Hello everyone,

First and foremost, thanks for the patience. It’s been a very long time since we’ve made any announcements and we’re sorry we've been so quiet. Many conversations, a lot of work and changes have been taking place. We’re finally ready to make some important announcements about the future direction of Maelstrom.


The first thing is that we have a release window of Summer 2019. We don’t have a precise date but will update as we get closer.

Since we have a lot to talk about we will do it in different updates over the coming weeks. Each week, we will provide details on a particular feature or system.

We will also be providing an updated roadmap soon.


This week’s topic is MATES!

Mates are currently heavily RNG based, and while the system works quite well for the first couple weeks of play, there are a few problems with it:

• The RNG nature means that players do not feel a good sense of progression. After a player obtains a few good mates, it becomes much harder to make any real progress and interest can wane.
  
• Some players get 5 Star mates early, others play for a hundred hours and do not get any at all.
  
• Players are incentivized to use their best mates, rather than being able to experiment with different builds.
  
• Players end up with dozens of useless mates.

Upon release, the mates themselves will be functionally similar, however, how you earn them, and what you do after you have them will be different.

The earning rates for mates will be reduced. Players will no longer get mates constantly - instead, earning mates will be more rare. However, players will be able to level up mates by using GOLD. Leveling mates will increase their stats - similar to if you had obtained them at a higher level in the first place.

This will directly reduce the number of mates you get, but make the mates you own much more meaningful. When you find a mate with a combination of stats you want to try out, you can level them up to do so instead of hoping for a higher level version of them to drop.


You will still have the opportunity to find mates that are higher level right off the bat, though they will be rarer. Mates are still found in Chests which determine the level of the mate choices inside.

Chest will also have an automatic chance to upgrade to the next level.

For example, if you earn a Level 1 Mate Chest, all mates inside will be Level 1, but if you are lucky, it can get upgraded to a Level 2 Mate Chest, which means all the mates inside will be Level 2. Or you might get really lucky and it upgrades again to a Level 3 Mate Chest, and so on. The likelihood of it leveling up to Level 5 will be low, but it can technically happen.


We are also expanding on Mates with some new features. We wanted to give mates more personality and interest beyond just providing static stats, and, so mates themselves are also getting an upgrade at Level 4 and 5.



When a mate reaches Level 4, they will unlock a new ability called a Trait.

Traits are situational abilities that apply or trigger only during certain situations.

When a mate reaches Level 5, they will unlock another new ability called a Set Bonus (we will probably give it a cooler name before launch).

Set Bonuses will be similar to existing passive and Tier X ship abilities, and are active if all 3 mates you have equipped have the same Set Bonus.



You will also be able to reroll these traits and set bonuses if you do not like the ones the Mate came with.

The combination of these two additional characteristics will both enhance the strategic and gameplay implications of mates as well as make earning mates interesting for a longer period of time.

We will launch with a good number of Traits and Set Bonuses to start, and we plan to add more in the future, opening up new possibilities and giving you new content to chase.


We are also introducing the concept of Mercenaries.



Mercenaries will level up the same way as regular mates, and have access to Traits and Set Bonuses, and they won’t be stronger than regular mates. So what makes them different then?

• Mercenaries will be usable for any race. They will still have a type such as Gunner, but you will be able to use them on a ship of any race.
  
• Mercenaries will have stat amounts and combinations not normally available to normal Mates - for example, you might see a Gunner that reduces Reload Time.
  
• Mercenaries will have access to stats currently not available to Mates.
  
• Mercenaries may also come with some negative stats in order to balance out their unique array of stats - for example, a Mercenary Shipwright that gives you more Hull than a Normal Shipwright may reduce your ship’s Top Speed as a result.
  
• Unlike regular mates, the Traits and Set Bonuses on Mercenaries are available right from the start.

Typically, Mercenaries will only be available to be earned in limited windows. We plan to have a few Mercenaries you can earn at any point in time, and while it’s possible for them to re-appear at a later date, if you really want one of them it’s best to earn it while it’s there.

~

That’s it for this week’s update.

We’re very excited about these upcoming changes and we hope you are as well. We welcome any and all feedback and constructive criticism.

Next time, we’ll go in depth regarding Quests. Look forward to it!

Sincerely,
Your Maelstrom team

Have you or a friend been waiting for a sale to pick up Maelstrom? Maelstrom is now Bundled with these other titles with a discount for purchasing all of them in one go!


We are also happy to announce that we have joined forces with other seafaring titles in the Pirate "AAAAR!" bundle.




The bundle has a number of naval/pirate games for all you seafarers looking for a holiday deal:

• Maelstrom
  
• Tempest
  
• Windward
  
• Sid Meier's Pirates!
  
• Braveland Pirate
  
• Shadowhand

We are still hard at work on the Undead fleet and the Progression features. We will be sharing more details about these in the near future.

In the meantime, here are some sneak peeks at what we’ve been working on! There's so much more to come as we hurtle towards full release.

Concept Art for Dread, the Undead Battleship


Undead Mates


Medals


Quests

We have corrected an issue with some players experiencing corrupted settings and getting a "Fatal Error" message during authentication.

Please note that this does mean everyone's equipped items had to be wiped, but no progress has been reset or lost.

NOTE: All loadouts have been reset due to some data updates we needed to do for future systems. You have not lost any mates/captains, but you will need to re-assign them.

BUGS
- Fixed a bug where Fog would cause screen flickering in some situations
- Fixed a bug where the game crashing or erroring during the End Game screen would cause the player to not get the gold from the match
- Fixed an issue with some effects on an enemy ship would appear to the player even if that ship was not visible
- Fixed an issue with the tutorial where the maelstrom would sometimes be invisible
- Improved armor quadrant calculations that could cause ramming to register on the wrong quadrants

GENERAL
- All maps now have multiple Maelstroms locations that are populated randomly
- Fog volumes have multiple spawn locations that are populated randomly
- Currents are now randomized in direction
- Improved current visuals
- Reworked Dead Waters system completely for consistency and balance
- Dead Waters is now circular and closes in a circular manner
- Dead Waters display on the minimap updated to increase clarity
- Added underwater ambient creatures on the Vaults
- Minimap updates to various maps
- Lighting updates to various maps
- Brinemaw has additional behaviors and animations including the ability to pick up ships and eat them
- Bots' AI have been further improved and should grab pickups with better consistency, as well as gained the ability to actively avoid Dead Waters
- Murkwater Thrashers now have an audio cue when they are nearby

MATES
- Bosun 1: Hull and Armor Resist range increased to 15-25% from 5-15%
- Bosun 2: Critical Resistance range increased to 5-20% from 1-15%, Ramming Resistance range increased to 15-30% from 5-15%
- Master Gunner 1: Max Firing Delay range increased to 0.2-0.35s from 0.1-0.25s
- Master Gunner 2: Firing Accuracy range increased to 0.3-0.45 from 0.1-0.25
- Cook 2: Combat Flag Duration range increased to 40-55% reduction from 10-20% reduction

It’s time for a Maelstrom update!

To begin, let’s talk about short-term stuff that’s coming in the next patches or two.

The gameplay has proven out and having that base established means we can add more layers on top of it to make matches more engaging and less predictable.

EMERGENT SYSTEMS
One of the biggest pieces that we’re working on is what we call “Emergent Systems.” We want to make each match played feel more unique and dynamic by introducing variable elements that impact the map and the way it’s played when they show up. We’re currently finishing the first batch of these systems:

For example there’s a storm mechanic that will cause brooding storm clouds to appear over time, making the sea much choppier and reducing sightlines. Another is Maelstroms now begin at different locations throughout the map instead of it being just a static element. Currents have also been touched and now have varying paths, and directions. There are also invasion events that may occur during matches, more on those later.





BRINEMAW
We recently reworked Brinemaw’s AI and he now patrols the waters, but we want him to do more. We’ve added a new attack where Brinemaw will pick up a nearby ship and literally bite it in half. We are also upgrading the AI so that we have more levers to adjust when and how he decides to attack players. These upgrades also lay the foundation for the new sea monster we’re adding in the near future.

DEAD WATERS
The Dead Waters mechanic is also getting an overhaul. It will now close in a circular pattern, which should provide a more predictable and more consistent experience in the end-game and avoiding the strange shapes that sometimes occur now. We are also playing with different display options for the mechanic on the minimap, as we know that some players have a hard time seeing when/where the Dead Waters are occuring.

MATES
We are also in the middle of a Mates review, focusing particularly on Defensive Mates. We know that some Mate types are much more useful than other and want to increase the variety and options that player have.



In the longer term, we have a lot of exciting stuff. It’d be too much to go through everything now, but here are some highlights:

GAMEPLAY
We’ve mentioned some examples of some Emergent Systems stuff that we are already working on, but we have a lot of more of these planned and hope you will have fun discovering and seeing them for yourselves in game! Look for things like dynamic weather effects such as lightning strikes, water spouts, as well as more involved things such as NPC Treasure fleets.



We are also working on new Sea Monsters to cause further mayhem.

SHIP CUSTOMIZATION
One of the most requested features by players is the ability to customize ships. We are doing it! We won’t give too much away, but in addition to ship skins, look forward to decals, adornments, and more fanfare that occurs when you sink an enemy ship! Oh, and lifeboats with cannons and taunts, because who doesn’t want to be able to fire offal and curse at the gloating sea-flea that sunk your ship and sailed off with all those hard earned boons?

MEDALS
We have also been working on a Medal system designed to give reward players with shiny things to show off when players achieve cool/epic moments during matches.

Examples:

• Tenacious: Sink the last 5 enemy ships and win
  
• Double Strike: Sink 2 enemy ships with the same volley
  
• Opportunistic: Sink an enemy ship by causing them in fall into the Maelstrom

EVENTS
We will also be introducing Events. These will be limited time Quests with their own reward tables for completing the objectives.

Example:
Bourgan the Dwarven Merchant loves trout above all other food, and will handsomely reward anyone who collects enough trout for him.

Trout will randomly spawn on the maps during matches. Collect them by sailing to them. Be careful, however, as all other players will be competing for the same fish!

Rewards

• Collect 50 Fish for the Title, “The Fisherman”
  
• Collect 200 Fish for the Lifeboat Skin: “Dwarven Fishing Boat”
  
• Collect 500 Fish for the Unique 5-Star Mate: “Bourgan”

EPIC QUESTS
For those who love the chase, we have designed Epic Quests. These will be a sequence of increasingly more difficult tasks that lead to an exclusive reward. More details to come.


Finally, we want to thank every one of you that’s shown us love and support as we grow Maelstrom and march it towards full release. There’s lots of fun to come and we’re so glad you’re on board for the ride!

Your Maelstrom team <3

Get ready for the biggest Maelstrom patch yet!

With this update, we are releasing the highly anticipated Team Mode featuring 3 man teams. We have made improvements to the party flow which will also allow you to queue for Team Mode even when you are solo or in a duo. You will be automatically merged with other players to form 3 man teams. We have also updated the way loot is distributed in Team Mode to be evenly divided among all team members.

In addition, we have also added the ability to update keybindings for Mouse and Keyboard users, as well as the ability to turn off motion blur.



The patch also comes with an update to bots. Bots will now have more power via hardpoints and even grab pickups. No more easy pickings!

And last but not least, we have also added a brand new map called "The Vaults."





In addition, we have the usual buffet of balance changes and bug fixes as well.

View the full patchnotes in-game or on the forums:here.

We are hard at work putting together the next patch, in the meantime, please check out this awesome interview the Critically Awakward did with our very own theRotmaw for some insider information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am22TjT3tTA

This week's update includes several initiatives.

First, we have made some improvements to the Mate flow, particularly around discharging mates.



With this update, you now have the ability to take Gunpowder currency instead of choosing one of the available mates, as well as discharge all 1 or 2 Gem mates at once.

Secondly, we have begun to do additional work on the maps. Map 2 has been overhauled. There are new art assets and there has also been structural changes to the map in some places such as additional tunnels (which should help traversal around the bigger islands especially for slower ships).



Finally, the patch also includes a number of balance fixes.

The most notable of these is that we have completed a Captain's audit and updated many of them.

Balance Highlights Include:

• Fade's trick is a disruptive snare that makes ships lose control
  
• Brick's mines now chase after enemy ships when they get too close
  
• Adjusted some of the math and related stats around boarding to fix some high damage edge cases

View the full patchnotes in-game or on the forums here.

You have been asking for something to do with your extra mates, and we have delivered.

We have introduced a brand new currency type called Gunpowder which can be obtained by dismissing crew. Expect the interface/flow for all this stuff to be improved in the future, but we wanted to get this feature out as soon as possible for all you hoarders out there :)

For the time being, the only use for Gunpowder is to purchase a new random mate, but expect this currency to be used in other systems as they come online.

This patch also introduces several noteworthy bug fixes, including:

• Ship loadouts not saving in some cases
  
• Certain Settings such as resolution not saving
  
• Addressed some ramming inconsistencies

Lastly, the patch also adjusts a number of parameters on the ships, including nerfing Tidebreaker, Thunderhead and Ashborne, while buffing the Orc ships as well as Fury's Hold (the latter of which may have been overtuned, we're monitoring it closely).

View the full patchnotes in-game or on the forums here.

We have introduced a couple of changes to improve your mate earning experience, including an all new feature!

First, we adjusted the rewards for playing a game so that Ranks 4 to 6 will also earn a mate.

Second, when you earn a mate, you will now get a choice of 3 mates from which you can select one.



What do you think of these features?

Feel free to leave a note here, or join the discussion on our forums.