Sent ikväll (spöktimmen!) går servrarna igång för det omtalade, efterlängtade och ifrågasatta piratliret Sea of Thieves. Tidigare i helgen tog en handfull utvecklare på Rare en timmes paus från kodknackandet och anordnade en frågestund på spelets redditsida.

Vi har sammanställt några av frågorna och svaren nedan, som tacklar både innehåll och designval. Den fulla tråden på Reddit går att hitta här.

Landkrabborna på FZ-redaktionen kommer att ge sig ut på de stormande haven inom kort och en groggdränkt recension är att vänta på hemsidan senare i veckan (om pirat-Calle inte sjabblar med segeltrimmandet). Till dess föreslår vi att ni kikar på den färska släpptrailern och kastar er över till den matiga tråden i forumet.

Glöm inte heller bort att ni har resten av måndagen på er att delta i vår stora Sea of Thieves-tävling, där du bland annat kan kamma hem ett Xbox One X från Inet!

Rare om innehåll, kosmetika och sjömonster:

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- You've spoken frequently about looking at adding content down the road (every 3 months or so?). Can we expect to see a published roadmap after launch that outlines a number of features that are penned to be released over the next 12 months?

- I think we're only ever likely to cover a few months ahead to maintain mystery (so you can be surprised and delighted) and so we can be reactive. Things will change as Sea of Thieves evolves. We want to have the time to reveal what the features mean for players before we put them in their hands. We've taken a show not tell policy for the entire project so far and we're committed to that.

- How frequent will updates be after launch?

- Our focus at launch is reacting to feedback and seeing if there are any significant issues. Our updates will be as frequent as they need to be in that period. New content will be variable on how complex it is. Bigger features are gonna be every few months, those will be major changes, like pets or ship captaincy. In the periods between those updates we'll be running live campaigns and constantly releasing things that enrich the emergent experience of the world. Tools like a speaking trumpet, something that's not too far away after launch.

- Do you guys plan on adding more factions? Maybe for Fishing or Cartographers?
Also, any plans on adding new types of boats?

- We call them Trading Companies (rather than factions, as I think that sets the wrong expectations) but yes, absolutely we plan to add more as the game grows. The next one we want to add is my favourite so far. I won't go into specifics because #SeaofTease but we want to bring in new goals that encourage players to interact in interesting ways, that is unique to Sea of Thieves, and is a completely new way to play from what you have now.

- Will there be more Islands in the full game release than in the beta?

- No more islands for full release, but only because we had reached where we wanted to be with the frequency that ships encounter each other. We do have designs for more islands and Outposts but no firm plans just yet. I think our focus initially will be to offer players more activities in the existing world, although there are a lot more ideas for cool islands, as I'm sure you can imagine.

- Will there more Sea Monsters in the future, or will the Kraken be the only one?

- We'll be looking to enrich our game across all areas after launch, whether that be the quests, the AI, the game experience. This is an area where we'll definitely be looking at players' feedback after launch. The kraken as a threat might evolve...