Dev Diary #10 - Fish Trap Changes, New Demo Almost Here!

[p]Hey folks, the updated demo is going through final testing and is just around the corner. For now, here are some changes we are making regarding Fish Traps.[/p][p][/p][h3]Important: These changes are NOT live in the current demo (yet).[/h3][p][/p][h2]Let's dive in![/h2][p](Someone please save us from the puns!)[/p][p]Just a quick reminder, the best way you can currently support the game is:[/p]

[p]Wishlist it.[/p]
[p]Let your favorite YouTuber/Streamer know about the game.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Fish Traps & The Fishing Post![/h2][p]Fish Traps started as an early-game building, largely because we didn't have fishing rods.[/p][p]Now that we have fishing rods, this will be flipped around - Fish Traps will be disabled in the demo and instead the Fishing Post will be enabled (for rod fishing).[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Fish Trap Changes[/p][p]We didn't like that you had to move Fish Traps around to get the most out of them, So we have designed them to be a more expensive and more permanent thing that you can invest in for long term fish farming. [/p][p]A big part of this is a new feature that lets you "chum" the waters near the fish trap to attract a fish circle. There are multiple tiers of chum to attract rarer fish circles, and multiple tiers of fish traps.[/p][p]We also increased the range that they can use fishing circles (and they can now pull fish from multiple fishing circles), but we have also added a penalty when a fish trap is placed close to other fish traps.[/p][p]Fish Traps are a long term investment, mostly passive, but can only catch small and medium fish.[/p][p][/p][p]Fishing Post (with rods)[/p][p]The Fishing Post is an early game building, thought it remains useful throughout the game. There are multiple tiers of rods and bait, and it's tied to the fishing skill.[/p][p]Fishing Posts are cheaper, not passive, very skill dependent, and can catch large fish.[/p][p]Once the demo is updated you will get to try it out.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Balancing[/p][p]There will no doubt be more balance required around these two systems, and the fish themselves, so be sure to give any feedback you have regarding this.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Demo Update Soon![/h2][p]We have a demo update coming very soon, stay tuned! Heaps of QoL, balance changes, faster pacing, and a whole bunch of new automation features![/p][p][/p][p]All of the above changes will be put through the paces as we will continue to make further improvements. Would love to hear what you think![/p][p][/p][p]----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/p][h2][/h2][h2]And More...[/h2][p]Here's a few other things we are experimenting with, we should have more detail to share on these soon:[/p]

[p]New automation features![/p]
[p]Changes to how upgrades work in the research tree[/p]
[p]Changes to combat & related equipment[/p]
[p]Changes to the temperature system and how heat sources work[/p]
[p]Lots of QoL improvements[/p]
[p]UI Improvements[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Translations[/h2][p]On the translation front, we are still deciding the best way to handle localization. A lot of big titles went into Early Access as English Only and later added support for community translations (Raft, Subnautica, Oxygen Not Included, RimWorld, Satisfactory), so we may follow suit. With so much depth to the game there are a lot of objects and a lot of text, and we want the flexibility to make quick changes throughout the Early Access period.[/p][p][/p][p]----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/p][p][/p][p]You can show us if you are interested in a language by:[/p]

[p]Wishlisting the game (we see wishlists per region)[/p]
[p]Let us know via forums/discord.[/p]

[p]The number of wishlists and interest shown for each region heavily influences the languages we will localize into, and we will be considering whether community translations are a good fit for the game.[/p][p][/p][h3]Controller & Steam Deck Support[/h3][p]Some players have already played on the Steam Deck, but we don't have official support just yet. We do plan to have it fully playable on the Steam Deck further into development (and we have our Steam Deck ready to test!)[/p][p][/p][p]Controller support is challenging for this type of game that has this much depth, and we don't want the gameplay to be limited by controller inputs. Our plan is to look into this once we have all of our features in to see what is possible. We have good experience implementing controllers and it is on our mind during development, but we are also aware of the limitations.[/p][p][/p][h3]Found a Bug?[/h3][p]Please report them! Whether it's a typo or something more significant please let us know via the forums or via Discord.[/p][p][/p][h3]Help & Guides[/h3][p]This genre of game naturally comes with a lot of freedom, and this includes freedom to make mistakes (e.g. not building water production for your colony). Figuring things out is a big part of the fun for these types of games![/p][p]Having said that, if you struggle to survive you can follow the progression guide shown on the side of the screen and there is a bunch of tutorials in the handbook.[/p][p][/p][h3]If Somethings Needs Better Tutorials[/h3][p]There is a lot of depth in the game and we already have a heap of tutorials shown in the handbook. We do have more tutorials planned so if you find something is not explained well enough or are still confused about anything, be sure to let us know.[/p][p][/p][h3]"What game is it like"[/h3][p]We like to ask players what game it reminds them of, and, "oh buoy", we have seen just about every game under the sun mentioned by now! [/p][p]It's been really interesting to see what type of games players have brought up - obviously this depends a lot on which games payers have played in the past. In no particular order:[/p]

[p]Don't Starve and Paper Mario (in relation to the art style).[/p]
[p]Oxygen Not Included, Rimworld, The Survivalist, Cult of the Lamb.[/p]
[p]Raft (and open world survival crafting games in general).[/p]
[p]The Flame in The Flood, Flotsam, Frostpunk & Sheltered.[/p]
[p]A hint of Fallout/Fallout Shelter.[/p]
[p]Monkey Island, The Sims, Craft the World, Clanfolk.[/p]

[p]We knew there would be comparisons to similar looking games (like Don't Starve and Oxygen Not Included), so we were extremely pleased to see players add comments to this comparison that Oceaneers is still very different and innovative, it's very much doing its own thing.[/p][p][/p][h3]What's Next!?[/h3][p]We are hard at work on the full game! Recently we have been improving crop farming, fishing rods and smelting metals - then tying all of the survival progression into the story/objective progression.[/p][p][/p][h3]Come have a chat![/h3][p]Our community is growing, and everyone has been amazing and really friendly. Come chat with the devs and other players in our Discord[/p][p][/p][h2]Leaving Feedback[/h2][p]If you encounter any bugs, or would love to discuss features please do so via the Steam forums or our Discord. It's really helpful to know about the parts of the game you enjoy, as well as anything you don't.[/p][p][/p][p]You can also check discord for a list of known bugs, community suggestions and upcoming plans![/p][p][/p][p]
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[/p][h3]⚡ Be sure to Wishlist Oceaneers, and stay tuned for the next dev diary and more announcements. ❤️[/h3][p]

[/p][h3]Join Us![/h3][p]Join our discord to discuss the game and share your ideas!
Join discord here

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Some recent Dev Diaries in case you missed them:
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