Sea of Thieves’ Technical Alpha is getting a Content Update

With Rare collecting all kinds of useful player data on the long-running Technical Alpha session, the developer has decided that it is time to roll out a new content update and released a trailer showcasing the highlights. As previously revealed, Sea of Thieves will feature solo play using small vessels that can be captained, managed, and defended, by a single player and is one of the new features that will be hitting the technical alpha.

Here's the trailer:

Also, Rare will be implementing a non-verbal communication system that is entirely text-based, which is also something they have discussed in the past. In the interest of keeping the game as accessible as possible, players without a microphone (or those that just don't want or can't talk) will be able to play the game and keep their crewmates informed with situational text prompts.

The third prominent feature is the brig, which players can vote to send a troublemaking member of their crew. The person who gets tossed in the brig can still speak with the other members, and if they promise to be good, can get out and have a second chance. It's hard to tell what if anything could stop a troublemaker from just exiting the game from the brig, but it's a smart way of incorporating the pirate life seamlessly.

Sea of Thieves still doesn't have a release date, but Rare is saying that the game will come in "Early 2018."

[Gamasutra]