Oceaneers News

[p]Oceaneers gives you full control over character commands.[/p][p]Starting with only a few characters, you generally want to micro-manage all of their tasks as you build up. Once your colony grows and has more production, you will want some characters to do their tasks automatically.[/p][p][/p][p]We continue to expand and improve features in this area, and already have a bunch of quality of life aspects to help with full control, plus automation features![/p][p][/p][h3]Full Control QoL[/h3][p]Click on a character, right click on a tree, and tell them to harvest it. Full control is as simple as that - but you also have access to group commands, and command queueing.[/p][p][/p][p]Queue commands with shift, manage the queue, and even cancel queued commands.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Do a task in the area (or on the island). E.g. "Pickup All" will pickup all the loose objects on the island, and "Harvest All" will harvest all of the same type of bush on the island.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Need Automation[/h3][p]Eating, drinking, sleeping and other "need" tasks can be performed manually like any other with full control. This is great at the start of the game or at critical moments when resources are low and you want to have fine control over which character eats your last ration![/p][p]You can also setup automated behavior for needs, choosing which needs they will manage by themselves. There are also two modes you can use for this behavior, Idle-Only and Full.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Job Automation[/h3][p]Once you have establish a larger colony with crafting stations, farm plots and research stations, you will want to make use of Work Posts.[/p][p][/p][p]Each island can have a work post, it allows you to define which jobs can be performed automatically on that island and in the surrounding water. You can change the radius of this work area as well.[/p][p][/p][p]Characters also have behavior settings for jobs, and will only automatically do jobs you have assigned.[/p][p][/p][p]Once you have a large colony made up of multiple islands connected by bridges, you might decided to specialize each island (farming island, crafting island, etc). Then you can setup a group of survivors to manage each island.[/p][p]

That wraps up this dev diary, we would love to hear your thoughts!

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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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[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

Oceaneers is getting closer to releasing a demo! Private playtests have been amazing, with a very positive response, and fantastic feedback. Recently with the help of this feedback we have made some tweaks to our research tree.

The latest version of the research tree has 9 categories, and within each category there are branching items, as well as improvements that unlock upgrades.

When designing a research tree, it becomes a careful balance of choosing how linear you want it to be. Linear research trees take away most decision making and are easier to use when you first play a game, but they limit choices, limit your ability to react to challenges, and limit general replayability.

When designing the research tree in Oceaneers, one of our main goals is to ensure it's not too linear - we want players to have real choices.

Perhaps you focus on establishing a solid water supply first while surviving on mediocre meals - or maybe you rush to higher tier scout boats and focus more on expeditions and scavenging.

Here is screenshot of the latest cooking section of the research tree.


Here is a sneak peak of the scale of the current research tree. Note that this is a work in progress and is missing a bunch of items that we are still working on.


[h2]Blueprints[/h2]
Another unique aspect of our research tree is "blueprints". There is a whole section dedicated to these blueprints, which you must find on expeditions (and when exploring bunkers). You will find some weird and wacky buildings from the old Float-Tech Corporation, and be rewarded for exploring!




That wraps up this dev diary, we would love to hear your thoughts!

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[h3]⚡ Be sure to Wishlist Oceaneers, and stay tuned for the next dev diary and more announcements. ❤️[/h3]


[h3]Join Us![/h3]
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:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3052510/view/538843836072330199?l=english

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3052510/view/538843836072330197?l=english

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3052510/view/538843836072330187?l=english

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3052510/view/538843836072330185

Replayabilty is a big aspect of this game genre, and we have been exploring interesting ways we can add replayability to the game.

[h2]Introducing "Survivor Stories" [/h2]
When you start a new game, before you create your characters - you can choose your "Survivor Story".



This is the story of your group of survivors, and it determines what resources you start with, the starting stats of the group (e.g. maybe they are all starving), and any conditions you start with.

There's a lot we can with this system to create unique starting situations, and it can also impact the difficulty of the game. (E.g. an easier playthrough where the start of the game is all sunshine and coconuts - literally).

... or perhaps one of your survivors lost a fight with a shark and is in dire need of medical attention...




Survivor Stories also determine the number of survivors you start with, which can drastically change how you approach the start of the game. Perhaps more mouths to feed? Or less hands that can work!

These are only a couple of examples - we are looking forward to coming up with some interesting and quirky things in the system.

That wraps up this dev diary, we would love to hear your thoughts!

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[h3]⚡ Be sure to Wishlist Oceaneers, and stay tuned for the next dev diary and more announcements. ❤️[/h3]


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


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some recent Dev Diaries in case you missed them:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3052510/view/538843836072330197?l=english

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3052510/view/538843836072330187?l=english

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3052510/view/538843836072330185

Character development is integral to Oceaneers, so wouldn't it be nice if you could customize the look of your characters? Well, you can!

• Name your characters
  
• Customize the design
  
• Choose a background
  
• Choose starting traits
  

Playtesters have already been loving huge amount of customization for characters! You can really create unique designs, making the characters your own.

• 40 hair styles
  
• Beards, Moustaches & Eyebrows
  
• Colors (hair, skin etc).
  

[h2]The "Beardstache" System[/h2]
Our unique "Beardstache" system allows you to choose a separate beard and moustache, combining them together. This results in a huge amount of variety, allowing you to come up with great character designs, with facial hair in all the right places!


[h2]Backgrounds[/h2]
Character backgrounds determine their starting stats, skills they like/dislike, and in some cases give them unique traits!



[h2]Traits[/h2]
Choose traits to customize your characters even more. Optionally choose a bonus positive trait by taking a negative one for a little risk and reward.


All of these systems together allow you to create different characters when starting each playthrough. Whatever happens after that is up to the sharks!

That wraps up this dev diary, we would love to hear your thoughts!

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[h3]⚡ Be sure to Wishlist Oceaneers, and stay tuned for the next dev diary and more announcements. ❤️[/h3]

[h2]How to sign-up for playtests?[/h2]
Join our Discord and fill out the playtest sign-up form (link is at the top of #oc-general chat, and it's also pinned there, but just ask if you can't find it).
Join discord here


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


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some recent Dev Diaries in case you missed them:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3052510/view/538843836072330187?l=english

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3052510/view/538843836072330185

Playtesting and player feedback is an essential part of our design process. We have just begun our first phase of closed playtesting and already have some amazing feedback, and a very positive response.

We will gradually be adding more players in stages as we make adjustments to the game, so if you are interested in being part of the process - be sure to sign up!

[h2]How to sign-up for playtests?[/h2]
Join our Discord and fill out the playtest sign-up form (link is at the top of #oc-general chat, and it's also pinned there, but just ask if you can't find it).
Join discord here

Eventually this will be opened up more and there will be a public demo, but for now we are using Discord for discussions and feedback.

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[h3]⚡ Be sure to Wishlist Oceaneers, and stay tuned for the next dev diary and more announcements. ❤️[/h3]


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