Modern Controls, Grapeshot, Treasures, and More! Patch 1.4 BETA.
[h2]Ahoy![/h2]
[h3]On the menu:[/h3]
- Patch 1.4 beta is now available.
- New controls are done.
- Lots of new features.
- Besides German, we've added support for Spanish, French, and Polish.
- No new game required.
- Access via instructions below - as usual. Please choose version 1.4.
Patch 1.4 was initially planned as an intermediate update aimed at solving two major game issues that we've all been suffering from for a year: tank controls and inconvenient key rebinding. The first one simply killed the game from the first seconds for a huge number of people, while the second severely limited left-handed players and simply didn't meet modern convenience standards.
Both problems are solved: the controls have become modern and dynamic, and keys can now be rebinded almost without limitations. And... is that all? Ready to release?
Not quite. As it turned out, while working on 1.5, we have already managed to complete many cool things that, moreover, don't require starting a new game. Let's throw them in too.
[h3]What's new:[/h3]
- Modern Controls 1.0
In brief: the new control system is ready in its basic version. You can move along all axes, switch to sprint, jump with weapons in hand, aim manually, have full camera view control, and break through enemy formations. If you haven't seen the video below, take a look, although the game now has an even better version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2RROaiNY9c
The development of the new control system cost a lot of money and man-hours, but I'll gladly invest just as much again - because I really want to see Modern Controls 2.0. Since we've figured out shooting, I'd say it is time to reimagine fencing? Add gamepad support? - Weapon switching while moving
Now you can draw and put away weapons, switch between musket and saber and back while moving. Seems like a small thing, but it actually changes the game dramatically. With the addition of this feature, the controls have finally become fully dynamic, and it works especially well in new boarding scenes, where players can combine jumps, sprinting, aiming, pushing, and quick switching between musket and melee weapons. - Improved key rebinding
It's important for Steam players to have full control over key rebinding. Not to mention left-handed players who found it quite difficult to play our game. I can't say that development in this direction is completely finished, but now, hopefully, key rebinding meets modern standards and player expectations. - Improved German localization (beta)
- Added Spanish, French, and Polish localizations (beta)
I'm not ready to announce official support for these languages yet, but work on localizations continues. For example, people are already actively working on Italian, Hungarian, and Ukrainian translations. It's a long process, and all participants of this Discord server are heroes. Join if you want to contribute and earn you rightful place in the game's credits. - New grapeshot logic
It used to be like this: the player targeted one enemy, and if grapeshot was loaded, all enemies around the target took damage. Now grapeshot actually fires pellets. We've introduced new parameters of spread and the number of projectiles per charge. Using different weapons and ammunition, you can either cover the entire deck or turn your grapeshot into a real "trench sweeper" and send dozens of pellets into a single enemy right in front of you. Or chose something in the middle perhaps?
It's funny that during testing, we replaced the pellets with candles to make it easier to track the spread and test the mechanics. As a result, at the end of each battle, every battlefield started to look like a church.
- One more boarding scene
We've added a Corvette VS Pinnace scene, which triggers if at least one boarding participant is a third-rate merchant ship. With this, rates 5, 4, and 3 are complete, and we're taking a break from boarding scenes. We have big plans for second and first rates, but making ships for them takes time. Hopefully, by then, the controls will have improved so much that we'll be able to make full vertical gameplay, fortification point assaults, and turn large ship boarding scenes into real battlefields.
- New Charles de Maure model
The realization that we vitally needed new models for the main characters came exactly when I saw how bad everything looked when zooming in while aiming. Moreover, all the new accessories we have made (armor, weapons, hats) are very high quality, and the old, blurry model of the main character really starts to stand out. And anyway, let's face it - we are all tired of that green jacket with cuffs. Future plans include different clothing, dyes, and new models for Willie, Diego, and Helen.
- Hats
We've wanted to add hats and helmets for a very long time. The game really needed another loot category and additional character customization. Hats can be found through the story, but almost all of them can be found in treasures too. Some hats have very powerful bonuses, but don't limit yourself to them. Fashion rules the world. Wear what you like. Hopefully, we'll manage belts and helmets in the future, thus allowing you to fully customize your characters. I think this is important. Bad news: for now, only Charles and Diego can wear hats.
- Treasure system overhaul
Treasure contents now resemble something that a real person might have hidden, and they drop with more fair random. Level up your luck skill, make treasure hunting your job - and the game will reward you. Free play mode enjoyers are especially lucky: you'll be able to get all story mode rewards through treasures. Including the mighty Colt Revolver. All in all, check out Kirill's latest dev diary in case you've missed it.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2230980/view/525336841073722793?l=english - New Port Royal
Making locations on this engine, especially exterior ones, is hellish work. And that's why I sincerely thank karlik.nos for helping us progress with updating colonial capitals in the game. We've adapted his work to the game's style and finally released it. Two more upgrades remain: Havana and Capsterville.
- New interior
We've added another location - wine cellar. It was initially planned for one of the new scenes in 1.5, but we found use for it already. Small thing, but nice. - "Mystery of Port Royal" event
- "Mystery of Willemstad" event
Locations should not only look decent and serve the player and their ship but also tell stories. Until recently, there wasn't much to explore in the game. We're starting to fix that. Next up - Le François and Saint-Pierre.
- Bulk purchase of strategic goods
If you have a high trading skill, need ironwood, silk, ropes, or resin, but don't have time, try negotiating with suppliers for large deliveries and become a shareholder. Now it will make sense to come for each delivery on a specific day of the month. - Complete special effects overhaul
New direction of work. We've redrawn effects from scratch - smoke, fire, explosions, blood, magic - basically, almost everything. The old effects were from 2008, had only 4 frames and 512x512 resolution. New ones have 16 frames and 2k resolution. There's still a lot of work, we'll be polishing and optimizing, but I like the first version. Good way to improve game graphics, enhance combat intensity and impact.
- Improved indoor graphics
- Texture improvements
- Lighting improvements
This kind of work never stops. We're gradually improving various textures, adjusting ambient occlusion (AO) in interiors, improving lighting, and removing glare. Small steps, but the game is becoming more beautiful with each patch. - New handheld firearm sounds
We've upgraded shooting so well that it not only became OP but also demanded special attention. We've replaced all shooting sounds: from loading to firing. - Improved body looting
More convenient looting, especially for the new controls. When attempting to search an "empty" body, you'll get a quick and unobtrusive notification without opening the loot window. - Removed camera restrictions in boarding scenes
Since we've finally replaced most of the boarding decks in the game, we can now afford the luxury of disabling camera restrictions during boarding. Just don't look up on first and second-rate boarding decks. All for the better: someday we'll put marksmen on the fighting tops. - Various fixes
Bugs, spelling, crashes, exploits, improvements. There won't be a list - we still have chaos in this department. But I can say for certain: today is better than yesterday, and tomorrow will be better than today.
[h3]Mod of the Month[/h3]
It's been a month since we added modding support. Unfortunately, no proper mods for Helen and Mary have been released during this time, but the community has still rolled out plenty of cool stuff.
For example, Direct Sail feature improvement mod by Gregg. Allows you to travel the game immersively - without using the global map. This feature has always been in the game, but we hid because it was a potential bugfest. Nevertheless, you often asked to make it work properly, and what we couldn't or didn't want to do, the talented modders might do.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3433429137
Thanks, Gregg.
[h3]DLC[/h3]
This is us announcing the announcement of the second part of the Ships Pack DLC series. You'll meet Captain Albert Blackwood and his madness, actively employing new shooting and treasure mechanics in the process. A full Steam page with release date will appear next week.
See you at sea.
ːjollyrː