First, this update is going to change the way islands in the world spawn. This is similar to our previous cataclysm done a long time ago. We try not to do these types of changes often, since they can mess up your maps and will change where things are found in the world. However, with this update it will only affect new games unless you choose to upgrade your existing world, which there will be an option for in-game. 

So why did we choose to change the world again? Mainly for a much better player experience. Over the last couple years we've added more and more content into Salt. However, the spread of that content got a bit off balance. This could cause a frustrating experience, particularly for new players, where one would encounter many islands with nothing on them before finding islands with content. This made Salt feel empty on content, when in reality it was just too difficult to find the content. 

With this update we drastically improved this. We have significantly increased the chance for you to find content on islands and spread that content out much more efficiently. This update also changes the island variety so that you'll be more likely to find various island types early on and experience the content they have to offer as well. We've also changed the post 50 unit spread of islands to be normal and no different than other islands. As of right now, once you get past the 50 unit mark, you hit extremely long stretches of ocean before finding more islands. This ended up not being fun and we've gone back to a normal spread of islands. 

Overall, we hope that the new changes to the island distribution system will help you find new content and discoveries more frequently and create a better variety of island types as well. 

This update is also going to include two brand new characters that can be found throughout the world. These characters are the Sea Scholar and the Sea Fisher. Each NPC will have five quest steps that unlock various ranks of vendor items you can buy from them. Once you hit rank 5, you'll then be able to do a repeatable quest for a random loot drop. The random loop drop will be a guaranteed rare item, and occasionally an epic or a legendary. 

We've added over 50 new items with these NPCs, mostly armor and weapons. These items are unique and won't be found anywhere else. We hope these new quests and NPC's give you more reason to do some of the things you've already been doing in the world, and reward you for investing time into the game. 

In this update we've also made some changes to loot and done a little bit of balancing. Tier 1 and Tier 2 pirates now have a better chance to drop armor, keys, and can drop some new additional items such as health potions. We've also some minor adjustments to some weapons and AI damage based on some testing. 

Be on the lookout for this update to hit Steam soon. We plan on pushing this update out within the next couple weeks! As always we'd love to hear your feedback. 

- Will Sterling (Sound Lead and Game Design)