The Stocking Feel Update

The demo is out, people are playing it, and the first post-release update is all about making the most repeated action in the game, stocking your shelves, feel physical instead of clinical. No new systems this time, just touch, weight, and feedback. Plus a batch of bug fixes for the poor undead stocker.

Crates now kick when you unload them

When you hold a crate up to a shelf and items start flying out of it, the crate now physically reacts. Every single item that leaves the crate gives it a short, soft bob, like the weight shifting as you shake things out of a box.

I actually iterated on this one after playtesting. The first version used a springy multi-bounce shake, and it read as harsh and jittery, like the crate was vibrating. The version that shipped is a single smooth dip and return per item, one soft "thump" you feel rather than notice. The crate always returns to its exact carry position, no matter how fast items are landing, so rapid unloads never make it drift or stack wobbles on top of each other.

Glowing preview orbs show you what fits where

Shelf stocking used to have a small mystery to it: you're holding a crate of potions, looking at a half-full stand, and you can't quite tell how many more will fit or where they'll land.

Now, while you're carrying a crate and looking at a compatible shelf, every empty spot on that shelf lights up with a small pulsing orb. Each orb marks exactly where an item will be placed. As you unload, the orbs wink out one by one as items land in their spots. Look away, and they disappear.

The orbs only appear when the crate you're holding is actually compatible with that shelf, so they double as a quick "yes, this goes here" confirmation before you commit to unloading.

Dialogue now types itself out

All character speech in the game now reveals character by character, typewriter style, instead of appearing as a wall of instant text:

• Customer speech bubbles at the counter
• Random encounter dialogue, both the stranger's opening pitch and the outcome text

For random encounters, the auto-close timer now waits until the text has fully finished revealing before it starts counting down. You always get the full reading time, no more dialogs closing while you're mid-sentence.

Bug fixes

• The stocker could steal a crate out of your hands. If you took items off a shelf and carried the crate around, the stocker's "find work" scan saw it as an abandoned crate, walked up to you, and yanked it straight out of your grip. Player-held crates are now off limits.
• The stocker stalled for several seconds picking up crates you dropped. Crates placed gently on the floor never registered as "landed" (the physics check expected a hard delivery impact), so the stocker stood there waiting on a timeout. Dropped crates now count as landed immediately.
• A second, shorter stocker pause after the pickup animation turned out to be a timing race in how the animation length was measured. The stocker now moves on exactly when the pickup animation ends.
• Carried crates no longer ride up into your face when you brush against a shelf or wall. The obstacle avoidance was pulling the crate in along the wrong axis; now it pulls it closer horizontally while keeping it at carry height.

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Next up: a much bigger batch of changes aimed at the economy and the customers themselves. The village is about to get opinions about your shop. And as always, share your ideas!