In 2023, Mr. Gigabytes developed a plugin for Endless Sky. This plugin provided 2 new bespoke ships, 3 new outfits, and an alternate game start.
Ship: Titan
The Titan is classified as a transport but is armored and outfitted like a mid-level warship. An unseen character named Jason Terrill – a pseudonym for Mr. Gigabytes – is the designer of the impressive little ship and imported several pieces of tech from other parts of the galaxy. As described in game:
Tired of the paper mache hulls with limited combat capability or the hulking masses with the agility of a planet, Jason Terrill designed an agile, combat ready transport with thick hull plating, a top-mounted weapons module, expanded outfit space, and outboard engine capacity. This left almost the entire interior with plenty of hauling and mission-completing capability. Built-in advanced AI minimizes the need for crew. This includes a ramscoop built into the nacelles, heavy laser turrets from Valhalla, and a scram drive brought in from Ada.
Ship: Boxwing 2
The Boxwing is a carried ship without a hyperdrive that is sold in “the south” part of the galaxy. While it is classified and equipped as a fighter, it cannot be quipped with any sort of weapons. Referred to in-game as “the flying coffin” its key strength being the 80 tons of cargo space. Again, enter Jason Terrill.
After ripping the guts out of a boxwing and replacing the bog standard parts for lighter, more efficient ones, Captain Jason Terrill punched 2 holes in the hull for some small weapons, beefed up the shields, welded more plates to the hull, all while making other minor improvements. He even managed to shoehorn a hyperdrive into the cargo space and enough fuel for 2 jumps. Putting a hard point for a turret proved to be too much, however, as the mount meant that it would no longer fit inside a standard fighter bay. Regardless, this flying coffin now has a vampire inside.
Outfit: Hull Plating
The absence of an outfit like hull plating from the game is positively mind-boggling. Because what is stopping anyone from welding a bunch of scrap metal to their ship to reinforce the hull? Physics for one. Sure it adds protection but at a severe weight penalty.
Outfit: Shield Algorithm
If one is a Star Trek fan, you know the shields on the starships are reconfigurable for a variety of situations with the press of a few buttons. Now, you can boost your shields in-game by installing this piece of software. As described:
While creative shield modulation through software is possible, cycling the shield generators often results in abnormal heat generation and can put a significant drain on a ship's power reserveOutfit: Artificial Intelligence
A thousand years after self-driving cars and yet there is no way to have a ship pilot itself through empty space? Not anymore.
Autonomous self-driving has been around for 1000 years. Piloting a ship through empty space is far easier but safely landing on a planet is the tricky bit and has kept automated systems out of ships for centuries. Finally, due in large part to the tremendous loss of life for escort ships in pirate attacks, some systems are finally coming on-line to reduce the need for crew on these ships.Alternate Start: Found a box
Are you savvy enough to start the game with a salvaged ship, no loan, and no hyperdrive? This start allows you to find out.
You grew up on New Boston, a world in the Dirt Belt, but work on Luna. You’ve dreamed of owning a starship ever since your first visit to the spaceport, and years later you managed to find a hidden wreck of a stripped Boxwing 2 on Earth. Despite the tiny ship being barely capable of flight (let alone hyperspace travel) and not having the money to outfit it properly, you take a chance on a new career as a transport pilot.