Week 09

Ahoy again, treasure hunters! It’s been a wild voyage, but we’ve officially reached the end of production for Pirate Plunder! That’s right, feature freeze is in full effect. No new mechanics from here on out, just pure polish and perfection. The next two weeks will be all about tightening the bolts, squashing bugs, and making sure every cannonball and shovel swing feels just right.

Here’s what the crew wrapped up in this final production sprint:

Art

A Brand New Logo

We now sail under a glorious new banner! Our final logo is in, and it’s everything a ragtag crew of treasure hunters could ask for.

Main Menu Makeover

The main menu has officially dropped anchor! It’s fully themed and dripping with pirate flair, your adventure begins in style.

Swashbuckling Shaders & Particles

We’ve conjured a visual treasure trove this week:

• A hatching and outline shader gives the game a stylized, old-map look.

• Dust and sand particles now fly when you dig.

• Bubbles and foam signal your ship’s return from the briny deep.

• And we’ve added a few subtle FX tweaks to give better player feedback all around.

Finishing Up Animations 

All core animations are now complete! Your pirates can now climb out of the water and get stunned in dramatic cartoonish fashion. That’s a wrap on rigging!

Netted Chest Variant 

We’ve given pirate combat a new twist: shoot a cannonball at a rival’s treasure chest to steal their coins. Sneaky? Yes. Satisfying? Oh absolutely.

Digspot Crosses 

Mark your maps! Diggable spots are now marked with a bright red X, a glorious nod to every pirate story ever told. After 9 long years (give or take), it was worth the wait.

Code

Bug Fixes

The crew’s been hard at work plugging leaks in the code:

• The pesky disembarking bug is finally patched, you are now able to freely leave the ship whenever you want! (or are you...)

• Cannonballs no longer knock back the player who fired them.

• Boats now bounce back upright when toppled.

• Dig spots disappear after being used three times, and interaction is disabled afterward.

• Fixed environment collisions, you’ll now slide smoothly around obstacles instead of getting stuck.

Item Merge

Big systems news: Cannonballs and nets have been merged into a single item system! This simplifies design and opens the door to more flexible gameplay and smarter item handling.

Sound

The soundscape gets richer:

• A hearty whack when using the shovel.

• A crunchy bonk when hitting another pirate.

• A crisp click for all button interactions.