Seabound is my debut Bedrock Add-on, featuring new content across the board!
The spotlight addition is that of new multi-part ship entities which are completely walkable by players and mobs. Especially by the new skeleton crewmates, which can pathfind on the deck of the ships, man the cannons, and even steer for you! I am extraordinarily proud of this technical achievement, as there is nothing I can find on Bedrock (or even Java to a great extent) that provides this kind of experience.
The add-on also adds new sea monster bosses and AI mob ships to fight, built specifically for the unique combat the new ships allow for. The sea monsters have unique interactions with the ships, and are designed to be fought with a crew of players or skeletons.
In addition, Seabound also adds: 17 new weapons, 22 new armor pieces, 40+ new blocks, 30+ new items, 10+ new mobs, 12+ new structures - including a massive dungeon citadel with unique mechanics - and a new ocean biome called “Abyssal Plains”!
Currently, the add-on is in its final stages of development, with only the finishing touches and balancing needed. I plan to update the add-on more in the future - adding an “islands” biome with even more content and the Kraken as a dynamic sea monster!
In-Depth Ship Gameplay
The ships in Seabound are unique in that they are made of multiple dummy entities.
I was inspired by the happy ghast added in the ‘Chase the Skies’ update, which featured a collidable hitbox and the ability to automatically align itself to the nearest block axis, ensuring the rendered model never mismatched the static hitbox. This makes walking on the ghast feel smooth and consistent.
I followed the same design principle here with my ships, making sure each walkable section was a perfect square on the horizontal axis - ensuring model and hitbox alignment!
There are currently 2 ship types players can choose from: Sloops and Brigs. Sloops are faster but weaker, whereas Brigs are slower but much larger and stronger.
The ships do not use teleportation or intensive script methods to constantly update the position of their pieces - it is all handled via the vanilla entity riding system.
The ships are also customizable, allowing players to add chests, crafting tables, furnaces, cannons, and even a dock for normal boats! You can also dye the sail color and choose from a few different wood palettes!
Ships are constructed like golems - players make a block structure which turns into the ship! If players don’t want to manually build the structure themselves, they can use a Ship Schematic to do it for them! If players learn the structure by memory, they will no longer need a schematic! I think this makes the boats feel like a bigger deal, and makes players feel like they have more freedom when creating them.
AI Skeleton Crewmates
This add-on adds Ancient Skeletons, which can be resurrected from the dead using a special new ore: Hadalite. Ancient skeletons will serve the player that revived them.
Players will be given a Crew Orders item after reviving one, which allows players to command their skeletons to do just about anything! They can fight, defend, follow, man the cannons, and even steer the ship!
They can be named and outfitted with most armor and weapons for full customization. PVP teams are supported too, allowing players to fight each other and their skeleton crews!
Sea Monsters!
Seabound adds 2 new sea monster bosses: the Leviathan and the Bonemaw. Both can be found in the new “Abyssal Plains” ocean biome, as well as very rarely in the open seas.
The Leviathan is a giant sea serpent which will attack most living mobs if it is hungry enough. Its body can be configured to use multiple segmented dummy entities or just one simple model for performance improvements.
The Bonemaw is a whale-like monster with a glowing tail and giant jaws. It isn’t as aggressive as the Leviathan but can do serious damage if players aren’t careful!
They both drop lots of loot and unique trophy mounts!
Biome & Structures
Seabound features a new deep-sea biome: the Abyssal Plains. Here players can find new blocks and items, explore old ruins, and fend off dangerous flora and fauna.
Each abyssal plains biome will spawn with at least 1 leviathan present. So players will always need to be on their toes. Lurkers are shark-like creatures which are afraid of the light - making the natural Trench Lights very useful to players.
A new super-structure can generate in the abyssal plains as well - the Abyss Citadel! This massive abandoned structure is haunted by prismarine. Players can expect to find Abyss Golems, Forgotten Skeletons, Dangerous Prismarine Vents, and guardians here.
The abyss golems are invulnerable to damage unless in the presence of an Abyss Stone Suppressor Block. Players will have to lead the golem through the halls of the citadel to the suppressor room in order to defeat it. Upon death, much hadalite will be rewarded!
This add-on also adds a dozen or so other smaller structures designed to make the oceans more interesting. I plan to add many more in the future!
Players can raid ocean keeps and sea forts defended by cannons and seafaring mob variants!
Rewards
Players can acquire many unique loot items, weapons, and tools in Seabound.
The new ore, Magnetite, can be found in the abyssal plains biome and be used to craft unique armor and weapons. Magnetite is unique in that the blocks are actually magnetic! They will be attracted to each other after being placed by players or moved by pistons, which can be used in all sorts of redstone contraptions.
Magnetite tools also attract loot items to the player after mining, making it more convenient.
Players can craft seafaring and pirate themed armor sets, as well as armor from each of the sea monsters!
There are many new weapons, but the most powerful come from the sea monsters. The leviathan grants the leviathan lance, while the bonemaw gives the bonemaw hammer.
All armor sets in Seabound give a set bonus - if players are wearing the entire armor set, they will gain a special ability or perk!
Vibrant Visuals Support
Performance Options
Seabound has been tested on a variety of devices, including lower-end mobile. To support players who might struggle with performance when many complex entities are active, the add-on comes with many helpful settings which can be adjusted.
These settings automatically adjust to recommended values based on memory tier and device type. The add-on also dynamically adjusts script intensiveness depending on how much is going in the world at once.
Players can always override recommended values if they want.
*Note on the video: when the Leviathan segmented body is disabled, the difficulty and health of the boss is adjusted to make the fight easier, since you have to hit the head to deal damage.
Even More Content
There is even more content in Seabound which I have not covered here, and I plan on adding more in the future!
This is definitely the project I am the most proud of; the complexity, scale, and variety of features was a lot of work and I truly believe it paid off!