It’s been a little while since I shared the first Alpha and playtest versions of the game, and I’ve been quietly working on monthly updates, polishing features, and listening closely to your feedback. This update is a little reflection on where the game is currently now and where it's heading!
☕️ Looking Back: The First Alpha Milestone
The very first Alpha release launched with the foundation of what will be Tailside’s Early Access experience. Here's what was already up and running back then:
🟢 Expanded different drink recipes: 8/8 COMPLETED
🟢 Expanded decor: COMPLETED
🟢 Village (NPC) customers: COMPLETED
🟢 Day and night cycle: COMPLETED
🟢 Bedroom area: COMPLETED
🟢 Accessibility: Missing Day & Night cycle length setting COMPLETED
🟢 Save & Load system: COMPLETED
🟢 Controller support: COMPLETED
Since that release, these features have continued to evolve, improving based on your playtest feedback. From polish and visual clarity to control and comfort, everyone's input has shaped every corner of the experience.
☕️ Growing Beyond the Plan
As development progressed, Tailside expanded far beyond its original scope. New features, many not part of the original roadmap, have found their way into the game, more than doubling the planned content:
🟢 Skill Tree: COMPLETED
🟢 Custom Character Import: COMPLETED
🟢 Shop & Delivery System: COMPLETED
🟢 Brewing and Cafe upgrades: COMPLETED
🟢 Newspaper storyline: COMPLETED
🟢 Journal: COMPLETED
🟢 Pastry buying & selling: COMPLETED
Some of these were born from spontaneous inspiration, others from cozy community suggestions and I'm happy the alpha testers have been enjoying them so far as well!
☕️ Next update content
It seems that since last alpha update, there's not that much issues to fix, so I have been already working towards next update this week with new things while another dev is helping fix up some issues around:
🟢 Mini storyline chapters through newspaper making the game feel somewhat like having a start and end
🟢 Characters will have speech bubble reactions in general once approached and also reactions to current day's newspaper
🟢 Terrace area preview
🟢 UI adjusted to controller displays instead of only keyboard/mouse so all the players with controllers can have proper instructions
🔴 And then the last thing that is missing now before the next update would be some gameplay adjustments to match the newspaper and terrace additions so it actually makes sense in the game haha and of course some retesting to make sure it's all playable.
☕️ Thank You for Being Here
Whether you played the Alpha, shared a kind word, wishlisted, or just quietly followed along, thank you. Your support means the world to this small café in the woods.
If you would like to be part of the development journey, you can vote on various ideas on: Discord | Twitter | Instagram | Leave your own suggestions Thank you so much for the support- Coffee Beans Dev
