You have been asking for something to do with your extra mates, and we have delivered.
We have introduced a brand new currency type called Gunpowder which can be obtained by dismissing crew. Expect the interface/flow for all this stuff to be improved in the future, but we wanted to get this feature out as soon as possible for all you hoarders out there :)
For the time being, the only use for Gunpowder is to purchase a new random mate, but expect this currency to be used in other systems as they come online.
This patch also introduces several noteworthy bug fixes, including:
Ship loadouts not saving in some cases
Certain Settings such as resolution not saving
Addressed some ramming inconsistencies
Lastly, the patch also adjusts a number of parameters on the ships, including nerfing Tidebreaker, Thunderhead and Ashborne, while buffing the Orc ships as well as Fury's Hold (the latter of which may have been overtuned, we're monitoring it closely).
View the full patchnotes in-game or on the forums here.
Mate Choices
We have introduced a couple of changes to improve your mate earning experience, including an all new feature!
First, we adjusted the rewards for playing a game so that Ranks 4 to 6 will also earn a mate.
Second, when you earn a mate, you will now get a choice of 3 mates from which you can select one.
What do you think of these features?
Feel free to leave a note here, or join the discussion on our forums.
Development Update II
Hello everyone!
The first weeks of Early Access have been incredible and we're off to a fantastic start! We've seen a supportive and excited community rise up around Maelstrom with a level of interest that's been overwhelming for our small studio. We're stoked so many have decided to come with us and we want to share more about the upcoming months as we take the game past its infancy stages.
Early Access is more of a marathon and less of a sprint. It's about crafting the game for the players, getting it right and achieving the ultimate goal of a terrific full release launch. Based on internal goals and player feedback here are some of the major goals we'll be working on over the upcoming months:
Mate Improvements
To alleviate some of the randomness of earning mates we'll be relaxing the placement requirements and giving players a choice of mates when they're rewarded. We're also adding a free daily mate rewarded upon logging in. We are also working on letting you do something with your extra mates.
Ship Mastery Rewards
After much deliberation we've decided to implement a mastery system first instead of a traditional ladder system. We want to create a system that encourages players to complete challenging things and reward them for it with visual brags before considering more hardcore systems.
Skins System
Skins have been a highly requested item so we're working on a system that allows players to earn skins via the Ship Mastery system.
Brinemaw Leviathan
We've always had plans for the big guy so we're pulling the trigger to give him more more interactions with the players and the world.
Co-Op Play and Other Game Modes
We're working on an additional way for players to enjoy the game, including for those that may not want to PvP and just hang out and play with friends and progress. Look forward to bigger teams and co-op play coming.
Quality of Life Features and Fixes
Remappable keys and buttons
Faster score screen countdowns
other high profile feature requests from the community
Kickstarter Backer rewards
We haven’t forgotten our generous Kickstarter backers and should have something to show you soon!
Our Discord server is now officially verified! If you haven’t checked it out and joined in on the conversation, we encourage you to do so. You can find helpful players, developers and moderators there as well as a place to find other players to team up with. Maelstrom is far from perfect but has progressed dramatically in just a few weeks and we are well over halfway to our first stretch goal!
The core features have been proven, and now it's time for us to dig in to add more content, features and polish. We are now in position to take Maelstrom to the next level, and that's exactly what we're going to do.
Finally, a special thanks to everyone for the support. Your participation in discussions and feedback is invaluable. We are also grateful to the wonderful streaming community who have been showcasing our game on a daily basis. It’s really amazing!
The Maelstrom team
Patch Notes for April 25th 2018
Hi everyone!
This patch updates a variety of items, including chat options, stability fixes, balance adjustments and more!
As always, we will be monitoring the game closely and any related feedback you have.
CHAT
- Chat can be hidden in game (go to options>online menu)
- Players can now mute & unmute players in global chat and in game by typing /mute , /unmute then selecting the name. More chat moderation tools coming online soon.
ANONYMITY OPTIONS
- Players can choose to not spawn before match begins, this gives a degree of anonymity if desired
- Player names can now be hidden while in the matchmaking lobby
RAMMING
- Ships engaged in offensive boarding actions can no longer ram the ship they're boarding (this typically happens with fore boarding). This has the added effect of better accuracy on ship angles and catching a ship in it's blind spot to avoid enemy cannon fire
- Rammee stun duration reduced from 1.5 to .25, this will allow the rammee to accelerate and regain some intitative after being rammed
- Damage values for low speed ramming reduced across all ships
- Head on ramming with NPC's knockback reduced
- Dwarven inability to reverse after hitting terrain fixed
- Dwarven Surgeon's Crew Health now works properly
BOARDING
- Improved combat math for boarding actions and crew vs no crew which results in less outrageous boarding damage values
- Ships with less than min crews suffer a reload and accuracy penalty to cannons up to 50%. (at 0 crew)
HUMAN
- Ashborne's Expanded Cabins now gains additional stat +30% hull hp
- Fury's Hold passive firing delay decreased from 1.5 to 1 & cannonball velocity bonus from 25% to 30%
- Fury's Hold's Longshot Deck removed max speed penalty, velocity from 20% to 10%, range from 20% to 15%
ORC
- Cleaver and Bloodfin's Sawtooth cannons reload from 6 to 7
- Gorger min effective crew requirement lowered from 125 to 95. (buff)
- Gorger gains +3 fore cannons, +2 cannons per side
- Grinner's Chow Time crew and havoc bonus from 100% to 50%. Corrected tooltip
DWARF
- Tidebreaker's base armor and hull hp reduced.
- Tidebreaker's Synched Gunports firing delay reduction from -40% to -25%
- Tidebreaker and Thunderhead's Coiled Loader Engine turn rate penalty from -20% to -10%
- Thunderhead's Granitehull Plating armor bonus and speed penalty reduced
OTHER
- Thrasher accuracy improved
- 'Dismiss' vernacular altered to 'Discharge' on mate selection and turned red.
- Players spawning into active games shouldn't occur anymore
- Underwater rocks causing collision fixed
- Mythical floating lantern has been removed from maps (or has it..?)
- General map performance improvements
- Player's arrow on the minimap is white (in both solo and duo)
- Left Alt no longer toggles player names and armor bars
- Matches now fill up to max with players
- Player limit is now 13 in solo queue and 14 in duo queue to allow for players to have a bit more room
- Players that leave before the battle starts no longer show on scoreboard
- Player ships no longer carry 1000 gold before the battle starts. This was not exploitable, but it was confusing to see 750 loot upon leaving and not getting any
- Numerous server stability improvements (crash fixes)
- Training mission crash fixed related to physics
- Dead waters readability improved in the Maelstrom
- Buffs and booty should no longer go inside terrain geometry
Our First Dev Update!
After some hiccups at launch, it’s been mostly smooth sailing on the Abyssal Ocean - except for the warships and sea monsters at least…
But we’ve been hard at work behind the scenes!
Matchmaking
To improve the overall experience (particularly for new players) we have tweaked the matchmaker so it distinguishes new ‘guppies’ and the experienced ‘sharks’. When possible, guppies will be matched with other guppies, and sharks with sharks. We also reduced the minimum players for a game to five, in response to player feedback!
Bug Fixes
We had some problems with our server provider and properly resetting player data from the beta tests. Luckily that has been straightened out so that everyone can play without worrying about losing their progress. There were also a few gameplay issues that we’ve already fixed. The most notable probably being a bug with the new map which caused every player to be given Cinder, regardless of the ship they chose. It did make for some memorable scenes though before we quickly fixed it…
Cinder mayhem!
Player Number Stretch Goals
We have a bunch of cool ideas that we would love to implement, but we don’t want to compromise our careful planning by biting off more than we can chew. So we’ve created some stretch goals which will be based on player numbers! As we reach each new goal, we’ll add it to the roadmap :)
A great screenshot by player CueZero.
Feedback and shoutouts are great!
Thanks so much to everyone who has left a Steam review, helped us spread the word on social media, made videos, or streamed Maelstrom. It makes a huge difference, and it’s great for our morale as well.
We have a solid plan for how we’re going to develop Maelstrom (see our roadmap) but that doesn’t mean things are set in stone. So let us know your thoughts!
Favorable winds to you all!
Into the Maelstrom! We are live!
The Abyssal Ocean is open to bold captains who have what it takes to brave the monsters and perils in search of loot! You can also sail beneath the stars in a newly released nighttime map!
https://youtu.be/TDI7eihcgvg
For this Early Access release we already have nine unique ships to choose from, each with strengths, weaknesses and a special passive ability, captains from all three races with powerful signature moves, and loads of crew members offering subtle bonuses.
The battlegrounds are two large maps with a range of features from fog banks, currents and monsters to the titular maelstroms!
Fight to win gold and prestige, upgrade and customize your ship, and draw in new crew and captains as your infamy grows!
You can read more about our plans for development through Early Access on our roadmap. We also have exciting plans to pick up where our Kickstarter left off with some player number stretch goals, which you can read about here.
The world is yours for the taking… if you can avoid ending up as fish food!
Maelstrom Stretch Goals & Current Progress
These stretch goals are inspired by Kickstarter, but instead of funding goals, we have player number goals! As we grow the community and see more copies sold, we’ll add these stretch goals to the roadmap.
We will keep you updated on our progress in this post, and may add some extra steps in-between these major goals for cool extras like ship skins!
Player Number Stretch Goals
The Targets
<*>25,000 players - Man Overboard & Flotsam
<*>55,000 players - Goblin Fleet
<*>90,000 players - Co-Op Scenarios
<*>125,000 players - Single Player Campaign
Achieved
As we cross player thresholds, we’ll add the stretch goals to the roadmap and move the goals from the target list to this section.
Note that bots aren’t included in the player count – it’s based on the number of players who have bought the game on Steam.
Maelstrom Roadmap
We have always had a firm plan in mind for Maelstrom’s development through Early Access to release, and this roadmap will give you an idea what to expect. Of course nothing is quite certain in the world of games development, but so far we’ve achieved our milestones.
We'll update this post as we add features, or as we reach player number stretch goals and add those features to the roadmap.
See you on the Abyssal Ocean!
Maelstrom launches April 11th!
It’s almost time to take to seas of Abyssal Ocean in search of plunder! Thanks to our amazing community our Kickstarter was 160% funded, and we can announce that Maelstrom will be released on Early Access this April 11!
We are also grateful for the fantastic feedback we’ve had from the Kickstarter backers who joined our beta tests, and that feedback alongside the technical information we collected is going to be a big help in making sure things go smoothly at launch. Of course you can never predict everything, but we’ve taken several steps based on data from the beta tests (including bringing a new server online) to get things well prepared.
Have a Happy Easter everyone, and we look forward to sailing with you (or trading cannonballs, as the case may be) on launch day!
Early Access in April!
We have set a date for Maelstrom’s Early Access release! The plan is to release next month, in April. The trailer below shows what you can expect!
https://youtu.be/QbAvF_ZWWCk Make sure to add the game to your wishlist and if you would like to give us extra support you can back our new Kickstarter campaign! We promised backers of our last Kickstarter that we would return, and so we have. In addition to a discount, backers will be able to join beta tests to be held each weekend until launch and enjoy other rewards from ship skins to artwork.
When you back us on Kickstarter, you will receive a Steam key for the beta. Then you just need to check our playtest schedule below and dive in on those dates between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. PST:
<*>March 10
<*>March 17
<*>March 24
Why are we holding this Kickstarter when we already have plans for an EA release? First, as we said above we promised that we would hold another Kickstarter campaign. Second, we want to have Maelstrom launch in the best shape possible, and with a live community from the very start. Internal beta testing can never be as quite as complete as letting regular players try things out, and we wanted to let dedicated fans help us make the game as good as it can be.
If you want to know more about Maelstrom and our launch plans, you can check out our FAQ, as well as the roadmap here below:
We’re excited for launch day, and we hope you are too!
