Flying Lab announced this week that Pirates of the Burning Sea will be going free-to-play, so we sat down with Design Department Lead Declan O'Connell to talk about the change and the new expansion.

ZAM: What kind of content will be found in the Captain's Club subscription plan? Any idea on the price yet?

Declan: Players with a Captain's Club membership will get the maximum number of character slots, active ship slots, economic structure slots, ship storage, ship insurance, access to all Epic Mission content (current and new), a discount in the RMT store (AKA Treasure Aisle), and a bonus to XP, loot and faction gain. As for price, we’ll be announcing that soon.

ZAM: The announcement says the game will become free-to-play in fall 2010. Do you have a tentative target date set?

Declan: When it's ready. I'd like to be more specific, but you'll have to be content with "soon."

ZAM: This announcement comes right after the launch of Power & Prestige, which has been in the works for quite a while. Do you view the expansion and free-to-play conversion as somewhat of a relaunch of the game?

Declan: We very much do. For the past two and a half years, we've been hard at work making the best game possible for lovers of the pirate and nautical genres. Players who were with us at our original launch will hardly recognize the game. The ship combat they've always loved remains, but we have made improvements to nearly every major system in the game, added dozens of new features and crafted hundreds of new missions. With the game being free, everyone is invited to buckle their swashes and unfurl their sails!

ZAM: What do you want new players who might try out the game once it becomes free-to-play to know about the expansion?

Declan: The biggest thing the expansion has to offer is the Port Governance system, which encourages societies (guilds) to take new players under their wings as part of collecting influence in the Caribbean. The societies that shepherd the most active new characters will be the ones with the clout to govern multiple ports and carve out the biggest name for themselves. If you're a new player, find yourself an enthusiastic society and start conquering the seas!

ZAM: The new Port Governance system is an incredibly intriguing idea. How has the system fared with players in the beta test and the initial launch? What types of actions have you seen governors perform?

Declan: The beta testers have really gone to town on it. Some turn their port into a tax-haven for foreign trade, while others fortify their port against any foreign activity, military or economic. Some ports change hands as often as the cooldowns allow, while others have entrenched incumbents with the backing of several powerful societies.

As for the live game, (at the time of writing this) it's only been out there for a few hours, so I don't have any wacky stories yet. With 80 ports up for grabs, it's only a matter of time before some players' antics become legendary.

ZAM: Looking ahead, what else can players expect to see in the next major update aside from the free-to-play change?

Declan: Aside from the new missions, pets, clothes, dozens of commissioned allies, and all the advancement accelerants and items-of-convenience we are making available through the store? That's not enough for you? Well, in the short term, we're adding new animations for many of the emotes players can perform and making some balance tweaks to some existing epic missions. Long term, we'll be adding more missions, society tools, avatar customization options, and some other big changes I cannot currently talk about.

ZAM: So be honest, did you plan the release of Power & Prestige and the free-to-play announcement around Talk Like A Pirate Day?

Declan: Fate works in mysterious ways!

ZAM: Fair enough. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us about these huge changes to Pirates of the Burning Sea!

Darryl Gangloff, Editor-in-Chief