Ahoy everyone!
As I teased in the previous announcement in July, which celebrated 5 years of Compass updates, I’ve been hard at work on the next major update for Compass. Closed testing of new admin capabilities have been going great, but it’s a very large system and I’m not quite ready to release it just yet.
When it does launch, you’ll be able to submit assets directly through the dashboard or create an account to access even more features. This is a very large and important system, so I am taking the time to make sure it’s right before it goes live. It’s release will mark the end of a major cycle of new tools I’ve been developing to maintain Compass for the future.
Launching in Early November: Compass 3.0
I’m excited to officially announce that Compass 3.0 will arrive in early November. The admin dashboard is just one component of 3.0’s big website refresh! Core pages have been redesigned, and all website services have been rebuilt from the ground up on a far more flexible architecture.
I’m incredibly happy with how everything has turned out and can’t wait for you to experience a smoother browsing experience, faster downloads, and a more powerful search.
And that’s just the beginning—more features are on the way over the coming months, including:
- Extensive crediting throughout the database
- A stronger focus on featured content
- General asset packs for quick, grab-and-go use
- A dedicated way to share assets with the community
I’ll also be adding a huge collection of new assets that have never been available before, including my personal archive from seaofthieves.com with over 12,000 images.
Looking Ahead with Custom Seas
I know the game is not at its heathiest at the moment, and even I see myself questioning the game’s future and the unfortunate timing of Compass’ next release. But I am confident through the consistent engagement I see with Compass’ services that it’s valued and worthwhile for me to continue and improve. So that’s exactly what I intend to do!
I’ll be planning future asset releases with Custom Seas in mind, aiming to complete my major custom projects so I can refocus on delivering new assets—this time with the added convenience and power of Custom Seas — hopefully early 2026.
Behind the Scenes: Technical Changes
If you’re just here for the new features, feel free to stop reading here. The rest is a bit more technical.
Security Enhancements
This update comes with a major architectural overhaul, and with it, improved security in several areas. These changes won’t affect normal browsing, but there are some key differences:
- Google Drive is no longer used. You’ll no longer be redirected there when downloading files, making the process faster and cleaner.
- If you previously relied on Google Drive IDs, note that these will change. Many legacy assets remain stored on Google Drive behind the scenes, but file handling is much different.
- Other security updates also tighten protections against abusive or nefarious browsing to keep Compass stable and reliable for everyone.
If you had previosuly relied on feautres of Google Drive that you liked, I will be happy to accept feedback in that area, or anyhting on Compass in general!
Rate Limits
Don’t be alarmed! Because some files can be very large, rate limiting will be introduced to protect against attacks and control hosting costs. Normal browsing should almost never trigger these limits. If you feel you’ve been unfairly restricted, you’ll be able to contact support for help.
URL & Structure Changes
Asset pack pages will now use forward slashes instead of dashes between folders for better indexing and navigation.
There are far too many pages to provide redirects to, and much of the asset folder structure has been overhauled as well as the structure on the backend. So if you have any bookmarks, chances are they won’t work after this update — sorry about that.
Archive Version Support
As a general remark, to ease the transition of this update, I’ll be keeping the current version of Compass you use today, v2.2.7, under a separate URL (TBD) for a few months to aid users in this switch.
This version will remain accessible but won’t receive any of the new assets introduced in 3.0 or beyond.
Thank you
That’s all I have for today. Thank you, as always, for reading and supporting Compass. Here’s to five years—and an even more exciting future ahead.
