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Plans for 2024
[ 2024-03-25 18:02:03 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captains!
We thought we'd keep you in the loop about our plans as it's been a while since our last update:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/551860/view/3672159223604827173
This October will mark our 5-year anniversary of the full release of Abandon Ship, and you'll know from our other anniversaries we like to give away free updates that coincide with them, so we're planning on doing something similar later this year.
Recently we've been busy on our new game, which releases today. You may recall in our last free update one of the new ships was themed around this new game:
We thought that if Abandon Ship was giving a shared-world nod to SENTRY, then it was only fair that SENTRY returned the favour, so we hid a piece of Cult-themed graffiti in one of the levels:
A bit of fun? Or a hint towards the MCU-equivalent for Fireblade Software?
Anyway, do check out SENTRY if defending spaceships is your sort of thing.
Oh and we've heavily discounted Abandon Ship - I like the idea that when we launch a new game, we also have a sale on our previous games as a sort of studio celebration. Since we're only 2 games in to our journey, consider this the start of a tradition :)
Thanks for all the support, and we'll see you in the Autumn...
The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2024-03-25 18:02:03 CET ] [ Original post ]
Pirates versus Ninjas!
[ 2024-01-22 19:38:00 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy there Captain, you should be sure to check out all of the excellent games in the fest that Valve are currently running: Pirates versus Ninjas!
What's more, you can grab Abandon Ship for 70% off - show them ninjas who's boss!
[ 2024-01-22 19:38:00 CET ] [ Original post ]
WDC World Oceans Day Charity Sale
[ 2023-06-12 10:09:58 CET ] [ Original post ]
We are excited to announce that we are once again supporting WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation for World Oceans Day!
The WDC World Oceans Day Sale is already live and runs until 15th June, 10am PDT 2023, and you can save a fin-tastic (groan) amount of money on loads of awesome games. We will also donate some of our net profits to WDC to support their conservation work.
WDC, Whale and Dolphin conservation (UK registered charity no. 1014705) is the leading global charity dedicated to the protection and conservation of whales and dolphins.
Their aim is to reverse the global decline in whale and dolphin populations by:
- Stopping cruelty from deliberate harms such as whaling and captivity.
- Creating safe seas, free from the threat of pollution, collisions with vessels and accidental entanglement in fishing gear.
- Winning recognition of whales and dolphins as sentient, socially complex beings, and our allies in the fight against climate and nature breakdown.
[ 2023-06-12 10:09:58 CET ] [ Original post ]
2023 Anniversary Update!
Weve added three new ships to the game, meaning since our full release weve now expanded the roster with 15 free ships! Heres what the latest additions look like:
The left and centre ships are of the Cutter and Schooner classes, and to acquire their blueprints youll need to capture them intact once youve encountered an enemy version. The right-most vessel is a Warship class, and cannot be attained in the usual fashion. This one is unlocked upon completing a special event that has an accompanying achievement. For those that have been following our work, you may find this particular ship oddly reminiscent, and thats because weve based it on the player character from our upcoming game SENTRY. Heres some concept art of that new ship alongside a model of a SENTRY for comparison:
Because this is a special case ship, you wont see any enemy with this skin; its a player-only vessel. As to where the event is located, I wont spoil anything as I know some of you are very good at detective work :) If youre interested in learning about SENTRY, you can check it out here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1252680/SENTRY/ Weve also done some other small updates which you can find listed in our patch notes. For existing owners, if you see the version number has updated in the main menu to 1.3.19921, you have the latest build. Thanks for the continued support! The Abandon Ship Crew PS heres our social links if youd like to be kept up-to-date on our latest news: Twitter TikTok Facebook YouTube Discord Instagram Website You can also follow our studios page on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/firebladesoftware/
[ 2023-02-17 15:49:36 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captains!
Rewind 5 years to February 2018 and we released Abandon Ship into Early Access, so we thought it appropriate to mark the occasion with a new free update.
The night we launched, we shot to 4th in the Global Top Seller charts, which was an amazing accomplishment for our little micro-studio to achieve on its debut title.
Whats new?
Weve added three new ships to the game, meaning since our full release weve now expanded the roster with 15 free ships! Heres what the latest additions look like:
The left and centre ships are of the Cutter and Schooner classes, and to acquire their blueprints youll need to capture them intact once youve encountered an enemy version. The right-most vessel is a Warship class, and cannot be attained in the usual fashion. This one is unlocked upon completing a special event that has an accompanying achievement. For those that have been following our work, you may find this particular ship oddly reminiscent, and thats because weve based it on the player character from our upcoming game SENTRY. Heres some concept art of that new ship alongside a model of a SENTRY for comparison:
Because this is a special case ship, you wont see any enemy with this skin; its a player-only vessel. As to where the event is located, I wont spoil anything as I know some of you are very good at detective work :) If youre interested in learning about SENTRY, you can check it out here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1252680/SENTRY/ Weve also done some other small updates which you can find listed in our patch notes. For existing owners, if you see the version number has updated in the main menu to 1.3.19921, you have the latest build. Thanks for the continued support! The Abandon Ship Crew PS heres our social links if youd like to be kept up-to-date on our latest news: Twitter TikTok Facebook YouTube Discord Instagram Website You can also follow our studios page on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/firebladesoftware/
[ 2023-02-17 15:49:36 CET ] [ Original post ]
Guildford Games Festival 2022!
There's an unusually high concentration of games studios in Guildford and it has a rich gaming history, so it's awesome to be able to showcase these all in one place. If you'd like to find out more, you can visit the guildford.games website.
[ 2022-12-02 10:56:13 CET ] [ Original post ]
We're very happy to be hosting the third iteration of the Guildford Games Festival on Steam, which runs from December 1st through to the 5th.
All of the games on Steam developed in the GU postcode area can be found on this page, many with discounts so it's a great opportunity to pick up some deals!
Click on the image below to be taken to it:
Just like in the 2020 and 2021 versions, the page artwork contains nods to local landmarks (this time the castle and statue on top of the cathedral feature heavily) as well as plenty of references to the games made in Guildford.
Here's the artwork from previous years:
2020:
2021:
There's an unusually high concentration of games studios in Guildford and it has a rich gaming history, so it's awesome to be able to showcase these all in one place. If you'd like to find out more, you can visit the guildford.games website.
[ 2022-12-02 10:56:13 CET ] [ Original post ]
Abandon Ship is part of the War Child Steam Event
[ 2022-08-26 10:13:24 CET ] [ Original post ]
Abandon Ship is in the War Child Steam Sale from 24-31 August!
A % from every copy sold will go to War Child, which supports children affected by war in Ukraine, Yemen, DRC, CAR, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Check it out here, get some games and feel good about supporting a worthy cause:
https://bit.ly/GameAction
(you can also click on the banner at the top of our Steam store page while the event is active)
[ 2022-08-26 10:13:24 CET ] [ Original post ]
Patch: Version Number "1.3.18557"
[ 2022-07-11 16:39:35 CET ] [ Original post ]
This patch is to fix a bug that was raised on the Steam forums about an issue with the Devilrock tutorial. If the player triggers the Devilrock event in the port, then opens up the Ship Management menu and removes all the mortars from their deck, then enters the event as usual they would become stuck.
[ 2022-07-11 16:39:35 CET ] [ Original post ]
Latest Build Patch Notes
[ 2022-06-23 08:56:30 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captain,
As we mentioned here, we're updating the game with some of the additions from our recent ports - the first of this is some general bug fixes:
- Fixed a bug with the AI demanding surrender. The option to choose surrender meant the player received a reward instead of a penalty.
- In the Haunted Revenge quest (in the Shattered Empire region) only three of the four gates would bar. This meant you could escape the map when you shouldn't have been able to.
- Polish translation polish - 4 missing strings have now been localised, about 280 minor spelling, grammar, capitalisation corrections.
- Fixed some broken quotation marks on newsletter names.
- Added new newsletter names, removed hard bounces and unsubscribes.
- Made the Fireblade Software logo on the main menu a clickable button that opens the Steam overlay and a browser to our studio Steam page.
- Added a capsule to show our latest game.
[ 2022-06-23 08:56:30 CET ] [ Original post ]
Soundtrack updated with a bonus song!
[ 2022-06-15 16:46:36 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy there Captain!
We've updated our soundtrack with a bonus song. For a recent trailer we thought it'd be cool to do our take on a classic sea shanty - but of course this being Abandon Ship it had to have a dark twist on it >:)
You can find the soundtrack from our composer Aaron Miller here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/848370/Abandon_Ship__Official_Soundtrack/
If you already own it, then the new song should automatically download.
If you'd like to hear the song, here's the trailer with it on:
[previewyoutube=55_ogTN8yOw;full][/previewyoutube]
(If you're interested, we talk a little about how the mobile versions will impact the PC here)
We're hoping to have a small update for the PC version soon!
Thanks,
Gary, Alex & Adam
[ 2022-06-15 16:46:36 CET ] [ Original post ]
WDC World Oceans Day Charity Sale
[ 2022-06-10 17:54:23 CET ] [ Original post ]
We are excited to announce that we are supporting WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation for World Oceans Day!
The WDC World Oceans Day Sale runs until 13th June, 10am PDT 2022, and you can save a fin-tastic (groan) amount on Abandon Ship - we'll be donating 50% of our net profits to WDC to support their conservation work.*
WDC is the leading global charity dedicated to the protection and conservation of whales and dolphins. WDC defends these remarkable creatures against the many threats they face by fighting to stop whaling, end captivity, prevent accidental entanglement and deaths in nets and create healthy seas. They also advocate for the vital role that whales and dolphins play in fighting climate change and keeping our planet healthy. Their vision is a world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free.
If you want to read more about WDC, you can do so here: https://uk.whales.org/
You can find many other amazing games in the sale here: https://bit.ly/OceansDaySteamSale
Thank you for joining us and for supporting WDC!
*50% of our net developer revenue from this sale will support Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Whale and Dolphin Conservation is a UK registered charity (no. 1014705)
[ 2022-06-10 17:54:23 CET ] [ Original post ]
New platforms incoming!
[ 2022-04-12 18:16:20 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captains!
Along with our partners from PID Games, were pleased to announce that Abandon Ship is coming to new platforms!
First up is the mobile version, which you can pre-order from the Apple Store here and the Google Play Store here.
There's a few reasons we're posting about that on Steam:
- There's been some features for the new platforms to do with optional crew automation, camera zooming and panning in combat that if they're suitable, we'll look to getting in the PC version.
- Spending more time on the game has flushed out some obscure bugs we'll port across to PC.
[ 2022-04-12 18:16:20 CET ] [ Original post ]
Revisit the Haunted Seas this Halloween!
The Haunted Seas revolves around the story of a Captain with a tragic past, lured to Death's own realm for past deeds.
Once you've entered the area the normal rules don't always apply, so expect to navigate environments unlike ones you'd usually encounter...
Some of which are actively hostile and will seek to crush you:
You may find yourself trapped in maze-like warrens, or maps that require a riddle to be solved to allow progress:
Your main adversary are the ghostly vessels that prowl these dark waters:
(Remember that you can equip these ship blueprints/skins if you can capture them intact!)
These ships are manned by soulless automatons, individually weak, but can be resurrected by the tough Wraith-Captain, so for players who like anti-crew tactics, focus your fire on the leader.
Each of these ghost ships comes equipped with a special Mortar:
Once the shells detonate on your deck, they spawn a horde of weak zombies - make sure they don't swarm lone crew members. As if Ghost Ships weren't enough, there is also a Zombie Kraken stalking one of the maps:
You can choose to access this realm in either the main game or via a standalone story. For those who wish to dive into a 2-hour(ish) self-contained story, choose "The Haunted Seas" option from the New Game option on the main menu. If you're in the main game and you've got past Act 1, the world map opens up. Sail toward the north-west corner and you can gain access to the Haunted Seas here:
Then visit the port of Mox-Mortis and commence the side-quest. As with all of our side-stories and the main game, they cross over in interesting ways - so it is possible to obtain the Ghost Mortar weapon for yourself if you successfully escape the Haunted Seas and then visit a secret location elsewhere in the world.
If you're in the mood for more horror-themed areas, visit Duskvale in the Shattered Empire region - and if you crave a particularly oppressive and insidious expedition, visit the Spider Islands. This entire area is permeated with arachnids of all shapes and sizes, huge webs trailing between islands:
In battle, giant spiders descend on both ships, a constant threat that makes battles particularly dangerous:
If you suffer from arachnophobia, perhaps best steer clear of this region! Happy Halloween, From the Abandon Ship crew
[ 2021-10-26 15:16:14 CET ] [ Original post ]
Happy Halloween, Captains!
We thought we'd surface to remind you about a particularly spooky part of the game that you may wish to revisit...
The Haunted Seas
The Haunted Seas revolves around the story of a Captain with a tragic past, lured to Death's own realm for past deeds.
Once you've entered the area the normal rules don't always apply, so expect to navigate environments unlike ones you'd usually encounter...
Some of which are actively hostile and will seek to crush you:
You may find yourself trapped in maze-like warrens, or maps that require a riddle to be solved to allow progress:
Your main adversary are the ghostly vessels that prowl these dark waters:
(Remember that you can equip these ship blueprints/skins if you can capture them intact!)
These ships are manned by soulless automatons, individually weak, but can be resurrected by the tough Wraith-Captain, so for players who like anti-crew tactics, focus your fire on the leader.
Each of these ghost ships comes equipped with a special Mortar:
Once the shells detonate on your deck, they spawn a horde of weak zombies - make sure they don't swarm lone crew members. As if Ghost Ships weren't enough, there is also a Zombie Kraken stalking one of the maps:
How to reach the Haunted Seas
You can choose to access this realm in either the main game or via a standalone story. For those who wish to dive into a 2-hour(ish) self-contained story, choose "The Haunted Seas" option from the New Game option on the main menu. If you're in the main game and you've got past Act 1, the world map opens up. Sail toward the north-west corner and you can gain access to the Haunted Seas here:
Then visit the port of Mox-Mortis and commence the side-quest. As with all of our side-stories and the main game, they cross over in interesting ways - so it is possible to obtain the Ghost Mortar weapon for yourself if you successfully escape the Haunted Seas and then visit a secret location elsewhere in the world.
Other Horror-themed areas
If you're in the mood for more horror-themed areas, visit Duskvale in the Shattered Empire region - and if you crave a particularly oppressive and insidious expedition, visit the Spider Islands. This entire area is permeated with arachnids of all shapes and sizes, huge webs trailing between islands:
In battle, giant spiders descend on both ships, a constant threat that makes battles particularly dangerous:
If you suffer from arachnophobia, perhaps best steer clear of this region! Happy Halloween, From the Abandon Ship crew
[ 2021-10-26 15:16:14 CET ] [ Original post ]
Anniversary Update!
Fireblade Software has been nominated for the best Micro Studio category in the Develop Star Awards! This has been a lovely surprise, especially to be nominated among such other fantastic micro-studios.
You may have noticed on the Abandon Ship page a mention of this, which is our new game! It's very early in development, and while we'll eventually have a snazzy announcement trailer we thought we'd put our work-in-progress up on a Steam page. It shares some interesting elements with Abandon Ship that may not be initially apparent, so check it out - and if you're interested or want to stay updated on our progress, smash that Wishlist button ;) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1252680/SENTRY/
Stay safe out there Captains, and thanks for all the support! The Abandon Ship crew
[ 2020-10-22 17:02:12 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captain!
Earlier this year we celebrated our Early Access anniversary by giving away some free ships, and as it's been 1-year since we released version 1.0, we're doing it again!
Here are the three new vessels we've added in this latest free update:
These correspond to the Frigate, Galleon and Cruiser classes, so if you come up against one in battle and manage to capture it intact, you can equip it's visual blueprint and command it yourself.
To continue with the celebrations, the game is 50% off for a Daily Deal, so move quick to snap it up - it won't be discounted this much for a while.
To check you have the latest version, the number in the bottom-right corner of the main menu should read "1.3.14934" or later.
Best Micro Studio Nomination
Fireblade Software has been nominated for the best Micro Studio category in the Develop Star Awards! This has been a lovely surprise, especially to be nominated among such other fantastic micro-studios.
What's SENTRY?
You may have noticed on the Abandon Ship page a mention of this, which is our new game! It's very early in development, and while we'll eventually have a snazzy announcement trailer we thought we'd put our work-in-progress up on a Steam page. It shares some interesting elements with Abandon Ship that may not be initially apparent, so check it out - and if you're interested or want to stay updated on our progress, smash that Wishlist button ;) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1252680/SENTRY/
Stay safe out there Captains, and thanks for all the support! The Abandon Ship crew
[ 2020-10-22 17:02:12 CET ] [ Original post ]
Message in a Bottle...
We've got a small update that we're planning on releasing late October. It's got some cool free content we're sure you'll enjoy and we'll probably time it to coincide with our one-year anniversary of full release. If you want to get your name in the game as a randomly generated crew-member, there's still time to make that update, so if you're interested read the following for all the details: https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/3025727250385485868
We're splitting our time between Abandon Ship and our new super-secret project. We've not shared anything on that yet but if you're curious to learn more, your best bet for an early notification is to follow us on our developer page here: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/firebladesoftware We'll also have some more Abandon Ship-related news to share when the time is right, but I'm reminded of the phrase "loose lips sink ships" so will keep schtum ;) Hope you're all keeping well in these weird times. 2020 can walk the plank! The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2020-09-17 15:53:26 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy, me hearties!
With "International Talk Like a Pirate Day" rapidly approaching, what better time to provide an update on goings-on at Fireblade Software HQ :)
To get in the pirate-themed mood, I suggest listening to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBmpDE9-0A4&t=34248s&ab_channel=SUPERSKRAT
Incoming Update
We've got a small update that we're planning on releasing late October. It's got some cool free content we're sure you'll enjoy and we'll probably time it to coincide with our one-year anniversary of full release. If you want to get your name in the game as a randomly generated crew-member, there's still time to make that update, so if you're interested read the following for all the details: https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/3025727250385485868
What next?
We're splitting our time between Abandon Ship and our new super-secret project. We've not shared anything on that yet but if you're curious to learn more, your best bet for an early notification is to follow us on our developer page here: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/firebladesoftware We'll also have some more Abandon Ship-related news to share when the time is right, but I'm reminded of the phrase "loose lips sink ships" so will keep schtum ;) Hope you're all keeping well in these weird times. 2020 can walk the plank! The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2020-09-17 15:53:26 CET ] [ Original post ]
Patch: Version Number "1.2.14089"
[ 2020-04-30 16:23:35 CET ] [ Original post ]
We've added more improvements to the Simplified Chinese, Polish and German translations. We've also fixed a bug in a quest where a new Friend or Enemy could be displayed incorrectly.
[ 2020-04-30 16:23:35 CET ] [ Original post ]
New Language Added: Polish!
[ 2020-04-07 08:41:32 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captains,
We hope you are all well in these exceedingly strange times.
We've added Polish to the game, which we're really happy about because it was an oft requested language.
This joins our roster of the following supported languages
[ 2020-04-07 08:41:32 CET ] [ Original post ]
Languages Patch: Version Number "1.2.13897"
[ 2020-04-06 14:27:22 CET ] [ Original post ]
Note - this post originally appeared here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/3100105561264326785/ We're re-posting it so that it appears in the correct "recently updated" section in the Library, otherwise you would have to search the forums to see it. We've added the latest Simplified Chinese translations, completing this language. The work-in-progress Polish translations have been made available, approximately 50% of the text has been translated. Finally, we've made some adjustments to Japanese and Simplified Chinese that should make the text much more legible in the UI boxes. While this doesn't solve every single instance, in general the text is much more readable where previously it was too small.
[ 2020-04-06 14:27:22 CET ] [ Original post ]
Patch: Version Number "1.2.13770"
[ 2020-04-06 14:25:08 CET ] [ Original post ]
Note - this post originally appeared here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1752401163881328237/ We're re-posting it here so that it appears under the "recent updates" section, otherwise you'd need to search the forums to find it. To celebrate the 2 year anniversary of our Early Access launch, we've released three new ships to fight against and equip once you've captured their blueprint. We've also made some other changes/improvements/fixes, the full list is as follows:
- Changed Galleon health from 8500 to 8000 (this now sufficiently differentiates it from its neighbour classes)
- Game Language can now be changed via the in-game Settings menu
- Added new Sloop, Corvette and Man O War ship variants
- Fixed the Ship names database becoming broken after the first time it is used (so the ship name was defaulting to "Ship")
- Possible to get extra crew on a particular outcome of the "No Food" event even if you had maximum crew already. This was because the "Gain Friend" node didn't have the check for any room on the ship upon entry to the node.
- The key rebinding option menu now has tooltips.
- Added latest newsletter names and removed unsubscribes and hard bounces.
- Minor text fixes across multiple languages, lots of Spanish text improvements and new Chinese lines.
[ 2020-04-06 14:25:08 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hot-Fixes: Version Number "1.0.13398"
[ 2020-04-06 14:22:44 CET ] [ Original post ]
Note: We're re-posting our post full release patch notes that were originally logged in the forums. This post originally appeared here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1638675549005813704/ Added a failsafe check to our loading clean-up code to ensure it runs even if the first attempt fails.
[ 2020-04-06 14:22:44 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hot-Fixes: Version Number "1.0.13338"
[ 2020-04-06 14:18:49 CET ] [ Original post ]
Note - this post originally appeared here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1694969361104233456/ It has been duplicated here so it shows up in the appropriate section. We collected a handful of hot-fixes and updated the main branch with them. If the version number in the bottom-right corner of the main menu ends in 13338 or later, you have them in your game. The hot-fixes are:
- Puppet Master Achievement was not registering correctly
- You can now flee in shallow water combat arenas
- Increased Cult Timer
- The "Wait" button now shows the current time of day
- The Marines Dodge skill was rising too high, so this has been lowered. The Surgeons Heal skill was rising too low, so this has been raised
- Cutting the winch is slightly faster, and on automatic winches it will cease the overboard crew being winched in (giving you a greater chance of cutting them adrift)
- There was a gender specific term used in a message that didn't work if the player chose a female captain (this has been fixed in English, translated versions to follow in a future update).
[ 2020-04-06 14:18:49 CET ] [ Original post ]
steam
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/sangchenghhz
steam
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/
steam
Jericol Xiao
[ 2020-03-17 13:17:49 CET ] [ Original post ]
Anniversary Update!
[ 2020-02-21 18:01:36 CET ] [ Original post ]
Greetings Captain!
Two years ago today we launched Abandon Ship into Early Access. The night we launched we hit 4th in the Global Top Sellers charts, which was an amazing success for our little micro-studio to achieve.
It was an important milestone, as it allowed us to spend time on implementing everything we wanted before leaving Early Access.
To celebrate, not only is the game discounted for a Daily Deal, but we've also added three new ships for you to find - they're from the Sloop, Corvette and Man O War classes - and as long as you can capture their blueprint intact, you'll be able to equip them yourselves:
We've also added the latest batch of Chinese translations, a new language menu plus some other bug-fixes and polish you can read about in the Patch Notes here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1752401163881328237/
To check you have the latest version, the number in the bottom-right corner of the main menu should read "1.2.13770" or later.
Thanks for all the support!
The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2020-02-21 18:01:36 CET ] [ Original post ]
3
steam
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/sangchenghhz
steam
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/
We know that a lot of Chinese gamers are keen to get their hands on the game with a full translation. We're getting close now, and a lot of the text is already translated and available to play.
Jericol Xiao
[ 2020-02-21 14:34:13 CET ] [ Original post ]
Artbook Available Now!
[ 2020-02-05 11:59:18 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captains - We've released an artbook!
"The Art of Abandon Ship" has over 150 pages of lovingly crafted concept art and behind the scenes information on how the game was made.
Starting with our original artistic inspiration, it covers every stage of development to the present day.
If you're interested, check out the store page here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1236550/Abandon_Ship__Artbook/
Below you'll find a few example pages from the book :)
See you on the high seas,
The Abandon Ship Crew
PS - Lots of people ask, but don't worry - new Chinese updates are on the way, our translators are working hard through the over 165,000 words in the game!
[ 2020-02-05 11:59:18 CET ] [ Original post ]
New Languages Added: Japanese Italian!
[ 2020-01-22 11:56:28 CET ] [ Original post ]
Greetings Captain,
We've just added Japanese and Italian languages to the game.
These join our already supported translations for Russian, German, French, Spanish, Turkish and Brazilian Portuguese.
Chinese is next on the list, with just over 40% of the text in-game translated. As we have over 165,000 words it takes a while, but it is coming. Keep an eye on this post for translation progress:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/3726075043726578031/
Korean, Polish and Dutch translations are being done by the community, and they could always do with extra help - if you're interested, there are more details in the following link:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/1693788384130852300/
In the next few weeks, keep an eye out for the release of our Art Book - you can see a sneak preview below. It's got over a hundred pages packed with amazing concept art, behind-the-scenes images and information about how we made the game.
We'll post more about the Art Book plus a little treat we have coming late February closer to the time.
Oh, and we hope you all had a wonderful end to 2019!
The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2020-01-22 11:56:28 CET ] [ Original post ]
Cracking the Secret Code
-- The bottles could appear in any one of 30 maps, spread across multiple regions -- With everything set up, it was just a case of seeing if anyone started following the trail wed scattered around. We had no idea whether this would happen or not, fully expecting to have to drop a more explicit hint several months further down the line. How wrong we were. Abandon Ship graduated from Early Access on 22nd October 2019, and a few comments would crop up in our Discord, asking about the meaning of the messages in the bottle, and whether anyone had success with the barriers in the island building. A thread developed on our Steam forum, titled Password for Barrier. This is where several people started to make good progress narrowing things down. Talking with BeardedS0ul he explained how he took up the hunt: After completing the story and the other modes of the game I still hadn't found the password. So I checked the steam forums to see if I had missed something that others had found. Shout out to Bytor_x86 that pointed me in the right direction. Bytor_x86 was the first person to work out the messages in bottles referenced the MTT posts on the website: No in-game event was about meeting a team, nor finding an assortment of pictures or images, he said. This made me think that I should be looking at developer profiles or something along those lines. Once hed discovered the correct posts on the website, the hunt was on.
The first barrier fell shortly after that, BeardedS0ul explaining I was in the scouts as a child so noticed the Morse code right away, translated it and got an 8-letter result, just the fit for the first barrier. With breaking the second barrier, Bytor_x86 had this to say about using the co-ordinates on one of the posts: Google maps placed me in a park, so I went to check the list of attractions in that park, and found a statue with the name I was looking for. Bytor_x86 originally thought at this point the treasure hunt was completed: After unlocking both barriers and getting the remaining hidden achievement, I thought that was the end. Although the final event message was a bit open-ended, it still gave impression that victory had been achieved! Only when BeardedS0ul in Steam forums insisted that it seems to be deeper, I decided to check the images again. While the in-game portion had thus far been defeated, the second half of the puzzle was yet to be broken. BeardedS0ul details how he used the clues in Aarons post to uncover the secret website: I'm Danish and we learn a couple of different languages, German being one of them, so I recognized the words and googled them, focusing on naval and combat as this seemed to be a theme. Saw that it was about an enigma machine, its model and the settings for it. Found an emulator online, tuned the settings in and decoded the code and got a URL.
The next clue Bytor_x86 solved was the flag symbols: The pattern of the flags immediately drew my attention, so tried to decode it starting with ICS flags. But those were missing some of the flags from the image, so I started looking at other sets. Eventually I found Popham's flags and I recognized the pattern. While the clue was solved, Bytor_x86 confirmed that nobody had yet worked out how it should be used: Figuring what to do with that was another story... Meanwhile, BeardedS0ul was solving the remaining clue: This one sent me for a spin. The legacy of Hashimoto I went with a naval theme search, submarine captains and dead ends. This forced him to take another approach: I went back to the website and inspected its code structure to find clues. I found a reference to a plugin, so the legacy referred to was Kazuhisa Hashimoto's. I know the code by heart and typed it in and that sent me to a new page, one that asked for a login. Only one clue had not been used thus far, and entering this as the password allowed progress to be made. But as BeardedS0ul discovered, it wasnt over quite yet: A new challenge, half of an email address, but could I find the rest? That was when he recalled the final part of the in-game quest: When you pop the achievement in game, you get an event flavour text, which contain another Morse code. Combining the two I sent the message. But did X mark the spot? It did. On the 21st November 2019, the challenge was completed. Bytor_x86 emailed the secret address first, with BeardedS0ul doing so a mere hour later. When I messaged BeardedS0ul to say hed missed out on being the first by an hour, he didnt mind: The quest and challenge was its own reward! he went on to explain that he and Bytor_x86 had even collaborated: We talked and helped each other. We agreed to only help people on Steam in a slightly cryptic manner so as not to ruin it for others. But what of the prize? We wanted to commemorate this in the game, and name the island after the first person to discover it. After discussion with Bytor_x86 he wanted to use his handle, so next time youre sailing through the Breeding Islets and navigate past Bytors Rock, youll know where the name came from.
[ 2019-12-18 14:41:26 CET ] [ Original post ]
There is an island in Abandon Ship with a solitary building on it. Sailing to its event marker will reveal entrances that require multiple codes to enter. By using clues hidden both in the game and our website the doors could be opened. Once inside, the final piece of a puzzle was revealed, allowing one person to win a special prize.
That prize has now been claimed.
This post is the first time Fireblade Software have publicly acknowledged the existence of this treasure hunt, and it will explain how and why we did this, along with quotes from two people going by the handles of bytor_x86 and BeardedS0ul that were racing to crack the code first.
If you wish to complete the puzzle yourself without assistance, itll be best to stop reading now, as below will contain lots of spoilers.
Back in 2016, approximately three months before we would officially reveal Abandon Ship with an Announcement Trailer, we started to create our website.
We knew that players are often interested in the people who make the games they play, so we started to write Meet the Team blog posts.
Collectively we werent enthusiastic about plastering our faces all over these posts, so we decided to show images of our working areas instead. When creating my post, an idea struck: what if we buried clues in the images for observant players to find?
Abandon Ship is a big game. There are over a hundred maps, each one with a unique island and event or quest. This was a very early goal of ours, and I was thinking about the sorts of things we could populate the world with. Having a treasure hunt seemed very appropriate.
With thoughts of the Goonies One-Eyed Willy treasure, along with the James Halliday quest from Ready Player One swirling round my head, a very approximate plan was sketched out:
- That each Meet the Team (henceforth known as MTT post would contain a clue
- In order to read the clue, youd have to maximise the image (the post just showed a thumbnail)
- Except the first one, they should be easy to miss, only observant people would notice them
- The clues should have some sort of nautical theme or association
- You could follow these clues to access something in the game
- This would then allow you to complete the puzzle and the first person to do so would win something unique
- We wouldnt acknowledge the existence of the clues until the whole thing had been solved
-- The bottles could appear in any one of 30 maps, spread across multiple regions -- With everything set up, it was just a case of seeing if anyone started following the trail wed scattered around. We had no idea whether this would happen or not, fully expecting to have to drop a more explicit hint several months further down the line. How wrong we were. Abandon Ship graduated from Early Access on 22nd October 2019, and a few comments would crop up in our Discord, asking about the meaning of the messages in the bottle, and whether anyone had success with the barriers in the island building. A thread developed on our Steam forum, titled Password for Barrier. This is where several people started to make good progress narrowing things down. Talking with BeardedS0ul he explained how he took up the hunt: After completing the story and the other modes of the game I still hadn't found the password. So I checked the steam forums to see if I had missed something that others had found. Shout out to Bytor_x86 that pointed me in the right direction. Bytor_x86 was the first person to work out the messages in bottles referenced the MTT posts on the website: No in-game event was about meeting a team, nor finding an assortment of pictures or images, he said. This made me think that I should be looking at developer profiles or something along those lines. Once hed discovered the correct posts on the website, the hunt was on.
The first barrier fell shortly after that, BeardedS0ul explaining I was in the scouts as a child so noticed the Morse code right away, translated it and got an 8-letter result, just the fit for the first barrier. With breaking the second barrier, Bytor_x86 had this to say about using the co-ordinates on one of the posts: Google maps placed me in a park, so I went to check the list of attractions in that park, and found a statue with the name I was looking for. Bytor_x86 originally thought at this point the treasure hunt was completed: After unlocking both barriers and getting the remaining hidden achievement, I thought that was the end. Although the final event message was a bit open-ended, it still gave impression that victory had been achieved! Only when BeardedS0ul in Steam forums insisted that it seems to be deeper, I decided to check the images again. While the in-game portion had thus far been defeated, the second half of the puzzle was yet to be broken. BeardedS0ul details how he used the clues in Aarons post to uncover the secret website: I'm Danish and we learn a couple of different languages, German being one of them, so I recognized the words and googled them, focusing on naval and combat as this seemed to be a theme. Saw that it was about an enigma machine, its model and the settings for it. Found an emulator online, tuned the settings in and decoded the code and got a URL.
The next clue Bytor_x86 solved was the flag symbols: The pattern of the flags immediately drew my attention, so tried to decode it starting with ICS flags. But those were missing some of the flags from the image, so I started looking at other sets. Eventually I found Popham's flags and I recognized the pattern. While the clue was solved, Bytor_x86 confirmed that nobody had yet worked out how it should be used: Figuring what to do with that was another story... Meanwhile, BeardedS0ul was solving the remaining clue: This one sent me for a spin. The legacy of Hashimoto I went with a naval theme search, submarine captains and dead ends. This forced him to take another approach: I went back to the website and inspected its code structure to find clues. I found a reference to a plugin, so the legacy referred to was Kazuhisa Hashimoto's. I know the code by heart and typed it in and that sent me to a new page, one that asked for a login. Only one clue had not been used thus far, and entering this as the password allowed progress to be made. But as BeardedS0ul discovered, it wasnt over quite yet: A new challenge, half of an email address, but could I find the rest? That was when he recalled the final part of the in-game quest: When you pop the achievement in game, you get an event flavour text, which contain another Morse code. Combining the two I sent the message. But did X mark the spot? It did. On the 21st November 2019, the challenge was completed. Bytor_x86 emailed the secret address first, with BeardedS0ul doing so a mere hour later. When I messaged BeardedS0ul to say hed missed out on being the first by an hour, he didnt mind: The quest and challenge was its own reward! he went on to explain that he and Bytor_x86 had even collaborated: We talked and helped each other. We agreed to only help people on Steam in a slightly cryptic manner so as not to ruin it for others. But what of the prize? We wanted to commemorate this in the game, and name the island after the first person to discover it. After discussion with Bytor_x86 he wanted to use his handle, so next time youre sailing through the Breeding Islets and navigate past Bytors Rock, youll know where the name came from.
[ 2019-12-18 14:41:26 CET ] [ Original post ]
Major Update Released: Blade of the Assassin
Our original combat campaign was a popular game mode from our very first Early Access release. Since then we've added many more environmental modifiers, so we wanted to bring all those together into a new combat campaign. The original had randomised ports and the maps were random-within-groups, which meant that RNG could have a massive influence on a particular run. We wanted this new one to be slightly different, so while there are still ten battles with up to five port visits for you to deliberate over, this time the ports stock all weapons and upgrades all the time, and the combat arenas are in a set order, so you can plan your runs and try different approaches in battle.
Like all our game modes, the story has some cross-over with the main campaign. It focuses on the mysterious Far Haven Assassin's, and for those people who have explored some of the farthest reaches of the world you'll gain insight into a character you meet.
We've added six new vessels for you to fight against and capture their blueprints.
We've chosen ship classes that had slightly fewer variants than others, so these cover the Schooner, Brig, Frigate, Corvette, Galleon and Man O War classes.
There are two new achievements you can get, both related to the new combat campaign. The first can be obtained by winning the final battle, while the second is a slightly tougher challenge. The vessel in the final battle is one of the new ships we've added in the update. It's called the "Fireblade" and is named after our studio. You can only find it in the final battle on this game mode - so the achievement relates to capturing it's blueprint. Remember that you cannot obtain blueprints for ships that are of a higher class than yours, and you start the campaign with a Warship. So you'll need to save enough money to get a better ship, make it to the end and capture it intact. Needless to say it's intended as a tougher challenge ;)
Our Japanese translation is about 90% complete, while our Chinese translation is about 40%. We've put these in the game so that they can receive testing from our community, so if you find any problems please report them on our Translations Steam sub-forum. Once these languages are 100% complete we'll mark them as officially supported, but until then please consider them as work-in-progress.
There's a lot of minor bug fixes and other improvements, and you can read the full list in the patch notes here. There are a few noteworthy additions we wanted to call out: - If there is an environmental modifier in combat it will now be displayed as an icon with tooltip on the middle-right of the combat scene.
- Enemy loadout information is now displayed over the enemy section display, so hover the mouse over individual sections to see what weapons and upgrades they have. This ties into visibility rules, so if you can't see the section health, you won't be able to see their loadout. Either get closer or purchase an Advanced Crow's Nest to gain better insight into enemy vessels weapons. - We wanted to give more reasons for engaging in faction battles, so there are a few changes with this system:
As 2019 winds down, Adam, Alex and I will be taking a well-earned rest - but fear not! Early 2020 has more cool things in store, including Italian, Japanese and Chinese translations plus some other things that we can't quite talk about yet, but as soon as we can you'll be the first to know :) Thanks for the support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-12-12 16:38:12 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captain,
We've released a new Major Update, our first since leaving Early Access. It's titled "Blade of the Assassin" and you can read about all the exciting new additions below.
Your saves from the full release version of the game will work with this update, as will those on the recent Beta Branch update from November.
Here's all the cool new stuff:
Second Combat Campaign
Our original combat campaign was a popular game mode from our very first Early Access release. Since then we've added many more environmental modifiers, so we wanted to bring all those together into a new combat campaign. The original had randomised ports and the maps were random-within-groups, which meant that RNG could have a massive influence on a particular run. We wanted this new one to be slightly different, so while there are still ten battles with up to five port visits for you to deliberate over, this time the ports stock all weapons and upgrades all the time, and the combat arenas are in a set order, so you can plan your runs and try different approaches in battle.
Like all our game modes, the story has some cross-over with the main campaign. It focuses on the mysterious Far Haven Assassin's, and for those people who have explored some of the farthest reaches of the world you'll gain insight into a character you meet.
More Ships
We've added six new vessels for you to fight against and capture their blueprints.
We've chosen ship classes that had slightly fewer variants than others, so these cover the Schooner, Brig, Frigate, Corvette, Galleon and Man O War classes.
New achievements
There are two new achievements you can get, both related to the new combat campaign. The first can be obtained by winning the final battle, while the second is a slightly tougher challenge. The vessel in the final battle is one of the new ships we've added in the update. It's called the "Fireblade" and is named after our studio. You can only find it in the final battle on this game mode - so the achievement relates to capturing it's blueprint. Remember that you cannot obtain blueprints for ships that are of a higher class than yours, and you start the campaign with a Warship. So you'll need to save enough money to get a better ship, make it to the end and capture it intact. Needless to say it's intended as a tougher challenge ;)
Japanese & Chinese Testing
Our Japanese translation is about 90% complete, while our Chinese translation is about 40%. We've put these in the game so that they can receive testing from our community, so if you find any problems please report them on our Translations Steam sub-forum. Once these languages are 100% complete we'll mark them as officially supported, but until then please consider them as work-in-progress.
Other Notable Updates
There's a lot of minor bug fixes and other improvements, and you can read the full list in the patch notes here. There are a few noteworthy additions we wanted to call out: - If there is an environmental modifier in combat it will now be displayed as an icon with tooltip on the middle-right of the combat scene.
- Enemy loadout information is now displayed over the enemy section display, so hover the mouse over individual sections to see what weapons and upgrades they have. This ties into visibility rules, so if you can't see the section health, you won't be able to see their loadout. Either get closer or purchase an Advanced Crow's Nest to gain better insight into enemy vessels weapons. - We wanted to give more reasons for engaging in faction battles, so there are a few changes with this system:
- Defeating a Cult Kraken Boss will now reward you by removing a random negative mental trait.
- Defeating faction pirate ships now reduces wanted level. Handy for if you find yourself pursued by bounty hunters, low on money with no floating outposts about.
- Ports in maps under faction control will now have a small price penalty.
As 2019 winds down, Adam, Alex and I will be taking a well-earned rest - but fear not! Early 2020 has more cool things in store, including Italian, Japanese and Chinese translations plus some other things that we can't quite talk about yet, but as soon as we can you'll be the first to know :) Thanks for the support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-12-12 16:38:12 CET ] [ Original post ]
Beta Branch Updated!
Our original combat campaign was a popular game mode from our very first Early Access release. Since then we've added many more environmental modifiers, so we wanted to bring all those together into a new combat campaign. The original had randomised ports and the maps were random-within-groups, which meant that RNG could have a massive influence on a particular run. We wanted this new one to be slightly different, so while there are still ten battles with up to five port visits for you to deliberate over, this time the ports stock all weapons and upgrades all the time, and the combat arenas are in a set order, so you can plan your runs and try different approaches in battle.
Like all our game modes, the story has some cross-over with the main campaign. It focuses on the mysterious Far Haven Assassin's, and for those people who have explored some of the farthest reaches of the world you'll gain insight into a character you meet. We really, really need your feedback on the balancing of this campaign. Is it too easy? Too hard? If anything, we'd like it to be more of a difficult challenge for experienced players. Let us know in the Beta Branch Sub-Forum or on our Discord.
We've added six new vessels for you to fight against and capture their blueprints.
We've chosen ship classes that had slightly fewer variants than others, so these cover the Schooner, Brig, Frigate, Corvette, Galleon and Man O War classes.
There are two new achievements you can get, both related to the new combat campaign. The first can be obtained by winning the final battle, while the second is a slightly tougher challenge. The vessel in the final battle is one of the new ships we've added in the update. It's called the "Fireblade" and is named after our studio. You can only find it in the final battle on this game mode - so the achievement relates to capturing it's blueprint. Remember that you cannot obtain blueprints for ships that are of a higher class than yours, and you start the campaign with a Warship. So you'll need to save enough money to get a better ship, make it to the end and capture it intact. Needless to say it's intended as a tougher challenge ;)
Our Japanese translation is about 80% complete, while our Chinese translation is about 40%. We've put these in the game so that they can receive testing from our community, so if you find any problems please report them on our Translations Steam sub-forum. Once these languages are 100% complete we'll mark them as officially supported, but until then please consider them as work-in-progress.
There's a lot of minor bug fixes and other improvements, and we'll provide the full list in the patch notes when the update is released. There are a few noteworthy additions we wanted to call out: - If there is an environmental modifier in combat it will now be displayed as an icon with tooltip on the middle-right of the combat scene.
- Enemy loadout information is now displayed over the enemy section display, so hover the mouse over individual sections to see what weapons and upgrades they have. This ties into visibility rules, so if you can't see the section health, you won't be able to see their loadout. Either get closer or purchase an Advanced Crow's Nest to gain better insight into enemy vessels weapons. - We wanted to give a few more reasons for engaging in faction battles, so there are a few changes with this system:
If all goes to plan we'll release this update onto the main branch before 2019 ends. Let us know what you think in the Beta Branch Sub-Forum or on our Discord, and if you haven't yet, please leave a review - we only need 18 more to hit 500, which is an important milestone. Thanks for the support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-11-27 11:44:11 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captain,
The Beta Branch has been updated with an incoming Major Update!
To learn how to gain access to the Beta Branch, click on this link:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/10/1698293255137774100/
If the number in the bottom-right corner of the Main Menu ends in 13531 or later, you have the correct version.
Your saves from the normal version of the game will work with this, although as this is the beta branch we would at least advise you to take backups of your saves just in case there is an unforeseen issue. Better safe than sorry!
Your saves folder is located in here:
C:\\Users\\YOURUSERNAME\\AppData\\LocalLow\\Fireblade Software Ltd\\Abandon Ship\\Saves
If you start a new game on this beta branch, you should avoiding going back to a prior version and continuing that particular save.
Here's all the cool new stuff:
Second Combat Campaign
Our original combat campaign was a popular game mode from our very first Early Access release. Since then we've added many more environmental modifiers, so we wanted to bring all those together into a new combat campaign. The original had randomised ports and the maps were random-within-groups, which meant that RNG could have a massive influence on a particular run. We wanted this new one to be slightly different, so while there are still ten battles with up to five port visits for you to deliberate over, this time the ports stock all weapons and upgrades all the time, and the combat arenas are in a set order, so you can plan your runs and try different approaches in battle.
Like all our game modes, the story has some cross-over with the main campaign. It focuses on the mysterious Far Haven Assassin's, and for those people who have explored some of the farthest reaches of the world you'll gain insight into a character you meet. We really, really need your feedback on the balancing of this campaign. Is it too easy? Too hard? If anything, we'd like it to be more of a difficult challenge for experienced players. Let us know in the Beta Branch Sub-Forum or on our Discord.
More Ships
We've added six new vessels for you to fight against and capture their blueprints.
We've chosen ship classes that had slightly fewer variants than others, so these cover the Schooner, Brig, Frigate, Corvette, Galleon and Man O War classes.
New achievements
There are two new achievements you can get, both related to the new combat campaign. The first can be obtained by winning the final battle, while the second is a slightly tougher challenge. The vessel in the final battle is one of the new ships we've added in the update. It's called the "Fireblade" and is named after our studio. You can only find it in the final battle on this game mode - so the achievement relates to capturing it's blueprint. Remember that you cannot obtain blueprints for ships that are of a higher class than yours, and you start the campaign with a Warship. So you'll need to save enough money to get a better ship, make it to the end and capture it intact. Needless to say it's intended as a tougher challenge ;)
Japanese & Chinese Testing
Our Japanese translation is about 80% complete, while our Chinese translation is about 40%. We've put these in the game so that they can receive testing from our community, so if you find any problems please report them on our Translations Steam sub-forum. Once these languages are 100% complete we'll mark them as officially supported, but until then please consider them as work-in-progress.
Other Notable Updates
There's a lot of minor bug fixes and other improvements, and we'll provide the full list in the patch notes when the update is released. There are a few noteworthy additions we wanted to call out: - If there is an environmental modifier in combat it will now be displayed as an icon with tooltip on the middle-right of the combat scene.
- Enemy loadout information is now displayed over the enemy section display, so hover the mouse over individual sections to see what weapons and upgrades they have. This ties into visibility rules, so if you can't see the section health, you won't be able to see their loadout. Either get closer or purchase an Advanced Crow's Nest to gain better insight into enemy vessels weapons. - We wanted to give a few more reasons for engaging in faction battles, so there are a few changes with this system:
- Defeating a Cult Kraken Boss will now reward you by removing a random negative mental trait.
- Defeating faction pirate ships now reduces wanted level. Handy for if you find yourself pursued by bounty hunters, low on money with no floating outposts about.
- Ports in maps under faction control will now have a small price penalty.
If all goes to plan we'll release this update onto the main branch before 2019 ends. Let us know what you think in the Beta Branch Sub-Forum or on our Discord, and if you haven't yet, please leave a review - we only need 18 more to hit 500, which is an important milestone. Thanks for the support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-11-27 11:44:11 CET ] [ Original post ]
New Language Added: German
[ 2019-11-06 10:33:27 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hello Captains,
The Abandon Ship crew would like to extend a hearty thank-you for all of the support over our recent graduation from Early Access. All the reviews, forums posts and new Captains that have joined us on this adventure make a massive difference to us, and for that we'll always be eternally grateful.
This update is to announce a new language has been added to the game: German. This joins our existing languages of Russian, Turkish, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese - with more on the way!
As with any translation, if you spot any errors please report them on our Translations Sub-Forum.
If you'd like to know the status of our work-in-progress translations, you can check out this post here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/3726075043726578031/
So what's next? We're working on free DLC that will add some cool new content, and you can keep an eye on the post here for further updates:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/8/1694969361094739175/
Don't forget you can have your name included in the game as a randomly generated crew-member by signing up to our newsletter - full details here:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/1564364251352390803
And please keep on spreading the word and leaving reviews - just another 55-60 reviews and we'd break the 500 barrier, which is an important milestone :)
Once again, thank-you for all the support, you're the best!
Gary, Adam and Alex.
[ 2019-11-06 10:33:27 CET ] [ Original post ]
Abandon Ship is now Version 1.0!
[ 2019-10-22 15:32:10 CET ] [ Original post ]
Important and exciting news, Captain - Abandon Ship has graduated from Early Access and has reached version 1.0!
Here's our launch trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIw8fvqGjLg
It's been a fantastic journey, and we'd like to extend our thanks to all those that have supported us and provided valuable feedback. It's helped shape Abandon Ship into the game it is today. On a personal note, I'm extremely proud of what such a tiny team has achieved.
The game has received a lot of testing throughout Early Access, but there is nothing like a huge swathe of new players to flush out weird bugs! In the event you're struggling with anything, you have a few options to reach us:
- The Steam forums - there is a pinned post on our bug forum here with common compatibility issues. The steps here solves the vast majority of problems. If that or any other post doesn't help, create a new one, or reach us on one of the following places...
- Our Discord
- Our support email address: support@firebladesoftware.com
[ 2019-10-22 15:32:10 CET ] [ Original post ]
Full Release New Content
We've been asked pretty much since we first entered Early Access when more of the main story was coming, and we've really loved the speculation on where it's going to go. Now, you can find out!
We've always planned a freeplay mode, because saving the world from a Lovecraftian tentacle beast can be hard work, and sometimes you just want to be a pirate. However we didn't feel like it should just be the game world with the main story removed. We wanted to add something unique to this mode, and that's where the pirate base comes in. Tucked away in a distant corner of a new region is an old pirate kingdom that was destroyed by the Empire. If you can get there, and invest enough money to restore the 10 islands, you can rebuild it and reap the benefits. Having your own pirate base not only gives you substantial discounts in your home port, but also has some effects across the rest of the world, such as scattering a bunch of floating outposts in new areas (these are in maps that you'll need a welcome respite), as well as taking over coastal defences and sea forts you clear, providing covering fire on your enemies if you fight within their radius.
You don't have to do any of this pirate base stuff - it is freeplay after all, but it's a worthy long-term target for any potential pirate king! The side-campaigns with their unique stories (and how they tie in with the main story) has been a really popular addition throughout Early Access, and Freeplay is no different. You play a Captain fed up with their lot in life and desperate to realise their youthful ambitions. This mode is set in the aftermath of the world-changing events in the main game, so while it's set in a period of great strife you should be mindful of the odd spoiler...
When we launched into Early Access, 4 of the 15 regions had been unlocked. Since then, each new region we've unveiled has lots of unique islands, events and gameplay modifiers. We've now circled back round and populated those initial 4 regions with the same treatment, so they're full of much greater variety and things to discover. The opening region in particular has a new mechanic in nearly every map you go into, as well as lots of cool islands and events to reveal.
In total, there are over a hundred maps in the game, and we've hit our target of each one having at least one unique island and event. As the only artist on the team, I'm not sure how Alex has managed it. She's certainly been an island-making-machine recently :)
The Uncharted is our final region that we're opening up. It's full of weird and wonderful places and has a few interesting one-off map modifiers, such as the Lightning Storm, which hammers down lightning at an alarming rate, and stuns nearby crew if it hits their ship - which it will, a lot! You'll also find a map of shallow waters, which stop movement in combat while you're sailing through the rocky channels.
There's 84 Achievements to try and get, and we're very much looking forward to seeing what percentage of people accomplish certain ones...
There sure is...
Full release is not the end of the journey - we'll continue expanding the game, and the more successful it is, the more cool content we'll keep adding :) Thanks for all the support, the game wouldn't be the same without you. Gary, Adam and Alex
[ 2019-10-22 08:31:31 CET ] [ Original post ]
Greetings Captain :)
With full release rapidly incoming, we thought we'd post up the details of what new content you can expect:
Rest of the Main Story
We've been asked pretty much since we first entered Early Access when more of the main story was coming, and we've really loved the speculation on where it's going to go. Now, you can find out!
Freeplay Mode
We've always planned a freeplay mode, because saving the world from a Lovecraftian tentacle beast can be hard work, and sometimes you just want to be a pirate. However we didn't feel like it should just be the game world with the main story removed. We wanted to add something unique to this mode, and that's where the pirate base comes in. Tucked away in a distant corner of a new region is an old pirate kingdom that was destroyed by the Empire. If you can get there, and invest enough money to restore the 10 islands, you can rebuild it and reap the benefits. Having your own pirate base not only gives you substantial discounts in your home port, but also has some effects across the rest of the world, such as scattering a bunch of floating outposts in new areas (these are in maps that you'll need a welcome respite), as well as taking over coastal defences and sea forts you clear, providing covering fire on your enemies if you fight within their radius.
You don't have to do any of this pirate base stuff - it is freeplay after all, but it's a worthy long-term target for any potential pirate king! The side-campaigns with their unique stories (and how they tie in with the main story) has been a really popular addition throughout Early Access, and Freeplay is no different. You play a Captain fed up with their lot in life and desperate to realise their youthful ambitions. This mode is set in the aftermath of the world-changing events in the main game, so while it's set in a period of great strife you should be mindful of the odd spoiler...
Island and Unique Event Bonanza
When we launched into Early Access, 4 of the 15 regions had been unlocked. Since then, each new region we've unveiled has lots of unique islands, events and gameplay modifiers. We've now circled back round and populated those initial 4 regions with the same treatment, so they're full of much greater variety and things to discover. The opening region in particular has a new mechanic in nearly every map you go into, as well as lots of cool islands and events to reveal.
In total, there are over a hundred maps in the game, and we've hit our target of each one having at least one unique island and event. As the only artist on the team, I'm not sure how Alex has managed it. She's certainly been an island-making-machine recently :)
The Final Region Unlocked
The Uncharted is our final region that we're opening up. It's full of weird and wonderful places and has a few interesting one-off map modifiers, such as the Lightning Storm, which hammers down lightning at an alarming rate, and stuns nearby crew if it hits their ship - which it will, a lot! You'll also find a map of shallow waters, which stop movement in combat while you're sailing through the rocky channels.
Achievements
There's 84 Achievements to try and get, and we're very much looking forward to seeing what percentage of people accomplish certain ones...
Anything else?
There sure is...
- Polish! Bug-fixes! Balancing! A huge amount of all this can be found listed in our patch notes here.
- Lifeboat and Stranded Mode Revamp! You can now choose between various destinations that you can try and make your way toward. It'll also show you how long you'll last and the chance of rescue in that spot. So now you can make some tough choices in this perilous situation - do you go for the closer rescue spot with a lower chance of rescue, or head to the distant port and it's guaranteed salvation? Events will happen along the way as usual - including random rescue chances. Where you lose your ship is also important - sink next to a port and you'll likely survive. Find yourself in the middle of nowhere and it'll be tougher going.
- New Ships! We've got seven new ship variants. Once you've captured them you can switch over to that variant in the Journal.
- Female Captain! The extremely talented Amelia Tyler (fans of Divinity may recognise her as the voice of Malady among many other game roles) has given life to our female captain. Just select the female option on the captain creation screen to hear her commanding "BRACE FOR IMPACT!"
- Tutorial Log! Okay, that's not really very exciting, but it is important, especially if you need a recap on useful information. You'll find that in the Journal.
Full release is not the end of the journey - we'll continue expanding the game, and the more successful it is, the more cool content we'll keep adding :) Thanks for all the support, the game wouldn't be the same without you. Gary, Adam and Alex
[ 2019-10-22 08:31:31 CET ] [ Original post ]
Get your name in the game!
[ 2019-10-16 12:23:08 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hello Captain,
With our full release just under a week away, we thought we'd remind everyone that you can get your name in the game as a randomly generated crew member.
If you'd like to be included, simply sign up to our newsletter on our website here:
http://abandonshipgame.com/get-your-name-in-the-game
If you'd like further information on how this works, we delve into the details in this post:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/3025727250385485868
If you miss the cut-off (most likely late on the 18th October), fear not! We'll add and remove names as appropriate during future updates.
Finally, I'm putting up a bunch of concept art from the archives onto the Community Artwork section on Steam and our various other social channels. I include a description of them, so you can get a glimpse of our process.
I'll keep putting them up until I run out, and you can find them here.
If you have any questions about them or the process, post them on the forums or ask on our Discord and I'll be happy to answer them :)
Thanks,
Gary
[ 2019-10-16 12:23:08 CET ] [ Original post ]
Full Release Incoming!
[ 2019-10-15 16:29:27 CET ] [ Original post ]
It's time to depart the shores of Early Access, Captain!
That's right, Abandon Ship is graduating into full release next week on Tuesday the 22nd October, around 17:00 BST / 09:00 PT :)
Going from Early Access to Full Release is a big, big step for any game to make but with the upcoming new content, which includes unlocking the 15th region, completed main story, new freeplay mode, populating over 100 maps with unique islands and events and lots more, we feel we're ready.
The more successful our full release, the more content we'll keep putting in beyond our launch, so please help us by spreading the word on the 22nd, and if you haven't left a Steam review yet - now is the time!
In case you need catching up on our Early Access journey thus far, here is a recap on all our previous Major Updates:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/2704893329100702332
https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/1608261029763621814
https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/1735477647578453999
https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/1691558597331600976
https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/1691552256164152883
https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/3275682189139112231
And if you'd like to know what's coming for full release, you can get a sneak peek here:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/1586880891230426727
Thanks for all the support, we couldn't have got this far without you!
The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-10-15 16:29:27 CET ] [ Original post ]
Beta Branch Updated!
We've been asked pretty much since we first entered Early Access when more of the main story was coming, and we've really loved the speculation on where it's going to go. Now, you can find out!
We've always planned a freeplay mode, because saving the world from a Lovecraftian tentacle beast can be hard work, and sometimes you just want to be a pirate. However we didn't feel like it should just be the game world with the main story removed. We wanted to add something unique to this mode, and that's where the pirate base comes in. Tucked away in a distant corner of a new region is an old pirate kingdom that was destroyed by the Empire. If you can get there, and invest enough money to restore the 10 islands, you can rebuild it and reap the benefits. Having your own pirate base not only gives you substantial discounts in your home port, but also has some effects across the rest of the world, such as scattering a bunch of floating outposts in new areas (these are in maps that you'll need a welcome respite), as well as taking over coastal defences and sea forts you clear, providing covering fire on your enemies if you fight within their radius.
You don't have to do any of this pirate base stuff - it is freeplay after all, but it's a worthy long-term target for any potential pirate king! The side-campaigns with their unique stories (and how they tie in with the main story) has been a really popular addition throughout Early Access, and Freeplay is no different. You play a Captain fed up with their lot in life and desperate to realise their youthful ambitions. This mode is set in the aftermath of the world-changing events in the main game, so while it's set in a period of great strife you should be mindful of the odd spoiler...
When we launched into Early Access, 4 of the 15 regions had been unlocked. Since then, each new region we've unveiled has lots of unique islands, events and gameplay modifiers. We've now circled back round and populated those initial 4 regions with the same treatment, so they're full of much greater variety and things to discover. The opening region in particular has a new mechanic in nearly every map you go into, as well as lots of cool islands and events to reveal.
In total, there are over a hundred maps in the game, and we've hit our target of each one having at least one unique island and event. As the only artist on the team, I'm not sure how Alex has managed it. She's certainly been an island-making-machine recently :)
The Uncharted is our final region that we're opening up. It's full of weird and wonderful places and has a few interesting one-off map modifiers, such as the Lightning Storm, which hammers down lightning at an alarming rate, and stuns nearby crew if it hits their ship - which it will, a lot! You'll also find a map of shallow waters, which stop movement in combat while you're sailing through the rocky channels.
If you head to the store page you might have seen that achievements have been added. You can only do these on this beta branch, and everyone else will get their chance when we launch the full release.
There's 84 of them to try and get, and we're very much looking forward to seeing what percentage of people get certain achievements...
There sure is... not only is there a lot of polishing, balancing and bug-fixes (which we'll detail in full on the final release patch notes), you may also be interested in the following:
You may be wondering what's still to do? Well, as usual for our beta branch updates, our translators are busy catching up on our text (which now totals 165k words...), and Alex is doing the last handful of monologue images - for those that try Freeplay, or do the full story you'll see some placeholder images there. Aside from that, it's bug-stomping and balancing - which is where you come in! We really need your help testing this to make sure it's solid for full release. The game is enormous, way too big for a 3-person team to test every permutation - and that's after several days worth of testing. Tell us your thoughts and any bugs. You can do that on the Steam forums or via our Discord: https://discord.gg/ZVuEe2a As for when we release? We're aiming for "some time this Autumn" and part of that is looking for dates that aren't too busy with other big game launches. The feedback we're getting on this beta branch will also impact that decision. On that note, we'd really love a Steam review if you haven't left one yet. Especially if you previously didn't like the game - this beta branch is the time to check it out again! And of course, full release is not the end - we'll continue supporting the game, and the more successful it is, the more cool content we'll keep adding :) Thanks for all the support, the game wouldn't be the same without you. Gary, Adam and Alex
[ 2019-10-04 21:47:48 CET ] [ Original post ]
Greetings Captain :)
This is a really important beta branch, because it includes the content for our upcoming full release! It's another huge amount of cool new stuff, and we're very excited for you to try it.
We'll dive into the details in just a second, but first some important information on how to gain access...
The following link includes instructions on how to download the version of the game on the public beta branch:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/10/1698293255137774100/
Once you're synced up, the number in the bottom-right corner of the Main Menu should end in 13224 or later.
To access this new content, you'll need to start a new game, and don't forget there are several quick-starts, including two at a point where the entire map is open to exploration.
Here's what we've added...
Rest of the Main Story
We've been asked pretty much since we first entered Early Access when more of the main story was coming, and we've really loved the speculation on where it's going to go. Now, you can find out!
Freeplay Mode
We've always planned a freeplay mode, because saving the world from a Lovecraftian tentacle beast can be hard work, and sometimes you just want to be a pirate. However we didn't feel like it should just be the game world with the main story removed. We wanted to add something unique to this mode, and that's where the pirate base comes in. Tucked away in a distant corner of a new region is an old pirate kingdom that was destroyed by the Empire. If you can get there, and invest enough money to restore the 10 islands, you can rebuild it and reap the benefits. Having your own pirate base not only gives you substantial discounts in your home port, but also has some effects across the rest of the world, such as scattering a bunch of floating outposts in new areas (these are in maps that you'll need a welcome respite), as well as taking over coastal defences and sea forts you clear, providing covering fire on your enemies if you fight within their radius.
You don't have to do any of this pirate base stuff - it is freeplay after all, but it's a worthy long-term target for any potential pirate king! The side-campaigns with their unique stories (and how they tie in with the main story) has been a really popular addition throughout Early Access, and Freeplay is no different. You play a Captain fed up with their lot in life and desperate to realise their youthful ambitions. This mode is set in the aftermath of the world-changing events in the main game, so while it's set in a period of great strife you should be mindful of the odd spoiler...
Island and Unique Event Bonanza
When we launched into Early Access, 4 of the 15 regions had been unlocked. Since then, each new region we've unveiled has lots of unique islands, events and gameplay modifiers. We've now circled back round and populated those initial 4 regions with the same treatment, so they're full of much greater variety and things to discover. The opening region in particular has a new mechanic in nearly every map you go into, as well as lots of cool islands and events to reveal.
In total, there are over a hundred maps in the game, and we've hit our target of each one having at least one unique island and event. As the only artist on the team, I'm not sure how Alex has managed it. She's certainly been an island-making-machine recently :)
The Final Region Unlocked
The Uncharted is our final region that we're opening up. It's full of weird and wonderful places and has a few interesting one-off map modifiers, such as the Lightning Storm, which hammers down lightning at an alarming rate, and stuns nearby crew if it hits their ship - which it will, a lot! You'll also find a map of shallow waters, which stop movement in combat while you're sailing through the rocky channels.
Achievements
If you head to the store page you might have seen that achievements have been added. You can only do these on this beta branch, and everyone else will get their chance when we launch the full release.
There's 84 of them to try and get, and we're very much looking forward to seeing what percentage of people get certain achievements...
Anything else?
There sure is... not only is there a lot of polishing, balancing and bug-fixes (which we'll detail in full on the final release patch notes), you may also be interested in the following:
- Lifeboat and Stranded Mode Revamp! You can now choose between various destinations that you can try and make your way to. It'll also show you how long you'll last and the chance of rescue in that spot. So now you can make some tough choices in this perilous situation - do you go for the closer rescue spot with a lower chance of rescue, or head to the distant port and it's guaranteed salvation? Events will happen along the way as usual - including random rescue chances. Where you lose your ship is also important - sink next to a port and you'll likely survive. Find yourself in the middle of nowhere and it'll be tougher going.
- New Ships! We've got seven new ship variants. Once you've captured them you can switch over to that variant in the Journal.
- Female Captain! The extremely talented Amelia Tyler (fans of Divinity may recognise her as the voice of Malady among many other game roles) has given life to our female captain. Just select the female option on the captain creation screen to hear her commanding "BRACE FOR IMPACT!"
- Tutorial Log! Okay, that's not really very exciting, but it is important, especially if you need a recap on useful information. You'll find that in the Journal.
You may be wondering what's still to do? Well, as usual for our beta branch updates, our translators are busy catching up on our text (which now totals 165k words...), and Alex is doing the last handful of monologue images - for those that try Freeplay, or do the full story you'll see some placeholder images there. Aside from that, it's bug-stomping and balancing - which is where you come in! We really need your help testing this to make sure it's solid for full release. The game is enormous, way too big for a 3-person team to test every permutation - and that's after several days worth of testing. Tell us your thoughts and any bugs. You can do that on the Steam forums or via our Discord: https://discord.gg/ZVuEe2a As for when we release? We're aiming for "some time this Autumn" and part of that is looking for dates that aren't too busy with other big game launches. The feedback we're getting on this beta branch will also impact that decision. On that note, we'd really love a Steam review if you haven't left one yet. Especially if you previously didn't like the game - this beta branch is the time to check it out again! And of course, full release is not the end - we'll continue supporting the game, and the more successful it is, the more cool content we'll keep adding :) Thanks for all the support, the game wouldn't be the same without you. Gary, Adam and Alex
[ 2019-10-04 21:47:48 CET ] [ Original post ]
New Language Added: French!
[ 2019-09-17 10:13:41 CET ] [ Original post ]
Bonjour!
We've updated the game to include French. If the version number in the bottom-right corner of the main menu reads "0.5.13007" or above, you have the correct version.
This joins our existing languages of Russian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Turkish, and our translators are busy working away trying to get other languages ready for full release.
If you spot any issues with the translation, we'll get them fixed up - please report them on our translations sub-forum here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/
We have a lot of words in the game (over 150,000) so it is a big effort for our translators, many of whom are community members doing this in their spare time. Right now, we're hopeful German will be completed in the next few weeks, but Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Polish and Italian look like they'll be added after full release. If you wish to stay up to date on how our translations are progressing, you can do so on the post here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/3726075043726578031/
Aside from the ones in the pipeline already, we're open to supporting more languages. This depends on many factors, such as the sales and wishlists from those countries, along with willing community members. If you're interested in helping out, please post on our translations sub-forum linked above.
While we have your attention, a couple of things you may find interesting/useful...
You can get your name in the game as a randomly generated crew member! To do that, sign up to the newsletter here:
http://abandonshipgame.com/get-your-name-in-the-game
We have a Discord which you can join here:
https://discord.gg/abandonship
We're busy working away on our full release, and in the next couple of weeks we should be updating the Beta Branch with a sneak preview of this for people who can't wait to jump in. That'll be a great time to help give feedback on bugs and balancing, and all being well we'll release this Autumn!
If you like the game, don't forget to leave a review :)
Thanks,
The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-09-17 10:13:41 CET ] [ Original post ]
Mac Linux Available Now!
We're still busy working on what will become our full release version which is due this Autumn. We've got some exciting plans for the final region unlock, the rest of the main story, a freeplay mode, a revamp of the first region to bring it in line with the other regions, and a whole lot more :) We hope to get a Beta Branch update for those who wish to test it in advance. Thanks for all your support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-08-30 12:18:06 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captains!
The Mac and Linux versions of Abandon Ship have been released!
Welcome to all our new players on those platforms :)
As we are a very small Indie team, we don't have access to a large selection of hardware/software to test on, so we really appreciate all of the assistance from the community in reporting their test results.
Linux players may be interested to know that while we've focused our testing on Unbuntu 18.04, we have had reports from people that have run the game perfectly on the following operating systems:
- Linux Mint 19.1 Cinnamon
- Linux Mint native Steam
- Manjaro Linux KDE desktop, Steam Flatpak install
We're still busy working on what will become our full release version which is due this Autumn. We've got some exciting plans for the final region unlock, the rest of the main story, a freeplay mode, a revamp of the first region to bring it in line with the other regions, and a whole lot more :) We hope to get a Beta Branch update for those who wish to test it in advance. Thanks for all your support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-08-30 12:18:06 CET ] [ Original post ]
Mac Linux Beta Branch Testing
Being such a small indie team, we have very limited resources available for compatibility testing, so we'd really appreciate any feedback when you test it. We'd of course like to know of any issues, but we'd also like to know if it runs okay - this is so that we can get a clearer picture of what OS versions we can support. If you find any issues, I've created two pinned threads here for platform specific issues: Mac - https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/2/1640919103672444879/ Linux - https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/2/1640919103672446045/ If you test it and all is good, it'd be really helpful if you could post in the comments below telling us as such, and your spec/OS version. If you'd rather do any of that in private, then you can email me at support@firebladesoftware.com :) If all goes to plan, we'll officially release both versions in a few weeks time. Thanks in advance for the help! The Abandon Ship Crew PS - although the content is the same, the version numbers are different from the recent Windows Major Update, but this is just a logistical thing for these first builds. When we next update the Beta Branch all platforms should be on the same version number.
[ 2019-08-08 12:44:14 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hello Captains!
For those that are subscribed to our newsletter (If you haven't already, you should be! You get your name in the game and everything!), you'll be aware that Mac & Linux versions of the game are in progress.
We'd like to open testing to anyone that has a copy of the game and a PC running Linux or a Mac, so if you'd like to gain access, you'll need to set up a special beta branch. You can do that by following these steps:
- Go to your Steam Library
- Right-click on Abandon Ship and select "Properties"
- Go to the tab marked "Betas"
- There is a field that allows you to enter a code. Enter the one for your chosen platform shown below.
- Depending on your platform of choice, choose either the osxtesting or linuxtesting branches from the drop-down list.
- Wait for the game to finish updating, you should see the branch name listed after the game name.
Being such a small indie team, we have very limited resources available for compatibility testing, so we'd really appreciate any feedback when you test it. We'd of course like to know of any issues, but we'd also like to know if it runs okay - this is so that we can get a clearer picture of what OS versions we can support. If you find any issues, I've created two pinned threads here for platform specific issues: Mac - https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/2/1640919103672444879/ Linux - https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/2/1640919103672446045/ If you test it and all is good, it'd be really helpful if you could post in the comments below telling us as such, and your spec/OS version. If you'd rather do any of that in private, then you can email me at support@firebladesoftware.com :) If all goes to plan, we'll officially release both versions in a few weeks time. Thanks in advance for the help! The Abandon Ship Crew PS - although the content is the same, the version numbers are different from the recent Windows Major Update, but this is just a logistical thing for these first builds. When we next update the Beta Branch all platforms should be on the same version number.
[ 2019-08-08 12:44:14 CET ] [ Original post ]
Daily Deal - Abandon Ship, 40% Off
[ 2019-07-30 17:05:00 CET ] [ Original post ]
Today's Deal: Save 40% on Abandon Ship!*
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 Thursday at 10AM Pacific Time
[ 2019-07-30 17:05:00 CET ] [ Original post ]
Major Update Released: Sword of the Cult
Here's what we've added...
We already have the Main Story, the Combat Campaign and the Haunted Seas Campaign, and we've added a new one for you to enjoy: Sword of the Cult. As I'm sure the name gives away, the focus of this is the Cthulhu-esque Cult themselves - but this time you'll be playing as them. If you remember very early in the main story, The Severed One knocks out two bodyguards, thus allowing their escape. You take on the role of one of those bodyguards, utterly betrayed by one you idolised.
After this, suspicion and blame were rife. You were demoted and dismissed to some forgotten outpost. You however, had not forgotten. The sting of betrayal was replaced by a smouldering desire for vengeance. Thus begins a story of climbing back up through the ranks of the Cult, serving Fathers Will and furthering Cult ambitions, putting you in a position to hunt down your nemesis. This campaign runs concurrently with the Main Story, so you'll see some interesting moments - such as how do the Cult react to the death of the first Kraken?
Not only that, but the events in the next part of the Main Story (more on that below) are a direct result of what occurs in Sword of the Cult.
Things work slightly differently in the Cult. You can visit Cult Bases, where everything is available to you all the time. Access to weapons, upgrades and ships is determined by your Cult Rank.
You can gain promotions by establishing new bases, building shrines, destroying ports and eliminating factions.
You'll also be able to recruit Haliphron on your vessel, and at certain points be able to call on the Kraken. By gaining enough "Father's Favour", you can take control of this huge monster, decimating enemy vessels.
You can trigger the full swathe of attacks (and we've added an up-close vomit to the repertoire) by pressing the buttons along the top of the screen.
This campaign lasts around 3 hours, and as well as the usual auto-saves, you start with a Captain's Log, and can gain more. Father does not tolerate failure, so in this campaign, losing your ship means game over - no lifeboat or stranded modes to offer a reprieve. There's also a quick-start to miss the opening story segment and get you straight into the action.
The campaign takes place in one of the new regions (again, more on that below!) - one that has thus far done very well at resisting Cult incursions. Because you can return to base at any point to repair/replenish your crew for free, this campaign has been balanced so that each individual battle is tougher than in the main story. So be warned, and adjust your tactics accordingly!
Another update, another three regions unlocked! That makes nine regions in three updates I believe. Alex has been an island-making machine (as well as all the other art in the game of course)! The regions weve unlocked are:
This is the region you conquer in the Sword of the Cult Campaign. The Redoubt is the capital of the region, a fearsome fortress protected by four islands with coastal defences. By the time you reach this in the main story, the Cult have already achieved dominance - but you can get some payback by destroying the Shrines built in the area, and raiding the fortresses that were established. Land's End is now an extremely hostile place to visit, so be sure to enter it battle-ready, and be prepared to retreat to repair before venturing back in!
Located in the bottom-right of the world map, the Wild Sea is subjected to perpetual gales. When the winds reach their apex in combat, not only will this trigger a brace test, it'll also eat away at the health of your masts section - so if you like to control distance in battle, have crew on standby for emergency repair duty! The furthest map houses a strange island that is only accessible through the deepest parts of the spider islands, or venturing through two other maps that have giant roaming waterspouts. These tornado's will damage your ship if you sail into them, so be sure to navigate around them!
This region was the only place post-Fall where the Empire continued to flourish. That was until a huge earthquake decimated the region, swallowing entire ports.
Now, the region is infested by Cult and Pirate factions. For those familiar with the story in the Combat Campaign, the Northern Remnants contains one area where you can meet a familiar (if not-so-friendly) face from the Skin Merchants.
We've been asked many times when the main story would be extended, and as the Cult campaign sets in motion some world-changing events, we've brought the main story in line with this. Now, when you flee back through the ice sheet, ensure you are prepared for a tough battle - I'm sure those who have sailed those waters can guess what it is :)
I'm renowned for blabbing all the story secrets, so I'll resist saying anything else!
As you'll discover when exploring, there is a new factions system. When a faction occupies a map, it controls all of the Sea Forts and Coastal Defences in it, plus several guarding vessels which will move to attack should you stray into their territory.
Defeat all of those, and a boss ship (or beyond a certain point in the story a Kraken) will be dispatched. Eliminate that, and the faction is cleared.
We've added Steam Cloud support. Because of this, and our work-in-progress Mac & Linux builds, the save format has progressed to the .abs3 format, and saves now appear in a sub-folder in the existing save locations. This shouldn't affect you unless you're specifically looking for the files. You may find this link useful to track your Steam Cloud Saves: https://store.steampowered.com/account/remotestorage If for whatever reason your local saves and those in the cloud mismatch, Steam will ask you whether you wish to sync to one or the other.
We've done loads of other polish, bug-fix and quality-of-life changes, check out the patch notes if you want to see all the details: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/3158631000004646666/ Some things worth calling to your attention are:
Despite adding tens of thousands more words, our translators have done an excellent job of keeping up - Russian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese are all 100% translated with this update, and we can now add a new language to the roster: Turkish! If you'd like to keep an eye on how other translations are coming along, check out the forum post here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/3726075043726578031/
This is another gargantuan update, and we'd really appreciate any feedback - the best place to reach out to us is either on the Steam forums or our Discord: https://discord.gg/ZVuEe2a Major Update 6 will be our last before we go into full release some time this autumn. For those keen to play the latest, we plan on putting updates on the beta branch before then - and of course, hitting version 1.0 doesn't mean we'll stop improving the game either :) On that note - we'll be having our biggest ever discount at 10am PST on the 30th July: 40% off. It'll last for 48 hours and is your last chance to get the game before we increase the price by $5. It won't be this cheap for a long time, so we wanted to give you a heads up. For all the details on that, check out this post: https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/2704893329098885977 Thanks for the support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-07-30 09:28:18 CET ] [ Original post ]
Greetings Captain,
We've released our 6th Major Update, titled "Sword of the Cult".
If you'd like to watch a video of all the headline changes, you can do so here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWym0Sz_YSY
Before we go into detail on what's part of the new update, some important house-keeping: As we now support Steam Cloud Saves, and in order to gain access to the new content, your existing saves will not work in the latest version - Don't worry though, you can get a head-start by using one of the multiple quick-starts, the latter two have the option to customise your ship and crew so you can approximate where you were before.
If you are mid-playthrough on the previous version and wish to continue it, then you may switch over to this older version of the game via the Beta Branches system:
- Go to your Steam Library
- Right-click on Abandon Ship and select "Properties"
- Go to the tab marked "Betas"
- In the drop-down box, select the one called "0.5.12154 The Spider Islands Version"
- Wait for the game to finish updating, you should see the branch name listed after the game name.
Here's what we've added...
New Campaign
We already have the Main Story, the Combat Campaign and the Haunted Seas Campaign, and we've added a new one for you to enjoy: Sword of the Cult. As I'm sure the name gives away, the focus of this is the Cthulhu-esque Cult themselves - but this time you'll be playing as them. If you remember very early in the main story, The Severed One knocks out two bodyguards, thus allowing their escape. You take on the role of one of those bodyguards, utterly betrayed by one you idolised.
After this, suspicion and blame were rife. You were demoted and dismissed to some forgotten outpost. You however, had not forgotten. The sting of betrayal was replaced by a smouldering desire for vengeance. Thus begins a story of climbing back up through the ranks of the Cult, serving Fathers Will and furthering Cult ambitions, putting you in a position to hunt down your nemesis. This campaign runs concurrently with the Main Story, so you'll see some interesting moments - such as how do the Cult react to the death of the first Kraken?
Not only that, but the events in the next part of the Main Story (more on that below) are a direct result of what occurs in Sword of the Cult.
Gameplay in Sword of the Cult
Things work slightly differently in the Cult. You can visit Cult Bases, where everything is available to you all the time. Access to weapons, upgrades and ships is determined by your Cult Rank.
You can gain promotions by establishing new bases, building shrines, destroying ports and eliminating factions.
Control the Kraken!
You'll also be able to recruit Haliphron on your vessel, and at certain points be able to call on the Kraken. By gaining enough "Father's Favour", you can take control of this huge monster, decimating enemy vessels.
You can trigger the full swathe of attacks (and we've added an up-close vomit to the repertoire) by pressing the buttons along the top of the screen.
Campaign Length, Saving, Difficulty
This campaign lasts around 3 hours, and as well as the usual auto-saves, you start with a Captain's Log, and can gain more. Father does not tolerate failure, so in this campaign, losing your ship means game over - no lifeboat or stranded modes to offer a reprieve. There's also a quick-start to miss the opening story segment and get you straight into the action.
The campaign takes place in one of the new regions (again, more on that below!) - one that has thus far done very well at resisting Cult incursions. Because you can return to base at any point to repair/replenish your crew for free, this campaign has been balanced so that each individual battle is tougher than in the main story. So be warned, and adjust your tactics accordingly!
Three New Regions
Another update, another three regions unlocked! That makes nine regions in three updates I believe. Alex has been an island-making machine (as well as all the other art in the game of course)! The regions weve unlocked are:
- Land's End
- The Wild Sea
- Northern Remnants
Land's End
This is the region you conquer in the Sword of the Cult Campaign. The Redoubt is the capital of the region, a fearsome fortress protected by four islands with coastal defences. By the time you reach this in the main story, the Cult have already achieved dominance - but you can get some payback by destroying the Shrines built in the area, and raiding the fortresses that were established. Land's End is now an extremely hostile place to visit, so be sure to enter it battle-ready, and be prepared to retreat to repair before venturing back in!
The Wild Sea
Located in the bottom-right of the world map, the Wild Sea is subjected to perpetual gales. When the winds reach their apex in combat, not only will this trigger a brace test, it'll also eat away at the health of your masts section - so if you like to control distance in battle, have crew on standby for emergency repair duty! The furthest map houses a strange island that is only accessible through the deepest parts of the spider islands, or venturing through two other maps that have giant roaming waterspouts. These tornado's will damage your ship if you sail into them, so be sure to navigate around them!
Northern Remnants
This region was the only place post-Fall where the Empire continued to flourish. That was until a huge earthquake decimated the region, swallowing entire ports.
Now, the region is infested by Cult and Pirate factions. For those familiar with the story in the Combat Campaign, the Northern Remnants contains one area where you can meet a familiar (if not-so-friendly) face from the Skin Merchants.
Main Story Extended
We've been asked many times when the main story would be extended, and as the Cult campaign sets in motion some world-changing events, we've brought the main story in line with this. Now, when you flee back through the ice sheet, ensure you are prepared for a tough battle - I'm sure those who have sailed those waters can guess what it is :)
I'm renowned for blabbing all the story secrets, so I'll resist saying anything else!
Factions System
As you'll discover when exploring, there is a new factions system. When a faction occupies a map, it controls all of the Sea Forts and Coastal Defences in it, plus several guarding vessels which will move to attack should you stray into their territory.
Defeat all of those, and a boss ship (or beyond a certain point in the story a Kraken) will be dispatched. Eliminate that, and the faction is cleared.
Cloud Saves
We've added Steam Cloud support. Because of this, and our work-in-progress Mac & Linux builds, the save format has progressed to the .abs3 format, and saves now appear in a sub-folder in the existing save locations. This shouldn't affect you unless you're specifically looking for the files. You may find this link useful to track your Steam Cloud Saves: https://store.steampowered.com/account/remotestorage If for whatever reason your local saves and those in the cloud mismatch, Steam will ask you whether you wish to sync to one or the other.
Other stuff
We've done loads of other polish, bug-fix and quality-of-life changes, check out the patch notes if you want to see all the details: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/3158631000004646666/ Some things worth calling to your attention are:
- Weapon spawning on the new ship layouts has been tweaked so that no more than two instances of a swivel gun or mortar will appear - so no Heavy Bombards with 6 hull crackers spawning! We've also weighted the spawn rates of these layouts, so cannon-based vessels should be seen more often. Please keep providing feedback on stuff like this to help us further tune it.
- Crew Levels have been added for the enemy (they used to be all basic level). As the game gets harder, enemy crew will be more skilled, which gives late game battles with the AI an extra edge. You can hover over their crew discs in the top-left to view their skill levels and make decisions about who to target/avoid. We've also made player crew skill levels take longer to earn on the higher levels - the game has got quite big now, so we wanted to avoid situations where you'd maxed out your crew by the time you reached Landfall :)
- Differing Weapon Reload times have been added (previously reloading was all the same) - their times are noted on their tooltips and in port. This takes the edge off some of the best weapons - unless you're savvy with assigning the correctly skilled crew to them of course...
- We've streamlined the first section of the game, so it's faster to get through. We've also ensured a lot more variety in these opening maps by adding unique islands and events, as well as weighting things like weather generation so you'll be constantly encountering something new.
- Supplies pickups are now scattered around the world
Despite adding tens of thousands more words, our translators have done an excellent job of keeping up - Russian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese are all 100% translated with this update, and we can now add a new language to the roster: Turkish! If you'd like to keep an eye on how other translations are coming along, check out the forum post here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/3726075043726578031/
This is another gargantuan update, and we'd really appreciate any feedback - the best place to reach out to us is either on the Steam forums or our Discord: https://discord.gg/ZVuEe2a Major Update 6 will be our last before we go into full release some time this autumn. For those keen to play the latest, we plan on putting updates on the beta branch before then - and of course, hitting version 1.0 doesn't mean we'll stop improving the game either :) On that note - we'll be having our biggest ever discount at 10am PST on the 30th July: 40% off. It'll last for 48 hours and is your last chance to get the game before we increase the price by $5. It won't be this cheap for a long time, so we wanted to give you a heads up. For all the details on that, check out this post: https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/2704893329098885977 Thanks for the support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-07-30 09:28:18 CET ] [ Original post ]
Heads up: Incoming price changes
[ 2019-07-30 08:25:34 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hello fellow Captains,
For those that are familiar with the Early Access blurb in our store page, it has always been our intention to raise the price of the game as it moves close to Version 1.0.
We thought we'd hold a big blow-out sale before the price goes up, so we're going to be reducing the game for 48 hours to its deepest discount ever: 40%
This is due to go live at 10am PST on the 30th July - this is the cheapest the game will be for a very, very long time - so now really is the time to jump in if you haven't already!
After we release the Sword of the Cult update, we'll be working our way toward full release, so from 1st August we'll be increasing the price from $19.99 to $24.99 (for other currencies we'll go by the Steam recommendation).
The game has expanded massively since we launched into Early Access back in February 2018. Back then, we had 4 regions, part of the main story plus a combat campaign.
With the launch of Sword of the Cult, we'll have:
- 14 Regions
- More main story
- Haunted Seas Campaign
- Sword of the Cult Campaign
- Dozens of new weapons, upgrades and ships
- Swathes of new systems that improve the game
- Hundreds of balancing, polish, quality of life and bug fixing changes
[ 2019-07-30 08:25:34 CET ] [ Original post ]
Beta Branch Updated!
We already have the Main Story, the Combat Campaign and the Haunted Seas Campaign, and we've added a new one for you to enjoy: Sword of the Cult. As I'm sure the name gives away, the focus of this is the Cthulhu-esque Cult themselves - but this time you'll be playing as them. If you remember very early in the main story, The Severed One knocks out two bodyguards, thus allowing their escape. You take on the role of one of those bodyguards, utterly betrayed by one you idolised.
After this, suspicion and blame were rife. You were demoted and dismissed to some forgotten outpost. You however, had not forgotten. The sting of betrayal was replaced by a smouldering desire for vengeance. Thus begins a story of climbing back up through the ranks of the Cult, serving Fathers Will and furthering Cult ambitions, putting you in a position to hunt down your nemesis. This campaign runs concurrently with the Main Story, so you'll see some interesting moments - such as how do the Cult react to the death of the first Kraken?
Not only that, but the events in the next part of the Main Story (more on that below) are a direct result of what occurs in Sword of the Cult.
Things work slightly differently in the Cult. You can visit Cult Bases, where everything is available to you all the time. Access to weapons, upgrades and ships is determined by your Cult Rank.
You can gain promotions by establishing new bases, building shrines, destroying ports and eliminating factions.
You'll also be able to recruit Haliphron on your vessel, and at certain points be able to call on the Kraken. By gaining enough "Father's Favour", you can take control of this huge monster, decimating enemy vessels.
You can trigger the full swathe of attacks (and we've added an up-close vomit to the repertoire) by pressing the buttons along the top of the screen.
This campaign lasts around 3 hours, and as well as the usual auto-saves, you start with a Captain's Log, and can gain more. Father does not tolerate failure, so in this campaign, losing your ship means game over - no lifeboat or stranded modes to offer a reprieve. There's also a quick-start to miss the opening story segment and get you straight into the action.
The campaign takes place in one of the new regions (again, more on that below!) - one that has thus far done very well at resisting Cult incursions. Because you can return to base at any point to repair/replenish your crew for free, this campaign has been balanced so that each individual battle is tougher than in the main story. So be warned, and adjust your tactics accordingly!
Another update, another three regions unlocked! That makes nine regions in three updates I believe. Alex has been an island-making machine (as well as all the other art in the game of course)! The regions weve unlocked are:
This is the region you conquer in the Sword of the Cult Campaign. The Redoubt is the capital of the region, a fearsome fortress protected by four islands with coastal defences. By the time you reach this in the main story, the Cult have already achieved dominance - but you can get some payback by destroying the Shrines built in the area, and raiding the fortresses that were established. Land's End is now an extremely hostile place to visit, so be sure to enter it battle-ready, and be prepared to retreat to repair before venturing back in!
Located in the bottom-right of the world map, the Wild Sea is subjected to perpetual gales. When the winds reach their apex in combat, not only will this trigger a brace test, it'll also eat away at the health of your masts section - so if you like to control distance in battle, have crew on standby for emergency repair duty! The furthest map houses a strange island that is only accessible through the deepest parts of the spider islands, or venturing through two other maps that have giant roaming waterspouts. These tornado's will damage your ship if you sail into them, so be sure to navigate around them!
This region was the only place post-Fall where the Empire continued to flourish. That was until a huge earthquake decimated the region, swallowing entire ports.
Now, the region is infested by Cult and Pirate factions. For those familiar with the story in the Combat Campaign, the Northern Remnants contains one area where you can meet a familiar (if not-so-friendly) face from the Skin Merchants.
We've been asked many times when the main story would be extended, and as the Cult campaign sets in motion some world-changing events, we've brought the main story in line with this. Now, when you flee back through the ice sheet, ensure you are prepared for a tough battle - I'm sure those who have sailed those waters can guess what it is :)
I'm renowned for blabbing all the story secrets, so I'll resist saying anything else!
As you'll discover when exploring, there is a new factions system. When a faction occupies a map, it controls all of the Sea Forts and Coastal Defences in it, plus several guarding vessels which will move to attack should you stray into their territory.
Defeat all of those, and a boss ship (or beyond a certain point in the story a Kraken) will be dispatched. Eliminate that, and the faction is cleared.
We've added Steam Cloud support. This is just on the beta branch for now, and will be available to all when we move this update onto the main release. Because of this, and our work-in-progress Mac & Linux builds, the save format has progressed to the .abs3 format, and saves now appear in a sub-folder in the existing save locations. This shouldn't affect you unless you're specifically looking for the files. You may find this link useful to track your Steam Cloud Saves: https://store.steampowered.com/account/remotestorage If for whatever reason your local saves and those in the cloud mismatch, Steam will ask you whether you wish to sync to one or the other.
We've done loads of other polish, bug-fix and quality-of-life changes, and on the full release we'll detail all of them in patch notes. Some things worth calling to your attention are:
As we've added several thousand more words, our translators are still catching up. These should hopefully make it for the full release of this update, and if all goes to plan, Turkish should be officially supported as well. There's also a handful of monologue images that Alex is ploughing through. These will be patched in before this update is released to everyone.
This is another gargantuan update, and we'd really appreciate any feedback - even if it's just that you played through it - best place to reach out to us is either on the Steam forums or our Discord: https://discord.gg/ZVuEe2a Major Update 6 will be our last before we go into full release some time this autumn. For those keen to play the latest, we plan on putting updates on the beta branch before then - and of course, hitting version 1.0 doesn't mean we'll stop improving the game either :) Thanks for the support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-07-15 12:35:05 CET ] [ Original post ]
Greetings Captain, we hope the wind fills your sails :)
The Beta Branch has been updated with the upcoming Major Update, titled "Sword of the Cult".
To learn how to gain access to the Beta Branch, click on this link:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/10/1698293255137774100/
If the number in the bottom-right corner of the Main Menu ends in 12552 or later, you have the correct version.
To access this new content, you'll need to start a new game.
Here's what we've added...
New Campaign
We already have the Main Story, the Combat Campaign and the Haunted Seas Campaign, and we've added a new one for you to enjoy: Sword of the Cult. As I'm sure the name gives away, the focus of this is the Cthulhu-esque Cult themselves - but this time you'll be playing as them. If you remember very early in the main story, The Severed One knocks out two bodyguards, thus allowing their escape. You take on the role of one of those bodyguards, utterly betrayed by one you idolised.
After this, suspicion and blame were rife. You were demoted and dismissed to some forgotten outpost. You however, had not forgotten. The sting of betrayal was replaced by a smouldering desire for vengeance. Thus begins a story of climbing back up through the ranks of the Cult, serving Fathers Will and furthering Cult ambitions, putting you in a position to hunt down your nemesis. This campaign runs concurrently with the Main Story, so you'll see some interesting moments - such as how do the Cult react to the death of the first Kraken?
Not only that, but the events in the next part of the Main Story (more on that below) are a direct result of what occurs in Sword of the Cult.
Gameplay in Sword of the Cult
Things work slightly differently in the Cult. You can visit Cult Bases, where everything is available to you all the time. Access to weapons, upgrades and ships is determined by your Cult Rank.
You can gain promotions by establishing new bases, building shrines, destroying ports and eliminating factions.
Control the Kraken!
You'll also be able to recruit Haliphron on your vessel, and at certain points be able to call on the Kraken. By gaining enough "Father's Favour", you can take control of this huge monster, decimating enemy vessels.
You can trigger the full swathe of attacks (and we've added an up-close vomit to the repertoire) by pressing the buttons along the top of the screen.
Campaign Length, Saving, Difficulty
This campaign lasts around 3 hours, and as well as the usual auto-saves, you start with a Captain's Log, and can gain more. Father does not tolerate failure, so in this campaign, losing your ship means game over - no lifeboat or stranded modes to offer a reprieve. There's also a quick-start to miss the opening story segment and get you straight into the action.
The campaign takes place in one of the new regions (again, more on that below!) - one that has thus far done very well at resisting Cult incursions. Because you can return to base at any point to repair/replenish your crew for free, this campaign has been balanced so that each individual battle is tougher than in the main story. So be warned, and adjust your tactics accordingly!
Three New Regions
Another update, another three regions unlocked! That makes nine regions in three updates I believe. Alex has been an island-making machine (as well as all the other art in the game of course)! The regions weve unlocked are:
- Land's End
- The Wild Sea
- Northern Remnants
Land's End
This is the region you conquer in the Sword of the Cult Campaign. The Redoubt is the capital of the region, a fearsome fortress protected by four islands with coastal defences. By the time you reach this in the main story, the Cult have already achieved dominance - but you can get some payback by destroying the Shrines built in the area, and raiding the fortresses that were established. Land's End is now an extremely hostile place to visit, so be sure to enter it battle-ready, and be prepared to retreat to repair before venturing back in!
The Wild Sea
Located in the bottom-right of the world map, the Wild Sea is subjected to perpetual gales. When the winds reach their apex in combat, not only will this trigger a brace test, it'll also eat away at the health of your masts section - so if you like to control distance in battle, have crew on standby for emergency repair duty! The furthest map houses a strange island that is only accessible through the deepest parts of the spider islands, or venturing through two other maps that have giant roaming waterspouts. These tornado's will damage your ship if you sail into them, so be sure to navigate around them!
Northern Remnants
This region was the only place post-Fall where the Empire continued to flourish. That was until a huge earthquake decimated the region, swallowing entire ports.
Now, the region is infested by Cult and Pirate factions. For those familiar with the story in the Combat Campaign, the Northern Remnants contains one area where you can meet a familiar (if not-so-friendly) face from the Skin Merchants.
Main Story Extended
We've been asked many times when the main story would be extended, and as the Cult campaign sets in motion some world-changing events, we've brought the main story in line with this. Now, when you flee back through the ice sheet, ensure you are prepared for a tough battle - I'm sure those who have sailed those waters can guess what it is :)
I'm renowned for blabbing all the story secrets, so I'll resist saying anything else!
Factions System
As you'll discover when exploring, there is a new factions system. When a faction occupies a map, it controls all of the Sea Forts and Coastal Defences in it, plus several guarding vessels which will move to attack should you stray into their territory.
Defeat all of those, and a boss ship (or beyond a certain point in the story a Kraken) will be dispatched. Eliminate that, and the faction is cleared.
Cloud Saves
We've added Steam Cloud support. This is just on the beta branch for now, and will be available to all when we move this update onto the main release. Because of this, and our work-in-progress Mac & Linux builds, the save format has progressed to the .abs3 format, and saves now appear in a sub-folder in the existing save locations. This shouldn't affect you unless you're specifically looking for the files. You may find this link useful to track your Steam Cloud Saves: https://store.steampowered.com/account/remotestorage If for whatever reason your local saves and those in the cloud mismatch, Steam will ask you whether you wish to sync to one or the other.
Other stuff
We've done loads of other polish, bug-fix and quality-of-life changes, and on the full release we'll detail all of them in patch notes. Some things worth calling to your attention are:
- Weapon spawning on the new ship layouts has been tweaked so that no more than two instances of a swivel gun or mortar will appear - so no Heavy Bombards with 6 hull crackers spawning! We've also weighted the spawn rates of these layouts, so cannon-based vessels should be seen more often. Please keep providing feedback on stuff like this to help us further tune it.
- Crew Levels have been added for the enemy (they used to be all basic level). As the game gets harder, enemy crew will be more skilled, which gives late game battles with the AI an extra edge. You can hover over their crew discs in the top-left to view their skill levels and make decisions about who to target/avoid. We've also made player crew skill levels take longer to earn on the higher levels - the game has got quite big now, so we wanted to avoid situations where you'd maxed out your crew by the time you reached Landfall :)
- Differing Weapon Reload times have been added (previously reloading was all the same) - their times are noted on their tooltips and in port. This takes the edge off some of the best weapons - unless you're savvy with assigning the correctly skilled crew to them of course...
- We've streamlined the first section of the game, so it's faster to get through. We've also ensured a lot more variety in these opening maps by adding unique islands and events, as well as weighting things like weather generation so you'll be constantly encountering something new.
- Supplies pickups are now scattered around the world
As we've added several thousand more words, our translators are still catching up. These should hopefully make it for the full release of this update, and if all goes to plan, Turkish should be officially supported as well. There's also a handful of monologue images that Alex is ploughing through. These will be patched in before this update is released to everyone.
This is another gargantuan update, and we'd really appreciate any feedback - even if it's just that you played through it - best place to reach out to us is either on the Steam forums or our Discord: https://discord.gg/ZVuEe2a Major Update 6 will be our last before we go into full release some time this autumn. For those keen to play the latest, we plan on putting updates on the beta branch before then - and of course, hitting version 1.0 doesn't mean we'll stop improving the game either :) Thanks for the support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2019-07-15 12:35:05 CET ] [ Original post ]
Major Update Released: The Spider Islands
Here's what we've added...
The regions weve unlocked are:
Ports are few and far between in these areas, so only enter them with a well-supplied ship with a full crew! All of the new maps contain a wealth of unique events and islands to discover. We wont spoil everything, but here are some examples of what you can expect
Stemming from Mothers Grasp, Arachnids of all shapes and sizes have gradually spread out, taking over the entire region. Tales of treasure and the availability of rich silk draw people to the region, despite the danger it poses. Blanket web permeates the skies, obscuring visibility, while thick strands connect the islands together.
If youre forced into combat in this region, the disturbance draws the attention of the larger spiders. These periodically drop down onto both ships and attack. While individually weak, they can overwhelm weakened stragglers and the red spiders explode into a pool of acid, so be sure to stay on top of any infestations.
The strong winds of the Wild Sea, and poisonous gasses of the Forsaken Sea stop the spiders from expanding beyond their region. The Silk Keys had none of this protection however, and it fell to Aldous Spiderbane to stop their encroachment, pushing them back to near extinction. Unfortunately he was unable to complete his task, and in the years since the spiders reclaimed the territory they lost. You can visit Aldous and undertake a special quest for him in the Silk Keys, which lie in the Shattered Empire region.
-- Visit the Silk Keys to find out about the statue we teased in the last Major Update -- Weve added a handful of new weapons in this update, none are available in ports and can only be obtained by completing quests. If you want to get your hands on the Spider Egg Launcher, youll have to go looking for it somewhere in the region.
Also, beware of strange vessels with spider iconography that can be found in the area. The crew only utter the words Mother knows best and are seemingly ignored by the arachnids.
The second of our new regions has a different kind of infestation: Cannibals.
These natives wear imposing masks designed to intimidate their prey, and will paddle out to battling ships, boarding both at the start of combat. If you can dispatch them quickly, you may gain some advantage over an enemy still distracted by them.
While its easy to assume the locals are savages, the settlers drawn to the region are not blameless, drawn by misguided rumours of cities of gold. One event in the bottom of the area sees you responsible for determining the fate of both factions. In this region youll once again team up with Sigismund, the explorer you encountered in the Howling Seas. Hell reveal what was at the centre of the imposing mass of Ice before joining him on another one of his adventures.
Our third region contains a broad selection of maps to explore. Head to the Sea of Serpents and explore the Writhing Atoll. Strange people who live in harmony with the snakes patrol the area in custom vessels. They are capricious, just as likely to attack unprovoked as provide you with a gift. It is in this region that you have a chance to gain the Snake Venom Gun.
One of the other maps in the region may contain an island familiar to those who have braved the Haunted Seas. It is here that youll obtain the Ghost Mortar:
This weapon was previously only found on Ghost Ships. Now, should you complete the associated quest you can unlock it and use it against your foes.
There is of course a whole lot more to discover in these regions, and if you want to discuss what youve found, how you resolved some of these quests, need help finding everything, jump on the forums or our Discord.
The community have often asked if theyll ever have the chance to take control of the cool-looking ships available to the other factions, and now you can! The Visual Blueprints system is available from the Ship Management menu in the Journal, and once youve acquired a Blueprint you can swap over to it as long as you own the same class vessel. You have to earn the Blueprint however, and you can only do so by capturing it intact. Your blueprints are not tied to a save game, so once youve unlocked a blueprint youve unlocked it in any of your games. We intend to add many more Ship variants for each class before full release, and in this update weve added two more to find (weve given hints on where to find them in the region descriptions above)
Accompanying the Visual Blueprints is another ship-based system, and this one allows you to select a different weapon layout. By choosing a Strike, Bombard or Heavy Bombard you can choose to forgo your cannon batteries and replace them with more Swivel Guns or Mortars. The Heavy Bombard can gain even more Mortars by losing the Swivel Guns on the ship.
This opens up a wealth of new customisation options with your ship and weapons, and there can be some potent combinations. It takes a while (and sufficient booty) to find everything you want, but its fun trying different setups and testing their effectiveness. Of course, anything you can do, the enemy can do too so be prepared to be on the receiving end to some of these deadly combos. You can swap Weapon Layouts at any time in the Ship Management section of the Journal.
The AI will now ram and board you. Some ships will be more aggressive in this than others, but even defensive-minded ships may decide a quick ram-and-run may be an efficient way to stop you once you chase them down. This, combined with the Weapon Layout changes mean that existing players should be on their toes when engaging in combat, as there are many new ways the AI can hurt you.
To help you keep ramming AI ships at bay, weve created the Anti-Ram.
This one-shot-per-battle-per-side upgrade can be equipped into the side-slot on your ship (the same space Gargoyles and Harpoons go) and, once an enemy attempts a ram on you, the button will light up. Pressing this in time will fire out the Anti-Ram, which is stuffed with explosives. Upon impact, it will halt the ramming vessel, inflicting damage on it. This will allow you to either move out of range, or attempt a counter-ram. Were also conscious that ramming is something some players do frequently, and wanted to give the AI something to counter that with. If they have it of course, but itll give Rammer-Spammers pause before going in for the kill :)
Coastal Defences are like Sea Forts, but are land-based. Youll find these scattered throughout the world, and theyll open fire on you if youre at Wanted Level 1 or above. If you engage in battle in range of a hostile Coastal Defence, itll bombard you in combat, too.
We plan on doing a lot more with Coastal Defences in a future update, so consider this their opening salvo.
Sometimes in battle the AI may now plead for mercy, which you may choose to accept, or fight to the bitter end. Likewise, if youre at deaths door, the AI may offer clemency if youre prepared to give up some of your hard earned loot.
Weve done a huge amount of work optimising the game, so those players with Integrated graphics can now run the game much faster with the correct settings. If you previously werent experiencing high enough framerates, we advise checking them again. You can switch via the in-game settings menu and see the difference, so its simple to achieve the right visual quality and framerate sweet-spot. If youd been running the game on Low quality previously, you may wish to see how the game runs on Medium settings with this update. On our test machine with an Intel HD630, combat (which is the most-intensive part of the game) is running at a steady 30fps at 1920x1080. Lowering the resolution gives a hefty speed boost, too.
If all that wasn't enough, we've done a load of bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements and polish, too! Head to this post for the full details: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1642038659010595314/
-- Take on a mission with The Syndicate when you visit the port in No Yonder -- Our last update was huge, and this one is even bigger - we can't wait to show you what we have planned for the next one, too! If you find any issues, please report them on the forums, and if you like it, let us know by leaving a review :) Thanks for the support. The Abandon Ship Crew. PS - Thanks to all our Beta Branch testers, your feedback was invaluable.
[ 2019-05-29 08:48:24 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captains!
We've unlocked three regions for you to explore in our latest Major Update, alongside a load of other cool new stuff.
Check out this video of the latest additions to see them in action:
https://youtu.be/ZrJCA8haLjY?t=0
Before we delve into The Spider Islands, some important house-keeping: In order to gain access to the new content, your existing saves will not work in the latest version - Don't worry though, you can get a head-start by using one of the multiple quick-starts, the latter two have the option to customise your ship and crew so you can approximate where you were before.
If you are mid-playthrough on the previous version and wish to continue it, then you may switch over to this older version of the game via the Beta Branches system:
- Go to your Steam Library
- Right-click on Abandon Ship and select "Properties"
- Go to the tab marked "Betas"
- In the drop-down box, select the one called "0.5.11395 Shattered Empire Version"
Here's what we've added...
3 New Regions
The regions weve unlocked are:
- Spider Islands
- Cannibals Lurk
- Perils Cauldron
Ports are few and far between in these areas, so only enter them with a well-supplied ship with a full crew! All of the new maps contain a wealth of unique events and islands to discover. We wont spoil everything, but here are some examples of what you can expect
Spider Islands
Stemming from Mothers Grasp, Arachnids of all shapes and sizes have gradually spread out, taking over the entire region. Tales of treasure and the availability of rich silk draw people to the region, despite the danger it poses. Blanket web permeates the skies, obscuring visibility, while thick strands connect the islands together.
If youre forced into combat in this region, the disturbance draws the attention of the larger spiders. These periodically drop down onto both ships and attack. While individually weak, they can overwhelm weakened stragglers and the red spiders explode into a pool of acid, so be sure to stay on top of any infestations.
The strong winds of the Wild Sea, and poisonous gasses of the Forsaken Sea stop the spiders from expanding beyond their region. The Silk Keys had none of this protection however, and it fell to Aldous Spiderbane to stop their encroachment, pushing them back to near extinction. Unfortunately he was unable to complete his task, and in the years since the spiders reclaimed the territory they lost. You can visit Aldous and undertake a special quest for him in the Silk Keys, which lie in the Shattered Empire region.
-- Visit the Silk Keys to find out about the statue we teased in the last Major Update -- Weve added a handful of new weapons in this update, none are available in ports and can only be obtained by completing quests. If you want to get your hands on the Spider Egg Launcher, youll have to go looking for it somewhere in the region.
Also, beware of strange vessels with spider iconography that can be found in the area. The crew only utter the words Mother knows best and are seemingly ignored by the arachnids.
Cannibals Lurk
The second of our new regions has a different kind of infestation: Cannibals.
These natives wear imposing masks designed to intimidate their prey, and will paddle out to battling ships, boarding both at the start of combat. If you can dispatch them quickly, you may gain some advantage over an enemy still distracted by them.
While its easy to assume the locals are savages, the settlers drawn to the region are not blameless, drawn by misguided rumours of cities of gold. One event in the bottom of the area sees you responsible for determining the fate of both factions. In this region youll once again team up with Sigismund, the explorer you encountered in the Howling Seas. Hell reveal what was at the centre of the imposing mass of Ice before joining him on another one of his adventures.
Perils Cauldron
Our third region contains a broad selection of maps to explore. Head to the Sea of Serpents and explore the Writhing Atoll. Strange people who live in harmony with the snakes patrol the area in custom vessels. They are capricious, just as likely to attack unprovoked as provide you with a gift. It is in this region that you have a chance to gain the Snake Venom Gun.
One of the other maps in the region may contain an island familiar to those who have braved the Haunted Seas. It is here that youll obtain the Ghost Mortar:
This weapon was previously only found on Ghost Ships. Now, should you complete the associated quest you can unlock it and use it against your foes.
There is of course a whole lot more to discover in these regions, and if you want to discuss what youve found, how you resolved some of these quests, need help finding everything, jump on the forums or our Discord.
Ship Visual Blueprints
The community have often asked if theyll ever have the chance to take control of the cool-looking ships available to the other factions, and now you can! The Visual Blueprints system is available from the Ship Management menu in the Journal, and once youve acquired a Blueprint you can swap over to it as long as you own the same class vessel. You have to earn the Blueprint however, and you can only do so by capturing it intact. Your blueprints are not tied to a save game, so once youve unlocked a blueprint youve unlocked it in any of your games. We intend to add many more Ship variants for each class before full release, and in this update weve added two more to find (weve given hints on where to find them in the region descriptions above)
Ship Weapon Layouts
Accompanying the Visual Blueprints is another ship-based system, and this one allows you to select a different weapon layout. By choosing a Strike, Bombard or Heavy Bombard you can choose to forgo your cannon batteries and replace them with more Swivel Guns or Mortars. The Heavy Bombard can gain even more Mortars by losing the Swivel Guns on the ship.
This opens up a wealth of new customisation options with your ship and weapons, and there can be some potent combinations. It takes a while (and sufficient booty) to find everything you want, but its fun trying different setups and testing their effectiveness. Of course, anything you can do, the enemy can do too so be prepared to be on the receiving end to some of these deadly combos. You can swap Weapon Layouts at any time in the Ship Management section of the Journal.
AI Ramming and Boarding
The AI will now ram and board you. Some ships will be more aggressive in this than others, but even defensive-minded ships may decide a quick ram-and-run may be an efficient way to stop you once you chase them down. This, combined with the Weapon Layout changes mean that existing players should be on their toes when engaging in combat, as there are many new ways the AI can hurt you.
Anti-Ram Upgrade
To help you keep ramming AI ships at bay, weve created the Anti-Ram.
This one-shot-per-battle-per-side upgrade can be equipped into the side-slot on your ship (the same space Gargoyles and Harpoons go) and, once an enemy attempts a ram on you, the button will light up. Pressing this in time will fire out the Anti-Ram, which is stuffed with explosives. Upon impact, it will halt the ramming vessel, inflicting damage on it. This will allow you to either move out of range, or attempt a counter-ram. Were also conscious that ramming is something some players do frequently, and wanted to give the AI something to counter that with. If they have it of course, but itll give Rammer-Spammers pause before going in for the kill :)
Coastal Defences
Coastal Defences are like Sea Forts, but are land-based. Youll find these scattered throughout the world, and theyll open fire on you if youre at Wanted Level 1 or above. If you engage in battle in range of a hostile Coastal Defence, itll bombard you in combat, too.
We plan on doing a lot more with Coastal Defences in a future update, so consider this their opening salvo.
Surrender
Sometimes in battle the AI may now plead for mercy, which you may choose to accept, or fight to the bitter end. Likewise, if youre at deaths door, the AI may offer clemency if youre prepared to give up some of your hard earned loot.
Massive Optimisations
Weve done a huge amount of work optimising the game, so those players with Integrated graphics can now run the game much faster with the correct settings. If you previously werent experiencing high enough framerates, we advise checking them again. You can switch via the in-game settings menu and see the difference, so its simple to achieve the right visual quality and framerate sweet-spot. If youd been running the game on Low quality previously, you may wish to see how the game runs on Medium settings with this update. On our test machine with an Intel HD630, combat (which is the most-intensive part of the game) is running at a steady 30fps at 1920x1080. Lowering the resolution gives a hefty speed boost, too.
Patch Notes
If all that wasn't enough, we've done a load of bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements and polish, too! Head to this post for the full details: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1642038659010595314/
-- Take on a mission with The Syndicate when you visit the port in No Yonder -- Our last update was huge, and this one is even bigger - we can't wait to show you what we have planned for the next one, too! If you find any issues, please report them on the forums, and if you like it, let us know by leaving a review :) Thanks for the support. The Abandon Ship Crew. PS - Thanks to all our Beta Branch testers, your feedback was invaluable.
[ 2019-05-29 08:48:24 CET ] [ Original post ]
Beta Branch Updated!
The regions weve unlocked are:
Ports are few and far between in these areas, so only enter them with a well-supplied ship with a full crew! All of the new maps contain a wealth of unique events and islands to discover. We wont spoil everything, but here are some examples of what you can expect
Stemming from Mothers Grasp, Arachnids of all shapes and sizes have gradually spread out, taking over the entire region. Tales of treasure and the availability of rich silk draw people to the region, despite the danger it poses. Blanket web permeates the skies, obscuring visibility, while thick strands connect the islands together.
If youre forced into combat in this region, the disturbance draws the attention of the larger spiders. These periodically drop down onto both ships and attack. While individually weak, they can overwhelm weakened stragglers and the red spiders explode into a pool of acid, so be sure to stay on top of any infestations.
The strong winds of the Wild Sea, and poisonous gasses of the Forsaken Sea stop the spiders from expanding beyond their region. The Silk Keys had none of this protection however, and it fell to Aldous Spiderbane to stop their encroachment, pushing them back to near extinction. Unfortunately he was unable to complete his task, and in the years since the spiders reclaimed the territory they lost. You can visit Aldous and undertake a special quest for him in the Silk Keys, which lie in the Shattered Empire region.
-- Visit the Silk Keys to find out about the statue we teased in the last Major Update -- Weve added a handful of new weapons in this update, none are available in ports and can only be obtained by completing quests. If you want to get your hands on the Spider Egg Launcher, youll have to go looking for it somewhere in the region.
Also, beware of strange vessels with spider iconography that can be found in the area. The crew only utter the words Mother knows best and are seemingly ignored by the arachnids.
The second of our new regions has a different kind of infestation: Cannibals.
These natives wear imposing masks designed to intimidate their prey, and will paddle out to battling ships, boarding both at the start of combat. If you can dispatch them quickly, you may gain some advantage over an enemy still distracted by them.
While its easy to assume the locals are savages, the settlers drawn to the region are not blameless, drawn by misguided rumours of cities of gold. One event in the bottom of the area sees you responsible for determining the fate of both factions. In this region youll once again team up with Sigismund, the explorer you encountered in the Howling Seas. Hell reveal what was at the centre of the imposing mass of Ice before joining him on another one of his adventures.
Our third region contains a broad selection of maps to explore. Head to the Sea of Serpents and explore the Writhing Atoll. Strange people who live in harmony with the snakes patrol the area in custom vessels. They are capricious, just as likely to attack unprovoked as provide you with a gift. It is in this region that you have a chance to gain the Snake Venom Gun.
One of the other maps in the region may contain an island familiar to those who have braved the Haunted Seas. It is here that youll obtain the Ghost Mortar:
This weapon was previously only found on Ghost Ships. Now, should you complete the associated quest you can unlock it and use it against your foes.
There is of course a whole lot more to discover in these regions, and if you want to discuss what youve found, how you resolved some of these quests, need help finding everything, jump on the forums or our Discord.
The community have often asked if theyll ever have the chance to take control of the cool-looking ships available to the other factions, and now you can! The Visual Blueprints system is available from the Ship Management menu in the Journal, and once youve acquired a Blueprint you can swap over to it as long as you own the same class vessel. You have to earn the Blueprint however, and you can only do so by capturing it intact. Your blueprints are not tied to a save game, so once youve unlocked a blueprint youve unlocked it in any of your games. We intend to add many more Ship variants for each class before full release, and in this update weve added two more to find (weve given hints on where to find them in the region descriptions above)
Accompanying the Visual Blueprints is another ship-based system, and this one allows you to select a different weapon layout. By choosing a Strike, Bombard or Heavy Bombard you can choose to forgo your cannon batteries and replace them with more Swivel Guns or Mortars. The Heavy Bombard can gain even more Mortars by losing the Swivel Guns on the ship.
This opens up a wealth of new customisation options with your ship and weapons, and there can be some potent combinations. It takes a while (and sufficient booty) to find everything you want, but its fun trying different setups and testing their effectiveness. Of course, anything you can do, the enemy can do too so be prepared to be on the receiving end to some of these deadly combos. You can swap Weapon Layouts at any time in the Ship Management section of the Journal.
The AI will now ram and board you. Some ships will be more aggressive in this than others, but even defensive-minded ships may decide a quick ram-and-run may be an efficient way to stop you once you chase them down. This, combined with the Weapon Layout changes mean that existing players should be on their toes when engaging in combat, as there are many new ways the AI can hurt you. At the same time, were conscious that both systems will need on-going balancing. Do the AI Ram too often? Too little? Are there certain weapons that are too over-powered now you can deploy more of them with the new layouts? Jump on the forums to let us know.
To help you keep ramming AI ships at bay, weve created the Anti-Ram.
This one-shot-per-battle-per-side upgrade can be equipped into the side-slot on your ship (the same space Gargoyles and Harpoons go) and, once an enemy attempts a ram on you, the button will light up. Pressing this in time will fire out the Anti-Ram, which is stuffed with explosives. Upon impact, it will halt the ramming vessel, inflicting damage on it. This will allow you to either move out of range, or attempt a counter-ram. Were also conscious that ramming is something some players do frequently, and wanted to give the AI something to counter that with. If they have it of course, but itll give Rammer-Spammers pause before going in for the kill :)
Coastal Defences are like Sea Forts, but are land-based. Youll find these scattered throughout the world, and theyll open fire on you if youre at Wanted Level 1 or above. If you engage in battle in range of a hostile Coastal Defence, itll bombard you in combat, too.
We plan on doing a lot more with Coastal Defences in a future update, so consider this their opening salvo.
Sometimes in battle the AI may now plead for mercy, which you may choose to accept, or fight to the bitter end. Likewise, if youre at deaths door, the AI may offer clemency if youre prepared to give up some of your hard earned loot.
Weve done a huge amount of work optimising the game, so those players with Integrated graphics can now run the game much faster with the correct settings. If you previously werent experiencing high enough framerates, we advise checking them again. You can switch via the in-game settings menu and see the difference, so its simple to achieve the right visual quality and framerate sweet-spot. If youd been running the game on Low quality previously, you may wish to see how the game runs on Medium settings with this update. On our test machine with an Intel HD630, combat (which is the most-intensive part of the game) is running at a steady 30fps at 1920x1080. Lowering the resolution gives a hefty speed boost, too.
This update also contains a load of bug-fixes and quality of life improvements which well detail in full in the patch notes that accompany the full update.
-- Take on a mission with The Syndicate when you visit the port in No Yonder -- As this update is so huge, we plan on leaving it on the Beta Branch for a few weeks, and would appreciate any feedback. Please report bugs and your thoughts either on the Steam forums, or on our Discord: https://discord.gg/ZVuEe2a Happy sailing, The Abandon Ship Crew PS If youre running the game in Russian, Spanish or Brazilian Portuguese, this update has about 25k new words, so our translation team are working hard to catch up. Were hoping this will be ready by the time we move this build from the Beta Branch to the main one. If youd like to know what other languages are coming, check this post here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/3726075043726578031/
[ 2019-04-15 15:20:24 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hello fellow Captains,
We've updated the Beta Branch with a whole swathe of new content to enjoy.
To learn how to gain access to the Beta Branch, click on this link:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/10/1698293255137774100/
If the number in the bottom-right corner of the Main Menu ends in 11784 or later, you have the correct version.
To access this new content, you'll need to start a new game.
Here's what we've added...
3 New Regions
The regions weve unlocked are:
- Spider Islands
- Cannibals Lurk
- Perils Cauldron
Ports are few and far between in these areas, so only enter them with a well-supplied ship with a full crew! All of the new maps contain a wealth of unique events and islands to discover. We wont spoil everything, but here are some examples of what you can expect
Spider Islands
Stemming from Mothers Grasp, Arachnids of all shapes and sizes have gradually spread out, taking over the entire region. Tales of treasure and the availability of rich silk draw people to the region, despite the danger it poses. Blanket web permeates the skies, obscuring visibility, while thick strands connect the islands together.
If youre forced into combat in this region, the disturbance draws the attention of the larger spiders. These periodically drop down onto both ships and attack. While individually weak, they can overwhelm weakened stragglers and the red spiders explode into a pool of acid, so be sure to stay on top of any infestations.
The strong winds of the Wild Sea, and poisonous gasses of the Forsaken Sea stop the spiders from expanding beyond their region. The Silk Keys had none of this protection however, and it fell to Aldous Spiderbane to stop their encroachment, pushing them back to near extinction. Unfortunately he was unable to complete his task, and in the years since the spiders reclaimed the territory they lost. You can visit Aldous and undertake a special quest for him in the Silk Keys, which lie in the Shattered Empire region.
-- Visit the Silk Keys to find out about the statue we teased in the last Major Update -- Weve added a handful of new weapons in this update, none are available in ports and can only be obtained by completing quests. If you want to get your hands on the Spider Egg Launcher, youll have to go looking for it somewhere in the region.
Also, beware of strange vessels with spider iconography that can be found in the area. The crew only utter the words Mother knows best and are seemingly ignored by the arachnids.
Cannibals Lurk
The second of our new regions has a different kind of infestation: Cannibals.
These natives wear imposing masks designed to intimidate their prey, and will paddle out to battling ships, boarding both at the start of combat. If you can dispatch them quickly, you may gain some advantage over an enemy still distracted by them.
While its easy to assume the locals are savages, the settlers drawn to the region are not blameless, drawn by misguided rumours of cities of gold. One event in the bottom of the area sees you responsible for determining the fate of both factions. In this region youll once again team up with Sigismund, the explorer you encountered in the Howling Seas. Hell reveal what was at the centre of the imposing mass of Ice before joining him on another one of his adventures.
Perils Cauldron
Our third region contains a broad selection of maps to explore. Head to the Sea of Serpents and explore the Writhing Atoll. Strange people who live in harmony with the snakes patrol the area in custom vessels. They are capricious, just as likely to attack unprovoked as provide you with a gift. It is in this region that you have a chance to gain the Snake Venom Gun.
One of the other maps in the region may contain an island familiar to those who have braved the Haunted Seas. It is here that youll obtain the Ghost Mortar:
This weapon was previously only found on Ghost Ships. Now, should you complete the associated quest you can unlock it and use it against your foes.
There is of course a whole lot more to discover in these regions, and if you want to discuss what youve found, how you resolved some of these quests, need help finding everything, jump on the forums or our Discord.
Ship Visual Blueprints
The community have often asked if theyll ever have the chance to take control of the cool-looking ships available to the other factions, and now you can! The Visual Blueprints system is available from the Ship Management menu in the Journal, and once youve acquired a Blueprint you can swap over to it as long as you own the same class vessel. You have to earn the Blueprint however, and you can only do so by capturing it intact. Your blueprints are not tied to a save game, so once youve unlocked a blueprint youve unlocked it in any of your games. We intend to add many more Ship variants for each class before full release, and in this update weve added two more to find (weve given hints on where to find them in the region descriptions above)
Ship Weapon Layouts
Accompanying the Visual Blueprints is another ship-based system, and this one allows you to select a different weapon layout. By choosing a Strike, Bombard or Heavy Bombard you can choose to forgo your cannon batteries and replace them with more Swivel Guns or Mortars. The Heavy Bombard can gain even more Mortars by losing the Swivel Guns on the ship.
This opens up a wealth of new customisation options with your ship and weapons, and there can be some potent combinations. It takes a while (and sufficient booty) to find everything you want, but its fun trying different setups and testing their effectiveness. Of course, anything you can do, the enemy can do too so be prepared to be on the receiving end to some of these deadly combos. You can swap Weapon Layouts at any time in the Ship Management section of the Journal.
AI Ramming and Boarding
The AI will now ram and board you. Some ships will be more aggressive in this than others, but even defensive-minded ships may decide a quick ram-and-run may be an efficient way to stop you once you chase them down. This, combined with the Weapon Layout changes mean that existing players should be on their toes when engaging in combat, as there are many new ways the AI can hurt you. At the same time, were conscious that both systems will need on-going balancing. Do the AI Ram too often? Too little? Are there certain weapons that are too over-powered now you can deploy more of them with the new layouts? Jump on the forums to let us know.
Anti-Ram Upgrade
To help you keep ramming AI ships at bay, weve created the Anti-Ram.
This one-shot-per-battle-per-side upgrade can be equipped into the side-slot on your ship (the same space Gargoyles and Harpoons go) and, once an enemy attempts a ram on you, the button will light up. Pressing this in time will fire out the Anti-Ram, which is stuffed with explosives. Upon impact, it will halt the ramming vessel, inflicting damage on it. This will allow you to either move out of range, or attempt a counter-ram. Were also conscious that ramming is something some players do frequently, and wanted to give the AI something to counter that with. If they have it of course, but itll give Rammer-Spammers pause before going in for the kill :)
Coastal Defences
Coastal Defences are like Sea Forts, but are land-based. Youll find these scattered throughout the world, and theyll open fire on you if youre at Wanted Level 1 or above. If you engage in battle in range of a hostile Coastal Defence, itll bombard you in combat, too.
We plan on doing a lot more with Coastal Defences in a future update, so consider this their opening salvo.
Surrender
Sometimes in battle the AI may now plead for mercy, which you may choose to accept, or fight to the bitter end. Likewise, if youre at deaths door, the AI may offer clemency if youre prepared to give up some of your hard earned loot.
Massive Optimisations
Weve done a huge amount of work optimising the game, so those players with Integrated graphics can now run the game much faster with the correct settings. If you previously werent experiencing high enough framerates, we advise checking them again. You can switch via the in-game settings menu and see the difference, so its simple to achieve the right visual quality and framerate sweet-spot. If youd been running the game on Low quality previously, you may wish to see how the game runs on Medium settings with this update. On our test machine with an Intel HD630, combat (which is the most-intensive part of the game) is running at a steady 30fps at 1920x1080. Lowering the resolution gives a hefty speed boost, too.
This update also contains a load of bug-fixes and quality of life improvements which well detail in full in the patch notes that accompany the full update.
-- Take on a mission with The Syndicate when you visit the port in No Yonder -- As this update is so huge, we plan on leaving it on the Beta Branch for a few weeks, and would appreciate any feedback. Please report bugs and your thoughts either on the Steam forums, or on our Discord: https://discord.gg/ZVuEe2a Happy sailing, The Abandon Ship Crew PS If youre running the game in Russian, Spanish or Brazilian Portuguese, this update has about 25k new words, so our translation team are working hard to catch up. Were hoping this will be ready by the time we move this build from the Beta Branch to the main one. If youd like to know what other languages are coming, check this post here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/3726075043726578031/
[ 2019-04-15 15:20:24 CET ] [ Original post ]
New Languages Added!
[ 2019-03-11 15:14:15 CET ] [ Original post ]
Greetings Captain,
We've added full support for three new languages: Russian, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish.
If the version number in the bottom-right corner of the Main Menu has 11395 or above, you have the correct version.
If you spot any text issues in those languages, please report them in the following sub-forum:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/5/
Other languages are at various stages of development. German and Simplified Chinese are in-progress, Dutch is being handled by our lovely community translators, and we're in the early stages of other languages (such as French and Japanese).
We consider many factors when deciding which languages we'll translate the game to, but our best guide is to look at sales and Wishlists on a per country basis. If we see we're particularly popular in certain countries, then we're encouraged to translate to that language.
Things are progressing well with our next Major Update. There will be another wave of features plus three new regions to explore.
You can get some sneak peeks of upcoming content on either our Discord:
https://discord.gg/jbahTp6
Or by joining our Newsletter (you'll also get your name in the game as a randomly generated crew member by signing up!)
http://abandonshipgame.com/get-your-name-in-the-game
Have you tagged the game yet? If not, it would be absolutely awesome if you could!
Tags help our visibility on Steam in many places, and it only takes a moment. Just press the "+" symbol on our store page, which is to the right of the screenshot carousel:
This sort of thing really makes a positive difference to indie developers, so thank-you for the support.
We'll post up the details of the new Major Update when it launches onto our Beta Branch.
Until then, may your sailing be smooth!
The Abandon Ship crew
[ 2019-03-11 15:14:15 CET ] [ Original post ]
Major Update Released: Shattered Empire
Here's what you'll find in the latest update:
Weve unlocked 3 new regions to explore:
All of these regions exhibit our ultimate goal for every map in Abandon Ship. Which is for each map to have a unique island to discover, plus a unique event / side-quest. In some cases, there will also be a modifier to combat gameplay as well. Below is a brief description of these regions, well let you discover whats in them for yourself! Note - These regions arent accessible until Act 2, but dont forget there are two quick-starts that put you at Act 2 and beyond, so if you just want to check out these regions, you can easily do so.
This arctic region is constantly battered by blizzards. Wights Embrace is the only port here, and the harsh environment contains some strange islands and events to discover.
In combat, blizzards will occasionally ramp up their intensity. When this happens, the crews on both ships can do nothing but shield themselves. If they pass the brace test at the apex of the storm, they can continue as normal, otherwise theyll fall to the deck or risk being knocked overboard.
The Forsaken Seas have always been a geologically strange area, but one fateful day the mountains began spewing toxic fumes into the air. This had a catastrophic impact and the region is largely abandoned. Although the air is something you can now survive in (for a few days, anyway), it is still a very inhospitable area. Only those wishing to pass through to other regions in a more direct route, opportunistic looters or those under the employ of the Sweethook Barons tend to be found here.
In combat, this poisonous fog obscures visibility and will continually sap the health of both crews until it reaches the red portion of the health bar.
Bordering such hostile areas as the Forsaken Seas, Spider Islands and Cannibal Islands means this once-prosperous region is under siege. Your intervention can have a lasting impact on the areas in this region. When you find the broken monument to the Empire which two factions are fighting over, will you help rebuild or destroy it? Duskvale is a cursed map, haunted by Ghost Ships. Will you lift the curse or fulfil it? You can visit the Silk Keys, the gateway to the Spider Islands, and finally there is a Plague Colony with blockades guarding each exit. Will you break through the blockade, or is there another way? Once you visit Rotholme, will you be merciful with your much-needed supplies, or turn a swift profit?
Speaking of the Plague Colony, this is the only place in the world where you can acquire a new weapon the Plague Dart. Crew infected by this swivel gun instantly have their health capped at 66%, and anyone standing within close proximity will be infected. Weve had great fun hitting a crew member running past their colleagues, infecting the whole ship. Combining this weapon with other anti-personnel weapons can be especially effective.
Originally, we had 5 biome types: Arctic, Sub-Polar, Temperate, Sub-Tropical and Tropical. As my thoughts turn to the more Southerly regions in the game, I felt that Sub-Tropical and Tropical didnt offer enough distinction from one another. Weve therefore merged these two island types into Tropical, in order to make room for an Arid biome. This offers a nice visual difference from anywhere else, and has a hot, Mediterranean vibe to it. Youll notice this region just south of the Temperate areas.
Weve added a couple of new systems that aid navigation and provide more of a sense of purpose to general explortation.
The first of these is the Lighthouse. These Empire-era buildings not only provide a high vantage point, but they are also stocked with maps of the local area. Visiting one of these will uncover the fog of war in that map, and due to their height, are clearly visible from afar.
This means when you enter a map, the fog of war around them is already revealed, so by checking the pulled-out map view and spotting a lighthouse, you can sail directly to it.
No Captain would take to the sea without a compass, and this acts as an arrowhead around the ship that points to undiscovered points of interest. That means even without a lighthouse, youll have something pointing you toward points of interest you havent yet discovered, so no more hunting down that last icon hidden in an unrevealed corner!
As you play Abandon Ship and make decisions in events, youll now notice some will display a new piece of UI, explaining that you have made a Friend or Enemy. Life on the seas is tough, so people live their lives by one mantra: A debt must be repaid. If you go around helping people, they will eventually come back and repay the debt by their own act of kindness. Similarly, being more piratical and not helping those in desperate situations will earn enemies that could return for revenge. Once created by your actions, these acquaintances will be in the world, and if they return the message box will provide the context to help you recall the choice that led to this particular encounter.
Of course, not all will return. For example, not picking up a Castaway may make them an enemy, but they may also not survive the situation as in real life, you wont know, unless of course they one day crop up for revenge. Equally, you may make decisions that create friends or enemies without you knowing about them perhaps liberating a port from the Cult resulted in a locals loved one being killed, and they blame you for it?
Our team of community translators are busy working through the text, and the first languages have been implemented: Russian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. To activate them, follow these steps:
German is likely to be the next language ready. Simplified Chinese, French and Dutch are in our plans but no ETA on those yet. In case you were wondering, we choose our languages through a combination of willing translators and Wishlists + sales we get from specific countries.
After we visited The Haunted Seas in our last update, we took the opportunity to make some infrastructural changes, because the more content we added, the more pressure this was putting on minimum spec machines (like mine!). Something that would have only got worse with future updates. This work is crucially important, as itll put us in a good position for adding everything else in the game. You should see memory usage come down, and it should be faster to get into the main menu when you boot the game. As mentioned near the start of this post, this work included huge optimisations to our save file system. This will be useful for implementing Cloud Save support.
We've done a bunch of other cool stuff as well, which are encapsulated here:
Crew now cheer when theyve won a battle, which helps positively reinforce your victory, and there are multiple new ways enemy ships will now sink. We added this last one because its something you see a lot, so we felt variety helped keep it fresh.
A raided or blocked trade route will now increase prices at their connected port so youve got a choice when spending money there. Do you take care of the trade route to save money, or if youre desperate for repairs, do you take the financial hit? Similar to the gold chests floating in the sea, we now have Hull Repair flotsam. These repair your ship hull a small amount when you collect them.
Weve generally made it faster to get through maps by making actions that didnt previously count towards gate opening now do so. This is stuff like dealing with pirate discount ships, Sea Forts and ships on trade routes. Alongside this, weve nudged down the amount of events needed to get through Region 1 maps, so in general the game moves along at a faster pace now.
Each crew member can have an old variant. Theres no gameplay difference (yet, its something Im considering) but it was a fun way to give your crew a bit more character.
Weve added support for 5:4 and 4:3 aspect ratios. Previously this only allowed the choice of 16:9, resulting in lower resolution choices for people with 5:4 or 4:3 monitors. Weve also added Discord Rich Presence, so your Discord friends should see details of what youre doing in-game. If you want to join our Discord server, the link is here: https://discord.gg/jbahTp6
If you want to see all the other bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements etc. you can check out this post here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1778261844036495690/
This ended up being our biggest update yet, and we're already excited about our plans for the next one! If you find any issues, please report them on the forums, and if you like it, let us know :) Thanks for the support. The Abandon Ship Crew. PS - Thanks to all our Beta Branch testers!
[ 2019-02-01 09:51:59 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captains!
We've unlocked three regions for you to explore in our latest Major Update, alongside a load of other cool new stuff, making this our biggest one yet.
Check out this video of the latest additions to see them in action:
https://youtu.be/xbgjdKh8nTc?t=0
Before we delve into Shattered Empire, some important house-keeping: We've greatly optimised our save files, which were becoming too large. This change means your existing saves will not work in the latest version - but fear not! There are multiple quick-starts, and the latter two have the option to customise your ship and crew so you can approximate where you were before.
If you are mid-playthrough on the previous version and wish to continue it, then you may switch over to this older version of the game via the Beta Branches system:
- Go to your Steam Library
- Right-click on Abandon Ship and select "Properties"
- Go to the tab marked "Betas"
- In the drop-down box, select the one called "0.5.10427 The Haunted Seas Version"
- Wait for the game to finish updating, you should see the branch name listed after the game name.
Here's what you'll find in the latest update:
3 New Regions Unlocked
Weve unlocked 3 new regions to explore:
- Forsaken Seas
- Shattered Empire
- Howling Seas
All of these regions exhibit our ultimate goal for every map in Abandon Ship. Which is for each map to have a unique island to discover, plus a unique event / side-quest. In some cases, there will also be a modifier to combat gameplay as well. Below is a brief description of these regions, well let you discover whats in them for yourself! Note - These regions arent accessible until Act 2, but dont forget there are two quick-starts that put you at Act 2 and beyond, so if you just want to check out these regions, you can easily do so.
The Howling Seas
This arctic region is constantly battered by blizzards. Wights Embrace is the only port here, and the harsh environment contains some strange islands and events to discover.
In combat, blizzards will occasionally ramp up their intensity. When this happens, the crews on both ships can do nothing but shield themselves. If they pass the brace test at the apex of the storm, they can continue as normal, otherwise theyll fall to the deck or risk being knocked overboard.
Forsaken Seas
The Forsaken Seas have always been a geologically strange area, but one fateful day the mountains began spewing toxic fumes into the air. This had a catastrophic impact and the region is largely abandoned. Although the air is something you can now survive in (for a few days, anyway), it is still a very inhospitable area. Only those wishing to pass through to other regions in a more direct route, opportunistic looters or those under the employ of the Sweethook Barons tend to be found here.
In combat, this poisonous fog obscures visibility and will continually sap the health of both crews until it reaches the red portion of the health bar.
The Shattered Empire
Bordering such hostile areas as the Forsaken Seas, Spider Islands and Cannibal Islands means this once-prosperous region is under siege. Your intervention can have a lasting impact on the areas in this region. When you find the broken monument to the Empire which two factions are fighting over, will you help rebuild or destroy it? Duskvale is a cursed map, haunted by Ghost Ships. Will you lift the curse or fulfil it? You can visit the Silk Keys, the gateway to the Spider Islands, and finally there is a Plague Colony with blockades guarding each exit. Will you break through the blockade, or is there another way? Once you visit Rotholme, will you be merciful with your much-needed supplies, or turn a swift profit?
Plague Dart
Speaking of the Plague Colony, this is the only place in the world where you can acquire a new weapon the Plague Dart. Crew infected by this swivel gun instantly have their health capped at 66%, and anyone standing within close proximity will be infected. Weve had great fun hitting a crew member running past their colleagues, infecting the whole ship. Combining this weapon with other anti-personnel weapons can be especially effective.
New Biome
Originally, we had 5 biome types: Arctic, Sub-Polar, Temperate, Sub-Tropical and Tropical. As my thoughts turn to the more Southerly regions in the game, I felt that Sub-Tropical and Tropical didnt offer enough distinction from one another. Weve therefore merged these two island types into Tropical, in order to make room for an Arid biome. This offers a nice visual difference from anywhere else, and has a hot, Mediterranean vibe to it. Youll notice this region just south of the Temperate areas.
Exploration Systems
Weve added a couple of new systems that aid navigation and provide more of a sense of purpose to general explortation.
Lighthouse
The first of these is the Lighthouse. These Empire-era buildings not only provide a high vantage point, but they are also stocked with maps of the local area. Visiting one of these will uncover the fog of war in that map, and due to their height, are clearly visible from afar.
This means when you enter a map, the fog of war around them is already revealed, so by checking the pulled-out map view and spotting a lighthouse, you can sail directly to it.
Compass
No Captain would take to the sea without a compass, and this acts as an arrowhead around the ship that points to undiscovered points of interest. That means even without a lighthouse, youll have something pointing you toward points of interest you havent yet discovered, so no more hunting down that last icon hidden in an unrevealed corner!
Friends and Enemies
As you play Abandon Ship and make decisions in events, youll now notice some will display a new piece of UI, explaining that you have made a Friend or Enemy. Life on the seas is tough, so people live their lives by one mantra: A debt must be repaid. If you go around helping people, they will eventually come back and repay the debt by their own act of kindness. Similarly, being more piratical and not helping those in desperate situations will earn enemies that could return for revenge. Once created by your actions, these acquaintances will be in the world, and if they return the message box will provide the context to help you recall the choice that led to this particular encounter.
Of course, not all will return. For example, not picking up a Castaway may make them an enemy, but they may also not survive the situation as in real life, you wont know, unless of course they one day crop up for revenge. Equally, you may make decisions that create friends or enemies without you knowing about them perhaps liberating a port from the Cult resulted in a locals loved one being killed, and they blame you for it?
New Languages
Our team of community translators are busy working through the text, and the first languages have been implemented: Russian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. To activate them, follow these steps:
- Right click on a game from the Steam game library and choose Properties.
- Go to the Language tab
- Select the language you wish to use from the drop-down menu
German is likely to be the next language ready. Simplified Chinese, French and Dutch are in our plans but no ETA on those yet. In case you were wondering, we choose our languages through a combination of willing translators and Wishlists + sales we get from specific countries.
Building for the Future
After we visited The Haunted Seas in our last update, we took the opportunity to make some infrastructural changes, because the more content we added, the more pressure this was putting on minimum spec machines (like mine!). Something that would have only got worse with future updates. This work is crucially important, as itll put us in a good position for adding everything else in the game. You should see memory usage come down, and it should be faster to get into the main menu when you boot the game. As mentioned near the start of this post, this work included huge optimisations to our save file system. This will be useful for implementing Cloud Save support.
Other Stuff
We've done a bunch of other cool stuff as well, which are encapsulated here:
End of battle Improvements
Crew now cheer when theyve won a battle, which helps positively reinforce your victory, and there are multiple new ways enemy ships will now sink. We added this last one because its something you see a lot, so we felt variety helped keep it fresh.
Exploration Improvements
A raided or blocked trade route will now increase prices at their connected port so youve got a choice when spending money there. Do you take care of the trade route to save money, or if youre desperate for repairs, do you take the financial hit? Similar to the gold chests floating in the sea, we now have Hull Repair flotsam. These repair your ship hull a small amount when you collect them.
Major Balancing
Weve generally made it faster to get through maps by making actions that didnt previously count towards gate opening now do so. This is stuff like dealing with pirate discount ships, Sea Forts and ships on trade routes. Alongside this, weve nudged down the amount of events needed to get through Region 1 maps, so in general the game moves along at a faster pace now.
Old Crew
Each crew member can have an old variant. Theres no gameplay difference (yet, its something Im considering) but it was a fun way to give your crew a bit more character.
Technical Stuff
Weve added support for 5:4 and 4:3 aspect ratios. Previously this only allowed the choice of 16:9, resulting in lower resolution choices for people with 5:4 or 4:3 monitors. Weve also added Discord Rich Presence, so your Discord friends should see details of what youre doing in-game. If you want to join our Discord server, the link is here: https://discord.gg/jbahTp6
Patch Notes
If you want to see all the other bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements etc. you can check out this post here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1778261844036495690/
This ended up being our biggest update yet, and we're already excited about our plans for the next one! If you find any issues, please report them on the forums, and if you like it, let us know :) Thanks for the support. The Abandon Ship Crew. PS - Thanks to all our Beta Branch testers!
[ 2019-02-01 09:51:59 CET ] [ Original post ]
Beta Branch Updated!
After we visited The Haunted Seas in our last update, we took the opportunity to make some infrastructural changes, because the more content we added, the more pressure this was putting on minimum spec machines (like mine!). Something that would have only got worse with future updates. This work is crucially important, as itll put us in a good position for adding everything else in the game. You should see memory usage come down, and it should be faster to get into the main menu when you boot the game. We also took the opportunity to rework our save file system as this was creeping up to large sizes as well so these are now massively smaller compared to before. This will be useful for implementing Cloud Save support. It does however mean that your previous saves are incompatible unless youre on an older branch. While Adam was undertaking this work, I planned out the rest of our time in Early Access which you can read about here: http://abandonshipgame.com/early-access-roadmap-update
Originally, we had 5 biome types: Arctic, Sub-Polar, Temperate, Sub-Tropical and Tropical. As my thoughts turn to the more Southerly regions in the game, I felt that Sub-Tropical and Tropical didnt offer enough distinction from one another. Weve therefore merged these two island types into Tropical, in order to make room for an Arid biome. This is visually distinct from anywhere else, and has a hot, Mediterranean vibe to it. Youll notice this region just south of the Temperate areas.
For keen observers, you may notice the World Map is slightly different. The region borders are approximately the same, but we wanted to make changes to accommodate our latest plans such as the Spider Islands becoming an entire region rather than a single map. We have some cool plans for this so it warranted more prominence. For this update, weve unlocked 3 new regions to visit:
All of these regions exhibit our ultimate goal for every map in Abandon Ship. That is each map should have a unique island to discover, plus a unique event / side-quest. In some cases, there will also be a unique modifier to gameplay as well. Below is a brief description of these regions, well let you discover whats in them for yourself! These regions arent accessible until Act 2, but dont forget there are two quick-starts that put you at Act 2 and beyond, so if you just want to check out these regions, you can easily do so.
This arctic region is constantly battered by blizzards. Wights Embrace is the only port here, and the harsh environment contains some strange islands to discover.
In combat, blizzards will occasionally ramp up their intensity. When this happens, the crews on both ships can do nothing but shield themselves. If they pass the brace test at the apex of the storm, they can continue as normal, otherwise theyll fall to the deck or risk being knocked overboard.
The Forsaken Seas have always been a geologically strange area, but one fateful day the mountains began spewing toxic fumes into the air. This had a catastrophic impact and the region is largely abandoned. Although the air is something you can now survive in (for a few days, anyway), it is still a very inhospitable area. Only those wishing to pass through to other regions in a more direct route, opportunistic looters or those under the employ of the Sweethook Barons tend to be found here.
In combat, this poisonous fog obscures visibility and will continually sap the health of both crews until it reaches the red portion of the health bar.
Bordering the Forsaken Seas, Spider Islands and Cannibal Island regions has meant that this once prosperous region has fallen on hard times. Your intervention can have a lasting impact on the areas in this region. When you find the broken monument to the Empire which two factions are fighting over, will you help rebuild or destroy it? Duskvale is a cursed map, haunted by Ghost Ships. Will you lift the curse or fulfil it? You can visit the Silk Keys, the gateway to the Spider Islands, and finally there is a Plague Colony with blockades guarding each exit. Will you break through the blockade, or is there another way? Once you visit Rotholme, will you be merciful with your much-needed supplies, or turn a swift profit?
Speaking of the Plague Colony, this is the only place in the world where you can acquire a new weapon the Plague Dart. Crew infected by this swivel gun instantly have their health capped at 66%, and anyone standing within close proximity will be infected. Weve had great fun hitting a crew member running past their colleagues, infecting the whole ship. Combining this weapon with other anti-personnel weapons can be especially effective.
Weve added a couple of new systems that aid navigation and provide more of a sense of purpose to general explortation.
The first of these is the Lighthouse. These Empire-era buildings not only provide a high vantage point, but they are also stocked with maps of the local area. Visiting one of these will uncover the fog of war in that map, and due to their height, are clearly visible from afar.
This means when you enter a map, the fog of war around them is already revealed, so by checking the full map and spotting a lighthouse, you can sail directly to it.
No Captain would take to the sea without a compass, and this acts as an arrowhead around the ship that points to undiscovered points of interest. That means even without a lighthouse, youll have something pointing you toward points of interest you havent yet discovered, so no more hunting down that last icon hidden in an unrevealed corner!
As you play Abandon Ship and make decisions in events, youll now notice some will display a new piece of UI, explaining that you have made a Friend or Enemy. Life on the seas is tough, so people live their lives by one mantra: A debt must be repaid. If you go around helping people, they will eventually come back and repay the debt by their own act of kindness. Similarly, being more piratical and not helping those in desperate situations will earn enemies that could return for revenge. Once created by your actions, these acquaintances will be in the world, and if they return the message box will provide the context to help you recall the choice that led to this particular encounter.
Of course, not all will return. For example, not picking up a Castaway may make them an enemy, but they may also not survive the situation as in real life, you wont know, unless of course they one day crop up for revenge. Equally, you may make decisions that create friends or enemies without you knowing about them perhaps liberating a port from the Cult resulted in a locals loved one being killed, and they blame you for it? Im keen for feedback on this, as Ive found it a particularly tricky feature to balance. It is one of those systems that requires multiple full playthroughs to get a feel for it. Do acquaintances crop up too often? Not enough? There are safeguards to ensure new acquaintances dont crop up too soon after theyve been made, but is this too short? Head to the forums to let me know!
Our team of community translators are busy working through the text, and the first languages have been implemented: Russian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. To activate them, follow these steps:
German is likely to be the next language ready. Simplified Chinese, French and Dutch are in the works but no ETA on those yet. In case you were wondering, we choose our languages through a combination of willing translators and Wishlists + sales we get from specific countries.
Well post the full list of changes once the update is released onto the main branch, but some other stuff worth calling out is listed below:
Crew now cheer when theyve won a battle, which helps positively reinforce your victory, and there are multiple new ways enemy ships will now sink. We added this last one because its something you see a lot, so we felt variety helped keep it fresh.
A raided or blocked trade route will now increase prices at their connected port so youve got a choice when spending money there. Do you take care of the trade route to save money, or if youre desperate for repairs, do you take the financial hit? Similar to the gold chests floating in the sea, we now have Hull Repair flotsam. These repair your ship hull a small amount when you collect them.
Weve generally made it faster to get through maps by making actions that didnt previously count towards gate opening now do so. This is stuff like dealing with pirate discount ships, Sea Forts and ships on trade routes. Alongside this, weve nudged down the amount of events needed to get through Region 1 maps, so in general the game moves along at a faster pace now.
Each crew member can have an old variant. Theres no gameplay difference (yet, its something Im considering) but it was a fun way to give your crew a bit more character.
Weve added support for 5:4 and 4:3 aspect ratios. Previously this only allowed the choice of 16:9, resulting in lower resolution choices for people with 5:4 or 4:3 monitors. Weve also added Discord Rich Presence, so your Discord friends should see details of what youre doing in-game. Oh, and if you want to join our Discord server, the link is here: https://discord.gg/jbahTp6
Phew! This ended up being our biggest update yet, and once we feel like it has received sufficient community testing well release it onto the main branch. If you find any issues, please report them on the forums, and let us know if you like it! Thanks for the support. The Abandon Ship Crew.
[ 2019-01-25 16:19:00 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hello fellow Captains,
We have updated the Beta Branch with a huge amount of new stuff. To learn how to gain access to the Beta Branch, click on this link:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/10/1698293255137774100/
If the number in the bottom-right corner of the Main Menu ends in 11049 or later, you have the correct version.
Heres what weve been up to recently:
Building for the Future
After we visited The Haunted Seas in our last update, we took the opportunity to make some infrastructural changes, because the more content we added, the more pressure this was putting on minimum spec machines (like mine!). Something that would have only got worse with future updates. This work is crucially important, as itll put us in a good position for adding everything else in the game. You should see memory usage come down, and it should be faster to get into the main menu when you boot the game. We also took the opportunity to rework our save file system as this was creeping up to large sizes as well so these are now massively smaller compared to before. This will be useful for implementing Cloud Save support. It does however mean that your previous saves are incompatible unless youre on an older branch. While Adam was undertaking this work, I planned out the rest of our time in Early Access which you can read about here: http://abandonshipgame.com/early-access-roadmap-update
New Biome
Originally, we had 5 biome types: Arctic, Sub-Polar, Temperate, Sub-Tropical and Tropical. As my thoughts turn to the more Southerly regions in the game, I felt that Sub-Tropical and Tropical didnt offer enough distinction from one another. Weve therefore merged these two island types into Tropical, in order to make room for an Arid biome. This is visually distinct from anywhere else, and has a hot, Mediterranean vibe to it. Youll notice this region just south of the Temperate areas.
3 New Regions Unlocked
For keen observers, you may notice the World Map is slightly different. The region borders are approximately the same, but we wanted to make changes to accommodate our latest plans such as the Spider Islands becoming an entire region rather than a single map. We have some cool plans for this so it warranted more prominence. For this update, weve unlocked 3 new regions to visit:
- Forsaken Seas
- Shattered Empire
- Howling Seas
All of these regions exhibit our ultimate goal for every map in Abandon Ship. That is each map should have a unique island to discover, plus a unique event / side-quest. In some cases, there will also be a unique modifier to gameplay as well. Below is a brief description of these regions, well let you discover whats in them for yourself! These regions arent accessible until Act 2, but dont forget there are two quick-starts that put you at Act 2 and beyond, so if you just want to check out these regions, you can easily do so.
The Howling Seas
This arctic region is constantly battered by blizzards. Wights Embrace is the only port here, and the harsh environment contains some strange islands to discover.
In combat, blizzards will occasionally ramp up their intensity. When this happens, the crews on both ships can do nothing but shield themselves. If they pass the brace test at the apex of the storm, they can continue as normal, otherwise theyll fall to the deck or risk being knocked overboard.
Forsaken Seas
The Forsaken Seas have always been a geologically strange area, but one fateful day the mountains began spewing toxic fumes into the air. This had a catastrophic impact and the region is largely abandoned. Although the air is something you can now survive in (for a few days, anyway), it is still a very inhospitable area. Only those wishing to pass through to other regions in a more direct route, opportunistic looters or those under the employ of the Sweethook Barons tend to be found here.
In combat, this poisonous fog obscures visibility and will continually sap the health of both crews until it reaches the red portion of the health bar.
The Shattered Empire
Bordering the Forsaken Seas, Spider Islands and Cannibal Island regions has meant that this once prosperous region has fallen on hard times. Your intervention can have a lasting impact on the areas in this region. When you find the broken monument to the Empire which two factions are fighting over, will you help rebuild or destroy it? Duskvale is a cursed map, haunted by Ghost Ships. Will you lift the curse or fulfil it? You can visit the Silk Keys, the gateway to the Spider Islands, and finally there is a Plague Colony with blockades guarding each exit. Will you break through the blockade, or is there another way? Once you visit Rotholme, will you be merciful with your much-needed supplies, or turn a swift profit?
Plague Dart
Speaking of the Plague Colony, this is the only place in the world where you can acquire a new weapon the Plague Dart. Crew infected by this swivel gun instantly have their health capped at 66%, and anyone standing within close proximity will be infected. Weve had great fun hitting a crew member running past their colleagues, infecting the whole ship. Combining this weapon with other anti-personnel weapons can be especially effective.
Exploration Systems
Weve added a couple of new systems that aid navigation and provide more of a sense of purpose to general explortation.
Lighthouse
The first of these is the Lighthouse. These Empire-era buildings not only provide a high vantage point, but they are also stocked with maps of the local area. Visiting one of these will uncover the fog of war in that map, and due to their height, are clearly visible from afar.
This means when you enter a map, the fog of war around them is already revealed, so by checking the full map and spotting a lighthouse, you can sail directly to it.
Compass
No Captain would take to the sea without a compass, and this acts as an arrowhead around the ship that points to undiscovered points of interest. That means even without a lighthouse, youll have something pointing you toward points of interest you havent yet discovered, so no more hunting down that last icon hidden in an unrevealed corner!
Friends and Enemies
As you play Abandon Ship and make decisions in events, youll now notice some will display a new piece of UI, explaining that you have made a Friend or Enemy. Life on the seas is tough, so people live their lives by one mantra: A debt must be repaid. If you go around helping people, they will eventually come back and repay the debt by their own act of kindness. Similarly, being more piratical and not helping those in desperate situations will earn enemies that could return for revenge. Once created by your actions, these acquaintances will be in the world, and if they return the message box will provide the context to help you recall the choice that led to this particular encounter.
Of course, not all will return. For example, not picking up a Castaway may make them an enemy, but they may also not survive the situation as in real life, you wont know, unless of course they one day crop up for revenge. Equally, you may make decisions that create friends or enemies without you knowing about them perhaps liberating a port from the Cult resulted in a locals loved one being killed, and they blame you for it? Im keen for feedback on this, as Ive found it a particularly tricky feature to balance. It is one of those systems that requires multiple full playthroughs to get a feel for it. Do acquaintances crop up too often? Not enough? There are safeguards to ensure new acquaintances dont crop up too soon after theyve been made, but is this too short? Head to the forums to let me know!
New Languages
Our team of community translators are busy working through the text, and the first languages have been implemented: Russian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. To activate them, follow these steps:
- Right click on a game from the Steam game library and choose Properties.
- Go to the Language tab
- Select the language you wish to use from the drop-down menu
German is likely to be the next language ready. Simplified Chinese, French and Dutch are in the works but no ETA on those yet. In case you were wondering, we choose our languages through a combination of willing translators and Wishlists + sales we get from specific countries.
Other Stuff
Well post the full list of changes once the update is released onto the main branch, but some other stuff worth calling out is listed below:
End of battle Improvements
Crew now cheer when theyve won a battle, which helps positively reinforce your victory, and there are multiple new ways enemy ships will now sink. We added this last one because its something you see a lot, so we felt variety helped keep it fresh.
Exploration Improvements
A raided or blocked trade route will now increase prices at their connected port so youve got a choice when spending money there. Do you take care of the trade route to save money, or if youre desperate for repairs, do you take the financial hit? Similar to the gold chests floating in the sea, we now have Hull Repair flotsam. These repair your ship hull a small amount when you collect them.
Major Balancing
Weve generally made it faster to get through maps by making actions that didnt previously count towards gate opening now do so. This is stuff like dealing with pirate discount ships, Sea Forts and ships on trade routes. Alongside this, weve nudged down the amount of events needed to get through Region 1 maps, so in general the game moves along at a faster pace now.
Old Crew
Each crew member can have an old variant. Theres no gameplay difference (yet, its something Im considering) but it was a fun way to give your crew a bit more character.
Technical Stuff
Weve added support for 5:4 and 4:3 aspect ratios. Previously this only allowed the choice of 16:9, resulting in lower resolution choices for people with 5:4 or 4:3 monitors. Weve also added Discord Rich Presence, so your Discord friends should see details of what youre doing in-game. Oh, and if you want to join our Discord server, the link is here: https://discord.gg/jbahTp6
Phew! This ended up being our biggest update yet, and once we feel like it has received sufficient community testing well release it onto the main branch. If you find any issues, please report them on the forums, and let us know if you like it! Thanks for the support. The Abandon Ship Crew.
[ 2019-01-25 16:19:00 CET ] [ Original post ]
Happy Holidays!
Our Roadmap was overdue an update, which we posted up on our website in November. If you haven't seen it already, you can find it by clicking here.
Since we released "The Haunted Seas" we've been busy working on Major Update 04, which contains a bunch of new systems and two new Regions. We'll be sticking this on the Beta Branch in mid-January, and we'll explain all the cool new stuff when we launch it. Before we got stuck into the new content, we spent some time performing necessary infrastructural work. As the game has been expanding, our memory usage was creeping up, and this was jeopardising performance on the minimum spec machines. We've finished this work, so we're a lot less memory hungry now, and the game boots up a lot faster on my ancient PC, too! While we were doing these changes, we also greatly optimised the save file size, which is now significantly smaller than originally, and makes Cloud Save support more viable. All of this work puts us in a good place as we rapidly expand the game world and move toward full release. You'll notice all of these changes in the next update.
In mid-November we were busy doing a couple of shows. The first was the UK Games Fund Awards up in Dundee.
-- Team Lead Gary Burchell (second from right) on a panel at the UKGF Awards -- Dundee was a very appropriately-themed place for our visit, not only containing the HMS Unicorn and RRS Discovery, but it also had a bar called Abandon Ship!
-- The RRS Discovery (Left), and what looks like a lovely place for a drink (Right)! -- After Scotland, we immediately jetted off to Portugal to demo the game as part of the Indie X area in Lisbon Games Week.
-- The convention centre was open 10am till 11pm, so we packed in a lot of players over the weekend. -- It was lovely to meet so many keen local players and fellow-developers.
We've finally got round to verifying our Discord server. If you'd like to join, click here.
I have a terrible habit of spilling the beans on what we're working on, so you'll often get screenshots of upcoming content before anywhere else. Also, for those that didn't know, we have a newsletter. Signing up means you get your name in the game as a randomly generated crew member. If you're interested in reading the full details of that, click here. The sign-up form is at the bottom of that web-page.
As well as getting your name in the game, every Newsletter we reveal something about Abandon Ship never before shown outside of the team. The last newsletter showed concept art for our new biome!
While we'll be taking a short break to see our families over Christmas, we'll be back before you know it, finishing off Major Update 4. During the holidays I'll be keeping an eye on our support and social channels should anything need attention. Happy Holidays, from Gary, Adam and Alex. (Oh, and the Christmas Kraken, too...)
[ 2018-12-19 15:44:01 CET ] [ Original post ]
Seasons greetings, Captain!
As 2019 rapidly approaches, we wanted to extend our thanks for your support, and we hope you have a very happy holiday season :)
This year has been a whirlwind. Releasing into Early Access, that night hitting 4th in the Global Top Sellers chart on Steam, and three Major Updates that have massively improved the game.
Of course, we're not stopping there, and we have plenty more planned before we call the game version 1.0!
Roadmap
Our Roadmap was overdue an update, which we posted up on our website in November. If you haven't seen it already, you can find it by clicking here.
Since we released "The Haunted Seas" we've been busy working on Major Update 04, which contains a bunch of new systems and two new Regions. We'll be sticking this on the Beta Branch in mid-January, and we'll explain all the cool new stuff when we launch it. Before we got stuck into the new content, we spent some time performing necessary infrastructural work. As the game has been expanding, our memory usage was creeping up, and this was jeopardising performance on the minimum spec machines. We've finished this work, so we're a lot less memory hungry now, and the game boots up a lot faster on my ancient PC, too! While we were doing these changes, we also greatly optimised the save file size, which is now significantly smaller than originally, and makes Cloud Save support more viable. All of this work puts us in a good place as we rapidly expand the game world and move toward full release. You'll notice all of these changes in the next update.
Abandon Ship On-Tour
In mid-November we were busy doing a couple of shows. The first was the UK Games Fund Awards up in Dundee.
-- Team Lead Gary Burchell (second from right) on a panel at the UKGF Awards -- Dundee was a very appropriately-themed place for our visit, not only containing the HMS Unicorn and RRS Discovery, but it also had a bar called Abandon Ship!
-- The RRS Discovery (Left), and what looks like a lovely place for a drink (Right)! -- After Scotland, we immediately jetted off to Portugal to demo the game as part of the Indie X area in Lisbon Games Week.
-- The convention centre was open 10am till 11pm, so we packed in a lot of players over the weekend. -- It was lovely to meet so many keen local players and fellow-developers.
Discord & Newsletter
We've finally got round to verifying our Discord server. If you'd like to join, click here.
I have a terrible habit of spilling the beans on what we're working on, so you'll often get screenshots of upcoming content before anywhere else. Also, for those that didn't know, we have a newsletter. Signing up means you get your name in the game as a randomly generated crew member. If you're interested in reading the full details of that, click here. The sign-up form is at the bottom of that web-page.
As well as getting your name in the game, every Newsletter we reveal something about Abandon Ship never before shown outside of the team. The last newsletter showed concept art for our new biome!
While we'll be taking a short break to see our families over Christmas, we'll be back before you know it, finishing off Major Update 4. During the holidays I'll be keeping an eye on our support and social channels should anything need attention. Happy Holidays, from Gary, Adam and Alex. (Oh, and the Christmas Kraken, too...)
[ 2018-12-19 15:44:01 CET ] [ Original post ]
Major Update Released: The Haunted Seas
So what's in the latest update?
In the main game, The Haunted Seas is accessible after you have defeated the Kraken. It's located near the top-left corner of the world map:
In order to get further into the Haunted Seas, you'll need to commence a side-quest in the port of Mox-Mortis. If you want to dive straight in however, then you should check out our new standalone story that is based within The Haunted Seas:
We launched into Early Access with both the main story and a separate story that was focused around a combat campaign. We enjoyed making this and always intended to do more (as explained in our Roadmap) - these 'Abandon Ship Stories' are meant to be standalone and cross over with the main game in interesting ways, and is something that if the community likes, we'll do more of.
In this particular story you play as a Captain with a tragic past. A routine job goes awry when they are lured into The Haunted Seas and must attempt to escape whilst uncovering the truth.
Well, while we don't want to spoil all the surprises we will cover a few things here: Ghost Ships These spooky vessels sail The Haunted Seas, looking to claim lost souls.
They are manned by soulless automatons, who are weaker than standard crew, but led by the dreaded Lich Captains. These tough demons are able to ressurect their fallen comrades, which provides a tricky tactical conundrum to overcome.
-- A resurrection in action. The build-up can be interrupted with certain weapons -- Ghost Mortar Each Ghost Ship comes equipped with at least one of these macabre weapons. It fires a blood splat onto the deck of your ship, and a handful of zombies emerge from it, ready to attack your crew. Zombies are individually weak, only needing a couple of hits to cut down - however, in groups can be dangerous if left unmanaged.
Strange Environments The Haunted Seas is Death's own realm, and as such, the normal rules don't always apply. Expect to navigate environments unlike ones you've come across so far...
Some environments are actively hostile and will seek to crush you, so be ready for anything.
Oh, and there's also a Zombie Kraken ;)
We've also added quite a lot of new systems and done a bunch of polish and bug fixes. For the patch notes on everything that we've updated, you can check out this post here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1734343065623850270/ Some of the bigger items we've added in this update include:
Now, when you select a new Main Story game, you'll have a drop-down box that allows you to select multiple quick-start locations, roughly spread around the length of the story. In the two new options, because these are much further into the game, you'll have an opportunity to visit a special port where you can customise your ship and crew. These new quick-starts serve two purposes. The first is that they're handy for players that want them. The second is that you'll be able to approximate where you'd got to on previous versions of the build where saves were invalidated.
Some people want to be able to play through the game primarily to experience the story, others wish to have the ultimate challenge. We've added a Casual and Hardcore difficulty mode for players to set up the sort of game they want. We'll no doubt tweak these as development continues.
We've spent some time expanding out the ship functionality. Swivel Guns are no longer in matched pairs, so you can equip each side differently (a much-requested feature). We've also massively expanded the Ship Section Upgrades. Previously, you only had the choice of three section upgrades. Now, you have up to 35. These upgrades provide a performance boost, have more armour, better durability against hull cracks and fires, and can be repaired faster, giving your ship an extra edge.
-- The Section Upgrade menu is accessible from ports -- The new Ship's Storage allows you to store weapons in it. These can be swapped around in the Ship Management menu, and mean you can switch your loadout to suit the situation. Normally like to get up close and personal, but that isn't working so well against a Sea Fort? Switch to your long-range weapons before engaging and rule the waves!
-- Visit the Ship Management menu in the Journal to change the way your vessel is equipped --
We hope you enjoy this latest update. If you like what we're doing, please leave a Steam Review, as it really helps us out. Similarly, if you want more of these standalone 'Abandon Ship Stories' that are separate from the main game, let us know - we have some cool ideas for other ones, so if it's a popular feature we'll keep making them. As for what's next, we'll keep unlocking regions and adding new systems as we do so - and if the 'Abandon Ship Stories' is a much-requested addition, we'll keep adding them, too :) Keep an eye on this sub-forum if you want to stay up-to-date with our latest plans: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/8/ Good luck in The Haunted Seas... The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2018-10-29 16:46:06 CET ] [ Original post ]
Happy Halloween, Captain.
Our latest update unlocks a region, includes a new standalone 'Abandon Ship Story' and has a whole host of other cool stuff!
We've released a trailer to accompany our latest Major Update, which you can watch here:
https://youtu.be/MpypWEYPR9c?t=0
First, some important house-keeping: Adding a new region means your saves from previous versions will not work with this latest update. We have added some new quick-start locations with ship customiser to get you close to where you were previously - we'll explain that in more detail below.
If you are mid-playthrough on the previous version and wish to continue it, then you may switch over to this older version of the game via the Beta Branches system:
- Go to your Steam Library
- Right-click on Abandon Ship and select "Properties"
- Go to the tab marked "Betas"
- In the drop-down box, select the one called "0.5.9802 The Perilous Bounty Version"
- Wait for the game to finish updating, you should see the branch name listed after the game name.
So what's in the latest update?
New Region: The Haunted Seas
In the main game, The Haunted Seas is accessible after you have defeated the Kraken. It's located near the top-left corner of the world map:
In order to get further into the Haunted Seas, you'll need to commence a side-quest in the port of Mox-Mortis. If you want to dive straight in however, then you should check out our new standalone story that is based within The Haunted Seas:
New Story: Haunted Seas Escape
We launched into Early Access with both the main story and a separate story that was focused around a combat campaign. We enjoyed making this and always intended to do more (as explained in our Roadmap) - these 'Abandon Ship Stories' are meant to be standalone and cross over with the main game in interesting ways, and is something that if the community likes, we'll do more of.
In this particular story you play as a Captain with a tragic past. A routine job goes awry when they are lured into The Haunted Seas and must attempt to escape whilst uncovering the truth.
But what can you expect to find in The Haunted Seas?
Well, while we don't want to spoil all the surprises we will cover a few things here: Ghost Ships These spooky vessels sail The Haunted Seas, looking to claim lost souls.
They are manned by soulless automatons, who are weaker than standard crew, but led by the dreaded Lich Captains. These tough demons are able to ressurect their fallen comrades, which provides a tricky tactical conundrum to overcome.
-- A resurrection in action. The build-up can be interrupted with certain weapons -- Ghost Mortar Each Ghost Ship comes equipped with at least one of these macabre weapons. It fires a blood splat onto the deck of your ship, and a handful of zombies emerge from it, ready to attack your crew. Zombies are individually weak, only needing a couple of hits to cut down - however, in groups can be dangerous if left unmanaged.
Strange Environments The Haunted Seas is Death's own realm, and as such, the normal rules don't always apply. Expect to navigate environments unlike ones you've come across so far...
Some environments are actively hostile and will seek to crush you, so be ready for anything.
Oh, and there's also a Zombie Kraken ;)
What else is in the update?
We've also added quite a lot of new systems and done a bunch of polish and bug fixes. For the patch notes on everything that we've updated, you can check out this post here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1734343065623850270/ Some of the bigger items we've added in this update include:
Two New Quick-Starts
Now, when you select a new Main Story game, you'll have a drop-down box that allows you to select multiple quick-start locations, roughly spread around the length of the story. In the two new options, because these are much further into the game, you'll have an opportunity to visit a special port where you can customise your ship and crew. These new quick-starts serve two purposes. The first is that they're handy for players that want them. The second is that you'll be able to approximate where you'd got to on previous versions of the build where saves were invalidated.
Two new difficulty levels
Some people want to be able to play through the game primarily to experience the story, others wish to have the ultimate challenge. We've added a Casual and Hardcore difficulty mode for players to set up the sort of game they want. We'll no doubt tweak these as development continues.
Ship Expansion
We've spent some time expanding out the ship functionality. Swivel Guns are no longer in matched pairs, so you can equip each side differently (a much-requested feature). We've also massively expanded the Ship Section Upgrades. Previously, you only had the choice of three section upgrades. Now, you have up to 35. These upgrades provide a performance boost, have more armour, better durability against hull cracks and fires, and can be repaired faster, giving your ship an extra edge.
-- The Section Upgrade menu is accessible from ports -- The new Ship's Storage allows you to store weapons in it. These can be swapped around in the Ship Management menu, and mean you can switch your loadout to suit the situation. Normally like to get up close and personal, but that isn't working so well against a Sea Fort? Switch to your long-range weapons before engaging and rule the waves!
-- Visit the Ship Management menu in the Journal to change the way your vessel is equipped --
We hope you enjoy this latest update. If you like what we're doing, please leave a Steam Review, as it really helps us out. Similarly, if you want more of these standalone 'Abandon Ship Stories' that are separate from the main game, let us know - we have some cool ideas for other ones, so if it's a popular feature we'll keep making them. As for what's next, we'll keep unlocking regions and adding new systems as we do so - and if the 'Abandon Ship Stories' is a much-requested addition, we'll keep adding them, too :) Keep an eye on this sub-forum if you want to stay up-to-date with our latest plans: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/8/ Good luck in The Haunted Seas... The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2018-10-29 16:46:06 CET ] [ Original post ]
The Haunted Seas Preview Build
This new side story lasts approximately 60 - 90 minutes and focuses on a new Captain with a tragic past. Lured into the Haunted Seas, they must attempt to escape while finding the truth.
Needless to say, the Haunted Seas is unlike any other region in the game. We won't spoil too much, but be prepared to encounter things like Ghost Ships crewed by the Undead, Zombie Kraken, Ice Monsters, a piano puzzle inspired by the Goonies, and more! There are no ports in the Haunted Seas, so you'll need to rely upon the new Souls currency to repair your ship and heal your crew. You can choose this story from the new game menu.
You can navigate your way to the Haunted Seas in the main game. Of course, you're not the same Captain as in the standalone story described above, but you can still venture in and fight your way through.
-- Navigate your way to the port at Mox Mortis in the base of the Haunted Seas to get started! --
Your saves from older versions won't work in this build. While they'll continue to work with the previous update, you can't play the new content unless you start a new game. We've therefore created two new Quick-Starts. These put you at different points in the main story, and will allow you to play through from that point.
-- Quick Start has become a drop-down box to select where you wish to commence your game -- As these Quick-Starts are much further into the main story, we've chosen a set route through the world and given you money to suit that progression - you can equip your ship and crew in a special customisation port before your playthrough commences. These changes should allow you to create something approximate to what you had before, at the point you had it.
We'll provide a complete breakdown of all the cool new stuff when the full update goes live in time for Halloween. For now though, it's worth drawing your attention to two big new additions - Ship Section Upgrades and the Ship's Storage.
-- The Section Upgrade menu is accessible from ports -- Previously, you only had the choice of three section upgrades. Now, you have up to 35 upgrades. These upgrades provide a performance boost, have more armour, better durability against hull cracks and fires, and can be repaired faster, giving your ship an extra edge. Ship's Storage allows you to store weapons in it. These can be swapped around in the Ship Management menu, and mean you can switch your loadout to suit the situation. Normally like to get up close and personal, but that isn't working so well against a Sea Fort? Switch to your long-range weapons before engaging and rule the waves!
-- Visit the Ship Management menu in the Journal to change the way your vessel is equipped --
With the addition of a new region, a new standalone story AND two new Quick-Starts, the game is already quite large for a team of three to test all the permutations, so we really need your help - if you play it and find a serious bug, please report it on the forums! We want to make sure this Major Update launches in as robust a state as our previous ones, and for that we need your help. This update is a little different from normal, because it is coinciding with Halloween, which is rapidly approaching! Note - There are two things that we know will be added between now and the Halloween release - a final text pass, and a handful of Monologue images that didn't quite make it, so we don't need to hear about those on the forums, we're working on them :)
This Spooky Update has been a lot of fun to make. While we'll keep adding new regions throughout Early Access, if the standalone story goes down well with everyone we'll do some more of those, too! Thanks for the continued support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2018-10-22 09:37:55 CET ] [ Original post ]
I bring spooky tidings, Captain.
We have a Major Update incoming, titled "The Haunted Seas". As well as a bunch of new systems and improvements, it also unlocks a new region AND standalone story.
As you've probably guessed, the theme of this update coincides with Halloween, and we really need the help of dedicated Captains to test it and provide feedback on any nasty bugs you find.
To learn how to gain access to the Beta Branch, click on this link:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/10/1698293255137774100/
If the number in the bottom-right corner of the Main Menu ends in 10364 or later, you have the correct version.
Haunted Seas Escape
This new side story lasts approximately 60 - 90 minutes and focuses on a new Captain with a tragic past. Lured into the Haunted Seas, they must attempt to escape while finding the truth.
Needless to say, the Haunted Seas is unlike any other region in the game. We won't spoil too much, but be prepared to encounter things like Ghost Ships crewed by the Undead, Zombie Kraken, Ice Monsters, a piano puzzle inspired by the Goonies, and more! There are no ports in the Haunted Seas, so you'll need to rely upon the new Souls currency to repair your ship and heal your crew. You can choose this story from the new game menu.
The Haunted Seas in the Main Game
You can navigate your way to the Haunted Seas in the main game. Of course, you're not the same Captain as in the standalone story described above, but you can still venture in and fight your way through.
-- Navigate your way to the port at Mox Mortis in the base of the Haunted Seas to get started! --
New Quick-Starts
Your saves from older versions won't work in this build. While they'll continue to work with the previous update, you can't play the new content unless you start a new game. We've therefore created two new Quick-Starts. These put you at different points in the main story, and will allow you to play through from that point.
-- Quick Start has become a drop-down box to select where you wish to commence your game -- As these Quick-Starts are much further into the main story, we've chosen a set route through the world and given you money to suit that progression - you can equip your ship and crew in a special customisation port before your playthrough commences. These changes should allow you to create something approximate to what you had before, at the point you had it.
Other big new systems
We'll provide a complete breakdown of all the cool new stuff when the full update goes live in time for Halloween. For now though, it's worth drawing your attention to two big new additions - Ship Section Upgrades and the Ship's Storage.
-- The Section Upgrade menu is accessible from ports -- Previously, you only had the choice of three section upgrades. Now, you have up to 35 upgrades. These upgrades provide a performance boost, have more armour, better durability against hull cracks and fires, and can be repaired faster, giving your ship an extra edge. Ship's Storage allows you to store weapons in it. These can be swapped around in the Ship Management menu, and mean you can switch your loadout to suit the situation. Normally like to get up close and personal, but that isn't working so well against a Sea Fort? Switch to your long-range weapons before engaging and rule the waves!
-- Visit the Ship Management menu in the Journal to change the way your vessel is equipped --
Testing & Feedback
With the addition of a new region, a new standalone story AND two new Quick-Starts, the game is already quite large for a team of three to test all the permutations, so we really need your help - if you play it and find a serious bug, please report it on the forums! We want to make sure this Major Update launches in as robust a state as our previous ones, and for that we need your help. This update is a little different from normal, because it is coinciding with Halloween, which is rapidly approaching! Note - There are two things that we know will be added between now and the Halloween release - a final text pass, and a handful of Monologue images that didn't quite make it, so we don't need to hear about those on the forums, we're working on them :)
This Spooky Update has been a lot of fun to make. While we'll keep adding new regions throughout Early Access, if the standalone story goes down well with everyone we'll do some more of those, too! Thanks for the continued support, The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2018-10-22 09:37:55 CET ] [ Original post ]
Major Update Released: The Perilous Bounty
Go to your Steam Library
Right-click on Abandon Ship and select "Properties"
Go to the tab marked "Betas"
In the drop-down box, select the one called "0.5.8433 Treasure from the Deep Version"
Wait for the game to finish updating, you should see the branch name listed after the game name.
[/olist]
If youre up-to-date on the Beta Branch (i.e you already have the items listed below) then your saves will be unaffected.
Here are the major new features in the update:
Sea Forts are a new type of enemy you can battle. As giant stone structures, they cannot be sunk, so youll have to defeat them in other ways.
They have an outer-ring section which can be damaged and repaired just like a ship. This can house up to 4 mortars and 2 Sick Bays. The inner-ring section is a raised stone platform that houses a new weapon the Mega-Mortar. The Mega-Mortar is auto-fired and auto-reloaded from mechanisms within the Sea Fort. It cannot be mounted on a ship, as the recoil would tear the vessel in half! This weapon will continually fire at you, and as well as the devastating damage it causes, will also momentarily halt the movement of your ship. You can disable the Mega-Mortar by damaging all 4 inner-sections, which cannot be repaired. Once the Mega-Mortar is disabled, the Sea Fort will surrender (although it should be noted that Cult-owned Sea Forts will never surrender).
Of course, you could always charge in, board the Sea Fort and slaughter the crew to win as well, but the Mega-Mortar will make it tough-going for you! Sea Forts provide a slightly different challenge for Captains to overcome. Victory provides a high reward, but you will take damage trying to defeat one so only attempt hostilities if youre in a strong position. In our playtesting thus far, weve found that specialised builds are more effective, so make sure youre able to either get in super-fast and finish the battle quickly, or are set up for anti-crew warfare, or are extremely powerful at long-range and can disable the Mega-Mortar before it causes too much damage (the new Catapult weapon is handy for this). Sea Forts are immune to Brace tests and cannot be rammed, so if your strategy is heavily reliant on those tactics, youll need to change things up. Also, the imposing structures rise above the highest waves, so Tidal Waves have no effect on them.
-- Attacking a Cult Sea Fort -- In exploration mode, the Sea Fort will open fire on you if its hostile. While they wont sink you, they will whittle your hull health down. Also, if you engage in battle within range of a Sea Fort, an off-screen bombardment may come into play. This could be a help or hindrance depending on the combatants. For example, if you battle a Cult vessel in range of a neutral Sea Fort, the Cult ship will be bombarded. If you fight a pirate in range of a Cult Sea Fort, youll both be bombarded.
If you engage in lots of piratical acts (or attack neutral Sea Forts) then the new Wanted Level will rise. As it passes certain milestones, negative-effects will come into play. Previously neutral Sea Forts will open fire as you sail into their vicinity, and Bounty Hunters will be dispatched to bring you to justice. Depending on your notoriety, they may offer to collect the Bounty in money, or prefer to shoot first and ask questions later!
-- At Wanted Level 1 and above, neutral Sea Forts will open fire if you sail too close -- You can reduce your Wanted Level by doing good deeds (either in events or liberating Cult-owned Sea Forts), or heading to the Magistrate in Port to pay your fine. Side note: In order to fit in this new functionality, the old Magistrate menu has been changed to the Explorers Guild, just in case youre looking to file your charts and use your Captains Log Saves.
Trade Routes snake out from ports, and little trading vessels sail along them to their destination. You can raid these by sitting on the dotted line and pressing the Raid button. Doing so will increment your Gold, but will also raise your Wanted Level.
Trade Routes can be raided by Pirates in which case theyll appear yellow, or completely blocked by Cult vessels (where the dotted line will appear red). If you displace these ships from the Trade Route, your Wanted Level will decrease. The dotted lines of a Trade Route are also a handy navigational point you know one direction will always end in a port!
If you reach a high enough Wanted Level, Ports will close down and not allow you access. If you reach this position and need to get those pesky Bounty Hunters off your back, then find a Floating Outpost.
-- Racing to a Floating Outpost with a Bounty Hunter hot on our heels! -- These neutral places act like mini-ports and are open to even the worst pirates. They dont have the full range of options youd find in port, but youll be able to boost crew morale, purchase supplies, patch up the worst of your hull damage and most importantly, pay off your wanted fines.
This update also includes 5 new weapons, and two new combat-upgrades. We posted information on the Lightning Gun, Gargoyles, Catapult, Web Gun, Anti-Boarding Spikes, Timed Bomb and Berserk Dart Gun here, if you liked to read about how they work: https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/3007726172112961652
All maps will now repopulate their events over the passage of time, so youll no longer revisit previously explored places to find them empty. Repopulation is handled through transitioning between exploration maps, or by waiting. You can wait by pressing the new button on the right-hand side of the screen but be careful, waiting can result in being ambushed.
The Kraken has received some love and attention. When it chases you throughout the game, itll now perform additional attacks on top of the standard hull-grab so be prepared to deal with other things while youre cutting those tentacles.
-- Several other attacks can disrupt your attempts to fight off the Kraken -- The Kraken will now Aggro in the Boss Battle once they reach a certain health theyll play an aggro anim and from then on, attack more aggressively. We've also improved the effect of the Kraken chasing you in exploration mode!
This has been a popular request, so crew size is now dependant on the ship class and on the larger ships, goes up to 8.
-- Only the biggest vessels will support a crew of 8 -- We've also given the rest of the crew unique skills to differentiate them further:
Another popular request: every single weapon in the game can now be toggled between manual fire and autofire!
-- Weapons set to Autofire will have a gold highlight that circles the Weapon Button. Right-Click the Weapon Button to toggle Autofire on and off -- Cannon Targeting has now been visualised with a system which is much clearer to read.
-- Targeting the enemy ship with cannons will now display a red highlight to show which section you are targeting --
In previous updates, we added Explorers Guild Saves; a way of manually saving if you found a rare Captain's Log. 'Iron Captain' Mode is something you can select when creating a new game and means there are no Captain's Logs in the game.
You can now re-map your keys in the new Key Bindings menu!
We've fixed a load of bugs and made lots of other improvements to the game. We have also been re-balancing from feedback and the new features. In particular, combat should feel less attritional when targeting sections, the AI should be more aggressive, and we've made some big changes that should greatly reduce any leftover feelings of "I got a new ship and so did the AI". For the patch notes on everything that was changed, you can check out this post here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1736589520009196666/ Of course, as we continue to improve the game we'll refine everything even further.
We hope you enjoy everything in the new update. It's been a lot of fun creating it. Next, our focus will turn to unlocking a new region, including special gameplay associated with that area. The ETA for that is mid-to-late October. We'd love to hear your feedback, so please join us in our Steam Community Forums, and thanks to those who have left us a Steam Review. If you haven't done so yet, please do! The Abandon Ship Crew PS - Thanks to everyone who provided feedback from the Beta Branches :)
[ 2018-09-04 08:47:57 CET ] [ Original post ]
Greetings Captain!
We have just released a Major Update: The Perilous Bounty.
This packs in a bunch of exciting additions to Abandon Ship, and the post below explains these in greater detail.
We have also released a trailer showing the new features, which you can view here:
https://youtu.be/NUDQVhWE1vU?t=0s
Before we look at the latest changes, some important house-keeping: Because weve had to change the world to accommodate these new systems, your saves from previous versions will not work with this latest update.
If you are mid-playthrough on the previous version and wish to continue it, then you may switch over to this older version of the game via the Beta Branches system:
[olist]
Here are the major new features in the update:
Sea Forts
Sea Forts are a new type of enemy you can battle. As giant stone structures, they cannot be sunk, so youll have to defeat them in other ways.
They have an outer-ring section which can be damaged and repaired just like a ship. This can house up to 4 mortars and 2 Sick Bays. The inner-ring section is a raised stone platform that houses a new weapon the Mega-Mortar. The Mega-Mortar is auto-fired and auto-reloaded from mechanisms within the Sea Fort. It cannot be mounted on a ship, as the recoil would tear the vessel in half! This weapon will continually fire at you, and as well as the devastating damage it causes, will also momentarily halt the movement of your ship. You can disable the Mega-Mortar by damaging all 4 inner-sections, which cannot be repaired. Once the Mega-Mortar is disabled, the Sea Fort will surrender (although it should be noted that Cult-owned Sea Forts will never surrender).
Of course, you could always charge in, board the Sea Fort and slaughter the crew to win as well, but the Mega-Mortar will make it tough-going for you! Sea Forts provide a slightly different challenge for Captains to overcome. Victory provides a high reward, but you will take damage trying to defeat one so only attempt hostilities if youre in a strong position. In our playtesting thus far, weve found that specialised builds are more effective, so make sure youre able to either get in super-fast and finish the battle quickly, or are set up for anti-crew warfare, or are extremely powerful at long-range and can disable the Mega-Mortar before it causes too much damage (the new Catapult weapon is handy for this). Sea Forts are immune to Brace tests and cannot be rammed, so if your strategy is heavily reliant on those tactics, youll need to change things up. Also, the imposing structures rise above the highest waves, so Tidal Waves have no effect on them.
-- Attacking a Cult Sea Fort -- In exploration mode, the Sea Fort will open fire on you if its hostile. While they wont sink you, they will whittle your hull health down. Also, if you engage in battle within range of a Sea Fort, an off-screen bombardment may come into play. This could be a help or hindrance depending on the combatants. For example, if you battle a Cult vessel in range of a neutral Sea Fort, the Cult ship will be bombarded. If you fight a pirate in range of a Cult Sea Fort, youll both be bombarded.
Wanted Levels
If you engage in lots of piratical acts (or attack neutral Sea Forts) then the new Wanted Level will rise. As it passes certain milestones, negative-effects will come into play. Previously neutral Sea Forts will open fire as you sail into their vicinity, and Bounty Hunters will be dispatched to bring you to justice. Depending on your notoriety, they may offer to collect the Bounty in money, or prefer to shoot first and ask questions later!
-- At Wanted Level 1 and above, neutral Sea Forts will open fire if you sail too close -- You can reduce your Wanted Level by doing good deeds (either in events or liberating Cult-owned Sea Forts), or heading to the Magistrate in Port to pay your fine. Side note: In order to fit in this new functionality, the old Magistrate menu has been changed to the Explorers Guild, just in case youre looking to file your charts and use your Captains Log Saves.
Trade Routes
Trade Routes snake out from ports, and little trading vessels sail along them to their destination. You can raid these by sitting on the dotted line and pressing the Raid button. Doing so will increment your Gold, but will also raise your Wanted Level.
Trade Routes can be raided by Pirates in which case theyll appear yellow, or completely blocked by Cult vessels (where the dotted line will appear red). If you displace these ships from the Trade Route, your Wanted Level will decrease. The dotted lines of a Trade Route are also a handy navigational point you know one direction will always end in a port!
Floating Outposts
If you reach a high enough Wanted Level, Ports will close down and not allow you access. If you reach this position and need to get those pesky Bounty Hunters off your back, then find a Floating Outpost.
-- Racing to a Floating Outpost with a Bounty Hunter hot on our heels! -- These neutral places act like mini-ports and are open to even the worst pirates. They dont have the full range of options youd find in port, but youll be able to boost crew morale, purchase supplies, patch up the worst of your hull damage and most importantly, pay off your wanted fines.
New weapons and upgrades
This update also includes 5 new weapons, and two new combat-upgrades. We posted information on the Lightning Gun, Gargoyles, Catapult, Web Gun, Anti-Boarding Spikes, Timed Bomb and Berserk Dart Gun here, if you liked to read about how they work: https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/3007726172112961652
Passage of Time
All maps will now repopulate their events over the passage of time, so youll no longer revisit previously explored places to find them empty. Repopulation is handled through transitioning between exploration maps, or by waiting. You can wait by pressing the new button on the right-hand side of the screen but be careful, waiting can result in being ambushed.
Kraken
The Kraken has received some love and attention. When it chases you throughout the game, itll now perform additional attacks on top of the standard hull-grab so be prepared to deal with other things while youre cutting those tentacles.
-- Several other attacks can disrupt your attempts to fight off the Kraken -- The Kraken will now Aggro in the Boss Battle once they reach a certain health theyll play an aggro anim and from then on, attack more aggressively. We've also improved the effect of the Kraken chasing you in exploration mode!
Expanded Crew Sizes, New Skills
This has been a popular request, so crew size is now dependant on the ship class and on the larger ships, goes up to 8.
-- Only the biggest vessels will support a crew of 8 -- We've also given the rest of the crew unique skills to differentiate them further:
- Captain: Leader. Provides a passive bonus to whatever action the crew on your ship are doing.
- Navigator: Evasive Manoeuvres. When manning the wheel, reduces the accuracy of enemy fire.
- Marine: Dodge. Reduces the damage received.
- Sailor: Special Repairs. Provides a bonus to extinguishing fires, repairing hull cracks and pumping water.
- Gunner: Accuracy. Increases the chance of hitting when firing cannons or mortars.
Autofire & Targeting
Another popular request: every single weapon in the game can now be toggled between manual fire and autofire!
-- Weapons set to Autofire will have a gold highlight that circles the Weapon Button. Right-Click the Weapon Button to toggle Autofire on and off -- Cannon Targeting has now been visualised with a system which is much clearer to read.
-- Targeting the enemy ship with cannons will now display a red highlight to show which section you are targeting --
Iron Captain Mode
In previous updates, we added Explorers Guild Saves; a way of manually saving if you found a rare Captain's Log. 'Iron Captain' Mode is something you can select when creating a new game and means there are no Captain's Logs in the game.
Key Bindings Menu
You can now re-map your keys in the new Key Bindings menu!
Miscellaneous
We've fixed a load of bugs and made lots of other improvements to the game. We have also been re-balancing from feedback and the new features. In particular, combat should feel less attritional when targeting sections, the AI should be more aggressive, and we've made some big changes that should greatly reduce any leftover feelings of "I got a new ship and so did the AI". For the patch notes on everything that was changed, you can check out this post here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1736589520009196666/ Of course, as we continue to improve the game we'll refine everything even further.
We hope you enjoy everything in the new update. It's been a lot of fun creating it. Next, our focus will turn to unlocking a new region, including special gameplay associated with that area. The ETA for that is mid-to-late October. We'd love to hear your feedback, so please join us in our Steam Community Forums, and thanks to those who have left us a Steam Review. If you haven't done so yet, please do! The Abandon Ship Crew PS - Thanks to everyone who provided feedback from the Beta Branches :)
[ 2018-09-04 08:47:57 CET ] [ Original post ]
Beta Branch Update: Sea Forts, New Weapons Upgrades, Wanted Levels and Trade Routes!
Sea Forts are a new type of enemy you can battle. As giant stone structures, they cannot be sunk, so youll have to defeat them in other ways.
They have an outer-ring section which can be damaged and repaired just like a ship. This can house up to 4 mortars and 2 Sick Bays. The inner-ring section is a raised stone platform that houses a new weapon the Mega-Mortar. The Mega-Mortar is auto-fired and auto-reloaded from mechanisms within the Sea Fort. It cannot be mounted on a ship, as the recoil would tear the vessel in half! This weapon will continually fire at you, and as well as the devastating damage it causes, will also momentarily halt the movement of your ship. You can disable the Mega-Mortar by damaging all 4 inner-sections, which cannot be repaired. Once the Mega-Mortar is disabled, the Sea Fort will surrender (although it should be noted that Cult-owned Sea Forts will never surrender).
Of course, you could always charge in, board the Sea Fort and slaughter the crew to win as well, but the Mega-Mortar will make it tough-going for you! Sea Forts provide a slightly different challenge for Captains to overcome. Victory provides a high reward, but you will take damage trying to defeat one so only attempt hostilities if youre in a strong position. In our playtesting thus far, weve found that specialised builds are more effective, so make sure youre able to either get in super-fast and finish the battle quickly, or are set up for anti-crew warfare, or are extremely powerful at long-range and can disable the Mega-Mortar before it causes too much damage (the new Catapult weapon is handy for this). Sea Forts are immune to Brace tests and cannot be rammed, so if your strategy is heavily reliant on those tactics, youll need to change things up. Also, the imposing structures rise above the highest waves, so Tidal Waves have no effect on them.
-- Attacking a Cult Sea Fort -- In exploration mode, the Sea Fort will open fire on you if its hostile. While they wont sink you, they will whittle your hull health down. Also, if you engage in battle within range of a Sea Fort, an off-screen bombardment may come into play. This could be a help or hindrance depending on the combatants. For example, if you battle a Cult vessel in range of a neutral Sea Fort, the Cult ship will be bombarded. If you fight a pirate in range of a Cult Sea Fort, youll both be bombarded.
If you engage in lots of piratical acts (or attack neutral Sea Forts) then the new Wanted Level will rise. As it passes certain milestones, negative-effects will come into play. Previously neutral Sea Forts will open fire as you sail into their vicinity, and Bounty Hunters will be dispatched to bring you to justice. Depending on your notoriety, they may offer to collect the Bounty in money, or prefer to shoot first and ask questions later!
-- At Wanted Level 1 and above, neutral Sea Forts will open fire if you sail too close -- You can reduce your Wanted Level by doing good deeds (either in events or liberating Cult-owned Sea Forts), or heading to the Magistrate in Port to pay your fine. Side note: In order to fit in this new functionality, the old Magistrate menu has been changed to the Explorers Guild, just in case youre looking to file your charts and use your Captains Log Saves.
Trade Routes snake out from ports, and little trading vessels sail along them to their destination. You can raid these by sitting on the dotted line and pressing the Raid button. Doing so will increment your Gold, but will also raise your Wanted Level.
Trade Routes can be raided by Pirates in which case theyll appear yellow, or completely blocked by Cult vessels (where the dotted line will appear red). If you displace these ships from the Trade Route, your Wanted Level will decrease. The dotted lines of a Trade Route are also a handy navigational point you know one direction will always end in a port!
If you reach a high enough Wanted Level, Ports will close down and not allow you access. If you reach this position and need to get those pesky Bounty Hunters off your back, then find a Floating Outpost.
-- Racing to a Floating Outpost with a Bounty Hunter hot on our heels! -- These neutral places act like mini-ports and are open to even the worst pirates. They dont have the full range of options youd find in port, but youll be able to boost crew morale, purchase supplies, patch up the worst of your hull damage and most importantly, pay off your wanted fines.
This update also includes 5 new weapons, and two new combat-upgrades. We posted information on the Lightning Gun, Gargoyles, Catapult, Web Gun, Anti-Boarding Spikes, Timed Bomb and Berserk Dart Gun here, if you liked to read about how they work: https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/3007726172112961652
All maps will now repopulate their events over the passage of time, so youll no longer revisit previously explored places to find them empty. Repopulation is handled through transitioning between exploration maps, or by waiting. You can wait by pressing the new button on the right-hand side of the screen but be careful, waiting can result in being ambushed.
The Kraken has received some love and attention. When it chases you throughout the game, itll now perform additional attacks on top of the standard hull-grab so be prepared to deal with other things while youre cutting those tentacles.
-- Several other attacks can disrupt your attempts to fight off the Kraken -- The Kraken will now Aggro in the Boss Battle once they reach a certain health theyll play an aggro anim and from then on, attack more aggressively. We've also improved the effect of the Kraken chasing you in exploration mode!
We hope you enjoy all the cool new stuff! As the game expands, and even more new systems overlap in interesting ways, were increasingly reliant on the community to provide feedback to ensure we've covered all angles - so we'd love to hear your thoughts on this latest update. Details of how to provide feedback can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/10/1698293255137774100/ Our longer-term plans can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/6/1693788202021118098/ Depending on how much feedback there is, in approximately two weeks well package this, plus our previous Beta Branch update into a Major Update that will be the new default version of the game. If youre interested in what was in the previous Beta Branch update, you can read about that here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/1651011615843111367 Thanks for all of the support and feedback :) The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2018-07-31 12:42:26 CET ] [ Original post ]
Ahoy Captain!
Weve just released a big update on our Beta Branch with a lot of new exciting things coming to the game.
To learn how to gain access to the Beta Branch, click on this link:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/10/1698293255137774100/
If the version number in the bottom-right corner of the Main Menu ends in 9540 or later, you have the correct version.
Youll need to commence a new playthrough in order to see all these changes, as your old saves wont work on this updated Beta Branch.
We talked about multiple ways around this; however any solution wasnt great from a player-perspective, and would have taken too long to implement. Thats not to say we wont create a workaround in future, but anything we do is a massive undertaking and we didnt want to delay getting this update into your hands!
Here are the big-ticket items in the new update:
Sea Forts
Sea Forts are a new type of enemy you can battle. As giant stone structures, they cannot be sunk, so youll have to defeat them in other ways.
They have an outer-ring section which can be damaged and repaired just like a ship. This can house up to 4 mortars and 2 Sick Bays. The inner-ring section is a raised stone platform that houses a new weapon the Mega-Mortar. The Mega-Mortar is auto-fired and auto-reloaded from mechanisms within the Sea Fort. It cannot be mounted on a ship, as the recoil would tear the vessel in half! This weapon will continually fire at you, and as well as the devastating damage it causes, will also momentarily halt the movement of your ship. You can disable the Mega-Mortar by damaging all 4 inner-sections, which cannot be repaired. Once the Mega-Mortar is disabled, the Sea Fort will surrender (although it should be noted that Cult-owned Sea Forts will never surrender).
Of course, you could always charge in, board the Sea Fort and slaughter the crew to win as well, but the Mega-Mortar will make it tough-going for you! Sea Forts provide a slightly different challenge for Captains to overcome. Victory provides a high reward, but you will take damage trying to defeat one so only attempt hostilities if youre in a strong position. In our playtesting thus far, weve found that specialised builds are more effective, so make sure youre able to either get in super-fast and finish the battle quickly, or are set up for anti-crew warfare, or are extremely powerful at long-range and can disable the Mega-Mortar before it causes too much damage (the new Catapult weapon is handy for this). Sea Forts are immune to Brace tests and cannot be rammed, so if your strategy is heavily reliant on those tactics, youll need to change things up. Also, the imposing structures rise above the highest waves, so Tidal Waves have no effect on them.
-- Attacking a Cult Sea Fort -- In exploration mode, the Sea Fort will open fire on you if its hostile. While they wont sink you, they will whittle your hull health down. Also, if you engage in battle within range of a Sea Fort, an off-screen bombardment may come into play. This could be a help or hindrance depending on the combatants. For example, if you battle a Cult vessel in range of a neutral Sea Fort, the Cult ship will be bombarded. If you fight a pirate in range of a Cult Sea Fort, youll both be bombarded.
Wanted Levels
If you engage in lots of piratical acts (or attack neutral Sea Forts) then the new Wanted Level will rise. As it passes certain milestones, negative-effects will come into play. Previously neutral Sea Forts will open fire as you sail into their vicinity, and Bounty Hunters will be dispatched to bring you to justice. Depending on your notoriety, they may offer to collect the Bounty in money, or prefer to shoot first and ask questions later!
-- At Wanted Level 1 and above, neutral Sea Forts will open fire if you sail too close -- You can reduce your Wanted Level by doing good deeds (either in events or liberating Cult-owned Sea Forts), or heading to the Magistrate in Port to pay your fine. Side note: In order to fit in this new functionality, the old Magistrate menu has been changed to the Explorers Guild, just in case youre looking to file your charts and use your Captains Log Saves.
Trade Routes
Trade Routes snake out from ports, and little trading vessels sail along them to their destination. You can raid these by sitting on the dotted line and pressing the Raid button. Doing so will increment your Gold, but will also raise your Wanted Level.
Trade Routes can be raided by Pirates in which case theyll appear yellow, or completely blocked by Cult vessels (where the dotted line will appear red). If you displace these ships from the Trade Route, your Wanted Level will decrease. The dotted lines of a Trade Route are also a handy navigational point you know one direction will always end in a port!
Floating Outposts
If you reach a high enough Wanted Level, Ports will close down and not allow you access. If you reach this position and need to get those pesky Bounty Hunters off your back, then find a Floating Outpost.
-- Racing to a Floating Outpost with a Bounty Hunter hot on our heels! -- These neutral places act like mini-ports and are open to even the worst pirates. They dont have the full range of options youd find in port, but youll be able to boost crew morale, purchase supplies, patch up the worst of your hull damage and most importantly, pay off your wanted fines.
New weapons and upgrades
This update also includes 5 new weapons, and two new combat-upgrades. We posted information on the Lightning Gun, Gargoyles, Catapult, Web Gun, Anti-Boarding Spikes, Timed Bomb and Berserk Dart Gun here, if you liked to read about how they work: https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/3007726172112961652
Passage of Time
All maps will now repopulate their events over the passage of time, so youll no longer revisit previously explored places to find them empty. Repopulation is handled through transitioning between exploration maps, or by waiting. You can wait by pressing the new button on the right-hand side of the screen but be careful, waiting can result in being ambushed.
Kraken
The Kraken has received some love and attention. When it chases you throughout the game, itll now perform additional attacks on top of the standard hull-grab so be prepared to deal with other things while youre cutting those tentacles.
-- Several other attacks can disrupt your attempts to fight off the Kraken -- The Kraken will now Aggro in the Boss Battle once they reach a certain health theyll play an aggro anim and from then on, attack more aggressively. We've also improved the effect of the Kraken chasing you in exploration mode!
We hope you enjoy all the cool new stuff! As the game expands, and even more new systems overlap in interesting ways, were increasingly reliant on the community to provide feedback to ensure we've covered all angles - so we'd love to hear your thoughts on this latest update. Details of how to provide feedback can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/10/1698293255137774100/ Our longer-term plans can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/6/1693788202021118098/ Depending on how much feedback there is, in approximately two weeks well package this, plus our previous Beta Branch update into a Major Update that will be the new default version of the game. If youre interested in what was in the previous Beta Branch update, you can read about that here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/1651011615843111367 Thanks for all of the support and feedback :) The Abandon Ship Crew
[ 2018-07-31 12:42:26 CET ] [ Original post ]
Abandon Ship
Fireblade Software
Developer
Fireblade Software
Publisher
2018-02-21
Release
Game News Posts:
51
🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
Mostly Positive
(1051 reviews)
Public Linux Depots:
- Abandon Ship Linux [8.31 G]
Discover a huge amount of unique, story-filled islands across diverse biomes and themed areas: Fight ghost ships in the Haunted Seas. Ward off giant arachnids in the Spider Islands. Regions filled with poisonous gas, icebergs, cannibals and much more await.
Engage enemy ships, fortifications and sea monsters in vicious combat, employing your best tactics to out-manoeuvre and out-gun the enemy. Weather and environmental conditions affect your battles: Tidal waves, lightning strikes, volcanic bombardments and blizzards are just some of the modifiers that impact your strategy.
Abandon Ship focuses on ‘Age of Sail’ ships in a Fantasy setting, framed in an Art Style inspired by classic Naval Oil Paintings.
Life in this world can be brutal. Death is permanent. But the journey doesn’t end if your vessel is destroyed. You are the Captain, and as long as the Captain is alive, there is always hope.
By escaping to a Lifeboat, or even being stranded, alone in the water, there is a chance to survive and fight your way back to the top.
Combat is tactical and savage. Each battle is hard-fought, always on the edge of defeat. Your only chance of overcoming the odds is to employ every advantage you can bring to bear.
Dozens of diverse weapons and upgrades are available to utilise on the various ship classes you can acquire. Customise your vessels appearance by capturing enemy ships intact. Your trusty crew gain experience and traits to help provide an edge over the enemy.
Explore a fantasy world that reacts to your actions. Engage in piracy and become a hunted Captain. Undertake quests that may drastically change the environment – or the entire world. Make decisions that create allies or enemies that return to help or seek vengeance.
Play multiple stories, including the main campaigns tale of overthrowing a Cthulhu-esque Cult, a Freeplay mode about rebuilding the legacy of your forebears, and shorter tales, such as the combat campaign focused on rescuing your sister, or Sword of the Cult, where you play as one of Father’s children, climbing the ranks until you’re granted the ultimate weapon: The Kraken.
MINIMAL SETUP
- OS: Ubuntu 18.04
- Processor: 2.2GHz ProcessorMemory: 4 GB RAM
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 6000 or equivalent
- Storage: 10 GB available space
GAMEBILLET
[ 6132 ]
GAMERSGATE
[ 2625 ]
FANATICAL BUNDLES
Time left:
9 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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15 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
Time left:
12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
Time left:
12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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12 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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37 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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17 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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9 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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33 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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30 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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38 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
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40 days, 5 hours, 53 minutes
HUMBLE BUNDLES
Time left:
3 days, 23 hours, 53 minutes
Time left:
17 days, 23 hours, 53 minutes
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