July brought a quieter patch cycle as I focused on improving core systems and prepping for major upcoming content, but it wasn’t without some big updates.
The biggest addition this month was the introduction of optional nighttime, along with new world visual settings, better performance with reflections disabled by default, and improved UI and visibility systems. I've also added more anti-aliasing options, fixed lingering issues with ship swapping and continued improving the world map's dynamic features.
Here’s what that shipped in July:
Patch Notes
Added an optional night time to the game. It can be turned on via world options.
Added new options to world options: day length. This is only visual, and is separate from the in-game day duration (which is always 6 minutes).
Unified game's day length and visible day length to match one another. Before they did not.
Various effects now provide night-time light sources, even if only temporarily (explosions, fireworks, grog, etc)
Fixed the town UI's player inventory becoming invisible after swapping ships with inventory open.
Ships won't share sight at night (unless they are near a light).
Sight distance is reduced at night.
Added the ability to ask in town gossip for "story" to see if anyone in the world needs to speak with the player.
If reflections are turned off, they will still render the skybox to fix water reflections at night.
Wind particles will no longer be affected by the wind past a certain distance from the player, saving a bit of performance.
Added more anti-aliasing options, including temporal AA.
If holding shift while building a tower, only allow the largest possible tower to be built.
Looking Ahead ːsteamthisː
Next month is shaping up to be the biggest yet. New raid content is in the works, and I'll be sharing details very soon. Thanks to everyone who has been submitting bug reports and feedback; it has helped guide every step.
Until then, enjoy the calm waters... while they last.