Previews// Shallow Space: Insurgency

There’s nothing more pleasing to me than the sight of two mighty fleets clashing in the vastness of space. Shallow Space Insurgency’s alpha demo contains merely that, but even with the tiny taste of space conflict, I am left excited for more.

The only mission currently available in the demo is a simple one: you have two flotillas and you have to protect a station. Within minutes of engaging, however, the simplicity of the mission is forgotten in the face of the sea of prospects this game has. Within seconds of the fleets seeing each other missiles are arcing across the space between them, gatling cannons shooting some of them down. It is a scene reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica and it makes me sad that I don’t get the chance to play with a bigger fleet.

The small conflict serves entirely to highlight the combat mechanisms of the game. It's an area which, even in an unfinished state, the game excels. Individual ships (the cruisers, battleships and carriers) are grouped into wings of about three to four ships. Two to three wings are grouped into flotillas. This grouping system is a unique and useful mechanism which allows for the easy command of whole fleets or smaller tactical units.

Clicking on the flotilla logo orders the entire flotilla, while clicking on individual ships commands the specific wing. In this manner one flotilla can hold an area, with one wing from that group being sent to flank (although there doesn’t seem to be a tactical advantage to this as of yet), or being pulled back as missile support. Missile-armed ships have a longer range, but also have a minimum range, meaning direct command of wings is sometimes necessary.

Navigation is carried out on a 3D plane and comes across as a very streamlined version of Homeworld’s navigation system: right-click to activate the move cursor, left-click to issue the order and mouse wheel to change the elevation. With the ability to add waypoints through the ctrl button, moving units around is delightfully easy.

There is definitely a whole lot of promise here - the combat on display feels tactical and solid, and is beautiful to look at. The ships are well designed and detailed and I can’t wait for more. With planned release features including RPG elements for officers, full fleet and ship customisation with a variety of different weapons as well as an in-depth story (indeed their commitment to story seems solid, there is a whole section of the website for short stories.)

The Shallow Space Insurgency demo is available on PC now, and developer Special Circumstance Games is asking for funding to continue through the next stages of development.