Ahoy everyone!
October has been a month of steady progress across all fronts. Unfortunately, some of the team were hit by seasonal flu, and that certainly cost us a little bit of time (hence the delayed Journal release, sorry about that!), but we’ve been hard at work preparing our next production milestones that continue to shape Ahoy’s development.
This Journal brings a few important updates, including the release of the Kickstarter wallpapers reward, the opening of pre-orders for “The Ships & Boats of Ahoy: Volume One” ship catalogue, and an inside look into the often challenging world of sound design with our sound designer, Andrew Van Hassel.
As a general update on the project and team, we’d like to highlight the fact that the team continues to grow in size. We’re so happy to have additional hands on deck in many areas of the project, and this is thanks do your continued support. We’ll hear from them in due course, for sure! While our Journals touch on what we’re ready to show and display today, it is only the tip of the iceberg of what we get up to each month.
We’re happy to announce that the Kickstarter Wallpapers reward containing newly captured images of our Ahoy fleet, the Ahoy logo and more is now available to download.
This collection has been prepared exclusively for our Kickstarter supporters as a way of saying thank you once again for your incredible faith and patience. You can download the wallpapers directly below:
(P.S. Please make sure you are signed into your Ahoy account to access the download. Additionally, please help us in respecting everyone’s support of Ahoy and avoid sharing these wallpapers publicly).
The package includes a variety of desktop and phone wallpapers featuring key art and ship imagery from across the Ahoy fleet. We’ve kept the selection focused on the ships of Ahoy for now, but you can expect a mixture of vistas, characters and other locations to be added in the future. The wallpaper collection will continue to expand along with development.
Each image is presented in multiple aspect ratios for both desktop and mobile, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of displays. We’ve also included version for dual and triple monitor setups for those of you with the extra pixels!
We hope you enjoy them, and that they serve as a small reminder of the project you’ve helped bring to life. Thank you again for your continued support. Every contribution and message of support is so appreciated.
We’re delighted to open pre-orders for our first printed companion volume. The Ships & Boats of Ahoy: Volume One represents a catalogue of Ahoy’s growing fleet of ships. This limited-run publication documents the vessels featured in the game with detailed commentary, historical context, and high-resolution imagery straight from the game.
Each section explores the origins of each ship, providing insight into both their real-world inspiration and the process of faithfully reconstructing them within Ahoy. A few updated mock-up images are now live on the pre-order page, giving a closer look at the design. Like the rest of Ahoy, the focus is on authenticity and clarity, rich with illustrations, diagrams, and period references.
This will be a limited print run. Once the book moves to press, we do not expect to reopen orders, so if you would like a copy, we strongly encourage you to pre-order while it remains available.
For those who supported the project via Kickstarter at a tier that included the physical book, there is nothing more you need to do. Your copy is already reserved and will ship once printing is completed.
This month, our resident sound designer Andrew Van Hassel shares a glimpse into his process of capturing the real-world sounds that bring Ahoy’s world to life.
“Why won’t the world shut up for a second so I can get this sound?”
I often say this to myself while seeking recordings for projects. Seeing how I live in the heart of a bustling city, a very loud and modern world is especially an issue for an 18th century video game. Unless I am doing studio recordings, I frequently have to plan small trips to get out of the city to find the natural audio captures that I need which still can present itself as a real challenge.
The day could be spent getting ready, crafting the best solutions, carefully assessing maps and talking to locals to find the spots that might deliver a perfect recording. I could hike for a few hours to get to what I think is basically the edge of the earth. No human could possibly be here right? I set up my recording gear, carefully placing the mics in the best direction for the ultimate recording. Excellent, this is perfect! I hit record and … oh, that’s a speed boat passing by. The engine stops and starts.. on repeat… ahh, someone is learning to water ski… Oh and now there are some hikers approaching. Maybe they’ll walk by? No, they are having lunch, and they have a loud dog. Great. More boats come. This time a tug boat. It’s going to take a long time for this thing to pass. Great, silence now. Oh is that a drop of rain?
The bay was quiet until a couple and their dog decided to go for a swim. When they finally left some kayakers came to dock at the beach.
For Ahoy, I need every sound isolated. No distant cars, no droning boats or planes, no people in the background. The recordings have to be clean, punchy and impactful. Although there are software tools like izotope rx that can help clean up recordings, it seems it doesn’t come without sacrifice to the quality of the final product. That 150hz – 250hz humming of the boat might be gone now, but my wave sounds are now missing a tiny element of their low end presence.
With all that being said, getting the elements in isolation has been a truly rewarding challenge. It gets me out of the studio and brings me back to nature which is something I love deep down more than anything in the world. It’s a form of meditation to sit as quiet as possible and listen to the sounds of our natural world, one of the many reasons for my love in providing sound design for a game like Ahoy.
For the audio enthusiasts, my field setup right now consists of a Zoom F3, a couple of em272z1 capsule Clippy mics, a pair of Rode NT5’s and a Sennheiser mkh416 shotgun mic. This is all powered by a battery pack which can get me hours of recordings on a single battery. I have these in a small case that I can easily and quickly pack up. In the future I am looking to get a really good figure 8 polar pattern mic for mid-side recording which tends to provide a bit more control over the stereo image.
Once the recording sessions are over, I get the goods back to my studio. My SD cards are backed up right away followed by a very excited and relieved vocal, “Yes, they made it back!” I then follow a good naming convention and start to clean up or separate the ones that I remember being really good. I will then work on the sound design portion which varies in methodology depending on what the feature is asking for.
As we further into production, Ahoy will demand new and different things. I feel with audio, you have to go with the flow with the features in a lot of ways, however it is crucial to keep yourself prepared for what the future might hold. I try to record, design, and implement with this strongly in mind. I will focus on what I need right now, but I must also be ready for a scalable game that will grow new scenarios as we continue in development.
As mentioned in last month’s Journal, we’ve been preparing our motion capture space for the arrival of Vicon’s engineers. This visit will mark the final calibration step before we can begin full production of our motion capture sessions.
In the meantime, Justin has been refining our in-house stereo facial-tracking head rig and expanding the live-link pipeline between the face rig and body capture systems. Below is Justin’s own update on the current progress.
Hello everyone!
In between other tasks and while waiting for Vicon’s visit and getting everything prepped for that, I’ve been working on our in-house stereo face-tracking head rig. It has been quite a challenge, but progress has definitely been made and I’m hoping we’ll have it working as intended shortly after the Vicon visit. The current pipeline looks like this.
Those segments coloured red are either currently being worked on or will be implemented in the final result.
While the direct stream isn’t strictly necessary, we felt it was important to have a constant visual reference of what we were tracking, or to know whether we’re tracking anything at all, during a motion capture session.
Right now, we’re using off-the-shelf bridges between the streamed feed and Unreal Engine’s Live Link, which introduces a bit of delay. It doesn’t affect the final recorded data, but I’m working on replacing the current pipeline with custom software to reduce that delay as much as possible. At the moment it’s sitting at around one second of delay between capture and display, and while I doubt we’ll ever get it close to zero, as long as the live preview is usable while recording animations, we’ll know we’re heading in the right direction.
You may be thinking, “Why not stream both camera feeds, Justin?” I did try that, fully knowing it was unlikely to work, and as it stands it’s just too much data over Wi-Fi, resulting in dropped frames and even more latency. Ultimately it isn’t necessary, as we only need the single camera to process the live feed as a rough visual guide of the performance. The dual-camera recording is what is eventually used for further processing for the final animation result.
Long story short, expect to see more of “Justin 2” messing around in mocap in the coming months!
We’re happy to report that the Kickstarter cocked hats are now entering production. We had a little delay on getting the necessary materials delivered, and it was difficult to start right away due to the need for the Kickstarter survey responses to confirm your hat sizing requirements, but luckily, we’re now full steam ahead!
As mentioned in our campaign, these hats are hand made by our historical advisor and friend, F. Deane Hatt Maker. We’re really excited to get these hats shipped out to supporters as soon as possible. We’ll continue to keep you up to date with the progress of each of the Kickstarter digital and physical rewards.
To finish off on our progress report for the month, we want to share with you a few additional sneak peaks behind the curtain of the next ship to be added to the Ahoy fleet…
To close for this month, let’s answer some more of your questions!
On Ammunition & Damage Modelling:
– Respondent, Journal Questionnaire.
- What kind of shot will we have access to during combat and how detailed will the damage models be?
You’ll have access to the full range of ammunition types, including round shot, chain shot, bar shot, grape, and canister. Each will have its own ballistic characteristics, ideal ranges, and situational advantages.
For instance, round shot is your standard choice, and delivers heavy impact. Chain and bar shot are devastating to masts and rigging but lose velocity quickly, while grape and canister are reserved for close-range anti-personnel use. The idea is that each ammunition type feels distinct and forces the captain to choose the right tool for the circumstance rather than rely on one universal solution.
Damage modelling in Arena will follow a layered approach. Each vessel will maintain hull, mast, and rigging integrity, supported by visual damage for clarity. This means you’ll see the physical aftermath of a broadside with splinters, torn sails, and structural collapse, but the simulation will also track mechanical integrity beneath the visuals. A ship can look battered yet still fight on if her core integrity holds.
Heated shot, bomb vessels, and more exotic ordnance will come later as Arena expands, but for now, combat will remain focused on traditional naval gunnery and manoeuvres.
On Joining The Navy:
– Respondent, Journal Questionnaire.
- When joining the navy, will you start as a captain, or as a crewmate on an AI or player ship?
In the Open World, players will begin their naval careers as Midshipmen. You’ll train aboard a navy vessel under orders, learning the fundamentals of seamanship, command, and discipline before progressing toward your Lieutenant’s exam. This exam functions as the introduction storyline for your naval career, determining not only your readiness for independent command but also establishing your early reputation within the Admiralty.
Once the exam is passed, you’ll receive your first commission and command. From there, promotion follows the natural course of service: merit, reputation, and time at sea. Each engagement, patrol, and success recorded in your log will influence how the Admiralty views you, eventually opening the path toward higher responsibility and larger commands.
Not every player will begin within the navy, of course. Privateers and merchant captains each follow their own progression paths, with unique starting conditions and loyalties. Where the navy offers a structured rise through rank and duty, private enterprise and free sailing allow for looser hierarchies and faster independence. Albeit without the same protection of the crown.
This approach ensures that rank in Ahoy carries genuine meaning. It’s earned through service rather than simply granted at character creation. Arena, by comparison, takes a lighter approach. It focuses on quick, balanced encounters and player-versus-player progression between battles rather than a persistent career system.
On NPC Crew:
– Respondent, Journal Questionnaire.
- Will NPC crew (especially on larger ships) be fully individual and customisable (like uniforms, weapon loadouts, etc.) or will they function more as a unit?
In the Open World, every member of your crew will exist as an individual with a name, a face, and an identity. While you’ll manage them primarily as divisions and watches rather than micromanaging each sailor, over time, some of these names and faces will begin to stand out. A dependable gun captain, a trusted quartermaster, a helmsman who’s been with you since your first command. These are the NPCs who’ll grow alongside your career.
The crew operates on a structured rotation system of watches, each responsible for specific duties and hours aboard. Discipline, fatigue, and morale will all tie into this framework, ensuring that your ship feels like a functioning machine.
Uniforms can be customised by the player, though within certain constraints of nation, rank, and service type. For captains who prefer strict historical accuracy, there will be an option to view only the regulation uniforms of each navy, overriding other players’ cosmetic variations. Conversely, privateers and independent captains can define their own colours and insignia, creating a visual identity unique to their crew.
Both sailors and civilians ashore share the same underlying system for individuality and appearance. That means a dockworker you meet in port and a boatswain aboard your ship are governed by the same framework. While the two populations remain distinct, there may be rare narrative cases where individuals cross that boundary, carrying their personal history from land to sea or vice versa.
The long-term goal is for the people who serve with you to feel alive. Not just faceless numbers.
On Character Customisation:
– Respondent, Journal Questionnaire.
- What if someone wanted to play a female character? I don’t think women were allowed to serve in the world’s navies at the time, so would everyone who wants to play a woman have to disguise themselves? How will Ahoy balance historical accuracy with inclusion for the benefit of a 21st century player base?
Players will have complete freedom to create female characters in Ahoy, just as they would any other. We believe that providing flexibility there is important.
When serving aboard a ship, player uniforms will remain consistent with the period. These are not adapted or stylised versions but historically accurate garments that represent the regulations of each nation and branch of service. Female player characters will therefore appear within that framework, wearing the same attire and presenting as officers or sailors of their station. In many cases there will be little difference in appearance between a male and female player officer.
Historically, there were rare but notable cases of women serving in naval and military contexts under assumed identity. On land, however, the presentation and attire of characters can vary more freely, reflecting both personal choice and social standing. The distinction between life at sea and life ashore allows players to express identity without undermining the historical environment we’re committed to portraying.
Our intent is to respect history and the people who lived it, while ensuring that everyone today can find a place within the world of Ahoy.
Please do keep sending in your questions about Ahoy. If you have more questions for the team and would like them answers next month, please submit your questions below.
Submit your questions:
https://forms.gle/1w9MRgU3qrvTNkqn7
Until next time, good day!
Sincerely your most humble servant,
Tyler – Project Lead
Our Journal updates are often discussed at length in the official Ahoy Discord server. Whether you have questions about the topics covered in this update, or you would like to leave your own feedback or suggestions, please join our Discord server to discuss!
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