Ahoy!
Hoist the topsails — set a course for the Bay of Creativity!
Kirill here.
These notes go with 1.8 Maritime Update. I’ll address the most common questions and concerns — and share some fresh promo materials.
No fluff — straight to the point.
Heading indicator
A lot of you pointed out that the heading palette was too bright and harsh on the eyes. Fair call — we’ve toned it down significantly.
If you’re not a fan of the three-color gradient, we’ve also added a two-color option: speed is represented through intensity, and the colors themselves are noticeably calmer.
You’ll be able to choose the colors that work best for you in the settings.
Colorblind mode
But even that isn’t the whole story.
One comment under the previous diary really stuck with me:
“I get that Corsairs gameplay isn’t exactly about inclusivity. But could we have arrows like in To Each His Own? I’m colorblind and I can’t see these colors even in your example.”
Accessibility starts with us — with every player request we respond to. So from this point on, we’re putting real work into accessibility, and the first step is adding color schemes for different types of color vision deficiency.
Please tell us what you think of these colors. They were tested with a simulator, but player feedback comes first.
To switch these options, the settings menu will get a dedicated tab.
Accessibility
There aren’t many options here yet, but the accessibility process is now in motion — and it won’t stop here.
Besides the heading display modes described above, this section will include two more options.
Navigation assist
This setting toggles navigation arrows on the compass that show the ship’s top speed relative to the wind. It’s for players who find the new method unfamiliar or uncomfortable.
Larger dialogue text
This one has been requested for a long time by Steam Deck users — and by anyone who finds the current dialogue text too small. With this setting, you can trade a bit of aesthetics for readability and increase dialogue window size by 30%.
Mass cabin fights
Many of you worried about how fighting in tight spaces would feel. But even more of you said something we honestly didn’t expect: you genuinely love one-on-one duels and asked us to keep them.
Mass cabin combat won’t be a mandatory boarding finale. After reviewing your feedback, we decided to make it a random outcome — just like a captain appearing on deck, or a full-ship surrender.
If it triggers, you’ll see a special notification.
That keeps things balanced: a captain might be bold and come up to the deck (and you’ll find an empty cabin), or they might play it safe and barricade themselves in the cabin with their officers.
This will also stack with other random boarding events — so variety stays high.
Naval gunnery
We’ve prepared extra materials that explain the changes to naval aiming.
The aim moves with the ship
Movement, turning, and rolling all affect where your shots land.
You’ll be able to chase an enemy without worrying that half your shots will splash into the sea.
Adjusting fire mid-salvo
With enough practice, you’ll be able to switch targets mid-salvo.
Or focus all your damage into one priority target.
Different firing order
Unlocked via the gunner skill. Toggled with a hotkey.
Naval AI
Naval AI has been a concern in every diary: the more new options we describe for the player, the stronger the doubts get.
Will AI become helpless once players get new tools?
Here’s the answer: we’re actively working on naval AI. The changes include:
- More aggression, especially from ships that initiate combat themselves. Fewer cowardly pirates — and no more quest ships sailing away forever.
- Smarter ammo selection. Enemies will choose distance more intelligently and factor in how “charged” their guns are.
- New salvo modes will be available to — and actively used by — opponents.
- Enemy ship gunnery accuracy will increase noticeably.
Conclusion
We’re very close to the open beta release of 1.8 Maritime Update, and this will be the last dev diary for this update. But we still have plenty of cool news coming your way.
What we do — we do for you :jollyr:
Interesting mods
What personally caught the author’s eye.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3686366811
A neat cosmetic mod by tsar_dushan. If you’re tired of the old loading screens — grab it.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3687353943
A very interesting gameplay mod by WickedGranny that adds new items and mechanics. Crystal skulls have always had a special place in our community, and this little renaissance turned out genuinely fun.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3682358707
K1ndr3d continues their victorious march through our Steam Workshop. This mod rethinks the Jaguar Skin you receive as a reward during the Caleuche quest.