Ahoy Mateys!
We've got another dev update for you and wanted to let you know what we've been working on over the past month. In case you missed it in the last update, we have moved the Early Access release date for Salt 2 from October of this year to February of 2022. We realize delays are never fun but we really want the game to be in a polished state, even at early access release. This delay is only a few months but gives us time to finish adding in the systems we want and to run the alpha/beta tests. As of right now, the plan is to do an alpha test probably in December and a beta test in January. If you pledged on Kickstarter, we will also be sending out physical rewards in the next few months.
Thank you all so much for your patience. Let's dive into what we've been working on recently!
New Wildlife
We recently implemented a new dangerous form of wildlife, the bear. These bears can often be found hiding out in animal dens awaiting any would-be treasure hunters. Bears are quick and dangerous, and you'll have to be on your toes to take one out. However, they often guard nice loot and can be worth the battle.
The Raft
Salt just wouldn't be Salt without the raft. If you've played Salt 1, this raft will feel like a pretty good upgrade. We wanted the raft to not only be a good starter boat, but also a nice way to ferry from a large ship to an island if you want. Along with this we've started implementing new ship and ocean sounds to really create an immersive and satisfying experience sailing the sea. We'll have more ships coming soon.
New Loot System
Loot is a huge part of Salt. Treasure can be found all over the world whether it's deep in a pirate cave or nestled in some ancient ruins. We recently start adding more loot to item containers in the world and systems to handle containers that might be empty. In Salt 2, there will be a weight system so you'll have to be particular about what you want to loot. Sometimes it might be worth looting some junk items just to dismantle them into crafting components or to sell them, but sometimes you may want to save some space for that new epic pirate sword you found. We've also added a save system that remembers what you've looted in what container. So if you open a container and don't loot it or only partially loot it, those items will still be in there should you return later.
Enemy AI and Weapon Damage
We've also been adding new systems to improve enemy AI and how they behave to make it more polished and fun. In addition to that we've added systems for varying weapon damage based on the items rarity. We want weapons to be powerful but not too predictable. This means not every hit will always be the exact same damage. It will take into account not only the item's stats, but also the enemies armor. The more powerful a weapon is though, the greater its chance of dealing more damage and its damage range increases.
Lore and Secrets
Not only are we making hundreds of points of interest for you to explore, but we are hiding all kinds of secrets throughout them. We've recently added a new breakable rock that will reveal secret areas in caves. You'll have to learn what these look like and be on the lookout for them while exploring. We've also been adding lots of new lore books that give more information to the world history and background lore of Salt.
Overall things are moving along great with Salt 2's development and we are getting very close to an early access release. Our main focus right is to finish adding in a few systems that still need to be implemented, expand the general content of the game a bit, and then polish/test before launch.
As always thanks for reading!