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[Foxix Von]

Note to self: when flying through an asteroid field make sure to outfit your ENTIRE fleet with deflector shields. :lol

Dear god did that fail hard. Really hard. Also I'm pretty sure IS sets the record for most elevators to ever be featured in a video game.

Edit: Sweeeeet. New page!

 

[kiryogi]

IS is pretty awesome, but dear god it's a little too complex for before bed gaming. Something I tend to do with my portables. I found myself getting owned hardcore in my half comatose state. XD

 

[Danthrax]

Just beat chapter 8. Holy crap.

:lol I can only imagine what you're referring to. (I'm still in chapter 2... didn't get to play yesterday or today.)

 

[Foxix Von]

Looks like Kat Baily posted up a nifty blog entry on the grind. If anyone want's to take a look here's the link: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9024777

She does a good job of outlining some of the niggling issues of the game and talks about the steep learning curve. Suggest taking a look if you're still on the edge about whether to purchase it. While it's not exactly glowing I enjoyed reading her impressions. I don't want to quote the entire thing as it's a little lengthy but I do hope to hear about it on the next ATB podcast.

Infinite Space is a great game that is extremely difficult to recommend unconditionally. It's an incredibly obtuse game, to the point that a player on one of the forums I frequent called it a "high-functioning autistic." The confusing interface and poorly documented game mechanics are bound to turn off a lot of people, but it's impossible to discount it because it does so many things well.

Nifty way of putting it :lol

 

[I should be doing hw]

Don't know where everyone is getting the 'confusing interface' shit from. It's clunky, not confusing. There is a difference.

 

[Danthrax]

So, uh, I can't beat Balik. 90% of my shots miss him. Are 90% of my shots supposed to miss him? Because 90% of my shots are missing him, and he's kicking my ass as a result. =\

 

[I should be doing hw]

Melee or ship? He's a cunt in melee so make sure you have Tia and Gadina as Security Officers for that. Ship combat wise...umm is that the one where the meteors fuck up your ships? If it is, go through the storm then go back and heal up, it won't affect you when you go back through it :lol Also if that's the multipart battle then when you get out of one of them and start travelling for a little bit to move on to the next, head back and heal up. It's not even hard when you do this.
Also you do realise that you have to get rid of all the ships around him before you can attack Baliks ship right? Because if you don't then yeah, 90% of you shots will miss. You have to kill off all the guys in the front row and work your way to the back.

 

[Danthrax]

Melee or ship? He's a cunt in melee so make sure you have Tia and Gadina as Security Officers for that. Ship combat wise...umm is that the one where the meteors fuck up your ships? If it is, go through the storm then go back and heal up, it won't affect you when you go back through it :lol Also if that's the multipart battle then when you get out of one of them and start travelling for a little bit to move on to the next, head back and heal up. It's not even hard when you do this.
Also you do realise that you have to get rid of all the ships around him before you can attack Baliks ship right? Because if you don't then yeah, 90% of you shots will miss. You have to kill off all the guys in the front row and work your way to the back.

I don't know WHAT the heck you're talking about. The game hasn't even told me melee combat exists yet. I know nothing of meteors. His is the only ship in the battle.

...I'm in chapter 2 trying to assault the pirate base after taking the indirect route. I guess I should have clarified that from the beginning, but I didn't know I'd have to fight Balik later in the game -_-

 

[WreckTheLaw]

I don't know WHAT the heck you're talking about. The game hasn't even told me melee combat exists yet. I know nothing of meteors. His is the only ship in the battle.

...I'm in chapter 2 trying to assault the pirate base after taking the indirect route. I guess I should have clarified that from the beginning, but I didn't know I'd have to fight Balik later in the game -_-

Make sure you take out the ships in the front positions first. He's hiding behind them. I advise reading through the thread if you have some free time because there's a handful of really good advice (like this) spread throughout.

 

[I should be doing hw]

I don't know WHAT the heck you're talking about. The game hasn't even told me melee combat exists yet. I know nothing of meteors. His is the only ship in the battle.

...I'm in chapter 2 trying to assault the pirate base after taking the indirect route. I guess I should have clarified that from the beginning, but I didn't know I'd have to fight Balik later in the game -_-

Maybe I'm thinking of Ch. 3, sorry I don't know anymore. I thought I was on Ch. 4 and it turns out I'm in 5 so there you go. :lol

Edit:
I'm definitely thinking of Ch. 3. Apply what I wrote to the end of that chapter if you are having trouble :lol Sorry, I spoiled basically nothing in that chapter though, much more epic shit happens.

 

[Danthrax]

Make sure you take out the ships in the front positions first. He's hiding behind them. I advise reading through the thread if you have some free time because there's a handful of really good advice (like this) spread throughout.

But there's only one ship.

Okay, so there are two encounters. One of them is when we get ambushed on the indirect route in the asteroid field. There are three ships there. I'm able to beat them just like any other battle earlier in the game.

But after that, I reach the pirate base and I fight the big bad dude. It's just his ship versus my ship, but nearly all my shots miss (whether I use Normal or Barrage) while he occasionally uses a Special attack consisting of some type of awesomesauce missile that ignores my shields, or some such thing. Basically, he kicks my ass and there's nothing I can do about it, seemingly.

 

[Nibelung Valesti]

Tomorrow it's coming out in Europe can't wait!

 

[WreckTheLaw]

But there's only one ship.

Okay, so there are two encounters. One of them is when we get ambushed on the indirect route in the asteroid field. There are three ships there. I'm able to beat them just like any other battle earlier in the game.

But after that, I reach the pirate base and I fight the big bad dude. It's just his ship versus my ship, but nearly all my shots miss (whether I use Normal or Barrage) while he occasionally uses a Special attack consisting of some type of awesomesauce missile that ignores my shields, or some such thing. Basically, he kicks my ass and there's nothing I can do about it, seemingly.

Okay, first of all, take the direct route. You're an aspiring space hero, not a real-world military man. This will pay off later.

Edit: This goes for about every decision in the game. Non-specific advice in spoilers:

Spoiler

Yuri is an anime style space captain, which means he hovers between Paragon and Renegade, but almost always will take the risky decision. He's tough when he needs to be, because he's a god damned captain. And while he hates the thought of death for no reason, he doesn't mind killing those who he thinks deserve it. Follow this basic set of ideas and you'll unlock all sorts of bonus fame and XP throughout.

Second: Do you understand the mechanical relationship between dodge, barrage, and normal? And are you sure all of your guns are within range? I can't really remember that battle in terms of specific strategy - I'm about 30 hours in now - but if I remember right the trick is watching his battle gauge, making sure that you're in dodge mode just as he goes into red, dodging his special and countering with your barrage (Yuri's special attack hasn't unlocked yet, has it?)

It may also involve dodging in and out of range so that you can generate the command gauge that you need to without getting peppered with shots.

 

[Woo-Fu]

People worried about the simple combat just need to stick with the game. It gets much more complex with the addition of fighters, new weapon types, new defense types, character command skills, and ship command skills.

Each time I think I've got an easy cheese tactic to win every combat it gets mixed up again. For a couple chapters I was all about fighters because the enemy hardly ever used them and had very little AA. Next system over every story battle has cruisers, battleships, and carriers with fighters and all of them have AA.

 

[Mejilan]

Seems like I missed a bunch of characters.
Unacceptable. I think I'll be starting over now that I'm done with Lunar 2!

 

[duckroll]

There is no way to get 100% of the characters in a play through. Just saying.

 

[MattNY]

Nifty way of putting it :lol

Yea, I guess. We already use mental retardation as a way to describe games, we may as well move onto other areas as well.

 

[magiustra]

Second: Do you understand the mechanical relationship between dodge, barrage, and normal?

Sorry to bother you, but may I ask you to explain this mechanical relationship to me? Thank you very much (I'm planning to buy the game in the next few days)

 

[dollartaco]

Question (that might not be appropriate here):

For those who've played both, any recommendations in choosing between this and the new SMT?

 

[Mejilan]

They're both such completely different kinds of games...
SMT is probably the 'better' game... if you're into traditional SMT games.
Infinite Space definitely scratches a more unique configuration of itches though, IMHO.

There is no way to get 100% of the characters in a play through. Just saying.

But I'd like to get 100% of the allowable characters in one play through, at least!

 

[dollartaco]

They're both such completely different kinds of games...
SMT is probably the 'better' game... if you're into traditional SMT games.
Infinite Space definitely scratches a more unique configuration of itches though, IMHO.



But I'd like to get 100% of the allowable characters in one play through, at least!

My interest in it is largely due to the theme. Is it a decent approximation of being a ship/fleet captain? Because I eat that shit with a big fucking spoon.

 

[larvi]

What does this mean from the OP:

Unique tactical battle system: Decisions must be made quickly in the dramatic, action-filled battles, or enemies will get the upper hand.


Is the combat real time, turn based or some sort of hybrid? It looks compelling but I don't care for real time rpgs on the DS all that much.

 

[Mejilan]

I think so, and that's one of the key reasons why I love it so much.
The battles are not insanely complex, but the game almost overloads you with the minutia of being the captain of a fleet. From managing your ships to customizing their mods to assigning your crew... it really captures the feel, IMHO.

It's not a classic PC-style space sim, exactly, but it's probably the closest thing you'll find in a Japanese (or even Western!) handheld game! It crushes the Star Ocean series in that respect as well; but SO always disappointed from the space opera angle.

Edit - Combat is basically a sort of phased real time. Your command gauge and the enemy's fill up in real time, from green to yellow to red. Different combat options open up depending on the color of the gauge. At green you can invoke the dodge command (which beats barrage but loses out to normal). At yellow you can use either dodge or normal (which beats out dodge) or sometimes both! Some special skills become available at yellow as well. At red you can do elect to do those other options, or initiate a barrage (basically normal attack x3) which does mega damage IF the foe isn't in dodge mode. More powerful skills are available at red as well, once learned.

It's pretty awesome because actions don't deplete the whole gauge, so you can mix and match some abilities. Once enabled, dodge is "on" until your next skill/attack. It'll instantly negate all barrage damage, but it does leave you open to taking extra damage (and crits) from normal attacks.

Beyond those actions, you can also move your fleet forward, backward, or idle in stand by. You can switch from these on the fly without losing any of your command gauge. they're always available.

Different weapons (and different ships) have different min and max attack ranges, so beyond waiting for your command gauge to fill to the appropriate levels, you need to move forward, backward, or switch to idling such that as many of your ships' weapons as possible are in-range of the enemy. If you have 5 ships each decked out with 4 weapons, and all are in range, you'll get 5x4 (or 20) attacks with each normal command initiated. 60 for the barrage!! It's pretty great stuff, and it gets a little more complex as you proceed.

And that's nothing to say of the melee buttons (which, in all honesty, are simpler rocks/paper/scissors affairs. But still fun!) Some scripted battles (like raids of pirate bases) are forced melee encounters. But you can initiate melee battles in MOST regular encounters just by decreasing the distance between your fleet and the enemy's and tapping the melee command once it pops up.

Great stuff!

 

[Fragamemnon]

Is the combat real time, turn based or some sort of hybrid? It looks compelling but I don't care for real time rpgs on the DS all that much.

It's realtime, but the system is kept deliberately straightforward so you're not going to have a case of "analysis paralysis" when fighting during a battle early on. As you get further into the game the number of battle options will rise, but it still stays very straightforward due to your increased exposure to how the system works.

Really surprised at that "high functioning autistic" comment/blog post. This game isn't that hard or complicated, the amount of real thought into things isn't any more complex than your average RPG. The combat interface is different but the gauges and icons make perfect sense in the context of the game's battle system.

My interest in it is largely due to the theme. Is it a decent approximation of being a ship/fleet captain? Because I eat that shit with a big fucking spoon.

The theme is the appeal to this game-I can't really see someone with a hard-on for space opera and ship battles not liking it, but I can see someone who likes animu RPGs NOT liking it. Theme very much trumps wide genre classification on this title, for sure.

 

[Woo-Fu]

40 hours into the game and I'm doing a LOT of grinding. Fully equipped battleship is around 100k in value, I get around 800-1100 most random encounters and there is one really rare encounter that coughs of 3500. I wish there was a patrol route mode where I could pick two endpoints and the fleet would just patrol so I don't have to keep setting those endpoints over and over again.

I still have 150k to grind to fully populate and upgrade my fleet so that the current story encounter I'm working on doesn't destroy me within 60 seconds.

Maybe I'm not grinding in the right place?

Spoiler

I'm going back and forth between Canopus and Octons in Escondido Lane.

 

[WreckTheLaw]

40 hours into the game and I'm doing a LOT of grinding. Fully equipped battleship is around 100k in value, I get around 800-1100 most random encounters and there is one really rare encounter that coughs of 3500. I wish there was a patrol route mode where I could pick two endpoints and the fleet would just patrol so I don't have to keep setting those endpoints over and over again.

I still have 150k to grind to fully populate and upgrade my fleet so that the current story encounter I'm working on doesn't destroy me within 60 seconds.

Maybe I'm not grinding in the right place?

Spoiler

I'm going back and forth between Canopus and Octons in Escondido Lane.

What encounter are you at? And have you tried Carriers yet?

Sorry to bother you, but may I ask you to explain this mechanical relationship to me? Thank you very much (I'm planning to buy the game in the next few days)

Normal costs yellow level command gauge, does standard damage.

Barrage costs red (twice as much as Normal), but fires all weapons three times instead of two.

Dodge makes barrages and special attacks completely miss. But it makes normal attacks do bonus damage (in the form of higher hit & crit rate.)

On top of ship range, special abilities (the captain, first officer, and ship can all have one special ability), AA fire, and Fighter launches, these three commands are the core of combat in Infinite Space.

 

[botticus]

I really want to enjoy this game, and at times I do, but other times (like right now) I'm just flying aimlessly between planets, not earning enough money to do any upgrades and not finding anything that will help me advance the story. If it's going to remain this obtuse for 40+ hours, I don't really think I have the resolve to keep moving.

 

[Llyranor]

.


Is the combat real time, turn based or some sort of hybrid? It looks compelling but I don't care for real time rpgs on the DS all that much.

It's basically ATB.

 

[WreckTheLaw]

I really want to enjoy this game, and at times I do, but other times (like right now) I'm just flying aimlessly between planets, not earning enough money to do any upgrades and not finding anything that will help me advance the story. If it's going to remain this obtuse for 40+ hours, I don't really think I have the resolve to keep moving.

Where are you at in the story? For the most part whatever story bit you had last should leave some clue as to where to go next, often in yellow text.

 

[Danthrax]

Okay, first of all, take the direct route. You're an aspiring space hero, not a real-world military man. This will pay off later.

Edit: This goes for about every decision in the game. Non-specific advice in spoilers:

Spoiler

Yuri is an anime style space captain, which means he hovers between Paragon and Renegade, but almost always will take the risky decision. He's tough when he needs to be, because he's a god damned captain. And while he hates the thought of death for no reason, he doesn't mind killing those who he thinks deserve it. Follow this basic set of ideas and you'll unlock all sorts of bonus fame and XP throughout.

Second: Do you understand the mechanical relationship between dodge, barrage, and normal? And are you sure all of your guns are within range? I can't really remember that battle in terms of specific strategy - I'm about 30 hours in now - but if I remember right the trick is watching his battle gauge, making sure that you're in dodge mode just as he goes into red, dodging his special and countering with your barrage (Yuri's special attack hasn't unlocked yet, has it?)

It may also involve dodging in and out of range so that you can generate the command gauge that you need to without getting peppered with shots.

Thanks for all of that. But yes, I understand how dodge, barrage and normal work with each other. I tried using both normal and barrage attacks at the appropriate times like in all the other battles I've had, and they were like MISS MISS MISS MISS 60 damage MISS MISS MISS. Normally I miss maybe once during an attack.

I guess it's plausible I wasn't paying enough attention to having all my guns within range so I'll try to make sure of that next time I attempt the battle. Kinda sucks I have to go through the three dudes first, unless I don't when I choose the direct route?

 

[magiustra]

Normal costs yellow level command gauge, does standard damage.

Barrage costs red (twice as much as Normal), but fires all weapons three times instead of two.

Dodge makes barrages and special attacks completely miss. But it makes normal attacks do bonus damage (in the form of higher hit & crit rate.)

On top of ship range, special abilities (the captain, first officer, and ship can all have one special ability), AA fire, and Fighter launches, these three commands are the core of combat in Infinite Space.

Thanks space captain!

 

[Lafiel]

Great game, i wasn't to hot about it in the first hour. But after playing it for three hours i'm hooked now. For the space opera / sci-fic buff in me, this is pretty much my dream game.

My only problem with the game so far, is the overall lack of direction, some story-progression parts can be really obscure. And i've been stuck a couple of times, because of it. Speaking of which i just (ch 2 spoilers)

Spoiler

beat the pirates in ch 2, however i can't can't go into the void gate that takes me to the 'central' area, yuri keeps saying i haft to find the "epitaph" however i've went to all the available planet several times and can't find it.>_>

.

 

[botticus]

Where are you at in the story? For the most part whatever story bit you had last should leave some clue as to where to go next, often in yellow text.

I'm in Chapter 3.

Spoiler

Need deflector shields to get through the asteroids to get at the pirates or to find the old dude in the "remote frontier" of Lutsk, which is apparently remote enough that it's not any of the locations on my map.

 

[sohois]

I'm in Chapter 3.

Spoiler

Need deflector shields to get through the asteroids to get at the pirates or to find the old dude in the "remote frontier" of Lutsk, which is apparently remote enough that it's not any of the locations on my map.

Spoiler

You can't get deflector shields until you find the old guy and resolve the dispute. I can't remember the name of the planet he's on, it begins with an N an is the furthest left planet in the first area of Lutsk. You really should have sought him out beforehand because he would have upgraded to Yuri to allow 2 ships in your fleet.

 

[botticus]

Spoiler

You can't get deflector shields until you find the old guy and resolve the dispute. I can't remember the name of the planet he's on, it begins with an N an is the furthest left planet in the first area of Lutsk. You really should have sought him out beforehand because he would have upgraded to Yuri to allow 2 ships in your fleet.

I've already gotten that upgrade so at least I know he exists!

I guess the only remaining question is why did they give you two quests to take on when you have to do one in order to progress through the other?

 

[CrichtonKicks]

I've already gotten that upgrade so at least I know he exists!

Spoiler

Lusk is the area that Chapter 2 took place in. You have to go back through the Void Gate.

 

[Woo-Fu]

What encounter are you at? And have you tried Carriers yet?

Spoiler

The Taurus battlestation. Yeah, I've been using carriers ever since they became available. I just needed another carrier and to upgrade my modules in both carriers and both battleships. 120 multi-role fighters took the battlestation down, but I did lose one of my battleships. That thing can 1-hit Erebus battleships with 125 armor and 6000 durability and was also 1-hitting my old Eberlin carrier even in the third row. That is why I had to do a lot of grinding.

From all that grinding I found something out. You get a free blueprint when you break into the top 100 in ranking, and another for each 10 ranks you move up after that, and a final one for the top rank. The awards won't trigger until you go into and out of the ranking list.

 

[Mejilan]

Thanks for all of that. But yes, I understand how dodge, barrage and normal work with each other. I tried using both normal and barrage attacks at the appropriate times like in all the other battles I've had, and they were like MISS MISS MISS MISS 60 damage MISS MISS MISS. Normally I miss maybe once during an attack.

I guess it's plausible I wasn't paying enough attention to having all my guns within range so I'll try to make sure of that next time I attempt the battle. Kinda sucks I have to go through the three dudes first, unless I don't when I choose the direct route?

Sounds to me that you're targeting an enemy flagship protected by at least one other front-line ship. Just so you know, when you're fighting an enemy fleet (versus a sole enemy ship), the game always defaults to targeting the flagship. You need to manually tap on the front-line ship, destroy it, then work your way back to the flagship. The enemy ship icons are on the upper left hand corner of the touch screen. The orange icon = selected enemy ship. Gray icon = destroyed enemy ship. Blue icons = valid enemy ships. Below the each icon you'll see little arrows in one of three positions. This indicates if said ship is in the front line, the middle row, or the back row. Enemy flagships are almost always in the back row.

If all front-line enemy ships get destroyed, then all remaining enemy ships move up one row. The more ships are between you and your target, the shittier your accuracy. If you're whiffing 9/10 shots, that's a good sign that you aren't targeting the proper ship. Working your way from the front of the enemy lines to the back is WAY faster than gunning straight for the enemy flagship. Unless you're ridiculously overpowered, I suppose.

 

[Mejilan]

I've already gotten that upgrade so at least I know he exists!

I guess the only remaining question is why did they give you two quests to take on when you have to do one in order to progress through the other?

As mentioned, he's in the Lutsk sector (second area, IIRC) and his name as it shows up in the tavern list is 'Gen Niday' if I'm not mistaken. I happened to do his quest before the Balik one because I figured it'd be easier than tackling the pirates.

 

[The Technomancer]

Hm, after the positive 1up review, I'm thinking of giving this another look. I'm a huge epic sci-fi fan, so..

 

[Mejilan]

So you'll probably enjoy it. Theme is one of the game's strong suits.
Edit - Really surprised this thread cracked 300 posts and is approaching the halfway point to 400.

 

[Woo-Fu]

I'm a huge epic sci-fi fan, so..

In terms of atmosphere it feels a lot like early games in the Wing Commander series, with Japanese-flavored character design and humor. It also reminds me of the Front Mission series in various ways.

 

[botticus]

Hooray, cut through all the pirates. Now that I actually know how melee battles work (I thought you had to wait for the meter to fill up before choosing a command) I won't have to worry too much about that moving forward.

 

[Enduin]

I picked this up yesterday on a whim and good god do I love it. In the past two days I've played over 20 hours and just finished chap 8. There are technically a lot of little issues with the game but the core sysytems and setting are so damn amazing I don't care about it's shortcomings. I really hope this does well enough for a sequel because it's a truely great game.

Also I hate and don't bother with AA or fighters, though I may try them again now that I can have a fourth ship but so far I've found them to be useless.

 

[Danthrax]

Sounds to me that you're targeting an enemy flagship protected by at least one other front-line ship. Just so you know, when you're fighting an enemy fleet (versus a sole enemy ship), the game always defaults to targeting the flagship. You need to manually tap on the front-line ship, destroy it, then work your way back to the flagship. The enemy ship icons are on the upper left hand corner of the touch screen. The orange icon = selected enemy ship. Gray icon = destroyed enemy ship. Blue icons = valid enemy ships. Below the each icon you'll see little arrows in one of three positions. This indicates if said ship is in the front line, the middle row, or the back row. Enemy flagships are almost always in the back row.

If all front-line enemy ships get destroyed, then all remaining enemy ships move up one row. The more ships are between you and your target, the shittier your accuracy. If you're whiffing 9/10 shots, that's a good sign that you aren't targeting the proper ship. Working your way from the front of the enemy lines to the back is WAY faster than gunning straight for the enemy flagship. Unless you're ridiculously overpowered, I suppose.

I picked up on all of that stuff. I'm pretty sure there was just one ship. Like I said, though, once I feel up to tackling the mission again (I've been taking a break with Pokémon SoulSilver and, shudder, Red Steel 1) I'll try to pay more attention to what's going on in the battle — perhaps there WERE other ships and I didn't see them. I was kinda nervous when I got to Balik since it took me three tries to get through the ambush in the asteroid field and I only had about half my health entering the fight. And then it tells me he has missiles that go through my shields?! I was like "fuuuuu-"

Thanks for your help though.

 

[Katbot]

Hm, after the positive 1up review, I'm thinking of giving this another look. I'm a huge epic sci-fi fan, so..

You should! It's great!

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Infinite Spaces is making me want to play my DS. In most cases I'll start a DS game and play it very infrequently, IS keeps bringing me back however. Trying to decide if I want to upgrade to a DSxl, would help with some the very small font in Infintie Space.

 

[Volcynika]

X-Play's Review: Link

The Pros

-Clever ship-building minigame
-Unique space combat
-Epic scale

The Cons

-General lack of polish
-Slow start and unclear objectives
-Plenty of cut corners

 

[Fragamemnon]

So you'll probably enjoy it. Theme is one of the game's strong suits.
Edit - Really surprised this thread cracked 300 posts and is approaching the halfway point to 400.

I'm thinking this thread has a really slow but steady burn. Game is really long, really unique, and its thematic elements are compelling enough to draw in people who normally might not play a game on a DS, or at least not a lengthy RPG.

Reception here actually reminds me a of Space Rangers 2 on the PC, a game with throwback core mechanics and a ton of customization, where the draw was much more the 'explore outer space and become uber!' theme than it was the actual mechanics of play.

 

[Mejilan]

That said, the mechanics are pretty good too though, IMHO!
Edit - But I am impressed that this thread didn't die a quick death and totally lack any enthusiasm!