Aloft, Astrolabe Interactive's survival sandbox where you explore the world, solo or co-op with friends, in your own skyship made from a floating island, has officially entered Early Access. Publisher Funcom announced the launch with a new trailer and a new Early Access roadmap.
As you explore the world, you'll notice other floating islands that have all been shaped by the wind. the wind is one of the most important elements in the world, since you get to travel between those floating islands on your customizable glider, finding resources, discovering technology, and even hints about what happened to the world to shatter it and put it in its current state.
It's a survival game, and you'll find the usual types of features, like finding and gathering resources, farming, crafting, cooking, and raising animals. Through crafting you'll be able to make sails, a rudder and a helm and launch your very own skyship, AKA your floating home. This is how you will not only continue to explore the world, but try to restore nature and stop the corruption that you discover from spreading.
You can play solo or you can have co-op groups of up to eight, letting your friends take on different roles on your ship. You'll also be able to customize your ship and glider, adding more and making changes as you go. If you want to join a friends game, you can bring your own ship with you so it's actually possible to create an airborne village of eight skyships if you organize a full co-op game. You can also share your ships on Steam Workshop.
The Early Access version launches with three full biomes, and the Early Access roadmap gives us a taste of what the team will be adding. We can expect ongoing bug fixes and optimization efforts in Aloft. With feedback now that the Early Access launch is here, this is what the team will focus on first.
Improvements and additions will include more variety of gliders, sails, crafting options, building pieces, and rewards. Combat improvements are on the way, along with tutorial quests, and expanded variety in islands. New building options and materials will be added. We can expect more types of animals and an animal reproduction system, as well as systems like Beekeeping. Eventually, they'll add more social features, in game character customization, and more biomes.
Aloft is available via Steam Early Access now for $24.99.