Side quests: where you get stuck, and what works

Most side quests stall on one small thing: an object you cannot see, a house nobody labels, or a place you already visited that the quest will not count. Find your quest in the table, then jump to it. Each section gives the Journal’s own wording and whether the fix comes from the launch build, a pre-launch build or a player.

Secret Admirer

Mason’s son Finn vanishes every night. Find him in town after dark and he explains: he is sweet on someone, and he half-remembers what she likes: “She likes orange flowers and pink cats. Wait, no, the opposite. Oh, and she loves the number 3.” (Shown in Wild West Pioneers: Exploring the Map and Growing into a Town (Adekyn, YouTube))

So it is the opposite of what he says first: ginger cats and pink flowers, three of each, placed at the house the Journal names. In that game the Journal asked for Tent 6; use whichever tent yours shows, since the number may differ between saves. The quest runs on a timer, so have some cash ready before you talk to Finn: the creator who finished it in the launch build spent all of theirs on the decorations. (Heard in Wild West Pioneers: Exploring the Map and Growing into a Town (Adekyn, YouTube))

Achievement: You've got mail, held by 20% of players.

Mother-in-Law

Finn again, now married, with his wife’s mother arriving tomorrow. Accept and the Journal asks you to decorate Finn’s house with 5 flowers and 5 hedges within 24 hours. (Shown in Wild West Pioneers, Episode 3: Our First Gold Mine (OneMoreGame, YouTube)) Check your cash before you choose: in that game the option to help could not be picked until there was enough.

The catch is finding the house. One player went through every home: “There is no way to spot which house is Finn's so that we can decorate it to fulfil the goal.” (Posted in Highlighting objects in locations thread (Steam Community)) There is no confirmed answer yet. If you cannot find it either, report it from the pause menu so the team sees the missing label.

Achievement: The Real Final Boss, held by 2% of players.

Band of Ghosts

Some of your workers turn up too tired to work, and the trail leads to Deaf Woodland. In a pre-launch build the quest began with searching the woods by day for three pieces of evidence and then going back at night. (Shown in First Look at Wild West Pioneers, full game longplay (Miss Pink Plays, YouTube)) The last step was to steal the musicians’ instruments, three of them: at night the scene has figures you can click, labelled Night Musicians, and Jesse sums up the plan: “Let's take away their instruments and they'll stop slacking off.” (Shown in Wait, This Wild West City Builder Is Actually Really Good? (Orbital Potato, creator video)) Finishing it unlocked a piano decoration in that game.

In the launch build players report going back at night and nothing happening. (Reported in Quest Band of Ghosts problem (Steam Community)) If the musicians do not appear, send a report from the pause menu with that save loaded; that is what the team asked for when the molehill cutscene failed to play, below.

Achievement: Ghostbusters, held by 6% of players.

Whack-A-Mole: the molehill at Deadman’s Wash

In a pre-launch build, a town event called Mole’s Work had molehills popping up around Dust Creek. (Shown in Making Sausage And Mining Stone, EA4 (Surtr Plays, YouTube)) Whether that is the start of Whack-A-Mole is not confirmed, though a player in the thread below ties the two together. An official forum account gave the last step: head to Deadman’s Wash. “There's a big molehill there. A cutscene should play when you arrive, then click on the molehill and hit the interaction button in the popup to blow it up.” (Posted in Quest with mole thread (Steam Community))

Several players found only the trader and no cutscene. The publisher’s answer in the same thread was to send a report through the pause menu’s Send Feedback button while that save is loaded, so the team can look at it. That points to a bug rather than a missed step. A player there asked whether the mound needs explosives, and the publisher’s reply to that post was the same advice: send the report.

Achievement: It's getting out of hand, held by under 1% of players.

Broken Business

The priest sends you after bandits who are distilling moonshine near his church. (The card is shown in Can My DESERT TOWN Survive (Surtr Plays, creator video)) The Journal asks you to find Howling Wind Pass, then decide the fate of the bandit camp. (Shown in Wild West Pioneers, Episode 3: Our First Gold Mine (OneMoreGame, YouTube)) If you found the pass earlier, it may not count; one player’s note: “Finding Howling Wind Pass: It s already found. Doesn’t count. Have to go there again”. (Posted in List of issues thread (Steam Community)) So send the scouts back.

At the camp the choice splits two achievements: destroy it all (Holier-than-thou) or take the moonshine lying around first (From behind). The second hotfix also fixed missing Moonshine Boxes in the priest’s questline, so update the game if his moonshine never turns up. (Listed in Steam announcement: Hotfix – Production, Quest & Scout Fixes) The license side of moonshine is on Moonshine Scandal.

Achievement: Thou Shalt Not Distill, held by 6% of players.

Forever and After

The Journal line is one step: build a church. (Shown in Wild West Pioneers, Episode 2: Growing Our Town and Chasing the Gold Rush (OneMoreGame, YouTube)) If you already had one, it may not count. A player’s fix: “Even if I had the church built, it didn t count. I had to demolish the church and rebuild it for it to count.” (Posted in List of issues thread (Steam Community))

Achievement: Happily ever after, held by 10% of players.

The Key to Money

The Journal wants you to find and open a chest in Rosewood Clearing, but the key comes first. In a pre-launch build it came from the miller at Armadillo Springs: he is too sick to load his flour, so load the bag onto his cart and he hands over the key and tells you the chest is in Rosewood Clearing. (Shown in Moonshine, Saloon and 3 Ginger Cats, Episode 3 (Past His Prime, YouTube)) (The Journal line is shown in Is Wild West Pioneers the Next Great Frontier Colony Sim? (Pravus, YouTube))

The Lumberjack Saga

A lumberjack in Dust Creek has lost his axe, and once you find it, his wedding ring. The Journal asks you to find an axe, then a ring. (Shown in Making Sausage And Mining Stone, EA4 (Surtr Plays, YouTube)) The creator in that video found both in town, and spotted the ring by a small arrow, much like the shovel.

Achievement: Timberrrrr!, held by under 1% of players.

Cattle for Natives and First Contact

In the launch build, First Contact asks you to gather 20 rifles and 20 unemployed men for the natives, and Hialeah repays you with a recipe. (Shown in Wild West Pioneers, Episode 3: Our First Gold Mine (OneMoreGame, YouTube)) Cattle for Natives asks for 30 cattle in a pre-launch build. (Shown in Making Sausage And Mining Stone, EA4 (Surtr Plays, YouTube)) Cattle need a ranch, which is its own idea; the publisher’s tip is to click the ranch to add pens and keep it in range of the barn. (Said in How to build a cattle ranch? (Steam Community)) Whether you help the tribe against the bandits later splits two achievements; see quest order and achievements.

Achievement: Dances with cows, held by 1% of players.

A dog on a scouting trip

In one location your scouts find a dog in the way; the player who asked called the place Blackridge. It appears to be a different dog from the one in Shrubby Glade that the Who's a good boy? achievement asks you to pet. A player’s answer: “Explore the scene and look out for barrels. One of them contains meat. Pick it up and interact with the dog ;-)” (Posted in Dog at blackridge thread (Steam Community))

Related

The shovel and the buried treasure, Moonshine Scandal and the jail, quest order and achievements, and crashes and bugs for reporting a quest that will not trigger.