After Rev. Anthony’s article on The Ship a lot of people decided to come out and join us for our Monday game. Unfortunately I forgot to mention that it can have a steep learning curve. So here is a guide for new ship players that will have you murdering like a pro.

Go through the tutorial

No really, go do it. Now! I’ll wait. You back yet? Ok good. This is one of the few games the tutorial is actually useful. OK they still treat you like an idiot, but there is enough complexity in this game that if you don’t know where to look on your HUD to see if it’s safe to pull a weapon, how to check your map or how to manage your inventory and check the MFK (money for kill) of weapons you will just be fresh meat to everyone else. Some pro-tips: middle click to holster and un-holster last weapon used. P for map, use it often. Right click to get more options when you are looking at things, this is good for bribing guards, changing your meal purchase and even uncovering some secrets. I for inventory, try to only use this when you are in a security zone. Right click to throw any weapon you are holding, you will surprised at how many kills you can get throwing something seemingly useless. Aim for the head, but be careful. You are throwing away a perfectly good weapon!

Take it slow

Unlike most games The Ship has a relatively slow pacing. Most people get caught up in the “90 seconds left to kill quarry” messages and run around like idiots with their weapons hanging out. This is bad for two reasons. Running increases the rate that your sleeping need goes up dramatically, and sleeping is one of the times you are the most vulnerable. Also if you get careless and pull out a weapon with either too many witnesses or in a security zone you will get sent to jail, fined and all those weapons you looked so hard for taken away. My suggestion is don’t expect to get a kill every round. Just make sure you manage your needs, watch your back and find the best earning weapons possible. Then kill when it is convenient. Often the winner of the round isn’t the person with the most kills but the one who put in the extra effort to find high earning weapons (you can find some that are worth $10k+.

Explore everything!

Almost every map has some secret areas tucked away. So make sure you explore and examine anything suspicious. Right click things often, some soda machines will have an OK sign like thing that when you click will open a secret passage. There are also buttons that open trap doors and other things hidden around. Also if you see any keep out signs go in immediately. The crew areas often have some of the best weapons tucked away, but beware some are on a timed fine system where you will be fined every X seconds and eventually sent to jail. So run through these areas quickly. Sick bays are a good place to get scalpels, sleeping shots and poison syringes. Don’t take the sleeping pills! They actually put you to sleep and are a sick joke. There is one ship that has a cargo bay that often has good weapons in the trunk of an old car. Another map has a hidden area where you can get good weapons and look out into the billiard room from behind a painting (and shoot your quarry if you are really lucky to catch him there). If you just aren’t finding anything keep an eye out for those that do, and then do whatever they do. It’s good to find out where all the best places to get weapons are and go there first, looking randomly through cupboards and suitcases may get you a weapon, but usually you are just wasting time.

It’s a tarp!

One of the really funny things about The Ship is the traps built into most of the maps. The saunas and freezers often have the best weapons but you can also lock people in them and watch them slowly die. Some good weapons pickups will have steam pipes that you can activate when people are rummaging through them to kill them that way. In the paddle boat level good weapons will spawn on the ground near the paddles, but watch out! Anyone can run up and pull one of the levers at the sides and dump you into the paddles. Also some levels will let you drop life boats on people’s heads. So it is a good idea to discover the traps in the level. You could get lucky and get a really funny kill. Also the traps are often set near a good weapon pickup so if you are careful you will get some of the better weapons. These kills will count for you if they trap your quarry but they will also count against you if they aren’t. So it’s a good idea to resist the temptation. The one thing that doesn’t count either way is knocking people into the piranha water, but it’s really hard to kill someone like that and is pointless and won’t earn you any friends.

Don’t be a dick

Whenever you are on a losing streak or have no quarry it can be incredibly tempting to kill people randomly. This is not a good idea because all servers by default drop 30 min bans on people who kill to many people in a certain time limit that aren’t their quarry. This is automatic and most admins don’t bother to turn it off. You also get fined each time and although it is only $1000 it will add up quick. Don’t worry if you aren’t doing well, most people suck when they first start. I’ve heard many people say they didn’t get one kill the first night they played. But if you follow my advice and get a good weapon a few kills could be all you need to win the round. And also there is only one winner per round, so don’t take it to hard if it isn’t you.

The last point I will make is to change your name from landlubber. Most people like to know who killed them or who they are killing. The options menu is called the engine room so hit escape and go there; it will be the first tab. Also voice com is not included I believe because they thought it would break the mood, so it is a good idea to get into the vent of your choice before going in.