Advanced Game Options are finally here! Many of these options were directly requested by the community. Don't be afraid to speak up if there's something you would like to see in Pirate Code. We also had a number of serious bug fixes since the last major update of Pirate Code as well as a few minor tweaks and adjustments.
Game Options
The game options now have three sections: Game Play, Video, and Audio. Let's work through what's available with the update.
Dialog Text Speed Tired of waiting for the talking heads to finish? Increase the dialog speed! Or slow it down if you want. Remember, you can always skip the entire dialog by holding return.
Auto Focus If selected the camera in battles will center on a ship when you select it. Handy if you don't like scrolling and like to use the tab key to select the next ship.
Auto End Turn Why do you have to push the end turn button when you have no more moves anyway?
End Turn Warning Do you sometimes forget to move one of your ships? This warning will stop you from ending the turn too soon on accident.
Movement and Action Speed If you like to speed through battles you can choose to have the ships move faster (at triple speed actually) or just instantly arrive. Most ship animations like firing the cannons will also happen faster or instantly.
Auto Save One of the most requested features, this causes the game to save automagically at islands.
Resolution, Full Screen, and Vsync Pirate Code now remembers your window and full screen resolutions separately. You can also see a full list of possible resolutions. You can still resize the window to any size and change between full screen and window mode with alt + enter.
Water Tile Graphics Those beautiful waves in the battle screen are made of multiple layers of 2D images. Although they look nice, sometimes they slow things down on slower machines. Now you can choose to degrade the graphics a little to improve your frame rate. For those who need this, please post if this helps on the forums.
Music and Sound The normal sound options for music and sound effects. Turn them on and off or adjust their volume.
One more thing. The config file is now saved in plain xml so that you can edit these values directly outside of the game. It's hard to find (app data folder), but it might help someone who runs into trouble. You could also delete the file and it will regenerate with default values.
Other Changes
Black Screen o' Death fixed! This was a bad one that was affecting anyone with the latest version of Window 10 (1903) with only one monitor. The cause was bad gamma correction due to an updated device driver. This was released as a hot fix.
Level 0 bug fixed! Actions at level 0 were briefly usable by the player and the computer. This was released as a hot fix.
Fixed a minor bug where the ship direction would not reset if you exited to the title screen and reloaded.
Fixed a bug where if you choose not to pay something in a mission it could prevent you from choosing to pay it later.
Fixed a bug where you could cause a black screen by exiting to the title screen during a fishing challenge.
Fixed a bug where using multiple scrolls on an action would fail to increase the exp on the action.
Many typos where fixed. Again.
And that about wraps up this update. If you play on the Mac, your update is still a few days out.
Now go load yer cannons, lad!
Improved Ship Purchasing!
Pirate Code has once again been updated! This time the focus has been bug fixes and quality of life improvements. There's a complete list of changes below, but I'd like to start by highlighting the most important.
Crafty Consumer
Previously when you purchased a ship, you didn't have much to go on to help you make your decision. Considering how important gold is and how much ships cost, you would think that the opposite would be true. With this update, when you go to buy a ship, you'll find your self in the Ship Details screen with a complete look at all the ship's stats. You can even look at all the actions that the ship will be able to get. Actions that the new ship won't have immediately are in black and white. Hopefully this should help make it easier to commit all that gold to a new ship.
Showing the actions that a ship could have turned out to be a really good idea so the normal Ship Details screen now also shows un-acquired actions on ships that you already own (see example below). This should make it clear, for example, that some ships don't get fishing (because they get something else later) or that some ships won't get Victory Yell. It should help you explore the potential of new ships and see the actions that you should be working toward.
Complete Change List
Show Ship Details when purchasing a new ship.
Show un-acquired actions on the Ship Details screen for existing ships.
In combat, if you've selected a ship, it's stats will remain visible when the cursor is not over another ship.
Hotkeys 1 through 8 will now activate actions in combat.
The Enter key will now end the turn. Be careful.
The Helpful Hint won't badger you about using your upgrade keys once you've done at least one upgrade.
Fixed a bug preventing the player from defeating the first boss. This was released as hot fix 1.6.2b.
Fixed a bug preventing the player from selling ships in chapter 1. This was released as hot fix 1.6.2c.
Fixed a bug with the counter ship upgrades where certain attacks would not be countered.
Fixed a bug with the AI where shooting its own ships with a torpedo seemed like a good strategy. Turns out it was wrong.
Fixed a few bugs around the sound and music game options.
What's Next
The next update is already under way! I'm currently working on updating those pesky game options to give you a little more control over how the game is played. Included in the new options will be the option to Auto Save when you reach and leave an island. Also, there'll be options to change the hotkeys to keys that you like better. There'll be more of course, but you get the idea. Until then, have fun and thanks for playing!
Pirate Code 1.6.2 Released!
It's been over a month since I announce that another big update was coming to Pirate Code. It has arrived. Pirate Code 1.6.2 is now available and it is by far, the best Pirate Code yet! What's new this time? Ship upgrades. You're going to love 'em!
Ship Upgrades
Pirate Code takes a big step away from Chess with the addition of ship upgrades. As you gain experience points in battle, your ships will now gain levels. Each level awards the ship with an upgrade key that can be used to unlock a ship upgrade or saved to unlock a large upgrade. The choice is yours. If you choose to unlock small upgrade then you one in each category to actually use. This means you have options. If you come across a fight that you can't beat, the first thing you should do is go into your ships and adjust the upgrades to give you an edge. This sort of planning is at the core of a good strategy game.
Once in battle, ship upgrades add a welcomed layer of complexity to the fight. Gone are the days when you can just mechanically gain up on one enemy at a time and coast to victory. You'll need to check which upgrades they're using and plan accordingly. Random battle include random upgrades and it's entirely possible to come up against a fleet that you have no way of beating. Expect to have to flee at times. Even then, fleeing is cheaper if you sink a few ships first so planning is needed even when trying to escape. Of course, the opposite could happen as well and you might find that your upgrades allow you to crush a particular battle. The important thing is that ship upgrades mean that no two battles are won in exactly the same way. You'll have to use STRATEGY!
Some Examples of Ship Upgrades
I'm not going to give a full list of upgrades, but here are a few examples:
Vicious: Damage +1
Molo Drain: Returns up to 4 life to the user after damaging a Molo ship
Cannon Beast: Adds 2 cannons
Zen Shield: Takes 1 less damage from Zen ships
Desperation: Gains 8 life when close to surrender
Quick: Speed +1
Martyr: Heals all surviving team mates by 5 on death
Revenge: Counter attacks for 1 damage
That's just a small sampling. Needless to say, there's a lot of ship upgrades - include upgrades that are only available on certain ships. Most upgrades also have a larger version which can be found in the larger chest.
Also, please note that if you already started a file in Pirate Code, your ships will be given levels based on what chapter you are in. So if you are in the 4th chapter then all your ships will be at level 4. This will prevent you from being out gunned to start with.
Complete Change List
Ship Upgrades
Victory Screen was reworked to spread out information better and show ship experience.
Ship Details screen allows player to unlock ship upgrades and now displays ship exp and level.
Fleet screen now shows ship exp and level as well, along with upgrades and keys.
7 New Achievements where added to the beginning of the game.
Fixed a few bugs in the tutorial.
Fixed (again) a bug where the enemy ships continue doing things after the defeat screen opens.
Pirate League enemy fleets in the first chapter will now occasionally have Clockwork, Molo, and Zen ships to keep you on your toes.
Price of the Sea Dog has been reduced from 220 to 200 gold.
Swanson's life boost has been increased from 4 to 8.
Fixed several typos.
AI can now estimate the damage better with the Torpedo attack. Watch out!
Several small bugs have been fixed with Helpful Hints and new hints for ship upgrades have been added.
This update is now live for PC and Mac.
The Bigger News
Pirate Code has been on Steam for just over 13 months and I've decided it's time for a price reduction. Pirate Code will now cost $9.99 USD! If you've been waiting for a better price to try out Pirate Code, the wait is over!
Now go set sail!
Happy Birthday Pirate Code!
Pirate Code was released one year ago! Since then, based on feedback from you, the players, major portions of the game have been improved. I didn't want to pass up this opportunity to give an update on the next release. It would have been nice to release the update today, but the real world doesn't always work out perfectly like that and I didn't want to give you a half-tested update. What I can do is tell you what's coming...
Ship Upgrades!
If you've played Pirate Code much then you probably know that all those glorious experience points you earn in battle only go to the ships with captains assigned. This is because the ships don't gain levels - the actions do - and ships learn new actions from captains. All that will remain the same, but now ships themselves can also gain levels.
But I didn't just want to give each ship a stat boost every time it gained a level. I like that fact that every time you come up against a Falcon in battle that you know basically what to expect. Instead I devised a system of ship upgrades. Every time your ship gains a level, it get's an upgrade key, and each upgrade key can unlock a ship upgrade.
Upgrade Categories
This is a strategy game and my goal is always to push you to make tough choices to gain the upper hand. Ship upgrades are no exception. There are three categories of ship upgrades: offense, defense, and support. At any given time you can only choose one upgrade for each category. So for example, if you have offensive upgrades Molo Drain and Clockwork Killer, you'll have to pick if you want to regain some life when you attack a Molo ship or do extra damage against clockwork ships - but you can't have both! Furthermore, each category has a single large upgrade that you could unlock instead of the three smaller upgrade. But it takes three keys, so you'll have to play with the ship for a while with no upgrade and if it turns out to be an upgrade you don't like then you're stuck with it. On the flip side, the larger upgrades are more powerful! Tough choice!
Coming Soon!
The update is coming soon! Ship upgrades add another layer of strategy to Pirate Code. After all, the enemies will have upgrades too. Besides the upgrades, there will be a number of smaller bug fixes and features, as well as a surprise that I'm not quite ready to reveal. Now go enjoy some cake!
Pirate Code 1.6.1 Released!
Today, a minor update for Pirate Code was released. It included several bug fixes. Here's the list:
It seems the AI still occasionally resurfaces ships when another ship is already at a location. This causes the first ship to "ghost" so that you can't shoot it. This has been fixed.
Using Torpedo Boost on the Twin Fin or Cargo Fin could cause them to freeze when they try to attack on the following turn. Also fixed.
Fixed a bug where the enemy would start moving its ships again after the Defeat screen opens.
Fixed the bug where the island menu fails to open again after a challenge. You can now safely complete challenges!
The update is live on Windows. The Mac version will be available over the weekend.
And there you have it! There's more planned for next month. Stay tuned!
Pirate Code 1.6.0 Released!
The Ocean Awaits!
This latest update to Pirate Code revamps the world map, changing it from a bland, boring ocean to a magnificent pallet of blue and greens! My goal with this update was to make the ocean a place that was worth exploring. Now you can find unique islands sitting in an ocean that is different colors in different places. Those annoying island circles are gone. Instead you simply land on the beaches to enter the island menu. There's also random pillars and objects occasionally sticking out of the water. Clouds pass overhead and storms are more dynamic. Give it a try!
Other Changes
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There weren't many. I fixed a few typos. There was also a bug fixed on the victory screen. Apparently the gold and exp were switched! I'm surprised nobody noticed.
Final Thoughts
The new world map is actually quite a bit faster then the old one despite having a lot more objects on the screen. There's also now two loading bars when the game starts up, but don't worry, they go faster as well. As with any major update, I have done my best to ensure this is bug free, but if you find anything that seems wrong, please post to the forums and I will fix it as fast as possible. The update is live for Windows. The Mac update will follow this weekend. Enjoy and thanks for playing Pirate Code!
Sneak Peek for Pirate Code 1.6.0!
A Brave New Ocean
I constantly work to improve Pirate Code, focusing on the parts that I feel are lowest quality. Over the last month or so, my focus has been on the world map. The existing ocean is a bland place. It serves it's purpose, allowing the player to travel from one place to another and find battles, but I want it to be so much more. My goal with this update is simple: I want the ocean to be a fun place to explore! To accomplish this goal, I had to create an ocean that looks different everywhere you go. This is actually very hard to do. I had to use a noise generator to generate different ocean depths and temperatures then modify an animated tile map to gradually change between the colors at every point. The results though, are stunning.
The Islands
The next step was the islands. As you can see from the screen shots, I've done away with the rings around each island and you can now interact with them directly. The islands themselves will have a variety of tiles (hexagons of course) that will help you recognize an island when you find it. The beaches on the island allow you to land on the island (similar to contacting the ring before). Again my goal is to make a place worthy of your exploration so when I'm done there should be a wide variety of islands. So far the look is rather limited to jungles and mountains but hopefully you get the idea.
Coming Soon to an Ocean Near You!
So the big question is, when will this be released? Soon. As an indie developer, I don't set release dates. But, I expect this will be ready in November or early December. The update is beautiful and I frankly can't wait for you to try it!
Pirate Code 1.5.5 Released!
This update brings to an end the reign of terror that a handful of bugs have had in the open seas. It also aims to improve performance during battles with larger fleets. As always, please post to the discussion area if you find a bug. Here's a quick list of what has changed:
Decreased the number of images needed for many of the larger ships. This will hopefully increase performance in battles later in the game.
Fixed a bug with the camera zoom when catching mythical fish.
Fixed another camera bug that occurred during the final boss fight.
Also in the final battle, fixed a resurface bug.
Botany tools now correctly display their level.
Fixed a bug when the enemy would resurface a ship and then the ship would move off the screen, causing the AI to stop.
Fixed a bug where the AI would attempt to use the Torpedo attack on a non-target. This would also cause the AI to stop.
Built a fall back for the AI. In the event of a bug similar to the two above, the AI will only wait for 10 seconds and then return to business as usual. This will prevent future loss of progress.
Fixed the display of attack range on molo ships after they have used torpedo boost.
Made it less likely that the AI will use Full Sails.
Returned a few missing patterns and emblems to the world. This was released as hot fix 1.5.4b.
And there you have it! Go get those pirates! And if you find any bugs, please let me know.
Pirate Code 1.5.4 - Bugs and Speed!
Pirate Code 1.5.4 is now live! Most of my time on this update was spent reworking much of the underlying code for the world map. My main focus was improving performance and I feel like I succeeded. There's not much more I can do to make it faster. If you still experience problems, please feel free to reach out to me. I've also found that running the game in window mode and using a smaller window helps with performance. Hopefully that won't be needed by most of you.
Although the world map should feel about the same, much of the code changed under the surface. Naturally, a bug or two may have been introduced. Please let me know if you find one.
This update also fixes a few bugs discovered by the community. I'll list them out below.
Thanks for playing Pirate Code!
Changes
The Ocean map has been heavily optimized
The battle screen has been lightly optimized (further optimization may be needed)
Ending a turn with an active ship now hides the actions
Switching to another ship while on the fishing actions no longer locks you out of that ship (fixed for some other actions as well)
Full Sails is less likely to be chosen by the AI
Treasure Cave now has starting locations for fishing
Pirate Code 1.5.3 - Hotfix Released!
This was a quick release to fix a few bugs. Most importantly, achievements were broken in the last release. Here's the quick list.
Achievements were broken. As a result, if you sunk an enemy ship it wasn't recorded. All is better now.
Balloons did not display correctly in the new UI. This has been fixed.
Certain clockwork ships were leaving their "ready" brackets behind after a battle. This has also been fixed.
Gold, experience, and liberation now display what they are in a tool tip.
The dialog hint now appears after 30 seconds instead of 12 seconds.
This Hotfix is live for windows. The Mac version will be live tomorrow. As always, please report bugs promptly for their swift and violent removal.
