Changelog
What changed in Afloat, newest first.
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Afloat moves to afloat.wtf
Afloat now lives at afloat.wtf, with a share image showing Nigeria's and Japan's ships in 2026. The tour opens with a welcome, the top bar lines up on one even row, and the project has a full write-up on GitHub.
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Search stays open, and list rows toggle
The search box now stays open in the top bar on every screen size. In the Specifics list, clicking a country opens its close-up and clicking it again closes it.
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Start in 1950 and search from anywhere
Afloat now opens in 1950, so dragging the slider plays the story forward. Search sits in the top bar in both views, and any country opens its close-up where you are; countries outside the top 30 offer a link to the World Map. Left and right arrows move the year, Shift moves ten, and the slash key jumps to search. The close-up now sits above everything, with a quiet Close link, and hover cards wait until the fleet has settled. Afloat has new type, Plus Jakarta Sans and Instrument Sans, a lighter open sea with soft marbling, a tidier bottom row with Know more beside the year slider, a white logo on the map, and plainer wording throughout.
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A radio, a logo and a sleeker deck
Press play at the bottom left for a radio of sunny, unhurried jazz that Afloat composes as it plays, with three stations to pick from. Afloat has a sailboat logo, a Know more button that reopens the tour, and a redesigned tour that draws the real coastlines. Hover a ship to see how many children and seniors every 100 working-age people support, against the world average. The year slider is slimmer and carries the year on its marker, every icon now comes from one set, and corners follow one smooth shape throughout.
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A short tour, and one world GDP
First-time visitors get a short tour of how to read a ship, the year slider, Top 30 and the World Map, and you can reopen it from About. Each view explains itself once when you first open it, and the small "i" beside Top 30 and World Map explains it any time after. GDP now appears only as the world total at the bottom right, running all the way to 2100, with an estimate after 2025. On the World Map every ship stays in full colour; a country's ship rises gently in its independence year, and the search ring is gone.
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A World Map that looks like the world
The World Map now draws the real coastlines into the sea, and every ship floats over its own country. Hover a ship and it grows, glows and sends out ripples. Before a country's independence its ship sits pale and low under its ruler's flag, and it rises in the year it became free. On the map the year slider rests as a small pill until you reach for it. In Top 30, the horizon curves like the Earth's, and after you switch views the wakes build up behind the ships once they're under way.
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The close-up returns to phones
Tap a ship on your phone and its lit close-up opens above the details, with the full crew of 60 and the level line. Scrub the years and it changes with them.
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A fleet for your phone
On a phone, every country now sails in its own row down a scrolling fleet. Search to find a country, scrub the year at the bottom, and tap a ship to read its details in a sheet that stays clear of the slider. A line above the slider shows the world's population and its split of children, youth and adults, and seniors.
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The whole world, and its economy
Switch from Top 30 to World Map to see every country as a ship, laid out like the continents, and search for any country to fly to it. GDP joins from 1950 to 2025. A strip along the bottom shows world population, world GDP and the world's split of children, youth and adults, and seniors. The year slider and panels now float on frosted glass.
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Ships sail like ships
New ships catch up from behind and steer into their place; ships that leave turn out of line and sail off bow first. Each ship now trails a V wake and churned white water. The menu is simpler, with Specifics, Settings and About tabs, and every data source is linked.
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Afloat goes live
Thirty countries sail as ships from 1950 to 2100, each tilting with the ages of its people. Click a ship for a close-up, scrub the years, and open the menu for the full list and project details.