UPDATE
A new trailer has been released for Abandon Ship and it this time it has a focus on Exploration!
In the trailer, we see that when players navigate around an exploration map, they uncover the canvas-like fog of war, finding events and ports. Each map is bordered by a picture frame, drawing inspiration from the Classic Naval Oil Painting style the games art is based on.
Players can travel along Sea Routes that allow Captains to move to new areas for a Supplies cost. These are behind locked gates that can be opened by completing a set number of events, so players need to balance how much they take on before they are forced back to port to repair and upgrade their ship before venturing out again.
When moving to new areas, a destination is chosen from the Region Map. This shows information on adjacent areas such as the weather or if there are ports to be found. Because each exploration map can only be reached through Sea Routes, Captains must choose how they unlock paths through the world.
While each region contains many individual exploration maps to explore, the trailer provides a glimpse of the World Map, with over a dozen regions. Thus viewers should begin to understand the scale of the world and how much there is to explore.
Procedural generation determines the placement and routes of exploration maps within a region, while the islands, ports, events and environmental modifiers are also procedurally generated, ensuring the world is different for every player.
While the main story – centred around thwarting a Doomsday Cult – will drive the player to certain locations, the open world is a diverse one to explore thanks to its wealth of variety – be that through the differences in biome, weather, time of day or water roughness – not to mention the myriad of strange places to explore that are completely separate from the main story.
In addition, each Region within the World Map has a theme which influences what players may discover there.
All of these factors tie into the gameplay, affecting the choices players make – whether that is on a strategic level or the moment-to-moment tactical decision-making process in battle.
Life in Abandon Ship is about surviving on the edge, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Because of this, ship destruction is a very real possibility. The trailer also shows what happens in these circumstances. If the Captain goes down with the ship, then they must survive with deteriorating health. If they make it to the Lifeboat, then they must cope with dwindling supplies and morale. This will be a low point in the nautical career of Captains, and death may still lie in wait. However, survive for long enough and they can be rescued and continue their journey. As long as the Captain is alive, there is always hope.
Yes, yes and more yes I say! Abandon Ship is shaping up to be a great looking game.
Oringial Post
There is a new trailer and this one is showing the monsters of the deep and the Cult of Haliphron! This game just keeps looking better and better!
A few months ago I posted a ‘One to Watch‘ for Abandon Ship. Since posting the guys at Fireblade software have been working hard on creating the game and have just released a new trailer detailed the games combat systems.
The video covers a lot of things regarding the combat and ship to ship fighting like:-
- Positioning the class-based crew to gain optimal performance. For example when the Gunner man’s weapons they reload faster.
- Ships are broken into Sections. The performance of that section is affected by its health status. Savvy players will target specific sections to fit in with their battle plans.
- Distance between ships determines:
- Visibility (which can be improved with upgrades)
- Weapon range
- What actions can be performed (like boarding or ramming)
- Fires spreading across the ship, with crew desperately trying to extinguish them before they rage out of control.
- Hull Cracks that flood the ship. If you take on too much water, you’ll sink. You can lower the water level by manning the pumps.
- Crew getting knocked overboard and diverting someone to man the winch and attempt a rescue.
- Lightning, Rain, Tidal Waves and Fog modifiers that force players to adapt their battle tactics.
- A vast array of weapons, each with a meaningful difference that plugs into your preferred strategy.
- How upgrades can complement your chosen strategy. Harpoons and Hull Spikes might suit a player that likes to fight at close range.
- Environmental modifiers like Icebergs in special Arctic maps, plus upgrades that mitigate this (in this example the Icebreaker, which deflects Icebergs without taking damage).
Check out the video below.
If you’re a regular reader here, you might know that I’ve recently started playing the board game Seafall, and playing that has got me even more excited for for playing Abandon Ship. It is really shaping up to be a very interesting looking games and I can’t wait to see more of it!
If you want to hear more about Abandon Ship, make sure to keep an eye on their Twitter or other social channels for updates as over the next few weeks they will be revealing more info on the Exploration side of the game and what happens if your ship sinks plus a whole lot more.
Still no word on a release date though, just penciled in for 2017, but if that changes, don’t worry I’ll let you know!
-Will
