Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the game other than seeing it on kickstarter.
Kickstarter link
here.Inspired by great RTS titles such as Homeworld, Sins of a Solar Empire and Total Annihilation, and incorporating the capital ship combat of sci-fi classics such as Star Trek, Babylon 5 and Battlestar Galactica, Flagship will allow you to command a fleet from the bridge of your own starship. Explore the stars, expand your territory and save humanity from being wiped out in a hostile galaxy.
I recommend looking at the kickstarter itself over my horrible summary. You have been warned.
According to the kickstarter, Flagship is a game where you command your fleet of ships from a FPS perspective, though you still see the battles going on from inside the ship. (Meaning if you order a ship to "launch interceptors", you'll see interceptors come flying out of that ship)
The game itself seems campaign based, taking place after a devastating defeat at Sol, you control the remains of the human fleet, colonize planets to get resource for your fleet, as well as food for the remaining human population. You fight battles both at your current position, and other systems (though not as much control, apparently)
And some questions answered by the developers in the kickstarter comments:
Nature of Campaign
'Sandbox' is probably the wrong word, but there isn't a set mission structure. You can move though the galaxy and take systems in any order you like, so in that sense it's open. We're probably going to let you set the galaxy size at the start of the game, and though there will be a 'default' galaxy that we've prepared for you, you'll be able to randomise things if you wish.
Losing the flagship
Losing the flagship will probably mean losing the game, but you'll be able to save the game before a battle so this isn't quite as bad as it might sound.
Release/Computer specs (sort of)
The target release for the early alpha is July 2015. The game shouldn't require a heavy duty computer, my dev machine isn't particularly high spec and it runs fine.
Customization
We'll probably give you the ability to customise weapons, engines, shield generator, armour and sensors. These will probably all take up slots, and have a set power comsumption. So for example, larger engines might mean less room for weapons.
Fleet Management
You can split your ships off into however many fleets you like, and send them wherever you want. I suppose you could merge them into a single massive fleet, but that would leave all your systems undefended.
Boarding ships/fighters
You will be able to jump into a fighter if you want, but at the moment it's more of a 'bonus feature' than an integral part of the game. We're experimenting with ways to give you control over the battle when not on the bridge (the elevator computer seen in the trailer is one example of this) but ultimately orders given while in a fighter will be quite broad. We're aiming to make all human ship classes playable, though we can see most players sticking to the Battle-Carrier as it's the largest.
Taking and holding systems is at the core of Flagship. Colonising planets allows you to mine the resources required to build bases and expand your fleet, in addition to getting the food and water you’ll need to support the remaining human population. Planets that are rich in resources will be attractive targets for the enemy and therefore much harder to defend. Systems with nebulae or space anomalies may make you harder to detect, offering a safer place to establish a colony.