Another interesting way of extending the game would be to make it much more of a simulation. MMOs generally get away with "realtime" combat by making weapons and abilities auto-aim, which wouldn't work for EV. The space combat is high-paced and precise, and even a modest amount of lag would quite ruin it. The obvious and oft-discussed next step would be to make the game multiplayer, but as I understand it, there's some fundamental problems with that. This gets us another instalment in the series, but doesn't really advance anything in terms of gameplay. ES is open-source, so this is absolutely doable. (Which is what Sunless Sea has in spades.) You could perhaps build this game on top of Endless Sky, retaining the engine but completely replacing the content. What would a worthy successor to EV look like? Beyond the engine itself, the game would need a strong setting and graphical direction. Just look at the success of Sunless Sea, which is basically a slowed-down steampunk Escape Velocity. You might think that 3D space games would be obviously superior, but straightforward top-down flight and combat is its own enjoyable genre. Still, there is something to the basic gameplay of Escape Velocity. Another modern EV clone, Naev, suffers from similar problems: the game is a collection of cool features rather than a game with an actual design. It's a generic EV-like that ticks all the technical boxes but fails to leave a strong impression. The ships look the same, the user interface is just a bit awkward, and there's very little to do. by marking it as an affiliate link).Sadly, Endless Sky is a bit of a disappointment: it does a good job of recreating the basic gameplay but even after several hours of play, I have no idea what the factions or conflicts in the game might be. I disclose all affiliate links clearly near the link itself (e.g. In addition, some other third-party marketplaces (notably DriveThruRPG) may offer a referral program. I’m usually available for freelance writing, feel free to drop me a line at (remove the brackets first) to inquire.Īs an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Outside of Loreshaper Games, I also have a Wattpad account, where I used to post my essays and fictional writings. You can find us over at or on Steem and Twitter. In addition to writing here, I run Loreshaper Games, an indie game development company dedicated to free, fun games. The Ship Improvement Cheat and Expanded Maps plugin permits players to easily buff up their ship (with a cheat improvement that makes the user’s ship gain massively more available space and improved attributes), or buy maps that expand the edges of the known universe. I have created a couple “plugins” for Endless Sky, some of which are primarily of interest for debugging and testing, while others are focused on expanding gameplay and ship customization for the average player.Ĭannon Friendly (pun intended) is my personal gameplay enhancer for Endless Sky it comes with new weapons (currently limited to just the autocannon and autocannon turret, which mimics a classic EV: Nova weapon) and outfits available at various places throughout the galaxy, each of which will eventually have all the art assets and variant integration required to be near-indistinguishable from the original game’s content.Ĭannon Friendly Weapon Pack 0.3 (Sept 5 2015) Cannon Friendly Weapon Pack (without image sources) 0.3 Of course, another strength of Endless Sky, inherited from its spiritual predecessor EV: Nova is the ability to be extended and expanded in various ways. Factions remember what the player does, so they have to be careful and watch their step if they want to be able to travel freely through certain parts of the galaxy. There are a number of factions, one of which currently has a full storyline available. One of the things that makes Endless Sky so engaging is its focus on strong storytelling and narrative play it takes place in a massive galaxy full of solar systems to explore and fight in. Endless Sky is a GPL-licensed space exploration and combat game with a narrative bent, akin to EV: Nova (an old shareware game for Mac, Linux, and Windows), though gameplay will also seem familiar to players of Transcendence or Stellar Frontier.
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