We're finally nearing release time and have almost got everything we need done. We'll talk a bit today about what we've been working on recently and what's left. In short, the main content we still need to implement is the map system and survival mechanics. Once that's done, it's time to do some testing on our end, then jump into the alpha/beta tests. 

So here's our current timeline for that. We plan on starting alpha testing early June, beta testing in July, and Early Access release in August. So if you've hit the right tier on Kickstarter you'll get your keys in early June for alpha, and early July for beta. Once the alpha starts it will continue almost all the way to release. So effectively you'll get about a two month head start in playtime and beta will get a little over a month. 

I know this is a couple months delay past our original goal of May. We'll basically have the game ready in May, but we really want to allow proper time for the alpha and beta tests which will help us get the game in a better state for launch. Plus we don't want to release right in the middle of the Steam Summer Sale which is typically late June/early July. 

We really appreciate all your patience and this should be the last delay. We'll also start sending out physical Kickstarter rewards this summer ahead of launch. 

A big area we've been focusing on over the last month or so is quest design. Although a main quest won't be in at early access launch, we will have commissions and side quests. Commissions are very simple quests you can pick up at notice boards in Seaports. These quests are categorized by crafting writs, hunting commissions, expeditions, and fishing commissions. These draw from a random pool of quests and can be repeated. They are a great way to earn money and rewards while going about your normal adventure. 

The next level of quests are side quests. These are a bit more specific in terms of where you'll go and what you'll do. These quests are picked up from NPCs, involve more dialogue and story than commission quests, and often give unique rewards you can't get elsewhere. There are currently over 100 commission quests in the game and there will be a good base of side quests for you to do as well at launch.

We recently adding the ability for you to crouch and sneak. Attacks while sneaking not only give a guaranteed critical hit, but the attack does double what a normal critical hit would. This means if you're patient and wait for the right opportunities, you can potentially take down a lot of pirates in a camp or cave without them ever knowing you were there. It is fairly difficult though as the pesky pirates often stick together, but sometimes one will wander off on his own. 

A huge part of Salt 2 is focused on character progression. We've added a ton of loot in the game and we wanted a way for you to continue to find new and better loot the more you play. With that in mind we've added a world tier system. Essentially you'll have an overall player level that you'll be able to level up from basic things like killing enemies and completing quests. As you hit certain levels it will unlock a new world tier. This means a chance for new enemy spawns, new loot drops, new merchants, and other content. So as you continue to level up you'll start seeing more new content and have a chance at overall better drops. 

Recently we've started finalizing our island design. As of right there are three types of islands you can explore and we'll be adding more later. There are natural islands, pirate islands, and desert islands. Each island has its own unique set of points of interests that can spawn. Some new points of interests we've added are things like ancient towers and mining caves. Ancient towers are basically jumping puzzles with a nice reward at the top and mining caves are a great way to find some are minerals. 

We've also been adding a lot of new items including a sextant for navigation and some lore items. Like in Salt 1, you'll be able to use the sextant to get your actual coordinates in the world. This in combination with the compass and maps to island coordinates create a sense of direction in an otherwise infinite world. We also added some items that can drop specifically to give lore information. This means if you inspect items, you can often find extra information that will allow you to piece together some of the world history and lore. 

Another thing we've spent a lot of time on recently is improving the game's performance. While we still have a ways to go in this regard, we've definitely made some strides in getting the game to run better and not have to make too many visual sacrifices. Once the alpha and beta tests start, we'll be looking for feedback in this area to better give us an idea of how Salt 2 is running on a wider array of machines and we'll continue to make improvements from there. 

Again, thank you all so much for your patience. We're working as hard and fast as we can to get the game out so you can play it. What's most important to us is that your first experience with the game is a great one and so we want to spend that extra time adding all the content we can, fixing bugs, and polishing the overall state of the game. 

Thanks for reading and don't forget to join our Discord if you'd like to ask us questions or make suggestions.