“It was a very iterative process, I didn’t really know what I was aiming for besides sailing until it was partly made,” explains Evans. Sail Forth also looks to be a highly atmospheric game, exuding a sense of possibility and adventure. I’ve tried to make each region feel distinct visually with different color palettes and environment art, while still feeling like a part of the larger world.” “In the Green Ruins, you’ll be sailing through moss-covered stone ruins jutting out of the ocean. “For example, in The Frigid Sea you’ll be sailing among icebergs and rescuing stranded penguins,” Evans continues. The world of Sail Forth looks to be enormous - there are seven regions, each of which, Evans explains, is its own biome with its own sidequests, characters, environments, and boss battles. And of course, they will work with characters from a number of groups, like the frog people of the Croaker Command Corps, to get to the bottom of what is causing the Deadrock corruption.”

They can run into any number of side quests or minigames like racing the Deep Six crew or sailing through a target shooting course set up by a manatee herder. So, exploration and combat are both important, but Evans tells us players can also “discover new upgrades by talking to a travelling inventor/researcher, and customize their boats by talking to the grizzled Anglerwranglers.

You don’t need to limit yourself to one ship, either, but can build yourself an “entire flotilla” of ships. “I’m also adding options like auto-adjusting sails to simplify things for players who would prefer to focus on other aspects of the game.”Ĭombat is also a factor - you could face anything from pirates to sea monsters, and you’ve got to make sure your ship is in condition for war. In addition to gravity, wind, and buoyancy there are a lot of extra physics forces I’m applying to the boat to make it behave in the way you’d expect,” Evans continues. Evans expanded on how this was possible, saying, “I started out with a fairly realistic model of sailing and from there I did a lot of experimentation with fudging numbers and adding ‘fake’ calculations to make the physics a little more forgiving and fun. Sailing is of course integral to the game - according to the description, the sailing in Sail Forth features “enough attention to realistic sailing physics to keep a naval enthusiast engaged” while also still being accessible to more casual players.

Sail forth game