This release adds the Store — an optional way to top up your resources or pick up a permanent boost. Everything it offers can still be earned by playing; it is there for a faster start when you want one. It also reworks the Blessings shop so it points you toward what is worth buying next.
- A Store in the command wheel. A new shop sits in the inner ring beside Settings, holding optional purchases kept separate from the things you earn through play.
- Resource bundles. Buy Water on its own, or combined Gold and Tilling Point bundles, in a range of sizes.
- Monsoon Blessing, a one-time boost. A permanent upgrade that doubles four things at once: how often rain clouds appear, the Water each cloud gives, how fast crops grow on wet soil, and the instant growth a crop receives each time it is watered.
- Restore Purchases. A restore option brings back anything you have bought if you reinstall the game or move to a new device.
- A Recommended tab for Blessings. The Blessings menu now opens to a short, ordered list of what is worth buying next, so it is clear where to spend rather than facing every option at once. Buy one and the next suggestion appears; tap Show all to browse everything you have unlocked, or use the category tabs to plan ahead.
- A gentler early unlock pace. Early Blessings now arrive a few at a time as you level instead of all at once, so the shop no longer floods with choices the moment it opens.
- Return to your island from the map. From the zoomed-out overview, tapping the island you were just on now flies you back into it, the same as any other island. Before, that one island alone would not respond.
- A steadier camera. Flying to an island, or back out to the overview, now eases to a stop cleanly, without the slight bounce it had at the end of the move.
The Store is entirely optional — Archipelago is built to be played from start to finish without spending anything, and nothing there is required to progress. It is simply there if you would like a leg up or to support the game while it grows. As always, tell me how it feels.
— Dee