Developer Firaxis has just released the first footage of its upcoming Civilization: Beyond Earth spin-off, Sid Meier’s Starships. The slice of gameplay was shown off in a Twitch yesterday.
The legendary Sid Meier himself even made an appearance to explain how the space-fleet building turn-based strategy game works.
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Judging by the intimidating array of attachments, tools, weapons and other bits and bobs you can jam on to your spaceships, budding fleet designers should be in heaven here. It’s nice how neatly the game fits into the Beyond Earth universe, both in terms of tone and aesthetic - you can even choose your admiral of the fleet from the 4X game’s various factions.
Battles are classic hex-based fare, but they offer plenty of interesting tactical considerations. Ship shields and facing are very important, for example, while each weapon or item you outfit on your ship can have a significantly different effect on the battlefield. Asteroid fields and debris clouds provide cover, while presumably other space phenomena will affect the fight in different ways. Outside of combat you’ve got a large galactic map to explore and attempt to dominate.
Things are looking fairly promising, if a little barebones visually. Sid Meier’s Starships is due out in early 2015, according to Firaxis.
