Ubisoft has releaed a post on the Ubiblog detailing the Jackdaw, Edward's Kenway's ship in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag which they call the Assassin's "U.S.S. Enterprise".
Edward – Assassin's Creed 3 protagonist Connor's grandfather – "starts off as a pirate, and continues to embrace his nautical side throughout the game, to such an extent that many members of the dev team at Ubisoft Montreal have referred to the ship as the 'second main character' in the game."
Game Director Ashraf Ismail comments "Because of the naval element in the game, as you travel from location to location, you have to use the Jackdaw. So it was really important for us that you feel like you're in the U.S.S. Enterprise. It's not just a vehicle you're using – it's your baby."
You'll have extensive customisation option for the game with players having control over navigational upgrades, new weapons and the ship's crew.
"These are all elements that made sense to us in a pirate setting," Ismail adds but Ubisoft also want "players to feel a deeper connection to the character that they are playing."
Describing the ship upgrade and economics system of Black Flag as simpler but deeper than that of Assassin's Creed 3 Ismail comments "We make it really clear to the players what you need to upgrade and, effectively, where you can get it. We made it very transparent with fairly easy rules."
However, Ismail says there's a lot of depth in the system, referencing Sid Meier's Pirates as an example of the level of depth available.
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is set to be released on Wii U, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on October 31st. A next-gen version of the game for PS4 and Xbox One is also in development but Ubisoft has yet to announce the release date for those systems.
