FLOOR

Hello. This is Uncharted Waters Origin. 

To share the news about the development status and the schedule for service,

the letter from the director of Uncharted Waters Origin has just arrived.

Check out the letter from the director, Deuk-Kyu Lee, that was prepared for Admirals.

Hello.

This is Deuk-Kyu Lee of Motif Co., Ltd., director of Uncharted Waters Origin.

Uncharted Waters is a well-known series in Asia that was developed by Koei Tecmo

of Japan 30 about years ago. Even though the series has not produced that many games

due to its setting that encompasses the entire world, it has commanded a solid fandom

within Asia ever since it began with the characteristics of an open world game

back when the concept of open world didn’t exist.

Among the series is Uncharted Waters Online that was released globally and is available

in certain countries. Some of you may have heard of it or even experienced it in person.

Uncharted Waters Origin is a game that was developed between Korea and Japan

in a joint effort with Koei Tecmo to commemorate 30 years of the series. Although various

influences such as COVID-19 have pushed back the originally intended development

schedule, we are doing our best to develop the game so that it does not feel lacking

before the gamers of the world.

This game is based on Uncharted Waters II: New Horizons which had the highest

recognition and popularity in East Asia. It is a unique game that incorporates the

characteristics of Online, Mobile, JRPG, and Idle Games and referenced the original games

so that players can grow and progress according to their own playstyle and circumstances

in a Cross-Platform environment.

As a result, I believe those who have not experienced Uncharted Waters II: New Horizons

or have only played Uncharted Waters Online will have plenty of reason

to find the early game to be awkward and unfamiliar.

This is a unique game that requires a lot of learning in the beginning,

takes time to understand, and has abrupt changes in difficulty based on one’s play style.

Therefore, different players may see drastic differences in their progress or difficulty

even if they play for a similar amount of time. There are also large differences based on

the amount of total user experience accumulated within the server, which means that players

may face completely different experiences based on their server, selected nationality,

playstyle, or the Admiral they choose to play as.

Therefore, it can be said that this game has the advantage of diversity, but is difficult

to adapt in the early stages as a result.

Uncharted Waters Origin is a game where you can freely change and experience different

playstyles by building your own company that belongs to the nation of your choice in

search of opportunity in the Age of Discovery in the 16th century, recruiting famous

figures in world history as your allies to form various fleets to sail the seven seas, exploring

the civilizations, countries, and ports of the 16th-17th century, obtaining massive wealth

through trading or war as a pirate or privateer, or making a fleet of warships to punish

the wicked and contribute to the success of your nation.

During this process, you can select 25 Admirals with their own stories to travel the world

while accomplishing their goals and continue growing your company.

A company that has grown in this fashion can enjoy competitive content on a national

level by re-investing the wealth they obtained into a port, turning the ports of the world

into their allied ports and becoming the mayor of the allied port to collect economic

profit in the form of taxes, and engage in combat against opposing military forces.

Investing in a port is especially important for all players who have a focus of trade,

adventure, and combat. Some trade goods can only be traded by those who made

an investment, just like how some discoveries can only be found by those who made

an investment. Investing will also make the NPCs of that port and the nearby seas friendly

towards the player, preventing them from attacking you. Not only is this a personal gain,

but the benefits and losses also apply to every player within the nation, which means you

will have to invest to grant an advantage to your home nation whenever you have the chance.

The total amount that is invested in this process is used to develop the port, adding buildings

in real time and unlocking new services. Although seeing the changes over the entire port

may feel difficult on an individual level, you will be able to experience the game’s growth

based on the cumulative contributions of many different players.

Other than the investment system that affects the world through trade, there are

discovery rankings for exploration and skirmish rankings for combat that allow players to

compete with others on a weekly basis. Once the official service is underway, there will

be constant consecutive system updates that provide content such as port battles, land

battles, and raids against mythical creatures.

At this point in time, we have already created the entire world and its ports, with over

1,000 characters that were inspired from 16th-century world history, over 2,500 discoveries

that exist in real life, 220 ports and over 70 villages that will be provided in consecutive updates.

Information such as wind direction, wind speed, currents, and waves that were analyzed

from climate and ocean environment big data is applied according to the game time,

which results in large differences in sailing time and efficiency based on when your voyage

takes place even when heading to the same location.

Even when trading, various trade goods will change depending on the season, requiring

players to maximize their profits by adapting their trade routes to a changing environment

based on the passage of time and trade volumes that are affected in real time

instead of simple repetition.

As you can see, Uncharted Waters Origin is a history-based game that reflects the world

and offers a unique experience of exploring the earth. We are also planning to continue

completing the areas that are currently unprepared through constant updates.

Because the game requires players to explore the entire world, the game’s tempo was

developed to accelerate as the player gains experience and growth. This may give players

the feeling that progress is a little slow in the beginning. But the game’s speed grows

quicker based on the growth of your ships and allies, and you can continue sailing even

when you are not connected to the game, allowing you to play whenever you need a

new experience while skipping the travel time by going offline. That means you should

be able to take breaks from playing instead of diverting your full attention to the game at all times.

Due to the characteristics of a shared project between Korea and Japan, this game that

has been constantly modified and reviewed due to the cultural differences of both countries

is being prepared for the entire world, and will be available through Early Access

in selected English speaking countries ahead of the official release in order to adapt to

the various gaming environments of the world outside of Asia and to minimize errors

in cultural areas and lessen incorrect cultural experiences through early examination.

The game will provide an experience that is identical to the official release as much as

possible and begin official service in each country as we complete preparations for each cultural area.

We will do our best to stabilize and improve the game in a swift manner to deliver a

good game to the gamers across the entire world.

Please look forward to Uncharted Waters Origin.

Thank you.

From the Uncharted Waters Origin development team.