Since the long ago days of yore, we pirates have struggled to decide what plunder to keep and what collectables to part ways with once our precious sea chests became filled to the brim and teeming with treasure. In the past, we've added a second inventory page for weapons and clothing... but we all know that was just not enough room!
Introducing a brand-new inventory solution, Storage Chests!
Introduction
We have been planning on adding more inventory space for quite a long time. We originally wanted to increase the number of pages you could have again in your sea chest like we had did before, but we discovered there was a big problem that made simply just tossing more pages into the existing sea chest not possible. It takes a very long time to load your inventory and create all those pages when initially loading into the game. If we would've added another inventory page, we would have crippled the game's performance.
This led us to begin thinking about something different. We needed a solution that was much more efficient and built to scale.
=> Feature: The Banking Brothers Quest
One of our primary objectives has been to see through the vision the original game's developers had. They sought out to implement a large, story rich atmopshere within the game beyond the main story quests. Side objectives, such as unlock quests, were intended be plentiful and to have the same level of detail and depth of lore as the main story chapters.
We wanted to honor their vision by giving the Storage Unlock quest its own unique storyline. Once you have reached the Notoriety Level of 40 or higher, The Banking Brothers quest will appear in your Quest Journal (J).
The Storage Brokers Guild have set up shop on the main islands and will keep your most precious loot safely locked in your very own Storage Chest while you're off pillaging and plundering! Now, they'll be holdin' onto your most valuable items... so ye best make sure ye earn their trust and they earn yers before you go giving up yer cherished valuables to them for safe keepin', savvy?
=> Feature: Storage Chests
Upon completing the Storage Unlock Quest, you can visit any of the Storage Broker locations across the Caribbean on Port Royal, Padres del Fuego, Tortuga, Cuba, and Bilgewater to access your very own Storage Chest.
The first page of weapon storage is free, but the rest of the pages will cost you gold and ship materials. Storage Chests can hold various categories of items, such as Weapons, Garb, Jewelry, and Potions. There is a limit of 3 pages per category with 35 item slots on each page - that's a total of 105 slots per category! Each additional page purchased will progressively become more expensive.
=> Feature: New Locations
We are really excited to be expanding some pre-existing islands with some new interiors! Every location has been lovingly crafted with painstaking attention to detail and story elements in mind. Did you discover all of the hidden easter eggs?
These interior rooms are the first of many new designs built using a brand-new modular system. It's now possible to create interiors with arbitarily pieced together walls, floors, and ceilings; much like how caves work. This allows for much more creative and diverse rooms to be built going forward. What you see here is just the beginning!
=> Location: Port Royal Bank
This location is a particular favorite of ours and is the introduction of a new and fancier British style of interior. Construction has been bustling in the heart of the town of Port Royal lately and the townsfolk have taken notice! The old "Port Royal Bank" is now owned by a mysterious man named Robert Bancair. This location is located across from Truehound's Tailor Shop and right next door to Basil's Barbershop.
=> Location: Fuego Funds & Trust
Lionel Bancair, Robert Bancair's brother, has bought out Prymme Meats and renovated the property into Fuego Funds & Trust. Prymme Meats moved shop next to Dolores Tailoring Shoppe, a much more fitting location.
=> Location: Shylock's Pawnshop
Originally a simple pawnshop located on the secondary beach of Tortuga, its proprietor Fortune Shylock seeks to expand her business by joining the Storage Broker Guild and offer the pirates of Tortuga a safe treasure trove for their precious inventories. Fortune is joined by her bouncer, Titus Paine, and her sister, Goldie Shylock.
=> Location: Cuba Cellar Cache
A man by the name of Broker Bill was seen digging a hole next to Pugpratt's Tailoring. What was once just a simple hole in the ground was transformed into a sturdy underground cellar cache hidden away from prying eyes into the tall bushes of Cuba's beach.
=> Location: Bilgewater Warehouse
The warehouse of Bilgewater located right in the heart of town is where the Keepers of the Code store the town's goods as well as their storage chests. Under the care of Broker Gataker, the warehouse is under lock and key and will only be accessible to pirates who have completed the Chapter 5: The Keepers of the Code and gained the trust of the inhabitants of the island of Bilgewater.
Conclusion
As far as we can tell, more inventory storage was never planned for the original game. With the implementation of a completely new way of accessing something so critically important as your inventory, we worked hard to make sure it still felt like it was a natural part of the game that we all know and love.
We've been working hard on more new content and have been making great progress. We recently released a separate update that implemented another widely requested feature - the ability to change your pirate's appearance! Check back soon for another blog post going over this feature in more detail!