Major Update v0.8.1 - Public Test Begins!
We're excited to share the next step in our journey with you! Major Update v0.8.1.1282 is packed with new features, improvements, and fixes based on your feedback. From switchgear cabinet gameplay, more missions, time skip/voting in multiplayer sessions, to expanded cargo items, buoy upgrades, and ship enhancements — there's a lot to explore. Join the public test and help us polish this update as we move closer to the next big milestone!
To avoid any potential issues, we strongly recommend that you back up your save files before switching to the Public Test version v0.8.1!
To find your Steam for Ships At Sea saves:To try the PUBLIC TEST, please follow these steps:
- Press Win + E
- Paste %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Sas\Saved\SaveGames into the search bar.
- Open Steam
- Right-click on Ships At Sea in your library
- Select Properties
- Go to the Betas tab
- Enter the password: SaSPublicTest
- Choose "public_test" from the "Beta participation" drop-down list
- Wait for the game to update the files (if nothing happens, restart the Steam client)
- Launch the game
Voting Time Skip Now Available
The eagerly awaited Time Skip feature for multiplayer sessions is here! Players can now interact with the clock gauge in the wheelhouse to initiate a vote for time skipping. After selecting the desired time, all players in the session will receive a request to vote. If the majority agrees, the time will skip as chosen - perfect for moving through the day together at a faster pace!
This voting system also lays the foundation for future features such as adjusting wave size and weather conditions during a session, as well as the ability to teleport to different locations— all aimed at giving players in single- and multiplayer sessions more control.
New NPC System in Development
We’ve officially started working on our new NPC system! The system is designed to bring ports and ships to life with NPC characters moving around, performing tasks, and eventually offering the potential for conversations to receive missions.
The NPC system will also cover crew management onboard ships, allowing players to assign tasks to their crew members. However, the entire system is still a work in progress.
- With update v0.8.1, you’ll see the first step: NPC characters walking around ports and performing various animations.
- Crew NPC will be introduced in upcoming updates once the first iteration of the task assignment system is completed.
As a sneak peek — yes, some of our NPC´s are already squeezing in their daily workouts. Gotta stay in shape for all the heavy lifting jobs!
New Mission System and Returning Missions
Previously disabled missions, such as the cleanup and burning boat missions, are making their return! These have been fully integrated into our new mission system, which lays the foundation for future company missions, global events and dynamic world interactions, as well as personal missions. We're moving away from the old system where all missions had to be accepted from the office. Now, missions like the burning boat event will appear dynamically in the world, making the experience feel more alive and immersive, so keep an eye out!
Additionally, we’ve introduced two new missions, fishing with a Jigger. Previously disabled missions, such as the seamarker and whale watching, will also return in upcoming updates, with further improvements.
We are only scratching the surface. More exciting changes and new, challenging missions, especially for the service ship operator, are on the way! The mission system will continue to evolve, bringing more variety, advanced mission types, and an enhanced reward system to keep gameplay fresh and rewarding over time.
Thrusters Now Available on Tier 3 Service and Cargo Ships
The eagerly awaited thrusters have been added to the Tier 3 service and cargo ships, providing better manoeuvrability in ports and tight spaces. You can control the thrusters using Shift + A/D for precise lateral movement when docking or manoeuvring. The vintage Tier 3 fishing ship does not feature thrusters, staying true to its original real-world design.
Currently, the Tier 3 service and cargo ships are equipped with bow thrusters. Stern thrusters will be introduced starting with Tier 4 ships, as the actual ship blueprints from our new, unannounced license partners support their implementation.
Improved Gutting Experience
We’ve made several improvements to the fish gutting system to make the process more enjoyable.
Previously, a single fish in your inventory could weigh several tons, making the gutting task feel unrealistic and overwhelming. We’ve now split large fish into smaller units, allowing for a smoother and more manageable gutting experience, especially when dealing with big catches.
Gutting now works reliably regardless of where you perform the task onboard, whether you're out at sea or docked at port, ensuring consistent results no matter your location.
In addition, we’ve improved the gutting UI and introduced a new gutting knife, giving the process a more hands-on and immersive feel. While animations are currently missing, they’re part of our future plans and will be added once the underlying mechanics are fully completed and polished, not only for gutting, but for gameplay systems across Ships at Sea.
Gutting also supports gamepad input, though we’re aware that the keybindings don’t always update to reflect gamepad prompts. This is on our radar, and improvements are planned for upcoming updates.
Main Power Switchboard Now Functional
The Main Power switchboard, located in the technical rooms of your Tier 3 and Tier 2 ships, is now operational! Circuit breakers will now degrade over time, with a random lifespan ranging from 60 to 90 days.
All three circuit breakers can be replaced if needed, and players can now interact with them to enable or disable connected systems. At this stage, a broken circuit breaker will only affect your boat’s lighting — the breakers for instruments and equipment will be connected in upcoming updates.
Players can screw and unscrew circuit breakers using a drill, remove broken units from the switchboard, and install replacements. New circuit breakers can be purchased at the tool shop in the port.
- Circuit breakers have different states.
- Any player can replace a completely broken circuit breaker.
- Only players with the electrician skill can repair a circuit breaker that has overheated.
Pro tip: Please check the switchboard first if you encounter lighting issues on your ship before reaching out to our support. And always good to keep a flashlight equipped... You never know when you might be left in the dark!
New Longline Setter on Tier 2 Fishing Boat
The Tier 2 fishing boat has received an upgrade with a new longline setter from our license partner, Lorentzen Hydraulikk. Another step toward making your fishing operations even more realistic!
Double Longline Setter Now Working on Tier 3 Fishing Ship
The Tier 3 fishing ship’s double longline setter is now fully functional! You can prepare and load two longline buckets onto the setter, deploy the first longline, and once completed, immediately deploy the second. This will make your fishing operations more efficient and flexible out at sea!
New Net Sizes Added
Three new net sizes — 180m, 210m, and 250m — are now available. These larger nets will allow you to catch more fish at once, making your fishing operations more efficient. Get ready to expand your gear options and improve your fishing strategies!
Upgradable Buoys Now Available
We are also introducing new buoys for commercial fishing — and now they can be upgraded! Players can purchase and customize their buoys with different options, including:
- One flag or two flags
- Flags and lights for better visibility during nighttime or rough sea conditions
These upgrades will make it easier to spot and haul your gear while out at sea!
Yes, you can also share buoys, longlines, baits, and nets with your company members via the company inventory, making it easier to support each other while fishing, without needing to head back to port.
Currently, buoys and gear do not have a limited lifespan, unlike in our previous commercial fishing titles, where gear could degrade or drift. Additionally, giving you, as a player, a sense of timing when deciding the best moment to haul in their gear. However, we’re committed to bringing back that same level of realism. Once the fish habitat and the PingMe system are complete, players will be able to track their gear, even in challenging conditions.
Looking further ahead, we also plan to bring back systems that add more depth and strategy to commercial fishing gameplay:
- Seasonal fishing will influence catch sizes
- A fish quota system will encourage players to plan and rig their boats strategically for specific species
- Bait types will affect which fish are attracted
- Fish reproduction will play a role in long-term population health and sustainable fishing
- Potential for a more dynamic fish habitat system, reducing the need to return to the same fishing spots repeatedly
- And a dynamic economy will cause fish prices to fluctuate based on supply and demand
All of this is part of our goal to deliver an authentic and evolving fishing experience in the future — combining the best of what players loved in our past titles with new flexibility in both single-player and multiplayer modes, along with the expanded depth made possible by Ships at Sea.
New World Map and Icons
A new world map and updated icons are now available. These changes enhance the overall navigation experience, making important locations — both at the port and out on the ocean — easier to identify while exploring the world.
We've introduced a new filter system, allowing you to easily hide or show specific icons for a cleaner and more customized map view. Port-related icons, such as the fishery, shipyard, and more, will now appear as you zoom in, making navigation and orientation while exploring the port on foot much easier.
Additionally, by hovering over the boat icon, you can view the current list of crew members onboard your ship. We've also added player name tags, so you can easily identify your teammates during multiplayer sessions. Currently, these tags cannot be disabled or hidden; however, we plan to add this option in a future update once the new options menu is implemented.
As we continue to roll out the new and first iteration of the UI in stages, we are also ensuring it works with gamepad input. However, full gamepad controller support is planned to be completed with version 0.9. The goal is to have the game automatically detect whether you are using a gamepad or mouse/keyboard based on your last input action. UI prompts (such as button icons) will instantly switch between gamepad and mouse/keyboard displays, ensuring a seamless experience.
Fish Labels Added to Blue Containers
The blue containers located along the Tier 3 fishing ship's fish production line are now equipped with fish labels. The labels help players sort different fish types into the correct containers, making fish management easier and keeping fishing operations more organized.
Welcome TruckSim.fm as a Default Radio Channel
Enjoy a variety of music and community broadcasts while out at sea, making your time on board even more enjoyable!
Functional Locker for Character Customization
The locker in the shipyard is now functional, allowing you to customize your character’s appearance at any time during the game. Change your look between tasks and get ready for the adventures that await you at sea!
This is just the first iteration - we plan to offer more customization options in the future, once we've improved the character models and systems.
New Licence Partner Melbu Systems for the Fish Production Line
We’re officially introducing our new license partner and the first parts of the Melbu Systems for the fish production line on the Tier 3 fishing ship. This is just the beginning — further expansions are already planned for major updates v0.9 and v1.0, bringing the Melbu Systems to Tier 4 and Tier 5 fishing ships as we continue to expand and enhance the fish processing experience!
New Welcome Screen Added
A new welcome screen has been added when starting a new game. It should provide a smoother introduction and help set the stage for your journey at sea!
Tier 1 Boat Prices Adjusted for a Smoother Start
We have reduced the prices of the Tier 1 fishing and service boats, so that all Tier 1 vessels now fall within the same price category. This change aims to provide new players with a more balanced and accessible starting point when embarking on their journey in Ships at Sea.
The rowboat, which was previously seen as the default starting vessel, now serves a different purpose. It’s a slower, more relaxed option — perfect for players who want to enjoy the scenery, take on a few jigging missions, or deliver a small cargo (it only holds one!) to the nearest port.
In short, the rowboat is now a peaceful choice for light tasks, while the updated Tier 1 boats offer a more practical and efficient start for newcomers ready to dive into core gameplay.
Stackable Containers are now implemented on the Tier 3 cargo ship
This improvement allows for better space management and more efficient cargo operations on board.
In addition, a winch rope has been attached to the crane hook, making it easier to extend and handle loads. These upgrades help streamline cargo work and make ship operations smoother and more efficient.
Since we're using a physics-based system to deliver an alive and authentic maritime experience, some cargo items may occasionally jigger when picked up or clip through surfaces. These issues are known, and we're fully committed to improving the overall physics and crane handling in future updates.
New Cargo Items Added
New cargo items are now available to expand the mission and cargo handling variety. Several medium-sized and large cargo assets have been added, providing players with more types of goods to transport and new challenges in managing space on board.
Boat cleaning in Shipyard is Functional Again
Boat cleaning at the shipyard is now fully functional again. Keep your vessel looking sharp and well-maintained before setting off on your next adventure at sea. When you clean more than half of the surface with the power washer, the boat will be registered as completely clean.
New Mast Crane and Improved Crane handling
We have improved the Tier 2 crane with an extendable cable hook for better cargo handling.
The Tier 3 fishing ship is now equipped with a fully functional mast crane! It’s another step toward making your onboard operations more immersive and giving you greater control over cargo and equipment handling at sea.
Equipping the ship with a mast crane is also the first step toward enabling fish unloading operations directly from storage — a feature planned for future updates!
Improved Ship Handling: Multi-Rudder & Propeller Support, Engine Tuning
We’ve expanded our ship systems to support multiple rudders and propellers, allowing for more realistic control of larger vessels with complex propulsion setups. Ships equipped with dual rudders or multi-propeller configurations will now handle more accurately, improving manoeuvrability across the board.
We’ve also improved the RPM calculation displayed on the speedometer, which now more accurately reflects engine performance, resulting in smoother and more responsive ship acceleration. In addition, the engine behaviour and performance balance for various boats and ships have been further refined across all vessel types.
Looking ahead, we also plan to further enhance our buoyancy system, with the goal of making sailing on any vessel — from small boats to large ships — feel even more authentic and responsive to weight, movement, and sea conditions.
Of course, just like in real life, taking a small boat out into the open sea will always be a challenge, and we want to reflect that sense of realism in how each vessel handles across different environments.
Autopilot Rudder Adjustment Now Functional
We’ve added functionality to the autopilot system, enabling it to adjust the rudder and course when in AUTO Mode. This improvement helps maintain course stability and ensures smoother navigation without manual steering input.
Improved Instrument Labels
We’ve updated the naming on various instrument buttons across the ship interfaces to improve clarity and make their functions easier to understand at a glance.
Rendering Improvements & Visual Enhancements
We’ve made several improvements to rendering and overall visual fidelity to enhance your experience at sea:
- Switching between fullscreen and windowed fullscreen now works reliably, with correct resolution values shown
- Sun and moon reflections on the ocean surface are now properly rendered, adding more realism to the day-night cycle
- Exposure settings have been refined for better lighting balance and visual consistency.
- Rope rendering has been improved across the game, including longlines and docking ropes
- Added support for FSR 3.1, with FSR 4 planned for a future update.
- Adjustments made to DLSS and FSR upscaling to balance visuals and performance based on their system
These updates deliver a sharper, smoother, and more immersive visual experience.
In addition, we’ve made improvements to overall stability, and further polishing and optimization work is planned to ensure a consistently high-performing gameplay experience for all players.
Post-Processing and Lighting Improvements
We’ve improved post-processing and lighting behaviour for more balanced and consistent lighting across all times of day, ensuring better visibility and a more immersive atmosphere, whether you're working in bright sunlight or low-light conditions.
Feedback & Reporting
Thank you for your continued support and valuable feedback throughout Early Access. We’re committed to improving the overall experience — from refining existing systems and UI, to introducing new gameplay mechanics, ships and missions in upcoming major updates.
Check out the Roadmap!
For any issues or suggestions, please use our in-game feedback system and attach your logfile from the current session to help us troubleshoot effectively.
If you experience a crash, simply use the crash reporter and click the “Send” button to submit it directly to our system. Savegames should update automatically; however, if you encounter any problems, please let us know and include your savegame file.
You can also report bugs in our Discord bug-report channel. The more details you provide (what happened, what you were doing, how to reproduce it), the easier it is for us to resolve the issue.
Stay tuned — there’s much more to come in Ships at Sea!
Fair winds and Happy Sailing!
Changelog
- New Feature Main Power switchgear cabinets are functional — make sure fuses are functional on Tier 2 ships to avoid breakdowns
- Added basic electrician skill to repair circuit breakers inside the switchgear cabinet
- Added new missions, including fishing with a jigger, a burning boat event, and ocean cleanup activities
- Added the ability to convert small fish food packages back into a large fish food sack
- Added new medium and large cargo assets to expand mission variety
- Added upgradable buoys for longlines and nets, now featuring flags and lights for better visibility
- Added a new line setter to the Tier 2 fishing boat
- Added functionality for the double line setter on the Tier 3 fishing ship
- Added 180m, 210m, and 250m net sizes
- Added a redesigned world map with updated icons for improved navigation
- Added a functional mast crane to the Tier 3 fishing ship
- Added NPC characters moving around in ports to bring more life to the environment
- Added bow thrusters to Nordland and Skomcat — use Shift + A/D to control them during docking
- Added TruckSim.fm as a default radio channel for in-game music
- Added a voting system to skip time in multiplayer sessions
- Added a welcome screen when starting a new game to help onboard new players
- Adjusted collision tolerance on all ships to reduce minor impact damage
- Adjusted earnings and XP scaling for cargo missions based on the number of items delivered
- Adjusted pricing on Flippy and Fixed, giving players a fairer choice between Tier 1 cargo, service, and fishing boats
- Autopilot state is now saved
- Radar state is now saved
- Sonar state is now saved
- Fixed a crash related to company and ship ownership
- Fixed a crash involving UI behavior
- Fixed an issue that caused sonar to loop on scanning the same position
- Fixed an issue where cargo could spawn outside the crane’s operating range
- Fixed an issue where cargo was not replicated properly to client
- Fixed an issue where the camera could dip below the boat after using the water cannon
- Fixed an issue where clients weren’t gaining distance during travel
- Fixed an issue where distance was incorrectly shown in centimeters on the minimap and world map
- Fixed an issue where fish could occasionally get stuck in place
- Fixed an issue with throttle reducing power automatically in both auto and manual mode
- Fixed floating seamarkers appearing around ports
- Fixed missing fuel station icons on the map when viewed from a distance
- Fixed inaccuracies in RPM calculation models
- Fixed handheld radio behavior while operating a ship
- Fixed the missing horn sound that was not working when activated
- Fixed incorrect rotation display of the boat on radar and autopilot
- Fixed language settings not being saved correctly
- Fixed rain and snow entering ship interiors
- Fixed an issue where players could lose character control if the boat were deactivated while operating the crane
- Fixed an issue where ships could flip when walking on cargo surfaces
- Fixed an issue where interacting with cargo, such as running into it, could cause boats to accelerate or flip
- Fixed an issue where boats and ships could not be cleaned using the power washer or full wash function
- Fixed sonar not displaying in the HUD
- Fixed the speedometer display in the HUD when using the Flippy
- Fixed a visual issue with the window on the Tier 3 cargo ship door
- Fixed an issue where longlines placed in the ocean weren’t saved
- Fixed materials and textures on buildings around the ports
- Fixed missing collisions on a building in Røst
- Improved cargo spawning logic at ports for more reliable placement
- Improved the Tier 2 crane by adding an extendable cable hook for better cargo handling
- Improved docking position at Teist Hammeren to properly support Tier 3 ships
- Improved engine upgrade options for Flippy
- Improved the fish gutting system and ensured it works reliably both at sea and in port
- Improved interior collisions on the Tier 3 fishing ship for smoother movement
- Improved feedback when missions fail for better clarity
- Improved post-processing and lighting quality across the game
- Improved rope rendering and visuals, including docking lines and longlines
- Improved saving system for cargo and picked-up items
- Improved searchlight distance and brightness for better night visibility
- Improved synchronization of multiple propellers and rudders for accurate control
- Improved zooming functionality on tier 3 ships' instruments
- Improved inventory system with better usability and stability
- Improved crane and cargo handling systems for more responsive controls
- The locker in the shipyard is now functional, allowing character customization
- Rebalanced boats and ships for more consistent handling across vessel types
- Rebalanced XP progression for net fishing activities
- Removed the toggle map hint text from the HUD for a cleaner interface
- Service Boat 1 now also hold Medium cargo
- Updated localization across all supported languages