One of the things we really wanted to finesse was the feeling of 'Threat' within the game. Sunless Skies is a brighter, more diverse landscape than Sunless Sea, so it's extremely important to us that there’s still has a sense of peril and dread.
WEATHER
With Threat as our main focus, we’ve been busy implementing a few Hazardous Discoveries. Beware, as some existing Discoveries now have the ability to spawn enemies!
The most major Hazardous Discovery work includes adding three different types of weather to the High Wilderness, which effect players and their locomotives in different ways.
The Peacock Wind is a ripe, boisterous wind which blows in the Reach. It smells green and mulchy, and sends leaves scuttling against the windows of your engine.
The Candle-Wind is a hollow, howling wind, flickering with a procession of candleflames. It gives you a gnawing hunger, impossible to satisfy.
The Storm That Speaks is a storm of growling thunder, stabbing violet lightning, and countless voices that ride its winds. What are they trying to tell you?
WORSHIP
Our writers have also been busy creating gods. While paganism is not condoned by The Church in London, many skyfarers were once zailors, and when they couldn't bring their old gods with them to the High Wilderness, they found new deities to worship among the powers of the sky.
Captains may now find that certain actions can attract a god's attention or wrath. Currently, only a few events grant or use attention, but more will be added as development continues.
The Waste-Waif dwells in the deserted spaces where suns have died, and commands the winds the same way a shepherd commands sheepdogs. The lost, the outcast and the dying like to imagine a kinship with it.
The Burrower Below gnaws at the roots of heaven. Skyfarers say her breath is the fog that fills the High Wilderness, and sometimes they make oaths in her name. Her retribution is rightly feared.
The Storm that Speaks is a tempestuous power associated with grief, melancholy, regret and the past (where its house is said to lie). Some say that the hours mined in the Reach are its tears. It is partial to souls.
SCOUTS
More scouts are now available, including: the Star-Smitten Bat, the Intrepid Cavey, the Cyclopean Owl (a Kickstarter exclusive) and the Ratronaut!
Each scout has a different set of stats, so some will travel further, or report additional findings each trip, or provide more information about the things they find!
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS
With the Scout additions also comes some additions to the Chart, such as icons for transit stations, Spectacles, and Discoveries.
With more features at our disposal, we’ve now made improvements to agent and Discovery spawning. This will affect the variety and frequency of Discoveries and agents you'll come across. Now your captain’s actions will have more effect on the types of things you encounter in the High Wilderness. We've spent a lot of time creating interesting and dynamic situations we can’t wait for you to discover!
We've also enlisted the horrific imaginations of Harry Tuffs and Emily Short to craft some new Nightmares. As your Terror rises and your Condition worsens, you may find yourself experiencing new sets of horrific realisations.
We've also revised and expanded the Winchester War between the Tacketies and Stovepipes. The war now has a greater effect on the spawning of each side's vessels. New content has been added to reflect its current state (including new more opportunities to affect the course of the war and new Bargains and Prospects). In addition, the systems that handle its general progress will conduct themselves more discreetly behind the scenes. You can always read the newspapers at New Winchester to learn of recent developments in the war, including how both sides perceive you.
Our Threat build has also received some updates to Wrath. Agents will now provide visual feedback when they are provoked or hostile. A few animations and visuals for damaged agents are also now implemented (with more coming later!), helping to indicate how close to death they are.
Our next build will cover improvements to the roleplaying aspects within the game. Next month prepare yourselves for new officers and officer storylines; mascots; character backgrounds; new pasts and deeds; and even some new weapons and equipment for player locomotives!
Join us this Friday at 16:00 BST for a FBG Podcast on Twitch. Lesleyann will be touring us through our tantalising new features!