We're excited to announce that Ranch Sim's huge Unreal Engine 5 update is out now, delivering enhanced visuals, lighting, environments, oil production and much more! This also marks the end of our Early Access period. While this is an exciting milestone it is certainly not the end - we have plenty more to come as we will be continuing to support the game after launch including with free updates and patches.
Unreal Engine 5 Update - Now Available for Everyone
This update features...
- Enriched visuals (environments, lighting and more)
- Optimisation improvements
- New animal models
- New animations
- Oil production
- New vehicle physics
- And more
We want to offer a special thanks to those of you who played the unstable versions of this update and helped to test it!
Save Compatibility
We know that your ranch progress is important to you, so we want to be as clear as possible regarding save wipes. Please be aware that your old saves from the previous Unreal Engine 4 version of the game will not work with the new Unreal Engine 5 version. (And if you have played an unstable version of the UE5 update your save may not work with the public version of the update)
Now that we have hit v1.0, we foresee no further save wipes.
Unreal Engine 4 Version Still Available to Play
While we strongly encourage everyone to play the new and improved UE5 version of Ranch Sim, we also wanted to offer you the option of sticking to the old UE4 version and continuing to play with your existing saves.
Please be aware that all future Ranch Sim updates and patches will only be released for the UE5 version of the game. In addition, to play multiplayer with others, all players will need to be on the same branch (e.g. if you are playing the UE4 version you will not be able to play online with a friend who is playing the UE5 version).
To access the old UE4 version of the game, you will need to switch to the Unreal Engine 4 branch.
To access the UE4 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 ‘unreal_engine_4_branch’ (no password needed)
- This will then download the old UE4 version for you
What's to Come?
We will be continuing to support the game after launch including with free updates and patches - focusing on bug fixes, quality of life improvements and optimisation. Do keep the feedback coming and let us know how you're getting on!
The first post-launch content update we will release is the much requested pets update! Keep an eye out for news on your fluffy friends - we'll be adding cats and dogs to the game.
We can also confirm that Steam achievements are on the way!
In the new year we'll reveal our post-launch roadmap. As always, we want to hear your thoughts and suggestions - make sure to join the Discord and let us know what you'd like to see added!
Celebrate v1.0 Launch With our Biggest Discount Yet
If you've been considering gifting a copy of Ranch Sim to a friend so you can take on the rancher's life together, now's a fantastic time to do it. We're celebrating the game's v1.0 launch with our biggest discount yet.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1119730
Full Patch Notes - 3 November 2023 Update
- Lumen global lighting system added (option for high end PCs. Increases GPU resource consumption, recommended to be used in conjunction with DLSS)
- Improved version of the game world, using all the features of the new engine
- New TSR anti-aliasing system
- New improved wolf model and animations
- New improved models and animations of roosters and chicks
- Ability to skip all introductory quests at the start of the game
- Ability to build an oil rig for additional passive income
- Improved performance with a large number of animals
- Now you can destroy the tent
- Added new horse locomotion with additional animations and movements
- Full controller support (key remapping for controllers coming soon)
- Reworked animations
- New car physics
- The garage and old barn are now completely destructible
- New items icons in the store
- Increased cooler capacity
- Sound from rain and wind is now muffled indoors
- Leaves flying in the air in a strong wind
Thank you!
Lastly, we just wanted to say a massive thank you to every single one of you who have supported us by purchasing Ranch Sim in Early Access. It sounds cliché, but we genuinely couldn't have done any of this without you - without your passion, feedback, suggestions, bug reports and everything else.
We hope you enjoy the UE5 update and are looking forward to our post-launch updates!
Thanks,
The Ranch Sim Team
