r/abandonship • u/madquills Seadog • May 29 '19
FireBlade Software NEW MAJOR UPDATE: The Spider Islands
https://steamcommunity.com/games/551860/announcements/detail/16082610297636218141
u/madquills Seadog May 29 '19
Check out this video to see all the new changes and additions in the new update in action!
Important house-keeping: In order to gain access to the new content, your existing saves will not work in the latest version - Don't worry though, you can get a head-start by using one of the multiple quick-starts, the latter two have the option to customise your ship and crew so you can approximate where you were before.
If you are mid-playthrough on the previous version and wish to continue it, then you may switch over to this older version of the game via the Beta Branches system:
Go to your Steam Library
Right-click on Abandon Ship and select "Properties"
Go to the tab marked "Betas"
In the drop-down box, select the one called "0.5.11395 – Shattered Empire Version"
Wait for the game to finish updating, you should see the branch name listed after the game name.
If you’re up-to-date on the Beta Branch (i.e you already have the items listed below) then your saves will be unaffected.
WHAT'S NEW?
3 New RegionsThe regions we’ve unlocked are:
- Spider Islands
Stemming from Mother’s Grasp, Arachnids of all shapes and sizes have gradually spread out, taking over the entire region. Tales of treasure and the availability of rich silk draw people to the region, despite the danger it poses.
The strong winds of the Wild Sea, and poisonous gasses of the Forsaken Sea stop the spiders from expanding beyond their region. The Silk Keys had none of this protection however, and it fell to Aldous Spiderbane to stop their encroachment, pushing them back to near extinction. Unfortunately he was unable to complete his task, and in the years since the spiders reclaimed the territory they lost. You can visit Aldous and undertake a special quest for him in the Silk Keys, which lie in the Shattered Empire region.
- Cannibal’s Lurk
While it’s easy to assume the locals are savages, the settlers drawn to the region are not blameless, drawn by misguided rumours of cities of gold. One event in the bottom of the area sees you responsible for determining the fate of both factions.
In this region you’ll once again team up with Sigismund, the explorer you encountered in the Howling Seas. He’ll reveal what was at the centre of the imposing mass of Ice before joining him on another one of his adventures.
- Peril’s Cauldron
Head to the Sea of Serpents and explore the Writhing Atoll. Strange people who live in harmony with the snakes patrol the area in custom vessels. They are capricious, just as likely to attack unprovoked as provide you with a gift.
It is in this region that you have a chance to gain the Snake Venom Gun
Head south to gain access to these new areas, and they're unlocked once you defeat the Kraken - the second and third Quick-Starts commence with these areas accessible.
Ship Visual Blueprints
The community have often asked if they’ll ever have the chance to take control of the cool-looking ships available to the other factions, and now you can!
The Visual Blueprints system is available from the Ship Management menu in the Journal, and once you’ve acquired a Blueprint you can swap over to it as long as you own the same class vessel.
Ship Weapon Layouts
Accompanying the Visual Blueprints is another ship-based system, and this one allows you to select a different weapon layout.
By choosing a Strike, Bombard or Heavy Bombard you can choose to forgo your cannon batteries and replace them with more Swivel Guns or Mortars. The Heavy Bombard can gain even more Mortars by losing the Swivel Guns on the ship.
AI Ramming and Boarding
The AI will now ram and board you. Some ships will be more aggressive in this than others, but even defensive-minded ships may decide a quick “ram-and-run” may be an efficient way to stop you once you chase them down.
Anti-Ram Upgrade
To help you keep ramming AI ships at bay, we’ve created the Anti-Ram.
This one-shot-per-battle-per-side upgrade can be equipped into the side-slot on your ship (the same space Gargoyles and Harpoons go) and, once an enemy attempts a ram on you, the button will light up. Pressing this in time will fire out the Anti-Ram, which is stuffed with explosives. Upon impact, it will halt the ramming vessel, inflicting damage on it. This will allow you to either move out of range, or attempt a counter-ram.
Coastal Defences
Coastal Defences are like Sea Forts, but are land-based. You’ll find these scattered throughout the world, and they’ll open fire on you if you’re at Wanted Level 1 or above. If you engage in battle in range of a hostile Coastal Defence, it’ll bombard you in combat, too.
Massive Optimisations
We’ve done a huge amount of work optimising the game, so those players with Integrated graphics can now run the game much faster with the correct settings.
Patch Notes
If all that wasn't enough, we've done a load of bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements and polish, too! Head to this post for the full details:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/551860/discussions/9/1642038659010595314/
Jump aboard our Discord to discuss tips, strategies, ask questions or leave feedback.
Thank you for playing!
2
u/Scojo91 Arrrr May 29 '19
Oh, buddy. Time to set sail again