HoD: On open seas
The final release build is now being uploaded!
We hope that this new build is available for everyone by tomorrow (it takes some time for steam to process).
This release build features:
*4 characters
*A caribbean world with islands/caves/other areas
*Enemy ships
*Build (ships etc)
*Mine (mine gold, iron)
*Quests
*Levels
*Caves
*Cannibals
Our goal was to create a game featuring building/mining/exploring and that is what this game is all about.
I also wanted to update the first game and this new sequel is a both a new update and a new game.
However, we have decided to include a bigger story and include more items / armor and a lot of other things. But that will be included in a bigger update in a few months.
I would also like to include what I wanted to create from the start. A survival mode.
In the end this game will feature these titles/gamemodes:
HoD franchise:
On open seas (our core game that we will focus on)
A pirate adventure ( a new pirate survival gamemode)
A ship adventure ( a new update from the old game)
Tomorrow we are opening up the big world.
After this we will prepare the game for the big release 24th of December.
Alright, let's clear this all up. You know me...
Sometimes I visit the store page and look for new things that people have said or if people have suggestions in general.
Now I see that some are a bit skeptical towards this whole thing that we're trying to do.
I usually say that people who are skeptical are normally very self-centered and do not really care about others. Hopefully I am wrong.
But let's face all of these questions that some people seem to have, I have been honest all the way (personally) and I will continue to be so.
Ok, let's begin.
First, the price,
Yes, it could be lower. But if you need to pay people for doing things, it just doesn't add up having a low price. - And frankly when we release the game it will be roughly 4-5 GB in content, in which - We have created ourselves. Other teams with lower quality products takes much more for their games.
But I am going to lower my guard on this one. The price will be changed to 8 € and stay there, from now on. (Not when there are steam sales though)
Right now the original game is available and a test version of the new game.
So right now you are actually receiving 1,5 games. (roughly). The original game is included and it is never going to be removed.
The first game was a disaster yes, but that is why I am personally working to make it right - Haha, I still hope I am wrong with the "only care about themselves thing".
Things take time, and if you don't get it right the first time, then you always have the right to make it right the second time.
The first game is being remade from scratch and I believe it will be a great product once it is done.
I do not really understand why the current game would be a disaster when it is not even out? We have given you a taste of the new sequel/update and prepared the store for it.
Not many would give out 3 games in one - I do this because I believe in you guys and because you shouldn't need to pay for three games that is a part of the same theme and story.
haha, the December deadline will hold. Don't you worry about that! The game is very much finished. But I don''t want to make any mistakes, everything has to be perfect.
why are w carrying on "updating" the first game instead of learning from it and moving on to pastures new?
Because, this is very simple and you should all know this!
You should NEVER have a bad product out on the market - You continue improving it until over 90 % of the customers are happy and positive about the product. You should never abandon something, you finish it and you make it great. No matter how long time that goes.
I never give up, and nor should you. I started this project 2 years ago, believing I wouldn't have to spend that much time on it. Now I've spent roughly 60 % of my time for two years on this to make this launch as great as possible. I won't back down, never will.
This below I need to clear up:
"why change a game name, blaming it on people calling it "hands on d*ck" when literally no evidence of the such exists on the store page while still having HoD in the title and having Hands on Deck ALLLLLLLLLLL over the store page?"
This is also very simple, I have deleted all of the discussions and comments about this - Just because of the fact that it went crazy and it's not good to have such language on a store page... HoD is always a part of the games, the new game is a sequel of the original game.. Like it's literally the same except you play as a character instead of as a ship.
So yeah, simple - I took it all away so that you wouldn't need to see it. But hey, if you don't believe me... (Which by the way you should, since I am trying my very best and you all know this to be true)
Here:
Let me try at least to make this awesome again. And yes, the old game was a failure and if you think in terms of what is wrong/right etc the absolutely best thing to do is to rename everything and start from scratch. To make this game into what it is supposed to be. But we didn't do that. We're sticking to the original name and making it more "sequel based".
The original game is available and the easiest way to get it is just to right klick on the game go to properties and then choose "HandsOnDeck".
yes, it's just that simple.
We will deliver 24th of December. There is no point of bashing before that date.
This is like literally, my child. and I will do the best I can to make you all satisfied.
I feel very confident that those of you who are skeptical about this will change your mind after 24th of December.
This is how it is going to be, and it is the right thing to do.
Also, it is great that you speak out. I just watched a video a person linked in a review that was from 2015. That guy spoke about the steering system being slippery etc - I actually had no idea that people didn't like that and I had no thoughts of improving it at all.
In the end, you are all making this product the way it should be. I will probably give you something in return for that. That's at least something I should..
Squadleader32 out,
The original game is now available for everyone!
So as of now we have updated all of our assets so that the first title will only be accessible through the "beta" tab. We are going to release a huge update towards the old game and release a new sequel at the same time. Also, in order to make everything work for everyone and keep everything simple at the same time. This will be the best solution for now.
The original game will be updated at the same time but we want to keep the new update we have separated, since it would be a cool thing to have the first release available at all times with our original ideas and creations.
As mentioned above, the original game has always been accessible by going to the "beta" tab and selecting "handsondeck". The game should download without any problems after that.
The new update for HandsOnDeck will be located in the new menu
when HoD: On open seas has been released:
We are also changing the name in the new update from "HandsOnDeck" to "A ship adventure".
Today we are announcing HoD: On open seas!
Clearly based on the reviews from the old game, we had to act and create something greater, much greater. That is what we are doing right now.
Today we are announcing major changes to our product "Hands on Deck".
Be prepared to be amazed.
First of all,
We are going to release a huge update for the old game 24th of December, it is going to be much greater than we ever would have thought it could be.
But we also have some other stuff going on as well.
During this time (Since the launch of the first game in July 2015) we have created 2 other games that we are going to include here.
We are really excited about this!
Our main title that we are really proud of is going to be called HoD: On open seas and is going to be sort of a sequel.
It is based on the same mechanics as the old game. But we didn't stop there, it is a whole new game including things you never have seen before.
We have also started to send out the first versions of this to everyone who has purchased the old game.
We really believe that HoD: On open seas can really change the way people see our products on Steam. That is why we will let this game take over the whole store page.
The old game will always be available and we are really excited about the update towards that game as well. You can see more about it in the store description.
And one more thing.
We have also created a whole new game that is really breaking out of the things that we have done in the past. This game has been made from scratch in Unreal Engine and we are planning to release it as soon as possible.
The name: A pirate adventure
So as of today, you will be able to test out the new game for a short while before we release the first parts of the new update 2.0 and HoD: On open seas.
*Everything we release will be available for free of charge. However HoD: On open seas will have a lot of things going on and we do not have the resources to release everything as one. Therefore we have to release expansion packs for that game in the future. But we will give out those things for free to customers who has shown loyalty and who has bought the game before 30th of November.
About the old game.
I did a huge mistake by launching it on Steam so early - Clearly based on all the reviews. The old game wasn't finished on time.
However, one year later I stand as strong as ever and I have decided to recreate the old game all by myself once the version 2.0 is out.
I have a lot of ideas I want to implement into the original game - And I will do it.
My goal is to have high quality applications on PC, Mac and Linux.
The only way to achieve that is to continue to update all of my products on Steam until it reaches near the ultimate perfection.
One year ago I did not know much about game developing and I was "learning as I go".
Now we have a full team that has experience and knowledge in:
Unity
Unreal Engine
UDK
Xamarin
Visual Studio
3ds Max
Blender
Maya
MotionBuilder
Music editing of all kinds
Sound editing
Programming skills:
C#
C++
Java
HTML5
Python
We have also purchased additional tools to help us in the developement, such as:
*High quality 3d-printers
*VR technology
*Animating tools (converting real world motion to animations)
That is why we strongly believe that we can achieve the goals we have set for this product.
We will not stop until those goals are filled.
I really want to thank all those people that supports us, both in our lives and in this community.
Squadleader32 out,
PS. (sorry for the "update-bombs")
Virtual reality
We are implementing VR features into the version 2.0
It will probably be released as an early stage version at first and we will continue to update the VR based on your suggestions.
A couple of updates.
The quality of the game is increasing everyday. We are aiming to give out the first release of the version 2.0 in the end of June/beginning of July.
This time we are very serious about the release date. The first version of 2.0 will be released soon and it will include:
*Both games (Hands on Deck and A pirate adventure)
*A launcher
*Steam cards
*Achievements
*Customizable characters
*Customizable ships
*Enemies of all kinds
*Animals of all kinds
*Multiplayer up to 4 players
*A whole new story and game play
*A caribbean themed world
Some of the reasons why we have postponed this update so much is because of the following:
*I wanted to update my own game first with a bigger update - Making it awesome. (Hands on Deck) however the team decided that we would rebuild the game and create a bigger update which is the one you are seeing today.
*We rebuilt version 2.0 5 times. Yes 5 times. In 3 different engines.
*Our company has recently gone trough a whole change in management and we have replaced some of the people in the team.
Here are a couple of in game footages of the game (from the development section):
I am really bad at playing games - That is why the enemy is set to idle. I would certainly be killed. Also the blood is not present here.
The menus needs a bit more polish.
But our focus is right now on the story and the controls/fighting etc
The compiled game (the build we will upload to Steam) is right now 12 GB.
We really feel confident that we have a great product to showcase here and we have tried to come up with unique things that no other game has.
Conversion almost finished.
We really want this launch to be great - And we are doing everything we can to do so.
This game is going to be something you have never seen before.. Really. Not in terms of graphics, but in terms of what you will be able to do in the game and what we have planned...
In-game footage:
How to access the first version of 2.0
1. Locate HoD: A pirate adventure in your library
2.. Right click on the game in your library - Then go to the beta tab and select "alpha_tester", restart Steam afterwards
If you haven't bought the game:
1. Look through your mail until you see a mail from us with a beta key
2. Add the key to your Steam
3. Install the game and click play.