It looks like port battle encounters are getting some new additions in patch 1.19. Not only are the current encounters getting their own swashbuckling rooms, but two brand new maps are being released in the upcoming milestone. The two new encounters are Jawbone Bay and Savage Cliffs.

Lum said in a devlog entry that the new maps are "are both slightly more likely to appear in the random selection than the older maps are." The Flying Lab team is also working on more new maps, which should be added to Pirates of the Burning Sea in the coming months. Check out the entry for more details on the port battle encounter changes coming in 1.19.

Flying Lab Software is hiring additional personnel to work on Power and Prestige, the first major expansion for Pirates of the Burning Sea that was revealed at the Penny Arcade Expo. The new team members would also work on bug fixes and feature patches.

"With all of the great gameplay we are adding with this expansion, we are looking for talented programmers and game designers to join our terrific team of smart, dedicated people," said Russell Williams, CEO of Flying Lab Software. There are currently seven positions open on the Flying Lab vacancies page, including one for a game producer. The company's full announcement can be found after the jump.

In case you missed it, we spoke with Associate Producer Janice Vonitter and Game Designer Greg Hanefeld about Power and Prestige at PAX. We also gave the expansion our "Best New Feature" Award in our first PAX Awards for the player-governed ports feature. We're currently running a Treasure Hunt contest in conjunction with Flying Lab that ends on Sept. 25, so be sure to participate if you'd like the chance to win prizes like an iPod Touch or an IZ3D 3-D Monitor.

This year we decided to cover PAX more aggressively than we have in the past and one of the by-products of that choice is our first annual PAX Awards. Even though the convention focuses on tabletop, PC and console games -- MMOs were featured extensively, demonstrating that they continue to become more and more popular in the gaming world. As such, due to our MMO focus we had to be extremely selective about what kind of awards we gave out and who we gave them to. Ultimately, this was not an easy task as all of our nominations are great games. This was especially difficult when it came to selecting the winner for "Best in Show". In the end, tough decisions were made and it's time to reveal those decisions to the world. Without further ado, the Winners!

During our meeting at PAX with Flying Labs, we spoke with Associate Producer, Janice Vonitter and Game Designer, Greg Hanefeld about their rum drinking ... and Pirates of the Burning Sea. The first expansion is tentatively called "Power and Prestige" and although it currently has no set release date, we've been told that it will definitely be released in 2010. Check out all the details in to Power and Prestige which was been nominated for one of our PAX awards.

ZAM: We understand that there's a new expansion that you guys are talking about at PAX. Can you tell us the name and some basic information?

Janice Vonitter: Yep, it's called "Power and Prestige." It's centered on influence and control over the Caribbean, and parts in it. The main feature in it is the player governed ports. So you can run to be a governor of the port, and if you get a bunch of people to support you, and they put you up for Governor, you can be elected. Once you are governor, you can do a lot of things that actually affect how the port performs, economically and defensively against other players when they try to take it over.

ZAM: What are some of the lesser features of this expansion?

Ahoy mateys! ZAM is running an epic contest over the next couple of weeks in conjunction with the great folks over at Flying Lab. We're sending ye on a TREASURE HUNT, to ... argh, steal all our booty, everything from iPod Touches to an IZ3D 3-D Monitor.  If you've never played Pirates of the Burning Sea, that's alright; with a revamped economy, enhanced PvP combat and tons of new epic missions, there's never been a better opportunity to do some swashbuckling!!

To get started, visit the official contest page and then click here to download the Pirates of the Burning Sea 14-day trial. We will be releasing one quest per day that must be completed on the day of release. Just click back to this page when ye be done and enter your answer. Ye can only enter once per day, but each correct answer will qualify you to win the prize of the day and accumulate entries towards the grand prize drawing on Sept. 26th!

Don't forget to check back every day for a new daily quest! I be wishin' ye good luck mateys!

This year we decided to cover PAX more aggressively than we have in the past and one of the by-products of that choice is our first annual PAX Awards. Even though the convention focuses on tabletop, PC and console games, MMOs were featured extensively, demonstrating they continue to become more and more popular in the gaming world. As such, due to our MMO focus we had to be extremely selective about what kind of awards we gave out and who we gave them to; however, we’re happy with the end result and we hope that you, our readers and the recipients of these awards will be as well. So without further ado, the Nominees!

Whether you're a current Pirates of the Burning Sea player or someone who's considered trying out the game, we have some exciting information to share with you. We got the chance to speak with Associate Producer Janice Vonitter and Game Designer Greg Hanefeld at the Penny Arcade Expo and they gave us all sorts of details on "Power and Prestige," the upcoming free expansion that should be released in 2010. Keep an eye out for the full interview on ZAM.com tomorrow, but until then here's a sneak peek at some of the features the expansion will add to the game.

According to Vonitter, the expansion is "centered on influence and control over the Caribbean, and parts in it." Players will be able to run to be a governor of a port and be elected to the position if they garner enough support. Governors will actually be able to affect the performance of a port; for example, they can adjust the tax rates for each nation or adjust the port defenses. Stay tuned for our interview to find out many more details on the governor system, including how players will be able to kick a governor out of office.

As for some of the other features of the expansion, the level cap will remain the same. New faction rewards and content will be added and players will be able to specialize in the brawler skill line. "Power and Prestige" will be given free to anyone with a subscription, so new players will be able to jump right in. Read our interview tomorrow for more details!

Pirates of the Burning Sea build 1.18.60 is scheduled to go live on servers tomorrow, Sept. 10, between 1:30-5 a.m. PDT. The milestone patch will include the epic conclusion to the serial Black Flags and Dread Saints arc. According to the patch notes, "there are multiple large battles and we strongly recommend a team of 6 players for each."

In addition, the patch adds missions for Talk Like a Pirate Day, which will be held on Sept. 19. Avast! Shiver me timbers! Yarr! Davy Jones' Locker! Alright, my pirate speech needs a little work. Anyway, you can find the full patch notes below.

Flying Lab Software has brought in John "Thalassic" Grimm as the new lead designer for Pirates of the Burning Sea, and he has written an introductory letter to let players know exactly what the change means for the game. Grimm's been with FLS since June and has been involved with the Black Flags and Dread Saints epic mission, and he seems excited about bringing even more new content to the MMO.

Grimm begins his letter by outlining his work experience and explains his responsibilities as lead designer: "My primary responsibility is to guide the team and provide direction towards the overall creative vision for the game. I’m also in charge of coordinating the plans for new features and content so the Dev team has a clear idea of what to code and the Art team knows what new assets to build."

As for the future of Pirates of the Burning Sea, Grimm says we'll "be seeing more strategic and tactical game content for high level players." They also want to improve the new player experience and get a constant stream of new players into the game. You can read his full letter below.

UPDATE: The event has been rescheduled to take place on Monday, Aug. 31 at 3 p.m. PDT.

The Pirates of the Burning Sea team has completed the new Black Flags, Dread Saints epic mission and is giving players a first look at the content on the Testbed server tomorrow, Aug. 29, at 11 a.m. PDT. If you participate in the event, you'll get an exclusive title.

The mission is available for players who are level 50, and they should be ready to form groups of six for the event. GMs will be on hand to level lower players to 50 and give them doubloons to spend at the auction house. They'll also teleport players to Matthew Town so they can set sail for Besieged Tortuga.

Players can attempt the epic mission at any time on the Testbed, but GMs will only be teleporting and leveling character from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow.