Why Early Access?

“Salt & Storms is a deep maritime simulation with interconnected systems — sailing, trading, crew management, combat, and exploration. Early Access lets us put the core gameplay loop in players' hands while we continue adding content and polish. Player feedback on balance (trading economy, sailing difficulty, crew survival) is essential to getting the simulation right before a full release.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“6 to 12 months. The core systems (sailing, trading, combat, crew management) are complete and playable. The remaining work focuses on content expansion (more ports, quests, events, discoveries), quality-of-life improvements, and features shaped by community feedback.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“We plan to expand the game in several directions based on what players enjoy most. Areas we're exploring include more ports and trade routes, additional storylines and events, new things to discover at sea, deeper crew interactions, and more ship variety. Community feedback during Early Access will help shape which areas get the most attention. Our goal is a richer, more polished experience that grows naturally from what players tell us matters most.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The game features a complete gameplay loop: outfit your ship, hire crew, plan voyages between Caribbean ports, manage sails and crew assignments during travel, trade goods for profit, survive storms and encounters, and engage in naval combat. Current content includes 14 ports, 45+ voyage events, 16 quests, a full combat system with cannon broadsides and boarding, 150+ trade goods, pixel art visuals, and original music. Expect 5-10+ hours of gameplay in the current build.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“We plan to gradually raise the price as we ship new content and features.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We actively monitor Steam discussions and reviews for feedback on gameplay balance, feature requests, and bug reports. Community input directly influences development priorities — especially around sailing difficulty tuning, trading economy balance, and quality-of-life improvements. Patch notes are published with each update so players can follow development progress.”