Windward News

February was an exciting month for Windward Horizon, with Steam Next Fest, new patch updates, and an amazing community stepping up to help fellow sailors. Let’s dive into what’s been happening!

[h2]🚢 Steam Next Fest & Trailer[/h2]
Windward Horizon made waves during Steam Next Fest, bringing in thousands of new captains eager to set sail. Some key highlights from the event:

• We've sailed past 22,500 wishlists, up 7,000 in the past two weeks. 🎊
  
• Over 10,000 players claimed the demo
  
• Over 1,100 unique players connected to the demo server for online play.
  
• Over 1,200 daily active users over the past seven days.
  
• Steam reports an average of over 1,600 daily players during the event.
  

A huge thank you to everyone who played, shared feedback, and contributed to discussions! If you missed it, here are a few screenshots from one of the battles we fought during the demo:



[h2]⚓ Demo Week Patch Highlights[/h2]
Throughout the month, I've been refining the game with community-driven improvements and fixes. Here’s a breakdown of the biggest updates:

[h3]🛠️ Gameplay Improvements & Fixes[/h3]

• Volley can now be aimed manually like mortars (right-click to disable auto-targeting) and always does full damage if it hits.
  
• Accuracy and range mechanics were reworked, making sniper-like Offense builds more viable and removing the 150-yard range cap.
  
• Summoned ally damage, healing, and kills now count towards their summoner’s stats.
  

[h3]UI & Quality of Life Updates[/h3]

• New range and firing arc indicators for abilities and enemy ships.
  
• A UI scaling option was added for 1080p displays to fit more information on the screen.
  
• CTRL+Click on ships to auto-attack on sight, bypassing the conversation dialog.
  

[h3]World & Rewards Adjustments[/h3]

• Diving spots generate floating loot periodically, similar to Windward 1.
  
• Mini-game rewards improved, and "dud" pickups now grant XP.
  
• Provinces now have visible control regions that exert influence on nearby areas, affecting reputation gains. Check with /pressure in chat to see the impact.

[h2]🌟 Community Spotlight[/h2]
A huge shoutout to the players who have gone above and beyond in helping others and keeping the community engaged! This month, we want to recognize:
🏴‍☠️ Sapholin (Sir Pencil), Edwyndham, and Captain Jack – for their constant support in Steam and Discord discussions and answering community questions.
📜 LimDood – for sharing detailed mini-guides that help new captains navigate the game’s mechanics.

Your contributions make the Windward Horizon community a better place, and I appreciate everything you do!

[h2]🌊 On the Horizon[/h2]
As we move forward, the plan is to continue and fine-tune gameplay, add more content (like player factions!), and build towards 1.0 Release. If you have feedback or suggestions, be sure to join the discussions on Steam or our Discord server!

Thank you for sailing with us! More updates coming soon, and please wishlist the game if you haven't as it helps a lot! ⛵

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2665460/Windward_Horizon/

This Monday, join your friends in exploring the world of Windward Horizon, a solo dev project and a sequel to fan-favorite Windward! The Demo will be live exclusively during Steam Next Fest!

[h3]Explore a Vast, Open World[/h3]
You’ll begin as a young, unaffiliated captain in a vast procedurally generated world, where no two adventures will be the same, and you're free to do whatever your heart desires!
Trade, quest, fish, fight, or simply sail, there’s no wrong way to play.

[previewyoutube]https://youtu.be/i5LC8UBUyuM?si=lpEBTAXMi-xWlQpp[/previewyoutube]

[h3]Solo and Co-op are available from the get-go![/h3]
Navigating uncharted waters is almost always better with a friend by your side! Explore the map, trade in the provinces, heal your allies in battles (or when they accidentally ram their ship into the shore), fight off dreaded pirates, or split up and chart your courses.



[h3]Your Ship, Your Rules![/h3]
As you gain experience, unlock talents across Defense, Offense, or Support trees, or mix and match to create a perfect ship for your unique playstyle.

Speaking about 'Perfect Ships', the Demo will feature three ships, each of them fully customizable.
From the crew to the sail colors. Find or purchase new options as you travel the world to truly make the ship your own.



[h3]Your Actions Shape the World[/h3]
Supplying resources to towns can help them grow, and backing faction leaders can change the balance of power. Want to capture a province without firing a shot? Use diplomacy and trade to turn the tide.



[h3]Play the Demo During Steam Next Fest![/h3]
The free demo will be live only during the Steam Next Fest week of February 24th, so don't miss out!


Wishlist now!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2665460/Windward_Horizon/

- Aren

All Windows and Linux Windward players are invited to try the upcoming sequel, Windward Horizon, for free during the July 5th weekend!

Experience the multitude of changes since the May's playtest, including new storylines, rewards, an unlockable faction and ship, new larger procedurally generated worlds, and a many other changes added based on the players' feedback.



To join the playtest, simply right-click Windward in your Steam library on July 5th after 10 AM EST, then choose Properties:



Select Betas, and choose the Windward Horizon beta:



After that, simply launch the game and have fun!

Just be aware that the play test will end on Monday, July 8th at 12:01 AM EST.

Don't forget to join our Discord and offer your feedback!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2665460/Windward_Horizon/

As promised last month, the Play Test for the upcoming Windward Horizon game is going to be here this week for you to enjoy. Anyone that owns the original Windward game and doesn't mind running into a few bugs along the way can try the early preview build of Windward Horizon for free this Friday, May 17th, starting at 10 AM EST.

To opt-in, follow these simple steps on Friday:

1. Right-click Windward in your game library, and go to Properties.



2. Under Betas tab there is a Beta Participation option. Simply choose the "horizon" branch to opt in.



3. Launch Windward like normal and have fun!*

Note: this special branch will only become available once the event begins at 10 AM on May 17th, and although the game's release will feature Linux/OSX builds, this preview will only be available for Windows. The event will end on early Monday morning (May 20th).

Since this early build of the game doesn't have a tutorial, a handy new player guide can be found here.

You are also welcome to stop by the Tasharen Community discord server to discuss your experience!

See you there!

-Aren

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2665460/Windward_Horizon/

The wait is nearly over! The long-awaited sequel to Tasharen's Windward, originally released on Steam in 2015, is finally getting a sequel, and it's coming sooner than you think!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Windward Horizon aims to improve every aspect of the original, such as adding lore to the game, a robust economy system that governs growth, fully configurable internal ship layouts with adjacency bonuses and penalties for interesting builds and many, many new skills to complement the expanded talent trees.

Better still, anyone that owns Windward will be able to try Windward Horizon next month for free, in advance of the game's launch later this year! Keep your eyes peeled for more details on this coming in a few weeks, but in the meantime you can add Windward Horizon to your wish list here on Steam in order to stay informed:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2665460/Windward_Horizon/

If you're extra curious, can find even more information in Tasharen's discord and follow the game's development by joining discord.gg/tasharen and choosing the Windward role in the #permissions channel, which will allow you to see the #windward_horizon channel. A new player's guide to the game can be found pinned there going over many of the new things you will be able to discover next month!

But, until then... :)