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FTL |OT| Stories of the Space Oregon Trail

The Red-Tail is so OP in the first 2-3 sectors. You'd think that a basic laser is weak, but burst firing 4 is really strong. You are burst firing with them(hit the number hotkey then left click: 1 c 2 c 3 c 4 c), right? You can go through 3 shields that way.

I for one prefer to just pause the game and target all four lasers simultaneously. Then unpause and see all four shots hit at the same time for loud pain. As a bonus, you can set them to auto-attack and they'll never fall out of sequence, having the same charge time. :)

Oh I know! :D I was just lying in bed thinking about how I still have so much to do in the game. I might not even get it all done before the update comes out! That's alright though :) as it's a game that is endlessly playable and still will be years from now. Plus there are the mods to try. I don't feel the need for the mod that spruces up the graphics as I really like what there is but it can't hurt to try them out. The Endless Mode really does interest me though :D. Once I've ticked off my 'to do' list in the default game I shall definitely be giving that a spin! I wonder if they will include such a mode in the update? I hope they do together with lots of new achievements. moar cards 2 pls kthxbai

Even though vanilla FTL doesn't look bad at all, I've noticed the planet improvement mods turn it into such a beautiful, soothing view. It's not that it's needed, it's that it adds so much.

I haven't tried the infinite space mod yet, because it kind of runs counter to what I want in a rogue(a)like. I don't usually have lots of time, so bite-sized campaigns are just perfect for me, hence my love for Spelunky, etc. Making it a, well, endless affair seems to defeat the purpose. But I guess I'll eventually try it out of curiosity.

Holy cow, such support!

Full of helpful knowledge bombs as always my good man *tips hat*

*blush* Thanks! You do it all the time with GW2, so I tried to be up to the task. :)
 
I for one prefer to just pause the game and target all four lasers simultaneously. Then unpause and see all four shots hit at the same time for loud pain. As a bonus, you can set them to auto-attack and they'll never fall out of sequence, having the same charge time.

It's fine to do that in the first sector since you are fighting 1 shield ships, but burst firing (staggered firing might be a better term) is essential for taking out multiple levels of shields. I've found that firing all at once wastes some shots because they hit the shield simultaneously and none are left to hit what you were aiming at. I've taken the Red Tail (with no weapon upgrades) to Sector 5 or 6 with careful management of the Basic Lasers with this tactic. This works with any weapon, as well as with auto-fire. Just set the timing once and sit back and rake in the scrap.
 

Kenaras

Member
It's fine to do that in the first sector since you are fighting 1 shield ships, but burst firing (staggered firing might be a better term) is essential for taking out multiple levels of shields. I've found that firing all at once wastes some shots because they hit the shield simultaneously and none are left to hit what you were aiming at. I've taken the Red Tail (with no weapon upgrades) to Sector 5 or 6 with careful management of the Basic Lasers with this tactic. This works with any weapon, as well as with auto-fire. Just set the timing once and sit back and rake in the scrap.

I've never seen this happen even once. When I use the Red-Tail, I always link all four lasers to fire simultaneously; never had a problem.
 
I've never seen this happen even once. When I use the Red-Tail, I always link all four lasers to fire simultaneously; never had a problem.

Just tried a run, simultaneous fire on a 3 shield ship, was able to get through. I guess I remembered things wrong since I haven't used the Red-Tail in a long time. I think it's a problem when you use other weapons, since the recharge times vary.
 

O.DOGG

Member
I've found that firing all at once wastes some shots because they hit the shield simultaneously and none are left to hit what you were aiming at.

I've never seen this happen even once. When I use the Red-Tail, I always link all four lasers to fire simultaneously; never had a problem.

I haven't had this happen either. The shots are fired simultaneously but arrive at the target separately.
 
I haven't had this happen either. The shots are fired simultaneously but arrive at the target separately.

I could have sworn it happened to me before, but like I said in my last post, maybe I remember things wrong.

4 Basic Lasers is really strong, though. The Red-Tail is a really easy to use ship because of its starting setup.
 
The Red-Tail is so OP in the first 2-3 sectors. You'd think that a basic laser is weak, but burst firing 4 is really strong. You are burst firing with them(hit the number hotkey then left click: 1 c 2 c 3 c 4 c), right? You can go through 3 shields that way. Nice that you unlocked Fed B. Good luck with the Rock Cruiser. I hate that ship, though. Too much reliance on missiles and I've never had any luck with weapon pickups.

I had to manually quit a run with Zoltan A a few minutes ago. I ran out of fuel at the end of Sector 5 and the Rebels caught up to me. I had 3 shields and a Defense Drone, so I couldn't die. But I had no fuel (can't run away), no missiles and no way to break through the enemy shields, so it was a stalemate. I could have left the game running for hours and neither ship would have blown up. I've actually had to quit the final boss a few times because of this situation.

I wasn't sure what you meant by burst firing but your clarification below is what I do all the time now. I used to leave them firing at the same time but found that if 2 or more weapons hit at the same time I didn't get the benefit of the extra shots. So now I fire one, select the next one, wait until the first hits, fire the second and then use another weapon e.g. beam while the shields are down for maximum use of my resources. The quicker the skirmish is over the less damage I incur so less scrap needs to be spent on repairs right? :) I do this with all ships now though not just that one so it's pretty much automatic pilot for me if I'm honest. I don't use the keyboard at all though. One of the things I really love about FTL is that I can play it with one hand *cough*. Firstly because I can put my legs up on the desk and slouch [sorry mum] and secondly because one of two pussy cats are prone to be lying right where the keyboard would be if I was using it :D. I shall probably prematurely end the life of the middle click of the mouse I'm using be it's cheap and cheerful and I have a couple more around here somewhere if need be.

Yes, basic laser x 4 makes for a nice easy start which is handy to set oneself up well for later sections IF the game decides to play nice with its random elements :).

I didn't get anywhere near the Rock ship :(. I think I got nearest to it when I first started playing the game, 100 odd playtime hours ago but got wiped out pretty quickly by the more powerful ship. Not knowing what the hell I was doing then didn't help! :D I haven't got anywhere near it since :/. Later! Or not :).

I just open all the doors and turn the oxygen supply off. Bwahaha! I did that a few times yesterday out of frustration when I kept making stupid errors e.g. teleporting my crew onto the other ship just before it jumps away or blows up, letting crew die from spending too long in a hazardous part of my own ship, and so on. Oh well, it can be frustrating when I still make such silly mistakes but the counterpoint to that is that I can't ever relax completely and play it completely on auto pilot since the game is balanced so well that it keeps me on my toes. It might be boring otherwise.

I beat the game today with the Crystal Cruiser B. I always have the most fun when boarding enemy ships and when it comes to doing that this ship delivers in spades.

I'm having a hard time deciding whether I like this one more or the Mantis B Cruiser - both have four-person teleporters but different starting offensive and defensive capabilities. In any case they're both very fun to use.

I am jelly! I do not have either of those ships yet despite having the chance for both multiple times. I find what I think must be the start of the Crystal Ship unlock [the crystal pod thing] but haven't got to the next stage yet :/. Maybe today?! :eek: I almost unlocked the Mantis ship a couple of days ago but I mistakenly powered up the cloak rather than the teleport :facepalm: so I wasn't able to save him, despite upgrading the med bay to two when I entered that sector. So close! lol I won't make that mistake again! [I probably will].

I am going to love those two ships when I unlock them going by what you say as I too have the most fun when I'm invading the other ship :D. I've even got to where I don't even need to see inside the other ship to be able to gauge if it is safe to teleport my crew over there or not. I can make a good stab of working out how many crew they have and what races they're likely to be just from familiarity due to repetition. If I keep a close eye on their door movements and time my attacks to hit their crew as well as the room I am targeting I can usually get their health nice and low before I teleport in :D. Of course I do love to be able to see all this but one cannot always afford the upgrade or spare the scrap if one is saving up for a particular purchase. Besides, it adds an extra challenge by doing it blind :). I do so adore the extra goodies from invading though and there is a certain primal thrill from doing it.

I for one prefer to just pause the game and target all four lasers simultaneously. Then unpause and see all four shots hit at the same time for loud pain. As a bonus, you can set them to auto-attack and they'll never fall out of sequence, having the same charge time. :)



Even though vanilla FTL doesn't look bad at all, I've noticed the planet improvement mods turn it into such a beautiful, soothing view. It's not that it's needed, it's that it adds so much.

I haven't tried the infinite space mod yet, because it kind of runs counter to what I want in a rogue(a)like. I don't usually have lots of time, so bite-sized campaigns are just perfect for me, hence my love for Spelunky, etc. Making it a, well, endless affair seems to defeat the purpose. But I guess I'll eventually try it out of curiosity.



*blush* Thanks! You do it all the time with GW2, so I tried to be up to the task. :)

Hm, you have me more inclined to try the visual mods now :). I might give it a go if I start to feel jaded in my current run on the game to freshen things up. Now that I've finished the game on easy I am trying to unlock all ship achievements, all ships, and the two general achievements I don't have [other than the 'normal' win and 'all ships' ones] i.e. all squares on fire and 4 kills with the invasion drone [or whatever it's called] plus getting to grips with all the ships and what strategies to use with each including their alternative layouts. Actually finishing the game is of secondary importance now :).
 
Hm, you have me more inclined to try the visual mods now :). I might give it a go if I start to feel jaded in my current run on the game to freshen things up. Now that I've finished the game on easy I am trying to unlock all ship achievements, all ships, and the two general achievements I don't have [other than the 'normal' win and 'all ships' ones] i.e. all squares on fire and 4 kills with the invasion drone [or whatever it's called] plus getting to grips with all the ships and what strategies to use with each including their alternative layouts. Actually finishing the game is of secondary importance now :).

These are the visual mods I use:

Better Planets and Backgrounds
Diversity Mod

Better Planets and Backgrounds is, well, better planets and backgrounds. Images taken by the Hubble Telescope are also used! Everything looks so much cleaner. The Diversity Mod changes up the graphics and animations of the weapons and changes some weapon properties very slightly (reduced ion-damage of new ion missiles; removed system damage. heavy laser I pierces 1 shield).

For anyone interested in mods, check out the official forums: http://www.ftlgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2645

Also, all mods previously required Grognak's Mod Manager v1.7, but this is not outdated and everyone is encouraged to use Slipstream Mod Manager (currently v1.4). It's faster, has fewer issues, and is in active development.

Edit: If you don't like the Better Planets and Backgrounds Mod (maybe too busy or not to your taste), there's also High-res Background Graphics, which are just the vanilla backgrounds in a higher resolution.
 
About the graphical mods, some of the pics I took way back:
http://minus.com/mble9WUarjHjL0
Couple of samples:
ibvLrmp6Hsu7kA.jpg

iRaXnNE2RXYGf.jpg

It looks even more impressive in motion as the planets and background are parallaxed independently. It's not too obvious in vanilla FTL because of the plain backgrounds, but these BGs makes the effect stand out amazingly.
 
You tag teamed up on me!!!

Good work :) I am convinced! :D

Oh and Rock Cruiser GET! :D

I'm now trying to unlock its alternate layout but not having much luck so far. Still it's nice to have a new toy to play with :D.
 
For the record, I use a manually indexed mixture of Hi Res Planets and Better Planets and Backgrounds 1.2, for maximum variation. I actually don't like Better Planets and Backgrounds 1.3 at all, as its author included a bunch of Hubble pics that are too garish, too low-quality, or both, and some are even pallette swaps and/or mirror/flips of each other.

tldr; You should be good with Better Planets and Backgrounds 1.2.
 
I have just thought of an addition I would like the devs to include in the updated version i.e. the ability to see what sectors are upcoming in that particular playthrough so one could plot a course towards a particular sector.

I have just completed the first two requirements to unlock the Crystal ship [the first time in over 120 hours of play; I've got the first one loads of times] and would really welcome being able to aim for the Rock Homeworlds. However I may well miss it by taking the wrong path :/.

For the record, I use a manually indexed mixture of Hi Res Planets and Better Planets and Backgrounds 1.2, for maximum variation. I actually don't like Better Planets and Backgrounds 1.3 at all, as its author included a bunch of Hubble pics that are too garish, too low-quality, or both, and some are even pallette swaps and/or mirror/flips of each other.

tldr; You should be good with Better Planets and Backgrounds 1.2.

Thanks :).
 
I have just thought of an addition I would like the devs to include in the updated version i.e. the ability to see what sectors are upcoming in that particular playthrough so one could plot a course towards a particular sector.

I have just completed the first two requirements to unlock the Crystal ship [the first time in over 120 hours of play; I've got the first one loads of times] and would really welcome being able to aim for the Rock Homeworlds. However I may well miss it by taking the wrong path :/.



Thanks :).

I just always plot a course where I go through the most red sectors, it always worked for me. Still no luck with that Mantis Cruiser though.

And I just remembered, a while back I had switched from the Better Planets 1.3 mod to the Hi-Res backgrounds mod (listed at the bottom of one of my posts), but always thought I was using Better Planets for the longest time. I guess seeing it in my mods folder was what made me think that. I actually prefer using it to the former mod.
 
I just always plot a course where I go through the most red sectors, it always worked for me. Still no luck with that Mantis Cruiser though.

And I just remembered, a while back I had switched from the Better Planets 1.3 mod to the Hi-Res backgrounds mod (listed at the bottom of one of my posts), but always thought I was using Better Planets for the longest time. I guess seeing it in my mods folder was what made me think that. I actually prefer using it to the former mod.

After posting that I thought 'duh, just look at the three types of sectors and see which ones you wish to aim for fall under and plot a course that way' :).

Oh and I assume that was your comment on my screengrab showing that I had unlocked the Mantis Cruiser last night? :p
 

Kenaras

Member
If you're trying to unlock the Crystal Cruiser:

1) Use one of the Rock Cruisers. The first event in the questline is common, but only Rock Cruisers are guaranteed to be successful when they encounter it.
2) Try to get Long-Ranged Scanners as soon as possible.
3) Aim for red sectors, or green if no red sectors are available. Avoid purple sectors. You're looking Rebel, Rock, or Engi sectors.
4) Once you're in one of those sectors, scout for distress beacons - either in empty space, or in an asteroid field. Avoid visiting any dead ends which don't contain a distress beacon. One of the beacons should have the first event.
5) Once you have the Damaged Statis Pod, aim for green sectors. You need an Engi or Zoltan sector.
6) Once there, scout for empty nodes; don't visit any distress beacons. One should have the event to open the pod.
7) Aim for red sectors. At this point you just need to get lucky and find the Rock Homeworlds. Chances are you won't get lucky, but there's nothing you can do about that.
 
If you're trying to unlock the Crystal Cruiser:

1) Use one of the Rock Cruisers. The first event in the questline is common, but only Rock Cruisers are guaranteed to be successful when they encounter it.
2) Try to get Long-Ranged Scanners as soon as possible.
3) Aim for red sectors, or green if no red sectors are available. Avoid purple sectors. You're looking Rebel, Rock, or Engi sectors.
4) Once you're in one of those sectors, scout for distress beacons - either in empty space, or in an asteroid field. Avoid visiting any dead ends which don't contain a distress beacon. One of the beacons should have the first event.
5) Once you have the Damaged Statis Pod, aim for green sectors. You need an Engi or Zoltan sector.
6) Once there, scout for empty nodes; don't visit any distress beacons. One should have the event to open the pod.
7) Aim for red sectors. At this point you just need to get lucky and find the Rock Homeworlds. Chances are you won't get lucky, but there's nothing you can do about that.

Heh, I spent hours the other day trying to do all this but seven tripped me up. I gave up in frustration in the end and turned my attention to unlocking the Mantis ship. It too was uber frustrating but I got there in the end :). It gave me a nasty headache but was worth it. I'm now playing with it today and discovering all its little quirks. One achievement unlocked with a bit of 'accidental' oxygen venting to kill off all but one of my crew and another to go to see what the second layout is like. They're always pretty fun so I'm keen to see what that is like :).
 
After posting that I thought 'duh, just look at the three types of sectors and see which ones you wish to aim for fall under and plot a course that way' :).

Oh and I assume that was your comment on my screengrab showing that I had unlocked the Mantis Cruiser last night? :p

Yeah, that was my comment. The one ship I've been trying to get for a long time, I only encountered it once but didn't have the upgraded med bay and ended up failing the quest. You gotta go and destroy all the Rebel ships from the inside, in my name. :p
 
Yeah, that was my comment. The one ship I've been trying to get for a long time, I only encountered it once but didn't have the upgraded med bay and ended up failing the quest. You gotta go and destroy all the Rebel ships from the inside, in my name. :p

A ha! Your slightly different username on Steam threw me until I put two and two together. I really should have done it before given the use of famicom in both :/. My deerstalker must be on the fritz! :(

I have been doing just that! :D

It's pretty tough playing with it :/ but invading enemy ships is so much fun :D.

Since my post above I have got all the achievements for it and so my next playthrough will be with its alt layout.



I was doing swimmingly for the Crystal Ship as well until I carelessly got my Crystal crew member killed *derp*. Serves me right for playing it on mental auto pilot and forgetting that he's not got 150 HP even though he looks like a Rockman :/. Fortunately I didn't get to the Rock Homeworld or I would have been a tad frustrated :).

In the end I had to kill myself off as I got in a stalemate with the final boss and had no other way to proceed.

Oh well, a rather productive session in the scheme of things. On to pastures new tomorrow!

EDIT [since no-one has posted since me :( ]

I just got the crystal pod twice in the same game :D. Then I got the Research Facility and was all excited as I knew there was a red sector next! Oh, it's a pirate controlled sector *cries*.

Oh well, I did have the joy of doing a bit of ethnic cleansing in that playthrough. The game gave me a couple of extra Rockmen to add to starting 4 so I had a ship comprising of nothing but Rockmen. Then I got a human, boo! Then another Rockman and then a choice of three races from invading a slaver ship. So of course I chose a Rockman and dismissed the human. Bwahaha! Then I didn't concentrate and failed to get my two invading Rockmen off the slaver ship before it blew up due to fire damage :/. I think if I look up FTL in a dictionary it will say "self ownage, lol" :/.

EDIT - i now has all the ships :D and have beaten the game with all of them except the Mantis and the Crystal. I just unlocked the crystal on a Mantis run :D but my final fight was partially borked by a bug :/. My low health away team of four teleported back and then immediately run off the ship into outer space :eek:. They just showed up as a red dot just outside one of the outer doors :/. I jumped several more times and then they started doing the hokey kokey [in out, in out] twitching between being inside and outside the ship. I was able to pause, select them and move them one by one to the med bay but by then the big boss had regenerated everything and was one jump away from the base. So I opened all the airlocks and turned off the oxygen supply in disgust. First bug in the game. After 200 hours that's not bad I guess.

Now to beat the game with those last two ships, unlock the few remaining ship achievements and beat the game on normal. Then try some mods before having a break to play other games and refresh my gaming palate before the enhanced edition in early '14. The latest run has been about 120 hours straight without playing anything else so I think I've got my money's worth. LOL Toma gifted me the game! <3 Toma!

Oh and a few days ago I was in a near panic as Steam wouldn't load the game. I tried everything on the error page without success and was just about ready to pull the trigger on buying it off the devs website when I realised what the problem was. I had moved my pc and consequently the EHDD that stored the game was connected via a different USB port. Since this was different from what it was previously Steam couldn't find it. All I had to do was move it back to the C drive using Steam Mover and it loaded first time. Quite a relief I can tell you! I was bereft before then! The_Monk had been teasing me only days before then about being addicted to the game. I think he might just have a point! :/
 

Zaru

Member
I was enjoying this game for a few hours until a gamebreaker happened.

You know, a situation that nothing could possibly prepare you against unless you specifically know that it is coming.

Try ending up in a solar flare (it was the only planet in reach towards the exit) where 4 enemies board your ship... in early sector 2. Your small, inexperienced crew has no chance of beating the invaders. I had upgraded the doors and opened everything, but it didn't help shit. They just went on to obliterate my crew IN THE HEALING ROOM. I cannot imagine a possible way to beat such a situation while still trying to be prepared for other situations. My acceptance of the random factor has its limits.
 
I was enjoying this game for a few hours until a gamebreaker happened.

You know, a situation that nothing could possibly prepare you against unless you specifically know that it is coming.

Try ending up in a solar flare (it was the only planet in reach towards the exit) where 4 enemies board your ship... in early sector 2. Your small, inexperienced crew has no chance of beating the invaders. I had upgraded the doors and opened everything, but it didn't help shit. They just went on to obliterate my crew IN THE HEALING ROOM. I cannot imagine a possible way to beat such a situation while still trying to be prepared for other situations. My acceptance of the random factor has its limits.

Did you have the med bay powered? With the airlock open, I've been able to survive a boarding party with my crew in the med bay. Unless it's 1v3, the health regen of the med bay is usually enough to negate the damage a crew member takes, even with no oxygen.

When trying to micro my crew in a solar flare event with boarders, sometimes Things get so frantic that I forget to power up the med bay and my crew dies.
 

fallout

Member
The best thing is to just laugh off those situations and try to learn from them if you can. There will be many more runs.
 
I was enjoying this game for a few hours until a gamebreaker happened.

You know, a situation that nothing could possibly prepare you against unless you specifically know that it is coming.

Try ending up in a solar flare (it was the only planet in reach towards the exit) where 4 enemies board your ship... in early sector 2. Your small, inexperienced crew has no chance of beating the invaders. I had upgraded the doors and opened everything, but it didn't help shit. They just went on to obliterate my crew IN THE HEALING ROOM. I cannot imagine a possible way to beat such a situation while still trying to be prepared for other situations. My acceptance of the random factor has its limits.

I've had such an event happen to me and I survived it each time. Unless the solar flare hit the medbay, it should not be possible that they killed you there, are you sure it was on? Also, if your pilot was still in the cockpit, you could have jumped back to safety to the beacon you came from and deal with the invaders there.
 

Zaru

Member
Well, it took me 10 hours but I finally beat the game for the first time. Dat Engi Ship. Although it's funny how the boss teleported away with my boarding crew in a secluded weapons room, killing it in the process. Still slapped its shit since I got really lucky with the weapons.
 

PAULINK

I microwave steaks.
Well, it took me 10 hours but I finally beat the game for the first time. Dat Engi Ship. Although it's funny how the boss teleported away with my boarding crew in a secluded weapons room, killing it in the process. Still slapped its shit since I got really lucky with the weapons.

10 hours? Hot damn, and I thought I was a genius at beating it at 37 hours. I had the best run ever save for the fact that I accidentally killed two of my mantis on the ship of the final boss. And then finding out that after knocking out their crew, that the ship still had a mind of it's own.

God damn, what a rush, hanging on the edge with one health to spare, doing everything I can to salvage the run. I had 4 misses on me with 40% evasion, I was going nuts. So proud of myself (for beating it on easy lol).
 

Zaru

Member
10 hours? Hot damn, and I thought I was a genius at beating it at 37 hours. I had the best run ever save for the fact that I accidentally killed two of my mantis on the ship of the final boss. And then finding out that after knocking out their crew, that the ship still had a mind of it's own.

God damn, what a rush, hanging on the edge with one health to spare, doing everything I can to salvage the run. I had 4 misses on me with 40% evasion, I was going nuts. So proud of myself (for beating it on easy lol).

I underestimated boarding crews for a long time until I realized how useful they are and especially how vital they are for permanently disabling weapons in the boss fight.

And I think I would have beaten the Boss some hours before but I accidently missed that the boss ship was about to jump to the main base after the first fight and I lost the game through that condition -_- A very embarrassing way to lose
 

feel

Member
Installed this game yesterday, the hype is deserved.

After failing to get out of the first sector a couple of times while I figured out the game, I just got decimated by the rebel flagship after a very memorable run that lasted a good number of hours.

To the brave crew who gave their all by my side through this amazing journey

ibzE1rF02YwrIy.jpg


you won't be soon forgotten.
 

Jackben

bitch I'm taking calls.
Finally got the 'Do not upgrade reactor until sector 5' achievement for the Zoltan ship. Was fucking hard, but managed to get Cloak early and then a mantis and rock crew member from the Slave Ship and 'Save the Colony from Drone attack' events. From that point on I had a 'Cloak and Board' strategy that ended up working quite well in Slug and Zoltan space. Managed to take the ship to the final boss and beat 'em at the sacrifice of my brave boarders.
Hot damn, loving this ship. Barely felt the final boss.

henSNIu.jpg
Yeah that ship is overpowered as fuck. I still need to try out the alternate (Nisos) but I just love having a large and diverse crew right from the start so I haven't done so yet.
 
Holy sh~! I wasn't expecting new FTL content to hit me so hard, but this feeling is like... well, like getting new content for one of your favorite games. :D
 
LOL

That ship design has me scared! Hold me! :(

Have you guys read the actual post? It fully details the new race, including animated sprites and its racial abilities.
http://www.ftlgame.com/?page_id=106

I've been thinking a lot about that race and its implications; in case anyone wants to be surprised by it, I'll spoiler my ramblings.

OK, so the thing about this race is that it needs no oxygen, and in fact, absorbs oxygen from the room they're in. If no other racial differences are given, I assume the "downside" is built in in the "absorbs oxygen" thing, i.e. it makes it slightly (perhaps more than slightly) hard to make them coexist with other races in a mixed crew ship. It seems to be too little of a penalty for what is a huge advantage on crew combat, so we'll see.

In any case, I full expect several variants of their ships (both player and enemy) to go full Lanius crew and eschew an oxygen generator entirely. This gives obvious, huge advantages to fire fighting and dealing with boarders. The one ship layout shown seems to have both an oxygen generator and mixed crew, so I expect variant B or C to be the one going this route (probably having severe drawbacks/missing systems to compensate in classic FTL style).

Aside from all that, this race gives oxygen exhaustion, one of the more interesting but ultimately inefficient strategies, much stronger traction. Disabling the oxygen generator, then sending a couple of Lanius there to absorb the oxygen out of that room and fight anyone who tries to repair it, could be a killer tactic for capturing enemy ships intact. I suspect Rockmen (and especially Crystalmen) will make a great complement to them, as both of them are inherently less susceptible to oxygen loss.

All in all, this race seems to open up a slew of new tactics and considerations with just an easily implemented feature. Well played, Subset Games. As always.
 
Well I have now :) thanks for the link. I really like all of the new stuff they mention there and hope that that's just the start of it all. The fact that existing owners get all this for free is almost too good to be true. I hope they don't rush it out and take all the time they need to get it just right [I've recently played the game for over 100 hours, obsessively, please don't hate me!]
 
Well I have now :) thanks for the link. I really like all of the new stuff they mention there and hope that that's just the start of it all. The fact that existing owners get all this for free is almost too good to be true. I hope they don't rush it out and take all the time they need to get it just right [I've recently played the game for over 100 hours, obsessively, please don't hate me!]

Why would we hate you? I've played it for over 100 hours too. :D
 

O.DOGG

Member
I don't even know how long it's been for me because I only recently installed FTL on Steam - and I did it just to have it synchronize the save game file between my computers. I played the game DRM-free for a very, very long time, though. Over 100 hours easily.
 

Jackben

bitch I'm taking calls.
Fuck this game. Angry because I've tried for ages to get the all powered up achievement for the Zoltan ship without any luck. Even on the best of runs I just never gather enough scrap to upgrade everything.
 
Sorry, I meant don't hate me because I hope the release of the Enhanced Edition is not too early in 2014. I would be delighted if they kept delaying it and delaying it to add new stuff. Partially because I would like the new stuff thankyouverymuch but mostly because I really need to cleanse my gaming palate before diving back into FTL which will no doubt consume my life again!

Fuck this game. Angry because I've tried for ages to get the all powered up achievement for the Zoltan ship without any luck. Even on the best of runs I just never gather enough scrap to upgrade everything.

I know that feeling! Are you getting enough Zoltan crew too? If memory serves you need six or more to make that particular achievement do-able. Invading the ship and killing all the crew gives more scrap. So does destroying them rather than saving them, generally. Sorry if you know all this; just trying to help :). Good luck!
 
Oh, I understand about the "not wanting it right away if it means making it better". I tend to sing the same song every time a game I want is delayed. On the other hand, nothing stops them from pumping out new content even after Advanced Edition. I myself wouldn't mind paying for new races and such as DLC, although having gifted the game to several friends, it's even better if we all get the same experience.

Speaking of which, just found out one of my friends I hadn't gifted FTL yet (and he didn't have it himself), I wrongly thought I had. Of course, I corrected that mistake right away. If I'm not into double digits in FTL purchases, I must be pretty close now.

Gah, so freaking psyched for Advanced Edition...
 

Mazre

Member
New additions sound great. New race sounds like a nightmare to handle.

Also don't see it highlighted yet but:
Type C Ship Layouts: 8 of the original ships will have a third layout that capitalizes on the new content. With the Lanius ship, that makes for a total of ten new starting ship designs.

Awesome. Awesome to the max.
 
New additions sound great. New race sounds like a nightmare to handle.

Also don't see it highlighted yet but:


Awesome. Awesome to the max.

Even though that was almost a given, it's still cool to have it confirmed indeed. I'm guessing they'll leave out a third layout for the crystal cruiser, which I'm OK with (it's too overpowered for my tastes anyway).

And indeed, the new race sounds like they would make the boarders from hell. I'm not even sure how you're supposed to deal with them.
You can't suffocate them, you can't route them to your medbay, if you send your crew to fight them they might suffocate... Yikes!
Should make for some delicious challenge.
 
Even though that was almost a given, it's still cool to have it confirmed indeed. I'm guessing they'll leave out a third layout for the crystal cruiser, which I'm OK with (it's too overpowered for my tastes anyway).

And indeed, the new race sounds like they would make the boarders from hell. I'm not even sure how you're supposed to deal with them.
You can't suffocate them, you can't route them to your medbay, if you send your crew to fight them they might suffocate... Yikes!
Should make for some delicious challenge.

Anti-Personnel Drones sound like a good counter to them. Maybe they might have lower HP or something to balance them out.
 
Anti-Personnel Drones sound like a good counter to them. Maybe they might have lower HP or something to balance them out.

I was thinking the same thing, but of course that means you need not only a drone system but that particular drone. In fact, this might help to make antipersonnel drones more desirable, which is not a bad thing as they were slightly too energy-costly at two bars plus a bit too situational.
 
This game is really, really good. And for $2.49 (Steam Holiday Sale), it can't be missed. Amazing game that is fun, challenging, and never frustrating. I was never frustrated when fires grew and crew members died. Such a fun game! If you can find it now for the price I did, look no further. Originally, I played on Normal, but I would recommend a beginner playing easy until you can move up to Normal.
 

ChaoticEko

Neo Member
This game is really, really good. And for $2.49 (Steam Holiday Sale), it can't be missed. Amazing game that is fun, challenging, and never frustrating. I was never frustrated when fires grew and crew members died. Such a fun game! If you can find it now for the price I did, look no further. Originally, I played on Normal, but I would recommend a beginner playing easy until you can move up to Normal.

I love it as well, just wish I wasn't so bad at it. I never make it farther than maybe 30 minutes before My ship gets torn to shreds.
 
If there's one thing I love it is seeing new people experience the AWESOME!!! that is FTL :D. Welcome fellow GAFers :). I have played it for 200 odd hours and that was almost entirely on Easy. I didn't actually start to find it easy going for well over 100 hours of play. So I would agree with ChildrenOfEden as you might imagine :).

Stick at it ChaoticEko, as long as you are still enjoying yourself. The devs said that the game was designed so that the player would fail to finish it 80% of the time. I regard it as a 'journey' game where the fun is in the actual playing and getting to the 'destination' i.e. the game ending credits, is a bonus. I can assure you that your struggles with survival are perfectly normal but you will improve if you persevere :).

Have fun!
 
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