Caribbean Legend News

[h2]Ahoy![/h2]

… and a Happy New Year! It has been a super productive couple of months for us. If we double the same amount of effort for a couple of months more - the release is going to be something to remember.

This dev diary will be focused on the progress we have made recently, and even though we can’t show you the best part just yet, you are in for a treat!

But first, let’s go through the master schedule again:

Jan 15th: Release for the owners of the Early Access Edition.

Jan 15th: The third and the final pre-order push - last chance to purchase Exclusive Edition/Early Access.

Jan 15th: Steam page release for an unannounced title.

Jan 22d: ???

Feb 8th: Release for the owners of the Exclusive Edition.

Feb 12th: ???

Feb 15th: Caribbean Legend Release Day.

[h2]Notable Items:[/h2]

[h3]UI fixes[/h3]
The original game was quite notorious for obscuring important mechanics and stats. Well, that’s not the case anymore. No matter what perks you choose, what attributes you buff or what equipment you wear, you will immediately see the changes in stats of your build.



Two more experience bars added to allow better progress tracking. Skill Points never had their own bars, even though they are more valuable than level ups. One look at the character window and you will see everything you need.



[h3]Stealth System[/h3]
Stealth was never the most fun and well thought feature of the series. We added a few adjustments to make it less reliable on save/load. First, check out the eye indicator on the character’s portrait at the top left. The closer you get to a hostile guard, the more intense it gets.



You still have options if they catch you. Stealth is now heavily dependent on: Stealth skill, character’s notoriety, clothes, amulets and social perks. Early game, when your character’s mug is not very well known, you can get by with amulets. But it will take either an expensive trading license or a much better prep in the late game though. The game will always tell you of your chances to pass a stealth dialogue check.



[h3]New Items[/h3]
Originally we promised 9 new items to you. Welp, we got 29 , armament mostly . Some of which will be available only to the owners of First Wave or Exclusive Editions. We found a place for each in the balance, often introducing new and fun way to play the game.



[h3]Basse-Terre Expanded[/h3]
As an experiment we increased the location size of the capital of Guadeloupe. After the release we will do the same to other cities in the game, thus giving you a better sense of townspace and colony life.



New jungle locations are a different story though. We managed to produce two of them, but they will require a significant improvement before we allow them into the release build. Maybe later?



[h3]Achievements[/h3]
The game will have 98 achievements in total, and I guess we will need to add two more to make it a nice round number. Below are the 25 new ones - try to guess what lies behind each title, but rest assured that you will need at least two full playthroughs to get them all!

• Dating Sim
  
• My Soulmate
  
• Very
• ****** funny!
  
• My temple, my rules!
  
• Vile Lil' God
  
• Clean Hands
  
• Caribbean Legend
  
• Hi, dad
  
• Pension and Benefits
  
• Deadman
  
• Hogar, dulce hogar
  
• All your base are belong to us
  
• El Comercio
  
• Point Blank
  
• First of many
  
• No Regrets
  
• So it begins!
  
• Money do buy happiness
  
• Live By the Sword
  
• The Most Notorious Pirate
  
• Lootbox Hunter
  
• A*!
  
• Honoring the Classics
  
• Caribbean Virgin
  
• Three's Crowd
  

[h3]Main Character’s Visuals[/h3]
We promised you new skins for the main character, and now it’s time to deliver.
Added a second tier of the French Navy Uniform along with a new quest to make it.



Currently we are making a new model for the leather armor. The screenshot below is a WIP, but it represents the idea of having headwear for top-tier armor in the game, like helmets or hats, allowing a better feel of progression.



Old models will get an update as well, for example we plan to add leg armor to a heavy chestplate.

[h3]Animations[/h3]
Thanks to super talented Antix we have more diverse animations now. At this moment, we focus on the combat animations and musket handling. Big one, really, something that was never intended to be included in the game, but the most welcome addition to be sure!

https://youtu.be/y-J7b28U8og
WIP. Will probably consider other variants of this one.

https://youtu.be/PUxO5xt8J28
New heavy strike. Musket handling should be more lively now.

https://youtu.be/H_zQL4m6Gto
WIP. Something to consider post-release, the game is super stubborn when it comes to real-time musket equipping.

https://youtu.be/bXJ3Y2w2zvo
The left one is the new dodging move.The one at the right is the old.

https://youtu.be/--ryIA5S0p8
More dodging. Feels more natural now!

We have all kinds of crazy plans for the animation department. Next ones in our to-do list are street musicians, gamblers and fishermen to spice up the colony life.

[h3]Uplifted Textures[/h3]
Same as with animations, this was not planned, but thanks to our community we have a way to improve the oldest and the ugliest textures that had been with us for almost 20 years! Thank you so much, КА!

It is tedious work, but the effect should be noticeable in the release build.

Examples:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ebvl890DZaukH-YOMP-pmetSDvw1ySFU/view?usp=sharing


As bonus, we have also uplifted textures of the sails. Sea scenery is already looking fantastic and now it is even better. New sails complement the new sea, improved weather, updated sky so well!



[h3]Ship Gameplay[/h3]
Now, what is the way to make the old naval combat formula a second life? How to make it more tactical and fun? Right, change some numbers!

• The Caleuche (Ghost Ship) now requires 100 Navigation Skill. She is the strongest ship in the game.
  
• You can’t hire Navigators with more than 75 Navigation Skill in taverns.
  
• Helen McArthur and Longway are the best Navigators in the game now.
  
• Ships get x2 to hull HP. Unique ships get x3.
  
• Ships get x0.75 to max crew. Unique ships get x0.85..
  
• Grapeshot loses all efficiency after depleting more than 50% of the target’s crew. Bombs don’t.
  
• Bombs cost much more and you can buy or loot much less of them in game.
  
• The game takes in account the rank of the player’s flagship and adjusts quest naval battles to it.
  
• The heaviest warships in the game now cost a fortune to command.
  
• 1 and 2 rank warships can be encountered in the open world only after the player reaches level 30.
  

Therefore, the game encourages you to command lighter vessels until the mid-game. It makes naval combat more tactical, forgiving and more welcome to experiments. You don’t have to reload a game after a bad volley or grind from the start to get yourself a warship before the midgame. But if you do get a warship early, it wont auto level your enemies accordingly or punish you. You will have a fun time ruining everyones day as long as you can afford to operate such a monster.

[h3]OST[/h3]
The OST is complete - over an hour of new music, making almost two hours in total. Fits the 200 hours of content we have. Check out the new national themes - playing for French, English, Dutch and Spanish towns!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53hIPEf5rL4

And… That’s all for today, folks! See you all soon on January 15th! ːauthorityː
Happy New Year

With only a few months remaining until the release, it's the perfect time to resurrect our Dev Diary series. After a much-needed one-week vacation following our previous crowdfunding campaign, we're back in full swing, ready to tackle the challenges ahead.

• We've sent the build to Valve for their final approval.
  
• I did a complete playthrough of Cyberpunk 2027.
  
• We've conducted interviews with several talented 2D artists to update our key art and in-game portraits.
  
• Questwriting is underway. That’s a lot of text and documentation.
  
• Adding new nextgen visual features to the engine.
  
• Adding more items like weapons and loot.
  
• New music tracks incoming!
  
• Looks like we have one more 3D modeler now. Good opportunity to make new land levels.
  

While we can't reveal everything we've accomplished over the past couple of weeks, we're excited to share a few enticing sneak peeks.

[h2]Music[/h2]

Our composer has been diligently working on completing the OST. Only six tracks remain to be composed, which will encompass national themes and music for Justice Island, also known as the City of Abandoned Ships.

Here's a work-in-progress French theme, offering a glimpse of what we're aiming for:
https://youtu.be/bRyuz-SA5o0
New music track (WIP): French Americas

Originally, we had planned to remix the legendary themes from the first Sea Dogs game, invoking a sense of warm nostalgia. However, we are now considering the possibility of creating entirely new compositions.

We have another track to share with you today, one of the new tavern themes. There's no better place for gambling, drinking, seduction, and shady activities than a tavern!

https://youtu.be/M1pU1y7gWvw
New music track: Party Like 1660

[h2]Levels[/h2]

As mentioned previously, we faced challenges in our 3D department. However, the situation has improved, and we're excited to announce the addition of more land locations to the game. We've already added two new ones in the past two weeks. The video below showcases one of these locations, which will serve as an office for a smuggler specializing in heavy ship armaments.

https://youtu.be/dyaaLjUonTI
Wait a sec, how did he get those inside?

But that's not all. We really want to expand our jungle locations. The original set felt limited and somewhat repetitive, so we're considering not only adding more locations but also making them distinct and introducing additional gameplay mechanics.



[h2]New weapons[/h2]

This serves as a testament to how crowdfunding enhances game development. Initially, we only had a couple of new items planned for release, but now we've expanded our arsenal to include over ten unique weapons. Our goal is to make each new weapon stand out, providing players with fresh and exciting experiences. Some of these new weapons are downright unconventional but undeniably enjoyable.

Consider the customizable barrel musket: if muskets aren't your preference, simply remove the long barrel and stock to transform it into a stylish pistol.

True high-tech.

The Sclopetta grenade launcher is effective but requires both hands to operate. If you prefer wearing heavy armor and swinging a big axe or broadsword, this compact weapon might come in handy.

You are gonna need a lot of crafting materials for that special ammo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRWqzfbW7pw
And please, don’t forget to equip a powder tester!

Lastly, behold the sexiest pirate cutlass in the Caribbean.



That wraps up today's update. The next diary is scheduled in two weeks. Don't forget to add our game to your Steam wishlist and follow us for the latest updates. Join our Discord community; tonight, we're hosting a stream and a podcast!


https://store.steampowered.com/app/2230980/

This is a huge release changelog that we have announced some time ago. Being the result of three years development, it won't fit here, so please follow the external link below. I broke Steam, when I attempted to upload it as it is.

[h2]Read the Changelog[/h2]
Nine pages of blood, tears and doubloons.


Good hunting.
ːjollyrː

No walls of text today, there will be plenty of them tomorrow. ːseawolvesː
Just enjoy how Caribbean Legend sounds like.

https://youtu.be/rlLM3qG28bY

And pay attention to the Main Menu. Yesterday we had discussion on Discord about the abundance of small and super fun features, that make this game a must-buy. The lantern is a good example of such a feature.

Don't mind these cyrillic words on screen - all they tell is how awesome you are.


This dynamic Main Menu that tracks your in-game path to power is one of such features, and it has surprises of its own.

Caribbean Legend is the unique game you've been longing for.

Now, that must have gotten your attention! But first things first. We'll be summarizing the Steam page release and launching the next big thing this Sunday. After that, it's crunch time until February 15th, 2024.

The theme of today's episode is to tell you why you need Caribbean Legend.

When the trailer launched, it became apparent that everyone had different expectations for the game. Some thought it was merely a significant paid patch for To Each His Own, and we exceeded their expectations. Others expected an entirely new game on a different engine and were left disappointed. It's our fault; we should have explained things better and shown you more.

Our to-do list before the release includes:

• Sharing the full changelog this Sunday.
  
• Launching a free demo in February.
  
• Creating another trailer.
  
• Allowing unlimited streaming.
  

All of this means that you'll have all the information you need to make your own decision about purchasing the game.



But regardless of the decision you make, this release won't go unnoticed by you because we all share the same pain: there are not many games like this on the market.

A long time ago, my mom bought me Sea Dogs. "Oh, it looks cool, give it a try," she said. I wasn't entirely convinced, as Cossacks was the other option, and I was always a fan of the RTS genre. In the end, she bought me both games, but it was Sea Dogs that left a lasting mark on me.

During the first 20 hours, I struggled desperately and remained on the starting ship, a Pinc, I think. But at one point, something miraculous happened: I leveled up when I accidentally won my first boarding and the game allowed me to change my ship to a Lugger. I believe it was not far from Shark Island.

People with perception 10 will notice the familiar pause menu on the monitor.
That dose of dopamine changed me, and since then, I've always had this Sea Dogs fever:

• I spent days downloading endless mods for PoTC and bragged to other school kids that I was a programmer.
  
• I frequented Seaward, PA! and other Sea Dogs websites that were popping up like mushrooms back then. I got trolled super hard there for asking dumb questions. Nevertheless, I kept coming back for more.
  
• On New Year's Eve, when a girl visited me from another city, I had her play CoAS all night.
  
• And then, I met this guy, made a career in gamedev, released or published dozens of games, and well, here we are.
  

I'm sharing this because I want you to see why I've longed so much to understand why the *Sea Dogs series* left such a mark on us. I've had long conversations with fans and industry veterans, and I think I've finally figured it out. It wasn't the series that drove us crazy; it was the genre.

Not the brilliant music, not the modding scene or childhood nostalgia. Not even the Caribbean setting.

It was a unique genre that got us. There are almost no games in the world with so many working game systems:

• Combat at sea.
  
• Land combat.
  
• Exploration on land.
  
• Global map.
  
• RPG system.
  
• Dialogues.
  
• Companions and love interests.
  
• Linear and generated quests.
  
• A deep narrative with choices and consequences.
  
• Loot, collectibles, and crafting.
  
• Building and management.
  

Take any modern open-world Action/RPG, and it may excel in some aspects from that list, but it will never have everything. Even if it does, it won't work seamlessly.



And that's what pains us. These are the types of games we want to play, but all we have are the *Sea Dogs series* and global mods for other games. Mount & Blade. Kenshi, maybe? And now, Caribbean Legend is about to join the ranks.

Let me reiterate - there are almost no games like that on the market. Games that we desire. Games that provide the true freedom of choice that game marketers have been promising for the past 25 years.

Sure, there are mods. Not just Sea Dogs mods, but mods in general. Some of the global ones offer more content and mechanics than *Caribbean Legend* and most open-world RPGs out there. However, they can't reach a wide audience for various reasons and thus remain niche. We play them, but we can't simply go to Steam, press the purchase button, and immediately get a polished product.



The original Sea Dogs: TEHO, which forms the core of Caribbean Legend, is exactly the same. Bugs, lack of localizations, unnecessary hardcore elements, a steep difficulty curve, and a lack of promotion prevented it from reaching a wide audience. It's a great game but a poor product.

We want to fix that. Bring TEHO to the peak of its potential. Keep the series' veterans happy and open the game to a new audience. For the former, we have new content and plenty of reasons to replay; for the latter, we have polishing, a proper difficulty curve, translations, tweaked visuals, and marketing.

Regardless of which group you belong to, every release like this is a significant event that should not be ignored. Caribbean Legend's success or failure will be observed by the market, and it's up to you to ensure we have more games like this in the future.

I have 2000 hours in TEHO and another couple of thousand in other Sea Dogs games. And still, the first thing I'll do on February 15th is start a new playthrough as a gamer, not a developer. Because there are very few games like this out there. And that pains me.