Beta Homestead [Windows|Steam]

WarpDogsVG

Member
I'd like to play your latest demo, but I'm not quite sure which one that is on your download page. There's a lot of options. Am I missing something obvious?
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
@WarpDogsVG I do apologise for any confusion!
I have been forgetting to update across all platforms to make finding the proper version easier.

The current latest version is: https://lukan.dev/downloads/Homestead-190726-0.zip
And this version has an update checker that automatically finds the latest version on my site.

I'm making an effort to make sure I update across Itch.io and GameJolt as well as my site in the future.
 

Bearman_18

Fruit Stand Deadbeat
I've been seeing this around, but I never actually played it. So I'm going to give it a try! Haven't played a farming sim since HM: Magical Melody, so this should be fun!
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Hey Homesteadians!
Sorry for my lapse in updates... again...
I just haven't had time to do any work on the game. Real life keeps getting in the way.
I'm working on polishing some core feature stuff right now and then I am going to do a lot of testing to make sure the next update is as bug free as possible.

Sorry again, and thanks for staying for this train wreck of a devlog! <3
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Aloha Homesteadians!
I really am very sorry about the lack of... well anything honestly.
I have recently been working overnights at work, which means my prime development time is now spent entirely away from my computer.
I have no progress to report, and I do apologise.
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
So, my long hiatus should be over now. I had a lot going on with work and life so Homestead had to take a bit of a break.
I have more free time currently, but may be moving soon so I'm not sure how long that'll last.

Today I've pushed an update to fix some of the long standing issues with gamepads not being recognised in certain areas of the game.
I have not fixed all of the issues, but am currently working around the internals to update them to use some newer scripts I've devised.
I'm hoping this new set of scripts will eliminate such issues in the future.

I am also aware of a bug in which the Newsfeed is showing the wrong icon for URLs unless the post is selected.
I'm looking for the cause, but I can't find what's causing it.

Here's a direct download from my website: https://lukan.dev/downloads/Homestead-191006-1.zip
The game's auto updater can also fetch this link for you if you have it enabled.

Story stuff has been put on the back burner because of the amount of bugs I've been discovering.
I want to fix what I can before adding more to the pot.

Thanks for understanding and sticking with me this far, the game's 5 year anniversary is coming up, so keep an eye out in the post office for some fun gifts next weekend!
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Oh, hello there Homesteadians!
I have a wee update here and I need as much feedback as possible.
I rewrote some very old code that I still relied on in the engine.
This was the bulk of the code that handles saving and loading.

It was 5 year old code writing those save files, and I though I could make it work a little nicer, so I did.
The game now saves and load game files asynchronously, meaning there's no longer stutter/lag when these operations are carried out.
Apart from the stutter being removed, it also makes the game easier for porting to other systems that usually require files be handled in such a fashion.

I still can't find the bug making the Newsfeed use the wrong icons, but I wanted y'all to be able to use this as soon as possible for feedback.
The new system uses the same exact files, so your saves are safe.
Report any bugs you may find here with as much info as possible.
Thanks as always! <3

DOWNLOAD: https://lukan.dev/downloads/Homestead-191011-0.zip
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Hello Homesteadians!
No update today, but I'm working on the game a fair bit today and tomorrow.
Fixing bugs and trying to finish some stuff that's been on the back burner for a while.

As some of you may know, at the beginning of the year I started the process of putting Homestead on Steam.
While the game isn't at the point I wanted yet, it is close, and my date I set for myself passed.
The game has been officially submitted and is under review by the Valve overlords.
I have no idea if it will get approved, but it is set for Early Access as the game is probably going to be in development for a long time.

I know I keep promising weekly or monthly updates, but I've decided not to make any promises about the game going forward.
I've spent 5 years working on this in my free time, and will continue to do so going forward, but I'm starting to feel trapped by not working on other things and expanding m work.
So by no means is the game stopping development, the updates will be as irregular as ever, I just don't want y'all to expect them weekly anymore and be disappointed when I forget.

Sorry, and thank you for reading <3
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Ho Ho Oh... It's way past Christmas, Homesteadians!
I have been hard at work with the assistance of Valve to get the game Steam Ready.
I've fixed a lot of issues they've pointed out to me, and some I found myself.
I'm hoping January for the EA release. Hopefully the extra feedback will help me make progress in making the game, as I have been dragging lately.

A few small updates have been made in the past few weeks, but as I'm trying to move over to Steam for distribution, I haven't posted them online until now.
I have added Stats to the Stats page in the Status Menu, these track Crops, Fish, and Gems discovered by the player. More may be added soon too!

Outside of that small feature, several bugs, including a crash when the menu is opened and some loading errors have been fixed.
The Main Quest is still not done, but it now goes far enough to unlock the Animal Shop and gives you a free Cow.

I am working on some issues with the Post Office right now, as it's been giving a broken item to players for a while.
I'll be updating it to give out some Coins for a limited time by the time you read this.

Some differences between the Steam Version and non-Steam Versions:
Non Steam Uses an update system powered by my website where Steam uses Steamworks for updates.
Non-Steam has no achievements! D: Well Steam has a bunch!
Current Non-Steam versions won't be updated after the Steam Launch, and will be replaced or repriced at current Steam Pricing.

With all that said, the game's Updater should see the new update, and if not here's the link: https://lukan.dev/downloads/Homestead-191229-0.zip

See you next year, friends!
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Well, the crafting system from the older version is still being reworked... Will you settle for being able to craft cow breeding items? Otherwise I'll have to add necromancy, and that sounds out of scope for my game.
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Ahoy Homesteadians!
I have been fixing bugs and finishing some stuff up for the Steam launch next month.
Craftable Animals won't be officially supported, but some time after the Steam launch I will be releasing a modding kit to add such silly things.
Who knows what you could make with such tools? Perhaps a better game?
Here's a list of the stuff I've fixed in the last week or so:
FIXED
-Bug where entering the Jeweler/Forge before getting any tools crashes the game
-Bug where entering the Homestead House crashes the game if the game has never been saved
-Bug where the game letting you enter building in the Town before Townsfolk and Just the Beginning are completed
-Bug where "Basic Hammer" is listed in Hardware shop, but item id is wrongly attributed
-Bug where going past the final listing in a shop could cause a crash[overflow error]
-Bug where the Control Mapping menu was showing Shop prices next to control mappings
-Bug where the bed sometimes locked you out of sleeping if you left the house right after waking up

Changes:
-quests.dat is now fully readable English and has a few removed limits!:
-Quests can now have more than 5 segments(though the game does not account for this when drawing quest info)
-Quests can be added to the game by players, though there is currently no way to add the to the journal.
-Status Screens[Inventory, Stats, Friends, and System] now has a Close button visible onscreen that you can click to close.

The changes listed about the quests.dat is related to the future modding system.
No real work is currently being put into modding, I want to wait until the release to work on that.
After modding is released I'll focus more on getting the rest of the game done.

I hope you guys keep following and staying up to date, thanks so much for reading.
 
Whoa, I haven't been keeping up with this project enough, apparently. Had no idea you were so close to launch. Feels like this game snuck up on me! That's awesome. Good luck, dude!
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Egads Homesteadians, I've made progress! And quite a bit of it too!

I have been at work smashing bugs and making things perfect for next month.
I am still not setting a specific date because that scares me and I don't want to stress too much.

There's been story progress, feature changes, and updates to a lot of stuff.
Most notably from today, Night time is now actually dark!

There's something else going on here, but I can't tell you what.
You'll have to find out when you play.

I'm mostly just posting to show I'm actually working on the game still.
I probably won't be updating the free version until the release.
I have to rework the Demo to let you taste the new stuff without giving you the full cake.

Thank 4 reading <3
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Honk Homesteadians!
CHANGELOG:
Fixes:
|-Found and fixed some memory leaks!
|-Bug where launching web pages from the Newsfeed leaves the prompt onscreen
|-Bug where Lantern items didn't work at all
|-Bug with mailbox data storage and sorting
|-Bug where Verne wouldn't appear or open the shop interface when he did appear

Changes:
-Removed several features that never got implemented, making filesize slightly smaller.
-Nights are darker and lights are easier to look at
-Watering Can now informs you when it needs refilling instead of just not working

Additions:
-Fertiliser can now be purchased after Ranching 101 is completed
-You can now check on your animals and brush them when they're dirty
-Animal produce quality is now effected by how much the animal is cared for!
-Be sure to brush animals regularly!
-Dirty animals make dirty items.
-Dirty items make less money D:
-New SAVE UPDATE that safely adds new game variables to old saves
-This new system informs you when the save has been updated and lists what features have been patched with the update.
-In the future this will be opened for modders to add variables to the game for mods
-Machinery!
-Animal Products

As you may have noticed, some of this stuff is for the next planned major update.
I just want you all to know that it's only been added now to make my life easier down the road and to fix some issues I've been having for a while.
Modding is not the current focus, and I am still working hard on getting the games playable for Steam and you guys.

Still aiming for sometime this month!
Thank 4 readin <3
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Hello... And sorry.
The update is nearly done, however there's stuff that needs fixing and I've gone on overnights at work for the next few weeks...
It really ate into my dev time, so I must apologise for another missed deadline.

The game's a comin', I promise. I just shouldn't say when because that never seems to work out for me.
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Hey all, a few small things I was working on while I was on overnights at work are finally done in game.
Also, I will be releasing another free version before any Steam launches due to the whole COVID-19 business.
A few new features and what have you will be in the update, as it's basically the Steam Version for free without achievements.

Here's the entire changelog from the last version to know:
FIXED
|-Bug where entering the Jeweler/Forge before getting any tools crashes the game
|-Bug where entering the Homestead House crashes the game if the game has never been saved
|-Bug where the game letting you enter building in the Town before Townsfolk and Just the Beginning are completed
|-Bug where "Basic Hammer" is listed in Hardware shop, but item id is wrongly attributed
|-Bug where going past the final listing in a shop could cause a crash[overflow error]
|-Bug where the Control Mapping menu was showing Shop prices next to control mappings
|-Bug where the bed sometimes locked you out of sleeping if you left the house right after waking up
|-Found and fixed some memory leaks!
|-Bug where launching web pages from the Newsfeed leaves the prompt onscreen
|-Bug where Lantern items didn't work at all
|-Bug with mailbox data storage and sorting
|-Bug where Verne wouldn't appear or open the shop interface when he did appear
|-Bug where the game crashes when you reach the 30th day in the Season D:
|-Bug where the Mailbox System was still a bit wonky, now it actually works!
|-Bug where deleting saves left data behind causing the main menu to crash
|-Some funky bugs with saving and loading in the new system. Legacy saves will still be carried over into the new system.

Changes:
-quests.dat is now fully readable English and has a few removed limits!:
-Quests can now have more than 5 segments(though the game does not account for this when drawing quest info)
-Quests can be added to the game by players, though there is currently no way to add the to the journal.
-Status Screens[Inventory, Stats, Friends, and System] now has a Close button visible onscreen that you can click to close.
-Removed several features that never got implemented, making filesize slightly smaller.
-Nights are darker and lights are easier to look at
-Watering Can now informs you when it needs refilling instead of just not working
-Update system has been removed to comply with Steam, Newsfeed remains unchanged
-Fixed some collision masks

Additions:
-Fertiliser can now be purchased after Ranching 101 is completed
-You can now check on your animals and brush them when they're dirty
-Animal produce quality is now effected by how much the animal is cared for!
-Be sure to brush animals regularly!
-Dirty animals make dirty items.
-Dirty items make less money D:
-New SAVE UPDATE that safely adds new game variables to old saves
-In the future this will be opened for modders to add variables to the game for mods
-Player now passes out when Stamina is empty, not sure how I missed this while testing before.
-Jobs System allows to to accept Jobs from the Anonymous Job Board in town for a reward
-Ability to hold space to speed up speechboxes
-Mail can contain gifts again! Just click to receive gift, then again to toss any unwanted mail!

OTHER:
-Updated some development tools on my end to make it easier to update things in the future.
DOWNLOAD: HERE

Sorry for the let down on Steam release.
I'm all over the place, I know.
I promise a game will be finished at some point in time, I will never make promises as to when ever again though.

Thanks for sticking with me for 5 long years of nothing <3

Please report any issues or bugs here, with screenshots if possible.[/spoiler]
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
So...
The game isn't done, but it is up on steam for 50% off in a few hours.

I'm hoping getting a larger audience will help me find bugs and drive development.
I do have a full-time job, but I want people to enjoy this game some day, so I may as well do my best to make sure that happens.

EDIT: covering up the ant people's existence.
 
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Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
*blows dust off keyboard*
Hello *searches notes* Homesteadians!

I'm alive again, this week only!
Homestead has 2 new updates!
One is a bugfix that launched earlier today, it fixes a few bugs that were making thew game difficult to play.
Mainly wood/stone spawns on farmland have been nerfed and the Post Office has a gift from me, a hammer to help clear the stones away.

Update the Second comes out tomorrow and has a few request quality of life improvements:
-Chest Storage: You now have a storage chest in you Home that can hold an infinite number of items. Magical!
-Shipping Box Management! You can now open the Shipping Boxes and take things out if you'd like.
-Sprinklers! A new side quest unlocks the ability to get sprinklers, they cost money but the save time!
-How to Play? Did you accidentally skip over a tutorial bubble that seemed important? Check the How to Play section in the System Menu to see important ones you've collected while playing.
BUGS FIXED:
-Freya vanishing if you reload the main area after completing her quest
-Mailbox deletion menu causing GUI overlapping issues
-Fixed Just the Beginning being glitched to stop you from finishing it.

I'm still working on polishing the second update, hence it coming out tomorrow.

I also want to thank anyone here who bought the game on Steam!
Thanks to y'all we have hit over 70 sales! I am very happy and honestly surprised, thank you all so much!

Thanks for coming to my TurnipTalk <3
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Hey all!
I have been incredibly absent lately and I am sorry for that.
I have had a lot happen in my personal life including eye surgery that makes programming difficult currently.
It is getting easier and I'm doing more work than I was but soon I will return to work which will eat a lot of my time again.

I am busy porting Homestead over to GMS2.3 for maintained compatibility in the future.
I will be making the BETA branch available on Steam in the next few weeks to get some testing done.
There's a bunch of strange issues I'm working on fixing, so no new content for a while.

Sorry for the absence, thanks for stopping by! <3
 

Xer0botXer0

Senpai
Hmm AI-Surgery more like it. :eek:
Yeah you better keep working, no one else is gonna do it for you!

In regards to the ant thing, I just learnt there's a spider that mimics ants! (Myrmarachne)
Haven't found much information on how it all goes down, like does it help them live in an area with lots of ants as a safety mechanism or for the hunt, to infultrate ant colonies, sneak out some eggies and feast! or do they just live among the ants.. meh, but we've all seen ants cross paths and do that little ant dance so what happens when an ant dances with one of these spoders. :| probably send out an alert!
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
*cough cough*
Hello!
I have had a bit of time off to finally do some work on Homestead!
The Covid lockdown made my place of work VERY BUSY, and on top of that eye surgery made my life kind of hectic.
I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.

I have been updating the game to the newer version of GMS 2.3.1, and I have worked out most of the issues I have found.
There are a few that persist, but they aren't game breaking and I'm working on them.

During my bug fixing I have made a change to the way part of the game works.
I am calling this "feature" a seamless map.
Instead of breaking all of the areas into their own rooms in GM, I am now using the open space of the map to house these "rooms"

This is what that looks like.
This in turn fixes a few issues I had setting up some stuff for a later update.
I'm still working out some kinks, but I hope to update the game eventually!
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
Oh good lord, it's almost been a year eh?
Sorry, I've had some... life events, both good and bad recently that have interrupted then fire up development.
I bought a house, so we moved, then I developed a lovely medical condition that makes me pass out quite frequently, then my father died... oof.
I've gotten back into developing the game due to the last thing on that list, he really loved seeing me work on the game, and I'm sad it was never finished while he was alive.

I have some big plans and I've been digging through this horrid code and cleaning a lot of it up.
I will let y'all know that I plan on redoing all of the art, but am keeping the music.
I will be showing the art updates as they happen, and I cannot say that they are better or worse than the current art, just different.

Just thought I'd stop by and say I am alive and I am working on the game again. <3
 

Lukan

Gay Wizard Freak
skintones.png
Some changes are underway!

I am finally adding real NPCs to the game before doing anything else.
I cannot make art for the life of me, so I scoured the magical internet for some resources (I paid for them)
Above is the new base model for characters in the game.

I wrote a system to keep track of things like skin tones and clothes, and then dynamically build the sprites for seamless integration into the game.
Surprisingly it doesn't appear to have any noticeable overhead, I haven't seen any drop in performance switching these dynamic sprites in and out on the fly.
This isn't done regularly, so even if there was an impact it would probably be during loading anyway.

I bought an entire character pack type asset that's pretty easy to expand on, so fashion and npcs that look unique are on the way.
Not sure when I'll have a stable build, but I now work on the game a few hours every day before and after my day job.

The asset pack is pretty neat, you can check it out here: Cozy People Asset Pack by shubibubi (itch.io)

TTYL,
Lukan
 

CMAllen

Member
View attachment 45969
Some changes are underway!

I am finally adding real NPCs to the game before doing anything else.
I cannot make art for the life of me, so I scoured the magical internet for some resources (I paid for them)
Above is the new base model for characters in the game.

I wrote a system to keep track of things like skin tones and clothes, and then dynamically build the sprites for seamless integration into the game.
Surprisingly it doesn't appear to have any noticeable overhead, I haven't seen any drop in performance switching these dynamic sprites in and out on the fly.
This isn't done regularly, so even if there was an impact it would probably be during loading anyway.

I bought an entire character pack type asset that's pretty easy to expand on, so fashion and npcs that look unique are on the way.
Not sure when I'll have a stable build, but I now work on the game a few hours every day before and after my day job.

The asset pack is pretty neat, you can check it out here: Cozy People Asset Pack by shubibubi (itch.io)

TTYL,
Lukan
It's a significant style change from previous character sprites, but if it's faster to work with and closer to your original vision, that's what matters.
 
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