I should be working on more core mechanics for Islands, but I'd like to keep some of them a secret until people boot up the game for the first time later this year. Lots of progress has been done on Islands, but I'd like to show off the fruits of my labor for the past week or so.
Welcome to the Coral update. Sure, there's not much in this image to show off, but I like keeping things secret from you guys. We have four different environmental objects for you guys today that can only be encountered in the ocean. That means the diving feature is slowly coming along, and you'll be able to dive under water, explore, and gather some unique items only found in the ocean.
Don't fear, there's more than just two types of coral in Islands.
From left to right we have: Seaweed, Pink Coral, Orange Coral, and Sponge.
Seaweed can be used to make sushi. Combine it with any type of raw fish and you'll make sushi. Sushi actually removes the % of getting sick from raw fish, and there's a 100% of not getting sick if the raw fish is utilized into sushi. Sure, it doesn't make much sense but I like this idea. I don't want everything to be hyper realistic. Plus, Seaweed stacks and can be eaten raw itself.
Pink Coral can be collected, and ground up to produce a fine dust called "Coral Dust". Coral Dust can be used to heal damage, and is essentially a type of medicine since in reality chemical compounds from coral are used in medicine for cancer, AIDS, etc. Coral Dust will also remove Food Poisoning instantly. It's useful, but the rarest of all the coral. If you find some, stock up. It could just save your life.
Orange Coral can be used to "Coral Armor" and is by far one of the most rare, and toughest forms of armor a player can make in Islands. If you find Orange Coral be sure to gather it and craft some armor. It will help a lot.
Sponge can be used to make "Bath Sponges" (which some Sea Sponges are used today to make). Bath Sponges will help boost morale when used. They cannot stack, and a Bath Sponge is considered a tool. If you're low on morale, just wash your body about once a day and you should start seeing your morale raise a bit.
So, that's essentially it for today. I didn't want to reveal too much, but I hope this new update intrigues some of you. I'm really having fun working on this whole idea of underwater gathering and can't wait to explore its full potential.
- Justin "Manio31" Ross
Project Lead/Programmer/Artist