There was a great deal of fun to be had in designing ships in Gratuitous Space Battles, but the system was limited to installing various practical modules on fixed hulls. Variety came in the form of species specific ships rather than the ability to create your own from scratch.
In Gratuitous Space Battles 2, things will be different. Not unlike Galactic Civilizations II (and its upcoming sequel), countless cosmetic components can be slapped on the hulls of ships, from things that spin to things that blink. You’ll be able to create properly hideous sci-fi disasters if that’s your cup of tea.
On top of there being a great many components, their scale, where they are positioned – above or below other objects – and how fast they spin ( if they do indeed spin) will all be customisable.
Cliff Harris says that chucking all of these bits and pieces onto a vessel won’t ruin the game’s performance, either.
You can take a look at him designing his own gaudy space-faring vessel below.
Last week, we got to see a battle in action, with Harris showing off all the new bells and whistles. It was quite an impressive light show.