Hello there seedlings!

This update should hopefully resolve the most common reported issues since the update. If you are still getting any issues please send them in for us to look at (via discord or mailing bugs@kynseed.com)

A big thanks to all of your support whether by sending in bugs, leaving a review letting us know what you think, hanging out in the community, or even by simply playing the game.

Cʜᴀɴɢᴇʟᴏɢ
❌ Fix for Ash task causing lockup at 6pm ingame
❌ Fix for occasional issue changing levels while raining
❌ Preventative fixes around text group counts and bit more info on crashes about the player npc and object targets
❌ Fix for crash riding floating pig (invisible player to be looked into)

🔷Additionᅠᅠ🔶Improvementᅠᅠ❌Fixᅠᅠ➕Internal!

Greetings Seedings!

It’s that time again, when we lower the castle portcullis and send our excitable update sheep down the road into our community.
This fabulous update is a feast for the eyes and ears, as well as being packed with mystery and story.
Over the next few weeks, we will reveal more about the next update as our sheep reaches ramming speed as it charges down the hill towards the dark forest.
Judging by the helmet that our sheep is wearing, it would seem that there is going to be a bit of rough n tumble and the apothecary might need to stock up on wound treatments!
As for now, let’s have a look inside the Gathering Storm update, that we proudly present to you.

WEATHER & LIGHTING

Probably the stars of the show are our new lighting and weather systems.
Rain, fog, wind, heat and snow bring a level of immersion to Quill that takes the game to ambient heights.

WIND

A light breeze or a full-on gale. The Goddesses provide.

RAIN

Rain has various intensities, from “It’s spitting!” to “I love storms!”
Our resident weather coding expert Nick, also made it so it does not rain indoors, and the sound changes whether you are near bodies of water, near greenhouses and when you are snug inside.

SNOW

Ahhh a lovely crisp winter’s day. The tingle of a snowflake on your nose. The blast of icy death as a blizzard whacks you in the face.

FOG

From morning mists to creepy pea-soupers to colourful Fae rainbow clouds, you can’t beat fog for sheer atmosphere. Some say it is Dragon’s breath. Others say it is a visible aerosol of tiny water droplets. Some people are less fun than others.

LIGHTS & LANTERNS

Lights now contain themselves in houses. We tweaked the times of day and more importantly, made the lantern really cool and actually useful.

A NEW PET

Introducing the FILIFRYTH!
This magnificent and strange bushy owl is not so easy to tame, unless you know the way.
But what is the ability that this odd yet cute little creature has?
We are not telling you because that would be taking the Piscatootle.

NEW INTRO & MAJOR PROLOGUE CHANGES

Yes, we added some initial mystery and set up to the story, changed a ton of dialogue and moved tasks around. There will be fun. There will be shocks. There will be fear. There will be blood. Just kidding, that’s a great movie.

FAE REALM OF EVERGREEN

Find the method to unlock it, and you can visit the lush forests of Evergreen. Strange noises drift from ancient trees and bizarre denizens wander amongst the whispering trees and gentle streams with their discordant music.




The update also contains delights such as a new region transition system, various tweaks and polish and an absolute ton of bug fixes. We also probably introduced an absolute ton more too.

Some of you with high awareness stats may have noticed a very modest price rise on the Store page. We felt the added content to date justified a small raise, and this will help keep the Castle Guards from revolting. Some of them are already revolting, but their mother's love them.

We can’t wait to hear your feedback and see your screenshots and watch your streams.
So immerse yourself, wrap up warm and experience the elements of our brand new update, brought to you by the hard-working Gnomes of PixelCount (they tried to form a union, but were hungry so formed an onion).

Until next time friends!

LOVE,

Hello there seedlings!

The latest update The Gathering Storm is now available and here is the changelog of what has been updated! As always, these things are an ongoing development, so expect bugs, balancing issues and an overwhelming urge to sprinkle herbs on things.

We appreciated any feedback at our usual channels on Discord, our forums or in the Steam Discussions.

🔷 Lighting system upgraded
ᅠᅠ🔷 Interiors and Exteriors separated
ᅠᅠ🔷 Time of day clearer based on the colour
ᅠᅠ🔷 New, improved lanterns, lamps and candles
🔷 Weather system upgraded
ᅠᅠ🔷 Cycles of weather over the course of a day
ᅠᅠ🔷 Different intensities and mixes of weather possible
ᅠᅠ🔷 Added atmospheric audio and effects
ᅠᅠ🔷 Some special weather for certain levels
🔷 Reworking of first season in-game
ᅠᅠ🔷 New intro and additional cutscenes help set up the slowly unfolding mystery
ᅠᅠ🔷 Amended story and dialogue throughout the first season
ᅠᅠ🔷 Tasks reordered for better pacing
🔷 New Fae region accessible
ᅠᅠ🔷 Unlock access to gain new items and visit new folks
ᅠᅠ🔷 A new pet can be acquired from this area
🔶 Adjusted visuals for activation of monument stone and Goddess statues
🔶 Blacksmith apprentice money is given on start of chat with Jeremie
🔶 Lantern beam can be controlled while using another item
🔶 New, smoother region transition system
🔶 Setting an item on gamepad that is already used on a different button will swap the items round
🔶 Added a repeat option to the chat system to repeat the last important line of dialogue
🔶 All buckets/jars should show the correct contents in the inventory and tool/action bar
❌ Fix for case of game slowdown on the farm caused by a goddess curse of eternal winter
❌ Various fixes around navigation and npc behaviour
❌ Fixed time still passing when game window is not in focus
❌ Fixed situation where endless bartering could occur
❌ Fixed situation where time could get stuck if the game was returned to the title screen at certain points
❌ Fixed stuck on spot situation when trying to gift animals when you have no food
❌ Fixed default avatar appearance on prompt when loading a save
❌ Fixed default avatar appearance in cutscenes
❌ Fixed riding animals stuck in only one direction when following at the same time
❌ Adjusted riding animal positions to account for different characters
❌ Summoned pets shouldn't appear in non-navigable places
❌ Fix to sleeping position by dismounting when trying to sleep
❌ Fixed some proverbs not showing icons
❌ Some apothecary recipes have changed types to match intended type
❌ Fix for butterfly collection task not detecting completion
❌ Older saves past year 1 but less than year 6 are autoaged up to year 6
❌ Various minor text and level fixes
❌ Baking heat level fix
❌ Prevent potential blank noticeboard tasks
❌ Prevent unachievable noticeboard tasks in the first season
❌ Falling asleep while blacksmithing will clear the screen (materials refunded)
❌ Fireplaces animating and trough fillable under new texture system
❌ No camera jolt when climbing beanstalks
❌ Indicator on new day should show the correct amount of tasks added
❌ Player save in bed loads them in bed
❌ Shoulder buttons used on skill screen
❌ Display container contents in inventory
❌ Poop in buckets is saved correctly
❌ Crops correctly removing on the first day out of season
❌ Neatened display prompts for gifting tasks when gifting
❌ NPC overhead prompts don't appear unblurred in certain menus
❌ Lemonade stand doesn't overcharge on the last hour
❌ Animal racing bookie should still show up if the level is left and returned to
❌ Adjusted auction camera position
❌ Should get like/dislike unlock when gifting towards task
❌ Should get friendship rating for first gift other than a task related one per day
❌ Breadcrumb trail should point to areas via regular walking travel means rather than mine shortcuts
❌ No Quill fish in Fae areas

🔷Additionᅠᅠ🔶Improvementᅠᅠ❌Fixᅠᅠ➕Internal

Hello there seedlings!

This update should hopefully resolve any out of memory issues encountered along with speeding up the initial load time a fair bit and several other reported issues.

A big thanks to all of your support whether by sending in bugs, leaving a review letting us know what you think, hanging out in the community, or even by simply playing the game.

Cʜᴀɴɢᴇʟᴏɢ
🔶Reworking of texture system should now be complete. This should reduce memory and load times with the textures being substantially clipped for blank space
🔶Config settings to toggle smooth camera follow and vsync added to the options menu
🔶Some growables have had their seasons and proverbs adjusted
❌ Texture reduction should fix out of memory errors experienced
❌ Fix for dating and pet following timing issues where they could get stuck at the level entrance
❌ Fix for pixel font option not working as intended
❌ Preventative fix for potential noticeboard crash
❌ Fix for occasional riding animals getting stuck in pose
❌ Fix for some farming areas getting stuck and their layering on older saves
❌ Fix for a few navigation bits in Candlewych village
❌ Adjust portraits/monuments which should fix remaining stretched issues
❌ Fix for kiln not interacting in Candlewych cottage
❌ Fix for minigame going straight into the next round
❌ Fix for occasional issue with lemonade stand shoppers

🔷Additionᅠᅠ🔶Improvementᅠᅠ❌Fixᅠᅠ➕Internal!

Hello there seedlings!

Another small batch of noted issues have been fixed so here is a small update to hotfix them!

A big thanks to all of your support whether by sending in bugs, leaving a review letting us know what you think, hanging out in the community, or even by simply playing the game.

🔶Made the map key toggle the map open and close
❌Fix for issue with keybindings causing all right click actions to lock up
❌Fix for map open not always working with mouse clicking the icon


🔷Additionᅠᅠ🔶Improvementᅠᅠ❌Fixᅠᅠ➕Internal

Hello there seedlings!

Another small batch of noted issues have been fixed so here is a small update to hotfix them!

A big thanks to all of your support whether by sending in bugs, leaving a review letting us know what you think, hanging out in the community, or even by simply playing the game.

❌Fix for occasional npcs getting stuck in queues
❌Fix for npc portraits in ledger being stretched
❌Fix for riding animals getting stuck in one pose
❌Fix for Tir Na Nog local map not displaying
❌Blacksmith seasonal tiles setup
❌Shop sign for apothecary is clearer about how to buy the shop
❌Ledger transactions for placebo going wrong correctly showing
❌Fix for early crashes to report more info

🔷Additionᅠᅠ🔶Improvementᅠᅠ❌Fixᅠᅠ➕Internal

Hello there seedlings!

With the Apothecary release yesterday a few problems have been noted so here is a small update to hotfix them along with a few improvements!

A big thanks to all of your support whether by sending in bugs, leaving a review letting us know what you think, hanging out in the community, or even by simply playing the game.

🔶 Some minor UI polish for the Apothecary
🔶 Shop interact takes priority over ledger
❌Fix for Cowpat Farm occasional crash from out of level npc returning
❌Speculative fix to stop the ledger crashing

🔷Additionᅠᅠ🔶Improvementᅠᅠ❌Fixᅠᅠ➕Internal

Greetings Seedlings!

The Apothecary Update is finally out and budding healers are getting their eager hands on their pestles, and giving things a good mash.

The update was a little bit slow to appear due to a large re-design of how parts of the apothecary worked...poor Nick was up to his eyeballs trying to make sense of our documents and discussions!
The team pulled through with a fantastic base we can build on, and with your valued feedback we can shape this very unique business into er...shape.

What is also very cool to come from this is that the UI developments, and the minigame mechanics made for the various apothecary stations, can now be utilised elsewhere, especially in regards to the cooking minigames.

Eventually you will be able to chop up your carrots, stir your stews and juice your berries like a regular Gordon Ramsbottom.

"Hey! PixelCount team! What's in the next update?" you shout, while keeping one eye on your boiling cauldron. Well we have a whole new section of intro to add, which will give a more exciting and mysterious start. The Prologue is having a fine tune, with brand new dialogue, character edits, story tweaks and tasks moved about etc.

We also want to set Nick and Mr Weekes free on the lighting and weather systems to bring our visuals and atmosphere bang up to date, to increase your immersion and make the world feel even better. Going beyond that, NPC stories to add depth, a spanky new top secret combat system, having kids and nurturing their little minds are all in our development sights.

As always we thank you for your amazing support and patience, and now in this latest update, patients.
Below is a little look at some of the treasures you can find within the game right now...

PATIENT DIAGNOSIS

Open your Apothecary and the NPCs of the world will come in with a variety of ailments.
Listen to their problems and try to work out how best to counter those bad Traits that are afflicting them.

THE MEDICAL TOME

Use your own knowledge or if wanting to speed things up, you can refer to a fine book that will tell you some of the recipes needed to cure various maladies.
Powders, Creams and Potions are available to view with any unlocked knowledge.

CRAFTING POWDERS

You can mix a nice Powder by chopping and grinding your ingredients and then mashing them with the pestle. Try and find all the crunchy bits to ensure a fine powder that will soothe your patient's problems in no time.

CRAFTING CREAMS

If it is something superficial, then perhaps a Cream will suffice?
Turn on the Bunsen burners and keep stirring to check consistency.
On the left, the extract seeps from your ingredients and emerges as concentrated drops of healing goodness.
On the right, wax to thicken. Don't make it too runny or too thick!

CREATING POTIONS

A more magical malady plaguing your patrons?
Then you need a fine potion.
Stick your ingredients in the crusher to extract that lovely juice.
Pour into the pot and watch the reaction.
Ice forming? Turn up the heat. Bubbles? Turn down the heat.
Check the colour chart and find the correct reagent dispenser of the opposite colour to the smoke to neutralise the reaction.
Grind, pull and squirt your way to success!

MR FAIRWEATHER'S NEW STOCK

As well as the Apothecary, there are some nice new items from our Fae friend to consider.
Below are three such items, Mirror Mirror, Waterman's Reminder, and the Vase of Forgiveness.
You can also buy Forget-Me-Yet seeds, Judith's Charming Charmer Charm and the brilliantly useful Turdis.
Just don't use the latter one if someone else hasn't flushed.



That's it for this update. For full details of the changelog check here and if you want reach us try our Discord!

We hope you enjoyed your peek inside the world of Kynseed and its ongoing quest to become a game we can be proud of and that players will cherish.

To all who have already jumped aboard, we thank you deeply and await your bugs, feedback and bribes with an excited trepidation. If that's such a thing. Feel free to join us here

Til next time, friends.

LOVE,

Hello there seedlings!

Within the update you can now buy any Apothecary and diagnose the local populaces problems.
As always, these things are an ongoing development, so expect bugs, balancing issues and an overwhelming urge to sprinkle herbs on things.

We appreciated any feedback at our usual channels on Discord, our forums or in the Steam Discussions.

🔷 Apothecary is now open for business
ᅠᅠ🔷 Serve patients to cure 22 ailments (these unlock as your reputation gets higher)
ᅠᅠ🔷 3 minigames to help craft powders, creams and potions
ᅠᅠ🔷 Discover branded and off-brand cures that can be made and stored for future customers
ᅠᅠ🔷Order stock of common ingredients
ᅠᅠ🔷Send your spouse to gather rare ingredients from ‘Other’ as a temporary measure
ᅠᅠ🔷Fob customers off with a placebo that has a 50% chance of helping them feel better
ᅠᅠ🔷Hire a worker to take over running the shop (but remember they need premade items or ingredients to craft with for the best results)
ᅠᅠ🔷Help is available on most screens with F1 or pressing the left stick in on gamepad which will give both text instructions and an overlay showing controls
ᅠᅠ🔷Rework of the Clockwork Clock visuals and functions
🔷 Major reworking of the texture system in progress. Game currently uses more graphics memory but that should be reduced soon.
🔷 6 new Fairweather items are available, up to 3 appear per year
ᅠᅠ🔷A lovely vase to keep your spouse sweet
ᅠᅠ🔷A pendant that lets you buy gossip from those who don’t like you
ᅠᅠ🔷A magical mirror that increases your charm
ᅠᅠ🔷A Reminder system that attaches to your clock
ᅠᅠ🔷Forget-Me-Yet seeds that grow a flower that makes any opinion neutral
ᅠᅠ🔷Introducing TURDIS – Get around the world from outhouse to outhouse via a quick flush
🔶Several books rewritten
🔶Additional items available from shops/traders and gathering for the apothecary
🔶Gossip and proverbs from apothecary owning npcs has a bias towards relevant items
🔶Changed logging to show attempted resolution and current resolution
❌Fix for keybinding crash
❌Fix for unresponsive characters in tavern levels when there were no spaces to fill
❌Further navigation and AI upgrades to fix current issues
❌Fix for rare crash in racing event levels when the event closes
❌Fix for Willowdown Farm map screen not drawing correctly at the start

🔷Additionᅠᅠ🔶Improvementᅠᅠ❌Fixᅠᅠ➕Internal

Steam Sale

Seasoned Greetings Seedlings! Christmas is nigh and as always the Steam Winter Sale has begun.
PixelCount Studios is glad to be part of the sale again, and Kynseed is available with a humble 10 percent discount.

So, get thee hence to the market (Steam) and grab yourself a copy before Herbert Lemon gets there and scares you away by offering you one of his seasoned walnuts.

Price Rise

To give fair notice, once the next two updates are in place in 2021 we will be raising the price of the game a little to help with maintaining the castle. Those cobwebs won’t clean themselves and the castle Broonies eat a ridiculous amount of food from our larders. No wonder Old Mother Hubbard’s dog is always hungry!

Upcoming content

What are the next two updates you might ask? Well the first is the exciting Apothecary Update, and after that a new intro and more story being written by none other than super talented Fable trilogy/Assassins Creed and Sackboy writer, Mark Llabres Hill (Mark is locked in a small room with a large supply of candles and writing supplies... we should maybe consider actually giving him some food too). Along with the new intro we'll also be doing a lot of spring cleaning on the game to make it even more entertaining.


Have a great Christmas all and stay safe. Things are not easy but by pulling together and escaping into our favourite hobby, we hope you can all get through these tough times.

See you in the New Year!

Love,
PixelCount