Flying Lab Software Art Team member, Joram, has posted a new Devlog detailing the process behind the introduction of the new Captain‘s Ship Guide.

One of my primary responsibilities at FLS is coordinating the introduction of these historical vessels into our game world. This can be a lengthy process when you consider that ships not only require the structure, but placement of the crew, the cannons, the sails, and ensuring damage is displayed accurately. Prior to coming to the Flying Lab team I had a life as a web developer, so naturally the revamped ship guide was a good fit for me to spearhead.

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The entire team is happy to see the launch of the newly revamped Captain‘s Ship Guide, giving our fans an even more in-depth look at our entire fleet of ships. Our hope is that the improved guide will enable our fans to explore the PotBS ships in greater detail through all-new screenshots and increasingly meticulous information. It was important for us to include and acknowledge the new user ships and writing contributions as well. The new ship guide also features all-new screenshots, 360 degree views of each ship (which you can now zoom-in on!), an improved user interface and a detailed account of the ship‘s capabilities and history.

This all began when the Pirates of the Burning Sea‘s dev team members determined, with the completion of 21 of the 22 core ships, that this milestone would require another look at the existing ship guide. At our initial meeting, we fleshed out a wish list and from that discussion we were able to create a list of features we wanted to see included in the new design. The process included feedback we collected from our fans, as well as members of our User Content Steering Committee. After we compiled all the feedback I went back to the drawing board (AKA Photoshop) and came up with a couple of mock-ups for the team to choose from.

Once we had a final layout picked out it was integrated into an HTML template. This template was set up to easily add new ships because our fleet is constantly growing. We also felt that it was a good time to update all of the content for the ships. We condensed the ship‘s information down to one page and made it easy to navigate by jumping down the page or back up to the table of contents.

There were several team members involved in the development of the new ship guide. Bruce Sharp and Mat Staltman assisted with art direction and the collection of screenshots. Troy ‘Aether‘ Hewitt, Taylor ‘Augustus‘ Daynes and Rusty Williams helped oversee and approve the administrative aspects of the project, and Kevin ‘Isildur‘ Maginn helped nail down the technical specifications.

And of course, thanks go to Marion, Michael, Frank and Steve from our User Content Steering Committee for also assisting in gathering and sharing vital feedback, assuring that the end result was just that much better.

I hope you enjoy the new look of the Captain‘s Ship Guide, and that it helps our fans to satisfy their curiosity about the game and our ever-growing collection of ships. And, as always, we look forward to hearing more of your thoughts and ideas related to the Captain‘s Ship Guide!

Happy Sailing!

Joram Hughes