An important day for our game is here! Today, November the 14th, we released Deadliest Catch: The Game in the Early Access on Steam! From now on you can purchase and play our game via Steam and participate in creating it by your feedback. :)

Like we’ve done many times before, we’d like to start with a huge thank you to our community - all the Kickstarter backers, pre-alpha testers, members of our Discord server. Your involvement, support, and feedback have been (and still are!) a tremendous help to us all. We are sure that we wouldn’t be able to do many, many things with this project if it wasn’t for you all! :)

That being said, let’s now focus on the Early Access release itself. So what has changed in comparison to the demo version that you were able to play up to this point? First of all, we implemented two important features that you were often asking about - save system and the full tutorial. As for the crew management system, the main goal of our successful Kickstarter Campaign, we are starting with the basic version of it and we will keep developing it during the Early Access period.

We expect the Early Access to last about 4 to 6 months, mostly depending on the progress with the development. Our main short-term goals for the first weeks will be polishing the current state of the game and fixing bugs reported by players and beta-testers, as well as looking into the matters pointed to us during the Kickstarter Campaign. From there on, we intend to focus on the equipment wearing off and the dynamic mechanics of the fisheries; as well as captain’s tablet that will help you manage your ship, crew, and skills (starting with the basic version of it).



But we have a lot more on the horizon. :) We’d like to bring your captain’s experience to the new level with a career mode consisting of the consequent seasons in which you will upgrade your ship and gain new skills while earning money and catching up to the AI competition. There will be a bunch of cosmetic changes, like setting the name of your captain, ship, and ship’s coloring presets; fully functional wheelhouse (with some changeable music on the radio); all the cool Kickstarter rewards (like hidden in-game messages); a pop-up information system, that will keep you posted on the situation on the Bering Sea and so on. In the meantime, we will be doing localization for various languages.

As we stated earlier, the crew system - probably the most anticipated feature - will get enriched in the future updates. We want to implement a fatigue system that will make managing your crew more advanced. Then the next step will be improving the employment system (for example allowing you to pay your crew a share of your income). Finally, we intend to make the Bering Sea more dangerous (and the catch more deadly). Waves, equipment malfunctions, ship damage … and possibly some accidents that can occur to the crewmembers.

You can check the planned Development Road Map for Deadliest Catch: The Game HERE.

Of course, we will keep you posted about the updates and the changes implemented in them. Please let us know what you think by leaving recommendations and comments on the Steam discussion pages. If you haven’t joined our Discord server yet - go for it :) It’s the best place to share your feedback or ask questions about games! Also, please report to us all the bugs you’ve encountered. The game is still in the development and some problems may (and probably will) happen at first - but we’ll do our best to deal with them as soon as we can.

See you at the Bering Sea, Captains!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/838630/Deadliest_Catch_The_Game/

Ahoy Sea Rats!
Today we are releasing Deadliest Catch: The Game.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/838630/Deadliest_Catch_The_Game/

The game will be live on steam just in few hours! Planned launch is set to 17:00 CET / 16:00 UTC / 8:00 PT.

Deadliest Catch: The Game will have a reduced price for the entire duration of Early Access. It will be 14.99 $/€.

Remember - price will be increased when Early Access will end.

Please note that the Early Access version means that the game is still under development and is NOT the final product.

The planned game development process is available here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/838630/discussions/0/1639802081893080787/

Later today, together with game launch we will release a longer update, from which you will learn more about the current state of the game and future plans.

The countdown has started!

Kind Regards,
Rafał - COO in Ultimate Games S.A.

It's almost hard to believe, but 40 days of our campaign are already gone! With the end of campaign, we have a few things to say to you all :)

The very first thing is - a great THANK YOU to you all! Thank you for backing our project, for your support, feedback, ideas and all the other ways that helped us improve our game and gave us a daily portion of a motivation boost. We won't be here with our awesome community - you guys and gals are terrific!

Now let's talk about some numbers. In the course of the campaign, we managed to raise a total of CA$ 18,937, which is approximately USD 14,497. Deadliest Catch: The Game was backed by 829 people. With your help, we managed to reach the main goal - and we can assure you, that the crew is on the way. Here's a picture to prove it :)We are doing our best to implement the crew into the game and hope to do it as soon as possible, so all of you brave captains, can set sails on the Bering Sea with a proper team of deckhands by your side.



What the future holds ahead of us? For starters, Deadliest Catch: The Game will be released in Early Access on Steam on November 14th. That means two things. First, although the game will still be in development and will get updated with the new features, everyone will be able to buy it on Steam. Second - and more important to all of you, our backers - that's the moment when we will send you Steam keys to the full version of the game on the email you have linked to your Kickstarter account.

Everyone who is supposed to become a part of the Beta-tests (based on the pledges you've chosen), will also receive a special password, that will allow you to open the Beta version of the game via Steam. Here's a short instruction on how to do it:

• Open the Steam client and navigate to your LIBRARY.
  
• Right-click on DC: TG and select 'Properties'.
  
• Click on the BETAS tab.
  
• Enter the received password
  
• Select the beta you would like to opt into through the drop-down box.
  
• You will be prompted to restart your client. After restarting, launch DC: TG to play the game with its Beta changes.

As always, if you have any questions - feel free to ask them :) Follow our Steam page to stay posted on the Early Access and further updates and join our Discord server.

Safe travels on the Bering Sea, Captains!

It’s time to share with you some fresh details of our progress with the development of the game, so here goes the brand new Devlog! This time we will tell you a little about the bait - rest assured, it’s not a click-bait though, we will discuss the actual, yummy stuff. Well... yummy for the crabs at least :)

Let’s start with some facts about our favorite sea creatures. As you may know, the crabs have an excellent sense of smell and they use it to find food - when they feel the scent of something delicious (or just acceptable - crabs’ taste is not very refined, to be honest), they will find it and dig it out of seabed or snatch it with their claws. Knowing that we can guess that some pungent bait should attract crabs perfectly. An interesting fact: not only the scent can lure the crabs towards the food, but also the sounds of other crabs already feasting on it. So once some crabs walk right into our pot, there is a good chance for a “chain reaction”. ;)



Appealing to the crabs’ sense of smell is the main idea behind the baits used by the fisherman. Although the scent needs to be intense, so it can reach crabs spread on wide territory, it’s important not to overdo it. The old, smelly fish may seem like a tempting choice in that case, but it probably won’t be as effective as we may think. Crabs can easily tell the fresh food from the old and rancid one and they will obviously choose the first one. So here’s the ground rule - “fresh bait is always the best”.

Real-life fishermen use many different kinds of fish (and not only) to prepare their bait. Fish carcass, shad, herring, clams, mink, chicken, turkey… you name it. But do crabs have some sweet-tooth for a certain kind of meat? Sure they do ;) The Red King crabs are usually baited with saury, squid, herring, sardines, and cod. When catching Opilios, on the other hand, the most popular option is the squid - it’s meat is tougher and doesn’t get devoured by sand fleas, that can live in the locations with the sandy seabed.



Now let’s talk about our approach towards the in-game baits and how exactly do they work. There are two main types of baits in Deadliest Catch: The Game - the frozen blocks of fish (saury, squid, herring and sardines) and the raw fish (cod). All baits have two parameters that will affect the outcome of our fishing efforts. Those are freshness and aromaticity. The freshness indicates how strong a given bait will attract the nearby crabs, while aromaticity influences the range, from which crabs can sense it.

We stated earlier, that the fresh meat is always better (form the crabs’ point of view for sure), but when on a boat we need to make some compromises. The dilemma of frozen vs raw bait connects to those two parameters we mentioned. The frozen bait stays appealing to the crabs for a longer period of time - either when it’s stored on the vessel or already thrown into the pot. On the other hand, it’s less aromatic. With the raw fish, it’s the other way around - it has much more aromaticity, but will go bad faster. It’s up to you Captains to figure out how to deal with them in the most efficient way! :)



The frozen and raw bait goes in the pots in different ways too. The first one often referred to as a jar bait, is stored in big blocks. Such block needs to get shredded in the grinder - the portions of minced fish fill the plastic jar that is placed in the pot afterwards. Such jars are not only containing the bait - they are releasing it slowly, so the crabs already trapped in pot don’t eat everything right away. You can prepare more jars beforehand and store them in the freezer, and they are eco-friendly and reusable. :) The raw fish - also known as a hang bait, goes directly into the pot. Although it is much more aromatic, it gets devoured pretty quickly by the crabs - first comes, first served.

In the demo version of Deadliest Catch: The Game you could only use the bait jars - but in the full version of the game, both frozen and raw bait will be available. Balancing the freshness and aromaticity of those two kinds of bait will allow you to come up with the most efficient combinations. Rember, that you can put both kinds in the same pot!



That’s about it on the bait topic. ;) We hope that you enjoyed our new Devlog and soon we will be returning with more insights from our development team! Don’t forget to join our Discord server and see you soon!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/838630/Deadliest_Catch_The_Game/

The first three weeks of our Kickstarter campaign (so slightly over a half of it) are over, so it’s time for a little roundup. In those three weeks, we managed to gather 17.968,29 CA$ (about 13,514$), thanks to the donations of 713 backers. With that support, we reached the main goal of our campaign - The Crew - on day 16! So first of all - thank you guys and gals a lot! Each and one of you helped us improve Deadliest Catch: The Game. Your huge support is also a great motivational boost for our whole team!



Our two time-limited rewards, the Early Crab and the Pioneer are gone, but they gathered a lot of interest in their time - those pledges were chosen by 174 and 91 backers respectively. Still, the biggest hit among you all is the Greenhorn reward - 237 backers and counting. ;)

Although the main goal was reached, there are many fun stretch goals that we can go for. :) The next one - Crew energy management system is only 2k CA$ away, so let’s try and make it!

Again, we’d like to invite you to our Discord server, when you can share your thoughts on the demo version of the game, your ideas for improvements and general discussion about the Kickstarter.

Until next time! :)

Support our game on Kickstarter!

Ahoy Captains! We did it! With your tremendous help, the main goal of our campaign got funded in only 14 days! That’s an awesome outcome and we have to say - we are both thankful and excited that we will get to make our game even better!

From now on, when the time to set sail on Alaskan waters comes, you won’t have to face the dangers alone. The available crew members will wait for you in the Dutch Harbor, offering their hard work for your hard-earned cash! :)

But - we still have a lot of interesting ideas and lots of time until the end of this campaign, so it’s high time to roll out our stretch goals! As you can see on the campaign page, the road map of our stretch goals appear. So let’s sink into the depths of the Bering Sea to inspect what may be found in there!



The very first stretch goal is the Energy Management system. It adds a bit of depth to the crew management system as from now on, your sailors will get tired when working straight for a longer time. And as they do, their efficiency will drop - it’s u to a wise captain to know when to push the crew to the limit and when to benefit from letting them have some well-deserved rest.

The next step is introducing an advanced economy. With banks offering loans for equipment and ship upgrades, every captain will have to make even more strategic decisions. Getting additional cash for a better start can surely help, but what’s investment will return itself the best? Which deal will help your vessel nourish and which will just make it (metaphorically speaking) sink? With this goal a whole world of new long-term decisions awaits.

The Alaskan waters are always cold - with this goal unlocked, you’ll get to feel it by yourself! Starting from this mark, due to the cold weather you’ll start seeing rime, icing, and glaciation forming on your vessel's deck, sides, and equipment. It’s getting pretty chilly now!

Finally, the new quality and the beginning of the multiplayer mode - the weekly challenge system. When we achieve this mark, we will create a multiplayer leaderboard system. Each week captains will compete in completing a fishing season with the best score. Each week the conditions will change and new dangers will await those brave enough to race for the title!

Those are perspectives arising on the horizon. Let us know which golas seem the most interesting and don’t hesitate to ask about any uncertainties! :)

Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playway/deadliest-catch-the-game

Safe travels Captains!

Ahoy Captains!

We've just received the information that the keys rescue mission was successful and we're just unpacking the package!

Steam keys for the demonstration version of the game will be sent out to all awaiting crab fishermen in just a moment and from now on will periodically be shipped at least once every 24 hours.

Have a great time crab fishing and don't forget to share your thoughts and feedback on the official Deadliest Catch: The Game server or in the comments :)

~Local Coast Guard



And just as a reminder - you can find the campaign project here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playway/deadliest-catch-the-game

And for more details and the fresh news, join our Discord server: https://discordapp.com/invite/zwTX9Mb

Thanks for all your support, brave fishermen!

Ahoy brave Captains!

The long-awaited day is finally here - Today we launch our Kickstarter Campaign for Deadliest Catch: The Game! Starting at 18:00 CEST, you can help us develop the game that we as devs can be proud of and most importantly - that you all will be able to enjoy for long hours! :)

As we told you last time, there are many rewards you can choose from. The sooner you decide to pledge, the better for you - our Early Crab option is the cheapest way to get hold of the demo version right now (we will send it to you within 24 hours!), the full version upon the release and some additional cool stuff too! And if you’re really into Deadliest Catch, in the first 72 hours you can get the Pioneer pledge - a collector’s edition at a great price. There are also some exclusive, limited rewards like The Legend of The Bering Sea, that will allow you to really leave a mark on the final version of the game - and one that everyone can see too! So be quick, before other captains snatch that title for themselves!

In any case, you will do us a great favor if you share the info about the campaign with your friends and folks - especially if you share the love for the Deadliest Catch series with them!

For a reminder - you can find the campaign project here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playway/deadliest-catch-the-game

And for more details and the fresh news, join our Discord server: https://discordapp.com/invite/zwTX9Mb

Thanks for all your support guys and gals! :) You are just great!

After long preparations, upgrades, reprogramming and bug-fixing, we can finally answer the returning question about the Kickstarter Campaign launch :) We are starting on September 16th 2019 - you can find the campaign preview here: KICKSTARTER
Don’t forget to hit the notification button, so you won’t miss all the great early-bird (or in our case - early crab) deals! Don’t hesitate to share the good news with your friends and other DC fans!

As we promised, the main goal of the campaign will be implementing the crew management mechanics in its basic form. When you’ll hire crewmen, you’ll be able to assign them to a chosen task on deck - for example setting the pots or sorting the caught crabs. As they’ll keep performing the given tasks, they’ll get better at their job, doing it faster and more efficient. Additionally, when crewmen will be free for the moment, they’ll perform secondary actions, like preparing the bait or repairing the equipment.

We have some additional features planned from the start, so they make place in the stretch-goal list. Among them, you can find improvement of the crew management mechanics (f.e. the crewmen will get tired as they work on deck) or equipment upgrades. We’ve also included one of the big features that you've often asked about - the multiplayer mode! :)

As for the campaign rewards, we’ve prepared multiple options for you. From getting a copy of the game at a better price, through access to beta-tests and digital posters, to exclusive rewards like placing hidden objects in the game or naming a captain after you - we’ve got you covered. In any case, look out for the limited early-bird (or in our case, the Early-Crab and the Pioneer) rewards, cause you’ll be able to get a sweet deal out of them.

If you haven’t done it yet, it’s high time to join our Discord community - https://discord.gg/zwTX9Mb. On the server, you can find all the fresh info, talk to the devs and share experiences with our ever-growing, crab-fishing family. :)
Talking about Discord- we have to say HUGE THANKS to the devoted pre-alpha testers that helped us with finding and fixing bugs as well as all the community members, that showed their support, suggestions and ideas - we won’t be able to create Deadliest Catch: The Game without you!

We hope you are as excited as we are and can’t wait to share our work with you all! :)