Salt 2 News

[h3]Main Quest Act 2[/h3]
The second part of the main quest. If you have completed act 1, you will now be able to continue where you left off.

[h3]Storms[/h3]
Storms can now occasionally occur. If you do not wish to play while it is storming, find a place to rest such as a bed or campfire.

[h3]More at-sea points of interest[/h3]
More things can now be found at sea. Some useful such as npcs on ships, and some more cosmetic such as rocky outcroppings.

[h3]Ship Mechanic Changes[/h3]
You can now set exactly how far your sails are lowered, allowing more control over your speed. You can also slowly turn your ship while stationary from the helm.

There is now a constant wind direction that you can take advantage of for a slight speed boost while sailing. Use the flag on the ship to determine what direction the wind is blowing. You do not receive any disadvantage for sailing against the wind.

Additionally, there are a few cosmetic additions such as sounds and water splashes while sailing.

[h3]Dodge[/h3]
As an alternative to block and parry, you now have a dodge ability to avoid incoming damage if timed correctly. You can activate dodge by pressing ctrl on the keyboard or right bumper on the gamepad.


[h3]Changes[/h3]

• Added act 2 of the main quest.
  
• Added new weapons and points of interest.
  
• Added stormy weather that can occur occasionally.
  
• Added rocky outcroppings, shipwrecks and other content that can be found at sea.
  
• Added new fisherman and sailor NPC ships.
  
• Ships now get a slight boost in speed if sailing with the direction of the wind. The wind direction is indicated by a red flag on the ship.
  
• Raising and lowering sails is now continuous, allowing you more control over how fast ships move.
  
• You can now turn ships slightly while they are stationary.
  
• Added controller vibrations.
  
• Added a spyglass item that allows you to look into the distance.
  
• Added a chronometer item that you can use to tell the time of day.
  
• Added a new marshland village island type.
  
• Added new Witch Doctor merchant.
  
• Added a dodge action (ctrl by default). This gives you a few frames of invincibility at the cost of some stamina.
  
• Added seagulls that fly around above islands and at sea. These are cosmetic only and cannot be damaged.
  
• Added additional sounds and splash particles to ships while sailing.
  
• Added new ship decorations.
  
• Add more interesting effects to some potions and meals to make them more useful.
  
• NPCs now turn toward you when you talk to them.
  
• Added white truffle mushrooms to more caves.
  
• Reduced the amount of white truffles required in some recipes.
  
• Increased bow damage at tier 4 and 5 rarities.
  
• Increasing mining experience gained from some ores.
  
• You no longer start knowing all pickaxe rarities. Instead, you can buy them from the blacksmith and prospector merchants.
  
• Reduced health of some animals at higher world tiers.
  
• Sea scholar NPCs are now tougher, reducing the chance of accidentally killing them.
  
• Added dark fog effect to cave entrance visuals.
  
• Reduced movement speed slightly while swinging weapons.
  
• Added a new attack speed stat to the stats screen.
  
• Adjusted some recipe requirements.
  
• Fixed players getting moved strangely (and possibly launched into the air) on ships sometimes. (Technical: This was related to when the world shifts its floating origin).
  
• Fixed some typos.
  
• Fixed navigation on an outpost island that was missing it.
  
• Fixed subtitles of new game cinematic being cut off in wide aspect ratios.
  
• Fixed yellow frog having the wrong death model.
  
• Fixed a bug where strong stamina potion recipes wouldn't drop.
  
• Fixed some descriptions of food items.
  
• Four legged creatures are now less likely to orient wrongly on the ground.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Scepter of Servitude could freeze or poison its servants, causing them to be disloyal.
  
• Fixed some exploits in caves and dungeons where you could get out of the level bounds.
  
• The lever in the trial of orbs will now open the statue hand no matter which direction it is flipped.
  
• Fixed an issue where you couldn't interact with the center part of a treasure chest.
  
• Fixed an issue in the catacombs where you could jump over a wall you weren't supposed to.
  
• Fixed gamepad trigger not working exactly right with handheld usable items.
  
• Fixed Marauder's Scout NPC clipping into the rug at a seaport.
  
• Increased the interact range of some items to make them easier to pick up.
  
• Added some new dungeon dressing to some areas.
  
• Fixed pickaxe slightly floating in the home island bear cave.
  
• Reduced the recipe requirements for the sandy bed.
  
• Fixed pirate cook having the wrong death model, resulting in his mullet disappearing upon death.
  
• No longer show a white square when rebinding to an unknown mouse button.
  
• Fixed ps4 controllers navigating loot windows too quickly.
  
• Fixed overlapping text in a message in a bottle.
  
• Some geometry fixes (stuck spots, object swithout colliders, etc).
  
• Items in your inventory or placed on a ship are no longer permanently lost if they fail to load due to reverting to reverting to this version of the game or newer.
  
• Wolf npcs orient to slope constrained to the x axis so they don't tilt sideways.
  
• Added new music when you wake up at the first camp.
  
• Increased the volume of wind on some islands during the day.
  
• Fixed an issue with the ship in the Mad King's Shipwreck having a push and retrieve interaction option.
  
• Fixed an issue where you could attack the Acolyte of Darkness through a portcullis and he couldn't reach you.
  

Our latest update is now on the beta branch. This update includes a ton of new changes including storms, new sailing mechanics, act 2 of the main quest, new points of interests and items, birds, and more. You can read the full patch notes list below.

If you are interested in joining the beta branch and helping us test it before the public release, you can find instructions on how to do so here.

[h2]Patch Notes[/h2]

• Added act 2 of the main quest.
  
• Added new weapons and points of interest.
  
• Added stormy weather that can occur occasionally.
  
• Added rocky outcroppings, shipwrecks and other content that can be found at sea.
  
• Added new fisherman and sailor NPC ships
  
• Ships now get a slight boost in speed if sailing with the direction of the wind. The wind direction is indicated by a red flag on the ship.
  
• Raising and lowering sails is now continuous, allowing you more control over how fast ships move.
  
• You can now turn ships slightly while they are stationary.
  
• Added controller vibrations.
  
• Added a spyglass item that allows you to look into the distance.
  
• Added a chronometer item that you can use to tell the time of day.
  
• Added a new marshland village island type.
  
• Added new Witch Doctor merchant
  
• Added a dodge action (ctrl by default). This gives you a few frames of invincibility at the cost of some stamina.
  
• Added seagulls that fly around above islands and at sea. These are cosmetic only and cannot be damaged.
  
• Added additional sounds and splash particles to ships while sailing.
  
• Added new ship decorations.
  
• Add more interesting effects to some potions and meals to make them more useful.
  
• NPCs now turn toward you when you talk to them.
  
• Added white truffle mushrooms to more caves.
  
• Reduced the amount of white truffles required in some recipes.
  
• Increased bow damage at tier 4 and 5 rarities.
  
• Increasing mining experience gained from some ores.
  
• You no longer start knowing all pickaxe rarities. Instead, you can buy them from the blacksmith and prospector merchants.
  
• Reduced health of some animals at higher world tiers.
  
• Sea scholar NPCs are now tougher, reducing the chance of accidentally killing them.
  
• Added dark fog effect to cave entrance visuals.
  
• Reduced movement speed slightly while swinging weapons.
  
• Added a new attack speed stat to the stats screen.
  
• Adjusted some recipe requirements.
  
• Fixed players getting moved strangely (and possibly launched into the air) on ships sometimes. (Technical: This was related to when the world shifts its floating origin).
  
• Fixed some typos.
  
• Fixed navigation on an outpost island that was missing it.
  
• Fixed subtitles of new game cinematic being cut off in wide aspect ratios.
  
• Fixed yellow frog having the wrong death model.
  
• Fixed a bug where strong stamina potion recipes wouldn't drop.
  
• Fixed some descriptions of food items.
  
• Four legged creatures are now less likely to orient wrongly on the ground.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Scepter of Servitude could freeze or poison its servants, causing them to be disloyal.
  
• Fixed some exploits in caves and dungeons where you could get out of the level bounds.
  
• The lever in the trial of orbs will now open the statue hand no matter which direction it is flipped.
  
• Fixed an issue where you couldn't interact with the center part of a treasure chest.
  
• Fixed an issue in the catacombs where you could jump over a wall you weren't supposed to.
  

Ahoy!

We are very excited about the next update and we wanted to go over what content and changes you can expect in the patch. We estimate this update is likely about 4-6 weeks out from going live on the beta branch.

Let's dive in!

[h2]Storms[/h2]



Storms have been a long requested feature and we are happy to finally implement them. Now occasionally while sailing the sea you'll see the sky turn dark, the rain and wind pick up, and most importantly, bigger waves.

[h2]New Sailing Mechanics[/h2]



Another feature you've been asking for is more sailing mechanics. In the next update we'll be taking a few steps towards that goal. For starters, we've added wind direction. You'll be able to look at a flag at the top of your ship and see which way the wind is blowing. If you choose to sail in the direction of the wind, you'll receive a speed boost making for more efficient sailing.

We've also added in the ability to adjust your sail length. Instead of before where the sail was either completely raised or completely lowered, you can now adjust it to your liking. This will also affect your speed, so if your sail is fully opened you'll be sailing at 100% speed but if it's only halfway open you'll be at 50% speed.

In addition to that you'll also be able to turn your ship while stationary without having to redeploy it or get out and push it. Also, there are now splash effects in the front of the ship for more realistic feedback when the front end crashes into a wave.

We've got more sailing mechanics in mind in the future but we think this a step in the right direction for now.

[h2]Main Quest - Act 2[/h2]



Our last update included the first part of the main quest and this one will include the second part of three total. In Act 2, you'll continue hunting down cult leaders and discover brand new points of interest and even a new village with a witch doctor.

[h2]Meal and Potion Overhaul[/h2]



One thing we noticed recently is that there were a ton of meals in the game and a lot of them were kind of boring, only adding to your common combat stats. We've reduced the number of meals in the game and added more interesting effects to the ones that are there. While there still will be potions and meals that increase your base stats, you'll now be able to find some that give interesting effects like increased headshot damage, extra damage against certain enemy types, increased attack speed, and more.

[h2]Other Changes[/h2]

This update will also include some new ship decoration items and even a spyglass. You'll be able to loot and craft a few different tiers of spyglasses with varying degrees of magnification. This patch also includes balancing changes and bug fixes.


[h2]Multiplayer Progress[/h2]

We also wanted to let you know that we are still working on multiplayer and it's coming along very well. We currently have it where you can join in with other players and run around the world and explore. We're still working on syncing up things like animations, enemy health/positions, ships, and quest states. We'll have more updates on multiplayer in the coming months.

[h3]Main Quest Act 1[/h3]
The first part of the primary quest line introduces a number of new locations and NPCs.

[h3]Fast Travel[/h3]
Certain locations in the world now contain beacon towers. Once activated, you will be able to travel back to that beacon at the cost of food from your hunger meter, if it's close enough and you have enough food. You may select a beacon to travel to by selecting its island on your map.

[h3]Difficulty Settings[/h3]
For those that prefer a more challenging or easier experience, combat difficulty settings are now available. When you start a new game, or at any time during play, you can set the combat difficulty setting to Easy, Normal, Hard, or Legendary. This adjusts the health and damage of enemies, and adds a very small experience bonus for harder difficulties. You can also choose to lock the difficulty setting when starting a new game if you wish.

[h3]Library Bookshelves[/h3]
A new type of bookshelf can be purchased from cartographers to be placed on your ship. These will fill up with books as you discover them throughout the world, allowing you to re-read them. Note that only books discovered after this update will be added to the library.

[h3]Outpost Islands[/h3]
A new type of tiny island can be occasionally found in the world. These contain a number of different small points of interest.

[h3]Changes[/h3]

• Added main quest act 1.
  
• You can now fast travel to certain locations that you have discovered.
  
• Added difficulty settings.
  
• Added library bookshelf ship decoration that can be used to re-read some books you discover. This item can be bought from a Cartographer Merchant.
  
• Recipe items now show a preview of the crafted item stats
  
• Added category dropdown to bug report window.
  
• Improved jumping mechanics.
  
• Added new loading screen images
  
• Added some new physics puzzles.
  
• Added new outpost island points of interest.
  
• Added new fishing lures to help with fishing quests.
  
• Fisherman merchants now sell more lures.
  
• Lumberjacks are now merchants and sell woodworking supplies.
  
• Prospectors are now merchants and sell blacksmithing supplies.
  
• Added new lore books.
  
• Added new side quests.
  
• Added maps to loot caves.
  
• Added sections to the settings window.
  
• Added unique caves that can be accessed by some wells.
  
• Added frogs.
  
• Added rock salt item that can be refined into salt for cooking
  
• Fixed divers mask items increasing breath instead of max breath.
  
• World reposition events no longer cause one frame where the player is not on the boat.
  
• Strong stamina potions are now uncommon quality.
  
• Fixed ship graphics often popping in the wrong spot for when frame when placing your ship.
  
• Fixed ship placement colliding with merchant ships.
  
• Ship placement depth is now closer to their normal float depth.
  
• Fixed load game UI not refreshing when a local backup was loaded.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused your controls to be locked if you died while steering a ship.
  
• Archers can no longer see through breakable cave rocks.
  
• Fishing commission selection now takes fishing skill level into account.
  
• Reduced the chance for spiders to apply poison effect.
  
• Changed Rigidbody interaction type on player character controller, reducing the chance he'll get flung back when jumping around on a moving boat.
  
• Fixed newly created bait items always being stack size of 1.
  
• Fishing bobbers bounce around less, making it more viable to fish while sailing.
  
• Added ammo and bait to the equipment inventory tab.
  
• Adjusted higher tier compass textures to make them more readable.
  
• Slightly adjusted appearance and size of weaving stations. Placeable weaving stations now pivot in the center instead of the side when rotating. Note that weaving stations already placed on ships will be shifted slightly.
  
• Marked some items without any use other than selling as junk so that they will show up in that inventory section.
  
• Fixed an issue where you could get a map to an underwater cave you couldn't actually go into
  
• Stamina potions can now be crafted at a workbench in addition to the cooking station
  
• Added lighthouse map stamp icon
  
• Boar and Deer are now a bit easier to kill
  
• Reduced ambient air particles
  
• The game now uses less memory when running.
  
• Improved initial load time after starting the game.
  
• Updated engine version.
  
• Fixed issue where enemies would sometimes run up to you but not attack.
  
• Increased drop rate of meal recipes.
  
• The Sea King's Trident is now more likely to roll better talents.
  
• Fixed a bug where crafting stations would cause hotkey indicators to appear briefly when they spawned.
  
• New players no longer start slightly above the ground.
  
• Fixed some points of interest spawning without modifying the terrain below them.
  
• Potions now ignore their cooldowns when you are not in combat.
  
• Updated some potion recipe requirements.
  
• Fixed some typos.
  
• Fixed enemies pathing through shipwrecks.
  
• Fixed some out of bound exploits in caves.
  
• Increased the parry window on axes and staves.
  
• Added potion of renewal to guild merchants.
  
• Fixed effective precision talent tier 2 having the same description text as tier 1.
  
• Grizzly Ribeye is now stackable.
  
• Reduced the rarity of light blue and purple ink items.
  
• You can no longer use health or stamina potions if you are full on those stats.
  
• Fixed map stamp and color buttons not scaling right with different resolutions.
  
• Parry stun effect is no longer removed by poison or bleed damage.
  
• Opening the inventory interface will no longer unhide the HUD if it's hidden.
  
• Fixed some chests having non-uniform scales.
  
• You can now see your current crafting skill level when crafting an item.
  
• Lowered the drop rate rate of map items.
  
• Lowered recipe requirements for some armor and weapons.
  
• Lowered the recipe requirements on some meal items.
  
• You can now get the Red Raider Temple Gate Key even after the related quest has been completed.
  
• Fixed an issue where the pirate king could drop duplicate items.
  
• Fixed an issue with marshland islands causing frame drops while approaching them.
  
• Game sounds and music are muted when in the escape menu.
  
• Fixed interaction outline not appearing on the weaving station.
  
• Fixed some spots you could get stuck in.
  
• Mining rocks can no longer activate the Momentum item talent.
  
• Bug reports of type bug and crash will now send a copy of your Player.log file to us automatically.
  
• Added messages in a bottle that can be found on some islands.
  
• Increased xp from higher level fish.
  
• Fixed an issue where arrows could pass through some parts of enemies.
  
• Fixed New Coat Of Paint quest having the wrong number in the description.
  
• Fixed typo in the guide NPC's dialogue.
  
• Fixed a rare case where clicking a save to load would not do anything.
  
• Fixed brown book ship decoration having normal world journal logic attached to it.
  
• Fixed an issue where the merchant ship would sometimes launch into the air.
  
• Increased visibility of the Mermaid's Blade Herb, making it easier to find.
  
• Fixed an issue with large ships not playing water splash sounds.
  

Ahoy mateys!

Our latest update is now available on the beta branch. If you want to help us test the update and find bugs before release, you can find instructions on how to join the beta here.

This update includes a ton of new changes so let's dive in and take a quick look.

[h2]Main Quest Act 1[/h2]
You'll now be able to start and complete Act 1 of the main quest line. You can start this quest by speaking to the Courier NPC at any seaport or the Seaport Cartographer. Note that you will have to have completed the New Beginnings quest you get at the start of the game for the main quest to be available.

[h2]Fast Travel[/h2]
This update also includes fast travel to certain locations. Places like seaports and guild headquarters will have a light tower you can interact with and unlock their fast travel point. You'll then be able to travel quickly back to these locations by opening your map and selecting the island you want to travel to. Keep in mind that traveling will cost food resources and you can only travel as far as your resources allow.

[h2]Difficulty Settings[/h2]

We've also implemented combat difficulty settings. You can now choose easy, normal, hard, or legendary depending on your desired challenge. If you're looking for a relaxing experience and aren't interested much in combat, then the easy setting is the way to go. If you're looking for a more challenging experience where you'll have to use the best gear and stay prepared with potions/meals, then hard or legendary might be your preference. Normal is a balanced setting and keeps the difficulty where it was before this update.

[h2]Library Bookshelf[/h2]

A new type of bookshelf can be purchased from cartographers to be placed on your ship. These will fill up with books as you discover them throughout the world, allowing you to re-read them. Note that only books discovered after this update will be added to the library.

[h2]Outpost Islands[/h2]

A new type of tiny island can be occasionally found in the world. These contain a number of different small points of interest.


[h2]Patch Notes[/h2]

• Added main quest act 1.
  
• You can now fast travel to certain locations that you have discovered.
  
• Added difficulty settings.
  
• Added library bookshelf ship decoration that can be used to re-read some books you discover. This item can be bought from a Cartographer Merchant.
  
• Recipe items now show a preview of the crafted item stats
  
• Added category dropdown to bug report window.
  
• Improved jumping mechanics.
  
• Added new loading screen images
  
• Added some new physics puzzles.
  
• Added new outpost island points of interest.
  
• Added new fishing lures to help with fishing quests.
  
• Fisherman merchants now sell more lures.
  
• Lumberjacks are now merchants and sell woodworking supplies.
  
• Prospectors are now merchants and sell blacksmithing supplies.
  
• Added new lore books.
  
• Added new side quests.
  
• Added maps to loot caves.
  
• Added sections to the settings window.
  
• Added unique caves that can be accessed by some wells.
  
• Added frogs.
  
• Added rock salt item that can be refined into salt for cooking
  
• Fixed divers mask items increasing breath instead of max breath.
  
• World reposition events no longer cause one frame where the player is not on the boat.
  
• Strong stamina potions are now uncommon quality.
  
• Fixed ship graphics often popping in the wrong spot for when frame when placing your ship.
  
• Fixed ship placement colliding with merchant ships.
  
• Ship placement depth is now closer to their normal float depth.
  
• Fixed load game UI not refreshing when a local backup was loaded.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused your controls to be locked if you died while steering a ship.
  
• Archers can no longer see through breakable cave rocks.
  
• Fishing commission selection now takes fishing skill level into account.
  
• Reduced the chance for spiders to apply poison effect.
  
• Changed Rigidbody interaction type on player character controller, reducing the chance he'll get flung back when jumping around on a moving boat.
  
• Fixed newly created bait items always being stack size of 1.
  
• Fishing bobbers bounce around less, making it more viable to fish while sailing.
  
• Added ammo and bait to the equipment inventory tab.
  
• Adjusted higher tier compass textures to make them more readable.
  
• Slightly adjusted appearance and size of weaving stations. Placeable weaving stations now pivot in the center instead of the side when rotating. Note that weaving stations already placed on ships will be shifted slightly.
  
• Marked some items without any use other than selling as junk so that they will show up in that inventory section.
  
• Fixed an issue where you could get a map to an underwater cave you couldn't actually go into
  
• Stamina potions can now be crafted at a workbench in addition to the cooking station
  
• Added lighthouse map stamp icon
  
• Boar and Deer are now a bit easier to kill
  
• Reduced ambient air particles
  
• The game now uses less memory when running.
  
• Improved initial load time after starting the game.
  
• Updated engine version.
  
• Fixed issue where enemies would sometimes run up to you but not attack.
  
• Increased drop rate of meal recipes.
  
• The Sea King's Trident is now more likely to roll better talents.
  
• Fixed a bug where crafting stations would cause hotkey indicators to appear briefly when they spawned.
  
• New players no longer start slightly above the ground.
  
• Fixed some points of interest spawning without modifying the terrain below them.
  
• Potions now ignore their cooldowns when you are not in combat.
  
• Updated some potion recipe requirements.
  
• Fixed some typos.
  
• Fixed enemies pathing through shipwrecks.
  
• Fixed some out of bound exploits in caves.
  
• Increased the parry window on axes and staves.
  
• Added potion of renewal to guild merchants.
  
• Fixed effective precision talent tier 2 having the same description text as tier 1.
  
• Grizzly Ribeye is now stackable.
  
• Reduced the rarity of light blue and purple ink items.
  
• You can no longer use health or stamina potions if you are full on those stats.
  
• Fixed map stamp and color buttons not scaling right with different resolutions.
  
• Parry stun effect is no longer removed by poison or bleed damage.
  
• Opening the inventory interface will no longer unhide the HUD if it's hidden.
  
• Fixed some chests having non-uniform scales.