Wet Sand news & patch notes

The Rope Knight has been announced on Steam by our friends. The release is less than a year away. Add it to your wishlist so you don’t miss it!

Become a superhero whose power is rope manipulation. Stylish 2D art, turn-based combat, hot 18+ scenes, charismatic superheroines and villainesses you can defeat, bind, seduce — and sometimes save. Superheroes, shibari, BDSM — that's what The Rope Knight is about.

FEATURES:

• Deep, vivid heroines and villainesses

  The Heliarch heroines and villainesses are more than just archetypes. Each of them has her own story — tragic, strange, dark, funny or unexpectedly personal. Some struggle with losing their sanity, some live under the weight of guilt, some were broken by the system, and some simply enjoy their power. As the story unfolds, you get to know them better — and can influence their fate. Some villainesses can turn over a new leaf, become allies, or something more.

• Hot 18+ scenes

  The foundation is ropes — bondage, domination, shibari and BDSM. But the intimate scenes go far beyond rope play: the range is wide. All scenes are hand-drawn, hand-animated and voiced by professional actresses

• Combat system — deep, but optional

  Here for the story and hot scenes? The game includes an easy mode so you can skip the combat gameplay entirely. For those who want more — a deep, well-crafted combat system awaits. Build your loadout: stats depend on equipment, different rope types provide unique actions and modifiers, and tactical decisions in battle actually matter.

• Varied gameplay

  Chat with your team, complete missions on the map, send heroines on assignments — and don't forget your part-time job at the bar, where you'll mix cocktails and earn rewards (not always monetary).

• A rich story where your choices matter

  Your decisions affect not just the ending, but the lives of specific characters: some will reform and join Heliarch, some will die, some will become your partner, and some will become an unexpected ally.

• Quality visuals and sound

  Everything is hand-drawn in a unified stylish 2D art style. The game features a driving original soundtrack, and all characters are fully voiced by professional actors — including the hot scenes.

In the meantime, we're putting the final touches on our minor update. It will include the addition of Chinese language support, updated cards in Tailwind, and various text improvements and refinements in several places:

• The encounter with Madam Nadi will now give you a bit more insight into her character.

• In Lauren's side quest, we'll learn more about the dark secret from her past.

• Various other small tweaks that are laying the groundwork for something really cool in the future!

Hello, pirates! It's time for the developer diary. Here we talk about progress, share thoughts, and news.

So, as of mid‑June, we're moving along nicely. While the art is being drawn, other team members are busy with their own tasks — endings are being written, the game is being translated into Chinese, and ideas for the next project are being developed (on paper so far). A bit more detail:

• The endings are now outlined, and although we haven't got to them yet, we want to know — would you be satisfied with 1‑2 pieces of art and a description of "what happened next", or would you like something else? So far we have 16 endings and we're already worried whether we'll have enough resources to properly present them all.

• The game will most likely get both Traditional and Simplified Chinese in the next update, after which we'll expand to other languages.

• Drawing takes the most time, and while some team members have free time, we're thinking about future projects. So far our thoughts are: before finishing Wet Sand, we'd like to make a small spin‑off, and then take on another project in the same setting, but with an independent NSFW module. To be precise, the game will be SFW, but via a patch or some other way you'll be able to add a spicy element to the game. It will definitely not be a visual novel, but most likely 2D.

Regarding plans to implement combat/DLC: if after release everything goes well (sales allow us not to go bankrupt), we plan to add a DLC with a combat system on the map (real piracy) and a story arc for several quests. These are just plans for now, depending on our financial situation. So we're not promising anything.

We are excited to present an update that adds Portuguese language support to the game! It's very important for us to make the game accessible to players around the world. We look forward to your feedback and are ready to fix any errors or possible typos.

This is the first step - after this, we plan to add translations for several more languages. We already have a few in mind that should appear first, but we're still curious: do you have any language requests?

Ahoy, pirates and pirate ladies! How are you? We want to share some fresh development news.

We’re actively working on three new side quests. Originally we planned to release them together, but we’re being realistic about the timeline: most likely, they’ll be ready by the end of August or beginning of September. Right now we’re thinking: should we release them one by one (so you get content earlier) or all as a single pack? Your opinion matters to us!

Quest progress:

• The text for all three quests has been written and translated.

• 5 out of 9 NSFW art pieces are ready (we’ll show them in the next update).

• 80% of the backgrounds for the first quest (Anna and Philip) are done.

• We’ve hired another artist to speed up the process.

The writer is discussing and refining the character Loren - we want to make her more valuable compared to the others. At the same time, they’re writing Sara’s quest. The artist is working on all fronts. The programmer is integrating the text into the game and fixing bugs found during testing. The designer is resting after implementing the gallery filter (by the way, how do you like that update?) and updating the world map visuals.

We really want to engage more with the community. Discuss changes, get your feedback. For example, we recently added a periodic monologue on a black screen - do you understand what that is and why it’s there? We truly want to know what you think.

And here are a couple of backgrounds waiting for you in the update:

Overall, things are going well, even though development takes more time than we’d like. We really want to show you the whole game as soon as possible! All the best and fair winds!

Hello, dear players!

We are currently working. The animator has submitted the final animation, we've added voiceover to it and implemented it into the game. The patch is ready. Here's what awaits you in it:

• A fix for the issue with Dolores's gift - a comb will appear in the shop and will be available for purchase.

• Characters have been added to the port and tavern on Kadar to liven up the backgrounds.

• A filter has been added to the Gallery to make it easier to search for images (QoL).

• We've fixed about a dozen minor bugs found during testing (from typos to incorrect display of certain elements).

• The scenes with Dolores and Tovenaar from the previous update are now animated.

• Tasks on the world map now look slightly different.

In parallel, we are developing quests. At the moment, all text for three quests has been proofread, approved, and translated. As usual, we now move into the phase of drawing scenes, animations, etc. We're trying to work quickly, but everyone has their own pace. All the best!

Hello, dear players! We want to share some news with you about the development process.

After the last update, some issues occurred, and we have fixed them in the patch 0.8.6.

• Fixed the text of the dagger description that Tovenaar talks about after the slime island;

• Added art of Fabian in a shirt in Dallengar before the flood if you refused Nammu (for consistency/logic);

• Fixed several typos;

• Changed the characters' faces in the celebration image in the captain's cabin;

• Fixed a training error in several mini-games (Tail Wind, drinking in Podwodje, etc.);

• Added a gift for Dolores to the Fortune's Store (it was always there, but somehow disappeared).

Thank you for pointing out the errors!

Ahoy, pirates! The update is ready. Here's what awaits you:

• 3 new full illustrations

• 3 new sprites

• 1 mini-game

• 5 new backgrounds

• 7 NSFW scenes (2.5 of which are not animated yet)

Additionally, we've made numerous small but genuinely game-improving fixes to previous content:

• Added clarifying lore texts to previous content (a lot)

• Fixed a bunch of punctuation and spelling issues

• Made references to certain characters unique (correct spelling of their ranks, social positions)

• Added sentence-by-sentence display for the entire previous update (so text appears gradually, not all at once)

• Fixed about a dozen logical inconsistencies, with the total number of edits exceeding 8 pages!

• Changed Sarah's face to make her colder and more dangerous

• Added an icon indicating special dialogue (if it depended on your past decisions)

• Fixed instances where the wrong character was speaking a line

• Fixed the compass on the slime island (it wasn't pointing north)

• Changed the English names of ship locations to better fit the era

• Added missing sounds to scenes

And just fixed a whole lot of little things we didn't even leave notes for. Overall, the game is becoming more cohesive and better! Thanks to everyone who points out our mistakes and shortcomings!

So, ahead of you lies a continuation of the story, after which we'll proceed to the side quests for all those who haven't received them yet. Then, we plan to properly lead up to the finale, which will offer several main story endings and about a dozen personal ones (if you choose a specific character). It's going to be awesome, we promise!

Thank you for playing and helping us improve the game. Yes, early access is a controversial thing, but we, as developers, are grateful for this opportunity and bow at your feet for supporting the project and waiting for updates!

Ahoy, pirates and pirate queens!

• Fixed a ton of bugs and inconsistencies in past content (from logic to punctuation and spelling). Older locations are now more stable.

• Tweaked some visual glitches (in the flood scene, Fabian was shirtless in both choices - now he’s wearing one in one of the variants).

• Spent a lot of time reflecting and decided we’ll slightly improve some of the existing side quests in the future (because the new ones promise to be better - skills grow over time). We’ll especially flesh out Lauren’s quest and the heroine herself.

• Simultaneously exploring options for translating the game into other languages - this will become a real task after the main story is complete.

• Plans are brewing for "post-finale goodies": soundtrack packs, source images, maybe even a digital artbook for you. We dream of DLC too, but that’s strictly after the main story. The crew’s energy has dwindled over the years, and we need to set priorities right.

This is a map for a small minigame awaiting you ahead. A sort of fort, hand-drawn by one of the team members to plan something out.

Another lady appears on the ship. Now integrated into the background.

An important artifact or just another inventory item.

A sketch of an already finished image (we don’t want to show it yet so you can see everything in-game). You can guess from the silhouettes what’s happening here.

Princess Marta and her new outfit. It’s actually lingerie. We wanted to come up with something special for each character, but so far the story doesn’t have scenes for that, and only she will appear before you like this. (For now).

Ahoy, pirates! The long-awaited update for the underwater chapter is finally here!

We are approaching the final, most epic chapter of our adventure. Incredible discoveries, epic battles, and unexpected plot twists await you — but let's take things one step at a time. In this update, Fabian stands on the brink of major revelations.

He will uncover the secrets of the ancient gods and understand their true nature, solve the final mystery of the artifact (if you can manage it, of course!), face a crucial choice that will determine his ultimate fate, and, perhaps, return to his trusty ship...

CHANGELOG:

STORY

A thrilling "Groundhog Day"-style adventure with exciting detective elements.

Key events that will flip your understanding of everything that has happened upside down.

CONTENT

• 8 new detailed character sprites.

• 11 full high-quality artwork illustrations.

• 2 NSFW scenes.

• 10 new background images immersing you in a new atmosphere, previously unseen in the game ;)

TECHNICAL IMPROVEMENTS

• Fixed known issues (we tried to add the ability to adjust music and voice volume in NSFW scenes).

• Performance optimization.

• Minor UI fixes.

We've deliberately kept the main plot under wraps so you can fully immerse yourself in the story and experience all the emotions of uncovering its secrets. Your feedback is incredibly important to us — please share your impressions after playing!

So, what awaits you in the update:

• 12 new artwork

• 7 NSFW scenes

• A redesigned trade window, which we'll put in the past content as well

• More than a dozen new backgrounds

• 2 original tunes

• 1 new sprite

• 5 new mini games

• Game time increased by +-2 hours

What's in store for you in the upcoming update?

What's next?

• Fixed typos in all languages
• Fixed logic bugs
• Added 2 new items (folder with Olivia's documents and poison vial) that were missed earlier
• Animated 20 static frames
• NSFW scenes are cut with precise addition of sounds
• Added ability to name saves as you wish
• Added new missing sounds (sizzling fried chicken, knocking on the door, etc.)
• Optimized code and reduced weight

Well, then, on to the good stuff!

• Release two more Podwodje updates and finish chapter 4;

• In chapter 5 we do one big mandatory quest, 7+ personal quests for characters and go to the finale with 12+ endings;

• All this is called version 1.0, but after that we make different edits (about which further on), expand the game with content if needed. Or make DLC.

What's with the “different edits”?

• There will be an EXTRA section in the main menu (instead of Gallery or Help), which will contain subsections

• In the first subsection will be in-game achievements (which are now available only in the Steam version), for which you will receive in-game currency, points. On them you will be able to open extras - in other sections. We make it so that everything can be opened when you get all the achievements

• In the second subsection will be alternative costumes, hairstyles for the main female characters (only sprites will be changed)

• The third will be music, all promo images (which we draw for Halloween, Christmas, etc.), images not included in the game

• In the fourth will be a gallery (if it will be replaced in the menu)

• Released chapter 3 (and it's a big one!)

• Released 2 interim patches

• Released 2 parts out of the planned 4 for chapter 4.

• Met a bunch of interesting people among the players and started collaborations with a few of them

• Read a lot of inspiring and helpful feedback (the vast majority of which was positive!)

• Started writing our own soundtrack for the game, an example of which you can hear in the underwater part. Also, there is a plan to put the entire soundtrack album into the public when Wet Sand is finished

• Thanks to your support, we have been able to increase the quantity and quality of in-game content even more

• Despite the fact that this is our first project, the experience gained during development allowed us to better organize internal organizational processes, reduce downtime between team members

• And the most important thing is that someone became close to our game and loved it, and this is what creativity is all about: to share, to please, to fall in love!

• A tutorial window has been added to the mini-game “Steering”

• A couple of new phrases have been added to the “Shooting” mini-game with Anna (never once missed or spent more ammo than necessary)

• Now during 18+ scenes play the same melody, the one that was in the scene with Sorna

• Animated 18+ scene with Aquanite on the beach on the island

• Fixed typos in the text specified by players

• Fixed a logic bug in the dialog with the Guides after the meeting with Lou (there they said the wrong number of artifacts left)

• Added an image of Fabian and Drowned Captain to the gallery, which we forgot to add in the last update

• Fixed a bug that when entering a cheat code to open the gallery, it didn't open everything

• Added characters to backgrounds where the text mentions them: Kvilleten Street, Dentwon Square, streets of Uvernon (Benno's quest), both taverns from Lauren and Olivia's quests

• In Kvilleten's Tavern (Chapter 1), the background has team members with hoverboards instead of text tiles

Where are we?

General timeline

What about the artwork? What about content?

What changed in version 0.6.6

• We continue to animate previous NSFW scenes and this time we got to Sorna. In this update we have animated two scenes with her.

• Added two new NSFW scenes that are also animated and both of them will take place in the most appropriate place for this - a brothel.

• Added 4 new character sprites, three of which are NOT human.

• Added 5 new items. Some of them are quest items, but there are also planned items for team members that will improve relationships, if you get out from underwater of course :)

• Added 2 changes to past character sprites. These are either minor changes, like changing the shape of the hat, or something that will stay with the character forever... such as on the face.

• Added 14 new backgrounds, and they are as marvelous as ever.

• Added 7 new full images that are sure to please your taste, as they are both cozy and spooky and romantic.

• Fixed various bugs from past updates. Typos, game crashes, logic problems. Many thanks to all the players who pointed out the bugs to us!

• The game time has been increased by ~2 hours. Of course, everything is individual again, but if you read the text carefully and look at the new images, you can get even 3 hours! And it's not just 'artificially dragging out gameplay', it's revealing characters and world!

What awaits you?

• 6 new items
• 13 new backgrounds
• 4 new sprites
• 5 full images
• 2 animated NSFW scenes
• Several changes to past images and sprites

Planning

The plot, the images, the music

What are we doing?

What has changed in version 0.6.4

• Fixed typos in the text of the past content (many thanks to those who sent us in Discord found errors - you helped us a lot!).

• Redrawn Dolores images from the beginning of the game. Over the course of development, we notice how skills grow and periodically revisit past content. It was decided to update the images from the beginning of the game to match the increased level.

• A dream scene with a flashback of Dolores was redrawn and animated. We are seamlessly transforming static NSFW images into animations. In this update, we've gone back and redrawn and animated Fabian's flashback scene of his time with Dolores.

• Four new sprites have been added. These are part of the characters you will interact with underwater.

• Fixed bugs in the readout of completed quests. There were a few bugs where quests didn't count under some conditions, or didn't disappear after completion.

• Added two full images + terrain map. We enjoyed drawing maps for the island, Quonter, the whole world, and here we decided to prepare a location map too.

• Added four new backgrounds. They are magical.

• The game time has increased by ~30 minutes. It's hard to estimate the volume - in what to count it? In the number of new images, text? We'll take the time in the game as a basis for now (though, of course, everything is individual).

Plans have changed

Where do we dive?

Map and characters

What's after?

• Standardized all dialog options - now when leaving a dialog, if there is nothing more to ask, a selection box with a Cancel button will be shown so you know there is nothing more to discuss with the character;
• In the first chapter, fixed Lauren's sprite when she had the emotion of being scared before attacking the Dealer's Hand, even though she was calm in the text;
• After the battle with the Dealer's Hand and Ethan's wounding, when Fabian rushes back to the cabin, added the sharp sound of the door closing, which was missing;
• Fixed the description of the item "Wanted paper" from the tavern;
• While searching for the key to the Tovenaar's room, there was a logic error where if you had already gotten the key from Bill's hammock, there was an option to "ask where the key is" in the dialog with Phil - fixed;
• Checked a rule that now prevents going further if Fabian has an item in his inventory that needs to be used now;
• Fixed animations with Anna before the island (face is not as wide in the final shot) and with the hole in the wall (added missing animation for rough start);
• Added sprite movements across the screen in all the necessary places in chapter 2, according to the text;
• Slightly updated Ethan's drawn in background (when he cleans up with the broom) and added a hat option if you gave him one;
• After Benno gets new clothes, she was drawn into the daytime kitchen background in the old form - fixed. It now matches the sprite;
• Additional sounds have been added to some 18+ scenes. Also added sounds to the scene with Aquanite on the island, as they were missing before;
• There was a break in logic in the scene with Lauren handing over the clothes - if there was no masturbation scene before, she still said she saw Fabian's dignity. Now the bug has been fixed and she doesn't say anything if there was no previous scene;
• Fixed typos throughout the game in Russian and English;
• Fixed a bug that was causing the hole-in-the-wall scene to not be added to the gallery;
• In Chapter 3 (starting with the encounter with Sorna), all relationship checks have been lowered by 2 points (test);
• Fixed the presence of the ship crackling sound in Dentwon Night and the entire scene with Vetra in the library;
• Corrected some sprites (for example, the sprite of Vetra in the med cabin has been changed to match how she looks drawn into the background);
• Added the ability to enter cheat codes in the game (in options). Present codes for money, opening the entire gallery, maximize relationships with all characters;
• Added a tutorial window before the mini game "capture the city" in the quest Lauren.

• Remember the mini-games "shooting", "hole-patching", "steering", "Tailwind"? We are adding 3 more mini-games to them, which will immerse you in the world of the game even deeper. One of them will be with our pointy-eared beauty, the second one will be with Anna and an unnamed character, and the third one will be in one of the side quests, where you will have to take command of... but not the ship (so be sure to try them all!).

• We realize that the numbers don't really convey the volume, but still we have to say how much has been added. There are 10 new sprites, including both important main characters and minor ones. About 13 changes in old sprites: new clothes, recycling of emotions, hairstyles, poses and much more.

• With a total of about 38 wonderful new backgrounds and full images, you'll visit new cities, meet old acquaintances and go on the world map, where you'll sail the seas on your glorious ship! Also 9 new NSFW scenes are waiting for you, including 7 animations! Yes, yes, there are animations in the game now and we are very proud of them. We also animated all the NSFW scenes from chapters 1 and 2 and now the game looks and feels even more cohesive and consistent. We made sure not to offend anyone, so this chapter will have racy scenes with all the main characters.

• The story has been greatly expanded and 3 full-fledged side quests with Benno, Lauren and Olivia have been added. The chapter turned out to be quite extensive (to be exact, it is 2 times bigger than the first chapter!) and if you go through it thoughtfully and try all three side quests, you will get about 6 hours of gameplay. We want to warn you - it's better to start the game again to avoid mistakes and bugs (we fixed the previous chapters too), but most importantly - to see the NSFW scenes for sure, as they will require a certain amount of relationship points and it's better to start collecting them from the beginning. Choose wisely!

• Made a few changes to past content based on your requests: added training for the card game Tailwind; in the gallery, all images will now be numbered and titled; fixed a couple backgrounds from past chapters; removed blank pages from the inventory (one is enough for everything); added pages to the relationship book (team grows); changed the final window.

• In response to requests from players who didn't like the card game Tailwind, we've added it to the list of those mini-games that can be skipped with a checkmark in the settings. Now, if you have no desire to break away from the text narrative, you can avoid all mini games completely. But the immersion in the game is much better with them ;)

Animations

Deadlines and tests

New stage

Approx list of innovations