marinatide-blog

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It's a catch! Though, you might want to fish for shrimp with a net instead of a rod.

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And now it's floating, too... Marinatide 1.0 is introducing the floating garbage feature! You can clean up the trash from the sea surface by pushing it onto garbage boats, which circle around the island areas.

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Marinatide 1.0 Is Out on Steam

Marinatide 1.0 is now officially launched!

It’s been about ten months since we entered Steam Early Access, inviting you to participate in the development process of Marinatide. Thank you for playing and for sharing your comments with us! The game has made some great progress over this time, hopefully you like it.

As we have announced in our previous post earlier this week, the new version is coming with a massive update. We would love to hear what you have to say about it, so please share your thoughts in the comments or on our forum. See the full changelog for the update in our dedicated forum thread.

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Watch out, it's about to go off!

But wait, there's a volcano around the Sunshore Islands? All will be revealed on October 19th...

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Marinatide 1.0 Coming October 19th!

We have big news: the 1.0 launch of Marinatide is just around the corner! The new version of the game will be available on Steam this Thursday–October 19th.

What’s New

The full game is coming with a big update, adding some major features to the current version. There will be significant visual changes to the world of the game, as the looks of island areas will change with the passing of seasons. Summer and Winter each have their own look. But it’s not only seasonal changes that alter the landscapes. Excess of garbage in an area will take its toll on the scenery, too. In addition to that, there is a whole new variety of garbage added - the floating trash is now waiting for you to clean it up!

Another visual change (though, purely cosmetic) is the new boats. You’ll be able to unlock different vessels in the game. This will not change your boat's technical capabilities, but it will allow you to roam around in style.

Among other things is the availability of fancy fishing gear. With the new update, the shop stock will be changing as you progress in the game, bringing more expensive and effective tools to the market. This will give you more opportunities to invest in quality gear–pricy, but totally worth it!

There are also new quests introduced in Marinatide 1.0–you’ll now have Island Quests (and a couple of new islands) to adventure. Some of the major islands will have their own missions for you. As for the Main Quest–the story will be expanded, with several different endings available. What does the future hold for Team Marina? You'll see for yourself next week!

Pricing

For those, who don’t own Marinatide yet: it might be a good time to grab yourself a copy. As our Early Access run is ending, the price for the game is about to go up. Starting from the launch day, October 19th, Marinatide will cost 6.99$/6.99€.

A trailer for the new version will be coming soon, so stay tuned.

Until then, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more news.

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Update #5: Island Life

After a long-ish break, we are back with another update. This week we are expanding the playing field!

New Islands

There are two newcomers in the Sunshore Islands area: urban Glastonheim and peaceful Roselia. Each has their own Shop, Inn, and new characters.

Glastonheim might just be the metropolitan centre of The Sunshore Islands. It is a rapidly-growing bustling pivot of commerce and entertainment, famous for its sunny beaches and energetic nightlife. 

The neighbouring Roselia, on the other hand, is the embodiment of humble life at peace with nature. Its slow, quiet lifestyle is in stark contrast with the hustle and bustle of Glastonheim, making it a good getaway for those who have grown tired of the city life.

Just be aware that there are plenty of bees!

Together with the new islands, there are over 100 new Fish Areas to explore and fish at.  This just about doubles the size of your map.

Fish Areas and Other News

Aside from adding new Fish Areas, we’ve also made some adjustments to the way they work. Those are mostly changes that won’t make much difference to the eye, but rather affect your fishing. From now on, the amount of fish in an area is not indefinite, and can get quite low if you keep fishing in the same area persistently. The longer you fish at the same area, the longer the fish takes to reproduce. So, don’t hang out in the same spot, keep exploring!

To make things even more interesting, the variety of fish in each area now changes every playthrough.

And, as usual, we are including a couple of new Side Quests. You should be able to find them, when talking to some of the new islanders.

And lastly, there are a few bug fixes and small graphical adjustments.

See the full update changelog on our Steam forum, and make sure to let us know what you think! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news and stuff.

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Update #4: Cleaning, Navigating and Resting

In our last blog post, we wrote about ocean pollution in Marinatide and the real world. This week, we are bringing the earlier announced update, which introduces sea cleanup and a couple of handy features. Let’s take a look.

Sunken Garbage

Roll up your sleeves, because it’s cleaning time! The waters around The Sunshore Islands got overflowed with garbage, which is not only harmful for the environment, but also to Marina’s fishing career.

You’ll see that in some of the Fish Areas garbage gets in your haul. Don’t hurry to throw it away, because recycling it at the Alstport harbor shop will bring you some extra income. Not to mention that eventually the pollution level in any area can be lowered, leaving plenty of room for more fish. Marina and Vino will give you a brief tutorial on this, once you catch your first chunk of trash.

The pay for the recyclables is humble, though there are some valuable finds you can make every now and again. So, look through your catch carefully, because one can get rich on waste.

Map

Have you ever got stranded in the endless blue? We are introducing the area map to the game, which shows the islands, your explored Fish Areas and, naturally, your location. At the moment, it does not have any interactive features. This map is just a map, but that’s a start. As you fill it in, the progress will be saved together with the game. The islands remain on their spots always, but, as you already know, the fishing spots will change in each new playthrough.

You can check your map by pressing the compass icon in the bottom left corner.

Rest at Sea 

Now for some pillow talk. We’ve added a feature allowing you to stay on the ship for rest. This way you don’t have to visit the island inns, in case the money’s running low or you’re afraid of the Innkeeper. You can select how many hours you’d like to sleep in the boat rest window -- just click on the bed icon in the bottom left corner.

However, sleeping on the boat doesn’t restore your energy as much as a night at an inn. A snooze in a hammock just can’t be compared to a good night’s sleep at a nice hotel bed! So, don’t overdo it, remember to treat yourself to some proper rest time after time.

Logically, passing out at sea while fishing no longer teleports you to an inn automatically. You wake up in the comfort of your own vessel, right where you left off.

That’s about it. Welcome to Marinatide 0.5, halfway there! As usual, the full update changelog is available on our Steam forum. You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more breezy news. Did you like the video? Share your opinion in comments!

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Cleaning Up the Seabed

At this moment, a major environmentally-conscious element in Marinatide are the penalties for catching marine animals of endangered species. But there are more coming in the future updates! One of these features should add a new dimension to the game - Sea Cleanup.

The concept of cleaning up the garbage from sea wasn’t invented by us, of course. It’s a real thing and, unfortunately, so is the ocean pollution. Levels of marine pollution are rising to disturbing figures every year, as the seas get contaminated with toxic chemicals, sewage waste and solid garbage. Non-biodegradable plastic waste breaks into smaller and smaller pieces until it is almost completely inseparable from the water itself. Contaminated with the liquid toxins, it eventually finds its way back into households. Gazillions of tiny plastic bits to chase around the oceans... surely seems like an impossible task. That's why it's best to start while the plastics are still at large!

In its own simpler way, The Sunshore Islands area is prone to pollution, too. You can take part in saving the area by collecting fresh garbage at sea.

We have announced Sea Cleanup during our Greenlight campaign. Apart from the fishing, clearing out garbage from the fishing areas was going to be a significant aspect of the game. Now, as Marinatide is rapidly progressing in development, here comes the first taste of that mechanic.

In Marinatide 0.5, Sea Cleanup means cleaning up sunken garbage from the bottom of the sea. You will notice that in some Fish Areas your nets and rods bring up not just fish, but also trash. Concentration of garbage in Fish Areas affects its population negatively. For you, that also means less fish that can be caught from the spot. In the future, the negative effect of pollution will be more obvious from the deteriorating looks of the polluted areas. Yuck!  But no worries, cleaning up will help fix that.

In addition, the collected garbage can bring you some extra money. Island shops will take the trash off your hands for recycling and offer a compensation. The earnings are humble, but one does not recycle for profit only, right?

Sunken Garbage and other new features are coming in the next update. If you’re curious, you can find out more about marine pollution and it’s dangers online.

Follow us on Twitter or Facebook for more Marinatide news!

*Marine debris photograph by NOAA

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Update #3: Motor Switching and New Dialogue

Hello, and welcome to Marinatide 0.45! This week we have a relatively small update, including several “under-the-hood” changes, which shouldn’t make any difference to the players just yet. But there are a couple of changes you should already notice. Let’s see what’s up.

Switchable Motors

We’ve made some fixes to the way purchasing and equipping motors works. From now on, the motors you have purchased are all visible in your inventory and you can switch between them any time you like. Thus, you can increase or decrease your speed at will.

Also, now that they are easily switchable, you can purchase each type of motor, as well as the fishing rods, only once.

Side Quests & Dialogue

A new Side Quest comes with a new friend! If you visit Christopher, the shopkeeper from the Alstport store, you will find him more talkative than usual. He might even give you some errands to run! Christopher’s colleagues around the islands aren’t in on that yet, but they might have some Side Quests for you in the future updates.

Among other additions are time penalties for passing out at sea and more fish species added to several Fish Areas.

You can find the full changelog in our dedicated Steam forum thread.

The next update will be here in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, drop by our forums and let us know what you think of this one!

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for more news and fun stuff!

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Update #2: Fish Areas, Defined and Randomized

We are putting out the second feature update for Marinatide. With Version 0.4 we are making some major changes to the way Fish Areas work in the game, and more! Let’s take a look at all the new additions in order, starting with…

Fish Areas

One of the major changes are the Fish Area Info Windows, which give you information on the types of fish available in any particular area. When you discover a new Fish Area and do some fishing there for a while, your accumulated knowledge about the area is saved and shown in the info window. Once you catch some Common Mackerel in Cape Marina, the info window will show that Common Mackerel is available there. Now, when you need some Common Mackerel, you’ll know exactly where to go.

This feature will prove itself handy whenever you’re searching for a particular species or just for the most valuable catch. That’s why exploring different Fish Areas is essential!

But don’t think that checking all the areas once will let you sail breezily through multiple playthroughs, because we’ve just added Fish Area Randomization to Marinatide. This feature is something we announced way back, during our Steam Greenlight campaign. With the new update, the selection of Fish Areas available changes every time you start the game anew. Your personal sweet spot for shrimp might not be available next time you play, but some other, even better one, might be.

Side Quests Additions

With Update #1, we introduced Side Quests to Marinatide. We also noted that more Side Quests will be coming in the future updates, beginning with this one. For now, we are only adding a single new quest, but it’s a tricky one.

In addition to the new quest, some of the already existing ones got adjusted. This should make the quests more diverse, however, the fixes can interfere with the saves of your previously taken Side Quests and cause loss of some progress. We apologize for the possible inconvenience. Hopefully, the new improvements will make up for that.

Those are the biggest news about Update #2, but you can see the full changelog in our dedicated Steam forum thread.

The next update will be coming in a few weeks. Meanwhile, let us know what you think of this one!

Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook for more news and fun.

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The Characters of Marinatide

Last week we introduced Side Quests to Marinatide - now there’s always something to keep you busy around The Sunshore Islands, no matter how dedicated you are to keeping your schedule tight. With the new quests, you’ve probably encountered some new characters, too. This week in our blog, we’d like to talk about some of those new folks, as well as the ones already familiar to you.  How do Marina and Vino get along, what’s Mr. Simon’s most hated color and what about Bob? We tell all!

 Marina

The center of the story and the main character of Marinatide is Marina (hey, her name is in the title!). Perhaps you’ve been wondering what is this tomboy teen doing out in the rough seas? Whoever gave her a rod in the first place and who does she think she is?

The answers might shock you. For one thing, despite of the youthful looks, Marina is actually in her mid-twenties. She’s also somewhat of a screwball, having spent most of her life living with her parents and having nothing but fun day in -- day out, until  her parents posed her an ultimatum - she had to get a job! And get a job she did. Surprising everyone, including herself, Marina decided to try on a career of a professional fisherman (or fisherwoman?). Parents weren’t happy with the choice, but her auntie stepped in and supported Marina’s initiative, both morally and financially. Though, as you might already know, it turned out the money was a loan, not a gift…

And so, Marina had a lot to prove, setting out on her fishing adventure. Determined as she is, she is still touchy on the subject of her competence… and, perhaps, quite reasonably so… But no heavy feelings will stop her on the way to greatness!

Fun fact: Like any decent captain, Marina loves her vessel. And no matter what model it is, the boat’s name always has to be Abby.

Vino

And here’s young Vino - the second half of Marinatide’s dynamic duo. Though younger (even if by just a couple of years), Vino is often the one to provide a sobering touch with reality for naive and, at times, over-enthusiastic Marina. But although Vino is usually the one to help Marina keep her feet on the ground, he never forgets who’s the captain!

Vino’s never been much of a fisherman, it was Marina who brought him into the business. Even now, being a pro, he doesn’t really enjoy fishing, though he is very fond of animals.

How those two got together is yet a mystery, but we’re glad they did.

Fun fact: Vino keeps notes of everything that’s happening. He is also a poor swimmer. Perhaps he will someday overcome this limitation and write us a story about it!

Simon

Mr. Simon is a tough peanut - he’s an experienced fisherman and a long-time friend of Marina’s grandfather. The old friendship is the only reason he agreed to take up Marina and Vino as students. Simon has been in the fishing business for many years now, but a team like Team Marina roaming the seas is not something he’d seen often. At first he doubts their capability, and we don’t blame him. But it’s up to you to show they’re worth his time and expertise!

Fun fact: Simon thinks the concept of a favorite color is silly, and doesn't admit to having one. He'd rather die than wear anything yellow, though.

Bob

Bob is someone you’ll encounter most often among the new characters of The Sunshore Islands. Conveniently, he hangs around mostly on the shore of the Alstport harbor and should be easy to find. Bob is a retired fisherman, who spends most of his days reminiscing of the past, though lately he’s been forgetful about some things (like where he’d left his glasses).

Bob has a few friends around the Islands, the closest of which are Marianne and Janela (or as you might know her - Jan). You’ll meet both of them around the islands.

Fun fact: Bob treasures his hair and takes care of it meticulously. You’d notice right away, if he took his hat off!

Hope you enjoyed this week’s log entry! Is there something more you want to know about the residents of The Sunshore Islands? Or, are you feeling left more confused than before reading the article? Leave a comment or ask us a question on Twitter or Facebook!

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Update #1: Side Quests and More

Ahoy, everybody! Welcome to our devblog, and here comes our very first entry.

We are putting out the first feature update for Marinatide, expanding the game with Side Quests and quite a few other additions. We have also fixed some of the issues that you brought up in reviews and comments. Let’s take a closer look!

Side Quests

Up until the current moment there were two types of “missions” you could take up in Marinatide: tutorial tasks and the Main Quest. With Update 1, we are introducing a new feature - Side Quests. Now Team Marina can pick up smaller optional quests along the way.

Side Quests are given by different characters located all over the map. You can see what they have to offer by approaching and talking to them. Some of the characters will only want to chat, but if you visit them several times, who knows, they might have a gig for you...

Somewhat similarly to the Main Quest, many Side Quests are fishing missions. Though, it is not only earning money with fishing, but also catching certain amounts and certain species. The details vary, depending on the in-game seasons. Another Side Quest option is delivering packages for characters. That should give you a nice excuse to explore the beautiful Sunshore Islands! More Side Quests will be added to Marinatide in the future updates.

Tutorial Changes

One of the Side Quests is now available in the tutorial, allowing the players to earn the needed cash faster. We felt the inclusion of an optional quest  at that point would make the beginning of Marinatide less ruthless, as the time limit on the final test (earn 150 coins) is quite tight. Get ahold of Bob for more details!

Among other changes in the tutorial: Mr. Simon no longer takes all your coins after you complete the fishing-gear shopping task. Your ice-cream funds are safe! However, we strongly advise to spend the money on something more useful, like new fishing tools.

Also, we have excluded fish of endangered species from the tutorial missions. Pull those nets in and don’t worry! In the beginning, that is...

Some players have pointed out that going through the unskippable tutorial dialogue during replays can be tedious. To fix that, we made it possible to skip the dialogue entirely, in the tutorial as well as the rest of the game, by pressing the Esc key (to skip only the current line text, press Space). This should make the replays smoother. After all, multiple replays are an important part of Marinatide.

Controls and Other News

We have expanded keyboard controls. You can now play the game almost entirely using keyboard. Navigate the boat with arrow keys (or the WASD keys) and cast/pick up your fishing gear with the Space key. In addition to that, you can also move around most menus with keys.  You can check the full list of the keys, as well as change the default bindings, in the “Input”-tab of the game launcher.

Another nice thing - the fish icons on the looting screen no longer completely overlap. With this fix it should be easier to spot a dolphin or a turtle occasionally wandering into your nets. Still, keep your eyes peeled!

The last but not the least, Steam Сloud saves are now available for Marinatide. Your fishing progress will be with you, wherever you go.

You can see the full changelog for the listed above updates and a few other fixes in our dedicated Steam forum thread.

That’s about it for this week! Let us know what you think of this update on the Marinatide Steam forum.

The next update is coming in a few weeks (date to be confirmed) and will include some more delicious additions. Stay tuned for more details!

You can follow Marinatide on Facebook and Twitter for more news and cool tidbits!