Shipyard Returns & New Dry Dock Lift in Action

Today’s Development Progress Highlights – Shipyard Returns, New Dry Dock Lift & Refreshed Vessel Management UI Experience

Hello Captains,

Over the past few weeks, we’ve continued working across many areas of Ships At Sea to further improve the overall simulation experience — from new gameplay elements and vessel systems to sound effects, animations, and how vessels physically interact with the ocean.

Many of these improvements happen behind the scenes and require significant technical work, especially systems related to water interaction, vessel physics, and preventing water from passing through lower decks and enclosed vessel spaces. We’ve also continued expanding vessel systems by introducing new ship instruments, controls, and interactive onboard systems to further deepen the operational experience aboard your vessels.

While some features in the upcoming major update v0.8.7 are still work in progress, these foundational improvements are important for the long-term experience we want to deliver.

As an Early Access title, we continue to release updates regularly, adding new gameplay content and ongoing improvements to the game's core systems. For us, every detail matters when building an authentic maritime simulation experience.

In today’s development update, we want to focus on the Shipyard and Dry Dock experience, based directly on your feedback.

The Shipyard Returns

One of the most requested changes from the community was bringing back access to smaller vessel classes through the Shipyard — and we’re happy to confirm that Class 1 to Class 3 boats are now once again available there. Of course, these vessels can still be taken into the Dry Dock for inspection, maintenance, and customization.

In addition, the upcoming daughter crafts for the Class 4 Wind Farm Supply Vessel are also becoming part of the Shipyard ecosystem. Players will be able to acquire daughter crafts independently or equip them directly onto their Class 4 vessel in the Dry Dock, giving you greater operational flexibility and freedom in how you build and manage your maritime company in Ships At Sea.

Alongside this, we’ve updated and rescaled the Shipyard area to better support larger Class 3 vessels, providing more space and a better presentation when inspecting or managing your fleet. We’ve also improved the visual atmosphere and interior presentation of the Shipyard itself.

In addition, we’re introducing a completely refreshed Shipyard and Dry Dock UI, designed to make vessel management feel cleaner, more immersive, and easier to navigate.

The long-awaited vessel painting system will also be part of v0.8.7, allowing players to customize and paint different parts of their ships. Players will be able to freely adjust colours, value/brightness, and saturation to create their own unique look out on the sea.

We’ve also improved the vessel preview experience during upgrades and customization. Players can now freely rotate the camera around their vessel or specific ship components, as well as zoom in and out for closer inspection while managing upgrades, paint customization, and other ship configurations.

New Dry Dock Lift

We’ve also introduced a brand-new Dry Dock Lift system, allowing seamless movement between Dry Dock levels while working on your vessel. Whether you’re heading down for inspection or returning to continue operations, the overall flow now feels much more natural and immersive.

These improvements are part of our ongoing effort to continue refining Ships At Sea together with your feedback.

More improvements are already on the way - stay tuned!👀

Stay safe out on the water,

- Team Misc Games