The Ranch of Rivershine FAQ!

[cozybeegames]

The information in this FAQ could change as development progresses but I hope this will give you a better idea of my plans for The Ranch of Rivershine!

Horse Activities

Can I go trail riding?
Yes! There’ll be different maps with unique environments such as mountains, beaches, forests and meadows you’ll be able to explore on horseback. These trail maps will be unlocked as you progress through the game.

Can I catch wild horses?
Yes, there will be wild horses with unique coat colors & patterns you’ll encounter while exploring trails. Finding these wild horses will be the only way to integrate those coats into your herd. The amount of wild horses you can find will be limited however to keep the game balanced.

How does training work?
You can train your horse’s speed, endurance, jump and flexibility. This is done automatically as you ride your horse. For example, when turning sharply, your horse’s flexibility will improve. However, horses can only be trained as long as they have potential. Once it’s depleted, their skills can’t be improved any further.

Which disciplines will there be?
Cross country is the only discipline I’m planning to include in the game. There will however be multiple environments and difficulty levels to compete in.

Will I be able to lead my horse?
Yes, you can lead your horse between the stables and pasture, around the ranch or the trails. Once you’ve earned your horse’s trust, you'll be able to simply whistle for them to follow you or come to you when they’re far away.

Will I be able to build my own obstacle courses?
It’s not something I’ve planned on doing, but there are multiple preset obstacle courses of different difficulties and styles, such as for example cavalettis, flower boxes and barrel jumps. You’ll be able to purchase these obstacle courses from your local trainer. Multiple arenas, indoors and outdoors, can be used in different areas of the game.

Can I breed my horses?
Yes! It will be a core part of the game. You will be able to selectively breed your horses for the skills, personality traits and coats that you want your foals inheriting. The foals will also go through a baby stage where they have access to unique training activities to maximize their full grown potential.

How do I buy & sell horses?
You can visit the auction house every day to see the horses available for sale. As you progress through the game, you’ll have access to horses of higher skill level and coat rarity at the auction house. You can also sell your horses there for the other bidders to buy it. A horse’s price is mostly set by their skill level, but is also influenced by their potential, the competitions they’ve won, the rarity of their coat color and their personality traits.

Horse Appearance

Can I name my horses?
Yes, horses bought at the auction will have a name already but it can be changed at any time from the stables. When a foal is born on your ranch, you’ll also be able to name them.

How many horses can I have at once?
You’ll be able to have up to 12 horses. The amount of horses is limited by the stalls available in your stable, which can be upgraded from 2 to 4, 8 and then 12 stalls.

Will there be more multiple horse breeds?
No, there are only mustangs in the game.

How many different colors and patterns are there?
I can’t give an exact number as new horse coat colors and patterns will be added throughout development. For now, I have planned to include tobiano, overo, rabicano, splash and appaloosa patterns. I’ll try to include all realistic coat colors. Horses can also have over 20 unique face markings and different socks on each of their legs.

Will there be different hairstyles for the horses?
Yes! The horses’ hair will grow over time, so they’ll need a trim if you want to keep it a certain length. You’ll also be able to braid their hair into different hairstyles.

Can I clip my horse’s coat?
No, this feature isn’t currently planned.

Will horses have personality traits?
Yes, I have about a dozen of different personality traits planned for now. For example, “Mentor” horses would give their foals more inherited skills, “Robust” horses would have a lower chance of getting sick and “Fluffy” horses would grow out their mane and tail faster. Each horse can have up to 3 personality trait. They can either already have them when purchased at the auction house, inherit it from their parent, or gain it as they age.

Can I customize my horse’s appearance?
No, all horses are created dynamically, either from the auction house, by finding wild horses or breeding foals. Some coat colors and patterns are rarer and will take more time to find in the game, but it does make it extra special once you have those horses!

Can I mix & match my tack?
Yes, you’ll be able to mix blankets, saddles and bridles together to create the tack style you want. Each horse’s active equipment will be saved so they have their tack set ready when you take them out.

Can I ride my horse bitless & tackless?
Yes! You can remove all tack and equipment from your horse.

Horse Care

Will my horses form a bond with me?
Yes! You’ll be able to gain your horse’s trust over time from a multitude of activities. For example brushing them, giving them a treat, winning a competition together or simply spending time riding them will increase their trust. However, you can also lose their trust if you place last in a competition or let them get sick.

Trust will influence how your horse reacts around you. For example, a trusting horse will canter over when you whistle, while a horse you just bought won’t come over at all. All horses bought at the auction house start with no trust while foals born at your stables will have a bonus from their parents.

What type of horse care minigames are there?
As you take care of your horses daily, you’ll be able to feed them hay, grain and a treat. You’ll also need to brush your horse as they get dirty overnight and when they are ridden. Additionally, you’ll have to muck their stall and add bedding. Doing these activities well will insure your horse’s good health and their trust for you.

Can I skip the minigames once I have a lot of horses?
Not exactly, as all of your horses need to be cared for. However, the minigames can be sped up. For example, you can purchase a higher quality brush, which will allow you to clean up your horses faster, or buy better bedding that stays clean longer. You can also leave your horses in the pasture instead of the stables overnight, which means they don’t need to be fed or have their stalls mucked. Turning out horses you’re not actively training will allow you to focus on spending more time with the horses of your choice.

Can my horses die?
No, they can’t die either from old age or injuries. However, your horses can still get sick and will need to be cared for. If a horse is left completely uncared for, the veterinarian will take it away to nurse it back to health, and you’ll have to pay a fee to get it back. Additionally, sick horses can’t be sold, reproduce or participate in competitions, so their well being is important.

Can I grow my own horse feed?
Yes! You can either grow, forage or purchase the hay, grain and treats you feed your horses. You’ll be able to purchase seeds from a local farmer and expand your farm to grow more feed over time. However, farming will be simplified as I don’t want it to take too much time every day.

Ranch Life

Will I have my own house?
Yes. Your house will contain your bed, which allows you to save and sleep until the next day, a wardrobe to customize your character at any time, and a library containing information about the game.

Can I decorate and customize my ranch?
While this isn’t planned for now, it’s possible I’ll add more ways to customize your ranch and the buildings on it later on.

What will I be able to upgrade on my ranch?
You’ll be able to upgrade multiple areas of your ranch. The most important one is the stable, which will allow you to upgrade from 2 to 12 stalls to keep more horses. You’ll also be able to build more pastures to split up your horses and build a breeding pasture to start having your own foals. An indoor arena and a round pen can also be built in addition to unlocking more obstacle courses to use in the arenas.

How can I earn gold in the game?
There will be multiple ways to earn gold in the game, but the two most important will be from winning competitions and selling horses in the auction house. However, you can also earn money from completing quests and selling items you’ve foraged to the local merchants.

Will there be seasons and different weather?
Yes! I plan on adding all four seasons and unique weather for each, such as snow, rain, fog and hot days. The seasons & weather will of course impact how the world looks but also which crops can be grown and how your horses need to be cared for. For example, horses can’t be left in the pasture in winter or while it’s raining with no shelter.

Will there be a town I can visit?
Yes! The town of Rivershine is a central part of the game where you can find multiple shops and the villagers that reside there. Some of the villagers live in more recluse areas, and you’ll meet them as you explore new trail maps.

Can I romance the villagers?
No, I don’t plan on adding romance to the game. There will however be 10 main villagers with a unique story and interesting dialogues that you can befriend. The villagers can give you advice, quests and gifts.

Player Character

Will there be both a male and female playable character?
Yes, it will be one of the things you can customize about your character!

Can I customize my character?
Yes, you’ll be able to customize multiple parts of our character, such as their skin tone, hairstyle and clothing. Not all customization options will be available from the start however and you’ll be able to purchase more outfits from the local tailor later on.

Can I have pets aside from the horses?
I can’t promise this will be included, but I would like to add dogs and cats to the game. If I do include them, they’ll be able to follow you around and help you forage for items.

Game Plans

When will the game be released?
My goal is to release the game in fall 2023. This is still an early estimate however and might change until an official release date is announced.

Where will the game be available?
For now I’m only planning on releasing the game on Steam for PC. It might be available on other consoles and platforms later on though!

Will controller support be included?
No, I’m not currently developing with controller support included.

Will the game be multiplayer?
No, this is a fully singleplayer game!

How much will the game be?
I’m currently planning on selling the game for 30 USD (or the recommended equivalent in other currencies) but I will confirm the price later on when I have a better idea of the playtime the game will offer.

Will the game include micro-transactions?
No. I’ve never made a game with microtransactions and this one will not include them either.

Will there be a demo?
Yes! I’m planning on releasing the demo in fall 2022. The demo will be available until the full release, but will not be updated further.

How can I support the game?
You can wishlist The Ranch of Rivershine on Steam, and share it with friends you think might be interested! I’m not currently planning on doing crowdfunding for the development, as I can self-fund this project. Knowing that you are looking forward to playing the game is all I need! :)

[pierre1987]

sorry if its no romance i will not buy it sorry

[hjrogue]

Is there a chance for ranch hands in the future? There is barely enough time to race a couple of horses and maybe train a wild horse after that, just being able to say I want this horse trained in this stat until it is out of energy would help out a lot. If not having them take care of the horses while we are racing/training them would still help out a little. It would also free up some time for people who want to actually enjoy and explore the trails you make to be able to do that without all the work of "I need money to finish this quest or to win that race for that quest" being a constant thing. Just being able to hire a ranch hand that can do your amount of work (minus races if it seems too cheaty) for one day an in game week would change things up a bit so it's not so repetitive. Other then that it's a good game I just want to enjoy the areas you put time and effort into making for us.

[Black_Fox]

Are there plans for a german translation? I would buy the game, but the person that would play it in my household doesn't speak english.

[_BlazeFox_]

Originally posted by hjrogue:

Is there a chance for ranch hands in the future? There is barely enough time to race a couple of horses and maybe train a wild horse after that, just being able to say I want this horse trained in this stat until it is out of energy would help out a lot. If not having them take care of the horses while we are racing/training them would still help out a little. It would also free up some time for people who want to actually enjoy and explore the trails you make to be able to do that without all the work of "I need money to finish this quest or to win that race for that quest" being a constant thing. Just being able to hire a ranch hand that can do your amount of work (minus races if it seems too cheaty) for one day an in game week would change things up a bit so it's not so repetitive. Other then that it's a good game I just want to enjoy the areas you put time and effort into making for us.

If you go in the settings, you can actually change the time speed. It is set to normal by default, but you can set it to fast, slow and very slow. I just noticed that feature at summer 20.. But yea, helps alot :D

[_BlazeFox_]

I'm actually curious. I've been breeding quite alot but I can't seem to know how long it takes for a young adult to grow to adult. I would really like to breed one of my baby horse to another one, to have better stats.

[Raggedy Annie]

I understand the game is not totally accurate to RL genetics...BUT there are a few rules that CAN NOT be ignored. Any color/dilution/pattern that is recessive and/or homozygous MUST ALWAYS pass on one copy of the gene to 100% of their offspring. EXAMPLES: Chestnut, Homozygous Creams (Cremello/Perlino) and Flaxen. These will ALWAYS pass on one copy of the gene....always. Honestly, for horse people, this is very immersion breaking. Incorrect gene inheritance is the reason I stopped playing Rival Stars. I can deal with some, but these three are the most simple of rules to follow. And, I know it's possible to code correct gene inheritance into a game. I play FREE GAMES that have no problem coding correct gene inheritance into their games. If you are creating a horse game, that has horse breeding with a major focus on colors/patterns then you should have an understanding of horse genetics and inheritance, or the willingness to learn, AND the ability to code this into your game.

[Aididix]

Will this game be in Spanish in the future?

[maki]

you should rethink the romance imo

[cheddarz]

When a horse's abilities are boosted by the statues, are these traits inheritable, or do they not contribute to the horse's base stat?

[Jessica]

German please.

[Imelda2102]

Originally posted by Jessica:

German please.

Oh yes :)

[Teque]

So far, I love everything about this game and will continue to support it! I plan on buying another copy to give to my niece, as she will love it also!

[elysianwrites]

Just wanted to say thank you for not doing romance. It’s a nice change from so many other games.

[horselady900]

is the azure coast not available yet? I completed everything else and have not been able to unlock this area or those quests yet

[Makie]

I am still crossing fingers for controller support! I tried playing the game for the first time tonight and I am struggling with the way the camera moves with keyboard and mouse and it's causing me motion sickness ):
The sensitivity isn't the issue, it's that the camera isn't really smooth and seems to jerk around quite a bit both walking and riding. (Free camera is a thing but it still doesn't help my motion sickness...)

Unfortunately I won't be able to play the game with keyboard and mouse so I really hope controller support is reconsidered! I would be so bummed if I had to refund