June 2026 Blog: Western Festival & American Quarter Horse

Western Festival

By Ella (Narrative Designer)

Howdy Starfam, long time no see! It’s been, what? A whole month? I hope the warm summer sun and the refreshing ocean breeze have treated you well. While you’ve been partying at the beach, I’ve been knee deep in cow dung, hay up to my elbows, yee-ing and hauling, chickens running amok. No, I’m not jealous…

Anyway, you guessed right. I’ve been setting up for the Western Festival! You see, they’ve needed some extra hands over there because with the arrival of the Moorland Fair, they’ve had to move some stuff around. So this year, you’ll find the crop competition, Conrad’s high striker, and more at the brand spanking new Moorland fairgrounds!

Back at Starshine Ranch, chaos is as chaos does. The ranch life never rests, especially not during this time of year. Chores have to be done, Renegades are running rampant, and Josh has an ongoing problem with the tourists visiting the ranch. They never will understand what it’s like running a ranch, huh? And if that wasn’t enough, the renegades have decided to steal pets from the ranch! But unlucky for them, they’ve picked some of the unruliest pets to steal, and now the chaos has spread to the camp as well. Someone should really free them from the misery these pets are putting them in… Oh well!

So, you remember what a hero I was during the Equestrian Festival? Saving you all from the evil Sabine, making sure she doesn’t show her face back at the festival again. Well, I’ve garnered enough bravery to do it once again. My target this time? The beasts. You heard it: the beasts and I have reached an agreement, and they will not bother you at all during this year's festival. You don’t even want to know what I’ve sacrificed to make this happen… But don��t worry! I don’t expect anything in return. At least nothing big or anything…

​Anyway, speaking of golden rewards, our dear Gary Goldtooth is back at the ranch like always! But it seems the rules have changed a bit for this year. Instead of keeping the gold you collect yourself, Gary is tracking all of your gold and giving out rewards when certain amounts of gold have been collected. I hope you like hats, and lots of them!

It’s been quick, it’s been sweet, but now I have to run off! I think they want me to show them how I jump or something? I don’t know, I don’t question much around here. See you all later!

American Quarter Horse

By Kyly (3D Artist)

Ah. The American Quarter Horse, or AQH, if you’re short on time (or slow at typing, like me). What an icon, and rightly so.

As with every horse I work on, the more I research the breed, the more I fall in love with it. With this particular breed it also had me daydreaming about living that ranch life. Crisp early mornings (LOL, who am I kidding? But let’s continue the dream anyway), wide open spaces, the smell of hay and horses (and other things we don’t need to include here). Your trusty hard-working pal saddled and ready to go. He’s eager to please, herding for the love of it.
It’s in his blood.
He was born for this.
Skidding to a theatrical halt, dirt spraying in a wave of showmanship.
What a cool horse! So, naturally, I was excited to work on this remake. Also, I do enjoy a spot of western anything.

When starting a new horse, setting everything up in our game editor is always wonderfully wonky at the start and never ceases to disappoint. It’s at the crucial point before the horse has its own custom animations and skinning where the real magic happens. It’s a bit like trying to wear a non-stretch skintight catsuit, with a matching form-fitting face mask, that was tailor-made for someone else who is definitely not your twin. Did that make sense, or was it just as frightening as it was confusing? Just in case, here’s a much simpler explanation - it’s a bit like trying to squish a cat-shaped pillow into a dog-shaped pillowcase. Similar in shape, but not enough to share linens.

That first implementation always hits juuuuust right *chef’s kiss*.

Briefly known as “Snorse”, for obvious reasons. (Wearing the Criollo “suit” at the start so as not to be nekkid ‘round them kids).

Later, after things got sucked back into place and our trusty ranch hand got his own custom “outfit”, he was aptly appointed “MuscleBob BuffPants” (by me). IYKYK.

We went for a stock-type body conformation. Our AQH is a working horse. Athletic, agile, and easy on the eyes. On the animation side, we included fan favourites like the sliding stop and the spin since they are a hallmark of the breed and would be a crime to leave out. We were also careful not to have the head carriage too low. This mount is expertly trained and has a positive outlook about life on the range.

As for coats, roans are common in AQHs, so we needed to include at least one. We realised that we have many roans in game – red, bay, blue, and lilac, but there was one missing. Not anymore! For this AQH remake we will have a palomino roan gracing our pastures. Ain’t she a purdy lil thang?

For the previous AQH we had a really pretty mane that I wanted to remake in 3D since the last one was a 2D texture with an alpha. Banded and braided manes are popular in western disciplines, so yee-haw to that! It was also mentioned that players had been requesting a fully braided tail. Quarter horse riders often braid their horses’ tails to keep them out of the way when doing sharp turns and stops, so what better time to add that tail, than now?

I would love to showcase more, but my brief was to write a teaser, not an exposé. I hope I managed to do just that. And fingers crossed, when you, the players, get your hands on our latest baby, you appreciate the love that our team put into this snazzy steed.

Happy trails to ya!