Fancy an atmospheric, sailing adventure across the Deepblue? Our latest Xbox Indie Spotlight focuses on Sail Forth, with developer David Evans having been kind enough to answer our questions!What is Sail Forth?Sail Forth is a sailing adventure set “in the near future” and full of mystery, and is developed by David Evans. When does Sail Forth launch?Sail Forth is set to launch in 2022 — we’ll be sure to update here when we learn more!What’s it about?One thing that’s clear about Sail Forth is its sense of mystery. Evans expanded on the premise of the game for us, explaining, “Sail Forth takes place on a planet that is nearly entirely water — an endless ocean where the inhabitants travel around by sailing. The player starts their journey with a call to action from the mysterious North Star, and by sailing around the different areas of the world, they slowly begin to discover the history of the planet and why the marine life and some people are being corrupted by a strange substance called Deadrock.” How does Sail Forth play?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. 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. 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. “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.”Combat 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. You don’t need to limit yourself to one ship, either, but can build yourself an “entire flotilla” of ships. 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. 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. 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.”What’s the world like?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. “For example, in The Frigid Sea you’ll be sailing among icebergs and rescuing stranded penguins,” Evans continues. “In the Green Ruins, you’ll be sailing through moss-covered stone ruins jutting out of the ocean. 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.”Sail Forth also looks to be a highly atmospheric game, exuding a sense of possibility and adventure. “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. “It was kind of like taking the existing set of interactions in the game and figuring out what made sense to do with them, and I think exploration is a natural direction to take with sailing. I think being set in a world that is unlike our own also adds to the feeling as it’s harder to know what to expect.” As for what Evans is most excited for players to experience — “In addition to the serene atmosphere of most of the game there are also a lot of silly characters and story elements that I’m really excited to see people’s reaction to. It’s kind of an unconventional game in a lot of ways,” Evans adds, “so I’m also just looking forward to seeing what people make of that.”Any news on the Sail Forth achievements?We don’t yet have the Sail Forth achievements, but Evans gave us a few hints. “There will definitely be achievements that are based on you completing various parts of the game’s story, which is largely linear but with several branches that can be optionally completed. In addition to those branches there are also a bunch of side quests which may provide additional clues to the Deepblue’s mysteries as well as being a source of achievements.” Evans continues, adding, “I think achievements are best when they serve as kind of a map of the gameplay the game has to offer. So by completing the achievements you are shown all the ways the dev imagined you playing. It also serves as positive reinforcement for the player when they are trying stuff, so if one unlocks, it’s like I’m saying ‘yes, you’re doing the right things.’”What do you think? Will you be sailing across the Deepblue when Sail Forth launches? Let us know in the comments!
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