Hello witches, This is it! It's time! [b]The Witch of Fern Island will officially move out of Early Access and into 1.0 on 27th of February 2024![/b] Check out our RDA trailer! [previewyoutube=F3TrnZ7bYHw;full][/previewyoutube] Want more? Then join us as we bring you on an adventure through the Early Access! [h1]New Areas[/h1] The map has more than doubled in size since the EA release. New areas, such as the desert, swamps, and cliffs, are filled with content. There are new plants, puzzles, recipes, secrets, and location-related side quests. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42843316/039c164b0150f50396a3fce7f799f4fe8fe52e6f.gif[/img] Mysterious round portals are also open. After applying the appropriate potion, you can travel to Astra: an alternative, spiritual reality that overlays the entire world, effectively creating a second map of the same size. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42843316/a9c3993f2ab3d59f320e96baacf7e11786ce2920.png[/img] [h1]New Quests[/h1] Another part of the game where you will find a vast amount of new content. Not all of them are locked behind character relationships, though for those who enjoy building connections, there are quest lines for Yutu, Charna, and Patrice. We mentioned location-related tasks earlier: searching for plants and gaining knowledge about them. In addition to those, with the introduction of the camera mechanic and taking pictures, two more interesting stories have been added. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42843316/d923d71089468030e7b5b024d4f585a164afab3b.png[/img] However, the largest of the stories is the Main Quest, consisting of many significant tasks in which we uncover elaborate narratives, explore new places, and accomplish great feats. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42843316/14eb0a85850ae8f30a897d62117dcf8b01abefba.gif[/img] [h1]New Activities[/h1] The town is no longer as deserted as it was back in May. Now, tourists are everywhere, and twice a year, festivals with unique attractions are organized. And if you're looking for more intimate gatherings, the game has introduced five hangouts with selected characters. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42843316/cd012a1b261bb741f92a7a6075e915d14ac87198.gif[/img] New possibilities have also opened up in terms of item crafting. Now, among the crafting stations, you will find quern, clothing sewing machines, animal feed mixers, ovens, and, if unlocked, mills as well. What else is important among the new things? There are more possibilities to upgrade tools, the altar, and the house. In addition to cuflows, you can now also breed Tzoru. On the island, you can now catch insects using a net and attract them with nectar. And remember the museum with empty display cases? Now you can fill them. ALL of them. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42843316/5ece30e6137436760aeea868ac9fdff5c12a4f90.gif[/img] [h1]New Improvements[/h1] Further changes suggested by the community over the last few months, as well as those we undertook on our own initiative, focused on improving existing systems. Quick tool selection: From now on, key items such as the key or camera are always accessible to the player under a dedicated button. The number of available map stickers has increased so much that a new sorting mechanism was needed. Does anyone else remember how we used to have to use the gift-giving mechanic to hand over items during a quest? That's no longer the case. What we do have now are profiles. From now on, you are no longer limited to a single save file. We've also increased the number of gifts liked and disliked by characters. Now, hitting the right item among the hundreds already existing in the game is not unreasonably difficult. We've also taken care of price balance to ensure that every craft is appropriately rewarding. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42843316/d6fa9e6b7dfd64ccaa029b1472b18d4bc2896f8e.gif[/img] [h1]Quality of life Features[/h1] Since the Early Access release, there have been many valuable opinions regarding the most problematic mechanics in the game. Throughout the entire development process, we carefully listened to the community feedback and endeavored to implement key changes as quickly as possible. Here are a few more notable changes compiled with previously reported inconveniences. [list] [*] The lack of space for items in chests was a challenge for players in the early versions. However, an additional recipe for a large chest quickly appeared, and later, a special rack where these chests can be placed more densely. Expanding the game with new locations and quests significantly increased the number of available space-expanding stones for equipment. Additional space has also been added to some furniture and crafting stations. [*] We also increased the max size of the item stack to 100 and enabled selling multiple items on stall. Both of these have often been requested. [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42843316/e9317e9b6c6d33a7a5d639710cdff802944c2878.gif[/img] [list] [*] We've read a lot in your reviews and comments about the targeting issue; the interaction system plays a crucial role in the game and needed improvement. The multitude of changes, new content, and other priorities meant that we had to wait until now to address this aspect of the game. We're proud to say that from now on, hitting targets will be easier. [*] For everyone who needed more information, we've been working to continuously fill in any gaps in the compendium and descriptions to make them more direct. An example of this are seeds, which now always specify the season in which they grow and how long their growth takes. [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42843316/790455247ab2737409389cac658370cde8a0b9d5.gif[/img] [h1]Abstract[/h1] Something that was initially intended to be a modest summary has grown into an incredibly lengthy announcement text. So many changes and novelties! The effects of our work listed here are just the most important ones we wanted to highlight. Those who have been following closely know how many smaller changes were introduced in each patch and how many bugs were fixed. We promise to continue to listen carefully to your feedback and make any necessary changes and improvements. We hope that this summary will encourage all those who had doubts in the initial phase of the project to return. And if you're new here, we hope it convinces you to believe in our game. Best Regards, Enjoy Studio Team [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42843316/1efcda4fd550cadb77a26268757869f459f8ef52.png[/img]