[b]Hi ranchers![/b] 🐴🌸 It’s been a little while since my last devlog, as I spent a lot of time working on the demo. [b]Thank you to everyone who played it[/b] and shared their feedback with me! The demo [b]will stay available[/b] to play until we get closer to the Early Access release, if you feel like going for a ride in Rivershine! [b]Moving on from the demo[/b], I’m now back to present one of the most anticipated features in Rivershine… [b]raising your own foals![/b] [h2]Breeding Horses[/h2] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41079595/a1d73787d059f1bf79165ace146eed1532c725f7.png[/img] [h3]Fertility Pasture[/h3] [b]The first step to raise your own foals[/b] is to have at least one mare and one stallion to breed together in the fertility pasture. You’ll be able to [b]browse between your horses[/b] in this interface to [b]pick the pair[/b] you want to breed together. Once selected, they’ll be placed in the pasture together. Depending on your horse’s health, care and trust level, they will have a varying percentage chance of breeding successfully every day. Once the mare is pregnant, both horses can be taken out of the fertility pasture. [h3]Coat Genetics[/h3] I’ve decided to create a genetic system that[b] isn’t exactly realistic[/b], but instead that [b]fits Rivershine’s gameplay[/b] more uniquely. This could be changed later based on feedback but I think it’ll be a fun way to breed horses! Here’s a quick explanation of how genetics work in Rivershine. Each unique coat color is part of a “type” of coat color. For example, the chestnut type includes multiple coats, such as the flaxen chestnut, light chestnut, red chestnut and liver chestnut. The foal will have a 50/50 chance of inheriting one of their parents' type of coat color. They will then be assigned at random a color that is part of this type. The same is true for coat patterns, which are layered on top of the coat color. Keep in mind that if one of the parents has a pattern and the other doesn’t, the foal will have a 50/50 chance of inheriting a pattern or not. If the foal inherits the pattern type, it won’t necessarily have the exact same pattern as the parent and will instead have one of the available coat patterns of that type at random. [b]As an example[/b], let’s breed a pair of horses together and show the possible results for the foal! Here we can see that a foal born from a [b]black tobiano stallion[/b] and a [b]bay roan mare[/b] might have one of these coats… [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41079595/4550829a7736f78e643b72b3ae63fb09aa2c2d20.gif[/img] For now, the face and leg markings are not inherited from the parents and are set randomly for the foal. This might be changed to include a chance of inheriting those markings from the parents too. Later on, I’d also like to expand this system and add unique coat colors and patterns that can only be found in the game by breeding specific coats together! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41079595/318c7b42ed785841ab61965c36dc87981bac9c41.png[/img] [h3]Skill Inheritance[/h3] Foals will of course[b] inherit the skills of their parents[/b] in addition to their coat colors. While the foal's skills will be lower than their parents', they will also have full potential which will help them [b]outperform their parents once they've been fully trained[/b]. When personality traits are added later on during Early Access, these will also have a chance to be inherited by the foal. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41079595/aeea5b080ad353162ce937fd083288a6e12a4fc8.png[/img] [h3]Life Stages[/h3] When catching a wild horse or purchasing a horse at the auction house, they are already adults. To raise a horse through different life stages, you’ll have to breed your own horses and raise them on your ranch! Here is more information on the [b]characteristics of each life stage[/b]. [u]Foal[/u] Foals are born after [b]7 days of gestation[/b]. They [b]stay foals for 14 days[/b] before becoming yearlings, and they will slowly become bigger foals throughout this stage. Foals can’t be mounted or trained, but they can still be led around the ranch and need to be cared for daily. [u]Yearling[/u] Horses reach this stage after [b]14 in game days[/b]. [b]Yearlings can now be mounted and trained[/b], but they are limited only to beginner competitions. The main advantage of yearlings is that [b]they don’t lose daily potential[/b], so it's a good time to maximize their training before they become adults. [u]Adult[/u] Horses reach this stage at [b]28 in game days[/b]. They will stay at this stage forever as [b]adulthood is the last life stage of horses[/b]. They’re able to do the most amount of activities such as all levels of competition, training and breeding. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41079595/2479eae701214f111eb8779eaf9da764cd896662.png[/img] [u]Pregnant & Nursing Mare[/u] While it’s not exactly a life stage, [b]mares will also be limited in the activities[/b] they can do during pregnancy. They can still be ridden and trained, but they [b]won’t be able to participate in competitions[/b] or to be sold at the auction house. While the foal is growing up, the mare will then be nursing and won’t be able to become pregnant again until the foal becomes a yearling. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41079595/4b84d53f65356c4ade206c6641768325f2ab0beb.png[/img] [h3]Raising Foals[/h3] Once a foal is born, they’ll [b]stay in their mother’s stall[/b] until they become yearlings. You’ll still need to take care of them daily by [b]brushing them and feeding them milk[/b]. Foals can either be kept in the stable or in the pasture. [h3]Future Additions[/h3] Later on, I’ll add [b]more interactions with the foals[/b] and ways to train them. As of right now, trust is the only skill that can be increased during the foal stage. I’ll add unique groundwork activities that can be done with the foals to increase their other skills such as jump, speed, endurance and flexibility before they become yearlings. [h2]Ranch Upgrades[/h2] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41079595/f591eb5c0e7c6137236121da1d83a0e71d8e13cb.gif[/img] [h3]Stable[/h3] The stable is the main building you’ll want to upgrade on your ranch, as it will [b]allow you to keep more horses[/b] on your ranch. At the start of the game, you’ll have 2 stalls available, and you’ll be able to upgrade the stables to keep 4, 8 and finally [b]12 horses[/b]! [h3]Pastures[/h3] While the main pasture will be available from the start of the game, you’ll be able to [b]repair two additional pastures[/b] later on. This will allow you to separate your herd into different pastures, or leave all the gates open to give your horses more space to roam! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41079595/8eeb3a762df0a2127b3459ac7df70cd1b69fd7df.gif[/img] [h3]Indoor Arena[/h3] The indoor arena can be found at the back of the ranch. I plan on adding a bonus to training indoors instead of outdoors during certain weather conditions, such as while it’s raining, at nighttime or during winter! [h3]Round Pen[/h3] The round pen will be used to do unique training activities with the foal such as lunging and groundwork. This won’t be available from the start of Early Access but will be added later on along with the foal training! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41079595/696ec57cc77fde7add2cf8d3294463a7db591769.png[/img] [h2]Four Seasons[/h2] As we’re approaching the Early Access release, I decided to create a seasonal loop, with [b]each new season bringing its own features[/b]. Here’s what I’ve implemented for now: [list] [*] Music that changes with the seasons on the ranch. You can already [url=https://soundcloud.com/matthewharnage/a-crispy-autumn-fall-the-ranch-of-rivershine-original-game-soundtrack?in=matthewharnage/sets/the-ranch-of-rivershine]listen to some of the tracks you’ll hear throughout the seasons here![/url] [*] Different foliage and environments to fit each season’s color palette! [*] New forage to gather around the trails as the seasons change. [*] Different crops that can be grown on your ranch.[/list] Throughout the development in Early Access, I’d like to give each season more personality with [b]unique seasonal elements[/b], for example: [list] [*] Seasonal events such as an easter egg hunt in spring and halloween in fall. [*] Unique interactions such as snowballs to roll and piles of leaves to run through. [*] Different weather such as foggy days in fall, storms in summer and snow in winter.[/list] [h2]Future Updates[/h2] I’ll now be continuing to work on new content that I want to include in The Ranch of Rivershine EA release. This includes [b]new villagers, new trails, quests[/b] and general improvement based on the feedback I’ve received from the demo. [b]Thank you for reading about my progress on The Ranch of Rivershine![/b]🍀