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 ]