Development update, September 2025

[Thorfinn]

Then... do it.

.\survival\entities\land\bear.json

Edited October 22, 2025 by Thorfinn

[Teh Pizza Lady]

5 hours ago, Adnyeus said:

Well, for now, this will be my last message here. Let’s see how this game turns out 
I’ll return here in three years, so for now, farewell guys  

you keep saying that... but iunno... I think you'll be back sooner!

[Teh Pizza Lady]

2 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

I avoid picking the fight until I'm ready for it

You being ready for it:  HEY PIZZA LADY! WANNA KILL A BEAR?

Me: Say less. *reaches for spear collection*

[ifoz]

9 hours ago, Adnyeus said:

Vintage Story is not made for everyone, and that’s the problem.

It might be a problem on paper if only going by the metric of popularity, but the idea of "don't make a game that aims to please everyone" is usually regarded as a fundamental principle of game design. The better alternative is picking a target audience (even if that audience is just yourself!) and making something focused that audience can enjoy. Trying to please everyone often ends up diluting the vision and focus of a game in the long run.
I don't want to be one of those people who just hate on Minecraft, but I will say that I personally think Minecraft's "design for everyone" philosophy is part of why quite a few people think the game's quality and focus has gone down over the years.

Anyway all that to sort of just say that being niche isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as the devs are making enough cash to keep working on projects they enjoy. 

[LadyWYT]

7 hours ago, ifoz said:

the idea of "don't make a game that aims to please everyone" is usually regarded as a fundamental principle of game design.

Honestly, it's not even a concept limited to game design, but rather it's an impossible task. There's absolutely no way that everyone can be pleased, because people have varying tastes, and some of those tastes directly conflict with the taste of others. 

 

7 hours ago, ifoz said:

I don't want to be one of those people who just hate on Minecraft, but I will say that I personally think Minecraft's "design for everyone" philosophy is part of why quite a few people think the game's quality and focus has gone down over the years.

Pretty much, though it's not just Minecraft that's suffered from the "gotta please everyone" mentality. Skyrim, as popular as it is, also suffered from it, as did other titles. That's not to say they're bad games, and they've obviously sold very well for a reason, but they're very shallow games and leave a lot of players wanting. 

Which I don't think Vintage Story has those problems. The devs have a clear vision for the game, and while it is a bit niche, it does a very good job of appealing to its target audience. The level of customization available also makes it very easy for players to "season to taste", so if the presets aren't quite right for someone, it's easy enough to tweak a few things to achieve it. Obviously, there's been some controversy over certain aspects of the game, but the game itself doesn't seem to be hurting, but rather still growing, given the increase in new players showing up on the forums.

[LadyWYT]

11 hours ago, Teh Pizza Lady said:

You being ready for it:  HEY PIZZA LADY! WANNA KILL A BEAR?

Me: Say less. *reaches for spear collection*

Nah, I just ready my shortsword and get ready to start stabbing when it starts trying to maul the hunter. 

[Maelstrom]

2 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

Nah, I just ready my shortsword and get ready to start stabbing when it starts trying to maul the hunter. 

You're still late to @Teh Pizza Lady bear extinction event party.  

[Deleted User 28517]

14 minutes ago, cjc813 said:

Low-key agree, honestly.

I will always love this little game, and have gotten hundreds and hundreds of hours of joy from it, so I got more than I paid for, but some of the development decisions just don't make sense to me.

Of course rivers are feasible. What's there to research? Rivers, oceans, and terrain gen are like the only ways I find Minecraft to be a better experience. Just freaking implement something.

And I've also gotten tired of seeing content updates taking like 3 updates to polish. It's like, jeez. How many months is it going to take just to have Chapter 2 finished? At this pace, it's going to be many years before the story content is done.

To me, that just seems absurd. We have another 6 chapters of story untold, that may never be told, at this rate, and we're starting another project?

I don't have the highest confidence in Tyron's overall vision, here.

I love, love, love this little game. And that's why it's so frustrating to know that core parts of it are going to be incomplete for many years to come. 

Does he honestly expect us to just wait indefinitely?

Yep, and you’re one of the first who actually sees through it. As we speak, they’ve already permanently silenced Adnyeus for his opinion on this game.
Even they said they would never ban people for criticizing the game.  

[Facethief]

5 minutes ago, ArtemisRM said:

Yep, and you’re one of the first who actually sees through it. As we speak, they’ve already permanently silenced Adnyeus for his opinion on this game.
Even they said they would never ban people for criticizing the game.  

Adeynus was acting, as some may say, “uppity.”

PSA TO ALL: if you want to make complaints or criticisms, even if you find them reasonable and inoffensive, please put them in the DISCUSSION forum rather than on anything @Tyron posts. If you feel that commenting discourse under a news post is the best or only way to get a developer’s attention, IT ISN’T. Simply @ mention them in a discussion post; if things get heated on a news post, it’s much more likely that someone walks away with a ban or having gotten the thread locked.

[Diff]

31 minutes ago, cjc813 said:

Of course rivers are feasible. What's there to research? Rivers, oceans, and terrain gen are like the only ways I find Minecraft to be a better experience. Just freaking implement something.

Having lines of water blocks is something different from having rivers flowing from and into lakes, reservoirs, and oceans, especially if they're going to be a new source of mechanical power. That's complex, and not necessarily straightforward to implement alongside the current terrain generation.

14 minutes ago, ArtemisRM said:

Even they said they would never ban people for criticizing the game.  

Can't help but notice that "abusive behavior" is not "criticizing the game," and abusive behavior cannot be excused because it accompanies criticism. 

Edited October 22, 2025 by Diff

[Facethief]

4 minutes ago, SpaceVortex said:

I just can’t.

Then don’t.

EDIT: @SpaceVortex, thanks for the rep point.

Edited October 22, 2025 by Facethief
Congratulations were in order.

[Diff]

5 minutes ago, cjc813 said:

No need to get like that.

Apologies, I edited that line out a moment after posting because it was uncalled for and distracted from the rest of my comment.

[Facethief]

2 minutes ago, cjc813 said:

My point, if you're interested in actually communicating, is that I really don't think the "feasibility" of rivers should be a question. I think they should add rivers. And better terrain generation. And more story content. And polish it. And make things like that a priority.

They’re working on it. But what is meant by “researching feasibility” is that if they cannot fulfill their vision of how they want rivers, or anything, to look and behave, then they might just not add it. The devs put their own vision first, and take criticism of what they add in stride; if it was any different, we likely wouldn’t have the game we have at all.

[Echo Weaver]

1 hour ago, Facethief said:

They’re working on it. But what is meant by “researching feasibility” is that if they cannot fulfill their vision of how they want rivers, or anything, to look and behave, then they might just not add it. The devs put their own vision first, and take criticism of what they add in stride; if it was any different, we likely wouldn’t have the game we have at all.

My read was that they're researching the feasibility of their list of goal features. If some are unfeasible, they'll figure something else out, but I think the probability of getting rivers is very high. There's too much buildup toward water power.

Edited October 22, 2025 by Echo Weaver

[Brandy88975]

13 minutes ago, cjc813 said:

So, we're circling around a couple of interconnected issues, in my opinion. Let me expand a bit, after a couple caveats.

One: If I had 10 seconds with @Tyron on an elevator, I'd shake his hand and thank him for all the fun. I paid a paltry 20 USD and have had a hell of a good time in the year it took me to get bored with this game. That's not nothin'. Is he doing things the way I wish he would? No. Am I deeply appreciative of this game? Yes.

Two: To me, the news post discussing the direction of the game's development seems like the best place to opine and/or criticize the game's development. Creating another thread on the discussion board, when there's already a discussion *here* doesn't make sense to me.

With that said, the first issue we're circling around is that Anego is diverting some of its resources as a company to another, barely-related project, while Vintage Story is *still* in early access. That just seems strange to me, and as someone who loves VS and wants to see VS become a polished game with a core set of fully-implemented features, I'd love for that money to go toward at *least* getting VS "complete" enough to be out of early access.

I know it'll never be "done," but it doesn't have to continue feeling unfinished, ya know?

To say it's a "middle finger" or a "slap in the face," is a bit extreme, imo. Tyron is a grown man running his grown man company and I gave him $20 in exchange for access to VS. That was the deal. It's now his money. He really doesn't owe me anything, so I'm not going to be mad about it. At the same time, I do understand the frustration that others are expressing. We paid for VS, and we love VS enough to be passionate about it, and we wish that *all* of the money we gave Anego would go toward VS development. It just feels bad. I don't really like how he's allocating his resources, and as someone who feels some type of way about this game, I feel like chiming in. It's that simple.

So that's the first point: I think getting VS more complete should be a bigger priority than starting a new project.

Second point has to do with the "unfinished" state of the game, and the attitude Tyron has about it.

While not in development hell, it sometimes feels like VS is in development purgatory. I get not wanting to compromise your vision, but jeez louise. There are kids out there playing Minecraft who are *younger* than Vintage Story. At what point are we going to decide on a core set of fundamental features and try to get them done?

This brings me to rivers (and story content).

Tangent: One of my most fun memories of Minecraft (without which I'd never have found or been interested in VS) is paddling my little boat along shorelines and riverways, across beaches and through forests. The navigation and exploration was so much fun, and -- as I said in another post, I believe -- I think that is one of the ONLY moments where Minecraft provided a better experience than VS.

IMO, rivers and oceans, and the vehicles to navigate those rivers and oceans, are a core part of any game like this. Without waterways, the world just doesn't feel complete.

That's why I care about it, and I'd go so far as to say that's why modders like Nephelangelo (a la Terra Prety) see it as a priority, too.

So to see the lead developer take such a "yes, no, maybe so" attitude to adding this feature is jarring. Ok, I get it. Anego have a vision, and high standards, but at some point the vision has to stop being a vision and needs to get implemented. If rivers are deemed "not currently feasible," are we going to wait months/years for them? And, beyond that, *should* the game continue without them? Or would it be better with them? Just how big of a priority are they?

And that's my thing... Yeah, Tyron has a roadmap of things he and his team are focusing on, but, to be perfectly honest, they don't seem to have a clear idea of the most important un-implemented VS features. It very much seems like the team is moreso meandering through development of the game, and it's hard not to think that maybe that's why VS is in a perpetual state of "feels incomplete," with no end in sight.

Is it really prudent to wait months/years before rivers, oceans, and boats are fleshed out? Was it really prudent to wait until just a few months ago to have more than one monster? Is it really prudent to wait years to finish telling the story that I and many others are deeply impressed by?

And, honestly, the answer is -- maybe. Maybe some of those things are just not important to making VS "complete" in Tyron's mind. And, ultimately, that's his call.

But at the end of the day -- the main thing I'd love for -- is to know that Anego has a clear idea of "here are the features that are most important to the game being 'done'," and that they're prioritizing getting those features in the game, fleshed out, and polished.

I don't think that's what's happening. And it makes me a bit sad and frustrated, like I said, because this game is so stinkin' good otherwise, and I just want it to feel fully realized, but what I expect is for it to be "early access" indefinitely.

Bro’s speedrunning a ban

[Echo Weaver]

Ok, you've said your piece. Is that enough to have used all those words? Tyron can read it if he wants to. Can we move on now? 

[Facethief]

Firstly:

26 minutes ago, Brandy88975 said:

Bro’s speedrunning a ban

Can it. If there was any risk of that being banworthy, you exacerbate that risk by saying something about it.

Secondly:

@cjc813, thank you for taking the time to respond. I get your point on the matter of starting a new discussion post, and see what you mean. 

45 minutes ago, cjc813 said:

So to see the lead developer take such a "yes, no, maybe so" attitude to adding this feature is jarring. Ok, I get it. Anego have a vision, and high standards, but at some point the vision has to stop being a vision and needs to get implemented. If rivers are deemed "not currently feasible," are we going to wait months/years for them? And, beyond that, *should* the game continue without them? Or would it be better with them? Just how big of a priority are they?

As for this, you make a valid point: I too have spent a fair share of my time boating down TOBG's rivers, and those memories of exploration are fond ones; but I would also love to see them carefully implemented- many of the hours I spent on rivers in Minecraft were without much stimulation aside from boat drifting, and while there is certainly more to look at, I would love to see this implemented with care, as the boating in TOBG is... unskilled, to say the least.

I will add that development is iterative, in any sense of the process. While I, too, would appreciate a first draft of many of the roadmap's features, I would also appreciate a refined version of the other features that have already been started on before this.

[Echo Weaver]

I think that if the issue is directly about what's in the development plan, it makes sense to be here. If it's general discontent about the direction of the game, it should go elsewhere.

[Michaloid]

6 hours ago, cjc813 said:

Of course rivers are feasible. What's there to research? Rivers, oceans, and terrain gen are like the only ways I find Minecraft to be a better experience. Just freaking implement something.

If it's so easy to research, then why don't you mod rivers into the game without cutting the whole map or having performance or compatibility issues with other mechanics/mods? Clearly people want rivers, and no one can do it without breaking anything, otherwise people wouldn't be complaining so much about ImNuts42 whole ban situation. Also because he seems the only one to make rivers with currents. But the tradeoff is rivers cutting through the map and various compatibility and performance issues. If you understand the engine so well and want to see it so bad in-game, why don't you mod it and show it to the dev team. I'm sure they would be impressed, perhaps even consider hiring/commissioning you.

Edited October 23, 2025 by Michaloid

[Maelstrom]

2 hours ago, cjc813 said:

So to see the lead developer take such a "yes, no, maybe so" attitude to adding this feature is jarring. Ok, I get it. Anego have a vision, and high standards, but at some point the vision has to stop being a vision and needs to get implemented. If rivers are deemed "not currently feasible," are we going to wait months/years for them? And, beyond that, *should* the game continue without them? Or would it be better with them? Just how big of a priority are they?

And that's my thing... Yeah, Tyron has a roadmap of things he and his team are focusing on, but, to be perfectly honest, they don't seem to have a clear idea of the most important un-implemented VS features. It very much seems like the team is moreso meandering through development of the game, and it's hard not to think that maybe that's why VS is in a perpetual state of "feels incomplete," with no end in sight.

Let's see here...  Join date 11 months ago.   So you've seen just two updates which was planned to be a single update but because of the unexpected increase of sales had to pivot to add an unplanned focus on performance.   So the two updates you've seen are typical of a single update.   About half of the implemented items on the roadmap have been completed in the game since 1.14 when I joined.  In the 4 years I've played I will unequivocally say that the devs are achieving their vision.   Each update typically contains a major new mechanic and a large assortment of minor additions, the exceptions to that are when Tyron and Co. take an update to dejank (1.17) or polish (1.22) the game.

Meandering through development?   You don't have the longevity of seeing the game develop to say the dev team are meandering.  You don't understand the monstrous updates in the past 18 months
1.18 introduced the RA
1.19 introduced a MAJOR rework of world generation
1.20 introduced Chapter 2 AND major upgrades to performance
1.21 completing the content of 1.20 because of pivoting to focus on performance

Download 1.16, play through iron age, upgrade to the next version and repeat.  Then you might begin to see how the devs are doing a phenomenal job!

[Teh Pizza Lady]

The COMMUNITY VOTED FOR 1.20 to contain the performance upgrades. Calling the devs names for doing what we asked is exactly why Adyneus got his hiney whooped.
#sorryNotSorry #praiseDave #TyronDidNothingWrong

Edited October 23, 2025 by Teh Pizza Lady

[LadyWYT]

16 minutes ago, Maelstrom said:

In the 4 years I've played I will unequivocally say that the devs are achieving their vision.

I mean, I've only played for about two years, as I think 1.18 was still pretty new when I picked up the game. But even so, I 100% agree with this sentiment. The devs have done a phenomenal job so far, and while there have been a few goofs they're quick to resolve the problems while keeping the community informed.

Plus like @Teh Pizza Lady noted, the performance updates, polish, and bugfixes were what the community voted for to be the temporary focus(by a significant majority, if I recall correctly) when Tyron did that poll there a while back. Which the devs have absolutely delivered on in 1.21.

[hstone32]

when someone makes an argument against the devs, and somebody else points out the flaws in that argument, that isn't defending the devs or fanboying.

we all, myself included, need to be better than this. we've all gotten in the habit of assuming one of three things about people who disaggee with us: They are ignorant, they are a hypocrite, or they are sub-human. All this because we apparently cannot bear the painful reality that an intelligent, thinking human being wouldn't come to all the same conclusions that we do. As if we've never been on the fence about thing or have ever changed our mind on something.

Please don't let this community turn into reddit.

[Thorfinn]

23 minutes ago, hstone32 said:

we've all gotten in the habit of assuming one of three things about people who disaggee with us: They are ignorant, they are a hypocrite, or they are sub-human.

I don't agree. Pick whomever you like that you think might be exhibiting that behavior, and then look at how they respond in a new thread. People tire of flawed arguments and unsubstantiated assertions, especially when repeated ad infinitum. It's not the disagreement.

A case in point is that I see the other projects Anego is pursuing as diversification, not abandonment or distraction, which appears to be the other side of this particular discussion. Just saying it's a distraction for the 42nd time is not going to be persuasive. You have to explain why diversification is a bad thing, when financial gurus throughout time have counseled against putting all your eggs in one basket. You don't have to have much life experience to know first-hand that's a bad idea.

BTW, some truly can be attributed to ignorance. I've never played that other game, so I'm ignorant any time people compare the two. I try to understand, but a foundational principle of teaching is if you cannot explain it, you likely do not understand it as well as you think you do.

[Michaloid]

I mean, like Minecraft, you can take year-long breaks if the current state of the game is not doing it for you. Adnyous had the right idea for those fatigued with the pace of the updates. Sounds like the only thing that's missing for you is the rivers, which then i refer to my last reply. Even i take month breaks sometimes. Because it's boring me a bit but then when i come back, i'm spending numerous nights away playing the game. It's about letting your brain rest for a while and concentrating on other things. This kind of game does drain brain power because you need to be attentive to many things to not lose. Which exasturbates the need to want more content than you have, and giving you a false sense that there's not much going on in the game.