Hello everyone, It’s been a while since the last big update and there’s a lot of cool stuff on the horizon. Over the last few months, I’ve been focused heavily on tackling the last remaining hurdles for pinning down a proper early access release date, and while we’re not there just yet, the upcoming patch will feature a few key pieces to solving that puzzle. So let's take a minute to talk about what's coming in the next update. [h2]Discoveries[/h2] The upcoming Discovery mechanic requires players to first investigate new objects before they can be otherwise manipulated or used. This system will also ultimately help drive several upcoming mechanics, including player progression, and is designed to both encourage exploration and to foster a more tactile relationship between the player and the world. Now players will first need to take a hard look at new objects before simply stuffing it in their mouths. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34989433/0647fd8803744c9163173c082307eec3be531120.gif[/img] [h2]Shelters[/h2] This one has been on the docket for a long time, and I’m really excited to have a first version ready to show off. Shelters represent hiding spaces in game which can be used to avoid predators, or as a safe place to rest. For the moment, this system is in its simplest state, and allows for animals of any size to hide in any shelter object. But I’ll be building on this system in a number of exciting ways, implementing new shelter types, restricting access based on animal size, and adding some fun utility around identifying hidden animals, avoiding ‘overnight’ risk, and seasonal behaviors such as caching food, hibernating, etc. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34989433/caed407a07002bdd24ad41a9bdd362a839f79581.gif[/img] [h2]Tutorial (Questing)[/h2] A HUGE part of this update’s development time has been committed to the development of the upcoming Questing system, which will heavily drive both gameplay and player progression. While the full Questing system isn’t ready quite yet, many of the core components are functional and have been implemented in the form of a new tutorial system! This new tutorial will hopefully help to better communicate complex gameplay mechanics, and I’ll really be looking to all of you for feedback on how accessible and functional this new content is. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34989433/0c7ea87fac99e4342ca912ee65966558f6d2bca7.gif[/img] [h2]Rebinding[/h2] The addition of Key rebinding may be a relatively uninteresting change for some of you, but an absolutely critical tool for others; and something I’ve long been wanting to get into the game. I’m happy to say that the next update will include this important accessibility feature. While this first release of rebinding supports all major mouse-keyboard inputs there is still more work to be done for controller rebindings, as this requires a completely separate interface than mouse-keyboard; mostly for analog inputs, which are all treated as a single grouped input type.