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Announcing Buccaneers!, a new Pirate Game from Skyward Digital

Armada

Sea Dog
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Administrator
Project Manager
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Ahoy everyone!

On behalf of Skyward Digital, I am excited to announce our next game, Buccaneers! - a classic pirate game with a modern twist, coming soon to PC, Xbox One and VR devices. :pirate41:


Check out the Steam page: Buccaneers! on Steam

Here's the official description:
Become a fearless captain in Buccaneers!, a classic pirate game with a modern twist. Embark on a first-person single-player adventure on PC, console or in VR, and join a faction with unique abilities to conquer an ever-changing Caribbean sea. Featuring hours of replayability, Buccaneers! lets you find legendary treasures, battle powerful ships and leave your mark on the world. Will you bring about a new Golden Age, or stomp out piracy once and for all?

Rewrite History
Pledge your allegiance to one of four factions with unique abilities tailored to different playstyles. Sign up with the British, French or Spanish empires or join the fearsome Buccaneers’ League and fight for dominance in the region. Each faction’s starting location and number of colonies changes when you start a new game, tipping the balance of power and allowing endless possibilities.

Rule the Waves
Take command of your own sailing warship and engage in intense naval battles where superior strategy wins the day. Sink or capture enemy ships and storm coastal forts to gain land for your faction, then upgrade your ship or acquire a larger one to become the most feared captain in the Caribbean!

Fight on Land or at Sea
Whether you’re boarding a ship, assaulting a fort or sneaking into an enemy harbour in the dead of night, you have a wide variety of melee and ranged weapons at your disposal. Equip up to five weapons from swords and pistols to muskets and grenade launchers, and switch weapons on-the-fly to deal with any situation.

Full VR Support
Buccaneers! is fully-playable in VR as well as standard mode, with shared game saves between both modes. In VR, your full-scale warship is brought to life as you steer it by hand and use any combination of melee and ranged weapons to slay your foes however you want.

But enough PR; here's a more detailed explanation...

This game has been in development for the past year and a half, and was built from the ground up to be fully playable in VR and non-VR, as well as scaling all the way from top-end PCs to entry-level hardware. Alongside PC, the game will be available on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and the Oculus Go standalone headset. Additionally, the game will launch on Xbox One via the ID@Xbox program, which we're really excited about.

For me, this game is a chance to do something creative within the pirate genre. It has a limited scope, so don't expect a massive open world and 100-hour playthroughs, but instead it focuses on a simple, replayable formula drawing inspiration from the likes of Sid Meier's Pirates!. We chose a first-person perspective primarily for VR support, but in both modes, it lets you appreciate the scale of your ship up-close, especially when boarding. That's why we kept to full-size recreations of real ship designs, and we've found that they fit the game remarkably well with minimal concessions for gameplay.

DiffShips.gif

Here's a quick look at the six playable ships in the game, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Of course, the low-poly art style is a bit different to what you might expect in this genre, but we chose it specifically because it looks good on any hardware, regardless of graphics settings. It has also allowed us to have a bold, colourful look and feel, which is especially evident in the ship colours. There are nearly 30 paint schemes in the game (so far), and they can all be used on any ship. That's not even counting your ship's cabin, which you will be able to customise separately.

I hope Buccaneers! has piqued your interest, and I look forward to sharing more with you all over the coming months. There might even be some exclusive benefits for PA! members, so stay tuned! :keith

I'll be happy to answer any questions below, but I've included an FAQ for the most common ones:
When does Buccaneers! launch?
We haven’t announced a specific release date yet; the game will launch when it’s ready!

Will it come to other platforms as well?
We have no other plans to announce right now, but we’re keen to explore more possibilities after the game launches.

Will the game have multiplayer?
No, Buccaneers! is a single-player game only.

What languages does the game support?
At launch, Buccaneers! will only support English text and voice-overs. We will look into localising the game for other languages post-launch.

Does it have controller support on PC?
Yes! The game works with any PC-compatible controller, including Xbox, PS4 and third-party controllers.

Don't forget to follow Skyward Digital for the latest updates!

 

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That is awesome! That animation/effect when you board a ship is really cool! :yes I wish we can incorporate something like that in PotC. And those cannon balls or chain shots like in the video can be clearly seen almost slow motion just enough for you to enjoy and or see it nicely. The sneaking with a crossbow effect is a nice touch as well even though the other guard(s) near him didn't react lol still it seems awesome and it's VR supported? I might check this out when it gets released someday :thumbs1:bow
 
That is awesome! That animation/effect when you board a ship is really cool! :yes I wish we can incorporate something like that in PotC.
This is a system I have wanted to make for a very long time! Real-time boarding was a massive pain to get working, but it's really cool in action, especially when three ships get involved...

The sneaking with a crossbow effect is a nice touch as well even though the other guard(s) near him didn't react lol still it seems awesome and it's VR supported?
Yeah, the stealth system is still a work-in-progress. :wp But yes, the entire game can be played in VR if you have a compatible headset. We'll have a new video dedicated to showing off VR mode soon.
 
Is steam workshop/mod support planned? I can see texture packs/overhauls/new locations being really popular to make.

Can you comment more on the engine/graphics api being used? Really looking forward to this!
 
Is steam workshop/mod support planned? I can see texture packs/overhauls/new locations being really popular to make.

Can you comment more on the engine/graphics api being used? Really looking forward to this!
I don't expect modding will be ready for release, but we might look into it post-launch. We're having to focus more on multi-platform optimisation and features at this stage, as mod support would take a while to implement. That doesn't mean we're against the idea, though!

We're using the Unity engine; we haven't yet done anything specific with DX11, 12 or Vulkan, but the game should support all three.
 
Thanks! We've had a very positive response so far, not just from here but on social media as well. Hopefully that will translate into more and more interest over the next few months. :dance
 
For those who are interested, I'll be posting new screenshots and videos in this thread as development progresses: WIP - Buccaneers! Screenshots and Videos
What are the odds of this game actually becoming a reality? Sadly, Pirates Ahoy! has been a graveyard for dead sea faring projects; Hearts of Oak, New Horizons Remastered, and Sea Titans are ones that come to mind. A lot of hype, enthusiasm, and build updates at first, then eventually the developers become bored or too busy, and it's deadsville soon after.
 
What are the odds of this game actually becoming a reality? Sadly, Pirates Ahoy! has been a graveyard for dead sea faring projects; Hearts of Oak, New Horizons Remastered, and Sea Titans are ones that come to mind. A lot of hype, enthusiasm, and build updates at first, then eventually the developers become bored or too busy, and it's deadsville soon after.
As @The Nameless Pirate said, this is not a volunteer project like Hearts of Oak and NHR were. I'm part of a small team working on this game as a career, and as we're aiming to sell the game on multiple platforms, it's definitely in our interest to see it through to release. ;)
 
Looks like a lot of fun. Best of luck!

Although I can't help feeling a bit disappointed each time a new pirate/nautical game is announced and is always set in the Caribbean. As I always say, and maybe it's only me, I fear the genre is stagnant because new settings are not being explored, and even very different games produce a deja vu effect with all the old tropes of palm trees, lush jungle islands, yohoho and bottles of rum, which I have nothing against but I'm getting tired of.
 
Assassin's Creed Rogue for example, is not set in the Caribbean but the majority of this type of games are set there.

Personally I like the setting, but I don't mind a bit of out of Caribbean plundering! :pflag
 
Looks like a lot of fun. Best of luck!

Although I can't help feeling a bit disappointed each time a new pirate/nautical game is announced and is always set in the Caribbean. As I always say, and maybe it's only me, I fear the genre is stagnant because new settings are not being explored, and even very different games produce a deja vu effect with all the old tropes of palm trees, lush jungle islands, yohoho and bottles of rum, which I have nothing against but I'm getting tired of.
You need to play other games once in a while then or just stick to another one for now. A non "Caribbean/Pirate/Sea Faring/Nautical/etc." type just to freshen you up.
 
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