Tides of War

[CaptainMurphy]

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ToWLogo_wSHIP_nonglow_1000px.png

Heart-pounding naval combat with wooden ships and iron men! Take command of your ship and crew to sail into battle with iconic ships from the golden age of sail. Balance your offence and defense to outlast, dismast, sink, board, and plunder your enemies. Challenge your friends in thrilling smoke filled multiplayer battles or sail solo in missions to challenge your command skills. Become a Pirate Lord in the Brethren of the Coast or hunt down your nations enemies as the Captain of a Ship of the Line. Earn your Letters of Marque and start your voyage, if you dare.

Take part in large scale battles in both multiplayer and single player naval combat that spans the golden age of sail. Sail iconic ships and lead your crew in sinking, capturing, plundering, and razing enemy ships for King and Country or for your own personal wealth. "Raise the Black" against merchant ships or seize cargo for your nation is varied multiplayer battles that will test your abilities as a Captain, or lead your squadron and test your abilities as a Commodore as well. Manage officers, crew, and specialists to give your ship an advantage in situations and train and keep your crew alive to make sure your veterans can train the latest recruits. Balanced gameplay will give your decisions weight in the fray. Rush in and rely on your heavy armored Ship of the Line or slowly pick at the enemy from afar with your light and fast Schooner. Your play style can be as varied as you want.

http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/43/42607/Screenshot-2015-07-19_18-47-26.png


Quick synopsis: Letters of Marque is a multiplayer and single player game that is designed to allow the player to test their crew management and ship handling skills in challenging, dynamic missions and environments. Players will be in 3rd person control of their ship with 1st person views over the guns when needing precision firing control. The play will revolve around players earning/purchasing Letters of Marque to be able to play as certain countries in later matches. It will offer variable realism levels from an arcade type feel to a more realistic and challenging historical mode. We are planning to even recreate some historical battles for players to take part in and change history!

http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/43/42607/ShipOfTheLineFight.png

Game format: Multiplayer and Single player. Game style ranging from arcade to historical based on each game that is hosted.

Gameplay Basics: Players take part in single or multiplayer battles by taking direct control over a ship of their choosing (earned through gameplay). If a player is able to board and capture a ship on the enemy team they will earn their team Gold (plus a bonus for himself) and get XP for himself. Gold is divided at the end of the mission among players that are still in the server. Players start with the ability to play as 2 starting nations with the ability to purchase a Letter of Marque to play as other nations.

http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/43/42607/Screenshot-2015-07-19_20-29-54.png

Game Currency: Players complete missions to earn Gold and Reputation XP. Gold is used mostly for ship/player upgrades that are akin to tangible items. Reputation XP is used in two ways, the first is a currency version that allows XP earned in missions to be ‘spent’ on skills or crew updates while the overall XP earned is used to track the player’s ‘rank’, which is used to determine what class of ships a player can use for that nation. Reputation XP is specific to a nation and does not carry over to a new nation when a player purchases a Letter of Marque. The Reputation XP starts over with that nation with a base amount.

Goals of Gameplay: Players will be challenged to complete specific goals as part of their team in a cooperative method. One player in the team will be elected as the Commodore and be able to give orders to their team, with bonuses earned in XP or Gold for completion of those orders. The XP is used to add specific skills to your player skills set and to 'purchase' crew and ship upgrades that are consumable (ammo, shot, injured/killed crew, damaged ship components). Gold can be used to add special upgrades to the ships such as hull upgrades, sail changes, gun upgrades/sizes, and crew boarding advantages. Players also manage how their crew is set up to maximize their play style.

http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/43/42607/Screenshot-2015-07-19_20-19-36.png

Major Game Mechanics:

Sailing - Done in a third person view. Players in arcade mode have a HUD available to maximize wind usage, players in Historical games must use flags and other wind indicators for their apparent wind. Sailing skills of the player can affect the speed of actions, as well as the number of 'sailor' crew that are on board. More sailors means the actions will complete faster or more efficiently so ships will accelerate faster and change sails quicker. Turning will also improve as the sailors count or skill increases.

Battle - Players can fire cannons using third person view or switch to a 1st person type view looking over the area that the guns cover for more precision. Players have control over the different batteries on board separately and can manage them individually to change the shot type (double shot, single shot, bombs, hot shot, grapeshot, knipple), elevation set, and powder charges used. Ships have the ability to take damage from 4 quadrants with each quadrant able to be upgraded with components that can increase the 'armor' rating to stop shot from penetrating. Each armor quadrant can be damaged and depleted so players have to keep track of how much damage each side is taking to keep too many shots from getting through. Guns also can be damaged or destroyed once an armor rating has dropped sufficiently. Battle skills of the player affect reload speeds, accuracy, and timing of the guns (broadside effectiveness) as well as the number/skill of 'Gunner' crew type on board. If a player's ship is sunk or captured in a battle then the player has a cooldown time before (typically) respawning at the spawn point that is designated in the mission. Some historical missions will allow the player to assume control of an AI ship that is part of the fleet instead. If there are no AI ships left or respawn tickets left then the player becomes an observer for the remainder of the match.

Boarding - Players set up their crew with a third type of crew called 'Marines' that are the boarding/repelling specialists. A player can capture a ship that has not struck their colors by grappling the ship and bringing it along side. Be aware that the battle continues around the player while grappling and a grapple must be 'cut away' before it a ship is free to move again. Marines specialize in repelling/boarding, and Sailors and Gunners can repel boarders just not as effectively as Marines, and both can be augmented by optional items like boarding nets. Ships that have lost morale will strike their colors and Marines can board by using launches from the player's ship. Beware, launches can be destroyed while in transit so don't send them from too far away. They are slow and vulnerable. Once a ship is captured it is given a prize crew and the player can then give it simple orders to follow. If the captured ship survives to the end of the level then the player is given a lions share of the prize money with the rest divided up among the other remaining players.

http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/43/42607/Screenshot-2015-07-19_18-46-01.png

Upgrades and Addons: Ships and players can be upgraded with bonus items.

Player Skills (Costs XP): A player earns 'reputation points' (XP) by surviving battles and damaging/sinking/capturing enemy ships. Rep points can be used to increase a player's skill level in certain areas such as gunnery, sailing, boarding, or command. These player skills are locked to the nation under which they are earned. Certain nations will have special skill sets that are limited to that one nation.

Player Addons (Costs Gold): Players will have the ability to upgrade their avatar with better equipment like clothing, hats, boots, weapons, etc that will have an effect on their stats. COLLECT THOSE HATS!!! Addons stay with the player across all nations/ships.

Crew Skills (Costs XP): Players can 'teach' their crew new skills by purchasing certain skillsets. Crew skills are limited to the nation that the player purchased them under.

Crew Upgrades (Costs Gold): Upgraded boarding equipment, better training, higher level crew can all be purchased with Gold for the ship that is outfitted. Crew upgrades are limited to the ship that is upgraded with them.

Officers (Costs Rep XP and Gold): Officers are a consumable item that assist the player in increasing the speed of actions taken on board and increasing the morale of the crew during battle. If an officer is killed in battle they will not be available after that mission and must be replaced. Ships only have limited officer slots that can be filled. The more missions an officer survives the better their rating gets and increases bonuses in battle.

Ship Upgrades (Costs Gold): Ships can hold a number of upgrades for battle. A ship has a limited amount of free weight available and upgrades, crew, and consumables like ammo will take this weight. If a player is planning to be a fast boarding vessel then the crew may be filled with more Marines and Sailors and less Gunners. Upgrades like increased hull plating will add weight that will slow a ship down, while lighter sails will remove weight but reduce the damage resistance of the sails. Each upgrade set is unique to each ship so that a player can tailor their ship for the play style they want to do. Fast boarders, slow damage tanks, long range harassers, and more can be done through the upgrades system.

New Ships (Costs Gold and XP): Players will be able to use their gold to purchase access to new ships for a nation. The new ship will be completely un-rigged and must be set up by the player with crew, upgrades, consumables, officers, etc. A player can only purchase a ship if their current reputation and rank are high enough to captain that ship. Outfitting a ship is expensive so prepare to have a lot of Gold on hand to complete the process.

Consumables (Costs Gold or XP): These are things like gun/swords for boarding, cannon shot, gunpowder, rations/rum (morale), launches, and spare components for repairs.

Missions: Different nations will have access to different missions. A mission can be done with a mixture of AI and Players if there are not enough players to fill out the team. Certain missions may also have AI mixed in as a normal part of the mission (escort and protect, for instance). The mission parameters will vary from being an out-and-out brawl to being a speed and control set. Capture and hold, king of the hill, escort and protect, and more. Historical missions will be designed to replicate real world battles including the location and weather conditions throughout the battle.

Weather/Time: Most dynamic missions will have the option to vary the weather conditions and time that the battle takes place. Having linstock guns won't be good when fighting under gale conditions and fighting in high heat or extreme cold will exhaust your crews faster so plan your actions accordingly. Losing crew overboard can have a drastic effect on morale so try to keep your major sail changes to a minimum in heavy seas. Don't forget that running a lot of sail under high winds can damage your rigging to the point of dismasting so be careful of your orders and watch your rigging for damage indicators.

Damage Model: Ships have a single 'health' component that indicates the current status of the inside of the ship. In order for this to be reduced, opposing players have to damage the outside of another ship (armor) to the point that their shot will go through. For upgraded or larger guns this will be easier but for lighter guns it may take several broadsides to knock the armor down enough to begin to damage the internals of the ship. Once the health begins to drop the crew will begin to lose morale and take casualties much faster. Hot shot can start random fires that damage armor and internal components and can even cause magazine explosions if not caught in time. Flooding will have to be managed through crew interaction. Different shot types will cause different damage at different rates.

Hull Planking/Plating/Armor: A player can upgrade their ship with better hull components or plating/planking to help reduce the amount of damage done by enemy shot. Armor is tracked per quadrant and is non-replenishable in battle. A player will have to manage and mitigate their armor loss during a battle by not keeping the same side of their ship exposed to the enemy.

Damage Control: Players can assign Sailors to be part of Damage Control teams that will manage flooding, fires, and repairs. As a ship floods it will slow down and begin to list so be sure to keep your DC teams topped off to make repairs as quick as possible. A player can also use a special command to send all sailors and gunners into firefighting mode as this is a critical component in Damage Control. During this action all other activities like sail changes and gunnery will cease until ordered to resume or the fires are stopped.

Rigging: A rig can be damaged and destroyed using any ammunition type. Certain shots will do more damage to different components.

Crew: A player can use special shot and ship upgrades to devastate the enemy crew prior to boarding. Arming Marines with upgrade muskets can increase enemy casualties quicker. Grape shot can be used to sweep the decks of enemies to reduce their crew effectiveness and possibly drop the morale enough to cause them to strike their colors. Be quick to board, however, as an enemy captain or officer can rally the crew back into battle over time.

http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/43/42607/Screenshot-2015-07-19_16-07-16.png

How much will it cost?

Cheap. Like ridiculously so. Current estimates are around the $15 mark. There will be a free version available for players to try out that has a level cap per nation. You can continue to earn rep for that nation but will not be able to captain higher level ships. You can still take part in all battles like normal and will not be restricted on what else you can do. Paid players will also get the ability to sync their profile to an online system that will allow them to play on multiple computers using the same profile. Also, there will be no DRM that limits the player in how many machines they can play on, just how many of their profile that can be online at a time.

How can I help?

The initial battle system is nearly working with the ability to join online games coming very soon. The detail levels of the models and assets are fairly low (similar to PotC levels) and we could really use some help getting some ships into the game. The ship model setups are very similar to the Akella games in that the rigging is separate and uses markers to generate the components in the correct places. What we would love to do is allow modelers to features their ship models in the game. We are willing to take existing models (with the author’s permission) and re-texture them to a higher level, but are also willing to pay modelers for their license to use the asset as long as it meets our minimum level of detail and configuration. If you are interested in offering a model then contact us through PM here or by sending an email to support@wolfpackgames.co and we can get the details about model setup there. We CANNOT use reskinned/slightly modified Akella models due to licensing concerns so the model should be owned by you and built from scratch. You will also get a chance to use your model in game with a free license to the game for each model you submit that we can use (including pre-alpha and above access). Payment will depend on the model detail and usability, as well as how much work will be involved to convert it to the game standards. Detailed ship models range from $10-99 on most 3D model sites so we are easily willing to offer top dollar for good detail and usable models. If you are offering a license to use an existing model that is PotC/AoP ready then we will start at the free license price range and work up from there depending on what you are willing to complete on it. Any models submitted will be credited to the original artist and each model will have a credits/contact button that players can click to link to any additional info/sites that you want to be visited. We want to give as much credit as possible to artists for their hard work and skills in the craft.

Testers will also be allowed as well as artwork that folks want to submit.

When will it be available?

Current plans are for an pre-alpha release with basic gameplay in ~2 months (Q3 2015). After that will be the ability for upgrades and addons, crew management, and some advanced damage control to round out the Alpha stage in another ~2-3 months (Q4 2015). Beta stage is expected to take a good bit to finalize the networking and distribution channels as well as get the marketing into full effect with finalized UI and gameplay mechanics taking around 3 months more. All times are subject to changes due to development hurdles but we anticipate no major issues.

Are you going to make it into DLC heaven?

No. In our opinion splitting up a multiplayer game into DLC is akin to pay-to-win games and we do not want that at all. We have several additional changes that are planned for the post-release game including increasing ship details, changes to the water systems, better weather, and adding ships/upgrades/locations/missions. However, none of those additions are going to cost end users a single dime.

Will I be able to Mod the base game?

Modding has been discussed and will not be available for the initial game release but is on the roadmap for much later releases. We hope to have so much content in the game initially that modding will be done in-house by adding new ships, locations, upgrades, and more at a sufficient pace to keep players excited to play. If modding is allowed we have to determine the correct way to manage it so that it does not cause any issues with the balance of the online play. More than likely modding will be restricted to privately hosted servers so that clients can all match in their mod base.

I think that wraps up the basics. If you have further questions or comments post them here or contact us at support@wolfpackgames.co and you can visit our new website and forums at www.wolfpackgames.co ('http://www.wolfpackgames.co/'), follow us @wolfpackgamesco on Twitter, or visit us over at IndieDB (http://www.indiedb.com/games/letters-of-marque-and-reprisal).

[CaptainMurphy]

We have begun testing a new water system. It can go from slick calm to a massive storm smoothly, and generates dynamic energy based foam along with the wave dynamics. We should have this water in our next pre-alpha demo.

http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/43/42607/Screenshot-2015-07-21_08-23-43.png

http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/43/42607/Screenshot-2015-07-21_08-19-33.png

[CaptainMurphy]

Week 4 is upon us and we would like to say a sincere THANK YOU to all of our fans and followers! As a token of our appreciation our artist has made a desktop background for you. You can download it from IndieDB here ('http://www.indiedb.com/games/letters-of-marque-and-reprisal/downloads'). Be sure to follow us on Twitter @wolfpackgamesco or #LettersOfMarque to keep up with the latest news and updates.

Updates

Updated HMS Victory model – Some of the textures are modified and a few of the higher detail objects have been removed. The whole model was gone over and smoothed out and reduced in poly to keep the frame rates high. Windows have been made into glass and PBR textures have been cleaned up and optimized. Next up will be adding in LOD and getting some of the cloth objects working.

http://puu.sh/j6igj.png

New keybindings – All new keys are set up. We are using a much more refined input manager that allows us to quickly create mappings for not only keyboard but for controllers as well! Look for an update next week with controller support. Gun elevation, sail control, and rudder position are all updated to be smoother and more controller friendly.

http://puu.sh/j6ik2.png

Camera Control – A new camera control was created to make for a smooth camera motion for battle scenes. Currently the ‘deck view’ system is removed until it is finally sorted out for keybinds, but should be back in before next week.

Victory AI – The Victory class ship has been added to the battle scene on both the Spanish AND English sides as their flagship. Don’t get between them as they duke it out as they both have 55 guns per side that will tear a player Brig to pieces.

http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/43/42607/Screenshot-2015-07-19_20-28-17.png

AI Updates – The AI is now smarter about gun usage and speed matching. Our test battle scene is an amazing amount of carnage in a short period with the AI able to manage player ship movements and range estimation.

Battle UI – The new UI is now functional for the ship health, rudder position, gun elevation, sail setting, and heading. Players can get a lot of info from one glance at the UI object with more items coming soon.

http://puu.sh/j6mBG.png

Updated Main Menu splash screens – All new splashes are in place for the main menu. We were able to cut the size and maintain the quality of the splash images while making them more detailed and beautiful.

http://puu.sh/j6mHl.png

Updated particles – Particle management got a bit smarter with the ability for a particle pooler to handle large and small explosions/splashes/smoke without needing to load another particle system. Through management of the particle components in the pool we were able to effectively halve our memory usage for particle effects without needing to lose any detail. In fact the smoke and fire have gotten even MORE detailed in the past week with better performance.

Roadmap
In the next week we hope to have more AI updates, more graphical updates, and quite possibly a new water system in beta testing. We expect to have a playable pre-alpha in less than 2 weeks and are going to be taking applications to become a tester in the next week. Be sure to follow us on Twitter or in IndieDB to be notified of the tester access positions available.

Stay up to date, follow us on Twitter @wolfpackgamesco and here at IndieDB.

[CaptainMurphy]

Week 5 Update
Now that we are in the 5th week of development, things are starting to move smoother and with better results. Our optimizations last week paid off this week with new water systems adding a large chunk of performance back to the game. Here is a rundown of what our team has accomplished this week.

New Water

With every build we have been trying to optimize and enhance the water, and this week it has been taken to a whole new level. We switched to a prototype water system and have been able to increase our frame rate by almost tenfold. At the same time we now have energy based foam, wakes behind moving vessels, and better transparency/refraction. The best part is that this system is fully networkable for our later builds for multiplayer!

http://puu.sh/j9s0Y.png


Wind Integration

The UI now reflects the correct wind direction and speed. This will better help Captains to decide on their maneuvers in battle.

http://puu.sh/jbhKv.png

Vessel Dynamics and Movement

Vessel movement has been overhauled to include actual drag force calculations on the hull, real wind force information on the sails, and more accurate and smoother buoyancy calculations. The system is designed to allow us to compress real world values to a more manageable and usable amount.

Mission Weather Selection

Dynamic weather systems help to bring variety to battles. The same small bay can be a totally different place with high winds and choppy seas if you are used to light winds and smooth sailing. Now you can change the weather to be what you want for single player testing battles.

http://puu.sh/jf625.png

Cannon UI

The cannon system now talks to a UI so that players can see where their gun crews are currently at in the reloading process. It reflects the number of active guns, the readiness of the battery, and what shot type the battery is currently loaded with.

http://puu.sh/jcGzx.png http://puu.sh/jcGFI.png

Updated Cannon Elevation and UI

The main battle UI has been updated to reflect the expanded cannon controls so that guns can be more precisely elevated. Guns have also had their range increased to give more extended range gun battles. Each gun size and type will have unique range and damage abilities with different types of shot.

http://puu.sh/jf3SV.png

New Particles and Particle Handlers

When working with hundreds of individual cannon shots we are looking at the possibility of thousands of particles being generated between the splashes, smoke, fire, debris and more. As a result the particles have been reworked by our artist to make them lighter and cleaner so that we can have multiple levels of detail at different ranges. This helps to keep quality consistent for the player and performance high.

Objective Icons

With our expanded objective system you can now quickly see overhead markers for both your objective targets and for defence goals.

http://puu.sh/jf7f5.png

Updated loading logo for Wolf Pack Games
To go along better with the theme of Letters of Marque, our artist has made us an all new loading image for the splash screen.

http://puu.sh/j6yBh.png

Roadmap

Our pre-alpha testing is getting closer with more AI updates in the works, expanded shot types available, more ship/water interaction through bow waves and kinetic particles to show a vessel plunging into the sea. Camera updates are planned and controller support should be shortly after that. If you are interested in helping test please contact us at support@wolfpackgames.co for more information.


Remember to be sure to follow us at Twitter @wolfpackgames.co ('https://twitter.com/wolfpackgamesco'), over at IndieDB ('http://www.indiedb.com/games/letters-of-marque-and-reprisal'), or at our website www.wolfpackgames.co ('http://www.wolfpackgames.co') to keep up with our latest developments.

[CaptainMurphy]

http://puu.sh/jgcWv.png (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sok-HSKfOpY)

[Thagarr]

Looking beautiful mate! :up:

[CaptainMurphy]

Well, fancy seeing you here! Thanks for the compliment. We are updating the water this week and doing some more atmospheric tweaks, so hopefully it will look better next week!

[CaptainMurphy]

http://i.imgur.com/amegm56.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/zcm7T32.jpg

One of the low level Pirate Ships Christian is making/modeling is almost ready to make its way into the game. The textures are just placeholders, and a lot of detailing is still to be done.

She is a Hackman Ketch, with 10 guns (most likely 4lb cannons)
4 on each side, and two bow chasers.

We are getting closer and closer to start Pre-Alpha testing, so head over to www.lettersofmarquegame.com to keep up to date.
More artwork and "behind the scenes" will soon be coming.

[Thagarr]

Well, fancy seeing you here! Thanks for the compliment. We are updating the water this week and doing some more atmospheric tweaks, so hopefully it will look better next week!

I have actually been lurking around these forums for going on 20 years now, since just after it went online. I just never signed up for an account till just a few years ago. I originally found out about Sea Dogs here. If you haven't looked around much mate, I suggest you do! There are quite a lot of good people here and great information about a lot of things, especially from WWII. That is a nice little ketch! Really looking forward to more updates!

[CaptainMurphy]

I have been a lurker here for a long while as well! :haha: Ever since my first copy of SH2 if I remember correctly. We are hoping that the framework for Letters of Marque will be reusable for other games when we are done with it. We may be interested in doing another genre of battle, so who knows, there may be a sub game eventually.

[tater]

Having watched the video, can you have it possible to control time compression, so that at 1:1, it's real time, and just up TC as needed? I'm thinking single player. If it takes 2 hours to hit 6 knots, I'm fine with that, what if you spot a sail near sunset, for example...

Looks really pretty, but I have to say that it saddens me when every age of sail game that is in the pipes is aimed at MMO, which utterly destroys any realism (at least in every single one I've seen in practice).

Maybe you have a way around this.

I suppose I'm odd in that I have little interest in fleet actions. I want to be a junior officer with a command, not an admiral. I want to hunt along a coast---I want SH, only with a small frigate.

[CaptainMurphy]

This game is focused around the battle itself, so the chase part will be pretty minimal unless someone is trying to run away from you in one of the battles. In single player mode you will be able to choose your ship and the ship(s) of enemies and allies, your location, weather, etc and pick what type of engagement it is (mission type). For multiplayer it will be similar except you will set the number of players and the maximum/minimum class of ship instead of getting to pick the exact ones. Some battles will follow historical settings with pre-determined ships that players can use rather than bringing their own. So if you want to find out how you would do as the Captain of the HMS Surprise against the Acheron, or as Lord Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar then this would be what you want. If you are looking for a more first person type game that is more about the entire long haul then look into Hearts of Oak.

We are aiming to make the battle dynamics fluid so that players can set their own levels of realism to reflect their play when hosting games or as single player. You will be able to slow down the reaction of the ship to physics but I can guarantee you that realistic values are really, really slow. We have a current balance that we call 'cinematic reality' that helps to keep the players from being bored from slow turns and acceleration but does not have an arcade feel.

[CaptainMurphy]

We were contacted by the writers over at GC and they were kind enough to get an interview with us. You can check it out HERE (http://www.gamingconviction.com/interview-wolf-pack-games-talks-letters-of-marque/). It gives a bit more insight into the game design and how it is planned to work.

[CaptainMurphy]

Networking is getting along finally! The hosting and connection code is in place and we have begun getting the environmental objects synced up (time, weather, wind, seas) and finally have our first ship test in engine with the server authoritative model working flawless!

Server is on the right, client is on the left. The number in the top right is a frame syncing object to make sure the visual indicators match between the two computers.

http://puu.sh/jVa9r.png

[sturmer]

that is 1 sweet looking game, cant wait to give it a try
:salute:

[CaptainMurphy]

Doing some stormy seas testing with two different ships to make sure they look and respond realistically.

http://puu.sh/k0ZVS.png

I have to admit, it looks pretty good so far. You can check out the ocean in motion here:

http://puu.sh/k10BC.png (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acv05sBwW9g)

[CaptainMurphy]

3 clients and the server all in the scene together. Controls are working for rudder, sail settings, and gun elevation right now. All physics, wind, buoyancy are working as well. Time to wire in some of the guns and particles and we may have a game!

http://puu.sh/ka22l.png

[CaptainMurphy]

First multiplayer ship sinking! I would brag about winning except I was only playing myself on the same computer. :rotfl2:

http://puu.sh/kcyGP.png

[CaptainMurphy]

Quick demo of the networking showing a server and client in a scene and going over some of the features.

http://puu.sh/kfM53.png (https://youtu.be/d5pi-Vc4New)

[Highbury]

Looking good so far, thanks for posting the video!

[CaptainMurphy]

We've been quiet, but we haven't been lazy! Here is what has been accomplished in the past few weeks. To start, if you want to stay up to date with us, we recommend following us on one of the social media accounts we have set up. We are aiming to get 1,000 twitter followers before the end of the month and would LOVE for everyone to follow us!

http://media.indiedb.com/images/members/3/2842/2841245/profile/FB-f-Logo_blue_50.png ('https://www.facebook.com/lettersofmarqueandreprisal') http://media.indiedb.com/images/members/3/2842/2841245/profile/HdT6jbRJRhqyPu3BKhi7_google-Plus.png ('https://plus.google.com/+WolfpackgamesLoM/posts') http://media.indiedb.com/images/members/3/2842/2841245/profile/url.png ('https://twitter.com/wolfpackgamesco') http://button.indiedb.com/popularity/medium/games/42607.png ('http://www.indiedb.com/games/letters-of-marque-and-reprisal')

Multiplayer!!!
The largest enhancement, and probably the most complex, has been adding networking and multiplayer ability to the game! Players can beat each up over LAN and the Internet in game after game now. The server design is 'authoritative' meaning that the server is doing all of the motion calculations, hit calculations, and other physics. That leaves the client side to simply move the object where the server tells it to and to render things like particles.

Currently, only one game mode is available and that is a simple brawl. Players can choose a nation and jump in and fire away till they sink, choose another nation, and join the fight anew.
http://puu.sh/kg9Cr.png
Three players in a fight
http://puu.sh/kdGCx.png
Three players in a fight

Master Server Browser
We have our own master server system now that allows us to control what games players see when they are looking for something to play.
http://puu.sh/kprD9.png

Nation Skins
In a precursor to our final version of player customization, the nation skins are a quick way to identify a nation by sight. Each nation has a unique color scheme and flies the basic flag(s) and pennants) for that nation (flags will be year specific later, but now it is simply 1 design).
http://puu.sh/kjKuT.png
French ship patrolling

New particle effects
All of the cannons, splashes, and smoke are reworked to be lit by light sources in game. This makes the particles look much more natural in game.

Bow splashes are also being added and a temporary particle is in place for the bow so that we can test water height tracking. This allows the splashes to rise and fall with the bow and tracks the velocity of the bow in relation to the water height, allowing us to make the splashes larger/smaller based on velocity forward and up/down.
http://puu.sh/klXyV.gif
Simple particles on test probe

http://puu.sh/kki53.png
Placement trackers

New Textures
The sails and planking are getting reworked to be specific to our shader system and are coming out very nice. They are designed to be tinted in game to any color using a masking system to allow wood to show through the tinted areas without the coloring.
http://puu.sh/ktyIQ.png
Planking
http://puu.sh/ksMlF.png
Sails

Updated Water System
The water system keeps getting better and better. With the addition of new underwater effects (in case your camera goes underwater) and better handling of fog and particles.
http://puu.sh/kwcmR.png

Updates and Patching
Players and testers no longer need to download a new version every day! With the new patching system an update can be mere KB instead of being another 60-80 megs.
http://puu.sh/kpxeo.png

Smoke, Fire, Flooding
It is now much easier to see what kind of damage you are dealing to your opponent. Smoke will come from multiple places on the vessel as your shots ring home.
http://puu.sh/kzZ6O.png

When a player is taking hull damage, it is now possible for a fire to randomly start on the ship. It is also possible that shots below the waterline (or near it) can cause some flooding. Flooding will be able to be plugged (slowing the flow) and pumped (removing it from the vessel). As a vessel floods it can sit lower in the water and eventually become subject to downflooding, at which point the damage control teams will have a hard time keeping her afloat.

http://puu.sh/kAAPR.png

Fire spreads throughout the ship and can take over the vessel quickly if not checked and doused. With the addition of the crew systems next week we will see the first parts of the fire fighting mechanics. If a fire reaches the maximum limit unchecked, it will result in the ship having a magazine explosion.

http://puu.sh/kAKSn.png
http://puu.sh/kANbn.png

Armor
Each quadrant of the ship has a certain 'armor' factor to represent the hull damage taken in that area. Once the armor in a zone is penetrated then more shots will start to damage the hull section and eventually cause the vessel to flood and sink. Also as more shots make it into the interior, crew will be hurt or killed and fires become more likely to break out.
http://puu.sh/kytdN.pnghttp://puu.sh/kytcU.png

That wraps up this news update. Be sure to follow us on Twitter or Facebook to see more frequent updates!

Also, we are accepting our first round of testers, so head over to our site and check out the requirements:
http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/Forum/tabid/638/aft/97/Default.aspx

Until next time, keep your powder dry!

[CaptainMurphy]

Just a quick video showing how armor and hull damage work in Letters of Marque.

http://puu.sh/l4p65.png (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOjk0dc5C-E)

[CaptainMurphy]

Expanding the rough weather conditions
https://i.imgur.com/I2n5LGj.png
https://i.imgur.com/yFv5LRT.jpg

Fires should be spreading from boat to boat soon
https://i.imgur.com/tSAZDZz.png
https://i.imgur.com/QtDmoaM.png

Camera angles and on deck views are now expanded and reworked to be much more stable
https://i.imgur.com/MJCAgop.png
https://i.imgur.com/7FlqJTH.png

Just a French ship after sinking a pirate
https://i.imgur.com/upJpkPL.png
https://i.imgur.com/1gqfGrY.png

At boarding distances. The damage and noise at this distance is pretty intense.
https://i.imgur.com/wq4kW6l.png
https://i.imgur.com/ycTOlNC.png

Collision damage will be added in the next update
https://i.imgur.com/DAFw3YV.png

Added in some new camera effects and bloom
https://i.imgur.com/xQbmVpn.png
https://i.imgur.com/KSwTaqo.png

[CaptainMurphy]

New Substances and textures
Anyone that is following the game scene knows that PBR (Physically Based Rendering) is the hot item in games, and indie games are not excluded from this. As such we have begun to add in new PBR textures and substances to the models to get the lighting and shading right. We are replacing our placeholder basic textures with the more accurate PBR ones, though they may be replaced in the future when we have some more time.
http://i.imgur.com/TGIRbbF.png
New Deck texture

http://i.imgur.com/rLMKccj.png
New copper bottom option for ships

New damage mechanic - Dismasting
The damage model is becoming more accurate and realistic with the sails able to take damage and change the force values they impart and now with the ability for forces to break or remove masts including cannon fire. As a mast takes damage it becomes more susceptible to related forces through wind or momentum. Once those forces exceed the ability of the mast to stand, it snaps and falls, possibly taking other components out in the process. A falling main mast has a lot of mass and can easily damage or break another mast as it falls.

Each mast is independently damageable, so the Main, Top, Topgallant, Royals are all separate pieces and can be separately destroyed or damaged.

http://i.imgur.com/vK0LklI.png
Main mast falling after being hit

http://i.imgur.com/DaUkbUE.png
Falling main mast narrowly missing the mizzen

http://i.imgur.com/37KjLTf.png
Fallen main mast slipping overboard

http://i.imgur.com/F0A5k6O.png
Dutch ketch after losing both top masts

New damage mechanic - Magazine explosion
After a fire burns out of control on the ship for a certain period, the likelihood of a magazine explosion increases until it is inevitable. Once the threshold is reached an explosion will occur that sends flaming debris all directions. It is recommended to be nowhere near a burning ship before it explodes as it could result in your own ship catching fire.

http://i.imgur.com/bSiXhg8.png
Magazine explosion

[CaptainMurphy]

New PBR Substances
http://i.imgur.com/0Ev7DO4.png
http://i.imgur.com/WBZxZ1a.png
http://i.imgur.com/ErvUcxa.png


2 Ships collided and were stuck when the bowsprit of one got fouled in the mizzen mast of the other. A close quarters brawl ensued with one ship sunk and the other heavily damaged.
http://i.imgur.com/5F2xnKH.png
http://i.imgur.com/jsjmJBL.png
http://i.imgur.com/2fd5dSG.png


4 ships duking it out
http://i.imgur.com/TDtpbjT.png
http://i.imgur.com/NPBUTVq.png
http://i.imgur.com/Axb6OWs.png
http://i.imgur.com/ZIiwZxc.png
http://i.imgur.com/RsnaabJ.png
http://i.imgur.com/aZ18a7e.png
http://i.imgur.com/x7tAGMi.png
http://i.imgur.com/iarf7ya.png


New Telescope view for on-deck
http://i.imgur.com/n6U6qJV.png
http://i.imgur.com/NKIqVxZ.png


Doh. Run aground... the hard way.
http://i.imgur.com/GWPeqcF.png

[CaptainMurphy]

http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/indiedb_demo_build_image-300x225.png ('http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/indiedb_demo_build_image.png')

Download “Letters of Marque Test Build” Letters-of-Marque.zip – 82 MB ('http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/download/196/')

Wha?!?! Did you say the demo was playable by everyone?!?!?!

YES! It is playable and downloadable and free to play. No ‘Early Access’ or fees to pay, just a plain ol’ game in testing that you can play with your friends. Now, there is one limitation, it requires you to sign up on our website for an account, but that is the only stipulation. We are using the login to track some basic metrics and crash reports so it helps us help you! Now, on to some of the details of the latest build.

Installation

Download, extract to your favorite games folder, enjoy. It is just that simple. No installer to worry about. Just put it somewhere that has decent file permissions and you are good to go.

Patcher/Launcher

In order to stay up to date we have included a patcher that will download and install new patches to the game. In your game folder there are two executable files. The one with “launcher” in the name is… well… the launcher. It patches the program and makes sure you are up to date. It is recommended to run it instead of the other executable simply because we release patches constantly.

Multiplayer

In order to host a multiplayer match you will need to forward your chosen port to your computer. By default we are using port 15937 for the game, but you are welcome to host on any port you please. When someone picks your game to join from the master server list, it will pass along what port to use so you don’t have to.

When playing locally with multiple clients on one machine or on LAN, you will need to use the ‘Join IP’ and type in the IP of the hosting machine. We will, one day, make that automatic but that is fairly low priority right now, sorry.

Input and Keys

When in game you can press the Options button from the main menu, or the Exit menu from in a game to get to your settings. On the top right is the Controls button that lets you reassign your keys to your hearts content. Here are some of the defaults:

Camera Type
Change View Type (On-deck or 3rd Person) – F
Change View Point (On-deck Only) – R

Camera 3rd Person
Mouse Right Click – Unlock camera to move
Mouse Left/Right/Up/Down – Orbit around ship (While right clicking)
Mouse Scroll Wheel – Zoom in/out (while right clicking)

Camera 1st Person
Mouse Right Click – Unlock camera to move
Mouse Left/Right/Up/Down – Look (While right clicking)
Mouse Scroll Wheel – Use telescope (while right clicking)

Movement
W/S – Sails raise/lower (double tap to full/douse sails)
A/D – Rudder left/right (double tap to full left/right rudder)

Gunnery
Space – Fire battery that is facing the same direction the camera is
E -Fire one shot from the battery
Shift + W/S – Elevate guns

Other
C – Begin Damage Control
O – Take Screenshot without GUI
P – Take Screenshot with GUI
Enter – focus on text box/send chat message
~ – see your current FPS and memory usage

[Niedowidek]

Hi,

I've just downloaded your game from this link http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/download/196/
but Windows and 7-Zip cannot open the zip file. Is everything OK with this build?

I would love to try your game.

Art

[CaptainMurphy]

Apparently the last upload got corrupted somehow. We are pushing a new zip file right now, probably be up in about 30 minutes. Thanks for letting me know!

[Niedowidek]

Thanks, it worked but not until I've used Chrome instead of Firefox. With FF I've tried multiple times and always got download interrupted in progress or corrupted file at the end.

Anyway, game looks fine. Your, ehm, UI circle (the one in right upper cornert) is quite ingenious :) I think I'll have problems with testing it in multiplayer mode as my ISP provider restricts port forwarding but I may try to connect if you host some time :)

[CaptainMurphy]

We are still having issues with that blasted server hosting the files. We are going to move them to something off-site that has a more stable serving of compressed files. If it comes under even moderate load it causes the zip files to get corrupted like it is missing bytes during the send or something similar. :/\\!!

We are aiming to make the UI as compact, yet as understandable, as possible. Our goal is to allow the UI objects to be skinned, but that is still a few versions away.

As for hosting a game, we allowed the port to be settable which should help with most ISP limitations. I know my ISP will not allow certain ranges to be incoming (which is always a pain) and partially prompted the allowed port changing of a hosted game. We hope to have a form of basic FSM AI in place in the next month so that players unable to host or join MP games can have a decent playing experience on their own.

[CaptainMurphy]

I put together a quick video about Gunnery last night:

http://puu.sh/mcx3p.png (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzpp90PRfv0)

[CaptainMurphy]

Sorry I haven't posted in a while! We have gotten quite a bit done in the past couple of weeks, including putting some new videos together!

http://puu.sh/mtbi2.png (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebhdxbqkDoE)

Rigging and damage:
http://puu.sh/mtbrf.png (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhlO3RiZ1Wo)

1v1 Battle demo:
http://puu.sh/mtbsV.png (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Mqc0SYQBI)

Slomo shots of the new cannon effects:
http://puu.sh/mtbtZ.png (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMtplilSoZU)
http://puu.sh/mtbvx.png (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_qRnvbT5Rs)

[CaptainMurphy]

Naval Battle Game Comes Alive!
It has been an amazing year so far full of a lot of progress on our latest naval battle game Letters of Marque. It went from merely a concept in June to something that can be played, in less than 6 months. We want to thank all of our fans that have been keeping us motivated. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, keep it up! Your follows, likes, and comments are great for getting us moving on the development to make you a great age of sail ship action game!

Then and Now
http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Brig-300x183.png ('http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Brig.png')
Our first brig placeholder

At the start we laid out our goals (to make a fun naval battle game) and began the work using placeholders and quick script segments to approximate the game. A quick Finite State Logic helmed the AI ships and a placeholder brig took the place of a more detailed model. Gun a blazing we got into games and had a lot of fun, cementing our decision to continue the project and develop the gameplay in the same style as planned. When work first started on LoM we had no real naval assets and we asked to borrow a brig model from another game to use temporarily. We were granted the use of the placeholder model from the generous folks over atPiratesAhoy! ('http://www.piratesahoy.net/') and the real work could begin. With just Jehremie (aka Captain Murphy) and Justin (aka Trunks) on the team at the time it was a daunting task for sure; but soon after work began, Christian (aka Flannery) contacted us and offered his skills as a composer! He was taken on immediately and started on the intro and battle music. As some time passed we went through many changes and iterations of assets, which will be explained in the following sections, our first real model was created by Christian a few months later, (Gole Ketch) which is the ship you see in our screen shots.

Challenges
http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Ketch-300x169.png ('http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Ketch.png')
Gole Ketch created by Christian

In the past 6 months that Wolf Pack Games ('http://www.wolfpackgames.co/') has worked on the naval battle game Letters of Marque and Reprisal (LoM), the company has faced a few obstacles to development. Our composer/modeler/artist Christian recently had a newborn baby (CONGRATS!) and with that some assets had to be delayed and pushed back, such as new ship models, sounds, and various art assets for the website. Christian also helmed the music for the popular game Life is Feudal ('http://lifeisfeudal.com/'), which will have the soundtrack available to purchase before long. We also had another team member go through a career change and is still trying to get back on his feet after the switch. We have had a lot happen over the past year but progress has not stopped. Through thick and thin we managed to knock out around 30% of the game, mostly mechanics and core components that were hammered out after hours from our regular jobs and other obligations.

Mechanics and Components (also known as, “what we broke many, many times”)
http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Screenshot-2016-01-10_21-19-45-300x169.png ('http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Screenshot-2016-01-10_21-19-45.png')
Near photo quality graphics

With any project, there will always be trials and tribulations when trying to find what does and (mostly) does not work. It was no less an effort with this naval battle game over the past few months as we tested multiple water shaders, sail/material shaders, and also core networking components. When the dust finally settled after weeks of testing and breaking components and assets, we finally settled on some great systems. The Sails/PBR shaders are UBER, the water is Ceto, and the networking is actually a homebrew solution created by the team over at Black Wake ('http://www.blackwake.com/') called WakeNet. We will get more in depth on that later as we are planning to actually open source that system for everyone to make use of. Although it set us back a couple weeks on our development plan, the near photo realistic quality results speak for themselves.

Where are we now?
http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Screenshot-2015-12-11_19-32-08-300x141.png ('http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Screenshot-2015-12-11_19-32-08.png')
Spanish Ketch sailing into the sunset

As we rounded out the new year, we are in a great path for this naval battle game to continue on. We passed our 30% roadmap mark just before the new year and as our crew’s lives are slowly getting back in order we are building up momentum and the project is now a fully functional game that can be played for free! We recommend that you get into playing it now as we don’t know how long we will keep it free for download and play. Eventually it will go back to closed source where only the testers get the latest version. We won’t deprecate the existing copies, they are out there forever for everyone to try out.



How can you get involved?
We have our naval battle game on social media at pretty much all of the major locations, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Reddit, and IndieDB and we always love it when fans take time to follow/like/upvote us on those pages. It means a lot that people are excited to see the naval battle game of their dreams get built! We also love to see random players hop into our testing games in the evenings. We mostly work on the game from 5-11pm CST so if you happen to see a game running then, it is probably us. Stop in and say hi and lob a few cannonballs at us!

That wraps it for this summary report, look out for a devblog coming soon!

http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/facebook_50.png ('https://www.facebook.com/lettersofmarqueandreprisal') http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/twitter_50.png ('https://twitter.com/wolfpackgamesco') http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/googleplus_50.png ('https://www.google.com/+WolfpackgamesLoM') http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Instagram_50.png ('https://www.instagram.com/wolfpackgamesco/') http://www.lettersofmarquegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/reddit-icon.png ('https://www.reddit.com/r/LettersOfMarque/') http://button.indiedb.com/popularity/medium/games/42607.png ('http://www.indiedb.com/games/letters-of-marque-and-reprisal')

[CaptainMurphy]

Welcome to the first Tides of War devblog! We are kicking off the month with a new devblog covering the changes taking place.

Tides of War - New Name
Lets hit the largest topic first. The name of Letters of Marque has been changed to Tides of War: Letters of Marque.

There are several factors that led to this. First, after several tests we found that the word "marque" was hard to convey correctly. Most testing showed that people tried to search for 'mark', 'marc', or even 'marquee'. Second, we had set the name Letters of Marque as something of a working title and really just never got around to getting a new name since we were rather busy with mechanics and art. Third, we want to grow the game series beyond a single game with a theme that binds several games together, and the current title was not good for that. Fourth, we wanted to do the name change before we reached anything close to an alpha stage where the name would be associated with the product from that point on. After quite a few meetings we voted through many names and finally settled on Tides of War as the major series title and Letters of Marque as the subtitle for the first project that is currently underway. Along with the name change, the domain address, IndieDB link, and other marketing material is being switched over so be sure to update your links to the new versions.

You can check out the new site at:

www.TidesOfWarGame.com ('http://www.tidesofwargame.com/')

Along with that comes the NEW LOGO! Look forward to seeing this getting pushed to all of our media outlets in the next week. We look forward to feedback on the new design as well!

http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ToWLogo_wSHIP_nonglow_1000px.png ('http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ToWLogo_wSHIP_nonglow_1000px.png')



New Model - 14-22 gun Swan Class Sloop
The newest ship is getting built into the game! It is an 18 gun Sloop based on the HMS Fly (1776), a Swan class sloop ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan-class_ship-sloop'). Her crew of 125 were packed tight into the 29.4m long hull. With her drawing 2m of draft she was a light and fast cruiser used for convoy duties. The design was used to build 25 vessels from 1766 to 1780. She initially carried 14 x 6lb cannons and 16 swivel guns. Later refits allowed for 16 x 6lb guns and 2 x 12lb carronades. Some models even were upgraded to 4 more carronades on the quarterdeck for a total of 22 guns. Quite the armament for such a small vessel!

http://puu.sh/mWOSa.png (https://sketchfab.com/models/25548bad669f4e97bdaf80b33b4843db)
Swan Class Sloop



http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/ss-2016-01-28-at-02.07.14-1024x412.png ('http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/ss-2016-01-28-at-02.07.14.png')
First test of the Swan class sloop in engine
New Battle Scene
The first of our new battle scenes is called 'The 5 Islands'.... real original, huh? It is a varied set of small islands with cuts and inlets around the map that allow for a more varied tactical approach to the battles. The new terrain includes houses, trees, rocks, beaches, etc. All the basics needed to create a much more immersive environment to sink and capture each other in.

http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screenshot-2016-01-23_14-59-14-1024x612.png ('http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screenshot-2016-01-23_14-59-14.png')
Narrow passes and closer land means more tactics are needed
http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screenshot-2016-01-23_15-02-19-1024x612.png ('http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screenshot-2016-01-23_15-02-19.png')
5 Islands Map
Better AI
In our quest to be able to get the AI to the point of not being completely useless we have started the process of implementing behavior trees ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior_tree') for them. What this means is we can begin to add in many new mechanics that the AI will be able to utilize beyond the current "target, navigate, shoot" they are currently running. As our new levels are created, they are mapped to use navigation meshes that will enable more robust ship movement, including being able to not have them run aground constantly. We look forward to having more engaging battles with the AI ships for those that enjoy single player matches. Combined with new ships and new levels, it will be a great time sinking your enemies!

http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/ss-2016-01-23-at-04.01.44.png ('http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/ss-2016-01-23-at-04.01.44.png')
5 Islands Navigation Test Mesh
Updated Wake
A subtle, yet powerful clue to a ships speed is the wake it is leaving behind. The faster they are moving, the larger and longer the wake will be. To that end we have added a new wake to the ships to give a more realistic look to their motion. The new wake modifies the water surface height, adds a change to the normal maps behind the vessel, and even makes new foam trails based on the speed it is moving. So far we are very pleased with the effect and look forward to tweaking it some more to make it even better over the next few weeks.

http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screenshot-2016-01-24_11-42-49-1024x517.png ('http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screenshot-2016-01-24_11-42-49.png')
Ship Wake Effect - modifies the normal mapping, specular light, and heights of the water
http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screenshot-2016-01-24_11-34-12-1024x517.png ('http://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screenshot-2016-01-24_11-34-12.png')
Ships wake update
Wheres my demo build?!?!?!
It is coming, we promise! The ship addition process is getting refined and we expect the newest build to take another week or 2 before it is fully ready. We have a few new systems to get put in (which will be explained in the next devblog) and we want them to be more stable before pushing them out. Until that time you are still welcome to play the current release from our website. Yes, we know it doesn't have the new name, but the new version will! Hope you enjoy the latest info and we hop to see you out on the seas soon!

[CaptainMurphy]

Sorry Captains, apparently I have been neglecting to post our monthly devlogs! I will try to get us caught up!

March Devlog

Weather/Sky
Making more progress on weather this month. Added in a more customizable system that allows for a better synchronized cloud and sky state with better horizons that match our ‘cinematic’ style. Evenings and nights are more colorful and the lighting is much improved.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screenshot-2016-03-17_20-16-49-1024x486.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screenshot-2016-03-17_20-16-49.png')

Particles/Effects
Smoke got a bit of an update as well. It now reacts to ambient lighting conditions to give a more natural look. Smoke is also getting a new shader to help give it a more volumetric appearance and to help occlude the enemy ships better. Draw order of the smoke and water was corrected in the March build so that splashes no longer showed up in front of smoke.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screenshot-2016-03-18_11-16-09-1024x486.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screenshot-2016-03-18_11-16-09.png')

[CaptainMurphy]

April Devlog

Foam and Wake Effects
A new update to the wake and foam is getting some love. The foam has a much more natural look (since it was taken from a real photo) and has also been optimized and adjusted for distance detail.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screenshot-2016-03-11_14-39-55-1024x486.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screenshot-2016-03-11_14-39-55.png')

Storm Effects
Nothing beats getting into a fight and a storm rolling in. Now the effect of the rain and fog compounds the difficulty of the fight, leaving the player to have to navigate by sound and light of an enemy’s guns at times to find the battle.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screenshot-2016-01-11_08-26-41-1024x576.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screenshot-2016-01-11_08-26-41.png')

Networking Optimizations
16 person battles are getting tested and we have successfully had more than 1 go through without a crash! To say that it is a brawl is an understatement. Cannons are going off rapid fire and wood chunks are flying!

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Network_Testing-Medium-1024x576.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Network_Testing-Medium.png')

[CaptainMurphy]

May Devlog

High Detail Optimization Tests
The fun of testing optimizations is upon us. We built a new project and started to test every type of material, texture, and model optimization method we could. Currently we are looking to support 64 ships in a hosted battle, so the system for the models needs to be very smooth.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-15-at-12.41.15-1024x570.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-15-at-12.41.15.png')

Materials and Textures
The fruits of the HMS Unicorn ('https://www.wolfpackgames.co/portfolio/hms-unicorn-virtual-museum/') Project are starting to pay off. We have better and more efficient materials for the ships.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-17-at-08.42.51-1024x576.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-17-at-08.42.51.png')

[CaptainMurphy]

June Devlog

New Ship Models
The newest addition(s) to our fleet will be a collection of brigs and snows. Sporting 22 guns (at least) of mostly 6lbs, it is a formidable ship in a fight with plenty of power and quick turns.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-08-04-at-09.44.42.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-08-04-at-09.44.42.png')

Master Server Rewrite
The master server system (how players find battles) was originally based on another system and was starting to show some weaknesses. After a complete rewrite and a full rebuild of the mechanisms we can now say that we have the most optimized version going. Games will be able to be sorted by their map, game type, and even what DLC or mods they may be running. Private server systems have also been updated so as to keep the game server from having to manage password attempts by letting the master server control their initial attempt to connect to the game.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-06-20-at-09.46.45-1024x605.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-06-20-at-09.46.45.png')

[CaptainMurphy]

July Devlog

Sails/Cloth Testing and Optimizations
One of the largest critiques we take is that using cloth objects in Unity is an expensive way to render the sails. Well, we wanted to do some testing to make sure that we weren’t costing our players too much so a new ‘game’ was written to test how many sails could be rendered in full detail on moving ships with dynamic changing wind. Well, it is a LOT before there are performance issues seen.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-02-17-at-04.34.11-1024x517.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-02-17-at-04.34.11.png') https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-02-22-at-12.36.53-1024x554.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-02-22-at-12.36.53.png') https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-02-17-at-10.28.41-1024x487.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-02-17-at-10.28.41.png')

More Textures
The Unicorn project is still paying off in terms of textures with a new set of emissive textures we can use for lighting the glass on the ships. New iron and floor textures are also forthcoming. These are constantly being updated based on the lighting of the Unicorn project and will be updated almost every week until we get them just right.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-13-at-02.56.48-1024x485.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-13-at-02.56.48.png')
Emissive Windows

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-13-at-02.55.01-1024x490.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-13-at-02.55.01.png')
Emissive windows

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-17-at-08.59.22.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-17-at-08.59.22.png')
New Iron Texture

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-17-at-09.31.38.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-05-17-at-09.31.38.png')
New floor texture

[Sailor Steve]

Glad to see it's still underway. Lookin' mighty fine. :rock:

[CaptainMurphy]

August Devlog


Settings System
Probably one of the largest changes for this build is an all new settings and performance system. In the previous versions the options were rather limited as we really hadn’t nailed down our effects stack or assets being used, but as we get more solid on those we really needed a new way to manage settings for video, audio, performance, and controls. What has spawned of this is a very robust and flexible system that can be used as framework for any of our other projects in the future. Most individual selections for settings range from ‘low’ (for lower end hardware) to ‘ultra’ (for top end machines).

The system stores these settings in an accessible JSON formatted settings file and will later allow multiple versions to be stored so a player could store a ‘high’, ‘medium’, and ‘low’ type of preset in their machine and not have to reset all of the settings every time.

Video Settings
https://puu.sh/qRv4Q.png

We have exposed nearly every video setting that won’t change the game to the point of making it unbalanced with some features allowing the player to add/remove contrast from the screen for accessibility to those with color issues in their vision. Each option for effects can have rather different performance impacts on different systems so we wanted to open up the system to be very flexible so that it can apply to the widest variety of systems. Here is a rundown of the current video options.


Resolution – current display resolution and refresh rate
Fullscreen – enable full screen viewing
Field of View – Adjust how much the camera ‘sees’ in degrees of view
View Distance – How far into the distance the camera will render object such as models and terrain
Beautify – This is an addon component that can sharpen the view considerably and can possibly replace antialiasing for lower cost
HDR – Enhanced colors and palette
Bloom – Adds a bloom effect to the camera
Bloom Threshold – Some of us don’t want ‘J.J Abrams’ levels of bloom, so this allows that to be adjusted in game.
Lens Flare – Requires bloom to be enabled and adds a nice flare to the view
Sun Rays – Sun rays (god rays) enabled on the view
Tonemapping – Allows for various types of color tonemapping to help give the game a distinct appearance
Exposure – Allows to brighten up a dark screen or darken a bright one
Color Palette – Can completely change the type of game look and coloring though pre-made palette choice selections
Texture Quality – For lower hardware this can considerably speed up the game
Anisotropic – Another performance option to allow for different levels of Anisotropic filtering
Realtime Reflection – Enables a realtime reflection probe to get more accurate reflection and lighting
Shadow Detail – Change the fidelity of shadows being shown
Shadow Distance – Adjust how far away shadows render. Closer distances means higher quality.
Vertical Sync – Helps on high end hardware to keep it from ‘running away’
Shadow Cascades – Helps with shadow quality over distances
Horizon Based AO – Ambient occlusion rendering post process
Dynamic Global Illumination – This can replace standard lighting, but has a few limitation and is really made for high end hardware. The results are fantastic though.
Antialiasing – Take the AA quality from none to maxed out

Audio Settings
https://puu.sh/qRvdK.png

This is still in its infancy but is getting some work done soon. Through this panel you can adjust the volume of different ‘channels’ of sound and change the number of channels (stereo, 5.1, 7.1, etc).

Performance Settings
https://puu.sh/qRvep.png

The ocean system in the game is a major performance factor for some players. It can range from low detail to photorealistic based on the hardware that the player has. We have allowed as many options as possible to both allow players to get the best performance, but not gain any advantage on others through changes in the settings.

Control Mapping
https://puu.sh/qRvfz.png

Controls for keyboard and even controllers can be set through this panel. Every input is allowed to be mapped to any controller or interface that we can connect to, with more profiles being added every month, usually.

[Onkel Neal]

Awesome work!

Posted on Subsim main page. :salute:

[CaptainMurphy]

Awesome, thanks!

Something I was wondering, is there a way to change the title of the thread to be Tides of War? We changed the project name some time ago and the thread tools only let me change it in one place but it shows the old name in all other references.

[Onkel Neal]

Done, sir. :smug:

[CaptainMurphy]

Thank you, sir!

I'll give a sneak peek at my current work. I am hard at it getting one of our new brig models optimized and ready to fully import with the latest textures and shaders.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-08-29-at-09.18.24.png
https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-08-29-at-09.20.50.png
https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ss-2016-08-29-at-08.29.16.png

[CaptainMurphy]

Kind of skipped the September Dev Log, so here is the latest update for October:

Downloads have moved
We tried using an asset store system for updates and just couldn't get it to be smooth. After almost a year of testing and fixing bugs we gave up and moved the update/download system to Itch.io and have been extremely happy with the system so far. Along with that information we must say that we have A NEW v0.3 BUILD!!! With the ability to use the Itch.io client to keep up to date, it has given us more room to push builds and updates a bit more rapidly. You can down the new build here:
wolfpackgamesco.itch.io/tides-of-war ('http://wolfpackgamesco.itch.io/tides-of-war')

Final Build v0.3 Revisions
Build 0.3 was our test bed for new weather and water and getting all new networking in place, as well as server communication ironed out. As such it was a very fluid development with assets and scripts constantly under major development. It is not a very good build to work with in terms of maintenance, but does incorporate all of the major mechanics we wanted to get started into the game. As the current build is now released, we have begun the 'clean slate' version for v0.4 and above. That means we are starting a new project from scratch (again). In the long run it will save us time by not trying to chase down legacy issues that have grown out of the prototype code we were testing with.

Take a look at the Itch.io page and use the Itch client to keep the new game up to date. Be sure to let us know how you like the latest build!

Download ('http://wolfpackgamesco.itch.io/tides-of-war')

[CaptainMurphy]

We've done a lot of changes to the load and patching system of the game and in the latest video I finally get around to covering it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqqc6hp1Llw

[CaptainMurphy]

Updated weather, added cannon shot types, updated effects, larger ship, MORE GUNS!!!!

http://i.imgur.com/rn8VDBc.png http://i.imgur.com/emoEta0.png
http://i.imgur.com/pgVLjqQ.png http://i.imgur.com/ayNRtZJ.png http://i.imgur.com/blEee6t.png

[CaptainMurphy]

We now have a system of damage decals that we are testing in v0.3.x that is currently up on Itch.io if you want to play it!


http://i.imgur.com/ft5v9KP.png
http://i.imgur.com/vl4vUOB.png
http://i.imgur.com/SdgN1C6.png
http://i.imgur.com/Ky3SY6O.png
http://i.imgur.com/q7WziaV.png
http://i.imgur.com/zpPKz2q.png

[CaptainMurphy]

Greetings all and welcome to the December Devlog update!

A lot has happened since our last update, and we are anxious to share the results – and plans for the future – with you all.

Build v0.3 – Current public release
First off, let’s talk about the current build ('https://wolfpackgamesco.itch.io/tides-of-war') on Itch.io – v0.3

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-07_19-08-31-1024x576.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-07_19-08-31.png')

Early November we finally swapped out or old Test Ketches with our test Brigs – Which first of all meant MORE size and MORE firepower! The same model used is the low poly version of the more detailed model that the player will use in the coming entirely new build of ToW – v0.4

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-07_16-39-58-1024x576.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-07_16-39-58.png')

We moved to Itch.io for our releases and updates, therefore making patching and updating clients MUCH easier. Be sure to download the demo through the Itch.io client to keep up to date!


What does Build v0.3 consist of so far?

5 Nations to play as; English, Spanish, French, Dutch and Pirate – More nationalities will come at a later point, such as China, Russia and young America.
26 gun Naval Snow, based on the HMS Ontario
Admin panel to set up your test scene
3 swappable ammunitions:

Basic Shot (Hull/Armor damage)
Chain Shot (Sail, Rigging and Mast damage)
Hot Shot (Heated to cause fire – which left unattended makes the gunpowder magazine explode)
Canister (Crew damage) and other munitions will be added later when other mechanics are implemented



Basic AI intelligence for the NPS’s (Non Player Ships)
Functioning flooding and fire system on board that must be fought if occurring.
Test map with islands for tactical play
A fully working day cycle system. You can let it run its course or freeze it at a certain time of day/night
A fully working and customizable weather system with calms, storm, fog, rain, thunder and even snow dynamically being added to your ship

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-07_16-36-20-1024x576.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-07_16-36-20.png')

The last week we have also added to v0.3 the beginnings of new incoming systems you meet in v0.4:

A basic dynamic damage texture system showing the damage done by the cannons on both yours, and your allies/enemies ships
More dramatic updated explosions when the powder magazine explodes
Updated explosions sounds
New fire sounds
More visible water splashes (still needs some colour tweaking)
New Cannons particles

Open Testing
In addition to testing it for hours and hours internally, we have also run open servers and tested the current build with many outside testers. And we have also joined privately set up servers. It has been a blast and taught us a lot! Although the build is running smooth and very stable we did encounter a minor Networking issue that sometimes does not allow the player to connect to a server if they have just jumped out of another due to a long running master server timeout. Normally they have only had to wait for about 5 minutes and it was sorted out. Although we have looked into the matter, we are focusing on fixing this bug for the coming .0.4 build.

Should you NOT prefer to play PvP (who doesn’t love a good single player match?), and purely want to test your skills against the computer, – or simply want to train and hone your skills before you meet your nemesis – you are of course fully able to set up your own server and play as single player against as many NPC/AI ships as you choose. Or even just spawn ships of any available nationalities you wish, and just spectate the carnage…

That concludes for v0.3 features. We will not add much more to v0.3 in anticipation of build v0.4

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-07_19-23-07-1-1024x576.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-07_19-23-07-1.png')

Build v0.4 – Coming soon
The next build is the biggest update so far and features a completely reworked/rebuilt game with increased performance and vastly improved code, furthermore it will also mark a new milestone for further development as we now will start to put in the finer details such as skill systems, upgrading systems and more. Features that will be added to the existing ones to expand the game to new heights.

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-08_09-04-17-1024x575.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-08_09-04-17.png')

Here are some of the highlights of what’s to come:


New and even further improved water system
Improving and building on the implemented damage system
Basic skills system allowing to specialize more
More detailed ships for the player (Also adding a different version of the Naval Snow)
New Texture system to the ships – to increase the graphical visual experience for the player and allow players to customize their own paint job (based on historical colour schemes)
High quality cannon models and a few other objects on deck when hit/damaged can reflect that damage (or destruction)
Basics of the coming ship customization and upgrade systems implemented – tailor the ship to your own play style
Basic levelling system with implementation of new ships and ship classes
New WIP Menu System

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-07_11-07-55-1024x576.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screenshot-2016-12-07_11-07-55.png')

Ship Modelling work & Progress
Finally, it is exciting to show you some updated screenshots of the ongoing modelling work. All of these models near completion and consequently will lead to more ships making their way into the game when finalized.

Ships based on known ships, and not 100% accurate copies


HMS Unicorn
HMS Fly
Pirate Brig
Merchant Brig
East Indiaman
3rd rate Warship
USS Essex

https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/3rd-Rate-Warship-300x169.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/3rd-Rate-Warship.png')
https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/East-Indiaman-300x169.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/East-Indiaman.png')
https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/HMS-Unicorn-300x169.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/HMS-Unicorn.png')
https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Merchant-Brig-300x169.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Merchant-Brig.png')
https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Pirate-Brig-300x169.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Pirate-Brig.png')
https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/USS-Essex-300x169.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/USS-Essex.png')
https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/HMS_Fly-Large-300x169.png ('https://www.tidesofwargame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/HMS_Fly-Large.png')
Other ships in the making are:

Redone Pirate Ketch/Schooner/Brig (A facelifted version of the test Ketch)
Queen Anne’s Revenge (The original Blackbeard’s ship built on plans of La Concorde)
4th Rate Warship

In conclusion, download a copy today ('https://wolfpackgamesco.itch.io/tides-of-war') and give it a spin. We look forward to see you on our test servers! Who knows, we might hop in and say hello!

May the winds always be in your favour and lady luck on your side!

Best regards from the Wolf Pack Games development team

[CaptainMurphy]

I've been pushing out patches and updated all week and just last night released our first 64 bit build for Windows. So far the performance seems to be around 30% better than the 32 bit build. This weekend I am working on performance changes and will be putting out a few bug fixes for sounds and particles. Let us know how you like the new build!

[CaptainMurphy]

December Build Video

http://puu.sh/u4t6E.png (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hthSj1XjXSI)

[CaptainMurphy]

We have pushed out a small update to build 0.3 to fix a couple of outstanding feature requests.


Removed requirement for server login (offline play available now)
Updated gun particles
Framework for player profile started
Updated camera effects
Updated raycasting system
Update sky system
Cleaned up project files


Mostly this was a stabilization build and a chance to remove the server account system and allow for offline play. We will expand it a bit more in the coming weeks with a new ship class and a different map, as well as putting in a simple scenario as well. Hope you enjoy!

http://imgur.com/kyIP9DY.png
http://imgur.com/bxkYs3m.png
http://imgur.com/eFsP4VF.png
http://imgur.com/YFwslcJ.png

[Highbury]

Screenshots are looking very nice. Thanks for the update! :Kaleun_Salute:

[CaptainMurphy]

Sneak peak at our newest ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge.
Full Gallery Here (https://imgur.com/a/PxeQv)

YouTube Vid Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7bi4dVZntw)

https://i.imgur.com/Pff4ZG8.png
https://i.imgur.com/KabGQB6.png

[MrMojok69]

Whatever became of this?