September 18th, 2012 | By Tom Christiansen
Tagged in: Dirkson | kickstarter | Scrumbleship | space combat | Space Sim
If designing your own spaceship out of asteroid ore sounds appealing to you, or if you’ve ever dreamt of commanding a ship made of butter, then engage your landing thrusters, you’re going to want to read about ScrumbleShip.
ScrumbleShip is a multiplayer voxel space sim, currently in development by lone developer Dirkson. Players will harvest materials from various resource clusters enabling them to construct kilometer-long warships, equipped with state-of-the-art life support systems, and armed to the teeth with laser guns…if they’re into aggressive negotiations.
Promising heat simulation, kilometer long spaceships, real world materials, organic ships, AI crews, multiplayer, inertia, planets, and more… Dirkson clearly has his work cut out for him. He recently setup a Kickstarter campaign to help expedite the development process, and a demo of ScrumbleShip is available on the official website (links below).
Since lasers are such an integral aspect of any space-combat game, the unique heat simulation engine within ScrumbleShip generates realistic battle damage. The engine allows all material to melt, boil, or break away under certain conditions, whether it is a laser impact or overheating engines, the ship will show precise wear-and-tear.
A strong attention to physics is also a large aspect of ScrumbleShip. Weapons will function based on power level, projectile speed, and hull materials. Oxygen will leak through hull breaches, and unlucky crew members will be sucked out into space. Reactors and weapons can overheat, and eventually melt the ship. Victory will depend not only on the design of your ship, but on how well you command it.
ScrumbleShip isn’t all about high-octane laser battles, though. More casual players can work the economy, buying parts for cheap and turning around and selling them for profit. Or, there is the option to economize and construct mining factories and mine massive amounts of ore. The play styles much like the ship designs, are seemingly endless.
Currently, ScrumbleShip is in alpha stages of development with new features being added in on a regular basis, and demo builds released monthly on the official website. Also notable for modders, anyone who purchases the ScrumbleShip gets access to the source code.
Help support ScrumbleShip by visiting its Kickstarter page, and take advantage of some of the backer bonuses.
Visit the official ScrumbleShip website, here, to purchase the game, and follow the developer on Twitter: @ScrumbleShip
Tom Christiansen (227 posts)
The Editor in Chief of IGM, Tom is essentially a nerdy Viking. He has a near constant craving for burgers and beer, and satisfies his instinct to pillage and plunder through video games. Tom stands tall, bearded, and doesn't care much for small talk. He loves talking about indie games though, so never hesitate to tweet him: @TomScott90 or email him: tom@indiegamemag(dot)com.