Sail Forth News

Hi everyone, Update 2/the Open Seas update is close to complete, and like with Update 1, this is a pretty big set of changes and I'd like to make a beta available for a couple weeks before the update goes out.

[h2]** Joining the beta **[/h2]
If you have the game on Steam and would like to opt-in to the beta, you can do so by right-clicking the game in your Library, selecting Properties > Betas, and choosing `public_preview` from the dropdown. You'll see `1.4.0` at the bottom right of the options screen if you're on the beta.

[h2]** Before you play **[/h2]
It is very important to note that if you do this your save file will become incompatible with the old version! The game will automatically create a backup of your original save on load, which can be found on Windows at `%appdata%\..\LocalLow\Festive Vector\Sail Forth\boat-game-old.save`

If you want to return to playing the old version before the update is released, replace `boat-game.save` with `boat-game-{previous version}.save` Otherwise you can continue playing your save in the public preview branch until the update is fully released. The previous version should be `1.3.4` if you were playing on an up to date build of the game.

[h2]** Bug reporting **[/h2]
If you find a bug you can now report it directly from the game, using the 'Feedback' option found in the pause menu. This is helpful for me as it includes a copy of your save file, the log, and a screenshot which makes it much easier for me to find and fix the bug.

[h2]** Other Notes **[/h2]
This is a big update that pretty dramatically changes the campaign map. If you play with an existing save your progress will be retained but expect locations to move around significantly!

As a fair warning, with how large of a change this is there will almost certainly be bugs I haven't found yet!

[h2]Update 2: Open Seas Beta Changelog[/h2]

Open World Exploration
- Loading screens between areas are removed
- Can sail seamlessly between locations
- Added ‘Deepblue’ ocean biome between areas with its own soundtrack
- Island generation has been reworked a bit to give locations a bit more personality

World Map Rework
- World Map generation has been redesigned with an open world in mind
- Can now freely explore the biomes in any order after Sandy Shores
- Difficulty is now scaled based on your overall progression in the game, rather than by which location you are in
- Depending on where you explore, you may still encounter some high-challenge enemies
- Player exact position is now saved instead of just current location

Feature Updates
- New Boat: Kestrel, a mid sized schooner balancing armament and maneuverability
- Clams: New digging/surfacing behavior to make finding them more interesting
- Clams: New types of pearls are dropped by clams
- Clams: Moontide Shop uses Moon Pearls instead of normal pearls
- Ship Shape Shop: Shops now have intermittent sales depending on the calendar day, look for flashing lights!
- Ship Shape Shop: Can now sell boats that are stored in your dock without undocking them first

UI updates
- Reworked Area Map to better show nearby locations
- New design for wind indicator in the steering/compass display
- World Map shows real player position instead of anchoring to nearest location
- Label ‘key’ items in inventory

Misc Updates
- Crates and other small targets now always take 1 shot
- Perf improvements when many boats are visible
- Time passes during eclipse so you aren’t stuck on the same day forever
- Improved sinking physics for destroyed boats

Bug Fixes
- Photo hunt encounter now properly progresses through the various ‘giant’ photo subjects, fixing cases where players were unable to complete their photo collection
- Boat AI now uses oars properly when necessary
- Fix case where player escorts might stop following player for no reason
- Fix many cases where NPCs could be covered by trees or rocks
- Adjust ice target course to be less insanely difficult
- Many fixes throughout the game to quest logic and cutscenes

Hi everyone, I'm still working on Update 2, but in the meantime here are just a couple small fixes to issues brought up by members of the Discord (thanks!)

It turns out the Glubbgill was bugged and had no way of ever spawning, which is now fixed for those of you trying to complete your fish collection.


- Fish fixes: Fix glubbgill erroneously spawning as a dravenscale, making them uncatchable
- HUD fix: Options for hiding the speed/sail trim UIs are working again

Also, here is a little peek at something I've been working on in Update 2 land:

Hi everyone, this is a small patch to fix some things I've seen brought up on the forums / discord over the past month or so. If you've reported something and don't see a fix for it here, chances are I am aware of it but have not yet been able to track down the cause.


- Fish fixes: The spawn logic for all fish and wildlife has been reworked to avoid cases where a particular fish doesn’t spawn for long periods of time by random chance
- Fish weather requirements: Certain weather requirements (mainly snow), have been fixed so that the relevant fish now properly spawn when the appropriate conditions are met. This should resolve any issues people have had with completing their fish collection.
- AI fixes: AI ships are better at aiming at certain types of targets, especially land-based things
- Crushed Ice achievement fix: The relevant achievement should now be properly triggered when the player crushes an enemy vessel with a falling ice spire.
- Map travel: Revised fast travel logic to avoid rare situations where a revealed location would not be visitable
- Map travel: Prevent traveling via shell spells in situations where fast travel is unavailable

I'm busy working on Update 2, which I'll have more details to share on in the near future! Cheers and as always thanks for playing my game! : )

Hi everyone, this is a small-ish patch which addresses a few things I've seen reported throughout all the various feedback channels. Thanks for all your continued support!

v1.3.2
- Capsizing rework: It’s intended to be pretty hard to do this but previously if it happened your boat would just sink, which felt too punishing. Now your crew will spend some time pulling the boat upright before hopping back in and continuing
- Photo encounters: Fix some instances where these weren’t being marked as complete on the map
- More photo encounter fixes: Remove ‘fake’ photo encounter icons being shown on map that didn’t represent a real encounter
- Fix Tekk Blazer occasionally hitting itself when firing
- Target Courses: Ensure player does not spawn on top of another boat when positioning player at the start of the course
- Moontide Recruitment Arc: Ensure the location the player is directed to travel to is revealed on their map
- Docking: When recovering a sunk boat from the Ship Shape Shop, it will now be automatically sent to the dock if there is no room in the player’s fleet
- Teknogaunt Boss: Teleport player out of collision zone if the Teknogaunt surfaces directly below them
- Fix some instances of ghost ‘Talk’ or ‘Interact’ prompts that didn’t do anything
- Lighting Pearls are now properly sellable at the merchant, as indicated by their description
- Final Boss: Your save will always begin you at the rift entrance while fighting the boss
- Travel: Rules for when the player is allowed to exit a location are now more consistent between fast travel and manual travel. In cases where the active quest disables travel for a critical story section, purple mist will prevent leaving the area. It is still possible to leave a location via manual travel during combat.

Hi, I’m excited to bring you to the first large feature update to Sail Forth! This update is all about addressing feedback from the community and improving the fleet mechanics within the game.

Fleet Management - The Dock



The goal here is to enable more playstyles and allow you to accumulate new ships in a satisfying way. Don't want to deal with a fleet? Store all extra boats in your dock and use them like extra lives. Got a neat boat for a specialized purpose? Bring it out of the dock when you want to use it.

- Boats can be stored at a dock, accessible from the fleet management menu whenever not in combat
- Unlimited boats can be stored at the dock along with their crew and loadout
- If your entire fleet sinks but you have docked boats, you can undock them to continue the fight
- Previously in places where you could acquire a boat (encounters, boarding), you might have had to scrap it due to no remaining room in the fleet, now it can be stored at the dock directly

Fleet Management - Orders and AI



Some of the most common feedback about the game so far has been that the fleet AI doesn't do a great job of avoiding collisions. I spent a bunch of time overhauling the way the AI sees the world around it and expanding your ability to control them.

- Greatly improved navigation AI: Your fleet (and other AI boats) should be much more adept at avoiding collisions
- The ‘set order’ functionality of previous demos has been restored and updated
- Fleet boats can be told to Escort, Hold Position, or Hold Fire
- Can also issue one of these commands to the entire fleet at once
- Your fleet will attempt to escape combat and return to your flagship if you are not close by

Progression Balancing

Another common bit of feedback from the community was that the progression felt a bit strange. Having large ships available from the first shop you encounter meant that some players would grind it out immediately and not feel any need to upgrade for the rest of the game. With this in mind, the set of available ships has been modified to spread out the progression more sensibly throughout the game's chapters. Special thanks to Neizod from the community for a great writeup on the Steam forum about this problem!

- Based on feedback many of the boats in the game have had their balance tweaked, in addition to a revised unlock progression
- Each new Shipshape Shop encountered will unlock a new boat of that chapter’s tier
- Larger ships are now unlocked later in the game and have had their prices updated to reflect this
- Removed boat selection from tutorial sequence to curate a more consistent intro experience

Content Updates



This is not a content-focused update but I did find some time to add a bit of stuff. The new Tekk Speedboat should make the Tekk Clan fleets a bit more interesting to fight, and the Croaker bounties have been overhauled to present a bigger challenge. Many people have asked for more ability to customize their crew-members, and this update brings a small first step towards this, giving you the ability to set their colors separately from the boat/sail colors.

- The way enemies are placed in the world has been overhauled, which will allow for new types of content in the future
- For now the main difference is that hostile locations such as forts have a chance to spawn new enemies each day
- Updated Croaker Bounty encounters which now scale in size and difficulty
- Introducing the Tekk Clan Speedboat: a fast and lightly armed engine-powered vessel
- Tekk Subs are now implemented as proper ‘boats’ in game terms, giving them better physics and AI
- Tekk Destroyer weapon slots increased to 4
- Updated visuals for Lightkeeper Flagship: Based on feedback the design of the ship has been revised with a more realistic and better looking sail rig
- Crew color customization: Your crew’s color scheme is now chosen separately from the sail colors

Other fixes and changes
- Updated tutorial system: The old tutorial system felt a bit heavy handed as it would frequently pause the game and force you to do something that you potentially already know how to do
- Tutorials now use a ‘checklist’ system that never pauses the game, and are much less intrusive
- New tutorial added for camera zoom controls
- 'Feedback' option now available from the pause menu to report bugs directly from the game
- Improved capsizing logic: If your boat capsizes, your crew is temporarily thrown in the water and must spend some crucial time flipping the boat right side up again, which can be devastating in a battle. Watch those sails!
- Many smaller bug fixes and tweaks, too many to enumerate here

Thank you to everyone for continuing to play and engage with the game, it's really motivating for me! This was a ton of stuff, and it is by no means the end, I've got lots of cool stuff planned for the rest of the year. Feel free to share any feedback you have on the forums, the new Discord, or via the new feedback tool in-game. I can't promise to address everything but I do read all of it.

For console players - The update is in certification, and should be out in about a week.

Gorbspeed!