All photos and videos are taken in game unless otherwise stated and are shown unedited. Outside views of the FHS Justice are concept art.
The Story
The year is 2487 AD and humanity has outgrown Earth. Nearby star systems have been colonized and their worlds terraformed into similarity to Earth to form the Human Federation. The heroships are the biggest of the spaceships that hold the Human Federation together. Each heroship is designed to be a nation-state in space, with multiple cities aboard. The majority of the inhabitants are ordinary citizens, not crew members. Aboard each ship are a small number of citizens with extra-ordinary powers, heroes who assist with the defense of the population and assist the crew in keeping civil order. Our story revolves around the humans aboard the heroship FHS Justice.
Apotheosis City – The City on a Space Ship
Enter a place of great beauty, mystery, and danger. You’ll arrive aboard the FHS Justice in Apotheosis City, a futuristic place teeming with life. Advanced technological and magical wonders await around every corner, from the artificial day/night cycle to the heatless fireworks and glowing runes of the Mage’s District. Realistic NPCs go about their days, and hovercars zip between skyscrapers, but many threats lurk off the beaten path. Don’t let your guard down too much, because raiders could teleport into the city at any time.
The Character Creator
The Character Creator Tool (CCT) is where your unique character is born. You will craft a look, assemble a smashing costume, and select your powers. You can even write you character’s story and share it with other heroes. The looks are as varied as humanity…and the humanoid universe. Mix and match costume pieces can be assembled in unique combinations and color variations. If you meet your look alike in the game, it will be because imitation is the highest form of flattery. And if looks are not as important to you as getting in the fray, you can speed up the creation process by clicking the randomizer at any point.
The Archetypes
Heroes are defined by their powers independently from their appearance. These powers are organized into familiar archetypes: Tankers who take hits, Brawlers and Devastators who focus on melee and ranged attacks, and Defenders, have a variety of support powers like healing and buffing, and Controllers who protect their team by deploying powerful mez. Coming later will be the minion-controlling Commander. Each archetype has a variety of primary and secondary powersets to choose from, and each set of powers enables very different playstyles.
The Powers
Within each archetype, several power sets are available. Heroes choose their combinations of powers from the primary and secondary power sets they selected, and from a list of universal powers available to everyone. Typically, a hero only takes about half of the powers from each set, plus a few universal powers: even heroes with the same power sets and archetype can play very differently. In addition, you can upgrade powers with augment slots and augments that make them stronger in various ways. Slots are limited. Will you prioritize a few powers to make them ultra-strong, or spread the upgrades more evenly? Both are viable options.
Key Characters
Five heroes aboard the FHS Justice are the top authorities on fighting the main threats to the ship. Sword Blossom, as Chief Engineer, keeps systems safe in the midst of Promethean attacks. Ambassador created and leads the Hero Corps, a super-powered citizen group that assists ship security. Meltdown, a half-human hero, has built a vast commercial empire and as Chief Operations Officer of the Corps, handles harvesting, crafting, and trading. Dr. Strikewell trained to join the Corps, but now works in the hospital. Iris, the Archmage, is the elected leader of the Mage’s Guild.
The Enemies
As you explore the world of Ship of Heroes, you’ll encounter a wide variety of enemies. Each faction or group of foes ties into the larger story, and each group has different behaviors, motivations, and powers. Some are part-time antagonists that you might fight one day and help the next, while others are a threat to the entire ship, or even the galaxy. Individuals range from cannon fodder minions to archvillains and giant monsters that require multiple teams of heroes to take down, so be careful who you attack!
The Missions
Ship of Heroes gives you a great deal of freedom in how to advance. You can level up and gain other benefits by advancing through major story arcs and personally shaping the future of the FHS Justice. Or join large events and battles with other players. Or take on challenge missions that will test your skills to the limit, either solo or as part of a team. Or just patrol Apotheosis City looking for bad guys to beat up. The possibilities are endless.
The Varied Playstyles
How you play is as important as what you do. Some hero builds require a ton of skill, with precise attack chains and tactics depending on the enemy. This is especially true for the most challenging content. However, it’s also possible to create a low-maintenance hero you can play while distracted. Some heroes excel at solo combat, while others are more effective on teams, though almost any hero can succeed at both. And the right power combinations can create roles that you don’t often see in MMOs; there’s a lot more complexity than just being a low-damage tanker, a low-damage healer, or a damage-dealer.
Player and Supergroup Housing
Player housing is accessible to all players: characters can rent or buy housing and furnishings, regardless of their level or wealth. Space is plentiful and players can get more than one space. Player Housing offers a lot of opportunities for unique designs. The standard floor plans are just a starting point: walls can be added anywhere to reshape the interior. Several hundred textures and patterns are available to customize walls, floors, ceilings, and stairs, and can be recolored. Endless variety derives from the ability to resize, stretch, rotate, and color the growing selection of furnishings in different styles available for purchase.
Harvesting, Crafting, and Trading
Harvesting, crafting and trading, for those who want to focus on these elements, will be profitable and challenging. Those who just want to fight (and win!) will be able to buy what they need using their loot. Everything you obtain can be directly sold to vendors for Dust if you don’t want to craft. In general, items crafted by players will be at least as powerful as items that can be purchased. Crafted items will also be for sale in the auction house. Those who want to build an economic empire will find plenty of opportunities to do so.
User Experience
Ship of Heroes is designed to provide a smooth user experience through customization. Players have many options to boost FPS by changing settings. Shadows can be turned off, image resolution can be reduced, all in pursuit of higher FPS. Players can also set a desired FPS level and let the game automatically adjust LODs to match it. Windows, displays, maps can all be moved around and resized for more intuitive use.
