Ensign 1 now has a few new gameplay features, like the ability to pilot capitol ships, and carry out a firefight inside of them.

Posted by onionman on Dec 21st, 2011

We reached our Kickstarter goal! Thanks everyone so much!

We've been working hard over here at Only Human Studios, trying to push out a new video showing where we'd like to take Ensign 1.

Graphics And Features:

Graphically, I've been working on a host of new features such as improved laser fire, ship exhaust, and lighting effects. It's all intended to add a little bit more immersion to the game, and I hope you'll agree that the game is starting to look a little better, even if it is far off from completion.

Feature-wise, I've also been hard at work making it so players have something to do inside a spaceship. I've already showed you in the last update that it's possible to dock your fighter, get in someone else's ship, and have them transport you around. Now, it's also possible to not only have a firefight inside a ship, but also finally to pilot a capitol ship. That giant hunk of floating metal can now be taken for a spin, with other people inside of it, and with ships docked onto it. Docking a capitol ship on a capitol ship to come next ;)



Level Design:

My level designer Kevin "Rustybolts" Pears has been working day and night (I lie, mostly just night) to create a working interior of the giant Ensign 1. If you were to get a chance to walk around inside the ship, you might notice that there are about 40 flights of stairs up to the control room, in lieu of a simple teleporter. Rusty assures me that this is intended, as it is all part of the future fitness drive by the Instella Health Agency to help combat the surge in obese spacefarers due to increased teleporter usage.

Being a prototype ship, parts of Ensign might still look a little bare, like the control room for instance. Fear not, ship designer Rusty is on the job and all will be fixed before it's maiden voyage to find a new home for our species.

Anyway, enjoy our new video, and happy hunting!

Updated News:

1) It looks like Venn Stone from www.linuxgamecast.com will be joining the team as a voice actor! He'll be narrating the mission briefings, which I personally am very excited about! If you haven't heard his work before, head on over to www.linuxgamecast.com and check it out, you'll be glad you did! He mostly does video capture and how-to's for linux games/capture software, but it also acts as great indie gameplay reviews for those of us not using Linux.

2) We've got forums at Spacesimcentral.com