Fresh off a big PAX East, the team behind EVERSPACE 2 unleashed a major news update announcing a new timeline for the game, and showing off some lovely concept art of the various fighter cockpits players can expect to spend time in. The update also highlights a redesign to the Assault Fighter and some other design progress on the game.
The big issue is the timeline change. Unfortunately, the combination of GDC being cancelled thanks to Corona-chan and pushed back release dates by some other major titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 necessitated that the ROCKFISH team make some adjustments to their schedule. To make room for these existing release dates, and also leave some additional wiggle room should this whole Coronavirus thing keep causing problems, the EVERSPACE 2 backer Alpha is being postponed to the end of May, the closed Beta to August, and Steam Early Access launch to early December.
A light fighter should feel more like something you wear, rather than some place you sit.
The front office of a heavy fighter feels more expansive, at the cost of some visibility.
The fleshed out Interceptor Medium fighter cockpit.
The new cockpit art is a treat to behold. ROCKFISH knows that while a majority of players tend to stick with the 3rd person views, there’s a sizable minority (including this author) who prefer the immersion of a cockpit view, regardless of what it costs us in situational awareness. Based on the current art, it looks like the team is doing a great job of finding ways to visually differentiate between fighter types based on cockpit layouts. Some of these cockpits look like they’d be fantastic in VR. However, the team is currently not planning VR support for EVERSPACE 2.
Another major topic this month was the new Assault fighter. Where the original bi-wing Assault Fighter certainly looked distinctive, the developers felt that it was a bit underwhelming. The new design shortens the rear wings, adds canted vertical stabilizers, and aero-spikes on the engines, because why not?
Old and busted
New Hotness
Finally, the update showcases some of the Ultimate abilities (ULTs) that each spaceship will have. ULTs are unique to each ship subclass, and mastering them will likely be a vital skill in getting the best performance from a ship.
