Carrier Command 2 is a vehicle combat game with a strong emphasis on diegetic interfaces. This means that every button and menu must be accessed from the in-game screen and exist in the game world itself.
Players must command an amphibious assault ship to capture a variety of islands while deploying amphibious and air assets and managing a logistics chain. Carrier Command 2 is a game with a steep learning curve.
The Carrier[edit]
Your home away from home, the aircraft carrier consists of eight decks, which can all be navigated and explored. Should you get lost, the Pause menu has an option to respawn you at the bridge - where you will be spending most (if not all) of your time.
Cosmetic areas you can visit and take a look at include the officers' mess, crew quarters, a galley, the flight deck, the vehicle bay, and the aircraft hangar - complete with elevator and crane for moving aircraft. Each area also has its own hatches (doors) to be opened or closed, and fully operable light switches.
The ship's bridge consists of a variety of stations. Each bridge element can be interacted with, and is described in greater detail on the next few pages.
Exploring the Carrier[edit]
Although there is no practical reason to do so, the carrier can be completely explored. Outside the bridge is an elevator that can take you to each of the seven decks. Each area also has its own light switches and hatches. The lights serve no practical purpose, though in PvP it is possible to spot the lights of an enemy carrier from further out in inclement weather.
Deck 7 consists of the bridge, the captain's quarters, a lounge, and two storage rooms.
Deck 6 contains a lifeboat (unusable, but can be destroyed externally), a galley, a crew lounge, and two crew cabins with bunks.
Deck 5 notably lacks any features and is simply an overlook to the ship storage area near the tower.
Deck 4 is the flight deck and a storage and maintenance area. The whole flight deck can be fully explored, and the various ship weapon systems are visible. There are no other stairs leading below decks on the flight deck. Players will clip through landing aircraft.
Deck 3 is a catwalk near the crane overlooking the hangar, with no access to the hangar floor.
Deck 2 is a dead end.
Deck 1 is the aircraft hangar floor.
The final deck, inaccessible by elevator, is a long corridor that leads to a catwalk that overlooks the surface vehicle garage. Run to the edge of the catwalk to find the stairs leading to the garage floor, and you can watch your Bears, Walruses, and Seals park and leave.
Exploring the carrier serves no purpose, and the entire game can be played from the bridge. The pause menu's Game tab lets you teleport back to the bridge from any location (if you are thrown overboard, for example).
Medal Display[edit]
At the back of the bridge are six medal displays that display all the achievements the first six players on the carrier have. Looking at the medal indicates the player who has the achievement, the achievement's name, and the requirements. Any players beyond the first six will not have their medals showcased.
Self-Destruct[edit]
Located just behind the helmsman is a safety hatch that can be interacted with to engage the ship's self-destruct. There is no practical reason to engage the ship's self-destruct, except to receive the Down With The Ship achievement.
The self-destruct sequence can only be completed with the game host's authorization and consists of several steps:
- Interact with the safety hatch. Players can stand on the hatch to prevent it from opening, though once toggled open it will attempt to stay open so long as someone is not standing on it.
- Insert the key into the grey SYS keyhole at the top left of the panel. Only the game host may execute this step.
- Press all four white buttons labelled with a dash. With all four buttons pressed, use the arrow buttons to determine the timer for the self destruct, in seconds.
- Press the green ACTIVATE button to raise the protective panel over the red SELF DESTRUCT button. Pressing the blue ABORT button will lower the protective panel. At any point, if the key is removed or the white dash buttons is unchecked, the self-destruct button will not be operable, even with the glass panel raised.
- Press the red SELF DESTRUCT button. The blue ABORT button will stop the countdown at whatever stage it was at, uncheck all the white dash buttons, and raise the protective window over the self destruct button.
Once the countdown is complete, you will immediately lose the game and be sent back to the main menu, and receive the achievement if you do not have it yet.
Players with an attitude, during the campaign, can board the enemy carrier by ramming their carrier into the AI's, then boarding the enemy carrier either by climbing onto their flight deck or by entering via the rear ramp used by surface vehicles.
Once onboard, you can head to the bridge and drive the ship. You cannot interact with any of its consoles or arm its self destruct, though you can try indirectly killing the enemy carrier by beaching it.