Full notes
Full Oceaneers update
Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.
What changed
- UI and audio
- Gameplay
- Performance
- Compatibility
We're only 9 days until release, and wanted to share some information on the visuals that make up Oceaneers and the range of new graphics options we've recently added!
Let's take a deeper look!
Just a quick reminder, the best way you can currently support the game is:
Wishlist it, in preparation for release on 13th April 2026
Let your favorite YouTuber / Streamer know about the game.
Oceaneers Visuals
At first glance with the 2D objects in a 3D world, it's easy to take for granted a lot of the visual features going on that make up the whole picture.
Some of the visual features become more apparent when you are moving your raft around at an expedition, there's light rain, and night is approaching. You notice a slight reflection of the raft on the water, moonlight shining through, and see the torchlight dancing on the ocean.
Or... maybe your setting up your cooking island and see the pulsing glow of jellyfish nearby in the water and glow from the cooking fires. Then you notice the real-time lights from the fire casting shadows from your characters as they move around.
There's a range of other visual features that add to the scene, some obvious and some subtle:
Wildlife and characters leaving footprints on the sand.
Characters leaving water ripples as they swim.
Shadows, reflections and lighting on the water.
Particle effects light glow lights and dust motes.
Foam edge along the water.
Water tessellation and deformation.
Cloud shadows that move across the ground, changing in shape and size as they move.
All of these visual features come together really nicely. We've had to implement some interesting techniques to have all of this work with 2D sprites, and we're really happy with how it's turned out.
What about low end hardware?
As with any game, if you have older or lower-end hardware then you may need to turn the graphics settings down a little, and we've added a range of new options for you to tweak.
Even on low end hardware at lower frame-rates, the game is very playable since it's not a fast paced action game (e.g. like a first person shooter). We have also tested it on hardware that's 10+ years old. As with any sim game, late game with a full colony is when it's most taxing, but we will continue to add options and improve performance wherever possible.
Your Feedback
Many of the improvements are thanks to your feedback, so please keep it coming. If you have any ideas for the types of upgrades you like, or your top QoL requests for the research tree, be sure to let us know!
What's Next?
We're counting down the days to release. Everything is in place so that you can start playing and enjoying the game on 13 April 2026.
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Translations
Work on translations will take place during Early Access, and the initial EA launch will be in English. As development progresses we plan to add support for community translations.
This approach allows us to iterate quickly on systems, UI, and story as the game evolves, and has worked well for many Early Access titles (such as Stardew Valley, Subnautica, Oxygen Not Included, RimWorld, and Satisfactory) that also started with English first.
If you're interested in contributing, please let us know here or on Discord!
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Controller & Steam Deck Support
Some players have already played on the Steam Deck, but we don't have official support just yet. We do plan to have it fully playable on the Steam Deck further into development (and we have our Steam Deck ready to test!)
Controller support is challenging for this type of game that has this much depth, and we don't want the gameplay to be limited by controller inputs. Our plan is to look into this once we have all of our features in to see what is possible. We have good experience implementing controllers and it is on our mind during development, but we are also aware of the limitations.
Found a Bug?
Please report them! Whether it's a typo or something more significant please let us know via the forums or via Discord.
If Somethings Needs Better Tutorials
There is a lot of depth in the game and we already have a heap of tutorials shown in the handbook. We do have more tutorials planned so if you find something is not explained well enough or are still confused about anything, be sure to let us know.
Come have a chat!
Our community is growing, and everyone has been amazing and really friendly. Come chat with the devs and other players in our Discord
Leaving Feedback
If you encounter any bugs, or would love to discuss features please do so via the Steam forums or our Discord. It's really helpful to know about the parts of the game you enjoy, as well as anything you don't.
You can also check discord for a list of known bugs, community suggestions and upcoming plans!
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⚡ Be sure to Wishlist Oceaneers, and stay tuned for the next dev diary and more announcements. ❤️
Join Us!
Join our discord to discuss the game and share your ideas! Join discord here ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some recent Dev Diaries in case you missed them: view view view view view view view
Source
Changelog.gg summarizes and formats this update. How we read updates.