Hey All! So we're currently in active development, and I wanted to give you an update on where this ship is headed.

In November and December we spent our time doing some real honest-to-goodness Pre-Production, figuring out the direction the plot is going, deciding on our required systems, and evaluating all of the feedback we've gotten from people. I'll sum up some of the major decisions we're making here:

1. The way we presented Dialogue was some of the best received parts of the game, people want to see more interesting choices and witty banter, and we agree! Our plan is to expand upon the success of the old system, and introduce a few points within the narrative where story branches can occur. Hopefully we can show some of this off in a future update.
2. Cutting the AI Fat. We had intended on making this a game where we had a bunch of AI driven systems to provide a unique experience for each player, but right now we've decided we'd much rather focus on highly authored encounters instead, as it is eating up too much of our attention and bloating the scope of the game.
3. The Story is getting totally rebuilt from the ground up. During the jam we had to compromise our vision SEVERELY and some of the cuts left the ending feeling very rushed, and very, very confusing. The premise will remain the same, but we've fleshed out the story and cut some of the more confusing elements completely. The ending(s) will be completely different. Everything is subject to change, but we plan on introducing a partner rescue diver who will be on the ship with you, and a wholly rebuilt cast of crew. We will also be rebuilding what info we imparted through Cassette Tapes, making finding them more meaningful.
4. We're doubling down on Audio. Mel is going to be very busy as we move forward, one major shift is the removal of FMOD and embracing the UE4 Audio System. We're looking forward to the power this will provide us. Seeing as this is 2021, and it's the year of the Sea Shanty, you can bet we'll be doing those in the full game.
5. We're taking some time to expand on our art kits, building entirely new segments. I'll throw some images in at the bottom of this thread to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about. Nick is also working on an extensive set of new Shaders to drive the visual look and feel of the game.
6. Revamped Level Design: The new interior level is 14x Larger than the previous interior set, with increased verticality, and multiple avenues to explore. Segments of the ship will be unlocked as the player discovers new secrets. Our dream is to make the interior and exterior scene one in the same, to allow for more interesting traversal and a more seamless experience, but this might be limited by the art budget. We also have plans for a totally rebuilt exterior scene that better shows off the grand Alaskan coastline... There's also a wholly new scene in the works, but we'll talk more about that one in a future update. =)
7. More puzzles, world interactions, and animatics to add to the richness of the exploration and horror...
8. And finally, the horror: We've figured out the core plot of the game, and where we want to draw from when it comes to the horror elements of the game. We want to avoid any kind of cheap jump scares where possible, and would rather tie in the various encounters you can expect to come across.

Here's an example of the environmental design changes we're making in response to the Art Feedback we received:

OLD vs NEW

More interesting Geometry, breaking up the flow of the level, and giving players nooks and crannies to explore, and new areas to navigate.

We'll touch base with more detail in the future, but as of right now, it's looking like we'll be moving forward with the project. We're still looking for funding to let us bring this to the next level. We also don't know where we're publishing yet. As of this very moment, there are no plans to support the original jam version of the game further, instead we'll be working on the new version. We hope we can release in October of 2021.