A recent dev blog entry has provided some exciting news for any true pirates aficionado: treasure maps in Pirates of the Burning sea are getting much more detailed. In fact, a big ol' X will mark the spot of your treasure!

Creative Director Chris Pramas wrote that he's wanted to add real treasure maps to the game since he started working at Flying Lab. Raymond, the content lead for the game, suggested the Black Flags and Dead Saints storyline would be the perfect time to implement them. So in chapter 4 of the storyline, Black Bart's Gold, you'll get a rolled-up map as an item. Open it and use the map to find the big red X on the coastline to start your encounter. Once inside, start digging for treasure!

Pramas also explained how he based Black Bart's Gold on actual history from the 1700s, although he added his own spin to the story. You can read the whole blog entry below to see how much work went into making sure X marks the spot.

For as long as I’ve been working at Flying Lab, I’ve wanted to add treasure maps to Pirates of the Burning Sea. We have had missions that involve maps before, of course, but they were always dealt with in the text only. Real “X marks the spot” treasure maps were not a priority as we geared up for launch though, so that’s how it stayed.

When I was outlining the Black Flags and Dread Saints storyline, I included a chapter called Black Bart’s Gold. I wanted Black Bart’s story to involve many classic pirate elements, so hidden treasure seemed a natural. When I wrote that outline, I assumed that we’d be dealing with any treasure maps the same way we had previously. It was Raymond, our Content Lead, who suggested that this was the time to figure out how to do treasure maps right. So Black Bart’s Gold will not only be Chapter 4 of Black Flags and Dread Saints, but also the first time we’ll have real treasure maps in Pirates of the Burning Sea.

Raymond figured out how to make treasure maps work. Basically, you can get a rolled up map as an item and when you use it, it generates a mission that lets you hunt for buried treasure. Once the map is unrolled, you can view it at any time. It shows a small area of the game map and an X. You have to figure out where to find this region on the game map. When you get close, you can find a big red X along the coastline, but you can only see it if you’ve looked at the map recently. When you click on the X, it will take you into the main encounter.

Once inside the encounter, you’ll find a bunch of Xs scattered around. Underneath one of them is the treasure. When you approach an X, you can click on it to start digging. Unless you are interrupted, you will finish digging in a few moments and find out if you’ve found the treasure. Mat, our Lead Animator, has done some great new animations for the digging and the things you can dig up.

Black Bart’s Gold has a main story that explores some of the history of Bartholomew Roberts. I took a cue from history for this, as I often do. Piracy buffs amongst you may know that the man who made Roberts into a pirate was Howell Davis. In 1719 Davis was on the account with two other pirates: Englishman Thomas Cocklyn and Frenchman Olivier La Bouche (known as La Buse, “the Buzzard”). The three captains hunted for prey off the coast of Africa and plundered some valuable prizes. Then they had a drunken brawl and parted ways. Shortly thereafter Howell Davis captured the ship on which Bartholomew Roberts was serving. Roberts had little choice but to join with the pirates, in time becoming one of the most feared buccaneers of the age.

History does not record what Davis, Cocklyn, and La Bouche argued about. In Pirates of the Burning Sea the answer is simple: treasure! You’ll find out what happened and what the treasure has to do with Bartholomew Roberts in Black Bart’s Gold. We’re also adding several stand-alone missions that feature other treasure maps. Since we now have the technology, why not make use of it, right?

X marks the spot, mateys.