MOP’s Steam Team has been all over the demo for Jump Ship, the multiplayer PvE sci-fi game that’s all about managing a spaceship’s systems and on-foot FPS firefights during missions.

Now that the demo has ended, the time for gathering feedback and answering questions has come for developer Keepsake Games, the latter of which was done in a new video as the devs addressed some raised points. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Apparently the game’s roguelike nature was lost on a lot of people as they got a bit miffed at not carrying their guns and items over from mission to mission, so the devs are looking to “solve this problem in a way that fits the game.” One possible solution would be a planned endless mode but the devs say that making sure looting feels useful is a top priority.
• The game’s soloability is admitted to be a bit unbalanced, so the plan is to make sure that easy missions have less plates for players to spin.
• Parallel to that, improvements to the BuddyBot AI when manning turrets or crafting items is in the works, and the studio promises that it will stop Buddy and Iris (the on-ship NPCs) from yammering so much.
• General gameplay improvements are being worked on, such as adding more things for the scanner to do, introducing a first-person view for the pilot as well as better dodging and missile countermeasures, more power grid features, and varied on-foot enemies so FPS combat doesn’t seem so basic.
• Having more than four people in a team is primarily limited by the game’s current design; priority is to ensure things run well and the base gameplay feels right before player counts get ramped up, and even then it’s not something being considered for this year or even next year. It is a heard suggestion, though.
• Dovetailing from that, the ability to launch player-controlled fighters or crew a larger ship is acknowledged as “every space guy’s dream” and is being worked on. It sounds less like running to a launch bay and flying out so much as spawning and controlling a remote drone or smaller fighter.
• In-game voice chat is not planned “in the immediate future” (Keepsake is relying on players using its Discord), but in-game text chat is.
• The way ship shield management works continues to be a pain point as well as a mechanic that has been redesigned several times. It’s being redesigned again.
• The tutorial is planning to be improved with a few more added instructions, but the devs are trying to make sure that people aren’t being forced to go through a lengthy single-player portion before they get to play with friends.
• Finally, on the subject of playing with others, matchmaking will not be created but there will be a server browser to let players join others.

Unfortunately what is not answered is when Jump Ship’s early access will begin, but the devs do promise that there will be more news on that front “very soon.” For now, those who are curious about the questions that were answered can watch the video below, or there’s a summary post on Steam.