A’hoy there!
It’s been a few months since our last update but today we’re pleased to finally release our free play mode custom map editor. With this new feature, you’ll have the option to create your own unique archipelagos using a wide variety of configurable parameters, which can also be shared with your fellow pirate captains using unique seed IDs. The map editor also includes toggle-able options for unlocking all ship customization options and decorations so you can freely build the ultimate pirate utopia!
Getting started with presets, seeds, and map layouts
You can access the editor by selecting free play mode and picking the ‘custom maps’ option.
Begin by selecting one of four presets that will configure all of the parameters to reflect a certain difficulty level:
- Sandbox
- Easy
- Medium
- Hard
At this point, if you’re looking to quickly jump into a new custom map, you can simply hit the randomize seed button, and the editor will generate a new map layout. Map layouts are initially based around the positioning of trading lanes, with islands spawning relative to these lanes. As each map layout has the potential to support anywhere between 6-9 islands, the seed ID is therefore tied to a set of 4 island configurations.
There are 40 unique islands within the generation pool, which means a huge number of potential archipelagos to create and explore!
Parameters and customisation
Once you have your seed ID and its associated map layout(s), you can experiment with more granular customization options by tweaking parameters.
Number of islands: 4 options determining the total number of islands on the map ranging from 6 to 9 islands.
Starting doubloons: 8 options determining starting doubloons ranging from 0 to 1,000,000 doubloons.
Starting building tier: 5 options determining building tier availability at the start of the game ranging from laborers to unlock all.
Production conditions: 3 options determining the production conditions for each island, ranging from easy to hard.
Material deposit quantity: 3 options determining the availability of material deposits on each island ranging from low to high.
Starting material amount: 10 options determining the quantity of starting materials ranging from 0 to 3,200.
Total storage capacity: 10 options determining the total storage capacity at the start of a game ranging from 0 to 3,200
Unlock all ship customizations: Toggle on or off.
Unlock all decorations: Toggle on or off.
Faction island defenses: 3 options determining the strength of defensive ships and towers for each island ranging from weak to strong.
Saboteur behavior: 3 options determining the frequency of saboteur attacks on conquered islands ranging from disabled to frequent.
Hostile raid behavior: 4 options determining how often factions send ships to attack conquered islands ranging from disabled to high.
Starting ships: 8 options determining the number of starting player ships and captains ranging from 0 to 50.
Faction presence: 5 options determining which factions are active. If there are not enough factions to populate the number of islands, independent pirate crews will appear instead. The custom setting also allows you to toggle each of the 7 major factions on or off.
Faction standings: 3 options determining the starting standing of each faction ranging from friendly to hostile.
As you can see, even after seed generation the editor offers a massive amount of additional customizability to enjoy!
Pick your starting island
Once you’re happy with your choices you’ll be taken through to a preview of the custom map. From here you can check the materials distribution of each island and pick one to be your starting island, and you can even return to the editor if you’re not happy with the layout.
Example seeds
To demonstrate the diversity of map layouts that are possible we’ve prepared a couple of example seeds for you to experiment with:
Custom map 1
Seed: M9US7NjXz55QxMGG5xQ
Number of islands: 6
Custom map 2
Seed: Gs2L6EzKAgfmN
Number of islands: 7
Custom map 3
Seed: 9WO9P9XggXctWn
Number of islands: 8
Custom map 4
Seed: lXDXBoG5xnLLQsAEcS
Number of islands: 9
We hope you’ll enjoy playing around with all the options in the map editor, and if you create a fun map please feel free to share the seed and settings information with other members of the community via the Steam forum.
PQube, Crazy Goat Games, and Agate.
