Sail is a beautifully open ended survival game where plank by plank raft building and persistent islands make every voyage feel personal does the difficulty setting affect only sharks or other survival elements too?
Thank you, that's exactly the feeling I'm going for! Right now the difficulty only changes how sharks behave. On Peaceful they turn away, on Normal they bite only if you crowd them or stay in bloody water, and on Hard there are more of them, they're bolder, and blood, splashing and dusk bring them to you. Next come moray eels in the wrecks and caves, wild boar on the islands and stingrays in the shallows, all following the same setting.
Hunger and thirst are the same at every level for now. We're thinking about scaling them too, but carefully: past a certain point, making you drink that often turns it into a game about drinking water, and that's not the game we're making. Whatever the level, nothing kills you outright or strands you.
I really like that approach to difficulty, especially keeping survival challenging without making it frustrating. The plans for moray eels, wild boar, and stingrays sound exciting too! Do you think future updates might add different behaviors or interactions for these animals beyond just making them more aggressive on Hard?
Yes, that's the idea. Each animal should be its own little puzzle, not just the same threat with a bigger number. A few of the plans:
Moray eels live in holes in wrecks, reefs and caves. They defend their hole rather than hunt you, so the danger is reaching into the wrong gap while you're diving for salvage.
Wild boar roam the islands, and a sow with piglets is protective. They're also food, which makes them the first real hunting in the game.
Stingrays bury themselves in the sandy shallows. If you shuffle your feet as you wade, they move off, the way you'd do it at a real beach.
The rule I hold myself to is that every danger gives you a warning and a way to answer it, so you lose to things you could have seen coming, not to bad luck. Sharks already work like that: blood in the water, chum and a fish on your line draw them in. The difficulty setting decides how bold they are, from Peaceful, where they simply leave you alone, to Hard, where they come looking for you.
Thanks for the questions, it's great to hear what people are curious about!
I really love the idea of each animal having its own unique behavior instead of just being another threat to avoid btw, i've really enjoyed chatting with u about your games haha would u be comfy continuing our little game dev convo on another platform? no pressure at all if you'd rather stay here!
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Sail is a beautifully open ended survival game where plank by plank raft building and persistent islands make every voyage feel personal does the difficulty setting affect only sharks or other survival elements too?
Thank you, that's exactly the feeling I'm going for! Right now the difficulty only changes how sharks behave. On Peaceful they turn away, on Normal they bite only if you crowd them or stay in bloody water, and on Hard there are more of them, they're bolder, and blood, splashing and dusk bring them to you. Next come moray eels in the wrecks and caves, wild boar on the islands and stingrays in the shallows, all following the same setting.
Hunger and thirst are the same at every level for now. We're thinking about scaling them too, but carefully: past a certain point, making you drink that often turns it into a game about drinking water, and that's not the game we're making. Whatever the level, nothing kills you outright or strands you.
I really like that approach to difficulty, especially keeping survival challenging without making it frustrating. The plans for moray eels, wild boar, and stingrays sound exciting too! Do you think future updates might add different behaviors or interactions for these animals beyond just making them more aggressive on Hard?
Yes, that's the idea. Each animal should be its own little puzzle, not just the same threat with a bigger number. A few of the plans:
The rule I hold myself to is that every danger gives you a warning and a way to answer it, so you lose to things you could have seen coming, not to bad luck. Sharks already work like that: blood in the water, chum and a fish on your line draw them in. The difficulty setting decides how bold they are, from Peaceful, where they simply leave you alone, to Hard, where they come looking for you.
Thanks for the questions, it's great to hear what people are curious about!
I really love the idea of each animal having its own unique behavior instead of just being another threat to avoid btw, i've really enjoyed chatting with u about your games haha would u be comfy continuing our little game dev convo on another platform? no pressure at all if you'd rather stay here!