Southwest Ranch & Farm Expansion Pack + Bug Fix Update - Out 17 Feb
Hello ranchers,
We're excited to announce Ranch Simulator: Southwest Ranch & Farm Expansion Pack, featuring a brand new map, multiple ranch plots to choose from, new vehicles, new predators and more! We'll be launching on 17 February at $14.99/£14.99/€14.99, with a limited time 33% launch discount.
Run multiple ranches across this stunning, expansive new map. Explore the plains and choose your ideal ranch location. Purchase new vehicles and complete exciting new quests. Combine your skills as a rancher and farmer, alone or with your friends to build a successful business in this challenging environment.
Base Game Patch
While we're excited to offer you new content, we're also keen to continue improving the gameplay experience for the base game. On 17 February we'll also be releasing a patch for the base game which fixes some key issues such as the box truck flying off, eggs not hatching, doghouse assignments not saving, controller inputs mapped to multiple functions, and lightning flashes not being disabled correctly when lightning is turned off in the settings.
An early version of this update is now available for testing on the unstable branch. Join our Discord and head over to the #announcements channel for information on joining the unstable branch!
We're counting down the days until 17 February, when you'll be able to get your hands on the Southwest Ranch & Farm Expansion Pack! See you then.
Thanks, The Ranch Sim Team
Community Spotlight: Screenshots
Hello ranchers,
As 2024 comes to a close, we wanted to share just some of our favourite community screenshots. These are a selection of funny, pretty and frankly impressive screenshots, so make sure to scroll through and take a look.
We also wanted to take this opportunity to encourage you all to read our previous announcement if you haven't already.
While upgrading the engine last year did help resolve many long standing issues for many players, there have been some issues which have remained, as well as some new bugs encountered. When a game has been in development for over 6 years, and where there have been so many new features added, things can get complex to work on. So we are currently taking some time to look at how the game is constructed, and how we can potentially make some changes that will help improve the game experience.
We are still in the experimental phase, and have no news to confirm just yet. We'll be in touch again when we have more to share.
It's been a while since we last offered an update on our plans, so we wanted to share a quick status report with you today!
We have seen the rumours that development has stopped, and I am happy to confirm that this is not true. Please rest assured that we are still working on Ranch Sim. Typically we work with the community to agree a set of features, announce a roadmap of updates, work on these features, and then repeat the process. Recently, it has become clear that the biggest issues people are having with the game these days relate to bugs.
While upgrading the engine last year did help resolve many long standing issues for many players, there have been some issues which have remained, as well as some new bugs encountered. When a game has been in development for over 6 years, and where there have been so many new features added, things can get complex to work on. So we are currently taking some time to look at how the game is constructed, and how we can potentially make some changes that will help improve the game experience.
We are still in the experimental phase, and have no news to confirm just yet. We'll be in touch again when we have more to share.
As always, thank you for your patience, your support and your passion for Ranch Simulator!
The Ranch Sim Team
Out Now: Horse Breeding and Tree Planting Update
Hello ranchers,
The horse and tree planting update is now available on the main branch, meaning it's available for all players!
Horse Breeding
Horses can now be bred! A male and female horse will now naturally breed when placed together. After a few in-game days the foal will be born. Once fully grown it will inherit a mix of characteristics (stats) from the parents. Plus, who doesn't like baby horses? Too cute.
Tree Planting
This update introduces the ability to plant and grow trees! To plant trees, you'll first need to buy a shovel from the hardware store. Once you have obtained the shovel, you can then purchase seedlings from the general store.
At the ranch, you can select your shovel via the action wheel to prepare the ground (Press left click) for planting a seedling. Grab your seedling and then use E to plant it into the prepared ground.
Log Trailer
A new trailer is now available at the hardware store! The log trailer can hold 36 logs at a time. Logs can also now be sold for $2 each. Handy!
We've also fixed an issue with crashing when switching FSR modes.
Now Available for Testing: Horse Breeding and Tree Planting Update
Hello ranchers,
We have an early version of the latest update available to test now! We would love to get your feedback on the update.
Horse Breeding
Horses can now be bred! A male and female horse will now naturally breed when placed together. After a few in-game days the foal will be born. Once fully grown it will inherit a mix of characteristics (stats) from the parents. Plus, who doesn't like baby horses? Too cute.
Tree Planting
This update introduces the ability to plant and grow trees! To plant trees, you'll first need to buy a shovel from the hardware store. Once you have obtained the shovel, you can then purchase seedlings from the general store.
At the ranch, you can select your shovel via the action wheel to prepare the ground (Press left click) for planting a seedling. Grab your seedling and then use E to plant it into the prepared ground.
Log Trailer
A new trailer is now available at the hardware store! The log trailer can hold 36 logs at a time. Logs can also now be sold for $2 each. Handy!
We've also fixed an issue with crashing when switching FSR modes.
An optimisation and bug fix patch is now available on the main branch, meaning it's available for all players!
Take a read of the details, which were previously announced:
This interim patch includes tweaked FSR and DLSS settings, as well as optimisations to some elements which were causing hits to performance such as anti-aliasing and chicken eggs. Large ranches with high volumes of animals should see improved FPS on some set ups.
This is in addition to the following:
- Optimized number of draw calls - Optimized textures and materials of stones, grass, trees and buildings - Removed unnecessary files from the game - Fixed issues when mounting horses - Fixed a bug with a mouse or gamepad when opening a building book - Eggs now break again - Fixed a bug where FSR made the picture too blurry - Fixed a bug where it was impossible to turn off TSR
What's Next?
We'll now be focusing on the horse breeding and tree growth update! Keep an eye out for more news.
Excalibur Games Summer Sale 2024
The Steam Summer Sale is here and Ranch Simulator is available at it's best discount yet! Check it out in the Excalibur Games Summer Sale 2024:
Thanks, The Ranch Sim Team
Now Available for Testing: Optimisation and Bug Fix Patch
Hey ranchers,
An optimisation and bug fix patch is now available for testing on the unstable branch! We want your help testing the patch before it goes live on the main branch!
This interim patch includes tweaked FSR and DLSS settings, as well as optimisations to some elements which were causing hits to performance such as anti-aliasing and chicken eggs. Large ranches with high volumes of animals should see improved FPS on some set ups.
This is in addition to the following:
- Optimized number of draw calls - Optimized textures and materials of stones, grass, trees and buildings - Removed unnecessary files from the game - Fixed issues when mounting horses - Fixed a bug with a mouse or gamepad when opening a building book - Eggs now break again - Fixed a bug where FSR made the picture too blurry - Fixed a bug where it was impossible to turn off TSR
How to Access the Unstable Branch
- Load up Steam and head to your Library - Right click on Ranch Simulator and then select ‘Properties’ - Head to the Beta tab and in the drop down select ‘unstable_branch’ (no password needed) - This will then download the new build for you
What's Next?
Once this patch is live on the main branch, we'll be working on the horse breeding and tree growth update! Keep an eye out for more news.
Excalibur Games Summer Sale 2024
The Steam Summer Sale is here and Ranch Simulator is available at it's best discount yet! Check it out in the Excalibur Games Summer Sale 2024:
Thanks, The Ranch Sim Team
Coming Soon: Optimisation and Bug Fix Update
Hello ranchers!
We hope you've been enjoying Ranch Sim and the latest update! (Hands up if you've unlocked all the achievements!)
We wanted to offer a quick update on the work going on behind the scenes and what you can expect from the next couple of updates.
Right now, we're working away on improving some aspects of the game which we know need attention. We've been listening to all of your feedback and are pleased to confirm that the next update will bring further improvements to optimisation, including improved FSR and DLSS! We've also optimised some elements which were causing hits to performance such as anti-aliasing and chicken eggs. Several minor gameplay bugs are also being addressed in this patch.
We don't have a release window to share for this update just yet, but do keep an eye out for news!
If you're looking forward to the horse breeding and tree growth update (and why wouldn't you be?!), don't worry! This update is still on the way too. It'll just release following this optimisation/bug fix update.
As always, keep the feedback coming!
Please note: At 2am ET/7am BST on 20 June, the Epic Online Services (EOS) will go down for 30 minutes for scheduled maintenance, followed by degraded service availability for up to 3 hours. This will result in Ranch Sim's multiplayer being unavailable for those 30 minutes, with potential issues for up to 3 hours following.
Thanks, The Ranch Sim Team
OUT NOW: Quality of Life + Achievements Update
Hello Ranchers,
We have just launched a quality of life update on the main branch, which introduces autosaves, convenient light switches and more! A big thank you to those of you who helped test the unstable branch version of this update.
And, as always, we want to know what you think of this latest update, so do keep the feedback coming on the Steam forums and our Discord!
Take a read of all the details, which were previously announced:
Life is better on the ranch, but it isn't always easy. So we've have been hard at work on a quality of life update, which will make your in-game lives a little easier!
This update introduces autosaves - you can still save manually of course, but autosaving now occurs every ten minutes by default. One less thing to worry about! We've also added an option to save and quit when exiting the game via the menu.
And we've also added light switches, which allow you to turn on various lights in your buildings and houses at once. To set up a switch, simply open the construction book, place your light switch where desired, left click on the light switch, left click on the lights you wish to connect to the switch, and then left click on the switch again. Ta-da! You can still turn your lights on and off manually if you wish.
The long awaited, much requested Steam achievements are also here! We have 39 Steam achievements for you to unlock. Achievement hunters, have at it!
Last but not least, you can now modify the colour of your coolers. Lovely.
We've also snuck a couple bug fixes into this update.
- Fixed an issue with horses not training in paddocks - Fixed an issue with controller interaction when creating a character
What's Next?
Next up, we'll now be working on an update which includes tree growth (so you can chop down more trees and produce more wood), a trailer to transport logs, and horse breeding! Keep an eye out for news.
Thanks, The Ranch Sim Team
Quality of Life + Achievements Update: Unstable Version Now Available!
Hello Ranchers,
Life is better on the ranch, but it isn't always easy. So we've have been hard at work on a quality of life update, which will make your in-game lives a little easier!
An early version of this update is available now for testing on the unstable branch. The public version of this update will release for everyone within the coming days.
This update introduces autosaves - you can still save manually of course, but autosaving now occurs every ten minutes by default. One less thing to worry about! We've also added an option to save and quit when exiting the game via the menu.
And we've also added light switches, which allow you to turn on various lights in your buildings and houses at once. To set up a switch, simply open the construction book, place your light switch where desired, left click on the light switch, left click on the lights you wish to connect to the switch, and then left click on the switch again. Ta-da! You can still turn your lights on and off manually if you wish.
The long awaited, much requested Steam achievements are also here! We have 39 Steam achievements for you to unlock. Achievement hunters, have at it!
Last but not least, you can now modify the colour of your coolers. Lovely.
We've also snuck a couple bug fixes into this update.
- Fixed an issue with horses not training in paddocks - Fixed an issue with controller interaction when creating a character
How to Access the Unstable Branch
To access the unstable branch, do the following: - Load up Steam and head to your Library - Right click on Ranch Simulator and then select ‘Properties’ - Head to the Beta tab and in the drop down select ‘unstable_branch’ (no password needed) - This will then download the new build for you.
We want to know what you think of this latest update, so do keep the feedback coming on the Steam forums and our Discord!
What's Next?
Once the public version of this update is out, we will start work on the next one! This will include horse breeding, tree growth and a log trailer.
