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thinmatrix

thinmatrix

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Draft Design for the New UI - Feedback needed!

Hey everyone!

For the last couple of weeks I've been working on the new design for the UI in Homegrown and I'd love to know your thoughts! Visual design has always been a bit of a weakness of mine so it's been quite a slow process. I've taken a lot of inspiration from multiple other games and iterated over and over on my design until finally I've ended up with something that I think has some promise. The problem is I've been staring at it constantly for so many days that I've lost all a...

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Homegrown 0.4.1 - Sound Effects!

The big UI makeover has officially begun! However, this first step had nothing to do with visuals. Until now my engine had no support for playing sounds, and seeing as I obviously want the UI (and the rest of the game) to have sound effects I first needed to implement an audio system into my engine. So that's what I've been doing over the last couple of weeks, plus I've also filled the game with some placeholder sound effects for good measure.

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download a...

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Homegrown Version 0.4!

Before moving on to the UI update I wanted to spend one week adding content into the game, to make use of all the gameplay feature that have been added over the course of version 0.4. So in this update there are three new vegetables to grow and a whole load of new items available!

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download and play Homegrown here.

And for ...

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Homegrown 0.3.7 - Paths

Sorry for the delay on this one! It turned out to be quite a difficult update, both in terms of the design decisions and the implementation. I got a lot of feedback on the recent devlog video about this topic, and based on that I made a few tweaks and changes and I now have a system that I'm about 80% happy with for now. But with a few more future adjustments and a bit of  balancing I think the paths will end up providi...

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Early Access to the next Devlog Video

Hey everyone!

The next devlog video is finished but it's not going public until next weekend, so I thought I would give you early access to it as a little bonus.

The updated version of the code and game are unfortunately not yet available though. I haven't quite finished the latest update and I'm currently on a road-trip through the Alps for my Summer holiday, so they won't be ready until I'm back home next weekend.

Hope you're having a good week!

Karl


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Homegrown 0.3.6 - Big Compost Update!

This month it's the turn of the compost system to get an overhaul! This update allows you to create your own compost mixes and choose what effects you'd like them to have on your plants and soil.

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download and play Homegrown here.

And for Programmer Tier+ patrons the code is available 2023-07-19 14:50:28 +0000 UTC View Post

Homegrown 0.3.5 - Plant Health

A bit of a quicker update this time! I've been making a few tweaks and improvements to the way plant health works, as well as making some adjustments the vegetable quality system.

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download and play Homegrown here.

And for Programmer Tier+ patrons the code is available 2023-06-19 19:45:36 +0000 UTC View Post

Homegrown 0.3.4 - Upgrading Tools!

Building on the changes to the tool system from last month, I've now overhauled the way that you upgrade your items. This new system will hopefully provide you with more flexibility and customizability when it comes to improving your tools.

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download and play Homegrown here.

And for Programmer Tier+ patrons the View Post

Homegrown 0.3.3 - Tool System Update

It's been an intense month of programming! In preparation for adding more content to Homegrown I've be reworking a lot of the tool system to make sure it has support for all that I have planned. Hopefully it's now more flexible and easier to use, both in terms of gameplay and future development.

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download and play Homegrown here....

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Game Downloads (Updated October 14th 2025)

Here are the latest download links for my games. Download the file, unzip it, then run the relevant jar file to launch the game. You’ll need to have Java installed on your computer for it to work.

Homegrown (I'd love to hear your feedback!):

Version 0.6.5 - Bees (Latest Version)

2023-05-19 14:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post

Code Download (Updated January 17th 2024)

Here are the links to download the code for my projects. Homegrown and the City-builder can be set up in Eclipse as explained in this short video.

Let me know if you have any problems getting them to run!

Homegrown:

Version...

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Homegrown 0.3.2 - Fruit Bushes, Fences, Supports!

Quite a bit of new content in this release! The main aim of this update was to add support for a few new object types, to allow for more variety in the game in the future. I implemented three new object types in total and added some examples of each to test them out.

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download and play Homegrown here.

And for Programmer ...

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Homegrown 0.3.1 - Buying more land!

In this update there's a new feature that allows you have much bigger gardens, one new vegetable for you to grow, and collectible trophies!

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download and play Homegrown here.

And for Programmer Tier+ patrons the code is available 2023-03-28 09:53:54 +0000 UTC View Post

Homegrown 0.3.0 - Graphics Update Finished!

After quite a few months of working on the render engine the graphics overhaul for Homegrown is done (for now!) It's a big improvement from how the game looked back in version 0.2 and there are still many more visual improvements to come before the game is released. But for now, it's back to gameplay!

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download and play Homegrown here. View Post

Homegrown Version 0.2.5 - Terrain Update!

Hi everyone! Hope you've all been having a good start to 2023. I've started the year by making some changes to the terrain system in Homegrown, to make it fit in better with the overall art-style of the game.

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download and play Homegrown here.

And for Programmer Tier+ patrons the code is available <...

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Homegrown Update - The Town!

Hello everyone! Some big updates to Homegrown this month, including a whole new area, some changes to the controls, and more improvements to the particle effect system.

Gamer Tier+ patrons can download and play Homegrown here. 

And for Programmer Tier+ patrons the code is available 2022-12-15 19:20:57 +0000 UTC View Post

Homegrown Update - Particle Effects

This month I've been adding support for a much needed feature to the Homegrown engine: particle effects! Interacting with the world now feels so much more real and satisfying, with little rocks, dust clouds, falling leaves and water splashes while you're carrying out actions in your garden.

You can download and try out the current version of Homegrown here (for “Gamer tier"+ patrons): 2022-11-01 09:49:29 +0000 UTC View Post

Homegrown Update 0.2.2 - Shadows

The graphical update to Homegrown has been progressing very nicely over the last few weeks! I’ve switched all the models over to the new art-style and finished working on the new rendering process for the entities in the game, including improved lighting, shadows, and a wind-effect for foliage.

You can download the current version of Homegrown and try it out here (for “Gamer tier"+ patrons): htt...

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Code Download (Updated 19th April 2023)

Here are the links to download the code for my projects. Homegrown and the City-builder can be set up in Eclipse as explained in this short video.

Let me know if you have any problems getting them to run!

Homegrown:

Version...

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Game Downloads (Updated 19th April 2023)

Here are the latest download links for my projects. Download the file, unzip it, then run the relevant jar file to launch the game. You’ll need to have Java installed on your computer for it to work.

Homegrown (I'd love to hear your feedback!):

Version 0.3.2 (current version) 

2022-09-26 15:55:18 +0000 UTC View Post

Homegrown Update - Starting the Graphical Overhaul

It’s been another solid month of development on Homegrown and things are really starting to take shape nicely! Earlier this month I completed the final update for version 0.2 of the game and I’m now getting stuck into the big graphical overhaul.

Fruit and Veg Quality

To finish version 0.2 I implemented the concept of “star quality” produce. When you harvest your vegetables there’s now a chance of your produce having this characteristic, with the chance b...

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Homegrown 0.2.0 Download

Hey everyone,

You can try out version 0.2.0 of the game by downloading it here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XJgUrxoE8jDX-qxKiZjzPp1eGnEn2veG/view?usp=sharing

Unzip then run the relevant jar file to launch the game. You’ll need to have Java installed on your computer for it to work.

Remember, most actions require you to hold down the ...

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Homegrown 0.2.0 - Code Download

Here's the download link for the current code:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XglUofYL6mRyTpAQcb-N7BBFX-zEYYYN/view?usp=sharing

It can be set up in Eclipse in the same way as the city-builder, which was explained in this short video: https://ww...

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Homegrown 0.1.8 Download - Tool Update

Hey everyone!

We're slowly getting closer to the completion of version 0.2 of Homegrown - only one more update to go now! Over the last month I've been making some important changes to the way tools work in the game, plus a lot of changes to the structure of the tool system in the code to make it easier for me (and hopefully one day modders) to add new tools to the game in the future.

The big changes this update are as follows:

  • Almost all actions in the game now requir...

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Homegrown 0.1.8 - Code Download

Here's the download link for the current code:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16cIPU3OLf9j_OBkZ2RhqsCcH93WJfaAI/view?usp=sharing

It can be set up in Eclipse in the same way as the city-builder, which was explained in this short video: https://ww...

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Homegrown 0.1.7 Download - Compost Update

Hey everyone!

Here's the link to download the latest version of Homegrown:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I0dEjdPsnBwJc52GcnSlXKyYjrtJGR3r/view?usp=sharing

Unzip then run the relevant jar file to launch the game. You’ll need to have Java installed on your computer for it to work.

Compost Update

I was back working on the c...

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Homegrown 0.1.7 - Code Download

Here's the download link for the current code:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AU3srRuqGwCCYLXV3I0oXWuV0xtH6v_j/view?usp=sharing

It can be set up in Eclipse in the same way as the city-builder, which was explained in this short video: https://ww...

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Homegrown 0.1.6 Download - Inventory Update

Hey everyone!

Here's the link to download the latest version of Homegrown:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TQRjKmXhnmhkcYy1bh6rCZZi6nqGgMAe/view?usp=sharing

Unzip then run the relevant jar file to launch the game. You’ll need to have Java installed on your computer for it to work.

Inventory Update

One of the most frequent ...

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Homegrown 0.1.6 - Code Download

Here's the download link for the current code:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aJzi5CG4M7qj3f9Q-pDHwjXW29wW_ICN/view?usp=sharing

It can be set up in Eclipse in the same way as the city-builder, which was explained in this short video: https://ww...

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Home Grown 0.1.5 - Weeds!

I've just finished work on the latest addition to Home Grown: weeds! These unwanted plants will pop-up in your vegetable beds and start to negatively effect your crops unless you do some weeding. There's also a chance that you might accidentally introduce an invasive weed species into your garden, which you will want to eradicate as quickly as possible before it spreads!

I made a devlog video about the process of implementing weeds into the game which you can check out here: 2022-05-13 17:37:08 +0000 UTC View Post