Sky Trader, 10 years later...
If someone had told me it would take a full decade to figure out how to make this game, I may never have started. Honestly, at the beginning of 2023 I had all but given up. It didn't seem like anything was coming together the way I wanted it, and most of all I was frustrated that the game just wasn't fun to play.
After serious reflection, and looking all the way back to the original prototype (on Steam Greenlight, if any of you remember that), I realized I haven't been staying true to what I imagined Sky Trader to be so many years ago. What I really want, and I hope some of you do too, is an airship simulation. All the bells and whistles, everything modelled and simulated in gritty detail. Switches and buttons galore. Here is a short list of experiences that I feel are key for Sky Trader and may have been lost over the years:
Features
- You will control your airship from an immersive first-person perspective, carefully weaving your way around mountains and between storms, searching for a trading outpost you've only heard rumors of.
- The airships you fly must have accurate physics to feel real. Buoyancy and aerodynamics are modelled as realistically as possible. Negotiate dangerous downdrafts and gusts of wind, while trimming your airship for efficient flight.
- If you like flipping switches and pushing buttons, Sky Trader is for you! Feel fully immersed with airship systems that are painstakingly simulated and modelled. Read technical manuals to improve your knowledge of ship systems! (just kidding... sort of)
- You will have to strategically plan your routes, making sure to bring enough fuel and supplies while carefully avoiding dangerous areas.
- Your decisions matter... if you damage your airship, it may be expensive and potentially dangerous. If you take a risk and it pays off, you will be rewarded!
- Turn your blood, sweat, and tears into hard earned cash and spend it on awesome upgrades! Make your journeys safer, easier and more profitable while enjoying the finer things in life. Buy new instruments, generators, engines, batteries, propellers, and even a brand new airship!
For all these things to come together, I started from scratch in 2023. Solid progress has been made so far, and things are looking promising for an early access release this year! The experience is actually fun immediately, bringing me back to the very first prototype so many years ago.
I would like to thank all of those who have followed this project for so many years. It's hard to think of how your lives may have changed since first finding this game a decade ago. Words cannot express how much I appreciate all of you.
In the coming weeks, I'll share some progress updates. For now, I'll leave you with a few images of Sky Trader through the years.
The original Sky Trader from Steam Greenlight, gondola view, circa 2015.
The "full production" Sky Trader after Greenlight, circa 2016.
A Sky Trader visual experiment in 2017. It looked weird.
Top-down Sky Trader, circa 2019. I was proud of the cows...
COVID Sky Trader, circa 2020. It was a strange time for all of us...
At some point, Sky Trader took place over a vast desert... I still fancy this one.
Sky Trader publisher pitch in 2023... getting closer!
NEW Sky Trader, 2024!
