Hello all,

If you or a friend(s) haven’t had a chance to become a stealthy assassin on a floating time ship, here’s your opportunity! Murderous Pursuits has begun hosting a free weekend until Sunday 5th.

Throughout this weekend, you can experience the full Murderous Pursuits game, along with our fourth update which includes a brand new game mode, map and more!

Not only can you play the game for free but Murderous Pursuits will also be 33% off along with Deluxe DLC which will be 40% off, a must if you enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

What are you waiting for? Put it in your diaries, tell your mates… you don’t want to miss out! It’s time to Slap, Stab, Shoot, REPEAT. We hope to see you aboard the HMCS Britannic and try not to get yourself killed… too much.

Mr. X awaits you!

Free Weekend End Time: Sun 5th August 1PM PT / 9PM BST

Happy Hunting!

- Blazing Griffin Team

¡Hola Amigos y Enemigos!

¡Feliz cinco de mayo!

We’re big fans of a party! It’s time to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
To get the fiesta started, we are giving all owners of The Ship and The Ship Remasted 15% off our latest game, Murderous Pursuits. Muchas Gracias for your support all these years.

Murderous Pursuits is our NEW game – here are a few ways its different from its predecessor:

Uno: A stealthier game! Random killing will get you absolutely nowhere. Use your cunning skills, watch, learn, and use your abilities to the best of…well, your ability.

Dos: Multiple hunters and a continuous kill loop A quarry tracker will help you evade your hunters and locate your quarries.

Tres: 3rd Person (vs.1st person in The Ship) Changing the gameplay significantly by allowing you to scan the room looking for your quarry without moving and being caught by your hunter.

Cuatro: No need for “Needs”! Love it or hate it, Murderous Pursuits doesn’t have the need for “Needs”. It’s less SIM-like and you won’t need to run for a bathroom break mid-kill.

Cinco: No need for Doors, have a pie instead. Why? Because why not. Blend in with NPCs and have a pie while you wait for the kill.

No time for a hangover: Get your Cinco de Mayo gift of 15% off before it expires in 10 days. Find it in your Steam inventories.
…And Feliz cinco de mayo!

Blazing Griffin

Hello Ladies & Gentlemen,

Murderous Pursuits is out now! To get everyone in the appropriate mood, we’ve released a new mini-trailer full of glorious murdering!

https://youtu.be/2e9jUcr55Bo

Link to the Steam store here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/638070/Murderous_Pursuits/
We’d like to thank everyone who played in the closed and open betas. We hope you all had a blast – we certainly did watching all the murdering going on!

We’re excited to start this journey with you, and can’t wait to continue the development of Murderous Pursuits in to the future – more on that shortly!

- Blazing Griffin Team

Hello Ladies & Gentlemen,

Here is the Official Information for the Murderous Pursuits Open Beta this weekend.

The Beta is Open NOW until the date and time stated below!


Here is the link to the Steam Page where you are able to download the game:

Murderous Pursuits Open Beta

Make sure you are a part of our official Discord channels.

We hope you enjoy the game!

- Blazing Griffin Team

We would like to thank all of The Ship supporters over the years by inviting you to our Closed Beta of Murderous Pursuits , Blazing Griffin's newest game. Check out the trailer here !

Those of you who loved The Ship, will love Murderous Pursuits. It's a kill-or-be-killed Victorian stealth-em-up for 1-8 players in which you must hunt and kill your quarry before your hunters do the same to you, all while avoiding witnesses.

Sound familiar? We like to think of it as a spiritual successor to The Ship with added abilities and much more stealthy gameplay!

Key Features include:

• Hunt in four sumptuous locations aboard the HMCS Britannic - a state-of-the-art, colonial time ship. Blend in with the festivities in the richly decorated Music Hall or wait in the dark corners of the Engine House to pounce on your prey
  
• Choose from eight playable characters. Pick your preferred archetype and skin, then blend in with the crowd to avoid detection
  
• Master the use of five abilities – only two of which can be chosen each match, so choose wisely
  
• Play solo or online multiplayer with up to 8 players, featuring support for custom game options and wickedly intelligent bots
  

We would like to thank all of The Ship supporters over the years by inviting you to our Closed Beta of Murderous Pursuits, Blazing Griffin's newest game. Check out the trailer here !

Those of you who loved The Ship, will love Murderous Pursuits. It's a kill-or-be-killed Victorian stealth-em-up for 1-8 players in which you must hunt and kill your quarry before your hunters do the same to you, all while avoiding witnesses.

Sound familiar? We like to think of it as a spiritual successor to The Ship with added abilities and much more stealthy gameplay!

Key Features include:

• Hunt in four sumptuous locations aboard the HMCS Britannic - a state-of-the-art, colonial time ship. Blend in with the festivities in the richly decorated Music Hall or wait in the dark corners of the Engine House to pounce on your prey
  
• Choose from eight playable characters. Pick your preferred archetype and skin, then blend in with the crowd to avoid detection
  
• Master the use of five abilities only two of which can be chosen each match, so choose wisely
  
• Play solo or online multiplayer with up to 8 players, featuring support for custom game options and wickedly intelligent bots
  

Ahoy Hunters!

To help kick off the new year the right way, the Blazing Griffin team will be hosting a game of The Ship: Remasted.

All details are below!



Get your weapons at the ready and we'll see you there!

- Blazing Griffin

Ahoy Hunters!

To help kick off the new year the right way, the Blazing Griffin team will be hosting a game of The Ship: Remasted.

All details are below!



Get your weapons at the ready and we'll see you there!

- Blazing Griffin

Ahoy Hunters!

Fancy playing a game of The Ship: Remasted? Well, you're in luck because we do too!

Why not join us and play with the devs on Tuesday 19th December at 16:30 GMT (8:30am PT).

The game will be hosted on the [Atlanta US] Happy Holidays! server.

We hope to see you there for a most merry and murderous time!

- Blazing Griffin

Ahoy Hunters!

Fancy playing a game of The Ship: Remasted? Well, you're in luck because we do too!

Why not join us and play with the devs on Tuesday 19th December at 16:30 GMT (8:30am PT).

The game will be hosted on the [Atlanta US] Happy Holidays! server.

We hope to see you there for a most merry and murderous time!

- Blazing Griffin

Season’s Bleedings to one and all!

If you hadn’t heard the news already, the Blazing Griffin team has an exciting announcement to make…

The Ship: Remasted update is live NOW with added achievements, bug fixes and the hugely anticipated doors!

Tis’ the season to be jolly and we’re eager to share some holiday cheer with our players. We’ve included a holiday-themed level equipped with dashing decorations and whimsical weapons, including a holiday ham and candy cane for you to get creative with.

Ho-Ho-Hope you all enjoy it!

- Blazing Griffin


_____________________________________________________________

Version 1.4 Release Notes

NEW FEATURES

Doors
+ Added door opening and closing interactions

Achievements
+ Added 22 Steam achievements

Happy Holidays!
+ Added Batavier Christmas level
+ Added Candy Cane melee weapon
+ Added Festive Cracker firearm weapon
+ Added Holiday Ham melee weapon
+ Added Santa hat

------------------------------

BUG FIXES

+ Fixed the default keybindings pop-up not displaying
+ Fixed the sickbay not extinguishing fire
+ Fixed the fatigue need not lowering when running after being released from jail
+ Fixed steam traps remaining on indefinitely
+ Fixed the map cycle not including Cotopaxi and Rubicon
+ Fixed extreme fatigue being skipped when performing another needs interaction
+ Fixed players being able to move while asleep in jail
+ Fixed issues where trespassing was not registered in crew areas
+ Fixed chat input appearing when pressing "t" or "u" while the console was open
+ Fixed player movement inputs being registered after opening the console
+ Fixed some errors that appear on dedicated servers

Seasons Bleedings to one and all!

If you hadnt heard the news already, the Blazing Griffin team has an exciting announcement to make

The Ship: Remasted update is live NOW with added achievements, bug fixes and the hugely anticipated doors!

Tis the season to be jolly and were eager to share some holiday cheer with our players. Weve included a holiday-themed level equipped with dashing decorations and whimsical weapons, including a holiday ham and candy cane for you to get creative with.

Ho-Ho-Hope you all enjoy it!

-Blazing Griffin


_____________________________________________________________

Version 1.4 Release Notes

NEW FEATURES

Doors
+ Added door opening and closing interactions

Achievements
+ Added 22 Steam achievements

Happy Holidays!
+ Added Batavier Christmas level
+ Added Candy Cane melee weapon
+ Added Festive Cracker firearm weapon
+ Added Holiday Ham melee weapon
+ Added Santa hat

------------------------------

BUG FIXES

+ Fixed the default keybindings pop-up not displaying
+ Fixed the sickbay not extinguishing fire
+ Fixed the fatigue need not lowering when running after being released from jail
+ Fixed steam traps remaining on indefinitely
+ Fixed the map cycle not including Cotopaxi and Rubicon
+ Fixed extreme fatigue being skipped when performing another needs interaction
+ Fixed players being able to move while asleep in jail
+ Fixed issues where trespassing was not registered in crew areas
+ Fixed chat input appearing when pressing "t" or "u" while the console was open
+ Fixed player movement inputs being registered after opening the console
+ Fixed some errors that appear on dedicated servers

HOT FIX (V.1.4.23575)

+ Fixed Hints & Tips remaining on screen when the player is killed while sleeping

Ahoy hunters!

Season’s Bleedings!

A lot has been happening at Blazing Griffin and admittedly we have gone a bit quiet on a few things related to The Ship: Remasted.

Blazing Griffin Games is growing at a rapid rate and at times we’ve felt the growing pains. We’re currently building our biggest game yet whilst working on other new and exciting projects. You have all been heard, it has just taken a little longer to respond than we would have liked. We intend to make this right.

Here’s the NEWS: The Ship Remasted is getting a little update. We know some of you are still mad about doors, hell we are too. So…this … is …happening. Very shortly! Wednesday 29th of November to be precise. Achievements will also be made available (you can currently see these, but they won’t be live until we put out the update).

And last but not least, we are adding a holiday-themed level equipped with decorations and new weapons, including a holiday ham, for you to get … ahem … creative with.

Ho-Ho-Ho-Hope you like it!
Blazing Griffin

Ahoy hunters!

Seasons Bleedings!

A lot has been happening at Blazing Griffin and admittedly we have gone a bit quiet on a few things related to The Ship: Remasted.

Blazing Griffin Games is growing at a rapid rate and at times weve felt the growing pains. Were currently building our biggest game yet whilst working on other new and exciting projects. You have all been heard, it has just taken a little longer to respond than we would have liked. We intend to make this right.

Heres the NEWS: The Ship Remasted is getting a little update. We know some of you are still mad about doors, hell we are too. Sothis is happening. Very shortly! Wednesday 29th of November to be precise. Achievements will also be made available (you can currently see these, but they wont be live until we put out the update).

And last but not least, we are adding a holiday-themed level equipped with decorations and new weapons, including a holiday ham, for you to get ahem creative with.

Ho-Ho-Ho-Hope you like it!
Blazing Griffin

Ahoy Hunters!

Here is the first The Ship: Remasted update of 2017! The patch notes are below.



Don't forget that you can now earn trading cards in-game!

Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, so please do come and help us make this game the well-mannered murder-fest it deserves to be. If anything is driving you crazy, come chat to us about it - we'll do our best to respond with fixes.

You can give suggestions, report a bug, ask questions or generally chat about the game on our Steam Forum.


--The Ship Remasted Team.

 
VERSION 1.3 PATCH NOTES

Balancing
Needs
+ Reduced the multiplier applied to sprinting so that players can now sprint for longer periods.
+ Changed need interactions to give the same satisfy per second across all interactions.
+ Needs will now start between 0 and 20 percent when given a new identity.
+ Needs will now be displayed on the HUD when they hit 25% down from 50%.

Weapons
+ All melee weapons now do 40 damage.

Bug Fixes
Scoring System
+ Fixed players occasionally losing all money when respawning.

Options
+ Fixed mouse sensitivity being reset to default after player character changes sex.

Bots
+ Fixed bot camera positioning not being front-and-centre.

Atalanta
+ Fixed inaccessible container in Atalanta security office having an interaction present.

Rubicon
+ Fixed issue where player was not teleported to correct position when healed by the nurse.

Credits
+ Fixed staff members missing from the Credits scene.

Ahoy Hunters!

Here is the first The Ship: Remasted update of 2017! The patch notes are below.



Don't forget that you can now earn trading cards in-game!

Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, so please do come and help us make this game the well-mannered murder-fest it deserves to be. If anything is driving you crazy, come chat to us about it - we'll do our best to respond with fixes.

You can give suggestions, report a bug, ask questions or generally chat about the game on our Steam Forum.


--The Ship Remasted Team.


VERSION 1.3 PATCH NOTES

Balancing
Needs
+ Reduced the multiplier applied to sprinting so that players can now sprint for longer periods.
+ Changed need interactions to give the same satisfy per second across all interactions.
+ Needs will now start between 0 and 20 percent when given a new identity.
+ Needs will now be displayed on the HUD when they hit 25% down from 50%.

Weapons
+ All melee weapons now do 40 damage.

Bug Fixes
Scoring System
+ Fixed players occasionally losing all money when respawning.

Options
+ Fixed mouse sensitivity being reset to default after player character changes sex.

Bots
+ Fixed bot camera positioning not being front-and-centre.

Atalanta
+ Fixed inaccessible container in Atalanta security office having an interaction present.

Rubicon
+ Fixed issue where player was not teleported to correct position when healed by the nurse.

Credits
+ Fixed staff members missing from the Credits scene.

Thats right! Trading cards are now available for The Ship: Remasted. Come aboard and earn yourself some badges.

Since were winding down for the holidays we thought it would be a great time to work on these. You can see some previews below. All the cards, badges and backgrounds were made by our Artist, McSean!

Weve got an update in the works for the beginning of next year but in the meantime, all of us at Blazing Griffin want to wish all of you Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year.

See you in 2017 and Happy Hunting!

That’s right! Trading cards are now available for The Ship: Remasted. Come aboard and earn yourself some badges.

Since we’re winding down for the holidays we thought it would be a great time to work on these. You can see some previews below. All the cards, badges and backgrounds were made by our Artist, McSean!

We’ve got an update in the works for the beginning of next year but in the meantime, all of us at Blazing Griffin want to wish all of you Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year.

See you in 2017 and Happy Hunting!

Ahoy Hunters!

For the last couple of weeks we've been tightening a few more rivets on The Ship: Remasted and throwing more stowaway bugs overboard. You can see all of the V1.2 changes below in the patch notes.

Most notably, the code team have worked hard to fix some networking issues that were reported on our forums. The biggest of these were hit detection problems in online matches, as well as location syncing and animation errors - these were prioritised for this update.

We also gave the Linux build a scrub as we had reports of crashes and received some output logs. Sending your crash logs to us is really helpful when you want to report a bug. Our Bug reporting guide can help you do this.



Remember, you can give suggestions, report a bug, ask questions or generally chat about the game on our Steam Forum.

Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, so please do come and help us make this game the well-mannered murder-fest it deserves to be. If anything is driving you crazy, come chat to us about it - we'll do our best to respond with fixes.

--The Ship Remasted Team.


VERSION 1.2 PATCH NOTES

Networking
+ Fixed player hit detection in online games.
+ Fixed movement of players not being synchronised correctly.
+ Fixed low accuracy of thrown weapon locations in online games.
+ Fixed animations occurring twice (were being called once on the client machine and once on the server) for local players.
+ Fixed host player not always being the first player added to new games.

Characters
+ Fixed characters having invisible bodies on a map or mode change.
+ Fixed characters having invisible bodies when joining a game.

Bots
+ Fixed Bots being able to run when they have extreme fatigue.
+ Fixed Bots all running to the same safe place continually.
+ Fixed Bots running more often than they should.
+ Fixed Bots moving when they should not have control (end of round, arrested etc.)
+ Fixed Bots not doing the change clothes animation after respawning with a new Identity.
+ Fixed Bots using syringes like regular stabbing weapons.

Chat
+ Fixed chat feature being unavailable on multiple screens.
+ Fixed pressing ' or ` while in chat opening the console.

Linux
+ Fixed some crashes occurring on Linux.

Player Management
+ Fixed Bots appearing in the kick list when calling a vote.
+ Fixed ability to change to World Leaders modes when there are more than 10 players.
++ Bots are removed if the number of total players exceeds 10 due to Bots being present.

Needs
+ Fixed needs SFX being audible for other players.

Weapons Spawning
+ Fixed issue where weapons would continually spawn on the Huronian bridge.
+ Fixed unused weapon spawner in Andrea Doria.
+ Fixed weapons not spawning in Cotopaxi filing cabinets.

Ahoy Hunters!

For the last couple of weeks we've been tightening a few more rivets on The Ship: Remasted and throwing more stowaway bugs overboard. You can see all of the V1.2 changes below in the patch notes.

Most notably, the code team have worked hard to fix some networking issues that were reported on our forums. The biggest of these were hit detection problems in online matches, as well as location syncing and animation errors - these were prioritised for this update.

We also gave the Linux build a scrub as we had reports of crashes and received some output logs. Sending your crash logs to us is really helpful when you want to report a bug. Our Bug reporting guide can help you do this.



Remember, you can give suggestions, report a bug, ask questions or generally chat about the game on our Steam Forum.

Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, so please do come and help us make this game the well-mannered murder-fest it deserves to be. If anything is driving you crazy, come chat to us about it - we'll do our best to respond with fixes.

--The Ship Remasted Team.

 
VERSION 1.2 PATCH NOTES

Networking
+ Fixed player hit detection in online games.
+ Fixed movement of players not being synchronised correctly.
+ Fixed low accuracy of thrown weapon locations in online games.
+ Fixed animations occurring twice (were being called once on the client machine and once on the server) for local players.
+ Fixed host player not always being the first player added to new games.

Characters
+ Fixed characters having invisible bodies on a map or mode change.
+ Fixed characters having invisible bodies when joining a game.

Bots
+ Fixed Bots being able to run when they have extreme fatigue.
+ Fixed Bots all running to the same safe place continually.
+ Fixed Bots running more often than they should.
+ Fixed Bots moving when they should not have control (end of round, arrested etc.)
+ Fixed Bots not doing the change clothes animation after respawning with a new Identity.
+ Fixed Bots using syringes like regular stabbing weapons.

Chat
+ Fixed chat feature being unavailable on multiple screens.
+ Fixed pressing ' or ` while in chat opening the console.

Linux
+ Fixed some crashes occurring on Linux.

Player Management
+ Fixed Bots appearing in the kick list when calling a vote.
+ Fixed ability to change to World Leaders modes when there are more than 10 players.
++ Bots are removed if the number of total players exceeds 10 due to Bots being present.

Needs
+ Fixed needs SFX being audible for other players.

Weapons Spawning
+ Fixed issue where weapons would continually spawn on the Huronian bridge.
+ Fixed unused weapon spawner in Andrea Doria.
+ Fixed weapons not spawning in Cotopaxi filing cabinets.

Ahoy Hunters!

Now The Ship: Remasted has , we will still be releasing updates as we discover bugs or the need for other improvements.

Below you’ll find the Version 1.1 patch notes! We also released a hot fix last week to address a minor player management bug – apologies for any server downtime as a result.


Remember, you can give suggestions, report a bug, ask questions or generally chat about the game on our
Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, so please do come and help us make this game the well-mannered murder-fest it deserves to be. If anything is driving you crazy, come chat to us about it -- we'll do our best to respond with fixes.

Oh and if you missed it, here's our end of Early Access trailer made by the very talented Cam and Seb!

https://youtu.be/Exx5-eYOlcA

--The Ship Remasted Team.

--

VERSION 1.1 PATCH NOTES

New Features

Optimisation
+ Redced time taken to get an item from any database by about half.

Display Options
+ Added 720p resolution option.
+ Added enable/disable VSync option.

Bots
+ Increased number of bots available in Dedicated Servers from 4 to 6.


Bug Fixes

Bots
+ Fixed being able to use the same interaction at the same time as a bot.

HUD
+ Fixed incorrect MFK value being displayed on HUD in Deathmatch.

UI
+ Fixed not being able to scroll the console window.
+ Fixed the Cancel button always being highlighted on the Quit Game pop-up.

SFX
+ Fixed trespassing SFX persisting to the Main Menu when quitting a game.

Other
+ Fixed explosive weapons being removed from Inventory when player is killed innocently.
+ Fixed duplicate painting props.
+ Fixed thrown explosives not being cleared from the item database.

Andrea Doria
+ Fixed unused trigger rooms being present.

Connemara
+ Fixed kitchen trap VFX appearing outside of the kitchen.
+ Fixed sun flare appearing through the roof.
+ Fixed unused trigger rooms being present.

Cotopaxi
+ Fixed kitchen trap VFX appearing outside of the kitchen.
+ Fixed gap in geometry in the lift.

Rubicon
+ Fixed players being able to jump on to the lifeboats.

V1.1 –

Ahoy Hunters!

Now The Ship: Remasted has , we will still be releasing updates as we discover bugs or the need for other improvements.

Below you’ll find the Version 1.1 patch notes! We also released a hot fix last week to address a minor player management bug – apologies for any server downtime as a result.

Remember, you can give suggestions, report a bug, ask questions or generally chat about the game on our
Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, so please do come and help us make this game the well-mannered murder-fest it deserves to be. If anything is driving you crazy, come chat to us about it -- we'll do our best to respond with fixes.

Oh and if you missed it, here's our end of Early Access trailer made by the very talented Cam and Seb!

https://youtu.be/Exx5-eYOlcA

The Ship Remasted Team.

--

VERSION 1.1 PATCH NOTES

New Features

Optimisation
+ Redced time taken to get an item from any database by about half.

Display Options
+ Added 720p resolution option.
+ Added enable/disable VSync option.

Bots
+ Increased number of bots available in Dedicated Servers from 4 to 6.


Bug Fixes

Bots
+ Fixed being able to use the same interaction at the same time as a bot.

HUD
+ Fixed incorrect MFK value being displayed on HUD in Deathmatch.

UI
+ Fixed not being able to scroll the console window.
+ Fixed the Cancel button always being highlighted on the Quit Game pop-up.

SFX
+ Fixed trespassing SFX persisting to the Main Menu when quitting a game.

Other
+ Fixed explosive weapons being removed from Inventory when player is killed innocently.
+ Fixed duplicate painting props.
+ Fixed thrown explosives not being cleared from the item database.

Andrea Doria
+ Fixed unused trigger rooms being present.

Connemara
+ Fixed kitchen trap VFX appearing outside of the kitchen.
+ Fixed sun flare appearing through the roof.
+ Fixed unused trigger rooms being present.

Cotopaxi
+ Fixed kitchen trap VFX appearing outside of the kitchen.
+ Fixed gap in geometry in the lift.

Rubicon
+ Fixed players being able to jump on to the lifeboats.

Ahoy Hunters!

We're excited to announce that today The Ship: Remasted has left Early Access!

Since the launch of The Ship: Remasted into Early Access back in February, we have focused on upgrading not just the visuals of the original game, but improving the gameplay mechanics, bots, audio design, animations, online functionality and much more. We love The Ship (many members of our current team worked on the original!) and we didn’t want to just remake the game exactly as it was, but modernise it to bring it to a new audience.



Unsurprisingly, a lot breaks when you move code from 2006 into a modern game engine! This meant that we had to rewrite large parts of the codebase (ahem, almost all of it), which took much longer than anticipated.

We made the decision to change a few features, and updated some of the more outdated game design as well. In lots of ways, Remasted has been a great opportunity to address some of the feedback the game has had over the years, even as far back as the original Gold Source mod (hello 2004)! Overhauling the UI and in-game messaging has made the game easier for new players to pick up, while still maintaining the feel and fun of the original. The emphasis was improving the feel or functionality of things, so we have changed or removed features to that effect.


Now that the online multiplayer features and servers have weathered much of the developmental storms and are now sailing calmer seas, we’re planning some community vs. developer play sessions, streaming, and more. Don’t forget, you and your friends will also get a free copy of the original The Ship: Murder Party when you buy The Ship: Remasted.

Moving The Ship: Remasted out of Early Access marks the point where we see the core gameplay as complete and something that provides an enjoyable experience. However, this does not mean the end of updates! Just as we have continued to update Distant Star: Revenant Fleet, we will continue to work on The Ship: Remasted to make it the best it can be. The die-hard fans among you may feel that some features are ‘missing’. As with any game development, we’ve had to prioritise certain features over others. Our goal here has been to create the most enjoyable game we can, and this will still be the case moving forward.

Our priority in the short term will be to catch and throw those pesky bug stowaways overboard. We’d also love to add new content, such as characters and maps, as and when possible.

Of special note, we want to thank all of our community testers and everyone who bought The Ship: Remasted in Early Access for your support - as a small team, it means so much to us. We urge you to keep the feedback coming on the forums so we can continue to update and improve the game with your wishes in the forefront of our minds.

We’ll be releasing an updated Road Map in the next couple of weeks so you can see what’s coming next. A few things to look forward to are: achievements, a quick-play button to get you into populated online matches faster, and more bot and server improvements.



Oh, and do remember, the forums reely are a safe plaice to have a good sea pun.

-- The Ship Remasted Team.


--

Without further ado, here is the Version 1 patch notes!


Improved features list

• Much improved visuals, from environmental rendering to character, prop, and sky-box redevelopment. UI and splash screens have been redesigned throughout.
  
• Full server and server-browser support is now back in operation for the first time in years -- now it’s easy to play together. Listen servers are now a thing.
  
• Improved messaging. It was very confusing for new players to know what they were doing in the original game. We’ve added a lot more information about what’s happening and what you should be doing.
  
• The Ship deck plan re-design has made it easier at a glance to understand where you are on the ship, your quarry’s last known position, and where the nearest interactions are to satisfy your needs or go to the Bank.
  
• Inventory re-design - made the process of equipping items and organising them within the inventory more intuitive, and improved the general navigation of the inventory
  
• UI overhaul - streamlined the UI to get the most useful information on the screen, and got rid of stuff that wasn’t imperative (or could live somewhere else)
  
• Security and trespassing - moved vast majority of the security to make new security zones that are friendlier to new players. Added better trespassing indications so it’s more clear when you’re somewhere you shouldn’t be.
  
• Spawning - spawn points have been randomised so that you spawn all over the ships, not just in the cabins. This encourages movement around the ships, and helps stop spawn camping (particularly in Deathmatch!)
  
• Entirely new bot AI. This still has a few teething problems, but is much improved over the ‘lurker’ AI in the original.
  
• There’s a whole host of other refinements and requested improvements -- check out our patch list for details.
  
• We’ve added 7.87% more puns, just for the halibut. (7.88%)
  
  
  New Features
  
  New levels
  + Cotopaxi level added.
  + Rubicon level added.
  
  Optimisation
  + Implemented LODs on all characters.
  + Optimised camera effects.
  + Optimised materials and shaders.
  + Materials collapsed and reduced to 1 material/shader where possible on props.
  
  UI
  + Release Notes no longer appear by default on the Main Menu screen.
  + Create Server and Arcade Mode pop-ups now have sliders for setting human/bot players.
  + The top kill from the previous round is displayed in a pop-up.
  + Improved messaging when player is unable to connect to a game.
  + Removed "Alpha" references and replaced with "Build".
  
  Game rules
  + Players can only switch between Hunter and Passenger between game rounds.
  
  Spawning
  + Added new spawn points outside of cabins to all levels.
  + Randomised the spawning more.
  + Added transition fades when the player respawns.
  
  Bots
  + Bots enabled for online games.
  + Improved weapon searching.
  ++ Bots either look again for a top 20 MFK weapon or stick with what the find.
  ++ A top 20 MFK weapon is preferred over any weapon by a 3:1 factor.
  + Improved navigation.
  ++ Ensured all the interactions have nearby navigation probes.
  ++ Added check to see if the point passed in is already on the mesh before choosing the nearest probe.
  ++ Bots consider navigating to more rooms with containers to prevent them rapidly changing direction.
  + If Bots aren't attacking they are considerably more likely to react to the sound gunfire.
  + Bots no longer have a random delay between checking security status.
  ++ Bots always holster their weapon if their next path point is in a secure area.
  
  Atalanta
  + Tweaked trap floor animation to move back slightly so it's less forgiving.
  
  Connemara
  + Removed the second player spawner from first class cabins in Connemara.
  + Removed the security area from the security booth in Connemara.
  
  Andrea Doria
  + Removed trespass zone from the Marco Graza storage area in Andrea Doria.
  + Removed Mr X room and added wall in Library.
  
  Huronian
  + Removed collision around pool in Huronian.
  
  New navigation mesh
  + New navmesh generated for each level.
  
  
  Bug Fixes
  
  Networking
  + Fixed the movement of other players appearing 'laggy'.
  + Fixed lag spikes when attempting to hit other players.
  + Fixed lag spikes when equipping or swapping weapons.
  + Fixed other players appearing in the wrong location when sleeping or sitting.
  + Fixed player spawning positions not being synchronised across dedicated servers.
  + Fixed interacting with an object while running causing clients to lose animations.
  
  UI
  + Fixed "Hunters Remaining" text in Elimination not updating when Hunters become passengers.
  + Fixed "Talk" and "Push" options being incorrectly displayed on the CSI menu.
  + Fixed certain character positions on passwords not functioning.
  + Fixed player location not being updated after they were killed innocently.
  + Fixed missing key bindings text on the Options menu.
  + Fixed Quarry portrait being visible when the player is asleep.
  + Fixed character names disappearing too quickly after interacting with them.
  + Fixed sauna description being used for shower trap examination.
  + Fixed CSI menu not appearing when trap deactivated.
  + Fixed "Time Between Rounds" and "Countdown To Hunt" being available to edit in Deathmatch and/or Elimination.
  + Fixed Quarry icon appearing on deck plans in Deathmatch.
  + Fixed server name and password fields having unlimited amount of characters.
  + Fixed white squares appearing on the Inventory.
  + Fixed LAN game names not handling uses of colons (:)
  + Fixed Arcade Mode pop-up window not showing map description.
  + Fixed the word "Asian" not being capitalised in the Turban's description.
  + Fixed the description of Male Fedora hat missing a comma.
  + Fixed players being able to edit the Esc menu key binding.
  
  Bots
  + Fixed Bots keeping their weapons equipped and constantly attacking after a kill.
  + Fixed Bots issue where you could not interact with anything after attacking a Bot.
  + Fixed Bots failing in Deathmatch when entering security areas.
  + Fixed Bots not dropping purses or wallets after being killed.
  + Fixed Bots queuing in security areas waiting for their Quarry to leave the area.
  + Fixed Bots not reacting to attacks.
  + Fixed Bots navigation becoming broken when the level changed.
  + Fixed Bots beginning to strafe when attacking.
  
  Weapons
  + Fixed weapons flickering when spawning on the ground.
  + Fixed players colliding with weapon pickups.
  + Fixed weapons not being cleared from the inventory after being thrown.
  + Fixed weapons despawning when in the process of being picked up.
  + Fixed other players joining causing you to equip/unequip weapons.
  + Fixed switching between empty and full syringes not updating the model.
  + Fixed clients not being able to see holstered weapons on the host being equipped.
  + Fixed no SFX on firearms when used by bots.
  + Fixed no animation occurring when switching between versions of the same weapon.
  + Fixed host player being unable to equip weapons after a client joined.
  + Fixed out of sync audio fire rate of the Blunderbuss.
  + Fixed wall mounted Winchester and Blunderbuss not spawning correctly.
  + Fixed wall mounted Claymore not being removed when picked up.
  + Fixed shank and stabbing attacks not leaving decals.
  
  Characters
  + Fixed pickup animations to play for relevant heights.
  + Fixed client players' heads disappearing for one frame.
  + Fixed being unable to change clothing items during the twirl animation.
  + Fixed players floating in interactions without interaction points.
  + Fixed missing fingers on female animations.
  + Fixed ragdoll not falling when frozen.
  + Fixed frozen VFX not appearing on the character when jumping.
  + Fixed brig uniform material becoming separated from character arm when stabbing.
  
  Spawning
  + Fixed players spawning in the holding room if killed innocently.
  
  Needs
  + Fixed the constantly reducing fatigue on suicide/innocent death, allowing infinite running.
  + Fixed being able to run without increasing fatigue on high lag.
  + Fixed arrows not displaying when needs values increased or decreased.
  + Fixed needs not being reduced if killed innocently.
  
  Props
  + Fixed no collision on bookshelf prop.
  + Fixed transparent material on toilet tissue prop.
  
  Map changes
  + Fixed map transition not occurring correctly when Map Time reaches 0 during Game End screen.
  
  Game rules
  + Fixed players being assigned a Quarry who is no longer in the game loop when a Quarry is reassigned.
  
  Shops
  + Fixed being able to interact with shops through the storefront.
  
  Windows
  + Fixed windows being unbreakable on dedicated servers.
  
  Player management
  + Fixed players being able to leave and rejoin the game to vote twice.
  
  Atalanta
  + Fixed no collision on the bell prop.
  + Fixed spawned weapon floating on the Bow Deck.
  + Fixed the trap camera not being activated when players die in the paddle trap.
  + Fixed guards in courtroom having interactions.
  + Fixed security office having interactions.
  
  Andrea Doria
  + Fixed 'Menswear' text overflow on the Deck Plan.
  + Fixed freezer trap VFX clipping through ceiling and floor.
  + Fixed guards in courtroom having interactions.
  
  Batavier
  + Fixed incorrect material applied to the deck bell.
  + Fixed interactions present on the filing cabinet, chair and vault bar doors in security office.
  + Fixed guards in courtroom having interactions.
  
  Connemara
  + Fixed fire VFX falling through and being visible on decks below the fireplace.
  + Fixed missing collision on large oval bench.
  + Fixed missing collision on the prison archway.
  + Fixed missing collision on wall behind Foyer receptionist.
  + Fixed guard interactions present in the Courtroom.
  + Fixed props and geometry being enabled in the Mr X room.
  + Fixed bots not being able to use bench.
  
  Huronian
  + Fixed double weapons being spawned in the pool container.
  + Fixed incorrect material applied to the deck bell.
  + Fixed players being able to jump through windows.
  + Fixed no collision on Cargo Hold door.
  + Fixed wardrobes in 2nd Class Cabins disappearing.
  + Fixed Deck Plan to match updated level design of Deck D.
  + Fixed interactions on box in satan room.
  + Fixed props and geometry in lower satan room.
  
  Krassin
  + Fixed collision on the stairs preventing player moving.
  + Fixed no collision on the map table.
  + Fixed there being no level collision around the view decks.
  + Fixed overly loud horn SFX.
  + Fixed decal overlapping in the Cargo Hold.
  + Fixed chair in the security office having an interaction present.
  + Fixed disabled props and room geometry in the room beside the Security Office.
  + Fixed disabled props and room geometry in radiation trap room.
  + Fixed trigger rooms in security and sickbay areas to allow for bot interaction.
  
  
  
  

Ahoy Hunters!

We come with a treasure trove of new features and fixes for you again this month. Here’s an overview of some of the changes but you can see the full patch notes below.

+ The swimming pool on the Huronian is now open. Just in time for the end of summer so go have yourself a Murder Pool Party!


+ Juiced up the HUD, in-game prompts and player management tools. The HUD in particular has changed quite a bit and now includes a portrait of the character you are playing.

+ Loads on work on optimisation and bug fixes. We did a sweep of each of the playable levels and squished a variety of bugs. We also tweaked the placement of Security cameras in a few of the ships to encourage players to move around more.

+ Oh and what’s this?


As always, you can also give suggestions, report a bug, ask questions or generally chat about the game on our Steam Forums.

Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, so please do come and help us make this game the well-mannered murder-fest it deserves to be.

Bon Voyage!
- The Blazing Griffin Team


New Features

Optimisation
+ Optimised lightmaps on all levels.
+ Optimised textures on all levels.
+ Optimised bots.
+ Optimised string messages.
+ Optimised character textures.
+ Optimised ambient VFX.
+ All textures for props compressed and changed to correct format.

Player management
+ Players can now vote through the UI using an option on the Esc Menu.
+ Players can now vote to change the map or game mode.

UI
+ Join Server: Merged Dedicated and Listen tabs to 'Online' tab.
+ Join Server: Defaults to "No Games Available" message in the list.

HUD
+ Player's character portrait is now shown at the top left of the HUD.
++ Reduced the size of the Needs HUD to 85% of the original size.
++ Reinstated the targeting reticule on the Quarry portrait.
++ Added bars over your own portrait for if/when you get jailed.
++ Moved the build number over, because the health HUD is no longer in the way of it.
++ Moved the chat down to sit just above the build number.
+ Implemented Deathmatch 'Quarry' HUD.

Bot behaviour
+ Bots will ignore their Needs until they are a higher value if they are hunting or attacking.

Andrea Doria
+ Security cameras added outside the 3rd Class Cabins.
+ Security removed from Orion Lounge.
+ Added a cardboard box with mannequin hands in Marco Graza staff room.
+ Added cardboard box with flare gun in Housekeeping.

Atalanta
+ Added props under the stairs on the Bow Deck.

Batavier
+ Security camera removed from corridor outside 3rd class bedrooms.
+ Engineering and Bridge are now witness trespassing areas.

Connemara
+ Security guard removed from the corridor outside the bank.
+ Removed Security Booth security.

Huronian
+ Opened swimming pool area.
+ Moved the room trigger to better define the lobby and the bank office trespassing areas.

Krassin
+ Steam trap in Engine Core turned off by default.


Bug Fixes

Weapons
+ Players no longer spawn on fire after being killed by a flare gun on low health.
+ Correct texture is now applied to the Truncheon.

Breakable Glass
+ Networking fixes to ensure broken glass is consistent across the client and server.
+ Glass now makes the appropriate sound when broken with melee weapons.
+ Thrown weapons can now break glass if they are travelling fast enough.
+ Windows on the Bridge in Atalanta are now breakable.
+ Both panes of glass in Connemara first class cabins are now breakable.
+ Weapons no longer float in Huronian's windows when thrown.

Player Management
+ Fixed incorrect values being read from the server.cfg file.

HUD
+ Fixed Needs countdown timer not appearing after reaching extreme multiple times.
+ Player position no longer displayed as “0th” when respawning.
+ Correct number of Quarry kills is now displayed at the end of the game.
+ Messages are displayed in the correct order when player dies of high Needs.
+ Equipping/dying while in a container/shop no longer leaves an interaction icon in the middle of the screen on clients.
+ Game winner message is no longer shown behind the pop-up box.

UI
+ Create Server: The 'Server Type' filter is no longer blocked by any text.
+ Join Server: Drop down menus no longer appear under the buttons.
+ Join Server: No longer need to refresh Join Server Dialogue to select rows when changing tabs.
+ Join Server: Previously selected buttons no longer remain highlighted.
+ Join Server: Handles wrong or unsupported values when loaded from the server.cfg file.
+ Baseball bat icon added to Credits main menu option to replace duplicate revolver icon.

Characters
+ Hair colour now remains consistent when changing hats.
+ Fixed dark occlusion texture on female farmer clothing.

Andrea Doria
+ Fixed geometry disappearing on Deck A.
+ Fixed player being unable to throw weapons into the Swimming Pool.
+ Fixed gaps in the open elevator shaft.
+ Fixed wrong texture on champagne bottle cork in skeleton's hand.
+ Fixed missing valve wheels on engineering control panel.

Batavier
+ Fixed bank teller interaction showing talk option rather than withdraw/deposit cash.
+ Fixed issue where the knife rack was not spawning anything.

Connemara
+ Bench in the Security Office can now be sat on.
+ Box in Housekeeping is now a container.
+ Fixed being able to jump behind the ropes in the Gallery.
+ Fixed z-fighting textures at the back of the lockers in the Security Office.

Krassin
+ Fixed sun flare appearing through walls on Deck D.
+ Player can now jump from Deck C to Engineering stairs consistently.
+ Players can now jump over railings when standing on crates beside them.
+ Fixed gap in geometry beside shower door in the brig.
+ Camera moved to correct position.

Huronian
+ Fixed floor disappearing on Pool Deck when looking at the ground.
+ Moved trigger room areas to prevent Bank Lobby trespassing area overlapping into the Office.
+ Moved crowbar in changing room so it is no longer floating.
+ Easier to enter and exit the Satan Room.
+ Added missing light prop above pool cues in the Games Room.
+ Correct material applied to the airtight door in the Cargo Hold.


What's on its way

We are working hard in the coding yards, are going through all your feedback, and will be releasing regular builds as we pop in more rivets.

We even have a plan! Check out The Roadmap if you want to see what the future holds and what we're working on next.

Ahoy Hunters!

It’s been a little while since our last update but we’ve been working on squashing bugs, streamlining the UI, optimisation and setting up player management tools. Below is a quick overview of the bigger changes. See the patch notes below for the full run down.

+ Not playing by the rules? Players with too many cold-blooded or innocent kills will now be automatically kicked from servers. You will be warned a few times before you’re kicked, and given a reason so make sure you keep the rampages confined to Deathmatches! You can also vote to kick players by entering their player ID in the console. Check out Lee's Guide to Banning Murder Party Poopers on the forums to learn on how to use the new player management tools.



+ The UI in The Ship: Murder Party needed some streamlining and updating so we’ve removed, tweaked and added a few new elements to address this. This includes features that seem obvious but improve the player experience - especially for new players to The Ship.

+ After weeks and week of bailing us out, our code team finally tracked down and plugged a horrendous memory leak on our dedicated servers. You should now see a reduction in player lag and crashes!

+ We squashed a lot of bugs!


What's on its way

We are working hard in the coding yards, are going through all your feedback, and will be releasing regular builds as we pop in more rivets.

We even have a plan! Check out The Roadmap if you want to see what the future holds and what we're working on next.

You can also give suggestions, report a bug, ask questions or generally chat about the game on our Steam Forums.

Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, so please do come and help us make this game the well-mannered murder-fest it deserves to be.

Bon Voyage!
-- The Ship: Remasted Team.

New Features

Player Management
+ Players can now be banned by entering their player ID in the console.
+ Players are kicked for excessive killing of innocent players.
+ Kicked players are informed why they have been banned.

Optimisation
+ (Ongoing) optimisation of draw calls and occlusion portals across all levels.
+ Improved performance when spawning items.
+ Reduced database search time for MFK table.
+ Significant improvement to performance spike when first equipping a weapon.
+ Item spawning improved on Connemara.
+ Bots no longer create a DB compound where it is not required.
+ Reduced garbage generated when checking for crimes using the Justice system.
+ Localisation component no longer uses string.Format, saving on garbage every time it updates.
+ Reduced garbage generated by the Needs system.
+ Data no longer sent every frame when a player is present in a Trespass Area.
+ Reduced amount of garbage generated by security objects by about a third.
+ Removed A.I. rig from the Security Guard models.
+ A.I. rig is now removed from a normal player if running a Dedicated or Listen Server.

UI
+ Added game mode description pop-up on game entry.
+ Removed the hunter/passenger select screen on game entry.
+ Improved player health visibility.
++ Added health bar, damage vignette and poison vignette.
+ Waiting for next round HUD Quarry icon added.
+ Improvements to end-of-game messaging.
++ Players now get notified when there are 60, 30 or 10 seconds until the game ends.
++ Added a win reason to the Game Winner pop-up.
+ ‘Hunters remaining’ indicator added for Elimination game modes.
+ Text on trespass bar now changes based on whether you are currently being witnessed or not.
+ HUD Fixes including less obtrusive cross hair and scaling of messaging.
+ Refined cross hair after feedback. Smaller, more transparent and removed centre circle.
+ Added IP address to the Join Server screen.
+ Added fade to front end UI.

Needs
+ Increased the rate of Needs across all settings.

SFX
+ Increased the base volume of all sounds in the game by 10%.
+ Water splash SFX added.

VFX
+ Enlarged scorch decals.
+ Water splash VFX added.

Dedicated Servers
+ Added timestamp to Server Console Logging.
+ Added date to server console timestamp.
+ Added Server Log file.

Controls
+ Added keyboard binding option for ToggleConsole.

Credits Scene
+ Credits scene implemented.

Other
+ You can now hit the return key to hit the "OK" button on the password entry screen.


Bug Fixes

Andrea Doria
+ Location markers no longer block the room name pop-up appearing.
+ Fixed trap VFX clipping through walls and floors.

Atalanta
+ Changed the colour of the paddle trap wood to be consistent with the rest of the deck.
+ Fixed character colliding with wall lights in Orion Lounge next to Sickbay.

Connemara
+ Can no longer get behind the bank counter.

Krassin
+ Fixed issues with shadows being cast from decals.
+ Fixed duck prop being positioned too low on book shelf.
+ Fixed items spawning in lockers to be more relevant for the ship.

Dedicated Servers
+ Fixed horrendous memory leak on dedicated servers.
+ Same purse or wallet can no longer be picked up multiple times.
+ Fixed some issues where extreme lag would cause games to break entirely.
+ Fixed random game mode function not working on dedicated servers.
+ Fixed duplicate ‘[Player] has joined the game’ messages appearing on the server log.
+ Stopped outputting "Player has come aboard" on server after a player has been replaced (changed sex).
+ Stopped Dedicated Server trying to initialise and update Steam Controller.
+ Fixed player info not being removed when they disconnected.

Game Settings
+ Fixed values for Maximum/Minimum Participants and Witnesses that exceed game limits.
+ Increased Time Between rounds minimum value to 10 seconds to ensure Quarries are designated correctly.

Characters
+ Fixed characters repeatedly jumping (bouncing up and down).
+ Fixed characters turning into floating heads after killing their quarry.
+ Characters should now also flinch backwards or forwards based on the direction of the hit.
+ Characters should no longer slide while flinching.
+ Corrected world leader blendshape names and enlarged their pupils (UVs).
+ Animations no longer occur when the game is started.
+ Fixed character continuing to swing or fire weapon when the game ends.

Items
+ Fixed spawners never clearing their list of spawned items after they had been destroyed.

Interactions
+ Bunk bed interaction camera now displays two beds instead of just bottom bunk.
+ Single beds no longer allow two people to interact with them at the same time.
+ Fixed interaction not being reset correctly - when you took a drink from a can via Inventory after sleeping, your camera would switch back to the bed instead of showing you drinking.

VFX
+ Created new particle VFX of vomit and tweaked splatter material properties.
+ Removed dynamic lights from the muzzle flashes.

UI
+ Join Server panel can now scroll down.
+ Amount of servers displayed now reflects only the active servers.
+ Fixed the position of the number of servers display.
+ Players no longer see the cursor during the end-game states.
+ MFK, Needs and Leaderboard no longer stay on screen during extreme Needs/arrested.
+ Inventory and Deck Plans no longer stay on screen during extreme Needs/arrested.
+ Deck Plans handle removing MFK/Leaderboard/Needs when active.
+ MFK/Leaderboard can handle being on-screen at the same time.
+ Fixed the grammar in the text for the Sauna information localisation.
+ Resume game button is no longer permanently highlighted in the Esc Menu.
+ A lot of the HUD UI was intercepting raycasts which was unnecessary.
+ Turned off Passenger Info on HUD by default so it doesn't stay up in WL and Deathmatch modes.

Traps
+ Fixed duplicate animation triggers in various maps for steam traps.
+ Weapons should now fall when the Atalanta paddle trap is activated.

Chat
+ Chatbox now persists through death.
+ Chat no longer controls player actions after death/game end.

Steam Controller
+ Can now enter server passwords using the Steam Controller.
+ Change status UI prompt now features a glyph for Steam Controller pause button.

Options
+ Fixed the Apply button not closing the Options menu.
+ Fixed default controls button not switching controls back to the default value.

Other
+ Fixed crash when closing game while bots are enabled.
+ Fixed low message queue limit causing errors to appear.
+ Room triggers were not properly removing players from the "playersInRoom" list when toggling back and forth on the boundary of two or more rooms.

Today's Deal: Save 66% on The Ship: Remasted!*

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

*Offer ends Friday at 10AM Pacific Time

The hugely popular World Leaders Pack is now available in The Ship: Remasted as part of a major new free update for the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fHwit949Bo

Not only can you play with the original world leaders such as Thatcher, Castro, Blair and Bush from The Ship: Murder Party, but we’ve added two more potential leaders to the mix - Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. So whether you’re with Hillary or believe Trump can’t be stumped, take up arms and prove who’s the real captain of this ship! Since we’re in the Steam Summer Sale, The Ship: Remasted is 66% OFF right now, so if you buy before July 4th you’ll get it for just £4.99 / 6.79 Euros / $6.79.

Alongside the World Leader’s Pack, this latest update comes with a large number of additional new features and fixes that moves The Ship: Remasted ever closer to the end of Early Access. The full patch notes are linked below but the highlights include:

• The release of the much-requested Mac and Linux builds with the ability to play against people on all platforms.
• Steam controller support – Big picture!
• Lots of further optimisation and bug fixes.
• It’s also the 10th Anniversary of the launch of The Ship: Murder Party!

Starting with the Steam Summer Sale today, not only will there be a special sale price of 66% off, we've gone totally overboard and you’ll now get 2 Ships for the price of 1 when you buy, or own The Ship: Remasted. Oh buoy, what a deal!

For those of you that already own The Ship: Remasted, make sure to update the game in your Steam Library to get access to the freebies. The Ship: Murder Party is still available to buy individually from the Steam Store and is currently 50% off in the summer sale.

For any issues or enquiries, please drop us a mail at support@blazinggriffin.co.
*Please be aware that this is a non-giftable copy. It will be added to your library.

Happy Hunting!
The Blazing Griffin Team

Ahoy Shipmates!

Last week we released a massive update which implemented a whole host of new features and fixes. The SS Connemara has now been given the full Remasted treatment and the flare gun is back! We’re especially proud of the new traps and weapons, so please give them a go and leave any feedback in the Forums.

Looking forward, the QA team are working their way through the Mac and Linux builds ready for the next update and yes, you will be able to play with people across platforms. We have a dedicated member of the code team focusing purely on optimisation and polish. So although you may see fewer new features coming up, the aim is to improve what we have in place. Similar to the UI overhaul that was included in last week’s update.



Lead Concept Artist Paul has been hard at work creating new staff portraits to decorate the Ships with. We’ll share more of them with new staff introductions, starting today with our new Head of Marketing: me!

I've been a part of the UK Gaming Industry for some time and has worked at the likes of Ubisoft, Square Enix and spent the last few years at Bethesda. I've made a big jump from Brighton to Edinburgh to join the Blazing Griffin team and I'm already on the phone far too much. A little bit more about me: I really likes creepy crawlies, jazz, and I'm especially pleased with the Brienne of Tarth-style portrait (so cool).



Expect to see me popping up on the Steam forums as BG_Kay. In addition to the everyday marketing and PR stuff, I will be looking after all of the social media pages, YouTube, and events. My next task is to put together some scheduled play times so you can find people in your local time zones to play with and have a chance to play against some of the dev team. Do let me know if you have any thoughts on this! I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all.

As always, keep an eye on Steam and Twitter for updates and happy hunting!

Ahoy Hunters!

Sailing into port is a new update for The Ship: Remasted, with a cargo hold full of anticipated features. We have traps! There is breakable glass! Did someone say a chat function? And wait, is that the S S Connemara?

A whole host of deadly new features are present in this build:

+ SS Connemara: The Connemara refurbishment has been completed and has sailed into port. Check out that sleek 1920s style, are those new paintings in the gallery? …wait is that a Picasso? You’ll notice the ship has been renovated to fulfil your every need, whether it’s playing pool in the games room, leisurely imbibing in the Aquila Bar or embedding an axe into your quarry’s head in the luxurious environs of the Cassiopeia Restaurant. Check to make sure every rivet is where it is supposed to be, the ship’s dangerous enough without having to worry about a lifeboat falling on your head…

+ Traps: Speaking of lifeboats falling on your head, all the ships have got even more dangerous with both old and new environmental traps! Eliminate your quarry in even more style with freezer, steam and lifeboat traps. See if you can eliminate your quarry with all the new ones!



+ Breakable Glass: Is your quarry just out of reach in the Orion Lounge? Is that pesky glass window stopping you from taking them out? Well not anymore! All the windows have been installed with breakable glass, now there really is nowhere to hide.

+ New weapons: We’ve added the Syringe and Flare Guns back into the ship, giving you even more ways to kill your quarry. There is still some polishing to be done on these weapons and the vfx but we wanted to get them in your hands as soon as possible!



+ Chat: We’ve added a simple text chat function into The Ship, now if you’re feeling brave you can taunt your hunter or let your quarry know you’re coming for them! Use T to bring up the chat.

If you spot any out of place rivets, bulletproof glass or non-functioning traps be sure to let us know on the Steam forums!

Bon Voyage!



PATCH NOTES

New Features

Traps
+ Andrea Doria
++ Kitchen Trap, Nuestra Lugar Kitchen, Deck B.
++ Sauna Trap, Sauna, Deck D.
++ Sauna Trap, Sauna, Deck D.
++ Shower Trap, Brig Shower Block, Deck D.
++ Dual Steam Trap, Engineering, Deck D.
+ Atalanta
++ Paddle Trap, Outer Deck, Deck B.
++ Shower Trap, Brig Shower Block, Deck C.
+ Batavier
++ Shower Trap, Shower Block, Deck A.
++ Dual Steam Trap, Engineering, Deck A.
++ Kitchen Trap, The Manhattan Kitchen, Deck B.
++ Shower Trap, Brig Shower Block, Deck B.
++ Single Steam Trap, Corridor, Deck B.
+ Connemara
++ Single Steam Trap, Engineering, Deck A.
++ Kitchen Trap, Cassiopeia Kitchen, Deck A.
++ Sauna Trap, Sauna, Deck C.
++ Shower Trap, Brig Shower Block, Deck C.
+ Huronian
++ Kitchen Trap, Nuestra Lugar Kitchen, Deck B.
++ Kitchen Trap, Mall Café Kitchen, Deck B.
++ Shower Trap, Male Showers, Deck D.
++ Shower Trap, Female Showers, Deck D.
++ Shower Trap, Brig Shower Block, Deck D.
+ Krassin
++ Dual Steam Trap, Bow Deck, Deck C.
++ Single Steam Trap, Engine Core, Deck D.
++ Shower Trap, Brig Shower Block, Deck D.
+ Freezer and sauna traps last for 10 seconds and do 60 DPS.

Levels
+ Connemara level added
+ Connemara - Added Need modifiers for sauna.
+ Connemara - Updated lockers to use male and female locker spawners.
+ Updated Connemara lighting.
+ Tweaked some textures to reflect light a little better.
+ Huronian - Added a winchester to the games room.
+ Huronian - Spawn destinations updated with new spawners.
+ Atalanta - Removed barrier and added collider to paddle at the back of the ship.
+ Atalanta - Spawn destinations updated with new spawners.
+ Atalanta - Slightly reduced volume of outside loop and bridge radio loop.
+ Andrea Doria - Added Need modifiers for sauna.
+ Andrea Doria - Updated lockers to use male and female locker spawners.
+ Andrea Doria - Spawn destinations updated with new spawners.
+ Batavier - Spawn destinations updated with new spawners.
+ Krassin - Spawn destinations updated with new spawners.

Breakable Glass
+ Implemented breakable glass
+ All windows and glass materials set up and fixed.

Chat
+ Implemented chat system
++ T - player/passenger chat
++ U - identity chat - use /w, /s and /y
+ Fixed long chat not appearing in chat lines.
+ Block empty strings as chat.
+ Don't send chat when the Input Field loses focus.

UI
+ Changed all open sans light text to regular.
+ Work on UI font problems and added the quit screen.
+ Added new round info text to the Quarry portrait.
+ Location text banner fades but remains on screen.
+ HUD work including Bribe bars and pop up drop down work.
+ Added the option 'Minimum Participants' to the Create Server pop up.
+ Changed all open sans light to regular as well as button and tab spacing problems.
+ Tab buttons - added new art assets.
+ Deckplans - work on tidying Deckplan UI and added room info to map key.
+ UI cleanup work and key binding.
+ Work on Deckplan Player/Quarry glow/pulse animation.
+ Work on Deckplan pulses and arrows, which are now complete.
+ Title menu Keyboard text changes.
+ Added new text body to Quarry lost/ killed portrait animations pop up.

VFX
+ Scaled up the size of scorch decals.
+ Created large water splash VFX.
+ Screenshake is now applied in a wider radius than damage.
+ Polished VFX explosion.
+ Impact decal polish pass - lighter debris particles - smaller/smoother slash marks.
+ Made vomit texture more opaque and blended out the alpha edges.
+ Created player teleportation effect.
+ Polished frozen player ice VFX.

Audio
+ New sounds added to guns.
+ Further audio mixer tweaks to bring the ambient sounds to correct levels.
+ Increased the volume of all the ambient mixers.

Weapons
+ Implemented syringes: poison and sleep.
+ Implementing poison and sleep syringe effects. Contains major animator updates to allow for vomit anim.
+ Syringe projectile now produces a smaller blood spurt when it hits other players. Smalled blood spurt was also added to the pooled VFX.
+ Flare guns added.
+ Adjusted firing speeds of guns slightly.
+ Turned off muzzle flash game objects.
+ Explosion audio should be much louder until you're quite far away.
+ Updated bullet shell physics material.
+ Updated ejected shell for tommy gun and winchester.
+ Increased the persistence of shells from 10 seconds to 60 seconds.

Animations
+ Polished lifeboat anim and made ‘Need Medical’ animation loopable.
+ Tinted vomit textures green.
+ Added animation to lifeboat trap and lever.
+ Vomit animation added for poisoned characters.

Props
+ Improvements to portrait assets.
+ Updated release valve model.

Servers
+ Added server stats output to console for Dedicated and Listen server.
+ Added version string to output when Server Console starts.

Other
+ Name Generator can now be supplied with names to ignore in regular play.
+ Changing character now visually displays the new character to the user.


Bug Fixes

Stability
+Fixed Deathmatch mode disconnections from Dedicated Servers after a few minutes of play.

Audio
+ If a weapon gets stuck in a weird position the collisions will no longer cause the Audio Manager to be spammed with ‘hit noise’ requests.
+ Moved first-person anim events off of the first frame and turned looping off to prevent sounds triggering twice (male player should no longer play attack swing sound twice).

Characters
+ Fixed ragdoll pose not being copied from player.
+ Fixed players take no damage at start of new game/map change.
+ Fixed players spawned on top of each other upon entering game.
+ Dedicated Server - new character model no longer spawns where player died briefly.
+ Fixed jumping anim going continuously when jump button is held down.
+ Added ragdoll camera effects (disabled by default).
+ Can no longer run while fatigue need is extreme.
+ Respawning in jail no longer gives the player a jail outfit, and doesn't give their portrait random glasses/hats.
+ Fixed ragdoll camera not being deactivated after death and changing sex.

Props
+ Vending machine text resized.

Bots
+ Fixed bots being moved from respawn position to initial net position when replacing player.
+ Identity change now no longer breaks for bots.

Levels
+ Krassin - can no longer interact with prison water fountain from outside prison.
+ Rooms can now have Need events.
+ Huronian - fixes to floor spawners.
+ Huronian nav mesh fixes.
+ Work on Huronian prison bench bug.
+ Huronian - giant pass on navmesh. General bug fixes.
+ Atalanta - fixed level being occluded while looking through small spaces such as prison bars.
+ Atalanta - fixed sun flare appearing through walls.
+ Hid lantern flame on Deck A Atalanta.
+ Fixed Connemara lighting, tweaked reflection probes to better light certain areas.
+ Fixed up some Connemara lighting and tweaked materials a bit.

Game Rules
+ Fixed map transition not occurring correctly when map time reaches 0 during Game End screen.

Options
+ Antialiasing now being turned back on in when on high graphics.
+ Improved Antialiasing Image Effect for player cams by changing to "DLAA".
+ Antialiasing Image Effect is now always off, shouldn't be needed if Antialiasing is on.

UI
+ UI bugs fixed including some for localisation and radial menu.
+ Huronian Deck Plan - fixed female toilet text bug.
+ Fixed Random Map image not present on Arcade Mode screen.
+ Mousewheel can now scroll through the different decks of Deck Plans.
+ Fix for Inventory displaying "Character Name" rather than the actual name of the character.
+ Needs messages are no longer displayed when you satisfy the Need/are killed when the Need is extreme.
+ Needs UI no longer gives random float values (i.e. 14.999999)
+ Windowed and Fullscreen tokens changed in Video Options panel.
+ Fixing issues with slider bars on options menu.
+ Work on pop ups, the wallet collider size, and title menu.
+ Bribe bars - fixes to both assets including bar thickness and backing bar transparency.
+ Added the pulse to the player and Quarry icons in the Deckplan screens.
+ Deckplan player/Quarry pulse animations checked and fixed where needed.
+ Character names are once again displaying correctly, rather than "Character Name" or "-???-".
+ The "Welcome Aboard" message is now only displayed on initial spawn.
+ Inventory description now displays ammo for weapons in shops and containers.
+ Non-firearm weapons no longer have their ammo amount changed from "N/A" to "0".
+ Scoreboard takes less time to appear.
+ Inventory/Deckplans cannot be opened during end game, and Inventory/Deckplans are automatically closed at game end.
+ Map and Inventory HUDs can no longer be opened while dead as a ragdoll.

Servers
+ Fixed network address when broadcasting data, now possible to join LAN and Listen servers.
+ Fixed Bots not loading correctly on dedicated server.
+ Fixed Bots animating for Dedicated Server.
+ Fix for connecting directly to a server from Steam Browser.
+ Fixed some Listen Server disconnection issues.
+ Countdown message is sent to only Hunters on the Server.
+ Fixed a timing issue where clients were not getting the countdown message.
+ Removed dependency on "bot_quota" server config var, using "bot_hunters" and "bot_passengers" instead now.
+ Fixed multiple players spawning in the same location.
+ Fixed duplicated console commands and variables after changing level.

Weapons
+ Weapon pickups can now be examined without making them unable to be picked up.
+ Purse Explosion now leaves a scorch decal on the floor.
+ Damage will now be dealt even if the bomb could only target your feet (e.g. under a bed).
+ Purse explosion should be visible unlimited times, rather than just 5.
+ Corrected timing issue between Purse explosion VFX appearing and sound being heard.
+ Fixed Flare audio was not set to loop.
+ Removed duplicate materials on weapons.
+ Fixed 1st-person weapons disappearing near walls by turning occlusion off.
+ Ammo now no longer randomly disappears for your firearm weapons when you holster them.
+ Weapons spawned into the level are now respawning after being picked up.

VFX
+ Explosions now always spawn un-rotated.

Interactions
+ Bugfix for multiple people using the toilet at once.

Animations
+ Fixed attack animation not visible to other players when spamming button.

Other
+ Removed duplicate surname/forname data files.
+’Witness eye always on’ fix.

For the last few weeks, the Connemara has been under lock and key, with no outside source allowed to enter, the sound of sawing and hammering echoing around the docks. But just for you, I’ve bribed the guards and snuck past the security cameras to get you an early look at the Connemara refurbishment. And here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMmmc4xfBWc
Look at that quality, 1920s finish. Although it may not look so clean and pristine after you get your hands on it - hacking it to pieces and filling it with bullet holes during your murder spree...

Connemara will be raising anchor in the very near future!

Dedicated Servers Ahoy!

The past week has been busy at the Blazing Griffin home port with the team prepping the Dedicated Servers for full release. After a short stay in the testing branch, they were released last week into the main line. After watching the servers sail into the open seas, the team were able to catch a quick breath before moving on to the next feature.

Traps are now making the rounds through each department - Code have been implementing their functionality, Design have added them to each of the ships and Art have made the corresponding VFX and animations ship-shape. This week, traps will handed over to QA to begin internal testing before they are rolled out to players.

Code and Design have also been hard at work on the special case weapons - Flare guns, wallet bombs and Syringes - ironing out all the details on how they should be functioning, with Flare Gun kills being being especially tricky (should you be blamed for the person you set on fire setting someone else on fire? What if someone purposely walks into the flare you shot into the wall?). This gives us the opportunity to look at how they worked in The Ship: Murder Party and tweak them if we think it's necessary.

The Code team has also started work on the in-game text chat feature, allowing you to tell your quarry exactly who whacked them in the back of the head with that axe! Connemara will be ready for release in the next few weeks – we’re currently adding the final touches and giving it one last check before you can fill it’s cabins with the sweet, sweet sound of murder. Breakable glass has had its first internal testing pass, and there have also been some tweaks to the graphic settings, providing better performance on the lower settings.

Good news for those of you who haven’t yet purchased the game – we’ve extended the loyalty discount until the 30th of June! If you own The Ship: Murder Party, you will receive 25% off The Ship: Remasted.

And finally, last Monday the team observed Ham Day, a day where we celebrate all things ham!



Make sure to follow us on Twitter (@BlazingGriffin, @TheShipGame) and on Facebook (BlazingGriffin, TheShip) to keep updated.

Happy Hunting!

Ahoy Shipmates!

With this patch we’ve moved Dedicated Servers to the open seas and out of the testing drydock! This will allow for the setup of Dedicated Servers that don't require the The Ship: Remasted to be running. If you are hosting a Dedicated Server you will need to ensure your ports are open so that people can see the server and connect.

Opening your ports

If you wish to run a dedicated server please open the following ports;

• TCP/UDP 7776-7778
  
• TCP/UDP 443
  

Ahoy!

We've fixed the missing sound files in The Ship: Remasted and released a new patch today for the game and the Dedicated Server. Both are available on the external beta branch (beta access code: remastedtesting).

Make sure you update both The Ship: Remasted and Dedicated Server tool to keep their versions in sync.

The Anonomous Dedicated Server will update itself when the batch file is run. If you are already running an anonomous Dedicated Server, please re-run the batch file to update (Find the files ).

As always if you encounter problems do let us know in the steam forums.

Happy Hunting!

Ahoy!

We’ve released an update to the test branch for the Dedicated Servers to fix some problems. Some players were unable to see the Dedicated Server in steam tools due to an issue with steam. The Dedicated Server tool will now be visible to all players who own the game.

Players were also experiencing difficulty running the anonymous server. This is now working as expected and servers should now be able to be run anonymously after the update. It will update itself when the batch file is run, so if you are already running a server please re-run the batch file (although the files can also be found )

As always if you do encounter problems let us know in the steam forums.

Greetings Shipmates!

The team at The Ship: Remasted’s home port have been busy with a number of different features.

Over the weekend the Dedicated Servers sailed into the test branch harbour, surviving the sudden gales and rough seas. The Dedicated Servers are available on the Testing Branch (accessed using the password: remastedtesting in the steam beta tab). Help on how to set up your own dedicated server can be found here. If you spot any problems with running or playing on the Dedicated Servers, let us know in the relevant Steam forum threads.

Note: You’ll will need to ensure the game and the dedicated server have the same version number in order to join.

Aside from the Dedicated Servers the team have been working on several new features. Expect these in the coming weeks!

Localisation is in its final stages. QA have identified some words and phrases that are missing from certain languages. This is mainly text that has been added to the game during development, such as during the UI overhaul where some words had been changed or added. We may be looking for help to localise these words so if you’re interested in helping have your spyglass handy and keep a lookout in the near future.

Design have implemented the Sauna and Freezer traps, complete with vfx from Art. They are now moving on to the more demanding traps like the lifeboats and Atalanta’s Paddle Trap. These are slightly more complicated to implement, needing animations added to them.

Art have also been working hard on implementing breakable glass into the game. Most ship windows are now able to be broken either by hitting it with a weapon or shooting the windows out. A number of these breakable windows add polish to the game, some however will give your hunter a chance to strike just as you begin to let your guard down. Art have also been tweaking the UI to improve messaging a number of game mechanics to the player.

Flare guns and Syringes are close to making a return! These weapons stand out from others because of their special properties requiring special code support. These have only just begun development but should make an appearance soon!

Ahoy!

Today, Dedicated Servers have sailed into the test branch for external testing!

This is the initial release of the Dedicated Servers as such they are in the very early stages and you WILL see bugs AND encounter problems. The point of releasing this patch to the test branch is to get you to break it. We need to stress test how much the server can handle and when it breaks.

Opening your ports

If you wish to run a dedicated server please open the following ports;

• TCP/UDP 7776-7778
  
• TCP/UDP 443
  

It's been all hands on deck here at Blazing Griffin and over the past few weeks the team have been busy, busy, busy! We may have seemed somewhat serene of late, but our feet have been going like mad under the waterline...

Our code team are working hard on getting dedicated servers ready for external testing and to make them as easy as possible to download and set up. These are currently in internal testing so expect to be able to set a up dedicated server soon! Also, along with dedicated servers, is the option to specify a map cycle file which will change map at the end of a game to begin the rampage on a new ship! Code have also been working on implementing further game audio so expect no more highly trained ninja passengers! You’ll now hear them sneak up behind you and go in for the kill.

The Art team have been working to ensure all UI elements are capable of displaying the languages that will be supported. Localisation is now in testing making sure everything is translated to German, Spanish, Italian, French, Polish and Russian (Japanese is still planned but at a later date). As you can expect, going through all of the in-game text for each of these languages is a big task so bear with us if you spot a random English word or two when playing in a different language. Art have also been adding facial animations to player characters, so no longer will your hunter stare blankly into your soul while swinging that axe for the final blow.

Design have also started work on Ship traps. They are still in the very very early stages and are yet to even go into internal testing. These traps include the sauna, freezer and lifeboat traps so soon you can kill your target without even breaking a sweat (or if you do break a sweat, you’ll have a dangerous sauna to relax in afterwards).

Today we have added Listen Servers to The Ship: Remasted.

Listen servers act a bit like LAN games that run through the internet, so that anyone can join. These allow players to host their own games and have others join and unlike relay servers, they are not limited by regional restrictions. Listen servers are currently limited to 8 players.

To host a listen server you have to ensure the correct ports on your router are opened. If they are not then your game will not be visible in the server browser and players will not be able to connect to you. So other players can join please configure your firewall/port forwarding by opening ports: UDP/TCP 443, 7776-7778. Once you have opened the correct ports you can create a server by selecting ‘Listen’ in the server drop-down menu in the Create Server dialogue.

You can check if your game is visible to others by opening the Steam Server Browser (in the steam client click view then Servers) and selecting The Ship: Remasted from the games list. You can also filter servers by using the options in the ‘Change Filters’ panel too.

To join a Listen Server game, select join a cruise from the menu and look in the ‘Listen’ tab or you can join using the Steam Server Browser by selecting The Ship: Remasted from the games list, choosing a server then clicking connect.

You can also join your friend’s server directly by right clicking their name in steam and selecting ‘Join Game’, or they can send you an invitation to their game.

If you are unable to see your friend’s server in the list or join their servers using the steam invite ensure that you and your friend are on the same version number.



We'd appreciate your help testing Listen Servers and in particular, we're looking for feedback on:

• Crashes and disconnections while playing a match
  
• General feedback on the sticky topics in the General Discussion forum.
  

Today we have added Listen Servers to The Ship: Remasted.

Listen servers act a bit like LAN games that run through the internet, so that anyone can join. These allow players to host their own games and have others join and unlike relay servers, they are not limited by regional restrictions. Listen servers are currently limited to 8 players.

To host a listen server you have to ensure the correct ports on your router are opened. If they are not then your game will not be visible in the server browser and players will not be able to connect to you. So other players can join please configure your firewall/port forwarding by opening ports: UDP/TCP 443, 7776-7778. Once you have opened the correct ports you can create a server by selecting ‘Listen’ in the server drop-down menu in the Create Server dialogue.

You can check if your game is visible to others by opening the Steam Server Browser (in the steam client click view then Servers) and selecting The Ship: Remasted from the games list. You can also filter servers by using the options in the ‘Change Filters’ panel too.

To join a Listen Server game, select join a cruise from the menu and look in the ‘Listen’ tab or you can join using the Steam Server Browser by selecting The Ship: Remasted from the games list, choosing a server then clicking connect.

You can also join your friend’s server directly by right clicking their name in steam and selecting ‘Join Game’, or they can send you an invitation to their game.

If you are unable to see your friend’s server in the list or join their servers using the steam invite ensure that you and your friend are on the same version number.



We'd appreciate your help testing Listen Servers and in particular, we're looking for feedback on:

• Crashes and disconnections while playing a match
  
• General feedback on the sticky topics in the General Discussion forum.
  

Today we have added Listen Servers to The Ship: Remasted.

Listen servers act a bit like LAN games that run through the internet, so that anyone can join. These allow players to host their own games and have others join and unlike relay servers, they are not limited by regional restrictions. Listen servers are currently limited to 8 players.

To host a listen server you have to ensure the correct ports on your router are opened. If they are not then your game will not be visible in the server browser and players will not be able to connect to you. So other players can join please configure your firewall/port forwarding by opening ports: UDP/TCP 443, 7776-7778. Once you have opened the correct ports you can create a server by selecting ‘Listen’ in the server drop-down menu in the Create Server dialogue.

You can check if your game is visible to others by opening the Steam Server Browser (in the steam client click view then Servers) and selecting The Ship: Remasted from the games list. You can also filter servers by using the options in the ‘Change Filters’ panel too.

To join a Listen Server game, select join a cruise from the menu and look in the ‘Listen’ tab or you can join using the Steam Server Browser by selecting The Ship: Remasted from the games list, choosing a server then clicking connect.

You can also join your friend’s server directly by right clicking their name in steam and selecting ‘Join Game’, or they can send you an invitation to their game.

If you are unable to see your friend’s server in the list or join their servers using the steam invite ensure that you and your friend are on the same version number.



We'd appreciate your help testing Listen Servers and in particular, we're looking for feedback on:

• Crashes and disconnections while playing a match
  
• General feedback on the sticky topics in the General Discussion forum.
  

Today we've released Listen Server functionality for testing.  This is available on the testing branch (details on how to access it here).

Listen Servers are essentially LAN games which can be accessed by anyone via the Internet, so won't have the regional restrictions that Hosted Relay matches currently have.  Listen Server matches are currently capped at 8 players for the purpose of testing, but will be available for 16 players soon.

If you see your game on the list then you are good to go. If you don't - close the game and keep tweaking until you see your game in the list.

We'd appreciate your help testing Listen Servers and in particular, we're looking for feedback on:

• Crashes and disconnections while playing a match
  
• General feedback on the sticky topics in the Closed Testing forum.
  
• This build also contains a large number of new additions and bug fixing.

Ahoy Shipmates!

The team has been testing Listen Servers which will offer an additional way to create and join matches online. These will allow you to create multiplayer matches with a mix of up to up 16 players and bots across the Internet (effectively opening a full LAN game to exterior players). This is progressing well and we hope to have this rolled out for public testing this week.

This week’s patch is a big one with a lot of detailed improvements such as new animation additions (and improvements to existing animations), refinements to quality settings and a host of UI improvements. Bots have also had a number of tweaks (such as improving their run speed in relation to players) and generally making them a little smarter.

In preparation for localised content we’ve changed the font used to Open Sans to accommodate non-English characters. Much of the underlying work is complete and we’re currently resolving minor issues with the system before rolling it out.

Remember, anyone who owns the game can access the test version (which will usually be a week or two ahead of the live version). Details of how to access the test version can be found in the Closed Testing forum.

Community Spotlight

• Unity@GDC16. Check out Unity’s keynote speech at GDC. Things we’re proud of: 1) Remasted getting a laugh. 2) Remasted almost being spelled incorrectly. 3) Being included in Unity’s keynote speech. In that order. ;)
  
• THIS IS NOT A FEATURE! We promise.

Ahoy Shipmates!

Another busy week in the Blazing Griffin studio!

We've revised the development roadmap to include Linux and Mac builds as features. It’s something we wanted to include sooner, but couldn’t quite commit to it publicly, but now we’re happy to announce they’re in the pipeline!

Progress has also been made on the issues with Unity Cloud Service - Unity have increased our CCU cap which will more than accommodate the number of players we could expect online at any one time. Although there are still bandwidth limitations in place that mean games will still be capped at 4 players for the time being, we hope this separate issue will be resolved soon also.

Work is progressing well on Listen Server functionality which will allow players to host and join games without regional restrictions. Internal testing has been going well and we’ll likely roll this functionality out for public testing within the next week or two.

Remember, anyone who owns the game can access the test version (which will usually be a week or two ahead of the live version). Details of how to access the test version can be found in the Closed Testing forum.

Community Spotlight

Each week, we’ll highlight some interesting topics from the Steam forums that might be of interest to you. Drop by the discussions and share your thoughts.

• Spotlight - Melissa Knox. To celebrate International Women’s Day this week, we published a blog post looking at the work our Producer, Melissa has done since joining the company.
  
• Testing on Real, Live Humans. We put together a small blog post to give you an insight into how we’ve gone about testing The Ship before we launched and how we’ll approach it going forward.
  
• Yogscast go on a murderous rampage. The third video in their series. Please note this is an earlier build - we’re currently on v0.7.8301.
  

Huronian map now available

No patch notes - just a new map. Enjoy!