Ship of the line

About this game

Latest news

• Announcements·8 Sept 2026Official

  3 Important Changes for a New Kind of Naval Battle

  Hello, Captains.I would like to share a small development update about three important changes that are currently shaping the future of naval combat in Ship of the Line.1. Reworked Ship ModelsThe current ship models are being replaced with new ones.This is not simply about adding more ships. The goal is to improve the overall visual quality, proportions, detail, and presence of the vessels themselves.2. A New SeaThe sea itself is also being reworked.Since the ocean is the stage for almost every naval battle, I believe it deserves just as much attention as the ships themselves. The new water system is intended to make the sea feel more dynamic, atmospheric, and alive.3. Crew View and Onboard ActionCrew-level views and onboard action are also being expanded.Players will be able to experience battles from much closer perspectives, including views from aboard the ship. This will allow observation, close-range combat, and other onboard actions to become a more meaningful part of the naval experience.These three changes — new ship models, a new sea, and crew-level action — are currently in development and are all part of the same goal:to gradually create a naval battle experience that feels very different from what the game offers today.What you see here is a development preview, and these changes are not yet fully implemented in the current version of the game.There is still a lot of work ahead, but the direction is becoming clearer.Thank you, as always, for your support and feedback.
  Read full article on Community Announcements (redkiwijuice)

• Patch Notes·5 Sept 2026Official

  Free Camera View Is Now Available

  Hello, Captains.A new Free Camera View has now been added to Ship of the Line.Until now, the battle camera was restricted to a relatively fixed viewing angle. With this update, those restrictions have been relaxed, allowing you to observe the battlefield from a much wider variety of perspectives.You can now move from a low-angle view close to the coastline and ships to a high, near top-down tactical view of the entire battle.This applies not only to naval battles, but also to battles involving coastal fortifications, cities, artillery, and landing forces.The new camera makes it easier to:Observe large fleet formations and maneuveringFollow close-range engagements from a lower perspectiveCheck the positions of landing forces and coastal defensesGet a clearer tactical overview during large battlesSimply enjoy the battlefield from whatever angle you preferThe screenshots above show the same battle system viewed from very different camera positions, including Portsmouth Raid and Battle of Trafalgar.There are still areas of the terrain, cities, and visual presentation that I want to improve, and the greater camera freedom naturally makes some of those rough areas more visible than before. These will continue to be improved step by step.For now, I wanted to give players much more freedom over how they view and command their battles.As always, thank you very much for your continued feedback and support.Fair winds, Captains!
  Read full article on Community Announcements (redkiwijuice)

• Announcements·30 Aug 2026Official

  Campaign Mode Is Now Open

  Hello, Captains.Today, we are finally opening Campaign Mode.First, I want to be completely straightforward with you:There are still many bugs.This is not a finished campaign being released as a completed feature. I am opening it now because I want to begin testing, fixing, and improving it together with you.If you encounter something strange, get stuck, or simply think,“Wouldn’t this work better another way?”please let me know.Your reports and feedback will directly shape the next patches.Before Anything Else — This Game Is About PeopleBefore talking about fleets, ports, or strategy, I want to explain what this campaign is really about.People.Ships are not counters.A 74-gun ship is not simply a number in a spreadsheet. It has a name, a captain, officers, and hundreds of men who eat, work, fight, survive — or sometimes do not come home.That is the part of this campaign I care about most.Everything else exists to give those people a war worth living through.Every officer has a lifeCaptains and officers are not just collections of statistics.They have origins, personalities, patrons, rivals, careers, promotions, failures, and endings.Some are real historical figures — men such as Keppel, Harland, and others whose surviving records we followed.Others are reconstructed or fictional officers created to fill the fleets of the period.To make that distinction clear, every officer is classified into one of four historical tiers:A — Strong historical record: based closely on surviving historical sourcesB — Historical figure with limited records: sources supplemented by restrained reconstructionC — Plausible fictional figure: created to represent a person who could reasonably have existed in the periodD — Fully fictional: created entirely for the gameTiers C and D are fictional.They will never be presented as documented historical figures, and I ask that they not be quoted or referenced as real history.Their Stories Are Written by What HappensAn officer’s record is not fixed at...
  Read full article on Community Announcements (redkiwijuice)

• Patch Notes·24 Aug 2026Official

  Shipboard Combat

  It’s been a while, Captains.We’ve been working hard to release the campaign by the end of this month. I haven’t had much time to sit down and write about the updates lately, but today I finally have some news to share with you.Today, we implemented shipboard combat.Take a close look at how your small but precious crews fight on the decks of their ships—commanding the battle, engaging in close-quarters combat, and firing at the enemy. We hope this will add a new layer of fun to the game.Admirals will command the battle, surgeons will care for the wounded, and sailors will bravely fight the enemy or work to keep their ships running. We wanted to add a little more life and character to naval battles that could sometimes feel a bit static.And now, for the long-awaited Campaign Mode.The campaign will now be playable as five nations: Great Britain, France, Spain, the United States, and the Netherlands, all taking part in the era of the American War of Independence.There is still plenty to improve, but we want to deliver the campaign within the timeframe we promised and continue refining it together with all of you.A Few Extra Updates...East Asian troops have also been added, along with a new test scenario based on the Battle of Waegyo Fortress.The Havana 1762 scenario has also been added as a testbed for coastal fortress defense battles.See you at sea.And! Forts and cities will be upgraded soon as well!— From the Developer of Ship of the Line
  Read full article on Community Announcements (redkiwijuice)

• Patch Notes·8 Aug 2026Official

  New Scenario: Portsmouth Raid (Hypothetical) — Land Warfare Arrives

  Hello, Captains,A new scenario, Portsmouth Raid (Hypothetical), is now available.This scenario is based on one of the major combat systems being developed for the upcoming Campaign Mode: port raids and amphibious assaults.The biggest difference from previous scenarios is the addition of land warfare.In this hypothetical battle, a French fleet has broken into Portsmouth and will attempt to land troops and seize the most important facilities of the British naval base. The British must defend the port, stop the French landing forces, and prevent them from capturing their objectives.New Land UnitsThree new types of land units are introduced:InfantryCavalryArtilleryThese units can either be delegated to AI control or given movement orders directly by the player.For now, land-unit command has intentionally been kept relatively simple. Ship of the Line is still primarily a naval warfare game, and during an amphibious operation I want the player to be able to concentrate on the fleet — maneuvering ships into position and using naval gunfire to support the troops ashore — rather than spending the entire battle micromanaging individual land formations.More complete land-unit controls may be added through future updates for players who want to take full command of the ground battle.The Final Combat Step Before Campaign ModeThis scenario is also something of a final combat proving ground before Campaign Mode.The systems used here — landing troops, defending ports, capturing important facilities, ground combat, and naval fire support — are all parts of the larger campaign structure.I wanted to release them first as a standalone scenario so that players can become familiar with these mechanics before encountering them during the campaign itself.Consider Portsmouth Raid a training ground for the battles that will soon take place across the campaign map.It is still a hypothetical scenario, so don't worry too much about the history this time.Just command your fleet, land your troops...
  Read full article on Community Announcements (redkiwijuice)