Welcome to the December 2021 Coral Island development update! Please check out our Steam page to wishlist the game and find out more: swg.gg/corstm This month, we'll go over the highlights of Alpha v0.06. Take a look at Giants gameplay and how Town Rank will work in the game. [b]Alpha v0.06 will launch on January 10 @ 11:59PM PDT.[/b] [h2][u]Happy Holidays[/u][/h2] Happy holidays from everyone at Stairway! Here's to a great 2022. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_97b81d5ef32b40138bd73a597079beac~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_925,h_1106,al_c,q_90/491ae5_97b81d5ef32b40138bd73a597079beac~mv2.webp[/img] [h2][u]HD Wallpaper for Backers[/u][/h2] We'll be sending HD/4k versions of this wallpaper early next year, and it will come in both horizontal and vertical orientations. Thank you to all backers. We hope you like it! [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_4cada23810f9459381ecbb516d30f408~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_925,h_520,al_c,q_90/491ae5_4cada23810f9459381ecbb516d30f408~mv2.webp[/img] [what's the first thing you noticed?] [h2][u]Giants Gameplay Prototype[/u][/h2] At long last, we're ready to talk about Giants! Giants are farm helpers that you'll unlock as you progress through the game. By deciding which totems to craft and where to place them, you have ultimate control over the type of help you get on your farm. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_548ae7a6e9e44e808a5db4ec89c0a81d~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_2992,h_1683,al_c,q_95/491ae5_548ae7a6e9e44e808a5db4ec89c0a81d~mv2.webp[/img] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_92e9cfad7cbb4f219f4ca5ee9fb4e09e~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_2994,h_1683,al_c,q_95/491ae5_92e9cfad7cbb4f219f4ca5ee9fb4e09e~mv2.webp[/img] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_596e6a4309db486ba916c36f3d725f9d~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_2991,h_1683,al_c,q_95/491ae5_596e6a4309db486ba916c36f3d725f9d~mv2.webp[/img] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_dc3661319e5b4aa1bc25a07fb49931b8~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_2991,h_1683,al_c,q_95/491ae5_dc3661319e5b4aa1bc25a07fb49931b8~mv2.webp[/img] [craft and place totems to get some help on your farm!] There are three types of craftable totems: water, harvest, and animal totems. Today we're going to take a look at the Water and Harvest totem. [h3][u]Water Totem[/u][/h3] Place Water Totems to get help watering tilled soil. Please note, Alpha players that the Water Totem will replace any previously placed Sprinklers on your farm. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_dc3661319e5b4aa1bc25a07fb49931b8~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_925,h_520,al_c,q_95/491ae5_dc3661319e5b4aa1bc25a07fb49931b8~mv2.webp[/img] Now, for a look at the water totem in action: [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_400eee65981145b883fc87f9622236f6~mv2.gif[/img] [Totems activate when a Giant is about to work its coverage area] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_2c260ae3ac91408fa0aa030ade325b54~mv2.gif[/img] [who doesn't get happy when their work is done for the day] [h3][u]Gather Totem[/u][/h3] Place Gather Totems to get help gather items on your farm. They come in handy to harvest crops and collect items from processing and artisan equipment. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_bf059f9c344146288789910a062436d3~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_925,h_520,al_c,q_95/491ae5_bf059f9c344146288789910a062436d3~mv2.webp[/img] Now, for a look at the Gather Totem in action: [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_14a6997bc1d5468c8b2db4c1836ee6a4~mv2.gif[/img] [REDACTED is skilled at Gathering] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_6593887fd3aa4143ba99b50b02ff8a11~mv2.gif[/img] [It's not all work and no play for the Giants. Or err... nap time] [h3][u]Collecting Gathered Items[/u][/h3] The Giants will place gathered items inside a plant pouch, and it's conveniently located to the left of your house. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_54eaef0dc4a048da85d630d22b62aec9~mv2.gif[/img] [worth checking the plant pouch now and then...] [h3][u]The Three Giants[/u][/h3] Although each Giant can work on all farm tasks, they excel at one thing. To unleash the full potential of a particular farm task, you'll need to unlock higher grade totems and develop your relationship with the Giants. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_93fa5bcdc29248e99e2d2a5aa9b12647~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_816,h_622,al_c,lg_1,q_95/491ae5_93fa5bcdc29248e99e2d2a5aa9b12647~mv2.webp[/img] [h2][u]Town Rank[/u][/h2] The residents of Coral Island want to improve the town, for good reason! The town rank comprises four key components: Heritage, Fame, Museum, and Ocean. We've added a special tab in the UI to keep tabs on your progress and figure out ways to earn points. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_dd1369aeb8814d748d62c08f4fb08bea~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_925,h_520,al_c,q_95/491ae5_dd1369aeb8814d748d62c08f4fb08bea~mv2.webp[/img] [WIP of Town Rank UI] As you increase the town's rank, shops will have an easier time sourcing items, which means new things for you to buy. And well, who knows what other shops you'll attract to town. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_ac01a4ed4bc947d5a8f286325e4cbb6d~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_925,h_520,al_c,q_95/491ae5_ac01a4ed4bc947d5a8f286325e4cbb6d~mv2.webp[/img][mock up of store selling new items after town rank increases] The town hall houses a monitor that tracks your progress toward increasing the town rank. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_d8648ba8e16a48a18a8935c5b16ca162~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_925,h_520,al_c,q_95/491ae5_d8648ba8e16a48a18a8935c5b16ca162~mv2.webp[/img] [that's one big monitor] [h2][u]Other updates[/u][/h2] For 0.06: - Q&A system with NPC testable with Yuri, more information available in Discord - Several map tweaks have been made - Opened up the blocked path on Hillside - Functioning gates for fences - New buildings on the map? - Manual cooking! - Cherry Blossom main festival objective implemented - New interior music, check it out - Various bug fixes and optimizations [h2][u]What's next?[/u][/h2] For Alpha v0.07, we've got the following planned: - Renovated museum - Heritage implemented (temple offerings) - More interiors and exteriors - Refreshed 10m diving maps - Rebalanced mastery progressions - And more! Changes for 2022: - We're increasing the time between Alpha updates from 1 month to 2 months. For example, Alpha 0.07 will launch in March 2022 - We will continue posting dev updates every month [b]Thanks for reading,[/b] Stairway Team