Rhumbline
Demo v0.2.3 and a new trailer
The free demo on itch.io is now v0.2.3, and there is a new trailer to go with it.
Rhumbline
Sail and trade across a real-scale 16th-century world, at the mercy of wind and weather.
Download the free demoWindows and Linux · free · single-player
The game
Rhumbline is a free demo of an age-of-sail trading game. Take the helm of a small caravel in Seville and set out across a world built from real elevation data: the coasts of Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia, with dozens of historical ports to visit.
Sail by the wind
Regional and seasonal winds (trade winds, monsoons, the levante and the poniente) decide your route. Trim your sails, tack upwind and read the sky.
Living weather
Calm seas, fresh breezes, gales and thunderstorms, with rain, fog, lightning and a full day and night cycle under the stars.
Trade
Dock in port, check the market, buy cheap and sell where goods are scarce. Every port has its own culture, architecture and produce.
Realistic distances
A crossing from Seville to Havana takes weeks of in-game time, compressed so the voyage still feels like one.
This is an early demo, single-player, no account or server needed. Feedback is very welcome! Windows 10/11 and Linux x86_64; a dedicated GPU is recommended.
Screenshots
Trailer
The video is played from YouTube, which may set its own cookies. youtube.com/watch?v=0OHEiLWD1n4
Roadmap
What comes next, roughly in order. Plans can change as the game grows.
DoneFree demo v0.2.3
Sailing by the wind, living weather, day and night, trading between historical ports.
In progressShipyards and new ships
Buy, refit and upgrade your vessel, from a small sloop up to a galleon.
In progressSkills and trades
A captain who learns: trade, seamanship and command improve as you play.
In progressDeeper markets
Prices that react to what you buy and sell, regional specialities and taxes by nation.
PlannedNaval combat and boarding
Broadsides in real time on the same sea, and boarding actions when you close in.
PlannedExploration and discoveries
Real animals, plants and landmarks to discover, and charts that lead to treasure.
- Planned
The whole world
More ports and regions across the Americas, Africa and Asia.
Devlog
Roadmap and a call for artists
The site now shows what comes next, and an open invitation to artists who would like to contribute, credited by name.
The official website is live
Rhumbline now has its own home at rhumblinegame.com, with the trailer, screenshots, credits and this devlog.
Free demo v0.1.0 on itch.io
The first public demo is out for Windows and Linux: sail from Seville, trade between ports and ride out the weather.
Want to collaborate?
Rhumbline is made by a very small team. We are looking for artists — 3D modellers, illustrators, musicians, sound designers — who would like to contribute. We cannot pay, but every contribution is credited by name in the game and on this website, and you keep your rights under the licence you choose (CC0 or CC BY).
Credits and licences
- Ship “La Nina” by Arkikon (@ragnar), Sketchfab, CC BY 4.0 — used as the hull of the small caravel (sails by the game).
- Terrain: ETOPO1 (NOAA, public domain) and Natural Earth (public domain).
- Textures: Poly Haven (CC0). Village building pieces: OpenGameArt.
- Sound effects: Freesound authors, CC0. Music (game and trailer): “Exploration” by RandomMind, OpenGameArt, CC0 1.0.
- Font: Alegreya (SIL Open Font License 1.1), also used on this website.
- Engine: Godot Engine (MIT). godot-sqlite (MIT).
The full list of authors and licences is in CREDITOS.txt inside each download.
About AI-generated content
The game's icons, UI frames, compass rose, title screen art and game icon were generated with Z-Image-Turbo (Alibaba Tongyi, Apache 2.0 licence) running on MeigaHub, and then edited and assembled by hand. All 3D models, terrain, code and game design are not AI-generated except where credited.