Hello survivors! Time for an update with some new features.
We've been hard at work testing more of the full-game features and re-working some existing system we have been working on. Let's dive straight in!
Just a quick reminder, the best way you can currently support the game is:
Wishlist it.
Let your favorite YouTuber/Streamer know about the game.
Updated Trailer
We did an updated version of the gameplay trailer where you get a glimpse of some of the new things.
Fishing!
Build a Fishing Post, equip a Fishing Rod, choose your bait, and... hope for the best.
There are multiple tiers of bait and fishing rods that help determine which rarity of fish you catch and whether the character will succeed.
Fish are specific to different Ocean regions, so we also have upgrades you can toggle to try and catch fish that are not local to the current region you are in.
We are currently looking at ways to adjust the existing fishing trap system so that both of these methods to get your fish are unique.
Farming Crops!
A stable food supply is key to the progress of your colony. Your survivors are going to get pretty annoyed if you force them to live on reeds and charred mackerel forever.
Our crop planting system allows you to obtain seeds, plant and water them. Crops have ideal conditions, and unique to our world you will have to deal with salt content (some plants might even prefer it). This ties nicely into our sinking islands.
Once you have the right tools you can get seeds by digging up wild plants you find, though you may even come across some unique crops from traders or hidden in bunkers.
Training!
Skill up your characters to improve their skill specializations. The handy Study Nook can be upgraded with books you find as you progress. This allows you to skill up things like Science and Medicine - the better the book, the higher skill you can train to.
Perhaps you just want to work on your combat skills for improved seagull retaliation?! The Combat Training Dummy MKI is just the thing (warning, higher tier training aids may hit back).
and more...
You may have noticed some other things in the trailer, we won't go into the story aspects (spoilers!!), but there are a few new buildings and resources that you may be able to spot.
Changes to Existing Systems
We will go into more detail on changes to existing systems in the next post, as this one is already long enough. But I'll do a quick mention:
Overall pacing has increased. and more resource density.
We are revisiting the scouting system so that it's quicker to start scouting.
We are revisiting expeditions so they are quicker (cargo has changed, expedition UI has changed, costs have changed, density of resources at expeditions increased).
We have overhauled aspects of procedural generation and how biomes generate.
The raft builder has changed, as has how raft speed is calculated and how island hauling works.
New occupations (Gastrophysisist and Captain).
Lots more automation has been planned.
We are planning to update the demo at some point.
Release Date
Oh yeah... you may have notice a sneaky release window at the end of the trailer. This is subject to change, but we are currently on track for a Q2 release in 2026 (we are aiming for the start of Q2). If we need to delay it we will, but we aren't expecting to.
The game will be released into a relatively short Early Access period (we are not planning for multiple years of early access), we have a clear plan towards the 1.0 release.
Players have already commented on very positively on the quality and depth they have seen so far, and that only scratches the surface. For us, the Early Access period is to get players involved with shaping some aspects of the game and finding what is most fun for balance and features.
Translations
On the translation front, we are still deciding the best way to handle localization. A lot of big titles went into Early Access as English Only and later added support for community translations (Raft, Subnautica, Oxygen Not Included, RimWorld, Satisfactory), so we may follow suit. With so much depth to the game there are a lot of objects and a lot of text, and we want the flexibility to make quick changes throughout the Early Access period.
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More Languages
We are planning to add more languages further into development. The game text is still evolving and we made the decision to keep it English only for now to allow us to focus on faster development and updates. In addition to this, the game has a pretty quirky and sometimes comedic tone (with the occasional pop culture reference), which adds some challenge to localization.
You can show us if you are interested in a language by:
Wishlisting the game (we see wishlists per region)
Let us know via forums/discord.
The number of wishlists and interest shown for each region heavily influences the languages we will localize into, and we will be considering whether community translations are a good fit for the game.
Controller & Steam Deck Support
Some players have already played on the Steam Deck, but we don't have official support just yet. We do plan to have it fully playable on the Steam Deck further into development (and we have our Steam Deck ready to test!)
Controller support is challenging for this type of game that has this much depth, and we don't want the gameplay to be limited by controller inputs. Our plan is to look into this once we have all of our features in to see what is possible. We have good experience implementing controllers and it is on our mind during development, but we are also aware of the limitations.
Found a Bug?
Please report them! Whether it's a typo or something more significant please let us know via the forums or via Discord.
Help & Guides
This genre of game naturally comes with a lot of freedom, and this includes freedom to make mistakes (e.g. not building water production for your colony). Figuring things out is a big part of the fun for these types of games!
Having said that, if you struggle to survive you can follow the progression guide shown on the side of the screen and there is a bunch of tutorials in the handbook.
If Somethings Needs Better Tutorials
There is a lot of depth in the game and we already have a heap of tutorials shown in the handbook. We do have more tutorials planned so if you find something is not explained well enough or are still confused about anything, be sure to let us know.
"What game is it like"
We like to ask players what game it reminds them of, and, "oh buoy", we have seen just about every game under the sun mentioned by now!
It's been really interesting to see what type of games players have brought up - obviously this depends a lot on which games payers have played in the past. In no particular order:
Don't Starve and Paper Mario (in relation to the art style).
Oxygen Not Included, Rimworld, The Survivalist, Cult of the Lamb.
Raft (and open world survival crafting games in general).
The Flame in The Flood, Flotsam, Frostpunk & Sheltered.
A hint of Fallout/Fallout Shelter.
Monkey Island, The Sims, Craft the World, Clanfolk.
We knew there would be comparisons to similar looking games (like Don't Starve and Oxygen Not Included), so we were extremely pleased to see players add comments to this comparison that Oceaneers is still very different and innovative, it's very much doing its own thing.
What's Next!?
We are hard at work on the full game! Recently we have been improving crop farming, fishing rods and smelting metals - then tying all of the survival progression into the story/objective progression.
Come have a chat!
Our community is growing, and everyone has been amazing and really friendly. Come chat with the devs and other players in our Discord
Leaving Feedback
If you encounter any bugs, or would love to discuss features please do so via the Steam forums or our Discord. It's really helpful to know about the parts of the game you enjoy, as well as anything you don't.
You can also check discord for a list of known bugs, community suggestions and upcoming plans!
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⚡ Be sure to Wishlist Oceaneers, and stay tuned for the next dev diary and more announcements. ❤️
Join Us!
Join our discord to discuss the game and share your ideas!
Join discord here
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Some recent Dev Diaries in case you missed them:
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