Heard of the Story? News

[h2]🍂 Seasons[/h2]





In this update, we’ve implemented a small but sweet feature: seasons. Now, every 4 in-game days, the colours of the environment will progress from flush green to a cool white.

Different flowers will bloom during different times, and fields will no longer grow during winter. Villagers will also not give you quests for off-season items.

Although at this point, the seasons do not impact gameplay that much, we couldn’t resist bringing this to you during these cozy autumn and festy times! :) Of course, we do also plan to introduce additional season-based features and items in the future!

[h2]🪲 Improvements & Bug fixes[/h2]

• Added smoke effect to the crafting animations of the bakery and pottery
  
• Improved the look of building walls (boring white begone!)
  
• Added the screenshot mode button keys to the controller graphic in the settings
  
• Optimised market stalls
  
• Fixed ESC breaking when pressed during crafting animations
  
• Fixed changing pages in blueprints page reselecting without controller
  

We are pleased to announce controller support is finally here! :)

We apologise for the delays to get to this point. It took as a while to get to this point mainly because there are so many different interactions and interface elements in the game now - it has been in development for 4+ years after all!

[h2]🎮 Controller support[/h2]



As with most games, we decided to base our support around the Xbox-style controller, however, the main work of this update has been to support interactions and interfaces through controllers in general - this means you should be able to play with most types of controllers as long as you correctly map your keys (for example, through Steam’s big picture mode). With the big picture mode, we were also able to play and test the PlayStation and Nintendo Switch joystick controller.

There are a couple of additional things we’ve added for when you have your controller plugged-in:

• As you traverse the interface, we’ve added useful button hints in places to allow you to quickly see what you need to press to say, scroll to the next page or rotate a building.
  
• With the controller, you’ll be able to use a new interaction: your left and right triggers can quickly switch between different menus (eg left trigger to jump straight your last selected item in the book from the inventory)
  

[h2]❓ Interaction indicators[/h2]



Probably the second most requested quality of life feature has been interaction indicators so that you can see what you are about to interact with. Due to the new controls, we thought this would be as good as time as any to finally add them in.

[h2]↗️ Tutorials[/h2]



The tutorial system required an overhaul since there are now two control schemes, and we wanted to make sure the correctly fitted hints show up for each. At the same time, due the new interaction indicators, many were outdated and removed.

Another issue that existed with the old system was that if you re-bound certain keys, it would still show the old keys in the hints. That is no longer the case with the new system, and if you update your keyboard bindings you should see them correctly reflected in certain hints too. The mouse bindings will still be prioritised though since they serve as the primary interaction methods versus the secondary keyboard keys.

While we were here, we also gave the hints a much needed touch-up and now each unrolls in a cute little scroll :)

[h2]🐞 Bug fixes & Improvements[/h2]

• Added a screenshot mode which you can toggle by pressing the F1 key or SELECT on your controller. This will hide your toolbar and any indicators. Since interaction indicators are now omni-present, we though this would be a good time to add this to help with cleaner screenshots :)
  
• Fixed bronze and salmon pie not being unlockable
  
• Fixed starting a new game sometimes getting stuck on the loading screen
  
• Remember the last tailoring cut and colour when switching between different clothing
  
• Updated the look of setting sliders to be consistent
  
• ESCAPE now firstly cancels any building and decoration placement
  
• ESCAPE now returns to the Townsfolk view first from the double-paged view
  
• Fixed dropping items in storage container not refreshing that list of items
  
• Fixed camera mode not being correctly set as controller when loading the game for the first time with a controller plugged in
  

• Changed the way that dialogue is displayed so that speech bubbles will never be cut-off due to standing too close to a villager or having an unusual resolution
  
• Improved mouse camera control to properly take into account acceleration and added a setting to toggle between the mouse and controller camera mode. Plugging in a controller will automatically switch to the controller mode and vice versa
  
• Added progressive difficulty for learning skills - you will now learn to craft simpler items much faster at the beginning of the game
  
• Added a unique background image for the pottery page and improved the one in the whitesmithing page
  
• Fixed small fountain collider being too big
  
• Fixed anvil and pickaxe being instantly learnable
  
• Fixed some house variations not reaching the ground on very rough terrain
  
• Fixed big fountain not reaching the ground when placed on very rough terrain
  
• Fixed house walls incorrectly appearing on some wooden roofs
  
• Added the “Spice & Coin” logo to the main menu
  

With this bug fix and improvement update out of the way, our next focus is now finally controller support - it will arrive in the next update! :)

The new anniversary update is finally here! (it’s a day late, but we appreciate your patience 🙂)

This patch introduces a range of new mechanics surrounding trading and markets, as well as a whole bunch of new goods, decorations, and buildings!

Let’s run through a list of all the changes you’ll see in this content update. If you want a more in-depth explanation and rationale behind these changes, you can also read the previous devblog.

[h2]⚖️ Markets[/h2]

• You can now build a new structure: market stall. This building is modular and has several varying elements, meaning that there are over a hundred possible variations for each market stall
  
• Every other day, a market will be held during the morning of the day. Villagers will flock to your market stalls and show their goods there
  
• There is also a new music track which plays whilst you’re in an ongoing market 🎶
  

[h2]💰 Merchants[/h2]

• As the population of your town grows, so will the number of interested merchants
  
• On market days (even if you don’t have any stalls built), merchants will visit your town to offer you goods you need
  
• After mid-day, merchants will make their way back home
  

[h2]🪙 Coins[/h2]

• You can now trade via currency instead of just items
  
• You and each villager start an adventure with a few coins
  
• Merchants will acrue wealth whilst they’re out of town (or lose it) and will provide you with a chance to bring more coins to your town when they visit
  

[h2]🏠 Modular houses[/h2]

We’ve completely rehauled the house building system to be based on modular designs that give raise to thousands of possible variations and much more customisability!

• You can now choose the size of the house through the building architecture menu: each can be 3 floors high and up to 3 measures wide
  
• You can also choose the type of material to make the roof out of: straw, wood, clay tiles, or new stone slate
  
• There are 8 variations for the ground floor design, 10 variations for the middle floors design, 19 variations for the roof design with additional 10s of variations of the roof material designs
  
• There are now 15 types of window designs, one of which is chosen across a new house
  
• Each house is now created with an assortment of unique decorations, window positions, and door position
  

Any houses you have in previous saves will be automatically moved to this new system and new design style.

[h2]🍇 New content[/h2]


Pottery:

• You can now build a new structure: pottery
• Here you’ll be able to turn your mud into clay pots and tiles for better roofing
  

Items:

• New accessories: wooden shield, bow, quiver, bycocket, backpack
  
• New food: apple, grapes, plum, carrot, cabbage, salmon, egg, cinnamon, parsley, pepper, apple pie, salmon pie
  
• New decorations: basket, square flower arch, round flower arch, small fountain, barrel planter, stone planter, ceramic pot, rosy basket, rosy barrel planter, rosy stone planter, rosy ceramic pot, rose, scarecrow, short stone table, stone table, chair, stone chair, bench, stone bench
  

[h2]🪓 Overhauled skill system[/h2]
The skill system has been rehauled in a few different ways based on all the feedback received since the release of the game.

• Items are now unlocked through the paths defined in skill trees rather than in a random order
  
• As you gather items and craft in a particular discipline, you will accrue experience and eventually unlock a new item in that tree
  
• The particular ideas you get are based upon which branches you specialise into during crafting
  

[h2]🎮 Status on controller support[/h2]
Unfortunately, we did not get time to complete controller support for this update. However, it remains the next priority and will be coming in the next couple of weeks!

[h2]🐛 Improvements & bug fixes[/h2]

• Improved the graphics for slate and clay tile roofs
  
• Added a lot of new personality-based dialogue relating to various buildings
  
• Added a new ‘remark’ action for villagers
  
• Fixed some villager small talk
  
• Existing food was rebalanced due to the new food
  
• Fixed fountain SFX not disappearing after picking up the decoration
  
• Tables now clear the grass around them
  

UPDATE: Hey all 👋 Coin & Spice is almost ready! We're still preparing the last bits and pieces so will push the release date to tomorrow (15/09). We hope this isn't too much of an inconvenience and hope that you are as excited as we are to share it with you! 🙂


The anniversary update Coin & Spice has been in the works for the last couple of months and will be the 4th major update to Heard of the Story? since the Early Access release. Today I’m finally excited to share what you can expect! :)

[h2]Markets[/h2]

The most important addition we’ll be introducing is a new mechanic which will allow you to hold regular markets in your town every few days. Rather than focusing on one market building as the epicentre, you will be able to build individual market stalls and organise markets however you like!

When the time comes, villagers will flock to the market both to show their wares, but also to browse themselves! The market will last until mid-day at which point villagers will pack up their things and return to their ordinary lives - likely somewhat embellished by their newfound treasures.

Fundamentally, the aim is to significantly improve trading and hence the culture of collaboration and specialisation. Currently it can be difficult to know who has what, and also finding the right person at the right time. With a market, you’ll instantly be able to see the most important tools and goods purchasable all in one place. Whether it’s through chit-chat or looking around at the unfinished projects, villagers will know what you’re looking for, and will prioritise showcasing that in their stalls to help you complete your goals - for a worthy price of course.

[h2]Currency[/h2]

To go along with the markets, we’ll be adding a coin system to ease trading. You’ll still be able to trade items for items, but you’ll also additionally be able to manage your wealth, and request payment in a simple currency. Unlike in some games, villagers will not have an endless supply of coins and will only earn more through business with others. Which leads us to the last point - where do more coins come from?

During markets, you may see craftsman and potential buyers from neighbouring towns visit. They may present you with new, and sometimes luxurious items not usually found in your environment. At the same time, they will give you and your villagers the chance to sell the items you’ve accrued over the week, and provide your town with a source of precious income.

[h2]New Content[/h2]



Coin & Spice will include a new Pottery building in which you’ll be able to craft and bake various clay-related items such as roof tiles and plant pots. Buildings which previously simply required extra mud for their roofs, will now properly require tiles instead.

Amongst the new items will be various tasty fruits, vegetables, fish, and enticing spices that merchants can bring to your town. With these, you’ll be able to bake more sophisticated recipes such as delicious pies which will go much farther in fulfilling your nourishment needs - and making your villagers happy of course.

As always, there will be lots of new decorations such as stone tables, a new fountain, chairs, as well as equippable accessories such as a wooden shield or a cool bow!

[h2]Procedural Houses[/h2]


Houses are by far the most commonly constructed building as you work to fill your town with new residents. As a result, we are working on procedurally generating the look of houses to have the most visual impact on your towns! This means that rather than having three options for houses as you have now, you will be able to select a house width and there will automatically be thousands of possible variations. Each villager will have a truly unique and interesting home, and the act of building new houses in itself will become much more rewarding.

Right now, you have one tiled-roof house option, but in Coin & Spice, each possible house shape will have a customisable roof where you’ll be able to choose from 4 different materials: straw, slate, tile, and wood. We’ll also be allowing houses to be built up to three floors high for the first time, giving you the ability to make your towns feel even more epic!

Additionally, a villager’s home customisation will extend from their gardens onto their house exteriors too. Each structure will now come with an assortment of different decoration spaces. As villagers find new items, they’ll personalise houses to their own liking - giving an extra touch of personality to all corners of the residence.

[h2]Controller Support[/h2]

Our aim is to complete the support for controllers with this update by adding the ability to use keys / buttons to navigate the inventory, book, and other parts of the interface. It has been a much requested feature for a long time, so it’s been near the top of our list!

[h2]Release Date[/h2]

We hope that all sounds exciting to you! As always, we’re always open to hearing suggestions or new ideas, so feel free to jump in the Discord and share your thoughts!

The currently planned date for this update is on the anniversary of the game’s release to Early Access: the 14th of September. We hope to see you there! :)