Today, Astragon Entertainment revealed that Seafarer: The Ship Sim Version 1.2 is now available for testing through the game’s Steam Open Beta branch, introducing major changes, including a new Sandbox mode, expanded job customization, revised progression systems, and improved vessel handling.
Seafarer: The Ship Sim Version 1.2 is still highly experimental, with the development team encouraging players to test the new features and provide feedback before the changes move toward a full release. The announcement also addresses the recent news surrounding the planned closure of astragon Development.
The team acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the studio’s closure and its impact on the people who have worked on Seafarer, while thanking both the development staff and community for their contributions. For now, the team’s focus remains on Version 1.2, with no additional details about the game’s long-term future available yet.
One of the biggest additions in the Seafarer: The Ship Sim Version 1.2 beta is the new Sandbox mode, which gives players greater freedom to explore the world and build their careers without the usual reputation restrictions. Regular harbors, level-dependent job offers, and upgrades are accessible regardless of a player’s current reputation, allowing them to pursue different opportunities without first meeting progression requirements.
Economic management remains important, as purchasing ships, installing upgrades, maintaining a crew, and other expenses still require Credits. Reputation has also received several adjustments. Harbour progression has been rebalanced, rewards for container and dry bulk jobs have been brought closer together, and revised displays make reputation gains and player-level progression easier to understand.
Reputation continues to provide benefits in Sandbox mode, with stronger relationships with contracting harbours potentially increasing Credit rewards. Seafarer: The Ship Sim Version 1.2 also introduces more flexibility when accepting jobs.
For supported Container Ferry, BigTrip, Dry Bulk, and LNG contracts, players can now select which portions of a job they want to complete. This includes handling loading or unloading, taking on a specific number of shifts, completing only the voyage, or combining multiple stages.
Players can still undertake the entire contract as originally intended, while multiplayer hosts determine the job selections for their sessions. The job selection menu now displays expected Credit rewards before a contract is accepted, with the amount adjusting according to the selected workload.
Reduced contracts receive rewards based on the work completed but do not qualify for the additional overall contract bonus awarded for finishing the entire job. Single-player players can also finish active Container and Dry Bulk harbour shifts early through the Job Log. The remaining work is automatically completed, while Credits and reputation are calculated based on the portion you personally handled.
Automatically completed work does not provide additional rewards, and the feature is unavailable for LNG jobs, multiplayer, campaign missions, tutorials, and Quickplay. These changes also include several interface improvements, including redesigned job menus that separate available work into tutorials, contracts, and operations.
Job result screens now provide more detailed breakdowns of individual contributions, showing the number of containers handled or dry bulk bucket loads completed. Seafarer: The Ship Sim Version 1.2 has also improved restoring active cargo shifts after saving and loading, taking into account completed work, remaining cargo, attached containers, and material held in the bucket.
Vessel handling now offers three new settings: Arcade, Balanced, and Expert. Arcade offers faster engine responses and larger speed increases from upgrades, while Balanced provides a middle ground. Expert introduces vessel-specific engine responses, more restrained upgrade benefits, and calmer steering on selected ships.
These settings are separate from the game’s Standard and Expert career modes. Acceleration, steering, planning lift, and water current strength have also been adjusted. Multiplayer improvements include clearer identification of Standard and Sandbox sessions, profile compatibility checks when joining games, and shared vessel handling settings determined by the host.
Additional fixes address docking, undocking, ship displays, controller navigation, radar, crew inspections, and various visual and stability issues. Towing and docking fees have also been adjusted to account for vessel length.
Seafarer: The Ship Sim Version 1.2 remains an experimental build, and players can access it through the Seafarer’s Steam Open Beta branch. For more information on this and other ship sims, be sure to check back to Simulation Daily.
