While your crew is rising in numbers, it’s time for us to give you an update regarding the time-saving system we’ve been working on lately. With your friends on board in co-op mode, all the hard work gets easier and things are done faster. That must mean that playing solo is no way to go… right? Arghhhh, ain’t no way! We’re not leaving no one! So, without further ado, welcome to the hiring system.
Workers Cabins
Next to your docks, you will find a few abandoned and ruined wooden houses. They are there for a reason, not just for mere disfigurement of the landscape. Your repair skills will come in handy as those houses can be renovated. Obviously, this will require not only your hard work but also some materials. Once you repair the cabin, a new feature will unlock.
Hiring Workers
Once you interact with a renovated cabin, you will be able to hire assistants to help you out with the job. They must be paid with money regularly, so always be mindful to save some in advance. You can assign them various kinds of tasks, especially those you aren’t so keen to do by yourself. Chopping wood gets tiring? Just get someone to do it!
This kind of system does not leave solo players at a disadvantage. Also, later in the game, after being through the full ship-building process plenty of times, some minigames might start to bore you and feel more like an annoying repetitive nuisance. We don’t want it to happen, right? It’s also a solution that lies in between the “do-it-all-by-yourself” mindset and the approach of buying all the necessary things from townspeople or pirates. With the docks’ fast growth, more responsibilities fall on your shoulders. We want to help you out by providing a little bit of an automation opportunity. Choose a playstyle that will suit your liking!
And also a big thanks to our community for they are the ones who suggested this feature first (Moros, noicemyman). We love to listen to your ideas and are excited to put them to good use. Feel free to share your thoughts on our discord server or right in the comments.
See ya! The Devs
Devblog #12 - The Reputation System
Ahoy Shipwrights! The town nearby is full of life and to make it much more fun for you to explore, we decided to introduce a system which will influence your career as a shipwright. Keeping an eye on how people see you may be just the key to successfully making yourself rich. So don’t bury yourself in perfecting your craft, see what the Town has to offer., choose your clientele carefully and make sure your ships go into worthy hands.
The Scale
You will be sitting somewhere between fame and infamy, as you deal with different people on the Island. You can increase your fame by selling your creations to fancy and rich and maintaining good relationships with the inhabitants of the nearby Town. Helping local business owners and other people will raise your reputation and help you find clients of grand status more easily. A friendly relationship with everyone in the Town will influence the prices in the stores.
Shady deals with the local pirates may make people suspicious and they will trust you less, moving you closer to the infamy end of the spectrum. While there is no problem in sourcing things from them, constant dealings with them will make your clientele much more questionable as well. Pirates and privateers may become your main source of revenue.
Stores and Quests
While making every element from scratch is the ultimate goal of craftsmanship, after a while certain parts will be easier to purchase in bulk. So keep at least friendly relationships with the local stores, as they can supply you with both raw materials and ready products. Your reputation will influence the prices and people’s attitudes. You can change that by helping them with their everyday tasks or providing them with certain resources. The grocery store clerk may approach you about a broken part in their cart and if you have already learned how to make it, bring it and maybe the next time the store will have new food items or decreased prices. Even the local blacksmith may need your help with acquiring rare materials and you may get new recipes for iron casting. We made sure that even if you decide to live in infamy, the prices may be a bit higher, but you still can have a friendly relationship with store owners.
Sometimes rich dignitaries will be more stingy than pirate captains who see themselves as the kings of the sea. So no matter where you land on the scale, you will always have clients and it is up to you to choose which commissions you fulfill. So become a shipwright who works exclusively for the pirates hired by the crown or build stunning showcase ships, which will exist solely as flexes for royal families. What kind of shipwright will you become? Let us know! The Devs
Devblog #11 - Expanding the fleet!
Ahoy Shipwrights!
We have been tinkering away at many aspects of the game, changing and framing them in a larger context. This planning spree has led to expanding the scope of the game and its features. With this expansion comes an additional list of potential ships you will be able to construct in your ever-growing shipyard.
Rafts Before you even think about assembling large ships in your shipyard, smaller vessels should be the centre of your attention. They will be key to the beginnings of your adventures. Rafts are small and easy to manoeuvre in shallow and narrow bodies of water. Rafts will be useful in resource gathering and moving around before you build larger and more spacious boats and ships. Moving around swamps and rivers or the island will be much easier when you can hop onto this small vessel and paddle your way to resources.
Junks Captains from all over the world will order new ships from you. This variety of clientele will allow you to learn techniques older than your family bloodline and use them to skyrocket it to glory by working on designs unheard of on your little island. Despite being ancient these traditional Chinese ships may become a crowning achievement of your shipyard. The wide range of uses as house and pleasure boats will be especially attractive to your rich clients who seek unique additions to their fleets. These ships are sleek and often heavily decorated, which will help you unleash your artistic side.
Frigates Not all your work will be used for pleasure and transporting goods. Warships such as frigates may just become your bread and butter, as larger fleets need many fast scouts. This is where your iron casting skills will shine, as you create cannons capable of pulverizing other ships. Their complex design will fill your hours, even after you prepare all the necessary materials. Their assembly is an art form on its own., but rest assured that once you’re done, your ships will put Napoleon’s fleet to shame!
Longships (Drakkar) Specialised tactics require specialised builds. Drakkars are perfect for shallow waters with their shallow-draft hulls. These powerful ships could carry warriors without relying on the wind to more currents to carry them to their destination. Intricate carvings decorate the sides and front of this boat and it creates fear in crews of vessels who dare to oppose the might and speed of this ship. Your craft will be a part of some of the most terrifying tactics on the seven seas. So grab your tools and begin preparing materials and creating true sea monsters, which will wreak havoc.
We’re still looking for new ship types and ideas for gameplay mechanics. Each ship will have its unique customisation options making the experience of building them more fun. Let us know what would you like to see in the game. We’re waiting for your ideas in our Discord.
Devblog #10 - Your Shipyard’s Economy
Ahoy Shipwrights!
As serious businessmen, you have to keep in mind your relationship with the local economy. While you will be able to find and gather a huge chunk of the necessary materials, there will be plenty of resources to buy and sell in the nearby town. Your surplus of materials will bring joy to the townsfolk. This relationship of mutual help will speed up your resource gathering and material production.
Casting your own iron or processing wood will not be a problem, but there are elements that you can potentially buy from other skilled artisans. While you are a jack of all trades, there are many different fields that townsfolk may be better skilled in. Fabrics and expensive details may be available to purchase in the town. This is also where you can find people selling food and ingredients to prepare meals necessary for your survival. Gathering foods in the wild may not be enough when working hard in the shipyard. The ability to purchase food in the town will help you focus on your artistry without worrying about starving.
Watch our for the shady type though! You can deal with the pirates who decide to stop on your tiny island. They will be sitting in the local tavern, waiting for you to sell away items they found during their adventures. The value of the materials and items they offer you can differ depending on their rarity and quality. But be careful! The pirates may seem like a lovely adventurous bunch, but they are the slimiest cheaters out there. They may try to squeeze every piece of gold out of your pocket.
These trades may make the job of a shipwright much easier. You still be able to create the vast majority of the materials and resources on your own if you don’t want anyone’s help. For those of you who want to do everything on your own, you still can. It may be a bit more difficult but still possible. Do you think you will use the help from the townsfolk and help them as well? Or maybe you will prefer to be lone wolves tinkering away in your shipyards?
Let us know in our Discord server or on social media!
Devblog #9 - Where to explore?
Ahoy Shipwrights!
We’ve said before that exploration is a huge aspect of the game, as you can find new recipes and materials as you traverse the map. The island is divided into multiple biomes and locations, with different types of foliage, weather, NPCs to talk to or shops to buy materials at. There also are many items, treasures and mysteries all over the place.
The island
The map itself is 3 kilometres long and 3 kilometres wide with varied elevations, from sea level to tall mountains, with canyons, tunnels, and hills in between. The island is split into two by a river that meanders and creates a large waterfall, which may or may not hide some secrets. The river also creates a canyon There are multiple biomes, which cover vast parts of the island, tall mountains with barely any trees descend down and turn into lush forests and wetlands full of wines moss. Some areas are more mysterious than others, with ruined huts, lost crates, beached ships and abandoned pirate stashes.
Depending on where you wander, you will be able to find different types of materials. Biomes have native varieties of trees, which can be later on processed into three differently coloured kinds of wood. The location also influences the weather. The higher up the more likely you are to encounter rain or clouds, while wild beaches will scorch you with the sun.
Your piece of the island
Part of this vast terrain will be yours to use. On this part of the map, you’ll be able to build not only your docks but also additional buildings such as a smithing station and storage. This area is customisable and will develop alongside your business. The docks will grow larger so they can fit larger more prestigious ships
The town
At the mouth of a river lays a quiet town full of helpful folk, who will be more than happy to sell you any necessary materials. Here you can find traders, who may buy materials you don’t need. This hub full of NPCs has another function, townsfolk may be helpful, but from time to time, they will ask you for help as well. These quests may help you with acquiring materials or rare crafting recipes. This is also where you can find a crucial building, the hospital. Every time you forget to eat, drown or fall off a cliff, you will lose some of your items and suddenly wake up in the hospital.
There are some things we are planning off-shore for the more adventurous shipwrights, but that’s a larger topic for a separate devblog in the future. There are many other secrets and unique locations that we will explore in more detail, as they are connected to specific game mechanics. This more general overview of the map may be helpful in imagining the scope of the adventure ahead of you. Let us know what you think on our Discord!
Become a shipwright
Ship Builder gives you a chance to see the world from the perspective of a young shipwright. With nothing but wanderlust and ambition under your belt, set out to establish your own marine trading empire. Explore a forgotten tropical island and gather resources to turn an empty coastline into a busy harbor. Aided by your trusty tools construct the most beautiful vessels known from history - a plank at a time. And one day, perhaps, the ships of your design will inspire and strike awe into the hearts of young explorers worldwide!
Become a shipwright
Ship Builder gives you a chance to see the world from the perspective of a young shipwright. With nothing but wanderlust and ambition under your belt, set out to establish your own marine trading empire. Explore a forgotten tropical island and gather resources to turn an empty coastline into a busy harbor. Aided by your trusty tools construct the most beautiful vessels known from history - a plank at a time. And one day, perhaps, the ships of your design will inspire and strike awe into the hearts of young explorers worldwide!
Devblog #8 - Shipwrights Assemble
Ahoy Shipwrights!
It takes a team of highly skilled workers to build a ship from scratch. Between collecting resources, processing them, and actually putting the planks together, one shipwright may spend more time on one project. To help the more impatient players, we decided to introduce the co-op mode into the game. It will be completely voluntary, so shipwrights who feel strong and independent enough to work on their own can decide to do so.
If a shipwright does not want to spend time alone working on a massive project, they can rely on help from friends and strangers alike! Players will be able to join private or public rooms to help each other in every step of the construction process. We want to create a system where people can join and leave during sessions, without fear of the room suddenly closing.
Every room will have a capacity of up to 4 players and they all will have access to in-game text chat. To maintain safety and keep the rooms vaguely civilized, the host will have moderation tools. This will allow them to moderate the chat and kick out the less pleasant individuals.
Progress made on a project in co-op mode will be saved separately for each player, so everyone can continue working in a single player. At this point, the saves will diverge, so if the same group wants to meet again, they will have to choose which version of the save they would like to continue.
We want to avoid unpleasant connection issues during the launch and later down the road. We are already looking into servers, which will scale depending on the traffic. Queues and stuttering gameplay are on our to-visit list, so even though the game is in the early stages of production, we are already searching for the best possible solutions. This includes most likely investing in localized servers, which can maintain stable and low ping for the players from the other side of the globe.
Our shipwrights have to remember that the co-op mode is absolutely a voluntary thing. We encourage it, but at the same time, we want to make sure that the solo experience is equally fun for those who decide to build their vessels on their own. Let us know whether you will play in the single-player exclusively or invite your friends to join you in shipwright adventures.
Devblog #7 - What Lies Beneath the Island
Ahoy Shipwrights!
Sometimes building ships can become a routine. It means that it's time to explore the vast forests of the island. Trees and shrubs hide many secrets, including mysterious caves full of treasures.
We started working on a vast system of caves and caverns. Wild and difficult to traverse, they will try to protect secrets hidden within. Exploring them will be yet another source of new crafting recipes and decorative items. You will be able to find lost ships stuck in caves for years, holding secrets to new and more profitable boat parts.
Forgotten pirate treasures will be hidden in nooks and crannies of caverns. Protected by the remains of the crew, they wait to be discovered.
On the technical side of things, the devs are already looking at systems that will allow us to create vast tunnels without destroying people’s GPUs and CPUs. Strategies similar to the ones used to render grass and land will be crucial in making the underground can run faster and smoother. Behind the scenes, the caves will be cut into smaller, more manageable pieces and seamless transitions between them will be implemented. We want to make sure that spelunking is fun even on slightly older devices.
These caves and exploration will be an important part of expanding your company. The risk of leaving your shipyard unattended for a moment will be rewarded with rare and valuable items. They will give you the advantage you need to climb the online leaderboards.
Don't forget to check out our social media. Let us know on Discord, what treasures you would like to find underground!
Devblog #6 - Updates & Upgrades
Ahoy Shipwrights!
The sea is a moody lover, and change could come at any moment. Remember to stay alert at all times or your shipyard may get swept from the face of the earth. Luckily, the changes we bring to you today are much more exciting!
Look out for them on the game's Steam Page!
New Name As the development progresses, we've noticed that the game is more than a simulator. We want the game's title to better reflect that. This also brings a completely new and more detailed logo, which is more suitable for the adventurous nature of Ship Builder.
New Trailer Today we released a new trailer for the game. You will be able to feel the sweat and tears necessary to all aspects of a ship. This trailer will also give you a better idea of how minigames will work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kcBcfJRnf8
New Steam Page Our steam page changes too! The new description of the game with more details about the game’s mechanics and features. We'll still talk about some of them in upcoming devblogs, but you can find the main set of features on the Steam Page.
With a new description come new screenshots. Some of them you may have seen on our social media. Some are completely new.
Playtests Registration On top of all these changes, the request access button is now live! You can sign up for playtests. We will keep you up to date when the playtests begin!
Can't wait to hear your opinions on the changes we've introduced. Don't hesitate to share them with us on our social media and Discord! Share the trailer with anyone who's willing to listen! See you on Discord!
