Aertan is a cooperative online RPG set on a tropical island and the seas around it. Players share one persistent server world: a fishing village with inhabitants who follow their own daily routines, a safe harbor, wild shores, and open water with several sea zones to sail through. The core loop revolves around the sea. Players fish with rods and bait, row and sail small boats, and hunt large sea creatures with a harpoon and line, where tension, stamina and the boat itself are part of the fight. Catches and carcasses are butchered, cooked or crafted into tools, gear and bait. Gathering and crafting feed a skill system inspired by EVE Online: skills train over time through a queue, while combat and gathering only accelerate it. Progression is horizontal rather than level-based. Characters are built from modular parts with a choice of species, face and body, and are meant to be equipped through crafting and trade. The design draws on Albion Online, EVE Online, ArcheAge and Dredge. The game is in early alpha and is available for Windows through its own launcher.