Fishing in StepHarvest

I just finished the first playable version of fishing, so I wanted to share how it works and what you can catch.

How it works

Fishing is one of the four main activities in StepHarvest. Like everything else, it runs on steps.

Each cast costs steps, and the amount depends on your fishing mastery level. Higher mastery means more efficient casts. You walk in real life, sync your steps, then spend them at the pier. Cast your line, wait a bit, and see what you pull up.

When a fish bites, there's a small timing minigame. If you've played Stardew Valley, you'll feel right at home. A bar moves back and forth, and you tap when it's in the target zone. You get 3 chances to hit it. The more valuable the fish, the faster the bar moves.

It's meant to be relaxing, not stressful. But if the fish does get away, you lose the steps you spent on that cast. So there's a little tension, just enough to make landing a rare catch feel rewarding.

What you can catch

There are four tiers of fish, plus some bonus items that aren't fish at all.

Common

The everyday catches. Sardines, carp, perch, and sunfish. They show up most of the time and sell for modest prices, but they're reliable income when you're starting out.

Uncommon

A step up. Salmon, trout, catfish, and bass. These appear less often but are worth more. You'll start seeing them regularly as your fishing skill improves.

Rare

Now we're talking. Sturgeon, tuna, and red snapper. These don't show up often, and when they do, the timing window is tighter. Landing one feels good.

Legendary

The big ones. Golden koi, midnight carp, and ghost fish. These are genuinely rare. Some only appear during specific seasons or weather. Catching one is an event.

Not just fish

Sometimes you'll pull up things that aren't fish at all.

Fish Oil

Used in cooking and crafting. Decent value.

Fish Bones

Crafting material. Also good fertilizer.

Fish Roe

Cooking ingredient. Some recipes need this.

Seaweed

Useful for crafting and cooking.

Treasure Chest

Rare find. Contains random items.

The treasure chests are my favorite. They can contain just about anything, including items you can't get any other way. I'm still deciding exactly what goes in them.

Mastery

The more you fish, the better you get. Your fishing mastery level affects:

• Catch rates. Higher skill means rarer fish appear more often.
• Timing windows. The minigame gets slightly more forgiving.
• Fish quality. You'll catch higher quality fish that sell for more.
• New rods. Better rods unlock as you level up, which boost all of the above.

I'm still balancing how fast you level up. I want it to feel like genuine progression without being grindy.

Seasons and weather

Different fish appear in different conditions. Some only show up in summer, others prefer rainy days. The legendary fish especially have specific requirements.

I haven't finalized all the schedules yet, but the idea is that fishing stays interesting throughout the year. There's always something new to chase.

What's next

Fishing is playable now in my dev builds, but I'm still tweaking the numbers. Drop rates, sell prices, step costs. It's all subject to change before early access.

If you want to see it in action, I've posted a short video on our Discord. Come hang out if you want to follow along with development.

More feature previews coming for farming, mining, and foraging.