Windward news & patch notes

This Monday, join your friends in exploring the world of Windward Horizon, a solo dev project and a sequel to fan-favorite Windward! The Demo will be live exclusively during Steam Next Fest!

Explore a Vast, Open World

You’ll begin as a young, unaffiliated captain in a vast procedurally generated world, where no two adventures will be the same, and you're free to do whatever your heart desires! Trade, quest, fish, fight, or simply sail, there’s no wrong way to play. https://youtu.be/i5LC8UBUyuM?si=lpEBTAXMi-xWlQpp

Solo and Co-op are available from the get-go!

Navigating uncharted waters is almost always better with a friend by your side! Explore the map, trade in the provinces, heal your allies in battles (or when they accidentally ram their ship into the shore), fight off dreaded pirates, or split up and chart your courses. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44983012/9712465f4f068dd944a63a2dce15817ab120b140.png

Your Ship, Your Rules!

As you gain experience, unlock talents across Defense, Offense, or Support trees, or mix and match to create a perfect ship for your unique playstyle. Speaking about 'Perfect Ships', the Demo will feature three ships, each of them fully customizable. From the crew to the sail colors. Find or purchase new options as you travel the world to truly make the ship your own. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44983012/9d5fce09f5c7740565b81d0561f0f1d75da773c1.png

Your Actions Shape the World

Supplying resources to towns can help them grow, and backing faction leaders can change the balance of power. Want to capture a province without firing a shot? Use diplomacy and trade to turn the tide. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44983012/60e667851a7222f7f036b49a79611679207b4998.jpg

Play the Demo During Steam Next Fest!

The free demo will be live only during the Steam Next Fest week of February 24th, so don't miss out! Wishlist now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2665460/Windward_Horizon/ - Aren

All Windows and Linux Windward players are invited to try the upcoming sequel, Windward Horizon, for free during the July 5th weekend! Experience the multitude of changes since the May's playtest, including new storylines, rewards, an unlockable faction and ship, new larger procedurally generated worlds, and a many other changes added based on the players' feedback. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/6970397/9d1369e55f9328e1ede4c9181796623ad5d718a7.png To join the playtest, simply right-click Windward in your Steam library on July 5th after 10 AM EST, then choose Properties: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/6970397/aad10b12193f1cb8ff05bbd0f74d03f4ccf6112b.jpg Select Betas, and choose the Windward Horizon beta: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/6970397/c6a0c6676d0cebf12b96406610a0f013cd0fab68.jpg After that, simply launch the game and have fun! Just be aware that the play test will end on Monday, July 8th at 12:01 AM EST. Don't forget to join our Discord and offer your feedback! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2665460/Windward_Horizon/

As promised last month, the Play Test for the upcoming Windward Horizon game is going to be here this week for you to enjoy. Anyone that owns the original Windward game and doesn't mind running into a few bugs along the way can try the early preview build of Windward Horizon for free this Friday, May 17th, starting at 10 AM EST. To opt-in, follow these simple steps on Friday: 1. Right-click Windward in your game library, and go to Properties. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/6970397/aad10b12193f1cb8ff05bbd0f74d03f4ccf6112b.jpg 2. Under Betas tab there is a Beta Participation option. Simply choose the "horizon" branch to opt in. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/6970397/c6a0c6676d0cebf12b96406610a0f013cd0fab68.jpg 3. Launch Windward like normal and have fun!* Note: this special branch will only become available once the event begins at 10 AM on May 17th, and although the game's release will feature Linux/OSX builds, this preview will only be available for Windows. The event will end on early Monday morning (May 20th). Since this early build of the game doesn't have a tutorial, a handy new player guide can be found here. You are also welcome to stop by the Tasharen Community discord server to discuss your experience! See you there! -Aren https://store.steampowered.com/app/2665460/Windward_Horizon/

The wait is nearly over! The long-awaited sequel to Tasharen's Windward, originally released on Steam in 2015, is finally getting a sequel, and it's coming sooner than you think! Windward Horizon aims to improve every aspect of the original, such as adding lore to the game, a robust economy system that governs growth, fully configurable internal ship layouts with adjacency bonuses and penalties for interesting builds and many, many new skills to complement the expanded talent trees. Better still, anyone that owns Windward will be able to try Windward Horizon next month for free, in advance of the game's launch later this year! Keep your eyes peeled for more details on this coming in a few weeks, but in the meantime you can add Windward Horizon to your wish list here on Steam in order to stay informed: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2665460/Windward_Horizon/ If you're extra curious, can find even more information in Tasharen's discord and follow the game's development by joining discord.gg/tasharen and choosing the Windward role in the #permissions channel, which will allow you to see the #windward_horizon channel. A new player's guide to the game can be found pinned there going over many of the new things you will be able to discover next month! But, until then... :)

I'm happy to announce that today marks the launch day for Tasharen's latest game, Project 5: Sightseer (available here on Steam). If exploration, resource gathering and base building is your thing, check it out! In other news, Windward is officially getting a sequel! The development on Windward 2 will begin next month, using Sightseer's tech as a starting point (which should shorten its dev cycle considerably). While right now is too early to commit to a release date of the first playable build, I expect it to be in 2020. Back in the early Sightseer dev days I had playable weekends for owners of Windward where they could check it out by opting into it -- and I plan on doing this again with Windward 2, for Sightseer players -- as a thank you for your support. :) -Aren https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQZJtWpGH2Q

A little trip back in time for old hats and new come join us on the TASHAREN Community server. https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/6970397/948e881842bf1633c7a045fa66a8d00eecfb2047.jpg

Ahoy, Captain! We’re proud to announce that development studios from all over the world have united to offer you the Pirate ‘AAAAR!’ collection, a special bundle of games about pirates! The bundle is available on Steam starting today and last until the 4th of July. The Pirate ‘AAAAR!’ bundle contains three games that are going to be your ultimate journey into the world of pirates. As you navigate the dangerous waters you won’t just catch up with merchants, but you will encounter fellow pirates, terrible mythical monsters and other dangers of the sea. Purchase the bundle now and save 10% on each of these great games on top of the Summer Sale discount!

• Tempest
• Windward
• Sid Meier's Pirates!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmNEHR1ClSc

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you guys again for being supportive of Tasharen's latest game -- Project 5: Sightseer. Since the original announcement just over a year ago we've had 3 open play test weekends where many of you got to play the free prototype, as promised, and allowed the two of us at Tasharen to gather a great amount of outstanding feedback. We took all of your feedback to heart (and the many, many bug reports with a nervous twitch and a sigh), and kept chugging away, getting the game ready for Early Access. And guess what? It's now just around the corner! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhIjlPteUwg You can find more details about the game below, and if you're in the mood for another cooperative multiplayer game to play with your friends, be sure to follow its progress! http://store.steampowered.com/app/655780/Project_5_Sightseer/ Thanks, guys! Stay awesome! -Michael "ArenMook" Lyashenko

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you guys again for being supportive of Tasharen's latest game -- Project 5: Sightseer. Since the original announcement just over a year ago we've had 3 open play test weekends where many of you got to play the free prototype, as promised, and allowed the two of us at Tasharen to gather a great amount of outstanding feedback. We took all of your feedback to heart (and the many, many bug reports with a nervous twitch and a sigh), and kept chugging away, getting the game ready for Early Access. And guess what? It's now just around the corner! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhIjlPteUwg You can find more details about the game below, and if you're in the mood for another cooperative multiplayer game to play with your friends, be sure to follow its progress! http://store.steampowered.com/app/655780/Project_5_Sightseer/ Thanks, guys! Stay awesome! -Michael "ArenMook" Lyashenko

Interested in checking out the next game Tasharen is working on? You can do that for free this weekend! Right-click Windward in your Steam library, Properties, Betas, and choose "sightseer_weekend_2" from the drop-down. Let it download, then launch Windward and you will be playing the latest Sightseer Alpha. The preview test will last until Monday morning (June 5). Have fun, and I strongly suggest you play with your friends, as building your outposts is going to be a lot easier as a group. :) If you're looking for a guide on how to get started, this might help: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fnyl3En3SQ5eijL8dY-KzEjoszfB1YvG4LCRiLLpsJo/edit?usp=sharing Have fun! http://tasharen.com/sightseer/2017 06 02 18 26 37.jpg

Interested in checking out the next game Tasharen is working on? You can do that for free this weekend! Right-click Windward in your Steam library, Properties, Betas, and choose "sightseer_weekend_2" from the drop-down. Let it download, then launch Windward and you will be playing the latest Sightseer Alpha. The preview test will last until Monday morning (June 5). Have fun, and I strongly suggest you play with your friends, as building your outposts is going to be a lot easier as a group. :) If you're looking for a guide on how to get started, this might help: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fnyl3En3SQ5eijL8dY-KzEjoszfB1YvG4LCRiLLpsJo/edit?usp=sharing Have fun! http://tasharen.com/sightseer/2017 06 02 18 26 37.jpg

I have no words... I'm blown away by everyone's support for the game that let it get noticed so quickly. I expected it to take a few months... but just under a week? You guys are amazing!

I have no words... I'm blown away by everyone's support for the game that let it get noticed so quickly. I expected it to take a few months... but just under a week? You guys are amazing!

Edit: Play test ended on the 26th of December. Thank you everyone for the awesome feedback! Until then, please vote for the project on Greenlight to help! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=822934920 As promised (and a bit delayed due to a curious buuuug), the Project 5: Sightseer pre-alpha play test for you Windward players is now live and will end some time on Monday morning, at least 48 hours from now. To opt in, right click Windward in your Steam library and choose Properties, then Betas. You can activate a beta branch by using code "tooEarly2Share" (without quotes) which will open the "w2prealpha" branch for you. Select it via the drop-down if it isn't already, and let Steam update Windward turning it into the Sightseer alpha. You can then launch Windward, which will actually be the new game! Obvious disclaimer though -- this is a pre-alpha event, and as such there are bound to be buuugs. Hopefully nothing serious, but just be warned! Also note that as a pre-alpha, vast majority of the game's planned content is still missing. This play test is mainly for those that enjoy the peaceful side of gaming -- exploration, sight-seeing, building bases, trading, etc. While you can craft weapons and use them in mock duels, they are just that -- mock duels. They are just for fun. Aside from that though, have fun, and thank you again for supporting me as a game dev (or technically now it's "us" as I'm currently working with a friend -- Neil). P.S. Also quick pro-tip ahead of the coming "getting started" post. Make your faction using /createFaction , then invite your friends using /inviteFaction . Work together to lay claim to the world! Cheers and happy holidays! -Michael "Aren Mook" Lyashenko

Edit: Play test ended on the 26th of December. Thank you everyone for the awesome feedback! Until then, please vote for the project on Greenlight to help! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=822934920 As promised (and a bit delayed due to a curious buuuug), the Project 5: Sightseer pre-alpha play test for you Windward players is now live and will end some time on Monday morning, at least 48 hours from now. To opt in, right click Windward in your Steam library and choose Properties, then Betas. You can activate a beta branch by using code "tooEarly2Share" (without quotes) which will open the "w2prealpha" branch for you. Select it via the drop-down if it isn't already, and let Steam update Windward turning it into the Sightseer alpha. You can then launch Windward, which will actually be the new game! Obvious disclaimer though -- this is a pre-alpha event, and as such there are bound to be buuugs. Hopefully nothing serious, but just be warned! Also note that as a pre-alpha, vast majority of the game's planned content is still missing. This play test is mainly for those that enjoy the peaceful side of gaming -- exploration, sight-seeing, building bases, trading, etc. While you can craft weapons and use them in mock duels, they are just that -- mock duels. They are just for fun. Aside from that though, have fun, and thank you again for supporting me as a game dev (or technically now it's "us" as I'm currently working with a friend -- Neil). P.S. Also quick pro-tip ahead of the coming "getting started" post. Make your faction using /createFaction , then invite your friends using /inviteFaction . Work together to lay claim to the world! Cheers and happy holidays! -Michael "Aren Mook" Lyashenko

Yup. It's true! W2 is now known as Project 5: Sightseer, and is now one of the games on Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=822934920 http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/180540047031164266/392D30E23D4CF193E2F1148940FE76FAD5190CA1/ All existing Windward players that are interested will be able to play Sightseer this weekend right after FatPlanetEntertainment's stream of the game, countdown for which will begin on Friday the 23rd, at 8:50 PM EST (7:50 CST, 5:50 PST) on his Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/fatplanetentertainment http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/180540047031170880/05DAC3A816D0DFB94CA8AFF1D03AC5DE3A6F8828/ If you're interested in the current state of the game, come by the Twitch stream and watch FP try to figure out how to play it. I may or may not even give him hints... we'll see! After the stream ends, I will put up a new weekend-only Windows build under a separate Windward beta branch and anyone will be able to hop in and check out what's there so far. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/180540047031176340/ECC55127F63DBA3D684548447277CD9BA481DA7F/ Word of warning though: there won't be any combat in this early play test. This test is going to be all about exploration, building, trading, crafting and other peaceful activities. If that still sounds interesting to you, I will make a more detailed post about how to get started and what you can expect to be able to do in the game in its current state. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/180540047031191459/A6379843EB3B5B5DCCD44C46326CCE55458B761D/ Oh, and if you think the game looks promising, please help it get through Greenlight faster by voting for it! See you guys on Friday! Michael "ArenMook" Lyashenko

Yup. It's true! W2 is now known as Project 5: Sightseer, and is now one of the games on Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=822934920 http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/180540047031164266/392D30E23D4CF193E2F1148940FE76FAD5190CA1/ All existing Windward players that are interested will be able to play Sightseer this weekend right after FatPlanetEntertainment's stream of the game, countdown for which will begin on Friday the 23rd, at 8:50 PM EST (7:50 CST, 5:50 PST) on his Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/fatplanetentertainment http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/180540047031170880/05DAC3A816D0DFB94CA8AFF1D03AC5DE3A6F8828/ If you're interested in the current state of the game, come by the Twitch stream and watch FP try to figure out how to play it. I may or may not even give him hints... we'll see! After the stream ends, I will put up a new weekend-only Windows build under a separate Windward beta branch and anyone will be able to hop in and check out what's there so far. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/180540047031176340/ECC55127F63DBA3D684548447277CD9BA481DA7F/ Word of warning though: there won't be any combat in this early play test. This test is going to be all about exploration, building, trading, crafting and other peaceful activities. If that still sounds interesting to you, I will make a more detailed post about how to get started and what you can expect to be able to do in the game in its current state. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/180540047031191459/A6379843EB3B5B5DCCD44C46326CCE55458B761D/ Oh, and if you think the game looks promising, please help it get through Greenlight faster by voting for it! See you guys on Friday! Michael "ArenMook" Lyashenko

It's no secret at this point that I've been busy working on the followup game to Windward for the past several months. Windward was an excellent project to work on, but I feel like it has achieved what I had in mind for it: a multiplayer action game set in the Age of Sail meant to be played with your friends. Now... I feel like it's time to move forward a few years into the future. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693424074/7BAAC6CBF37E81776AF2DA4C5EA2E2EA5024DE69/ When I say "time to move forward", I am not only talking about the age that the game is set in, but also about the tech used to make the game in the first place. Windward was created using Unity 4 and an older version of my custom networking solution, which together forced me to abandon my original "one huge open world" idea and instead split the world into separate regions. Fortunately this is 2016, and not 2014 -- and there are newer versions of both that make it possible to create the huge open worlds I envisioned in the first place. But... I digress. Let's get back to the game itself. Let me just take a moment to explain what I have in mind for it. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693440901/E59C93E5AE3F421E5C406DA85885643447136A1E/ First, I want the world to be really *huge* and varied enough to have the scenic sights be their own reward for exploration. I think that part is well on its way already. Next, I want every action to have a reason. I don't want the cliche "deliver X to Y for a Z gold reward" approach. I want the "establish a mining rig to extract raw uranium ore that should then be delivered to the processing plant so that it can be enriched then shipped to a nearby reactor so that it can start generating electricity which will then power a nearby manufacturing facility which will then require aluminium, iron, and various other elements to create an automated defense turret which can then be placed nearby, protectiong the player's outpost". Does that sound long? It should! I think every meaningful action should have an extended set of consequences. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693448079/872EB5CBEADD13617FA35BC059D1902A7B1B25C3/ Not only that, I want there to be clear reasons for establishing outposts in the first place. In Windward you could place towns everywhere without a care in mind. What if every outposts, placed structure by structure, took resources to construct, which there were only so many of in the world? Suddenly players would have to be more mindful of what they spend their hard-earned resources on and would always have to be on the lookout for new sources of minerals and other crafting components. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693454204/E9E511524FECF6C30E25455C4BA25E39C9E7FCF1/ Even better, the limited resources combined with the lack of fast travel and a huge world will all but ensure that players will have to band together into groups in order to defend their territory from others that don't shy away from using force to take what they want. This approach also means that no one group of players will be able to control the entire world as it would simply take too long to travel from one end of it to another. Instead, establishing trade routes between outposts owned by friendly player guilds would facilitate alliances and promote teamwork and allow players to feel like they actually *own* a part of it -- and that's another something that I felt was always missing from Windward. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693444805/7A6BC6CBDED988AA2BE82BD79FA2BCC51245B2A1/ With the new game set in the near future era, modern and futuristic technology will grant me a great leeway in creativity and what's possible. Giant tech tree that features research technologies like radar absorbing materials for stealth composites, energy shields that can reduce incoming damage, even rockets that make it possible to establish outposts on the entirely new untapped territories of the outer planets... the possibilities for expansion are truly endless here. As a developer who wants to work on this for a couple of years, this part is arguably the most important of them all. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693411446/1C9D3D53A60CDB0DDC82F3C96133675DE53C3086/ And so we're brought to today and the still-unnamed project I'm currently referring to as simply "W2". I hesitate to call it "Windward 2" because it's not a followup, but an entirely new game meant to improve on its predecessor in every way. At this point you may wonder, "so what is actually being kept from Windward?", and the answer is simple -- you. While most companies these days start off with their new projects using Kickstarter to raise money, followed by selling it via Early Access, followed by the full on-release, I'm going to use a separate opt-in Windward branch right here to let you -- the existing Windward players -- to play the new game while it's in alpha and/or beta, for free. You can expect more details on this in the coming months. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693399863/7A3053FE8B8A303CBD3E5A18272E7FCEA088B237/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg Think of it as my way of saying "thank you". Thank you for being awesome and for supporting me -- an indie developer, and allowing me to get to this point in the first place. Love you guys! - Michael "Aren Mook" Lyashenko

It's no secret at this point that I've been busy working on the followup game to Windward for the past several months. Windward was an excellent project to work on, but I feel like it has achieved what I had in mind for it: a multiplayer action game set in the Age of Sail meant to be played with your friends. Now... I feel like it's time to move forward a few years into the future. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693424074/7BAAC6CBF37E81776AF2DA4C5EA2E2EA5024DE69/ When I say "time to move forward", I am not only talking about the age that the game is set in, but also about the tech used to make the game in the first place. Windward was created using Unity 4 and an older version of my custom networking solution, which together forced me to abandon my original "one huge open world" idea and instead split the world into separate regions. Fortunately this is 2016, and not 2014 -- and there are newer versions of both that make it possible to create the huge open worlds I envisioned in the first place. But... I digress. Let's get back to the game itself. Let me just take a moment to explain what I have in mind for it. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693440901/E59C93E5AE3F421E5C406DA85885643447136A1E/ First, I want the world to be really *huge* and varied enough to have the scenic sights be their own reward for exploration. I think that part is well on its way already. Next, I want every action to have a reason. I don't want the cliche "deliver X to Y for a Z gold reward" approach. I want the "establish a mining rig to extract raw uranium ore that should then be delivered to the processing plant so that it can be enriched then shipped to a nearby reactor so that it can start generating electricity which will then power a nearby manufacturing facility which will then require aluminium, iron, and various other elements to create an automated defense turret which can then be placed nearby, protectiong the player's outpost". Does that sound long? It should! I think every meaningful action should have an extended set of consequences. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693448079/872EB5CBEADD13617FA35BC059D1902A7B1B25C3/ Not only that, I want there to be clear reasons for establishing outposts in the first place. In Windward you could place towns everywhere without a care in mind. What if every outposts, placed structure by structure, took resources to construct, which there were only so many of in the world? Suddenly players would have to be more mindful of what they spend their hard-earned resources on and would always have to be on the lookout for new sources of minerals and other crafting components. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693454204/E9E511524FECF6C30E25455C4BA25E39C9E7FCF1/ Even better, the limited resources combined with the lack of fast travel and a huge world will all but ensure that players will have to band together into groups in order to defend their territory from others that don't shy away from using force to take what they want. This approach also means that no one group of players will be able to control the entire world as it would simply take too long to travel from one end of it to another. Instead, establishing trade routes between outposts owned by friendly player guilds would facilitate alliances and promote teamwork and allow players to feel like they actually *own* a part of it -- and that's another something that I felt was always missing from Windward. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693444805/7A6BC6CBDED988AA2BE82BD79FA2BCC51245B2A1/ With the new game set in the near future era, modern and futuristic technology will grant me a great leeway in creativity and what's possible. Giant tech tree that features research technologies like radar absorbing materials for stealth composites, energy shields that can reduce incoming damage, even rockets that make it possible to establish outposts on the entirely new untapped territories of the outer planets... the possibilities for expansion are truly endless here. As a developer who wants to work on this for a couple of years, this part is arguably the most important of them all. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693411446/1C9D3D53A60CDB0DDC82F3C96133675DE53C3086/ And so we're brought to today and the still-unnamed project I'm currently referring to as simply "W2". I hesitate to call it "Windward 2" because it's not a followup, but an entirely new game meant to improve on its predecessor in every way. At this point you may wonder, "so what is actually being kept from Windward?", and the answer is simple -- you. While most companies these days start off with their new projects using Kickstarter to raise money, followed by selling it via Early Access, followed by the full on-release, I'm going to use a separate opt-in Windward branch right here to let you -- the existing Windward players -- to play the new game while it's in alpha and/or beta, for free. You can expect more details on this in the coming months. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/439489410693399863/7A3053FE8B8A303CBD3E5A18272E7FCEA088B237/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg Think of it as my way of saying "thank you". Thank you for being awesome and for supporting me -- an indie developer, and allowing me to get to this point in the first place. Love you guys! - Michael "Aren Mook" Lyashenko

If you haven't been sailing around Windward recently, and particularly around the seas of the Tasharen server, you may have missed some of the newly added content that has been in testing there recently. The kind of content that requires some planning, preparation, and patience. I am talking, of course, about creatures like these: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=705711039 Added as a "let's see if it can be done" feature one evening, they've been flying around the Tasharen server for about two weeks now and players have been going after them relentlessly. Why? Well, the unique loot of course! Players lucky enough to defeat a dragon were able to harvest its essence -- a special ammunition type that changed the look and damage type of their cannonballs and their Inferno. Speaking of damage types, new equipment can now be found in the world that gives improved resistances to elemental damage type ammunition -- which is what both dragons and pirates in heroic instances now use. Heat, cold, acid and shock-based ammunition have all been seen and acquired so far with more to come. These unique and hard to obtain items are still in testing -- so can only be acquired on the Tasharen server for the time being. Still, those that prefer to duke it out solo or with their own friends will be able to try their hand at it soon enough. The Valiant faction has long been grumbling about the distinct absence of a flying ship that would be more suitable for their tastes. Recently they've gone as far as kidnap the legendary designer ViDanci, showering him with gold and asking him politely to design them a ship (or else). He happily obliged. Dubbed the "Flying Fortress", it can be found flying around in the worlds' more difficult regions for those that still seek its blueprints. Although there are rumors of the Valiant faction offering a cheaper, more affordable way of acquiring its new ship already in the works. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=705710948 There have been more changes an additions, of course. Like always, the full summary can be found on google docs. Happy sailing!

If you haven't been sailing around Windward recently, and particularly around the seas of the Tasharen server, you may have missed some of the newly added content that has been in testing there recently. The kind of content that requires some planning, preparation, and patience. I am talking, of course, about creatures like these: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=705711039 Added as a "let's see if it can be done" feature one evening, they've been flying around the Tasharen server for about two weeks now and players have been going after them relentlessly. Why? Well, the unique loot of course! Players lucky enough to defeat a dragon were able to harvest its essence -- a special ammunition type that changed the look and damage type of their cannonballs and their Inferno. Speaking of damage types, new equipment can now be found in the world that gives improved resistances to elemental damage type ammunition -- which is what both dragons and pirates in heroic instances now use. Heat, cold, acid and shock-based ammunition have all been seen and acquired so far with more to come. These unique and hard to obtain items are still in testing -- so can only be acquired on the Tasharen server for the time being. Still, those that prefer to duke it out solo or with their own friends will be able to try their hand at it soon enough. The Valiant faction has long been grumbling about the distinct absence of a flying ship that would be more suitable for their tastes. Recently they've gone as far as kidnap the legendary designer ViDanci, showering him with gold and asking him politely to design them a ship (or else). He happily obliged. Dubbed the "Flying Fortress", it can be found flying around in the worlds' more difficult regions for those that still seek its blueprints. Although there are rumors of the Valiant faction offering a cheaper, more affordable way of acquiring its new ship already in the works. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=705710948 There have been more changes an additions, of course. Like always, the full summary can be found on google docs. Happy sailing!

A much-requested feature, Steam Workshop support is now live: http://steamcommunity.com/app/326410/workshop/ http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=545193570 Create mods that change everything about the game -- from adding new quests, ships and skills to changing existing ones... and then put them up on Steam Workshop, sharing it with others -- it's as simple as typing /uploadSteam in chat! http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=544587394 As usual, for a more detailed explanation and full list of patch notes, check the writeup on google docs. I will be answering questions regarding modding, how to do this and that, and will create a better guide for it all in the coming weeks based on your questions (if someone doesn't beat me to it, of course!) If there's enough interest I may even do a live stream where viewers can ask questions regarding how to do something, and I'd explain, show, or possibly even code it right then and there. But, until then -- happy Halloween, and happy modding!

A much-requested feature, Steam Workshop support is now live: http://steamcommunity.com/app/326410/workshop/ http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=545193570 Create mods that change everything about the game -- from adding new quests, ships and skills to changing existing ones... and then put them up on Steam Workshop, sharing it with others -- it's as simple as typing /uploadSteam in chat! http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=544587394 As usual, for a more detailed explanation and full list of patch notes, check the writeup on google docs. I will be answering questions regarding modding, how to do this and that, and will create a better guide for it all in the coming weeks based on your questions (if someone doesn't beat me to it, of course!) If there's enough interest I may even do a live stream where viewers can ask questions regarding how to do something, and I'd explain, show, or possibly even code it right then and there. But, until then -- happy Halloween, and happy modding!

Just a little over a year ago Windward launched on Steam Early Access. What did I do to celebrate, you may ask? Why, I was completely absorbed working on the then-upcoming Fall update to even notice. Shame on me! Well, no matter! Now all of you guys can celebrate by feasting on the changes brought forth by the now-live update including new ships, improvements in questing / trading, adjustable amount of pirate towns, ship stat rebalancing, changes to how ships are unlocked, and more importantly -- a great deal of modding improvements. Ship customization has reached a new level with the addition of support for colored symbols and customizable pennants. Server admins can upload an assortment of custom symbols and pennants using the new /upload command making truly custom looking factions or creating custom rewards for players via the /createSymbol and /createPennant commands. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=540057846 Better yet, it's now possible to upload entire new ships, easily making them a part of the game without requiring your players to download any mods. Those willing can even replace all existing ships with custom ones set in a completely different era. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=537065620 Those were quite fun, by the way! If modding is to your liking, definitely check out this update and watch the step-by-step video that shows exactly how to add custom content to Windward. Git to da choppa! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE40pLt1VLw As usual, the full patch notes can be found on Google Docs.

Just a little over a year ago Windward launched on Steam Early Access. What did I do to celebrate, you may ask? Why, I was completely absorbed working on the then-upcoming Fall update to even notice. Shame on me! Well, no matter! Now all of you guys can celebrate by feasting on the changes brought forth by the now-live update including new ships, improvements in questing / trading, adjustable amount of pirate towns, ship stat rebalancing, changes to how ships are unlocked, and more importantly -- a great deal of modding improvements. Ship customization has reached a new level with the addition of support for colored symbols and customizable pennants. Server admins can upload an assortment of custom symbols and pennants using the new /upload command making truly custom looking factions or creating custom rewards for players via the /createSymbol and /createPennant commands. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=540057846 Better yet, it's now possible to upload entire new ships, easily making them a part of the game without requiring your players to download any mods. Those willing can even replace all existing ships with custom ones set in a completely different era. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=537065620 Those were quite fun, by the way! If modding is to your liking, definitely check out this update and watch the step-by-step video that shows exactly how to add custom content to Windward. Git to da choppa! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE40pLt1VLw As usual, the full patch notes can be found on Google Docs.

If you have a powerful Android device such as NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet or console, you can now take Windward with you wherever you go. Better yet, since it's the same game code, you can use your tablet to play cross-platform with your friends on PC, Mac and Linux! If you are unsure if your mobile device is up to the task, you can check the PassMark benchmark to see where it ranks, but keep in mind that it's truly meant for the NVIDIA SHIELD Console, so your experience may vary! Speaking of mobile games, two years ago I launched a fairly simple co-op multiplayer strategy game called Starlink on Android. You can also play it freely in your web browser here. I have been thinking of spending some time updating it to Windward's much more stable net code, adding achievements and the ability to create custom maps, then releasing it on Steam. Do you think adding another co-op multiplayer game to your Steam library may be worth pursuing? Let me know in the comments below. -ArenMook

If you have a powerful Android device such as NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet or console, you can now take Windward with you wherever you go. Better yet, since it's the same game code, you can use your tablet to play cross-platform with your friends on PC, Mac and Linux! If you are unsure if your mobile device is up to the task, you can check the PassMark benchmark to see where it ranks, but keep in mind that it's truly meant for the NVIDIA SHIELD Console, so your experience may vary! Speaking of mobile games, two years ago I launched a fairly simple co-op multiplayer strategy game called Starlink on Android. You can also play it freely in your web browser here. I have been thinking of spending some time updating it to Windward's much more stable net code, adding achievements and the ability to create custom maps, then releasing it on Steam. Do you think adding another co-op multiplayer game to your Steam library may be worth pursuing? Let me know in the comments below. -ArenMook

The crazy rush of the release is finally behind me, and now I get to look back on the whole experience and wonder how I lived through it. I can see it now... telling my kids years from now, "ARR! Back in my day we used to release indie games and sleep maybe a combined of 10 hours in the first week! Uphill! Both ways!" Which... honestly wouldn't be far from the truth. There are times when being a lone developer of a project like Windward is a great blessing that makes me giddy with the thought of how clever I am not having to deal with a corporate structure and anyone breathing down my neck. I know how everything works, so I know what to do in order to fix something or add a new feature in the shortest amount of time possible. Then there are times, like actually releasing the game, when I wish I could clone myself a few times over; the times like when I just put up a patch and hundreds of people suddenly ran into a problem that simply didn't exist when I tested everything. I am left running around panicking and frantically trying to track down the cause of the issue and fix it in the shortest amount of time possible without going insane from being awake for over 30 hours straight. On that note, have you ever tried to lose weight? I recommend releasing a game. I lost 8% of my body weight in the first week simply because I didn't have time to eat! So yes -- fun times! Well, let's get down to some numbers. The first week of release has seen a concurrent peak of nearly 3500 players, with roughly 15% of them playing online on public servers. One of those servers that had a peak of maybe 25 players throughout all of beta and was deemed "rock-solid" quickly stated having issues once the number of connected players passed the 200 mark, leading me to spending the first few days almost exclusively focused on fixing the server stability. Fortunately that went over well, and by the end of the weekend there were over 300 players connected to the server -- which happened to be running on my own computer. In my home. With a typical household cable modem connection. Needless to say, I blew through my 500 GB monthly bandwidth cap in about 3 days. Well, no matter! There were more important things to worry about, like discovering that most players who played online seemed to prefer to play it as an MMO on one densely populated server, rather than spreading out like I thought would happen. Now keep in mind, the game was designed to be a co-op game for LAN parties, ideally meant to be played in groups of 2 to 12 players. I never expected that I would have over 300 of them on the same server; dozens of them in the same regions. In fact, one of the first few days of release there was a Heroic Instance running with over 50 players in it, which was using twice as much bandwidth than the rest of the 200-or-so players combined. Needless to say, player limits were one of the first changes I had to quickly implement. Another thing that quickly became obvious was that the server back-end was really lacking important administration features -- banning trouble-makers in particular. Yet another thing I had to scramble to implement in the first few days, keeping me away from the one feature that has been bothering me since the first day -- the chat window's lack of scrollable history. With everything else going on I didn't get to implement that one until the second week... Fortunately as the influx of players started going down, I was able to relax a little and work on features that I felt were missing from release. Among them were the ability to design your own factions, create much larger world maps, and even the most recent one -- the addition of PvP battleground instances. Hell, I was even able to get a proper night's sleep -- all 9 hours of it for the first time in weeks! Ahh... let's never do this again. Next time -- clones. I swear. For a full list of patch notes, click here. The patch notes since release are the first 9 pages. Not bad for 3.5 weeks! See you on the high seas! -ArenMook

The crazy rush of the release is finally behind me, and now I get to look back on the whole experience and wonder how I lived through it. I can see it now... telling my kids years from now, "ARR! Back in my day we used to release indie games and sleep maybe a combined of 10 hours in the first week! Uphill! Both ways!" Which... honestly wouldn't be far from the truth. There are times when being a lone developer of a project like Windward is a great blessing that makes me giddy with the thought of how clever I am not having to deal with a corporate structure and anyone breathing down my neck. I know how everything works, so I know what to do in order to fix something or add a new feature in the shortest amount of time possible. Then there are times, like actually releasing the game, when I wish I could clone myself a few times over; the times like when I just put up a patch and hundreds of people suddenly ran into a problem that simply didn't exist when I tested everything. I am left running around panicking and frantically trying to track down the cause of the issue and fix it in the shortest amount of time possible without going insane from being awake for over 30 hours straight. On that note, have you ever tried to lose weight? I recommend releasing a game. I lost 8% of my body weight in the first week simply because I didn't have time to eat! So yes -- fun times! Well, let's get down to some numbers. The first week of release has seen a concurrent peak of nearly 3500 players, with roughly 15% of them playing online on public servers. One of those servers that had a peak of maybe 25 players throughout all of beta and was deemed "rock-solid" quickly stated having issues once the number of connected players passed the 200 mark, leading me to spending the first few days almost exclusively focused on fixing the server stability. Fortunately that went over well, and by the end of the weekend there were over 300 players connected to the server -- which happened to be running on my own computer. In my home. With a typical household cable modem connection. Needless to say, I blew through my 500 GB monthly bandwidth cap in about 3 days. Well, no matter! There were more important things to worry about, like discovering that most players who played online seemed to prefer to play it as an MMO on one densely populated server, rather than spreading out like I thought would happen. Now keep in mind, the game was designed to be a co-op game for LAN parties, ideally meant to be played in groups of 2 to 12 players. I never expected that I would have over 300 of them on the same server; dozens of them in the same regions. In fact, one of the first few days of release there was a Heroic Instance running with over 50 players in it, which was using twice as much bandwidth than the rest of the 200-or-so players combined. Needless to say, player limits were one of the first changes I had to quickly implement. Another thing that quickly became obvious was that the server back-end was really lacking important administration features -- banning trouble-makers in particular. Yet another thing I had to scramble to implement in the first few days, keeping me away from the one feature that has been bothering me since the first day -- the chat window's lack of scrollable history. With everything else going on I didn't get to implement that one until the second week... Fortunately as the influx of players started going down, I was able to relax a little and work on features that I felt were missing from release. Among them were the ability to design your own factions, create much larger world maps, and even the most recent one -- the addition of PvP battleground instances. Hell, I was even able to get a proper night's sleep -- all 9 hours of it for the first time in weeks! Ahh... let's never do this again. Next time -- clones. I swear. For a full list of patch notes, click here. The patch notes since release are the first 9 pages. Not bad for 3.5 weeks! See you on the high seas! -ArenMook