Homegrown 0.5.7 - Shop Updates

A load of shop related changes in this update! Shops now support a couple of new features, their UI has received an upgrade, and there’s a brand-new shop in town where you can sell your unwanted items.

See the changes in action in the latest devlog video.

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download and play Homegrown here.

And for Programmer Tier+ patrons the code is available here.

Gamer Tier+ patrons can also try out some simple mod creation here.

New Shop Features

The biggest update to the shops is the introduction of shop categories! Shops can now feature category tabs along the left side of the UI, allowing you to filter items by category for easier browsing. For now, this feature is available only in the Tool Shop, but as more items are added to the game I’ll use it in other shops as well.

I’ve also implemented support for locked items in the shops. These are items that start off unavailable and can be unlocked by meeting specific requirements as you progress through the game. For now, this feature is only being tested with a couple of items, but I'll be using it for more items soon.

UI Improvements

Last week I had another attempt at making the shop UI look presentable, with some success. The most obvious change is the addition of the decorative shop frame around the left panel. I thought this might help to give the interface a more "shop-like" feel, but I'd love to hear what you think about it.

I also added a darker background to the items panel to make the items stand out more, along with a subtle drop shadow behind them for the same reason.

One thing I still need to do is to create more distinction between shops that you're buying from and shops that you're selling to. Right now, it's not very clear at all. But apart from that, I feel like the shop UI is looking quite polished now.

The Second Hand Shop

A new shop has opened for business in the town: the Second Hand Shop! This shop will buy almost any item from you for 50% of its original value. It's great for getting rid of any tools or equipment that you no longer need.

My main reason for adding this shop was to give you a safety net in case things don’t go quite as planned. Spent all your money on the wrong items and now you’re out of seeds or income options? No worries! You can just sell off a few of your regrettable purchases in order to recoup some money.

Coming Soon...

Next up, it's the last of the updates to the town area - I'm going to be revisiting the farmers' market feature to add a few of the updates that I didn't get round to last time. Then it will be back to the home area for the final farming gameplay features!

Thanks for all your support <3

Karl