Set for Launch: 24 July

The first free public build of Naval Estimates is targeting Friday 24 July 2026.

So, what’s in it? The first build is the complete design suite - the gun, turret, and ship designers, and the way each one feeds into the next. It’s set in 1905, and the job is to design the Royal Navy’s first dreadnought. There’s a guided walkthrough if you want it, or you can turn the tutorial off and just play with the designers. You’ll be able to save your designs, share them, and enter them in the weekly competition on the Discord.

And it’s free - in the tradition of deep, community-driven simulations like Dwarf Fortress Classic and Aurora 4X. No wishlist to sit on, nothing to buy. It’ll be on itch.io - the page is up now - and when it goes live you’ll be able to jump straight in.

To be clear about scope: this first build is the foundation, not the whole game. The strategic layer - budgets, nations, the map - is being built alongside it, and tactical combat comes after that. The design tools go out first because that’s the part I most want people playing with early. Your designs and feedback will shape everything built on top of them.

I’ll post the final details here and on the Discord closer to the day - which is also where the competitions run.