Hello everyone. In the previous devlog, we told you about our plans, and today, as promised, we’ll be answering audience questions from the last video and Steam.

By the way, we updated the game’s Discord server and created different channels for chatting, asking the developers questions, and game news. We’ll be happy to see you on the Corsairs Legacy server. You can find the link in the video’s description and the first pinned comment.

Let’s get to the questions.

• Why aren’t we making an MMO?

Today, big studios are actively switching from developing single-player games to developing MMO projects and games as a service that must keep players playing for a long time. We think that developers who fill gameplay with mundane tasks are less likely to get players interested in their game. Our goal is to make a finished product with a good story, where each quest that players complete keep pushing the main hero forward. We’re creating an adventure that you would be able to go through without the need for level-up boosts or grinds. By the end of the story, the player could choose to keep playing and complete side quests, but that would be their choice and not the requirement for completing the game. 

• It would be nice to be able to place the camera at the center of the screen.

We think that placing the character on the side is more convenient for players, and it looks much better. But, in order to choose the best option, we started a new poll in the community tab on our YouTube channel. Also, feel free to leave comments with your opinions on the questions from this video, we’ll also take them into account. 

• We would like to see more detailed character models (the ones that were in the 3D editor from the previous video looked good, it would be great to see those models in the game).

We started with 34 bought models and are currently working on our own models for story characters. As the project grows, we’ll be making more of our own character models. Their quality is much higher than those that we bought at the start of the project development.

• Will the grass be affecting performance drastically? Since the jungle shown in that video looks very succulent :) 

Our first priority is performance, and the second is beautiful graphics. In the last six months, we’ve made over 10 different grass variations, to achieve good visuals with minimum use of computation. Indeed, the grass is one of the most computation-heavy elements on the screen, since grass contains a lot of blades and each of them casts a dynamic shadow and has a bunch of other effects (like subsurface scattering). We’ll probably change it more than once before the release while searching for a trade-off between beautiful graphics and performance. 

• Will there be a damage system for ships?

We plan to make ships damageable and we have two different approaches that we plan to test. But before making a decision, we must implement the fights and enemy AI. So, we’ll come back to this subject in the next devlogs.

• It would be curious to see how waves are implemented, let’s say, during poor weather or storm.

We’re currently working on a logic that is responsible for waves according to the Beaufort scale.

• Will it be possible to walk around the ship, go down to the hold, or go to your cabin in sailing mode?

We’re looking into these options.

• Will there be loading screens while going between buildings and the jungle? To be honest, it would be better without them, it’s the year 2021, after all.

Currently, the island in Corsairs Legacy is one place where we dynamically load locations within the player’s line of sight. That said, some locations will require loading screens. Primarily, this is due to some locations having different lighting settings. For example, the tavern and the prison.

• What will boarding look like in the game?

When it comes to sea gameplay, this is the most difficult question for us at the moment. We have 3 concepts that we’re planning to test, but only after getting the sea battle mode done. 

• Will there be support for Xbox One and 360?

As of now, the game will only be released for PC.

• It would be great to have the ability to change language in the game settings, instead of restricting it to an installer or Steam. 

We already implemented the choice of language in the game settings. When you first start the game, it will automatically detect a language, then you’ll be able to change it in the settings. 

• Are you looking into releasing the game in Early Access on Steam?

The game will be released in Early Access, then we’re going to collect feedback and try to polish it in 3-4 months, and then we’ll release the full game. 

• What will the battle system be like in the game?

Currently, the development of the battle system is frozen. You can see its current state in the previous devlog where we talked about it. We’re planning to get back to it after we’re happy with the smoothness of the main hero’s animations.

A video version of this devlog is available on YouTube by link.

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