Devlog #18 for 0.3.0.0 - Progress in Every Stride!

Jumping Overhaul, New Horse Interactions & More!

Hello, all you cool horsey people! It's been two weeks since our last devlog, and we're back with another look at what we've been working on! This time, much of our focus has been on improving the jumping experience. From more natural takeoffs and landings to new riding mechanics and helpful visual aids, we want jumping to feel smoother, more intuitive, and more rewarding. We've also made progress on horse interactions, mane animations, the course builder, and little details that help bring the world to life. There's plenty to talk about, so let's get into it!

Jumping & Riding Improvements

Improved Jumping Mechanics

One of our main goals following the last playtest was to improve how jumping works. Some of you may have noticed that horses occasionally seemed to jump in slow motion. This happened because we were adjusting the jump animation speed to account for differences in riding speed and takeoff distance. We've now changed that approach. Instead of speeding up or slowing down the animation to compensate, we've reworked how the ideal takeoff distance is calculated. It now takes several factors into account:

• Obstacle height
• Horse size
• Riding speed

This should make jumps much more consistent and reduce the unnaturally fast or slow animations you may have noticed before. Ultimately, we want jumping to feel natural while still giving you meaningful control over your approach to each obstacle.

Riding Speed and Terrain

We're also working on making slopes matter more while riding. The idea is simple: horses slow down uphill and gain speed downhill. But the terrain will also influence which riding paces are available.

• Uphill: Faster, extended movement becomes more restricted.
• Downhill: Slower, collected movement becomes more restricted.
• Steep slopes: The restrictions may even extend into the regular pace range.

We're working on gradual speed transitions as well, so moving from level ground onto a slope won't feel abrupt. Our goal is for the terrain to become something you actively consider when choosing your pace.

Updated Riding Mechanics & Skills

We're making canter leads more important when navigating turns. Previously, your horse's canter lead didn't have much influence on how it handled corners. With the updated system, turning against the current lead will limit how sharply your horse can turn. Turning in the matching direction will allow for tighter, smoother turns. Horses will still change leads automatically after a certain number of strides. However, this change makes the Flying Lead Change skill especially useful on courses with tight turns. We've also added two skills to the jumping skill tree:

• Balanced Turns: Improves your horse's ability to turn even when cantering on the opposite lead.
• Natural Lead Change: Reduces the number of strides needed for an automatic lead change. Fully upgraded, your horse can change leads after just one stride.

Flying Lead Change will remain the fastest way to switch leads before a turn. These new skills simply give you more freedom to develop a riding style that suits you.

Jump Distance Aid

We're introducing an optional jumping aid to help you identify the ideal takeoff point. Jumping aids can be useful, but we've never been big fans of the large, brightly coloured zones often seen in horse games. We wanted something more subtle that fits naturally into the world. Our solution is a simple ground pole placed in front of the obstacle you're approaching. The pole adjusts its position based on your horse's speed and other factors, giving you a visual reference for where to take off. You can turn this aid on or off depending on your preference. It won't be available during competitions. We hope it'll be a helpful way to practise judging distances without taking away from the riding experience.

Stride Indicator

Work-in-progress stride indicator mesh. We're considering letting players customise its colour. This is a feature we think many of you will be especially excited about! We're working on a stride indicator that appears directly on the ground in the 3D world. Rather than relying entirely on the HUD or counting strides yourself, you'll be able to preview your horse's upcoming strides. The indicator will dynamically respond to:

• Your horse's speed
• How sharply you're turning

This should make it easier to plan your approach, especially when riding combinations or trying to find the perfect distance before a jump. Early stride indicator concept. Some longtime horse game fans might recognise a little inspiration from the older game Ride!

Optional Auto Jumping

Another feature we're working on is automatic jumping! Does that mean your horse will always perform a perfect jump? Not quite! Auto jumping will be an optional setting you can switch on or off whenever you like. With it enabled, you won't need to press the jump button. Instead, your horse will initiate a jump automatically when its stride lands within the appropriate takeoff area. Your approach still matters. You'll need to pay attention to your horse's speed, stride length, and distance from the obstacle. The challenge of finding the right takeoff point remains; you can simply focus more on riding and less on timing a button press. We also imagine this making countryside riding feel more natural. Picture approaching a fallen log and having your horse jump over it as part of its movement while you concentrate on maintaining your pace and direction. And because it's optional, you can choose whichever jumping style you enjoy most!

Turning & Changing Leads During Jumps

Horse preparing for a left turn over an obstacle. We're also working on giving you more control over what happens when your horse lands. You won't be able to physically turn your horse in midair. However, you will be able to prepare a turn while jumping, so your horse starts turning in the chosen direction as it lands. The actual turning and speed adjustments won't happen until the landing phase. This should make transitions between obstacles smoother, particularly when a course requires a quick turn after a jump. Your input during takeoff will also influence the canter lead your horse aims to land on. For example, preparing a left turn during takeoff will signal your horse to land on the left lead. That makes it easier to continue into a left turn after landing. The trade-off? If you land on the left lead, you won't immediately be able to make a sharp right turn during the landing. Planning ahead will be more important than ever! The stride indicator will also show strides after an obstacle, helping you visualise your landing and prepare for what comes next.

Trot Jumps & Bounce Jumps

Trot jumps and bounce jumps are returning in the upcoming playtest update! Both will be available for obstacles up to 80 cm high. When jumping from trot, your horse will transition into canter after landing. Maintaining the same gait over an obstacle will be reserved for cavaletti, which we plan to add later. We're happy to bring these jump variations back, as they add more variety to training and riding.

Horse Improvements & Interactions

A New Animated Mane

We've spent quite a bit of time experimenting with ways to make the horses' manes move more naturally. After trying several approaches, we decided to animate the mane manually. It was a big decision, and it came with a lot of additional work! We had to add dedicated mane bones to the horse's armature, then go back through every horse animation to add the appropriate mane movement. It's been time-consuming, but we believe it was the right choice. Animating the mane ourselves gives us more control over how it moves with the horse and helps minimise unwanted clipping and overlapping. We're really happy with how it's coming along and think it will make a noticeable difference when the horses are in motion.

Horse Likes & Dislikes

We're excited to give horses more personality through individual likes and dislikes! We've reworked how interactions between horses and riders function. Horses can now mix a wider variety of head and tail movements, allowing their reactions to feel more expressive and individual. We want getting to know your horse to be about more than learning its stats and skills. Each horse will have its own preferences when it comes to different interactions. Some horses might love hugs. Others will tolerate them. And some won't want anything to do with them! You'll discover these preferences as you spend time together. There won't be a penalty for trying something your horse dislikes. Instead, your horse will simply refuse and make its opinion known. Interactions your horse enjoys will have special animations that reflect its personality. These interactions include hugging your horse, offering its favourite snack, scratching its bum, and giving its nose a little boop. And don't worry: every horse appreciates a good neck scratch! We've replaced the old neck-petting interaction with a new scratching animation that we think feels much nicer. We hope these little differences will make each horse feel more like an individual and give you more reasons to spend time together. This horse is not a fan of nose boops! This horse just had its favourite snack — and now wants to know if you have more!

Mount Ability System Feedback

Many of you enjoyed the new horse ability system during our playtest, and we're really happy to hear that. We still have plenty of ideas for improving it, and your feedback helps us see what works and what could be better. To make future changes easier, we've been improving the system behind the scenes. Although the Mount Ability System already works, we also need to be able to fine-tune it efficiently during development. We've now restructured it so that almost all of its values are easier for us to adjust. What does this mean for you? It means we can respond more easily to your feedback and make targeted adjustments as development continues. Whether future changes come from playtest feedback, possible community votes, or further testing, we now have a better foundation to work with. You may not notice this change immediately while playing, but it's an important step towards making the ability system better over time.

Course Building & Obstacles

Course Builder Rework

The course builder is one of our most loved features, and we want to give you even more freedom to create your own courses. We're working on a more user-friendly interface, better obstacle sorting, and several improvements to how obstacles are purchased and customised. Here's what we're aiming for:

• Reuse purchased obstacles: Once you've bought an obstacle, you'll be able to use it in different courses without buying it again for each layout.
• Adjust height and depth: Instead of purchasing a separate obstacle for every size, you'll be able to change its dimensions.
• More decorations: Customise obstacles with additional decorative options.

We're also planning to let you change obstacle heights directly in the 3D world. Imagine selecting a course, walking up to an obstacle, and adjusting its height right there, without opening or loading an entirely different course. This would make it much easier to use the same layout with horses of different skill levels. Our goal is to make course building easier to navigate, more flexible, and more personal.

Bringing the World to Life

Visual & Audio Effects

Last but not least, we've been paying more attention to the small details that make the world feel alive. On the audio side, we're exploring more varied sounds while riding and interacting with your horse. Some of the things we're looking into include:

• Heavier breathing after extended riding
• Water sounds as your horse moves through it
• Additional neighing and snorting
• More ambient sounds in the environment

We're also exploring new visual effects, such as:

• Water splashing around your horse's legs
• Little pieces of hay falling while it eats
• Dirt, grass, and dust being kicked up while galloping

Individually, these may seem like small details. Together, though, they can make a big difference to how immersive the world feels. Visual effects are still an area where we have a lot to learn, so we're taking the time to research, experiment, and improve things step by step.

What's Next?

We're really looking forward to letting you try out most of these improvements in the upcoming playtest update! And there's one more addition we'd like to introduce to make testing easier: Preset horses! Just like before, you'll still be able to generate your own horse when entering the playtest. But we'll also provide three ready-to-ride horses, each fully upgraded in one of the three skill branches:

• Agility
• Stamina
• Jumping

That way, you can jump straight into testing different skills and riding styles without having to level up a horse first. We hope this makes it easier for everyone to explore the new mechanics and experiment with different builds. We're excited to hear what you think once you've had the chance to try everything out! Thank you, as always, for following development and for all the feedback and support you've given us. We can't wait to share more with you soon! Until next time, happy riding!