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| Info Box |
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If you are US: Steam Store Link
If you are EU and got PayPal: Link to the official website that gets you the game cheaper (Steam key + DRM free version in one purchase)
8,99€ now/9,99€ usually
8,99$ now/9,99$ usually
Buying from the official website gives you the price in $$$.
Available for Windows, Mac and Linux (from their website).
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| What is this game? |
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It is basically a Roguelike in space with some light sim aspects. And that roguelike aspect totally has its hooks in me. You start the game with 1 out of 18 ship designs available and try to get as far as you can for the highscore (or even beating the boss, but that will probably take a while), maybe unlocking other ships in the meantime.
One thing this game does incredibly right are its random aspects, like the random galaxy layouts, the random events on every system beacon and the varying approaches it allows you to take based on what the game offers you in a playthrough. If you are fine with replaying a game for a highscore or unlocking other ships (the roguelike aspect), this game has tons of replay value. I also love the achievements which go beyond simple story achievements and actually manage to teach you about other game mechanics.
The game also has quite a bit of depth, making you decide between:
Another unique aspect of the game is the micromanagement of your own crew, which you need to manage on top of all the combat stuff I just listed. Use them to repair your ship,put out fires, heal them, use them to power your own ship systems etcetc.
The star of the show for me are the countless random events and the unlockable ships that actually work as "RPG classes" basically, though. It just feels fresh and rewarding every time I play it. Some people complain that it might be a bit unfair due to its random nature, but I got the impression that you can work with any hand you are dealt with.
Last but not least, the game manages to pack all that into a very, VERY accessible package that is rather easy to learn, especially due to the fact that the game doesnt force all these play approaches onto you, and allows some freedom in deciding how you want to play. Its really smartly designed.
Oh yeah, you might want to start the game on easy, though. Game is hard, though not completely unfair.
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| Media |
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Pictures speak more than a thousand words:
If you are in need of further convincing, here is a highly recommended WTF is... video by TotalBiscuit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-SnIhpCm5w
or Nerd³ Plays... FTL: Faster Than Light:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c_QY0dnI-M
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| Wall of GAF quotes |
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| How do I play? |
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Just... play the tutorial. 15 minutes. Its short, on point and teaches you everything you need to know to steer your spaceship into... space.
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| Miscellaneous hints |
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1. Space bar is pause. Remember this is at heart a rogue-like, use pause liberally to plan your shots in combat and evaluate your situation as events unfold. Also useful for setting up shots with tricky timing, like firing lasers to drop shields and then sneaking in a beam shot right as they fall.
2. Crew are a precious resource. With the typical starting 3 man crew, I recommend a dedicated pilot (pretty much required anyways), a dedicated weapons operator, and a dedicated engine operator.
You need a pilot at all times to plot the next jump and provide basic evasion abilities, it better be an absolute emergency to pull your pilot during a firefight. If you do pull him, try to make sure someone stays in the cockpit for base evasion.
The weapons expert lets you fire faster, this is important as quicker kills mean less damage to you. An engine expert will give you valuable evasion. With the exception of beams, all weapons can be dodged, and beams can only hit typically when your shields are low, generally because you didn't dodge something else.
3. The enemy plays by the same rules (mostly). They can't evade/jump without a working bridge/pilot (unless it's an AI/ upgraded system), useful in later sectors as it generally takes less damage to disable the bridge than the engines.
Some enemy differences- they can't vent their own ship, so fires are extremely effective if they get out of control (<3 fire beam). The game will notify you when they're preparing to jump, though this is easy to miss in the heat of the moment. Finally they can use a multi-shot weapon to target multiple rooms at once, the player can only hit multiple rooms with
beam weaponry.
4. Shields are important but so is evasion, and evasion is much cheaper to improve.
5. You only need to power medbay when it's being used. Useful for juggling power to a new upgrade when you're light on scrap. You can also get creative with your weapons system, missiles/bombs are less useful then beams/lasers after shields have been brought down, just be mindful of arming times.
6. Mad hermits are dicks.
7. 20 scrap for level 2 doors. So good it's stupid. Prevents boarders from running freely over your ship. Any boarders that come on board near a vent are doomed. Watch them slowly die as they pound on the doors. If they reach a system, just reseal the doors and send in some crew to mop up the weakened remains.
8. Pick your battles. Sometimes it's best to take the bribe or just walk away.
9. Capturing ships is incredibly profitable but also risky. If you're going to use a boarding party make sure it's not your core crew members. Use room size to your advantage. Approach enemies with medical systems cautiously, and recall boarders if they try to warp away. Power down your automatic rail gun super weapon when sending boarders from the Federation Cruiser.
10. Don't hold your breath for any deep mods unless the dev adds mod functionality to the game.
There are lots of viable strategies have fun experimenting and exploring!
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| Credits |
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Thanks to Mazre for most of the play hints, sarcasm for the banner and Toma for the blueprint of the OT he used in the Gnomoria OT. (Seriously, go buy that game too)
And thanks to Haunted for the complete version of this picture:
