There's a character creator now, with 9 playable types, 8 of which are brand new kin models. On top of that: short-lived floor-based dungeons like The Mines, a work-in-progress sky path, hats (and other cosmetics) that attach to your character, and seasons that now change slowly instead of flipping all at once.
The whole island is now modifiable. Free modification is no longer just a cavern thing, it applies everywhere except in towns, and that single change has turned Automatia into a story-based sandbox. On top of that: a real login screen with accounts and device linking, leaderboards, cannons, and a big round of performance and size reductions.
The early game is somewhat playable now.
An early-game game loop prototype is now working fairly well. This week was mostly polish and reliability. You can now join a friend with a simple code at login, co-op finally shares money and progress, and the skill system got a full revamp. Meanwhile winter turned cold and harsh, mud-water will ruin your day, and there's a new hare companion to keep you company.
We now have initial support for seasons. The farms world will have the four staple seasons, which drastically changes the look of the world on each season change. There's also new animal NPCs, a forest rabbit, a Dog companion, and some graphics work: cascaded shadow maps and god-rays.
The game no longer starts you in a procedurally generated open world. Instead, you begin in a hand-made story world: the place where the story NPCs live, where the shops are, where the trains run. It's a real, curated starting point rather than a random one.
This week the lighthouse world got tide water, a proper login screen landed on both desktop and Web, gamepad support finally reached the browser, and block entities can at last rotate. Oh, and there's a travelling boat salesman now.
This week I added mini board games, a Web build and the shape of a new story world.
This week I've mostly been experimenting with mining. I implemented void nights, a new rare night that turns darkness into a space-like void and will consume unprepared explorers. I also implemented a lost-and-found feature, which helps prevent some permanent item loss, allowing me to finally experiment with various types of "death".
Automatia now has several skills! Crafting, farming, mining, alchemy, fishing, cooking and magic, all with experience and levels. There's a developing economy hiding behind them too, but that part is still ongoing.