This one has been real fun to work on, but also super tiresome. My head has been a thousand places at once, and it has been a very hectic balancing act with long work nights and family, but I made it.
I really wanted to have this update out before the 2-year anniversary of Seablip on May 17th. I hope you like the new duel mechanic; this is a key element for how I imagined tying some of the story elements together in 1.0.
There is some stuff I expected to have in this update that I had to skip just because time did not allow it. I felt the most important thing was to try polishing the new Captain Duel as much as possible. This does not mean it is perfect yet, but I hope it will be lots of fun.
Let me know what you think about the new Captain Duel, and then I can adjust the balance if there is something that feels off.
Controller Support
Another long-awaited piece of news is that the game now has "full" controller support. You can play the game without a mouse! BUT, it is early. I know there are several bugs and possible soft locks with the new HUD navigation. So, if you use a controller, let me know how the new controller support feels and which bugs I need to squash.
Side note: I know there has been a lot of feedback on the current Seablip version that I haven't had the time to address yet. Rest assured I try to read all your feedback; I might just need some time to address balance issues and bugs.
Battle rival Captains using 17 unique swords—each featuring its own special attack ability—while crew members throw health, armor, spell books, and other useful items to turn the tide of battle. Be careful, as enemy captains can also grab items mid-battle, creating chaotic and unpredictable showdowns!
A brand new questline is added: challenging 10 mysterious Galleon Guard bosses in duel! Grandpa William also offer you a duel tutorial if you start a new game. Outside of the new questline, enemies encountered during normal ship battles can now challenge players to Captain Duels instead of traditional ship fights, with each enemy faction using their own unique tactics, abilities and ship layouts.
This update also introduces new Enemy Fleet battles, tasking you with taking down multiple enemy ships back-to-back without pause. This feature is in very early development and has some visual glitches, so I have only added two enemies to the world map for now. I intend to explore the fleet option more as I progress toward 1.0.
The lockpick mini-game now shows a power bar. I originally did not intend for this, but I don't think it hurts the feel of the game, and I know some of you have asked for it. Let me know what you think! :)
Two new soundtracks have been added: one for Captain Duels and one for Castle battles.
This has been on my list for a long time. It was a very time-consuming task, so I lost some time adding new content, but it felt right to start this improvement now. I know many of you expected it earlier.
Is it perfect now? No. Is it better than before? Hopefully, MUCH better! You should be able to play Seablip without the need for a mouse at all if you use a controller. Because this is such a big change, there is a high risk of bugs—there might be menu buttons I forgot to support or places that "soft lock" you, requiring a mouse or virtual mouse to fix. If you encounter these, please let me know so I can patch them.
I have also changed some keybindings and reworked the key rebinding menu. Additionally, I added a controller map to show the basic controls; this is currently only visible when you start the game with a controller connected, but I will add it to the HUD soon.
If you have suggestions to make the gamepad support feel more fluid, please create a Steam discussion or email me via my (https://seablip.com/contact-1). I know it can still improve!
QOL: Save button for crew starting position during a fight
QOL: Grandpa's funeral has a teleport option if you miss it.
More wildlife and mini events on the world map.
One new ocean type for sea battle (slightly more ocean, but else quite similar)
More sound effects
Captain Duel is fun, chaotic, intense, and changes the game completely. It is the "pirate juice" Seablip needed to feel diverse and alive! With this new mechanic in place, I can now focus on completing Seablip's main story and adding some very interesting duels and plotlines.
Best, Jardar