Hi all,

Version number leap time! I was slated to finish this by May 15th. Really dates I put on myself to self-motivate and hold myself accountable. As it turns out, I am done with what I wanted to accomplish. I don't think anyone will complain about me getting these updates out faster than schedule, right?

The Stats Update accomplishes a main goal of mine: pull the Steam Stats and Steam Achievements in-game with a stats menu and badge system. I knew along with that I needed a main menu refresh to make everything fit so I took some time working on the menus and sprucing them up. Let's just jump into patch notes!

• Title display now has a window and chain link graphic with a subtle animation

• Added a shade layer between the menu options and the menu ant farm in all menu screens to help text and menu blocks pop more

• Main menu ant farm is now persistent between menu screens (swapping between the main menu, settings, jukebox no longer keeps resetting the little demo ant farm in the background of the menus)

• Shrunk the size of the Jukebox menu button to fit the Stats menu button next to it

• Added the Stats Menu

• Added 8 Stats cards to the Stats menu with three badges each, all corresponding to the thresholds for Steam Achievements

• Added a tab system in the Stats menu to flip between pages of stat cards (a system that will be carried over to other areas of the game in due time)

• Adjusted Font Choice 2 to fix display issues due to it's larger character spacing

• Out of game: refreshed the Steam Store page with fresh screenshots and information

So what is next? I want to capitalize on some momentum and motivation I have right now so v0.6.0 will release on June 5th tentatively. The Jukebox Update. A companion really to this updates. A dozen new lo-fi track, a Jukebox menu overhaul, and a toggleable "Now Playing" UI to display a track title and artist when it starts in the ant farms. June 5th. But it could be earlier again.

Anyways, thanks all for playing Ant Farm and sharing kind words and ideas and feedback. Let me know if there is something you want to see in the game!

-Kyle

Hi all,

Wanted to generally chat about the path to the next title update, v0.5. Tentatively releasing on Friday May 15th.

This patch will be the Stats Update. I want to capture as many stats as possible, create as many systems to catch as many stats as possible, display them all in an in-game stats hub. I'm starting this work with the v0.4.X patch series but the title update will represent the culmination of this plan.

I'm very happy with the gameplay wrinkles added in v0.4 and want them to vibe for a bit and get a feel for what works really well and where I want to push the idle gameplay next. So for now, it's a meta level update. Stats galore for everyone to peruse.

This will include an in-game badge system that replicates the Steam Achievements so that even those are all fully houses in-game.

The extra nugget this patch will receive as part of the domino effect of making a stats menu, is that the main menu will get some extra passes and polish. Mentally I also already know where I'm going for v0.6 and it will only be a few shorts weeks after the next title update. Expect a significant amount of growth for this project throughout the Spring and into the early Summer.

Looking all the way to the end goal here: on the Steam store page I mention Early Access lasting less than a year. That's on pace and still the plan. I'd imagine crossing the 1.0 finish line in the Autumn. But I will support this game with updates and ideas for as long as they pop up even after the main launch.

So there's a loose roadmap for the next title update with a planned release date, and some insight to the development at large.

Thanks for playing! If you like what you've played, please leave a review! If you don't like what you've played, let me know on a discussion board thread and I'll see what I can do to address the issues.

Have a great week,

Kyle