Abandon Ship Combat Gameplay Trailer Released

Fireblade Software have released another trailer for Abandon Ship, their upcoming naval exploration & combat game. This one focuses on the ship battles, explaining all the systems that intertwine when you decide to fight another vessel.

It short, it looks like FTL but with pirates instead of spacemen, sea instead of space and ships instead of… ships? Each character can take on a role when the ship enters a fight, and they all have classes which define what they’re good at. The distance between the two vessels is crucial – it limits your options. You can’t board a ship that’s too far away, and you can’t shoot one that’s too near.

The enemy ship’s cannonballs aren’t the only thing to wory about. The damage they inflict can cause fires which spread if left unattended, hull cracks that let in water, etc. It looks like it’s going to be a mad scramble, with never enough hands on deck to fill all the positions you need. Thankfully, you can pause the game to issue commands.

In the video, the dev playing first targeted the enemy’s mast, which slowed them down. Once they were at the same speed, he rammed into them, which stunned some of the crew. He then withdrew a little and fired off his deadly short-range cannons. Inspecting the enemy, knowing your own strengths and having a plan will obviously be a big factor in every battle.

Weather plays a big role in the whole thing, so you can count on rain, thunder, waves and more to either help or hinder you while you fight. You will be upgrade your ship with the expected stuff – hull plating for durability, crow’s nest for visibility, and loads of different weapons to choose from.

There’s no firm release date for Abandon Ship yet, but it’s supposed to come out this year.