Pirate Code 2 will be an open-world, roguelite, turn-based pirate strategy game with a focus on tactical combat, exploration, and fleet customization. You can sign up to received the demo when it's available on https://circuithive.com/. You can also wishlist it on its Store Page!

We’re taking everything awesome about Pirate Code and repackaging it in more replayable form. Pirate Code was designed like an old-school Strategy RPG with a campaign that takes between 50 and 80 hours, depending on how many side quests you follow. We wanted to change that to a more digestible 5 to 20 hours and give you a host of options when you first start a playthrough. The world map, the islands, the story, and even the personalities of some characters will all be generated based on a seed. Although we love expanding Pirate Code, we couldn’t do these things without breaking the original experience. It was time for a sequel!

Let’s take a quick look at what we’re building. Keep in mind that we’re actively developing, so expect changes over time. Nothing here is guaranteed.


When we started work on Pirate Code 2, the first thing we built was the AI. The upgraded AI can handle complex situations where attacks can cause chain reactions of side effects. We've expanding the battle engine to be faster and stronger. We’re designing it to handle situations with more than one team and ships with more than two moves. We’d like to make multiplayer battles possible (both Co-Op and PVP). The UI has also been updated to give you more information to make quick decisions in the face of terrible odds. We are continuing to shun RNG combat. You will be able to see the outcome of every move before you agree to it.

In Pirate Code there are multiple ship categories that each have five ships that can be unlocked. Although the ships can get modifiers, their stats are largely set in stone. In Pirate Code 2 there’s only one ship for each category but it can be upgraded in multiple ways to create the perfect killing machine. As a ship gains levels you can expand the hull to gain more upgrade options. Cannons can have modifiers applied to them to turn them into fire cannons or draining cannons, for example. Actions will also be taught to ships without the use of captains. Ships will still need to be manned by a crew to use them in battle.

The story in Pirate Code 2 picks up a year after the end of the first game. We'll get into the details of who the Pirate King is in the coming months, but for now let's talk about how the story works. The story is designed to have a similar start and end each time you play. In the middle though the story can branch based on the decisions you make and on what generates in the world based on the seed. Our goal is to make something that can continue to expand as we release new content long after Pirate Code 2 goes live. This will allow you to play multiple times and still have unexpected things happen. You can expect more news on the story in the coming months.

One of the driving forces behind making a playthrough much, much smaller was to be able to allow you to play through a world, get a reward, and then use that reward to purchase permanent improvements for all future fleets. This fits better with our indie team style of adding contents after the game has been released. When you die, you'll have the option to take your rewards earned so far and abandon the world or spend some of them to respawn. We're very interested in feedback to this system.



Circuit Hive is a small group of indie developers, so setting dates is often counterproductive for us. However, we do have some milestones we hope to reach and this announcement was the first one. Next is a fully-playable demo of Pirate Code 2 which will be available for free! You can sign up to receive a message when the demo is available on our website. And of course, you can wishlist it on the Steam Page!

Thank you for supporting us!

This is a minor update that updates the Mac executable so that it works better on modern devices. Minimum OS version is now MacOS 10.13.

This is a minor update to fix typos and update the executable for newer versions of the OS.

We've added four new items to the games in the form of playing cards. Each card allows you to do something different with the ship upgrades that you couldn't do before. You can find these cards in battle or in various shops throughout the game.

• Joker's Folly - Undo a ship upgrade and get your key back!
  
• Queen's Choice - Choose the upgrade you get from a small treasure chest!
  
• King's Decree - Choose the upgrade you get from a large treasure chest!
  
• Ace of Keys - Instantly gain a level and get an upgrade key!

We hope these new items encourage you to experiment with ship upgrades without the fear of ruining a good ship. These cards will be easier to get later in the game and should allow you to craft that perfect killing machine for the final battles. And for those of you still stuck in the first chapter, well, a lucky card drop might be just what you need.

If you've followed this game for long, you know that we make regular improvements to the AI. For this update we fixed an important memory leak in the AI that was causing long load times after battles later in the game. In addition, we further improved the AI removing any possible redundant calculations. For example, the most extreme case is with a Cargo Fin in using a level 3 Torpedo Boost. Previously this would require the AI to check 5124 tiles. Now it only checks 2562 tile. This is still slow but it's much faster. In most cases the AI will only wait about a second before attacking.



When using the Botany Balloon to gather plants, there are now icons displayed on the tiles to show you what you can get. This makes the whole experience much more enjoyable! We've also added some oriental themed building and props to the land. And we improved the look of the ship on the world map!

• Added four card items that allow the player to better control ship upgrades.
  
• Improved the AI so that it is faster, especially for torpedo attacks.
  
• Added a portrait for Commander Franklin and several other characters, including a generic pirate and crew member.
  
• We now detect if you're using a touch screen and hide the mouse cursor automatically.
  
• The graphics for the Fire Shield have been upgraded.
  
• Improved the botany experience by adding icons to tiles so that you can see what items you'll get before moving to a tile. No more blindly chopping at the jungle!
  
• The world map camera now zooms out while you're moving, making it easier to avoid enemy ships.
  
• The ships on the world map have been upgrade with new graphics!
  
• The circles surrounding ships on the world map now fade out until they are close to your ship.
  
• Pagodas and other oriental themed props and buildings have been added to the Zen Empire islands.
  
• When a ship is targeting the anchor command and you click another ship, it will now auto-anchor the ship. Even we forget to anchor a ship sometimes! Well no more!
  
• There's now an option to single-click usable actions (instead of one click to arm and a second to use). This is off by default.
  
• There is now a visible way to skip dialogs making it more obvious that they can be skipped.
  
• Added the Argonian Theme music to a handful of Argonian islands. This music was written long ago and appears in the sound track, but hasn't been in the game until now.
  
• We painted a new marketing image for Pirate Code! It doesn't actually appear in the game, but still worth mentioning.
  
• Fixed a bug where turning off the sound effects would not end looping sound effects.
  
• Fixed a bug where the balloon would not count as a ship for auto ending the turn or tabbing between ships in battle.
  
• Fixed a bug exiting a botany challenge and going to the title screen would leave the starting botany makers on the screen.
  
• Fixed a bug where if Rise of the Kraken is purchased and you play the tutorial, Swanson would go to the wrong tab in the Mission Log.
  
• Fixed a bug where a surprise kraken attack could cause a ship to become unresponsive.
  
• Fixed a bug where ships would appear to reach level 11. Unfortunately there is no level 11.
  
• Fixed a bug where there was no way to hire Chinor Maan as a crew member.

Enjoy the update!

This is a hotfix update for Mac users only (windows users will remain at 1.7.0.b for now). It fixes a serious bug that was occurring on Macs with retina displays.

It's time for the Kraken to Rise! Circuit Hive has been hard at work for the better part of the is year putting together an awesome expansion to Pirate Code and it's finally ready!



This update is not just the expansion. It includes changes to the base game as well. Everyone can find and fight wild krakens. If you want to raise your own krakens then you'll want to buy Rise of the Kraken. Krakens are a powerful new unit in the Pirate Code world that have a full arsenal of completely new moves!



Krakens start with a basic Strike attack. They can also shoot ink that covers enemies. Enemies with ink on them can't move for a turn or two. One of the most powerful moves the kraken has is an instant death move called Crush. And a well rounded kraken also has a move called Healing Wave that can heal several ships in a line.

We've re-written portions of the battle engine to make this possible including a more powerful and more intelligent AI. Here's a complete list of what's new in 1.7:

• Rise of the Kraken Expansion is available with this update!
  
• Ship Upgrades that buff against monsters
  
• A new ship upgrade called Relentless that prevents a ship's morale from falling below half.
  
• Improved AI
  
• Fixed a bug where island locations with locks did not move their percent numbers.
  
• Fixed the long standing black screen wait after battles that happened later in the game.
  
• Fixed cursor bugs on PC and Mac (Mac build coming)
  
• Defeat screen can now be closed with mouse
  
• Fixed a bug where the life bars would toggle on and off
  
• You can now move around the world map with the mouse!
  
• And many bugs!

As usual, please report any problems you encounter on the forums and we will fix them in lightning fast speed! The Mac build of this update is not ready yet, but we are working on it and we expect to release it soon.

Thanks for playing Pirate Code!

Announcing the first major expansion for Pirate Code, Rise of the Kraken! Here at Circuit Hive, we've been hard at work building these monstrous cephalopods for months and we're finally ready to fill you in on what's coming. Rise of the Kraken will revolve around the mysterious return of the dreaded kraken! Driven from the ocean long ago by the Molo, the Kraken is regarded as one of the most evil of sea creatures because of its violent nature - which is a great reason to raise your own!

Rise of the Kraken will include content added to the game for all players, like wild kraken encounters. Players who purchase the expansion will be able to raise their own kraken and use it in their fleet as a ship. In fact, you can raise as many kraken as you want, but you can only use a number of kraken in your fleet equal to the number of captains you've unlocked. Krakens are not exactly like ships. If you lose all of your actual ships then you will lose the battle, even if you have surviving krakens. Even a well-trained kraken needs its handlers to stay in the fight!

Players who purchase the Rise of the Kraken will also be able to follow a secondary campaign that runs parallel to the main campaign. Discover who's behind the sudden return of the kraken to the ocean and thwart their dark plans! We're designing this secondary campaign to be challenging to those who've already completed Pirate Code as well.

But wait! There's more!

There will also be specialty flags, icons and ship colors available in Rise of the Kraken. Players will also have an opportunity to gain an additional 10 crew and compete in kraken-themed challenges. There will also be a kraken item set to collect.

Expect more information from us in the future! For now, go wishlist Rise of the Kraken and tell us what you think in the comments. We take community feedback very seriously.

Rise of the Kraken Store Page

Follow yer code!

It's spring and it's time to clean out those cobwebs! We've been hard at work here cleaning up the most requested pain-points in Pirate Code.

You've always been able to rename your fleet just by clicking on the name in the flag editor, but the ships were a different story. There were reasons for this. Ships all need unique names as well as other special criteria that need to be checked. With this update we worked through that and you can now click on the ship's name on the detail screen if you'd like to change it.



Previously, when you viewed locked items in a store, the amount of island liberation needed to unlock those items would be displayed in parenthesis after the name. Unfortunately, this took a lot of space, and as many of you have pointed out, the names would often be so long that they would flow into other elements on the screen. To fix this problem, we've replaced the original lock with one that has the unlock percent written directly on it. The new lock appears in several places, sometimes with no percent at all. Let us know what you think!



Here's what we've cooked up for this update:

• Ships can now be renamed.
  
• Feedback has been improved when you try to name a ship the same name as an existing ship.
  
• Lock Icons now show percents on them to show when they unlock.
  
• Ships can no longer appear inside an island. If you see one, take a screen shot and post it up for us to take a look at.
  
• The Whale's Diamond Cannon attack was not draining enemy ships correctly. This has been fixed and applied as hot fix 1.6.6b.
  
• Added a new font to be used for the loading screen.
  
• We've picked up a new programmer! He's been added to the credits.

We've been hard at work making some exciting new content! We'll be posting about it in the weeks to come. Stay tuned!

From intense battles with angry ghost pirates to relaxing fishing trips, Pirate Code has it all and composer Philip Robinson wrote the music to match. Until now you had to fight through scores of pirates to hear that intense final boss music, but all that has changed! We are happy to announce that the Original Soundtrack for Pirate Code is now available through Steam! There's 16 tracks that cover every pirate experience that you could throw a dagger at. What's more, it's on sale now!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1275900/Pirate_Code_Soundtrack/

Since the early days, the controls for the camera have been a hotly discussed feature of Pirate Code. There have been suggestions to change the mouse cursor at the screen's edge to show that the camera can move and more than one person has suggested using the arrow keys to move the camera, which means they never tried since the arrow keys DO move the camera. Some users have suggested that if the camera was just zoomed out a little that there would be no need to move it at all. It was time to address these concerns!



Personally, having worked on Pirate Code for years, I can say that I was comfortable with the arrows keys or wasd keys moving the camera. It wasn't until I had a chance to try Pirate Code on a touch screen that I realized how badly I wanted to just move the camera by dragging anywhere on the screen. So that's where we started. The results were a more fluid experience that will feel natural to anyone. It feels just as natural with a mouse and I've quickly adjusted to using it as the only way to move the camera. Also at user request, the middle and right mouse buttons also move the camera. So if you're use to moving the camera with a different button, those will work as well. There's an added benefit to using a different button too since there's no chance of accidentally clicking on a ship.

Here's a full list of ways the camera can be moved:

• Moving the mouse to the edge of the screen
  
• Using the arrow keys or wasd keys
  
• Dragging anywhere on the screen with the left, center, or right mouse buttons

As noted in the introduction, the camera might not need to move if you just could zoom out a little. Well now you can! If you're using a mouse, you can zoom out by simply using the scroll wheel. If you prefer the keyboard, then the +/- keys next to the zero (above the letters, not on a keypad) will zoom in and out. The zero key will reset the camera to normal. Finally, if you're using a touch screen, you can zoom in and out using the pinch gesture. This is new territory for Pirate Code, so please let us know in the forums if you have any problems with these new controls.



Naturally there were other changes as well and here's a complete list:

• Camera movement controls
  
• Camera zoom controls
  
• Camera now zooms to a specific setting on enemy turns and returns to the player's setting when finished. This better denotes the start and stop of enemy turns.
  
• Fixed a bug where music and/or sound effects where not being set to lower volumes as per the options when restarting the game. Released as hot fix 1.6.5b.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused a crash if the player tried to sell the first ship named Shadow Drift. You can now sell it if you so choose. Released in the hot fix 1.6.5b.
  
• Changed the color of the tiles when using Full Sails from green to blue to prevent confusing it with the movement phase.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause the life bar to display the wrong bar size (numbers were not affected) if the ship lost and gained life at roughly the same time such as using drain on ships with vengeance.
  
• Fixed a bug where the morale bars would change back to blue despite the ship having high morale.
  
• Fixed a long list of typos

This update is available now for PC! Mac version will be following within a few days.