! Get yourself ready and keep your eyes peeled as we'll post an update for each phase of the contest with all the info on how to join.

Contest Phase 2 is live! Join it below:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086850/view/3030333493798251294

Spring has arrived

With this update we're also leaving the white frosty grass behind to move into the greener horizons of spring. We've heard many of you have been looking forward to the end of winter so I think this will be some welcome news for you. :)

What else is new?

We've also added new fish types, new resources, tools, craftable items and more! Among the highlights you'll find that you can now craft a grass seed bag which will allow you to re-grow grass on previously tilled soil. We've also added a craftable water pump which will make the chore of refilling your watering can much less cumbersome.

We've added a full patch note list at the very bottom of this post for you who love to stay in the know but you're also always welcome to jump in blind and uncover all the new features as you go. Regardless of method we hope you'll enjoy what you'll see!





That's it for this update! Remember to keep your eyes peeled for the next post launching our naming contest. It should be up in a day or so.

And as always: your thoughts, ideas and feedback are always welcome. You can always reach us here directly on Steam or join our official Discord server to get first access to the latest news and community events.




With love,
// The Neat GotS team

Full Patch Notes

New Features

• New island biome
  
• New animal type
  
• New character
  
• New quest with multiple objectives and puzzles
  
• New tool: Crystal Tuner
  
• Crystal teleport mechanic
  
• New crafting resource/quest item: Crystal Shard
  
• New craftable item: Crystal Pedestal
  
• Plant variations for the new biome
  
• New soil type: Moss
  
• New craftable item: Water Pump (used to refill the Watering Can)
  
• New craftable seed bag: Grass Bag (for regrowing grass on tilled soil)
  
• New fish type
  
• New purchasable item: Garbage Bin (for getting rid of items no longer needed)
  
• Added runestones that provide hints to the player
  

Updated/Changed Features

• Added a crafting bubble, tool rack and storage crate to the boat
  
• The player can now reel in a fish that they have caught, instead of pulling the fishing rod backwards
  

Bug Fixes

• Improved logic for items that the player brings with them on the boat
  
• Improved logic for detecting if an item is stuck underground
  
• Various bugfixes and improvements