Today I looked at the small things you see all the time. The talk box. The camera. The wave at the front of the boat. I wanted each one to feel calm.
The talk box
The talk box is now a clean rounded box with a soft brown rim and a soft shadow. It has more room round the words, and the “next” mark sits in the bottom middle. The way you speak changes the box:
- A shout is a spiky burst with bigger words.
- A quiet line has a quiet rim.
- A thought is a cloud of small round puffs.
Moods are small emoji now, on the portrait and over the head of whoever is talking. The box no longer pops in again each time a mood changes.
A camera that stays close
When a house or a wall stands between the camera and the cat, it now thins out. The camera no longer jumps in close. This works for houses, shops, tents, terrace walls, ruins, the lighthouse, boards, wrecks, lamp posts and rocks. The camera pulls in only to keep itself out of a building, and it eases in and out. The auto camera also keeps up better when you turn.
A new bow wave
The wave at the front of the boat is a pair of thin wings that meet in a point ahead of the stem. They lie on the sea, follow it, and trail behind like a tentacle around turns. They are tinted toward the sea and a little see-through. I went through many small rounds on this one, to remove saw-tooth edges and stripes. The sail also stays white now in a Shift boost, with no gold glow.
Light and lamps
Lamp glows are softer and flicker a little like a candle, each at its own pace. The lantern on the cat’s belt sits higher, so it no longer makes a hot spot on the floor. The Old Words stones give off no sparks once you have read them.
Dig spots, Ines and the journal
- Dig spots are cracks in the ground, as a dark star with five jagged rays on the sand, not red X marks. Each one has its own shape.
- Ines no longer asks for 10 shells. Once you hold them, a parrot brings her letter. Reading it gives you the shell sail and a garland.
- Pip’s wing is broken, not bad. It mends as your friendship grows. At 10 hearts the cast comes off, and his scene is his first flight since the storm.
- Grandpa’s postcard has one line now. It says that his boat is yours, and with it a new beginning.
- The journal has bigger tasks with checklists. Getting your boat is one task, with a step for each part. So is Farlight.
Smaller things
- The loading screen has no words under its bar.
- The full screen button is gone from the corner. The F key and the switch in the settings stay.
- The cat’s arms hang at his sides when he stands, and his hop is a real jump.
- On the terraces and the Home Cove stairs, he stands on the steps, not sunk into them.
- The deck chair and bench fit his seat better.
More soon. Thank you for reading!
