When I first saw this advertised my heart leapt, finally a game that embraces that iconic steampunk mode of locomotion, the noble airship!

As I read on through the first preview, however, my enthusiasm deflated somewhat; what I had initially thought of as an AIRSHIP-focused game that would involve trade, seems to instead be a TRADE-focused game that happens to features airships. What difference in gameplay will it make the fact that they're airships over, say, normal ships?

Now don't get me wrong, the game looks charming and lovely plus it's early days in terms of previews, however I do hope later on we'll see some real focus on these sky ships to allay the feeling that they are just tacked on to the setting, nor are they so analogous to regular ships that you could effectively replace the term "air" for "sea" and not have it make a difference.

I realise that this concern could also be construed as a whinge "waah, this isn't how I would envisage an airships in a game, this game will suuuck" but when you consider how different an airship could be to a regular ship or other modes of transportation, I wouldn't want to pass up an opportunity to work in such novelties to make the game experience something quite unique.

I see your argument, but I'd counter-argue that the steampunk genre can be a tough sell. I know it doesn't make sense, especially in the geek world, how so much of it infiltrated culture, whether it's in movies, tv shows, video games and the like. But I think the use of airships and sky ships is a niche within a niche, and surprisingly brilliant IP's don't do so hot in gaming for some reason. I for one, LOVE the idea of ships that sail in the sky. Its awesome. While it would seem there's no difference between if these ships were in the sea instead of the sky, I'll remind you that one mechanic in the game is fuel in form of something called phlogiston. Sailboats, at least in a classical setting, would not need such fuel. This fuel mechanic means the difference between staying in the air or testing the laws of gravity the hard way. I'd say: support this game and perhaps FFG will produce more games in this world. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

 I'm a big airship geek myself (well, "big" might be an overstatement, but i really like them).So I see your point. Now that the rules are posted, we can get a better idea of the game. 

 A cursory glance yells me it's a worker placement/resource management game at heart. I have enough of those games.

I just read the rules. I am definitely going to get this game. It's not so much a worker/resource placement game as it is an honest to goodness trading game that involves negotiations, trading, manipulation, and piracy. This game looks like it has the potential to be great.