There is a page on Steam Corsairs Legacy. This is an RPG about pirates, inspired by the cult series «Corsairs». The young Ukrainian studio Mauris is responsible for developing the project — but will the newcomers be able to release a decent game with battles on land and at sea, variable quests and an exciting plot? We asked these questions to the head of Corsairs Legacy Vladimir Bondarenko. If you prefer to watch rather than read, feel free to turn on the video — it will be interesting!
Russian games were once popular and successful. «Space Rangers», «Blitzkrieg», «Demiurges», «Mechanoids» — these projects were played all over the world. Another successful example was «Corsairs». The creation of «Akella» skillfully conveyed the romance of pirate life, captivated with quests, battles on land and at sea. The original game turned out to be so good that the second part became «Pirates of the Caribbean» and was published by Bethesda.
The duology was loved by gamers — it is not surprising that they were waiting for the sequel with great enthusiasm. Alas, the release version of «Corsairs 3» turned out to be one of the most broken games of all time. You could smear yourself with bugs here: from the usual broken scripts and falls through textures to the ability to recruit an unlimited number of recruits from a captured ship (while on a defeated ship the number of crew boldly went into the minus).
Despite the failure, gamers still hoped for the fourth «Corsairs», but they never came out. Now the title is surrounded by scandals: different companies are squabbling over the rights, and development is at a standstill.
Few people believe in the release of the official sequel — that's why the news about the development of Corsairs Legacy is even more pleasant. The game is not directly related to the cult series, but is clearly inspired by it. Gamers will find an open world, quests with different endings, famous pirates, as well as battles on land and at sea. Vladimir Bondarenko, head of the Mauris studio, will tell us more about the project.
VGTimes: Can you tell us about yourself and the project? Is Corsairs Legacy a spin-off, a sequel, or a separate project inspired by the legendary series?
Vladimir Bondarenko: Thank you for inviting me to the interview. It's nice to be on a platform I've been reading for many years.
I should probably tell the story of how Corsairs Legacy came to be. Initially, we had a YouTube channel called Save The Pirate. As you can tell from the name, it has nothing to do with Corsairs Legacy. At that time, we were making a mobile game in a pirate setting.
When it came to choosing which storyline to come up with, we decided to use the theme of the Caribbean and pirates. Then we thought that we wanted to try releasing the game on Steam. At that time, we had already made about 700 animations, and we thought that this was enough content that could be ported to PC. We wanted to get a new experience: try a new platform and porting.
At that moment, the question arose: how to promote a PC game? After all, the promotion of mobile and computer games is very different. I always wanted to generate some content and thought it was high time to try creating a thematic channel.
An idea came up to find someone who developed «Corsairs», chat about Save The Pirate, get advice and, perhaps, record content. One day, I wrote to Yuri Rogachev. It seemed to me that this person was very much in the know, because he designed «Corsairs», worked on graphics and was the lead game designer of «Corsairs 4».
As a result, we called each other: I told him about our project, but in fact, we talked more about «Corsairs». I suggested recording a video on the series — and we did it. And off we went. Then I purposefully began to study the issue more and more deeply, and also contacted new participants in the project.
One day, I realized that today there are many small projects or projects in the early stages of development that are inspired by «Corsairs». But will they come out?
Since no one is taking the matter seriously, why don't we do it? We thought that we could create our own game and try to revive the pirate setting, revive the games that we played as children.
Our team mainly consists of specialists under 30. We all grew up on these games, and now we want to create our own project that will allow fans to appreciate something new. After all, for 10 years they have not seen pirated games, except for Assassin's Creed: Black Flag.
VGTimes: Have you thought about joining a team with someone who is making a similar game? Maybe with the guys who are preparing a re-release or a sequel?
Vladimir Bondarenko: I am more of a supporter of investing in the result and working for the result. From my point of view, back then there was no one to join and strengthen the result.
I have a fairly efficient team, and we try to do everything as quickly and efficiently as possible — we've been working together for eight years now. If there are two people with different visions on the team, the likelihood of achieving a successful result is greatly reduced.
In our case, there is one product owner, one person who shows the full vision. If the game is bad, then all the stones should fly at me. I believe that only with this approach can a project of the scale of Corsair Legacy be implemented effectively and in an adequate time frame.
VGTimes: When exactly did the development of Legacy begin?
Vladimir Bondarenko: We hired the first person who started working on the project full-time in February 2021. Before that, our programmer made various prototypes.
VGTimes: There are currently 15 developers on the team. Where do we get the funds to pull off such an ambitious project with so many mechanics?
Vladimir Bondarenko: We started with a couple of people and grew to 15 only two months ago. There is a vague assumption that by the time we release, we will grow even larger. So the expenses are increasing.
When we got involved in the project, I assumed that it would take much less time, effort and money. Probably because first of all, we wanted to quickly make a small project, but appetite comes with eating.
With each month, we saw more and more opportunities that allow us to improve the product, and we expanded it — so the team also had to be expanded. We did not release the game in 2021 because we went beyond all the scope of the original technical specifications.
In addition to spending more and more time on development, it was necessary to earn additional funds so that the game could develop. Now I am in a balance where I try to devote as much time to Corsair Legacy as possible and find ways to recoup development costs through other projects.
I plan to balance like this because I would not like fundraising or investors. All this is an obligation to players. After all, there were projects that made promises, but did not actually come out. I believe that we need to prove their effectiveness with action.
The teaser shows that we are not making a pretty picture. We show slow graphics with flaws — but that's what it is. This is a build that you can actually install and see the same thing as in the teaser. This way, there will be no disappointed expectations, as with Cyberpunk 2077 and Battlefield 2042. It is important to us that the product is good and receives high marks. That is why we show the audience everything as it is, get feedback and refine the mechanics.
But I've deviated from the question of how we finance Corsairs Legacy. In general, our company is engaged in outsourcing, and we have projects that we actively develop and support. For example, we are talking about one of the largest online clothing stores in Ukraine, which we help. This is an example of a project, all funds from which we direct to the development of the game.
VGTimes: The hero of Corsairs Legacy will be the famous pirate Jack Rackham. We know that he will get into an incredible mess that will change his whole life. Can you tell us a little more about what will happen to Jack, and who will he oppose?
Vladimir Bondarenko: I'll try to tell you, but I won't reveal all my cards. The main idea is to make the main character nervous, to find himself in a situation where he doesn't know who to trust. Therefore, it would not be entirely correct to say who the main antagonist is.
We try to pay a lot of attention to the story — after all, there are few story games today. The presence of at least an average plot captivates the player much more than beautiful graphics, which, most likely, we will not be able to provide within the framework of the first project. Now we have finished writing the skeleton of the plot and are finishing some moments.
We try to make sure that all the quests are connected by one storyline, which moves Rackham along the story and gives him more and more information. From these grains, he collects a general picture and understands what actually happened at the moment of his arrival on the island.
When he arrives there, a series of events occur, after which he is forced to change all his plans and stay on this island. The player's task is to figure out what happened. We plan to build the story so that an attentive player can solve the puzzle before others.
VGTimes: Rackham is a famous character known to piracy fans and those who simply watched Black Sails. But will we see Anne Bonny and other legendary pirates next to him?
Vladimir Bondarenko: We plan to show Anne Bonny in the first part. We are currently creating a 3D model of this character. In general, we plan to introduce all the main pirates into the story, but not within the first game. This is a tribute to the history that we rely on in development.
VGTimes: You showed the port of Bridgetown on the stream. How many locations will be in the game?
Vladimir Bondarenko: The island and the sea will be the main locations. The main goal of the first project is to make the most technologically advanced solution that will give the maximum FPS with the most beautiful picture.
At the moment, there is no point in making two islands. Because instead of achieving a good picture and FPS, we will simply copy and create additional forests and cities.
We want to make a reference model and test the technologies that we will use. Then we will get feedback from the audience, and at the same time we will measure the FPS that players receive. Once we see that the concept works and gives a good result, we will start expanding the locations.
VGTimes: Corsairs Legacy — an open-world game or a linear adventure?
Vladimir Bondarenko: In the open world. We have several quests that need to be completed for the plot to begin, and then the player is free to choose where to go, what to do. Five quests, five different directions will appear at once.
VGTimes: An open-world game is usually expected to have a sophisticated combat system with a variety of weapons and equipment, deep leveling and many sides. Will Corsairs Legacy have all this?
Vladimir Bondarenko: We showed the combat, but the audience didn't really like it. Therefore, we will try very hard to rework it and demonstrate an improved version, which will be more spectacular, albeit less historical.
About leveling. We have 20 skills prescribed, but so far they do not affect the character. In fact, the visuals have been implemented and the logic that should be laid down under the skills has been written.
Weapons. At the moment, we have 21 types of melee weapons, divided into three classes. Additional blades are also planned, which will be unique. Also, as far as I remember, there are now five pistols.
We plan to expand this arsenal further, but for the first game, we think this is enough. The player will have the opportunity to find new weapons that will deal more damage and provide more additional parameters.
And the last question: side quests. We plan to implement the maximum number of sides, but this is a difficult question, because first we need to program the storyline. We have not done this yet — programming the storyline at the initial stage.
We have not yet finished with a number of key mechanics that need to be implemented. We have not done any scripted things yet. We are trying to develop quests based on the main mechanics that are implemented inside the engine. Therefore, we plan to add as many sides as possible, but we will know the exact number at the release.
VGTimes: Will the leveling be implemented in the classic format, when the hero completes tasks, gains experience and levels up? Or like in Skyrim, where the skills you use develop?
Vladimir Bondarenko: Both. We have three classes of weapons, and the more you use a particular type, the higher the skill becomes. But experience also drips for completing tasks and killing opponents. Experience turns into levels, and levels make it possible to level up specific skills. I would say that this is a hybrid system.
VGTimes: A question about naval battles. How many of them will there be, and will the player be able to change or upgrade ships?
Vladimir Bondarenko: I will answer as honestly as possible. At the moment, we do not know. And it will depend on how spectacular the naval combat will be. Initially, we did not plan to add this mechanic, but now we are already in the process. At the very least, we will try to make at least a few battles.
I have doubts whether we will have time to make boarding, so most likely we are talking about naval battles. But they should be some of the most technologically advanced on the theme of sailing ships. Considering that not a single similar project has been released in the last three years, there is hope that at some point we will become the most high-tech game on the pirate theme. Not counting Skull & Bones, which, of course, will be released and will surpass everyone.
VGTimes: On the stream, you said that you plan to achieve historical accuracy. How?
Vladimir Bondarenko: There is a concept of the overall accuracy of the game and the accuracy of the ships. The person who is responsible for modeling the ships has only been modeling sailboats for the past ten years. He is very knowledgeable about the subject and has a lot of knowledge.
Plus there are the drawings according to which these ships were built. In fact, each ship is made exclusively according to the drawings that we have. Therefore, the ships will be as accurate as possible.
Regarding the overall historical accuracy. We have a consultant historian Kirill Borisovich Nazarenko who is helping with the project. In one of the videos, he said that at that time people did not wear beards — it was nonsense. But our main character has a beard. In this regard, we have moved away from historicity, but in guns, forts, weapons and much more, we try to do everything according to the drawings, maximally maintaining the references that we find.
There is a video where Kirill Nazarenko analyzes our weapons. We simply sent him the pack and asked for feedback. We were very pleased that the first phrase he said was: «It is obvious that they worked here.» He found several points that, from his point of view, were not entirely correct — we studied them and made some edits.
Plus, we listen to the audience: we have a lot of people who care about pirates. They give us ideas, advice, and make comments about what we're missing.
VGTimes: There is a phrase on Steam that in Corsairs Legacy there will be different sides to resolving conflicts. Can you give an example of such variability?
Vladimir Bondarenko: For example, when we receive one of the tasks, there are different courses of action. We can complete it, return to the NPC and honestly say that the job is done. We can also come to an agreement with the side with which we were supposed to deal, and then report to the quest giver that nothing worked out. Each side will have its own perks.
We will also have karma, which affects dialogues. In some cases, phrases that depend on karma will appear among the options.
The main problem is that variability greatly increases the time it takes to create a game. We try to minimize costs and make sure that the forks are not very complex from a software development point of view. It is quite possible that we will have to abandon some of them in order to release the game earlier.
However, many small variable moments are currently spelled out that affect the ending of the quest and how the environment will perceive the hero. If we cheat, we will lose in karma. The player can choose for himself: he wants to act according to his conscience or will profit from other people's troubles.
VGTimes: Are there any plans for multiplayer?
Vladimir Bondarenko: Yes. We have never talked about it, but we would like to add multiplayer. What it will look like is an open question.
Again, first we need to achieve the necessary minimum — the main thing is that the game looks good and technologically advanced. And then we will make a decision based on feedback and player engagement.
We would like to make multiplayer, because it would be cool if players interacted with each other. Maybe it will be a naval battle, which is also cool. However, these plans will be implemented only after we achieve at least the minimum goal. We try not to spread ourselves too thin.
VGTimes: When will beta testing start?
Vladimir Bondarenko: I can't answer this question. The beta was supposed to start in November, but then I realized that it would be better to show a teaser for now and roll out the beta at a later stage. After looking at the current version, it became clear that it would be better to finalize the product.
I can't tell you the date, since any announced date is a promise. I don't want to make promises that may not be fulfilled. This is our first PC project, so any deadline is incorrect due to lack of experience.
When we make at least two games and become an established team, then the roadmap with specific dates will look adequate and logical. At this stage, we are just trying to do everything as quickly as possible.
VGTimes: If Corsairs Legacy comes out and fails in sales, will you continue to make games?
Vladimir Bondarenko: I seriously doubt that we will be able to show good financial results and recoup the development of the first game. The problem is that we are targeting a Russian-speaking audience, and it is small.
In addition, prices in the CIS are quite low compared to other countries like the USA, Canada, Japan, and so on. And Steam and VAT take 40% of the cost of the game. So the likelihood that we will be able to recoup the project at the start is extremely small. Therefore, comments like «you want to cash in on old people» make me smile.
Even if the entire Russian-speaking audience buys the game, we most likely won't recoup the development. This is the reason why «Corsairs 4» didn't start. There aren't many gamers who are interested in this setting.
For now, our task is to create an engine and lay the foundation for the next parts. In the future, we will take this foundation and expand it. Plus, if we make a good product, we will increase the number of players through word of mouth and marketing. One day, we should break even and become a financially successful project that will develop and please fans.
In today's reality, the approach of the Mauris studio seems atypical. The authors do not throw dust in the eyes and do not promise to make the best game of all time — if the project looks raw, they do not embellish reality, but show everything as it is. Perhaps it is this strategy that will allow the developers to make Corsairs Legacy, at the very least, a competent game that will return gamers to the romantic pirate world.
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VGTimes has been operating since 2011 and during this time has visited dozens of exhibitions and festivals, where our journalists have collected many exclusive materials. For example, in 2019 we got to a closed screening of Cyberpunk 2077 at gamescom, in 2017 we prepared a photo report from WG Fest, in 2020 we were at the largest gaming event in Central Asia CAGS, and also visited IgroMir several times, where we saw Hideo Kojima and other famous developers.