Update 3.2 - Seasonal events

This update integrates the first four seasonal events into the game. I have greatly expanded the scripting language for cutscenes so that interaction within cutscenes is now possible.
The first 4 seasons events are 4 auctions that take place once per season, each with a different theme. Different items are offered in the auctions each year and I hope that you will have a lot of fun bidding skilfully in the auctions and getting good prices.
There will be more new events in future updates that make use of the new possibilities.

Update V3.3: Alternative Startmaps + Survival Mode

In this update, 2 alternative farms and starting areas and the survival mode are added to the game.

All three farms play differently and offer a new gaming experience. Ideal for a second or third playthrough. Details below!

Survival mode can be added and changes the gameplay even more. It can only be selected at the start of the game and only works in connection with the "Volcano Farm". This mode is intended for experienced players and is full of challenges. It should be chosen with care.

Update 3.4 - The Monster Hell

Highlights:

In this update, the game gets a new quest line including an extensive cave system called "The Monster Hell", which is suited for players in the last third of the main game. The fights in it are and should be very challenging and the whole area is for players who love such challenges. I have created 6 new unique bosses for the Monster Hell.

There are exciting rewards for those who make it through, but everything is optional and not required for the main story. You have to try different strategies for the battles and each of the caves is different. There is no option to save or teleport in the caves. Above all, you should ensure that you always have high resistance values and other buffs active.

The start of the quest series begins with Sophie towards the end of chapter 3 at the earliest. Talk to her again and again.

There are numerous tips for mastering the Monster Hell in the in-game manual section V3.xx (F1 in the game).

If you can't get any further with one of the caves in Monster Hell, you can watch one of the WalkTrough videos on my YouTube channel (F2 to open the link in the game). There you will find a way to defeat the enemies in the cave. The difficulty for these recordings was "normal".

Patch Notes V3.2

Game:

- Introduction of the first 4 seasons events. Contact persons for the quests are Tiffany, Alfred, Marco and Nira. The new introductory quests are available early in the main game. Further information on auctions can be found in the in-game guide in the "Trade" section.

- Monster training portals in the Star Forge have been made even more indestructible.

Bugs:

- Fixed a rare bug that can occur in old savegames , causing Star Forge training portals to stop working.

- The English translation of some items from the DLC The Desert was mixed up and has been corrected.

- Minor errors with some German item names have been fixed.

Ingame Manual:

- Added section about auctions (Trade section).

- Added section about the new info window when placing plants (section Plants).

- Various explanations in the sections Clues and Plants and Nature simulation updated.

Patch notes V3.3

Game:

When starting a new game, you can now choose one of three starting areas.

All three play very differently and invite you to play Behind the Horizon again. The areas cover the entire area around the farm. The following options are available:

- The Standard Farm:

The standard farm offers a balanced landscape with lots of good farmland and enough woodland and water. There are large areas available for stables and pastures. This farm is ideal for a cosy, not too difficult game.

- The river and woodland farm:
Here the farmland is divided by rivers. Bridges lead to the various islands. There are fewer large areas, but more forest and water. The land is more varied overall, but the planning of the farm requires more care and there is less space. There are some fertile areas where plants grow right at the beginning of the farm that can be harvested and there are also many fruit trees in the forests. An interesting alternative to the standard farm.

- The Volcano Farm:

The Volcano Farm is dominated by rocky areas. There are two dormant volcanoes to the north and south. There is less space and less fertile soil. To compensate, there are more ore and stone deposits. This farm is a real challenge, especially at the beginning, as it prevents rapid growth because the soil has to be upgraded first. A good choice for a second, more challenging game.

- The survival mode:

Survival mode can be activated in conjunction with the Volcano Farm. There are numerous gameplay changes that greatly alter the game. In survival mode, Behind the Horizon plays like a survival game, especially in the first few years. This should provide a great challenge even for experienced players.

A list of all gameplay changes in survival mode:

1) Inhospitable conditions, poorer soil around the farm and two active volcanoes in the north and south

2) the plantable area on the farm will grow more slowly than usual due to rising consciousness

3) permanent energy and life essence boni are only half as large

4) using tools and weapons costs more energy

5) Monster portals can control more monsters at the same time

6) Monsters have increased vision

7) The volcanoes on the farm erupt at irregular intervals and spew lava flows or rocks

8) Storms such as floods, droughts, hail, thunderstorms, etc. cause more changes in the world

9) Positive weather events are less frequent or weaker

10) Buying and selling prices at all traders are increased
11) When harvesting, the player does not get any seeds back

12) There are fewer quarries in the world

13) Extreme weather events can occur immediately after starting the game

14) Trees from the player are just as affected by hail and lightning as wild trees

15) Locust and vole infestations occur more frequently

16) There are more locusts and voles in a plague

In addition to the new starting areas, the old farm has also been improved in many places.

In the "Start new game" menu you can now also select the difficulty of the battles. This can still be changed in the settings menu during the game.

The cutscene when you first enter the farm has been redesigned to fit all three farms.

An error in a quest description in an early quest has been corrected.

Manual:

New section: Update V3.xx: All changes to the game after the release of the 2nd DLC, the Sky Fortress, are summarised here.

Updated the manual to the latest version

Bugs:

When starting a new game, the temperature and light values of the last few days were not set correctly. This has been fixed.

Patch notes V3.4

Game:

The magnifying glass

The magnifying glass can be used to find out which plants or raw materials are growing or are available on a field. When the mouse button is held down, a window for the field  under the mouse pointer is displayed. For ground cover, plants and trees, the name and the respective product are displayed.

The window also shows whether the plant is ready for harvesting, in the germination stage, dead or growing. This makes it easier, especially at the beginning of the game, to find out which plant produces what and when it is ready to harvest.

The magnifying glass is now available right at the start of a new game. Advanced players can purchase the magnifying glass from Tiberius for a few coins.

The snow cover on paths no longer closes completely in winter so that the path can still be recognised. In addition, the snow on paths thaws much faster in spring than on other fields.

The flood and drought are now more balanced in their chances, which should mean that there will no longer be years of flooding!

After sleeping, all buffs/debuffs and all magical temporal effects are switched off again.

Pigs now slowly remove the existing snow cover when digging.

Horses and donkeys now only improve the soil if there is no solid snow cover. Just like the pigs, they gradually remove smaller amounts of snow from a field.

In the farm overview (CTRL) and in the info window for seeds and plants, the duration until cooling is displayed for lava soil fields.

The plague of locusts and voles is now only announced when the locusts or voles are actually present. These plagues always start during the day to give the player a chance to react.

Extend the duration of the spell Increase Resistance and the spell Attack Buff.

Attack and damage values and the energy costs of many weapons have been changed slightly to improve the balance in the game.

Elemental damage on monster portals is now significantly reduced. The reason for this is that portals could be destroyed very quickly with advanced battle magic, which was not intended.

The temporary increase in elemental resistances is now also displayed in the status bar together with the attack buff. This means you can see at a glance whether the effect is still active and no longer have to open the character window.

Introduction of two powerful new spells that can be purchased from Niall (the charged and overcharged version of the spell is available as rewards in the Monster Hell)

New items (rewards in new caves):

Sabre of Protection
A sabre that has a chance to build up a shield or strengthen an existing one every time you kill a monster (up to a maximum)

Spear of Earth

A spear with a chance to throw an earth nova in all directions after successfully killing a monster.

Sword of the Elements

A sword that sends an elemental beam into your line of sight every time you kill a monster. In the path of the beam, all monsters are injured by elemental explosions.

The shield amulet

The shield amulet protects you once from certain death and gives you back some of your life essence. You also receive a shield. The amulet is consumed in the process. There is a recipe with which you can recharge it.

Manual:

In section V3.xx the monster hell was integrated

Bugs:

Calculation error in the daily average of light and heat during storms has been fixed. This error could cause the daily average of these values to be far above or below the actual value.

Elimination of a "stuck" chest in the add-on The Sky Fortress.

Correction of some minor errors in texts (English and German)

Liam's dungeon door was once again open, which was not the way it should be!

The lava plant could evolve the lava into rock before it had cooled down. This has been fixed so that the lava now remains lava until it cools down as specified. How long and how often you plant the lava no longer matters.