That's right, the time has finally arrived! If you've missed the announcements elsewhere, Wednesday, December 22 at 6:00 pm PST, we will be sending out all the Alpha keys for KickStarter Backers! Honestly, we're so thankful to the entire community who found us in the beginning and has supported us for so long. I know I say it every month, but we really couldn't have done with without you. So, to say thank you, we've decided that ALL BACKERS from $20 Early Bird tier and up will be receiving an Alpha Key. Yup. You read that right. All of them. We want to make sure this is still fair for all the Backers who backed at the Early Access tiers the first time around, so when the times comes we will be sending you an extra digital key for the full release of SunnySide. This should be sometime around November of 2022, but no promises just yet. So Alpha players, here's just a little taste of what you can look forward to on Wednesday. We had a stream last week which covered everything included in the Kickstarter update: [previewyoutube=X6uRq5UfpMc;full][/previewyoutube] You'll be getting all these updates as well as access to [b]Spring AND Summer[/b] seasons. This means that instead of a 28 day loop of Spring, you'll be getting a 56 day loop of Spring and Summer. Additionally, we have a little something special for all the KickStarter Alpha players: From December 22 to December 27, the whole team will be going dark and taking a much needed break. To celebrate the seasonal festivities during this time, there will be a temporary graphical overhaul to the SunnySide map that includes snow, decorations, and lots of Holiday vibes. Everything else (crops, seasonal progression, quests, etc) will behave as normal, but with a fun seasonal overlay. Enjoy it while it lasts, because it's going away on Monday the 27th and won't be seen again until the full release of the game. Updates and bug fixes will resume after we return to work on the 27th. [h1]RainyBugs[/h1] Now, the Alpha isn't technically a test (we've got Conlan for QA now) but you're definitely going to run into some bugs. If that happens, we have a handy reporting site that will be sent to you with your Alpha email, so keep an eye out for that! You can access the bug reporting system [url=https://rainybugs.veratil.dev/]here[/url]. [h1]Publisher Updates[/h1] Y'all. We finally did it. We officially signed a publisher. All the documents are in order, the money is coming in, and the whole team will be operating full time starting on the first. This is a huge accomplishment for RainyGames, and we are super excited to share all the details with you in the new year, so be on the lookout for more information then. [h1]Closing Pre-Orders[/h1] With a signed publisher comes the closing of pre-orders. We always promised we would give a couple weeks notice before officially closing up the Backerkit, so here it is: Backerkit Pre-Orders will be ending on January 1, 2022. Please plan accordingly. [b]All Alpha access will be through Steam on PC, regardless of what platform you've selected for your full copy.[/b] [h1]More Holiday Fun[/h1] Our incredible Key Artist (Liz) and Composer (Matt) came together this Holiday season to put something special together for y'all. Enjoy! [previewyoutube=Ee2KedYXMIk;full][/previewyoutube] [h1]Thank You![/h1] That's it! Keep an eye on your mailboxes for your Alpha key, and be sure to follow the instructions carefully! I know I say this every month, but we could never properly express how much we appreciate each and every person who has and continues to support us. There have been some roller coasters over the last year, and the fact that you all continued to believe in us and trust us really means the world. Hopefully things will level out in 2022 now that we have a publisher backing us, but there are bound to still be issues. Thanks to you all, however, we can go into 2022 with our heads held high and ready for anything, because we know that our fans have our backs! So once again, thank you for your continued support! As for what's ahead of us, once we release the KickStarter Alpha, there will be a couple updates, but mostly we will begin working towards the Backerkit Alpha to be released in February. I'll still continue giving monthly updates next year, but they're going to be a lot smaller moving forward, mostly to allow us more time for game development. If you want to stay up to date, your best bet will be joining our Discord and following us on Twitter, if you haven't already. We're up to about 3,600 people on Discord, and it continues to be the best way to follow RainyGames and SunnySide. We post lots of sneak peeks over there (and special ones for KickStarter backers), stream live development, run contests, and even ask for suggestions from the community. If you join, just remember to message me (FemChefSR1) with your KickStarter backer # (if you backed at one of those tiers) so I can give you your Backer Tier Role. If you pre-ordered on Backerkit, just send me your proof of purchase via DM, and I'll get you set up with your Backerkit role (new and shiny!). [url=https://discord.gg/sunnyside][img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//41423874/6d3f34014d4d4877b443c8cfcd88abd71e3f2ef6.png[/img][/url]