Ahoy, Seafarers!
After its time in Open Beta, our fourth major Early Access Update is now available on the main branch.
First of all, thank you to everyone who jumped into the public_beta, tested the new systems, reported issues, and shared feedback with us. Your input gives us a clearer picture of what to keep improving as development continues throughout Early Access.
The Career Update is all about giving progression in Seafarer more structure and making your own ships feel more connected to your long-term journey. This update introduces the new My Career system, expands the campaign with new missions, replaces EXP with reputation, improves inspection gameplay, and adds new features to make your time at sea feel more varied.
For existing save games, this does not mean losing your progress. Existing levels will be transferred directly into the new reputation system, so if you’re at level 10, you will start at reputation level 10. Content that you’ve already unlocked or purchased will remain available. However, which contracts and opportunities are available may change as part of the new progression system.
Before we get into the details, check out the release trailer:
🧭 New Campaign Missions 4-6
The next three campaign missions continue Teddy’s story and bring this chapter to its conclusion.
Without going into spoilers, you can expect new story moments, high-stakes situations, firefighting operations, and intense action at sea. These missions add more depth to Teddy’s journey and bring new dramatic moments to the world of Seafarer.
After completing the campaign, you can of course continue your sandbox career.
💼 My Career Rework
The Career Update introduces My Career, a major rework of the current gameplay structure.
Your own ships now play a bigger role in your personal progression. The new system creates a clearer difference between mission gameplay and your long-term career as an independent captain.
You can trade goods, make use of trading opportunities, and use your ships outside of classic missions. Instead of only waiting for a contract, you’ll have more freedom to observe ports, buy goods, store them, transport them, and sell them later for a profit.
For the start, this system focuses on container trading. It gives owned ships a stronger purpose and adds a new layer to the overall gameplay loop. Your ship becomes more of an investment, a useful tool, and a personal project that can grow over time. Also: no more random containers on your ships!
Some operations now also become longer-running workflows within the game world. Freighters can be loaded over several days, routes can be prepared, and transports can move through different stages. You can take part in these processes, but you do not always have to complete every step yourself.
The goal is to make it feel more like you are building your own career at sea. You get to choose!
Some operations now also become longer-running workflows within the game world. Freighters can be loaded over several days, routes can be prepared, and transports can move through different stages. You can take part in these processes, but you do not always have to complete every step yourself.
The goal is to make it feel more like you are building your own career at sea. You get to choose!
🌟 Reputation System
The previous EXP system has been replaced with a new Reputation System.
You now earn reputation with individual harbors, unlocking new ships, missions, and opportunities as your standing grows. Local harbor reputation also contributes to your global reputation, which gradually opens up more of the world and replaces the previous player level system.
As your reputation grows, the world will begin to react to you differently, making progression feel more connected to what you do in the Seafarer world.
🚨 Improved Inspection Gameplay
Inspection gameplay has been expanded into a deeper and more interactive experience.
Inspections now involve more steps and more ways to understand what is happening on board. You can check documents, inspect technical areas, speak with crew members, look into safety concerns, and gather information before completing the job.
This makes inspections feel more connected to the world and gives them a stronger role within the overall career experience. They are no longer just a quick task, but a more detailed activity that asks you to look closer, pay attention, and piece together the situation on the vessel.
🚁 Drone Gameplay
A new unlockable drone gives you another way to explore the world from above.
The drone can be used on almost all ships and provides a helpful new perspective for exploration and rescue missions. It is especially useful in rough weather, heavy seas, or situations where spotting shipwrecked people or points of interest from your vessel can be difficult.
The drone has a limited range and cannot be used in certain harbor areas due to no-fly zones, but it adds a new way to look around and take in the scale of the world.
🧽 Deck Cleaning
Bulk ships now feature optional deck cleaning gameplay.
When loading bulk cargo, your ship’s deck can become visibly dirty from dust and cargo residue. You can clean it manually whenever you like, creating a calm maintenance activity between missions.
Deck cleaning is fully optional and mainly focused on immersion and atmosphere. It gives you another small way to take care of your ship and make it feel more like your own.
⚙️ What this update adds
With the Career Update, career progression, reputation, owned ships, inspections, and trading are now more closely connected.
Together, these changes give your own ships and your reputation a bigger role in how you progress through Seafarer.
The update also moves the game another step toward a broader maritime sandbox career, while still building on the existing mission-based structure.
Several of the features in this update are based on community feedback, especially around career progression, owned ships, inspections, and a more active sandbox world.
🎥 New Dev Diary
Want to learn more about the Career Update? In our newest dev diary, the development team talks about the ideas behind Update 4, the new My Career system, the Reputation System, and how these changes give your own ships a bigger role in your progression through Seafarer.
Watch the dev diary here:
🧭 Changelog
Patch #4.0 - Version 0.4.0.2096 (Steam)
Release Notes:
My Career
Start your own career as a captain. Trade containers with different goods independently, earn money outside of missions, and turn your ships into long-term investments.
Reputation Instead of XP
The new reputation system replaces levels and experience points. Earn the trust of ports and unlock new ships, regions, and opportunities.
A Living World
Cargo ships are now loaded over multiple days, and port operations continue independently of the player. With the new shift system, you decide how actively you want to participate.
Inspection Rework
Inspections have been expanded into a deeper gameplay experience featuring document checks, technical inspections, crew and safety controls.
Campaign 4-6
Teddy's story reaches its conclusion.
Look forward to:
Dramatic rescue operations
Intense story moments
Unexpected twists
The grand finale of the campaign
The final missions bring the story to an emotional and unforgettable climax.
Drone
Use an unlockable drone on almost all vessels
Deck Cleaning
Keep your bulk carrier decks clean for an even more immersive experience
Vessel Editor Enhancement
Equip your ship with a flag of your choice
___________________________________________________________________
Known Issues:
Chapter 04 - Steel Inferno
In some scenes the lipsync does not align with the animation
Some cutscenes are very much unpolished
Chapter 05 - Off the Record
In some scenes the lipsync does not align with the animation
Some cutscenes are very much unpolished
Chapter 06 - Hell or High Waters
In some scenes the lipsync does not align with the animation
Some cutscenes are very much unpolished
Some cutscenes currently have only English or German VO
Inspection
The mission "Inspection" will reroll its current variant per ship after reloading the game
Search and Rescue
Sometimes the castaways can also spawn outside of the marked area
When rescuing a castaway with the Grace the camera will lock itself in the latest position until the player leaves the rescue net
After quitting and entering the game again a castaway might appear on deck
Loading Bulk
Due to some backlog problems the bulk loading is disabled temporarily
My Career - Free Trade
Bulk Willy and LNG Nordic Duchess will be available in a later patch for the My Career / Free Trade system
Reputation
The reputation balancing is not final yet. Therefore in some cases the reputation gain or loss will be much higher or lower than anticipated
Menues
The job menu is currently displaying a wrong number of rewards for credits and experience gain due to the change towards the reputation system
Vessel Editor
The performance in the vessel editor can be low
Drone
Currently the drone can clip through all player vessels
Ships
Flag physics on some ships are janky
When swapping to another vessel the player can sometimes spawn under deck instead of on the bridge
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We’re excited to hear what you think now that the Career Update is live on the main branch.
Thank you for being part of the journey.
See you on the horizon,
Your Seafarer Team 🚣