Indie developer Fireblade Software has revealed their new 'Exploration' trailer for their upcoming game Abandon Ship, a fantasy ship-sailing game that aims to combine the tactical combat of FTL with the exploration of Sunless Sea. The video can be seen here or below, along with more details on this intriguing game.
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Abandon Ship involves taking command of a galley ship in a fantasy world based on paintings of the Age of Sail - in fact as you traverse the world, you'll find sections of it cordoned off by a frame of a giant painting, and you'll have to accomplish objectives to open up paths to other territories. How and when you accomplish those objectives is up to you, otherwise you have totally freedom to explore - as the video shows. Just be careful, as there are plenty of awesome dangers such as pirates, sea monsters and other nautical nasties. While death is permanent, losing your ship isn't the end of the game, as long as your Captain survives.
The Exploration video shows off secret areas you can find, different biomes, and how different areas of the game are themed. The Forsaken Sea is heavily volcanic for example, and The Uncharted Seas is entirely populated by adventurers voiced by Nolan North. Not really, it's actually lacking in both people and ports. The video also shows how these areas can affect combat, so if you enter a tactical battle in the volcanic Forsaken Sea there might be an eruption that devastates both vessels.
Fireblade are a UK-based indie developer comprised of a mix of veterans and new talents. Project Lead Gary Burchell for example is a veteran of Ubisoft who's previously worked on the Assassin's Creed Chronicles games. There main goal is to make games that they themselves would want to play, which is always a good place to start a project. They specifically wanted to see a game that combined the tactical combat of FTL, the exploration mechanics of Sunless Sea, and great naval paintings such as that of Turner or Ivan Aivazovsky.
Abandon Ship currently has a release date of 2017, but we don't know if that will slip. They're planning on releasing the game first on Early Access, so we'll have more on the game then.
