Ahoy!

We are eager to hear your suggestions for Dark Seas, especially while we're in Early Access. While we will be checking out discussions here, the best place to get your idea seen is our forums. Please head over to the
Game Design Form [forums.puzzlepirates.com] and let our developers know what you think.

Below is not a comprehensive list of the changes, however it should give you an idea about the direction we're going. This ocean is still a work in progress, so we're looking for feedback.

Overview of changes:

• At the time a Crew is created, it must choose one of two factions to support: Shadow Fleet or Defiant Armada.
  
• Pirates will receive a faction icon next to their name once they join a crew.
  
• Pirates are free to change crews at any time. Pirates without a crew are considered "neutral".
  
• Crews that support different factions are automatically and permanently at war. There will be no truce.
  
• Ships that are defeated by an opposing faction will be completely sunk, except for in the Greywaters archipelago. Bottled Ships can still be salvaged like usual.
  
• Flags can declare war (and make peace) with other flags in the same faction. This works the same as in classic Puzzle Pirates.
  
• Flags can not invite crews aligned with the opposing faction.
  
• Both factions have a single "Stronghold" island that is used as their base of operations. These two islands can not be blockaded.
  
• Pirates who are associated with a faction can whisk directly to their Stronghold for free using the "Crew" tab of the Sunshine panel.
  
• Governors now have the power to close down shops on their islands. If they do so, the shop will immediately go dark. A notice will be displayed in the "Building" tab clarifying that the shop was shut down by the governor.
  
• There is now a limit of 10 shops that can be placed on large islands.
  
• All blockades in Dark Seas (other than event blockades) are sinking.
  
• If the shop remains closed down for 30 days, it will be destroyed. Governors can open the shop back up at any time before it's destroyed, if they so choose.
  
• The ownership of the Inn will automatically transfer to whoever conquers an island.
  
• Sea Monsters and expeditions will only spawn in the Wild Eastern Seas, Wild Western Seas, and Ye Bloody Bounding Main.
  
• Sea Monster zones will now be "rotated" in order to focus activity into one particular zone each week. Only one type of Sea Monster map will drop from pillaging battles during that week. The enabled map type will change each Sunday.
  The order is currently Atlantis -> Cursed -> Haunted -> Kraken but this may change without warning.
  
• Bravery Badges and Pirate Badges are not required on this ocean.
  
• There is a new "/faction" chat channel that can only be used and seen by pirates associated with that faction. This channel can be toggled with "/fmute".
  
• The maximum Poker buy-in has been largely reduced.
  
• A poker "rake" will be in effect for this ocean, which will take 3% of the pot at the end of the hand, before winnings are distributed. This percentage may be adjusted in the future.
  
• Many new islands have been created by our awesome Island Designer volunteers. Some islands from the other Oceans have been reimagined so that we could include them on Obsidian.
  
• The installer images, login panels, client icons, and intro music have all been reworked for the Dark Seas theme.
  
• The color of the ocean will change when one of the two factions controls at least 60% of the blockadeable islands. The water around the two Stronghold islands will continue to match the faction, however.
  
• Faction icons will now be shown on Pirate, Crew, and Flag pages in YoWeb.
  
• Adding a "War" tab to the Notice Board where players can see an overview of the ongoing battle and which side is winning. This page is WIP and still being designed.
  
• Faction icons will be displayed on the Voyages panel to allow players to choose if they prefer to job for one faction or another. However, there is nothing preventing individual pirates from jobbing for the other side if they so choose.
  
• Dark Seas uses a separate Doubloon database than classic Puzzle Pirates, so doubloons can not be transferred from Obsidian to other oceans (or vice versa). We want to try and give a level starting environment to players who try out Puzzle Pirates for the first time.