- Announcing Pirate Code 2! - 12 December 2024
Announcing Pirate Code 2: Reign of the Pirate King! Pirate Code 2 will be an open-world, roguelite, turn-based pirate strategy game with a focus on tactical combat, exploration, and fleet customization. You can sign up to received the demo when it's available on CircuitHive.com. You can also wishlist it on its Store Page! We’re taking everything awesome about Pirate Code and repackaging it in more replayable form. Pirate Code was designed like an old-school Strategy RPG with a campaign that takes between 50 and 80 hours, depending on how many side quests you follow. We wanted to change that to a more digestible 5 to 20 hours and give you a host of options when you first start a playthrough. The world map, the islands, the story, and even the personalities of some characters will all be generated based on a seed. Although we love expanding Pirate Code, we couldn’t do these things without…
- Minor Update for Pirate Code 1.8.2 - 10 November 2023
This is a minor update that updates the Mac executable so that it works better on modern devices. Minimum OS version is now MacOS 10.13.
- Path Notes for 1.8.1 - 4 November 2023
This is a minor update to fix typos and update the executable for newer versions of the OS.
- Pirate Code 1.8 Is Here! - 9 November 2021
We've been busy working on Pirate Code over the last year. After we released Rise of the Kraken we decided to hit the most important issues and feature requests for Pirate Code and bring another free update to the game. At long last it's ready for you to enjoy! Here's a look at what's new. The Most Requested Feature: Choosing Ship Upgrades We've added four new items to the games in the form of playing cards. Each card allows you to do something different with the ship upgrades that you couldn't do before. You can find these cards in battle or in various shops throughout the game. Joker's Folly - Undo a ship upgrade and get your key back! Queen's Choice - Choose the upgrade you get from a small treasure chest! King's Decree - Choose the upgrade you get from a large treasure chest! Ace of Keys - Instantly gain a level and get an upgrade key! We hope these new items encourage you to experi…
- Hotfix 1.7.0.c Patch Notes - 14 February 2021
This is a hotfix update for Mac users only (windows users will remain at 1.7.0.b for now). It fixes a serious bug that was occurring on Macs with retina displays.
- Rise of the Kraken is HERE! - 30 October 2020
It's time for the Kraken to Rise! Circuit Hive has been hard at work for the better part of the is year putting together an awesome expansion to Pirate Code and it's finally ready! Everyone Can Fight Krakens This update is not just the expansion. It includes changes to the base game as well. Everyone can find and fight wild krakens. If you want to raise your own krakens then you'll want to buy Rise of the Kraken. Krakens are a powerful new unit in the Pirate Code world that have a full arsenal of completely new moves! Krakens start with a basic Strike attack. They can also shoot ink that covers enemies. Enemies with ink on them can't move for a turn or two. One of the most powerful moves the kraken has is an instant death move called Crush. And a well rounded kraken also has a move called Healing Wave that can heal several ships in a line. We've re-written portions of the battle engine…
- Rise of the Kraken is Coming Soon! - 14 May 2020
Announcing the first major expansion for Pirate Code, Rise of the Kraken! Here at Circuit Hive, we've been hard at work building these monstrous cephalopods for months and we're finally ready to fill you in on what's coming. Rise of the Kraken will revolve around the mysterious return of the dreaded kraken! Driven from the ocean long ago by the Molo, the Kraken is regarded as one of the most evil of sea creatures because of its violent nature - which is a great reason to raise your own! Rise of the Kraken will include content added to the game for all players, like wild kraken encounters. Players who purchase the expansion will be able to raise their own kraken and use it in their fleet as a ship. In fact, you can raise as many kraken as you want, but you can only use a number of kraken in your fleet equal to the number of captains you've unlocked. Krakens are not exactly like ships. If…
- Quality of Life Improvements - 13 April 2020
It's spring and it's time to clean out those cobwebs! We've been hard at work here cleaning up the most requested pain-points in Pirate Code. Ship Renaming You've always been able to rename your fleet just by clicking on the name in the flag editor, but the ships were a different story. There were reasons for this. Ships all need unique names as well as other special criteria that need to be checked. With this update we worked through that and you can now click on the ship's name on the detail screen if you'd like to change it. Locks Previously, when you viewed locked items in a store, the amount of island liberation needed to unlock those items would be displayed in parenthesis after the name. Unfortunately, this took a lot of space, and as many of you have pointed out, the names would often be so long that they would flow into other elements on the screen. To fix this problem, we've r…
- Pirate Code Soundtrack is Available Now! - 1 April 2020
From intense battles with angry ghost pirates to relaxing fishing trips, Pirate Code has it all and composer Philip Robinson wrote the music to match. Until now you had to fight through scores of pirates to hear that intense final boss music, but all that has changed! We are happy to announce that the Original Soundtrack for Pirate Code is now available through Steam! There's 16 tracks that cover every pirate experience that you could throw a dagger at. What's more, it's on sale now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1275900/Pirate_Code_Soundtrack/
- Camera Updates - 23 January 2020
Since the early days, the controls for the camera have been a hotly discussed feature of Pirate Code. There have been suggestions to change the mouse cursor at the screen's edge to show that the camera can move and more than one person has suggested using the arrow keys to move the camera, which means they never tried since the arrow keys DO move the camera. Some users have suggested that if the camera was just zoomed out a little that there would be no need to move it at all. It was time to address these concerns! Enter the Touch Screen Personally, having worked on Pirate Code for years, I can say that I was comfortable with the arrows keys or wasd keys moving the camera. It wasn't until I had a chance to try Pirate Code on a touch screen that I realized how badly I wanted to just move the camera by dragging anywhere on the screen. So that's where we started. The results were a more fl…
- Chapter One Improvements! - 28 October 2019
One could argue that the start of any game is the most important part of the game. If the first few hours aren't fun then it's unlikely that anyone will make it to the ending. Pirate Code is constantly being improved and this update focuses on the beginning. The results speak for the themselves: a more streamlined, strategic experience that sets a better tone for the rest of the game. More Strategic Variety Previously, only the Sea Dog was available at the beginning of the game. There are three other ships to unlock, but it would likely be hours before most players would have them. The two cheaper options (the Molo sub and the clockwork ship) were unlocked right at the end of the chapter which meant players had very little time to use and upgrade them before the boss fight at the end. To fix these problems, there are now three ships that start unlocked (the common Sea Dog, the clockwork…
- Game Options Update! - 17 October 2019
Advanced Game Options are finally here! Many of these options were directly requested by the community. Don't be afraid to speak up if there's something you would like to see in Pirate Code. We also had a number of serious bug fixes since the last major update of Pirate Code as well as a few minor tweaks and adjustments. Game Options The game options now have three sections: Game Play, Video, and Audio. Let's work through what's available with the update. Dialog Text Speed Tired of waiting for the talking heads to finish? Increase the dialog speed! Or slow it down if you want. Remember, you can always skip the entire dialog by holding return. Auto Focus If selected the camera in battles will center on a ship when you select it. Handy if you don't like scrolling and like to use the tab key to select the next ship. Auto End Turn Why do you have to push the end turn button when you have no…
- Improved Ship Purchasing! - 24 June 2019
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32539270%2F689e8eac1a0bf57d3a280065d6d899569aa122b6.png Pirate Code has once again been updated! This time the focus has been bug fixes and quality of life improvements. There's a complete list of changes below, but I'd like to start by highlighting the most important. Crafty Consumer Previously when you purchased a ship, you didn't have much to go on to help you make your decision. Considering how important gold is and how much ships cost, you would think that the opposite would be true. With this update, when you go to buy a ship, you'll find your self in the Ship Details screen with a complete look at all the ship's stats. You can even look at all the actions that the ship will be able to get. Actions that the new ship won't have immediately are in black and white. Hopefully this should help make it easier to commit all…
- Pirate Code 1.6.2 Released! - 31 May 2019
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32539270%2F6a14cfb92024fc44e412d65761446bbd8666e100.png It's been over a month since I announce that another big update was coming to Pirate Code. It has arrived. Pirate Code 1.6.2 is now available and it is by far, the best Pirate Code yet! What's new this time? Ship upgrades. You're going to love 'em! Ship Upgrades Pirate Code takes a big step away from Chess with the addition of ship upgrades. As you gain experience points in battle, your ships will now gain levels. Each level awards the ship with an upgrade key that can be used to unlock a ship upgrade or saved to unlock a large upgrade. The choice is yours. If you choose to unlock small upgrade then you one in each category to actually use. This means you have options. If you come across a fight that you can't beat, the first thing you should do is go into your ships…
- Happy Birthday Pirate Code! - 24 April 2019
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32539270%2Fcd20eb8d00b9020db685a70a0f0ebdf14c9ff5a3.png Pirate Code was released one year ago! Since then, based on feedback from you, the players, major portions of the game have been improved. I didn't want to pass up this opportunity to give an update on the next release. It would have been nice to release the update today, but the real world doesn't always work out perfectly like that and I didn't want to give you a half-tested update. What I can do is tell you what's coming... Ship Upgrades! If you've played Pirate Code much then you probably know that all those glorious experience points you earn in battle only go to the ships with captains assigned. This is because the ships don't gain levels - the actions do - and ships learn new actions from captains. All that will remain the same, but now ships themselves can als…
- Pirate Code 1.6.1 Released! - 27 February 2019
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32539270%2F08ed5d8c22ce94962a5381f39ac3514e20e6918f.png Today, a minor update for Pirate Code was released. It included several bug fixes. Here's the list: It seems the AI still occasionally resurfaces ships when another ship is already at a location. This causes the first ship to "ghost" so that you can't shoot it. This has been fixed. Using Torpedo Boost on the Twin Fin or Cargo Fin could cause them to freeze when they try to attack on the following turn. Also fixed. Fixed a bug where the enemy would start moving its ships again after the Defeat screen opens. Fixed the bug where the island menu fails to open again after a challenge. You can now safely complete challenges! The update is live on Windows. The Mac version will be available over the weekend. And there you have it! There's more planned for next month. Stay tun…
- Pirate Code 1.6.0 Released! - 4 January 2019
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32539270%2F070b0d06c1908de8004198ed8adefb559f5d4113.png The Ocean Awaits! This latest update to Pirate Code revamps the world map, changing it from a bland, boring ocean to a magnificent pallet of blue and greens! My goal with this update was to make the ocean a place that was worth exploring. Now you can find unique islands sitting in an ocean that is different colors in different places. Those annoying island circles are gone. Instead you simply land on the beaches to enter the island menu. There's also random pillars and objects occasionally sticking out of the water. Clouds pass overhead and storms are more dynamic. Give it a try! https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32539270%2Fb9f9ed93a9e5143fe227cf52ad383f7dabfa7221.png Other Changes' There weren't many. I fixed a few typos. There was also…
- Sneak Peek for Pirate Code 1.6.0! - 3 November 2018
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32539270%2F69b7c28395f669d5b85d05fd20a43b74536f3210.png A Brave New Ocean I constantly work to improve Pirate Code, focusing on the parts that I feel are lowest quality. Over the last month or so, my focus has been on the world map. The existing ocean is a bland place. It serves it's purpose, allowing the player to travel from one place to another and find battles, but I want it to be so much more. My goal with this update is simple: I want the ocean to be a fun place to explore! To accomplish this goal, I had to create an ocean that looks different everywhere you go. This is actually very hard to do. I had to use a noise generator to generate different ocean depths and temperatures then modify an animated tile map to gradually change between the colors at every point. The results though, are stunning. https://steamcdn-a.a…
- Pirate Code 1.5.5 Released! - 18 September 2018
This update brings to an end the reign of terror that a handful of bugs have had in the open seas. It also aims to improve performance during battles with larger fleets. As always, please post to the discussion area if you find a bug. Here's a quick list of what has changed: Decreased the number of images needed for many of the larger ships. This will hopefully increase performance in battles later in the game. Fixed a bug with the camera zoom when catching mythical fish. Fixed another camera bug that occurred during the final boss fight. Also in the final battle, fixed a resurface bug. Botany tools now correctly display their level. Fixed a bug when the enemy would resurface a ship and then the ship would move off the screen, causing the AI to stop. Fixed a bug where the AI would attempt to use the Torpedo attack on a non-target. This would also cause the AI to stop. Built a fall back…
- Pirate Code 1.5.4 - Bugs and Speed! - 15 August 2018
Pirate Code 1.5.4 is now live! Most of my time on this update was spent reworking much of the underlying code for the world map. My main focus was improving performance and I feel like I succeeded. There's not much more I can do to make it faster. If you still experience problems, please feel free to reach out to me. I've also found that running the game in window mode and using a smaller window helps with performance. Hopefully that won't be needed by most of you. Although the world map should feel about the same, much of the code changed under the surface. Naturally, a bug or two may have been introduced. Please let me know if you find one. This update also fixes a few bugs discovered by the community. I'll list them out below. Thanks for playing Pirate Code! Changes The Ocean map has been heavily optimized The battle screen has been lightly optimized (further optimization may be need…
