Buccaneers! Screenshots and Videos

[Armada]

Hi all,

To keep you in the loop on our progress with Buccaneers!, I thought I'd share a few screenshots as we go along, plus any new GIFs or videos showing off cool features.

I'll start with the images shown on the game's Steam page, and I'll post newer screenshots below.

Spoiler: More images

All of our images are captured either from the player's first-person perspective, or using our built-in Photo Mode that lets you pause the game and fly anywhere in the scene. We've added full Nvidia Ansel support for filters and other effects, but the basic free camera works without an Nvidia graphics card.

I will attempt to keep this thread up-to-date, but you can follow Skyward Digital on our social channels (including Discord!) for all the latest news as it happens.

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[The Nameless Pirate]

Looking good @Armada!!!

 

[Armada]

Here's a look at one of our WIP harbours, representing a smaller colony (particularly a pirate settlement).
The fort is fully accessible, and the goal is to be able to attack it from sea, then land troops and fight through the town and into the fort to capture the colony.

Spoiler: More images

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Quite a fun look, really!

 

[Armada]

You find yourself amidst a heated battle on the enemy's quarterdeck, but you can't decide whether a melee or ranged weapon is the best approach...
Why not both? Or, better yet, both in the same weapon!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=473071726877476

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Conveniently multi-purpose, eh? Looks like that should make for nice and smooth gameplay!

 

[Armada]

That's the idea! We want the weapons to behave as the player would expect, particularly in VR. So if you whack an enemy with the gun butt, you'll stun them, but if you use the bayonet, you'll do melee damage instead. Not as much damage as a sword swing, but enough to make it useful between reloads. This will also be possible in non-VR, though we need to make a few more animations for it.

You can also stun enemies by just throwing most weapons at them (unless it's a throwing knife, which does damage as well). And we haven't even added grenades yet...

 

[The Nameless Pirate]

Seems like a nice combat system, nice job!

 

[Pieter Boelen]

You can also stun enemies by just throwing most weapons at them (unless it's a throwing knife, which does damage as well). And we haven't even added grenades yet...

So you can do that comedy movie trick of running out of bullets and then damaging your enemy by throwing the GUN ITSELF?!?

 

[Armada]

So you can do that comedy movie trick of running out of bullets and then damaging your enemy by throwing the GUN ITSELF?!?

Put it this way: people will throw their weapons in VR anyway, so we might as well make it semi-useful.

In Robo Recall, which is one of our inspirations for VR combat, throwing your weapon at an enemy and catching it as it bounces back at you causes it to instantly reload. We probably won't go that far, but it shows the kind of fun interactions you can have in VR. Our weapons will just respawn in their holster (fully-loaded) after a few seconds if you've thrown them away.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Put it this way: people will throw their weapons in VR anyway, so we might as well make it semi-useful.

Right you are!

In Robo Recall, which is one of our inspirations for VR combat, throwing your weapon at an enemy and catching it as it bounces back at you causes it to instantly reload. We probably won't go that far, but it shows the kind of fun interactions you can have in VR.

Realism? Didn't think so!
Entertaining? Holy crap, that sounds hilarious!!

Our weapons will just respawn in their holster (fully-loaded) after a few seconds if you've thrown them away.

Quite the magic trick right there.

Well, your graphics already clearly communicate that your aim is FUN.
And it sounds like you're on the right track of delivering that.

 

[Armada]

Finally, you can do this in VR ->

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1004564003211526

We've added a functioning spyglass that you can use at any time while sailing in VR mode. Currently, all it does is display other ships' health (which is normally hidden until you damage them), but we've tried to simulate lens distortion and reflections to make it look vaguely realistic. It doesn't look too big in the video because of the way we capture VR footage with a secondary camera, but when you're using it in VR, the eyepiece fills your field of view if you close one eye.

And yes, technically it counts as a "melee weapon", so you could batter your foes with it in a pinch. Not that it would be very effective.

Next nautical item on the list: a functioning compass...

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Oh; coool!!

And yes, technically it counts as a "melee weapon", so you could batter your foes with it in a pinch. N

Because of course you can.

 

[The Nameless Pirate]

Nice, both a spyglass and a weapon.

 

[Grey Roger]

If you use it to clonk someone on the head, it probably isn't much use as a spyglass any more.

 

[Jack Rackham]

There are two "bladespyglasses" in POTC too which you can hit someone with. As standard spyglasses
they were useless from start though. The clonk sound is this: Sounds\OBJECTS\DUEL\spyglass.wav

 

[The Nameless Pirate]

I didn't know that, where do you get them?

 

[Jack Rackham]

They are quest items in WR. Alexander Selkirk uses one to fight with,

 

[Armada]

If you use it to clonk someone on the head, it probably isn't much use as a spyglass any more.

True, that. We may have to add a breaking animation if you hit someone with it too many times.

And as for throwing your pistol at the enemy, I came across this quote in Patrick O'Brian's Post Captain, just after Jack Aubrey has led his crew onto an enemy's deck:

... his sharp sword out, pistol in his left hand.
[...]
Fired his pistol, flinging it straight at the next man's face.

So there you have it. If it's good enough for Jack Aubrey, it's good enough for me.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Of course. It only makes sense.
Allows a double use for a single use weapon.
Clever!