Airship 2: Kingdoms Ablaze playtest adds tutorial and NPC fleets

The playtest build of Airship 2: Kingdoms Ablaze has been updated to version V0.0.6.3, publisher Light Up Games and developer Revolution Industry said, according to Gamespark. The build is playable on PC via Steam, where sign-ups for the playtest remain open.

The update adds a character creation and onboarding tutorial that walks players through the game's core mechanics. It also introduces a management interface covering talent trees, progression options, character growth, quests and company finances.

On the world side, the build adds an NPC fleet simulation across settlements on a remastered version of the game's archipelago map. Ship customization, combat, ship mechanics and damage modeling also received improvements and fixes.

Changes from the first game

In the previous title, Airship: Kingdoms Adrift, ship customization was grid-based and fleets were limited to three ships. For this game the developers moved to a zone-based customization system, citing the difficulty of managing individual part placement across dozens of ships in large fleets.

They said they will not return to the original grid system despite feedback from players who prefer it, and instead plan to deepen customization through more varied equipment, balance adjustments and improved damage representation. The developers aim for large-scale fleet battles with hundreds of airships in which the player can directly command the flagship.

Airship 2: Kingdoms Ablaze is in development for PC via Steam. No release date has been set.