CAPTAINS! There's just 3 days until Cursed Crew releases in Early Access!
Today, we're looking at the world map and progression! In Cursed Crew, you pick your route on a world map and sail from destination to destination until you face the final boss. Read on to learn more!
Global map
First, there's the global map. It shows you which areas there are in the game, and how they are connected. You use this map to pick your route towards the final boss and it shows you how far along you are in your sailing journey.
Local maps
Second, there are local maps. For each area on the world map, there's a corresponding local map with all the locations you can visited and the connected paths to them. When you enter an area from the world map, you then sail from location to location within a local map until you reach the end of the area - then you'll be sent back to the global map to pick your next area! (And get closer the big final boss.)
Story events
When you reach a location on a local map, a story event occurs. During an event, your captain's log opens with a new entry describing what the captain saw at that moment. You'll have a choice to decide what to do in the situation and influence the story's outcome.
There are many events, here are some examples:
- Port events: This involves you visiting a port to resupply, repair your ship, and meet strangers in a tavern that might want to join your crew, tell a tall tale, or pick a fight.
- Mystery events: During these events, anything can happen. Sharks may jump onto your ship, you may encounter drifting wreckage, or the weather suddenly shifts.
- Ship events: These events are themed around ship encounters. Often they result in combat, but it's also common to encounter friendly travelers or traders.
- Island events : This is where you ship passes an island and the captain writes about the crew's expedition and the results of said expedition.
- Boss events: The most terrifying moment - right before a boss fight.
While the local map clearly depicts the type of event you'll get, you can never know exactly what might happen, because every event has many different variations. Sometimes you'll even uncover new sections of the local map that weren't there before!
Gameplay
So how does this compare to games with similar maps like Slay the Spire or FTL? While all three devs love these games, we decided instant travel was not right for Cursed Crew. Ships will travel from node to node over time with the rate of travel dependent on the ship's speed. In-between event nodes there will also be what we call 'meta events' which are unscripted minor events. These will be little things such as nearby sea life or sudden changes to weather.
We're still working on these meta events and we'll be implementing much more in future updates as we launch into Early Access.
Remember, just 3 days to go until February 26! See you then!
- Join us on the Cursed Crew Discord - chat with players and devs!
- Please wishlist Cursed Crew!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1839760/Cursed_Crew/
- Roel, Phil, & Oskar