Alpha 12

Release
Alpha 12 is currently in release state. The main release of Alpha 12 was release-460, released on October 26. There have been three bug fix patches with the most recent being release-472.

Patch Notes
Detailed patch notes can be found at the official Stonehearth blog entry.

New Crafter Workbenches
Crafters now have new specialized workbenches which are required for crafting certain items. For example, in addition to the standard workbenches we now have the Weaver Loom and Spinning Wheel, Blacksmith Forge and Anvil, Cook Stone Mill Grinder, Oven, and Cauldron, Carpenter Toolbench, and Mason Pedestal.

Workbenches are created using the crafting UI just like any other craftable item. After the workbench is created, you place it just like any other placeable item. You can place multiple workbenches of the same type, and the crafting queue is now shared between all crafters of the same profession. For example, if you have two weavers, they will both use the same Loom (or multiple Looms) to weave cloth.

The crafting UI also has an ‘Orders’ tab that shows details of all the crafting orders and what might be blocking an order from being fulfilled. You can access the crafting UI from a selected crafter, a selected workbench, or from the new crafters button on the game’s button bar.

World Generation
The world has a new look! Huge mountain ranges and large bodies of water are now the norm, and multi-layer detailing can be seen on the side of foothills and mountains. Pine trees have also been added to the world. The world generation parameters are now fully moddable from json files which will enable the creation of new biomes.

Internationalization
Stonehearth has been internationalized! After installing a localization mod, you can change the language on the Settings->System menu. The localized strings are now in a single file to simplify translation. See ‘startermod_locale’ on Github for more information:

http://github.com/stonehearth/startermod_locale

Hearthling OCD and Idle Hearthlings
The bug causing hearthlings to repeatedly pick up and put down items has been fixed. Also, we have made big improvements to the pathfinding algorithms which should significantly improve the idle hearthling problem. Please let us know how it works in your new towns. To help manage performance, we’ve also added a slider to Settings->Gameplay, which allows you to control the maximum number of citizens in a town. If you are experiencing idle hearthling or other performance issues, try lowering this limit.

New Content

 * Rabbits, poyos, and sheep… oh my! The shepherd can now raise multiple types of animals. Well fed animals also now have babies and poyos will lay eggs that can either hatch into chicks or be used in recipes. Remember to create animal feed from the Cook so that your animals have something to eat!
 * Oak tree saplings can now be farmed, harvested, and planted in the world.
 * Added and updated a number of cook and carpenter recipes including corn bread, poyo pot pie, roast poyo, fried eggs, and omelettes.
 * 13 new music tracks have been added!

Bug Fixes
Numerous bug fixes were implemented for this release. For a full list of bug fixes see this wiki page or the official Stonehearth blog entry.