The tragic development story of Captain Blood - canceled pirate-themed hack'n'slash from 2010 (PCGI)

If you enjoyed this video, you can check my Patreon - / pcgi
In 2010, the world could have seen the release of Captain Blood - a pirate-themed "God of War clone" from creators of a Sea Dogs franchise. In my new video, I'll talk about the tragic fate of this game and how it was canceled right on the finish line.
Articles that were used in creating this video:
www.igromania.ru/article/5356...
www.ign.com/articles/2008/06/...
dtf.ru/gameindustry/141957-ch...
www.igromania.ru/article/3820...
dtf.ru/games/701037-priklyuch...
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00:00 Intro
01:49 Akella and Sea Dogs
06:51 The development of Captain Blood
17:03 Gameplay from the final build of the game

[@zenoblues7787]

It's actually getting an official release now.

[@Goramann]

The fact this game never even got the chance to show off is a downright, fucking tragedy. While I can't comment on the gameplay myself I have to agree with you on the art, man. The Art direction is stellar. The second I saw you play it I wanted to try it out for myself and I am such a jaded gamer that this shit rarely ever happens. Really hope this video gets some traction so people atleast find out about this game.

[@huiglotovich]

Thank god, that the game was found and released on trackers. This is fucking miracle

[@djdoesstuffz5896]

They finished game 2 generations later

[@marioreyes6471]

Looks like this game getting a second life

[@PCGI]

Hey guys, I hope that the video quality is good enough, KZbin was trying to process 1440p/60FPS quality for 2 days already but it's still not done. I've tried to reupload the video with different render settings, but it didn't help much. Hope that KZbin will eventually fix itself, no idea what happened here. Even my 2 hours long S.T.A.L.K.E.R. doc processed faster, and it had the same render settings as this video.

[@jahangirali5306]

23:39 to break the mechanism move the left analog stick left and right really fast, the character will start cranking the lever really fast which will result in the mechanism getting damaged, do this to both levers, be warned though enemies will attack while you do this,

[@BROTRRer]

@@jahangirali5306 Thanks man

[@jahangirali5306]

You're welcome, i really enjoyed this game, im glad i co uld help

[@isimioyekunlemarktaiwo3643]

Bro it is getting a re release..what are the odds? 😅

[@MajorPhilGraves]

Your deep-dives are fascinating. The sheer amount of research they require alone would be enough to put lesser creators off. Outstanding work!

[@ransacked]

Thanks homie! If it wasn’t for your video I would have never been able to find and download this game. Ever since I found out about it I was wanting to play it. You gave me the chance to find this amazing game and a chance to preserve it. Subbed!

[@wizards-themagicalconcert5048]

Where to get it ? Any links or hints ?

[@jahangirali5306]

i've though about this game a couple times a year, since hearing about it back in 2010, i always thought it looked cool and was saddened when it never got realesed, thanks to it being leaked online, i can say tha t it is a fun game, the graphics are really good and stylised, makes me wonder how may more games were close to being complete but got cancelled, and never got to be experienced,

[@mirghan]

I am very happy I got your channel recommended, this is some fascinating research into a very obscure subject. Keep it up man, I'd love to see more from you!

[@Vampirolol]

Great video, didn't know about this game! I would have LOVED it in 2010!

[@fragmentalstew]

Hello, this game has a problem with some things being tied to fps. The fix is to use an external fps limiter, like the one built-in to the Nvidia settings software, but any of them should work. I don't know what the correct fps is; probably 60 or 30. 60 seems to work fine. I haven't tried 30. This specifically affects ship battles, but it affects other stuff too. It affects some sounds and possibly enemy spawns.

[@ATable4You]

I cannot wait for this game to come out in Fall of this year!

[@cane6074]

Saw the re-release trailer several days ago, it's hilarious and the game looks great! The game just screams 2000s game, in all the good ways!

[@sixstrng]

I still think about this game. I bet it would have been great.

[@James-Foster]

I haven't waited as long as other people for this game but hopefully it's come out in the fall of 2024 like the trailer said because this game looks pretty good.

[@davesinsanestudio8072]

This actually looks really fun. I'll check out it out when it's finally out. Hearing about the development and the developer made me angry tho. So many mistakes. I dunno how they manage nowdays in Russia, but I hope it's more organized, things have proper scope control and good leadership. Hope all the talent who worked on this moved on to work in better places in industry.

[@user-vy1ly9xe1q]

Спасибо за видео! Очень интересная и качественная работа. На западе много кто ждал игру, сейчас у них есть возможность сыграть, хоть и спустя 10 лет.

[@user-dh2ev9sc4c]

Nice video! But I'd like to correct you a little - game was not canceled, and, interestigly still not - it just hanged in the air. Not canceled and not released. BTW, i've heard that the final build was leaked by some guy from development team, who was pissed by the fact, that all work, time, passion and love, that he put into the game, is just buring in vain by some bureaucrats

[@PCGI]

Thanks! And yeah, officially it was not canceled. But as I've said at the end of this video, I've contacted 1C, and they told me they are not planning to return to this game any time soon. It would be a miracle if this game would ever be officially released, which is a shame. As for the "disgruntled developer" who leaked the build, I've heard about this as well, but can't confirm that.

[@stevefred2694]

The U.I, combat, and camera angles of this game are very reminiscent to legacy of kain: defiance

[@misha130]

Corsairs is such an amazing game that can never be rivaled by any of the pirate games

[@ZagZagovich]

Aww hell yeah dude! You are doing god's work right there. Побольше про такие штуки надеюсь будет) Всякие там Breed, Chasm, Вивисекторы или прочие относительно неизвестные и возможно не лучшие игры, но которые постоянно в журналах освящались.

[@SledgeNE]

I only know "Commander Blood" which was one of my very first PC-Games. :-)

[@uberwolf1424]

You’re my hero

[@neurud9250]

Очень классно рассказал историю об этой игре)) Рад что западные зрители тоже смогли узнать об этой игре!

[@suripto746]

I paid $50 for this ❤

[@SerfsUp1848]

Oh wait im confusing this with another pirate game where a dude has an anchor on a chain attached to his back lol.

[@ianaruto1]

Fanstastic video! Very weird that corsair 3 got released in an unfinished state while this game never even got a chance in a shippable state. Also the mystery of you getting the copy of the game, where, how and from whom?!

[@PCGI]

Thanks, glad you liked it! But as I've said in the video, I can't disclose who gave me this build - even though 1C is not interested in this game anymore it still can get this person into trouble. I never reveal my sources, and that's why people trust me such info.

[@ianaruto1]

@@PCGI It seems to have leaked on the torrent trackers so cat is out of the bag!

[@PCGI]

Yep, it was leaked right when I finished the work on this video, so if anyone is interested in trying out this game, it should be relatively easy to find it now. I can't link it directly because I've made a promise that I personally won't share it anywhere, and 1C still can fill DMCA if I'll leave any links on this build.

[@OldNerdPlayingOldPCGames]

Another like 😉👍

[@kdel4272]

Releasing 2024

[@nonan1974]

As an old Corsairs franchise fan, I can’t keep silent about the fact that you missed Corsairs 4, its trailers and concept collage are still available on KZbin. PS: To Each His Own is an unofficial fan continuation, I don't think they have permission to use "Sea Dogs" name, is probably just no one cares about this.

[@PCGI]

Yeah, my bad. I knew it existed at some point and was featured on Igromania magazine cover in 2008. But I had very little free time to make this video from scratch back then, and it was already getting much longer than I anticipated (as it usually happens with most of my videos lol). So I kept out details about Corsairs 4 from the script, and the whole drama about Black Mark crowdfunding in 2018 as well, to not confuse viewers even more. If I wouldn't have been so constrained by time and didn't crunch on this video non-stop for 2 weeks, I could have made it more detailed, but it is what is.

[@BROTRRer]

Can you play it with a gamepad? The gamepad works in the menu but not in-game. So the game recognizes it but for some reason you can't actually use it to play. Is there a trick to make it work?

[@PCGI]

Did you set Xbox 360 controller option in configure.exe that can be found in the game's folder? This config app is on russian, but just select the third tab in it and try to select Xbox option in the drop down menu, it might help.

[@user-dh2ev9sc4c]

I'm playing it right now, at the moment when I'm writing this comment, with X360 gamepad without any problems

[@jakedill1304]

Those tight animations, just remind me how sad I am that Prince of Persia went from warrior within.. to assassin's Creed.. a parkour game that decided it should get rid of its jump button and just let the game run for you.. after turning freeform combo combat into a rhythm game dance dance revolution with a slightly different UI.. like at least when David cage did it you could also have dialogue options right? And it was on purpose LOL it wasn't trying to pretend like you were helping.. like how did Prince of Persia turn into that.. why can't we have those things again.. these are questions that I already know the answer to and that's the problem.. but I'll say it out loud just to scream into the void to check my sanity from over 20 years of being gaslit by modern gaming and watching everyone forget if they even knew to begin with...

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

i love how the only people who care about/have this game are russians

[@torindanius9530]

before i wrote this comments i did not know if you stuck on the same level as i am. please can you tell me how to skip level.i don't know if it is bug or something.i am stuch at the same level as you mentiond

[@torindanius9530]

and please if you can't tell me how to skip levels please just give me your save game

[@jahangirali5306]

23:39 to break the mechanism move the left analog stick left and right really fast, the character will start cranking the lever really fast which will result in the mechanism getting damaged, do this to both levers, be warned though enemies will attack while you do this,

[@neurud9250]

Спасибо from Russia! I'm glad you told me about this game. Now gamers from other countries will be able to learn about the history of development and play it. Where are you from? I just heard the accent throughout the video.

[@edge3646]

sad pirate noises

[@edge3646]

I heard there was a playable leak for this game ...is this true??

[@PCGI]

It's true, the final build has been leaked online. I still can't link it directly because it might get me into trouble.

[@edge3646]

@@PCGI don't link it, a hint will do

[@PCGI]

Just look for Age of Pirates: Captain Blood download. Not sure which one is safe tho. But I gave you a hint on Discord, thanks for joining my server!

[@edge3646]

@@PCGI thanks

[@vladimirmarkov2047]

ИСПАААНЦЫЫЫ!!!!!

[@torindanius9530]

i did not know it was made by russian. great game.i did not know if it was that hard to search for this game. so official game is not released but there is torrent version of this game that's is not that hard to find on internet. i have right now on my pc and playing it :D but great game,great upgrades and so on,but i am stuck at the castle ;( i don't know if it is bug or i am not that smart to overcome this part :D

[@torindanius9530]

aqnd pleas ei have one request. i don't wnt full gam eof course, and i will not ask for it,i already have but i have russian version.i know russian but my russian is nto that good,so can you share your localization of the english versia? at least subtitles would be great in english to fully understand plot

[@PCGI]

Hey, to change the language of the game you need to go to the My Games\Captain Blood folder in your Documents and edit the 3rd line in engine.ini file. For example, to switch to English version, the line should be ¨localization = eng¨. The voices remain in Russian though since they did only draft versions of localizations, but it should help. As for skipping the level, in the same .ini file, find and change ¨debugkeys¨ value to 1 in order to unlock dev console. Then start the game, press ~ key and write in console "UnlockLevels" command. One last tip, to skip the intro logos, open the folder with game's files, then go through resource\videos path and remove files with "legal" word in their name. Enjoy!

[@torindanius9530]

@@PCGI thanks man. you saved me from rotating this level all my life :D thanks. i will check in 2 minute . and also great game and combos :D :* thanks

[@torindanius9530]

and one more request.is any cheat here? for example i want all skill.but for me it is hard to take anough coins to get it before i finish game.thanks in advance

[@PCGI]

@@torindanius9530 sorry, I didn't find a cheat for that. You can check all available commands by typing "help" in the dev console, use Page Up/Down keys to scroll through the list, maybe I missed it. If not, then check guides on how to use Cheat Engine to get infinite money.

[@JT-yh2zn]

@@PCGI The console commands when in-game versus in menus differs, so you'll have to check both places for a command. Secondly, Captain Blood has a Steam App ID (46240) that was created in 2013 and even has achievements listed. You can actually find a set of 50 achievements in the game if you mess around with the Xlive console command, but Steam is only listing 43 achievements relevant to the game. It's odd that this happened in 2013, it almost suggests that maybe the game was worked on past 2010. Also, for the level you were stuck on, you had to rock the joystick left and right, similar to the battering ram.

[@jakedill1304]

They should have done Rob Roy instead if they wanted to go through the Walter Scott well.. not only is it a better story, with less overtly sheer unadulterated political propaganda..1) but it takes place in a similar or at least asset reusable era.. outside of it's relative and focus.. it is Scotland so it's not you wouldn't have to put any train features really.. it's just grass and hills and sheep.. and the sheep keep it that way LOL.. plus you can do a rolling fog for LOD and it would be geographically accurate to a point that if you didn't have it it would actually seem weird.. Plus it's just it's just good LOL I'm not saying Ivanhoe wasn't good.. but it serves the function it was written to serve as a sort of Aesop cathartic fable.. whereas Rob Roy follows a a tighter linear progression with proper story logic and fantastic narrative and character interweavings.. there's not really any arcs in it. Cuz it's still from that era where human progression is a flat line emotionally.. they shall not change they are who they are.. but all of the characters are gloriously adulterated versions of their archetype with context and layers to compensate for the experimental and early stages of the entertainment novel that the 'Don Quixote' stories kicked off along with the printing press... I don't know why anytime I bring up Rob Roy, I end up stopping myself realizing no one knows what I'm talking about.. and then have to automatically throw in a pitch for it that often has nothing to do with what I actually intended to talk about.. if you want to know more though there's a very good movie from the 90s that incorporates it into Qui-Gon jinn's origin story.. and has one of the best F-u sword fights ever put the film.. if you've ever seen the duelist, it's like that but the characters actually have a good reason to hate each other.. and the entire film is about it.. it's it's a good adaptation it's it's still an adaptation but.. considering the book is an adaptation anyways from legend.. and when it comes to that era of storytelling.. there's actually a lot of modern approaches that are actually better objectively LOL.. And now I'm sad because, not only do I not get a Prince of Persia game or anything like it.. and it's spiritual successor and tangential mutation has turned into a rhythm game with extra steps and it features parkour without a jump button as they retroactively turned it into hold the stick down and play dance dance revolution.. but also no one's ever going to make a Rob Roy game.. Closest thing would probably be some of the plot lines in The Witcher series.. I could see Rob Roy turning into geralt with an extra 50 years or so under his belt to get extra cynical.. swashbucklers be swashbucklers.. and extremely competent people portrayed competently are always really awesome to see.. in the land of the unadulterated plot device progression that seems to pervade the modern age.. and now I started thinking of what would happen if somebody actually applied chivalry's combat to a fantasy adventure game.. be it immersive Sim RPG or just straight linear adventure hack and slash of old it would be so good and I've been waiting for so long.. and it seems like things are going the opposite direction after completely ignoring it on every level.. and ending up getting things like calisto protocol.. it's like assassin's Creed but with even less steps that you have to actually mechanically engage with! The game will play itself with a good piece of tape and maybe a metronome.. 1 (albeit, in a rare instance done out of but I think is more of a genuine desire to try and help things.. and considering he pretty much invented the the modern Scotch revival heritage as a result.. it's not like everybody lost and definitely everybody seem to win it's just.. I guess thank goodness everyone seemed to be on board with the whole thing..)

[@seadog1988]

my username was influenced by the seadog's but you forgot about the warthunder pirate ships

[@planescaped]

They released a badly unfinished version of their game... because the development studio were too addicted to playing WoW to work on their game? Sounds like a very well managed company, real big surprise Akella went out of business. >__> Akella's leadership sounds like some of the more incompetent I've heard of for a video game company. Despite looking good and being functional, it has a lack of polish and fine-tuning and feels kinda amateurish in some ways. That said, it's all fixable stuff, and I amazed the publisher never invested a bit into doing so considering the game was done. "Maybe some other company will be interested in picking up Captain Blood, since 1C Entertainment is not interested anymore" Honestly, it sounds like they were never interested, but got the game during that weird negotiation Akella had you mentioned and didn't actually want it. So they just buried it in the backyard when it was turned in.

[@Dennis-ud2nh]

I can understand how pirate or sci-fi themed games would be popular in the east. Most modern themed action games like the ones from western developers would probably be too sensitive, politically or otherwise. I'm guessing Russia isn't a country were you're just able to release any sort of game without risking censorship or worse.

[@tomalexander4327]

Warlockracy? Is that you moonlighting?

[@PCGI]

I've been around long before Warlockracy, so that's a big question who is who lol

[@videogame3390]

does anyone know how much this game cost...it looks awesome and i want to buy it this fall on xbox but it should not cost more than 10usd...plz dont say its 50-70usd!!!