SPAZ - Space Pirates and Zombies (SPAZ2 EA on Steam!)

It should definitely be added to your pile. Waiting for a possible daily deal is always a good policy with Steam, but it's still well worth $5 whether or not it does.

Yup. If it doesn't go on a daily deal, I'll still be snapping it up at $5.

pew pew zip bang. I don't know what I'm doing but I like going pew pew.

Well, didn't really enjoy the demo back at release. But after playing through the tutorial and messing around more in Sol now in the full game I was having more fun. So I kept building up my little group of 3 ships and doing more side missions to level up. And then headed to the next sector. Finished a main mission and some more sides. And bought some stuff. And now have some specialists.

And there were space zombies!

And... well now I think I'm hooked.

So thanks again to Malor for finally gifting this thing to me. Turns out it was worth all the buzz in here earlier, I just hadn't given it enough time.

I've hit kind of an impasse around level 20. I have two small hangars and one large one, and I'm flying a medium ship (yacht) along with two small ships (turtlehead and hatchet), but I've started to encounter large ships. The jump in power from medium to large seems WAY bigger than from small to medium but that could just be bad luck. Shops are randomly populated with blueprints, right? I have a whole lot of neat weapons that are only partially completed and have been scouring the galaxy for more. My best tier 2 weapon is an anti-shield beam, which is great until you actually get through the shields.

I can take on a large ship if I can get it alone and I have a healthy reserve of rez for rebuilding. About 600 will do. Right now it seems like my best option is to go to a system where large ships regularly spawn and throw everything I've got at them until I can finally build one of my own. I tried continuing the main storyline in the hopes it would unlock some more hangar space for me but this large "bus" ship shows up mid-mission and I don't think I'm powerful enough to take it out yet. Maybe I'll swap some things around and try again. I keep the Hatchet around mainly for automatically gathering rez and while the yacht is powerful and tough enough for most fights I have another medium ship that carries bombs. I also favor beam weapons and could probably get away with switching to cannons for a large target like that.

You're going to want to get some Large ship blueprints before continuing with the main storyline. Unfortunately, this means fighting large ships... normally. One way to get blueprints for ships is to go into a warzone between the military and the civilians. Let them beat each other up while you swoop in and claim wreckage.

This may be obvious, but the couple of times I've ran out of rez I've just gone to a mining station, switch my AI guys over to whatever cargo ship I can and then idle over the asteroid. Then I get to come back later to a maxed out rez hold.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

You're going to want to get some Large ship blueprints before continuing with the main storyline. Unfortunately, this means fighting large ships... normally. One way to get blueprints for ships is to go into a warzone between the military and the civilians. Let them beat each other up while you swoop in and claim wreckage.

I tend to play vulture in those fights, yeah. Just kind of sucks when a choice blueprint drops in a fight in which I have no part. They can be hard to track down.

That's a good tip, Mantis. I thought the miners instantly snagged all the crap they mined but maybe I can steal some.

By the way, I JUST noticed that shops with products get a little icon by them. Will that icon go away once you've checked the shop, or only after you've bought everything? I had to leave a cloaking device behind due to money concerns and I'm having trouble finding it again. Not that I really use cloaks...

No, there's definitely plenty of free rez floating around the frakked asteroid. Just make sure you haven't disabled the AI's gathering mode.

The "items for sell" icon definitely doesn't go away just by checking the shop. I do think it goes away after you buy them out though.

Yeah, it'll stay until you've bought it from them. Star systems on the main map will have a $ next to them if there's tech to buy.

That's good to know. Gonna go home and get me some firepower.

Sure wish I could find a new reactor to buy. I've researched up to level 6 reactor tech just trying to squeeze every joule out of that thing.

So what does it take to take out a hostile base?

I see there are achievements for such a task, 10 of them even. But I'm only level 15 in a mid-size ship with a couple small escorts still. I assume I'm way too low for that, even if I went back to one of the first systems?

Have a few large ship blueprints from missions, but nothing above 50% to build so far.

The size/strength of the base is based on the strength of the Civs or UTA in the sector. At zero sector security/strength the relevant base is a small outpost, the sort you may even be able to take out with a medium and two small ships. The best way to crack open the base you want is to undergo other missions that lower the security or strength of the system before you go on the attack.

You also need the right weapons. Station shields are tough and will only fall to overwhelming amounts of cannon and missile fire. Conversely once the shields are down beams will generally struggle to do more than scorch the paint.

Consider boarding them instead.

Just kind of sucks when a choice blueprint drops in a fight in which I have no part. They can be hard to track down.

Well, they always drop from destroyed ships, and you can hit spacebar during a battle and zoom way out to see where clumps of enemies are likely to end up battling. If you head there pronto, you can sail through and scoop up blueprints without needing to fight anyone.

Just be careful not to piss off one side, this is MUCH easier when you're neutral to friendly with both sides.

Yes, there is a really large toughness boost from medium to large, and then another major boost from large to huge.

In general, SPAZ is a game that doesn't handhold you. It's not wildly tough or anything, but it does nothing to teach you how to fight. You have to figure out the correct tactics on your own. If you're having trouble, yes, you could just be outgunned, but you could also be using the wrong approach. If you're having real trouble with your current tactics, try something completely different. Look into stealth, look into mines, look into turreted weapons, look into missiles. There are a LOT of different ways to kill bad guys, some of which can make it very difficult for the bad guys to even shoot back.

I'm not being specific, because figuring out tactics that work for you basically IS the game. If I told you what worked for me, it would A) artificially limit your thinking... my tactics are certainly not the only ones that could work, and B) suck a lot of the fun out of SPAZ.

Oh, and yes, Tamren is right -- stations are tough enough that you usually want to be using the right weapons. Beams tear down shields best, cannons work on armor, missiles destroy hulls. You can make any weapon work, but especially if you're right at the ragged edge on a given encounter, optimizing your damage efficiency can really help.

Also, leech beams are useful, especially turreted leech beams. Taking energy away from an enemy and giving it to yourself is a BIG deal.

Tamren wrote:

You also need the right weapons. Station shields are tough and will only fall to overwhelming amounts of cannon and missile fire. Conversely once the shields are down beams will generally struggle to do more than scorch the paint.

Consider boarding them instead.

Yeah good to know. I was mostly using beams so far since I got an upgraded beam in the very first station shop. But then I picked up an upgraded cannon in the next sector and tossed those on one of my AI ships.

Engines, reactor, and shields are all upgraded to the basic models at least. Slowly building up here. Need some better missiles I guess. But the last two systems I have explored have had 0 things for sale.

What do you mean about boarding? I can dock at hostile stations, but usually that's just an option to shop, or to bribe for improved relations or gate access.

Stele wrote:

What do you mean about boarding? I can dock at hostile stations, but usually that's just an option to shop, or to bribe for improved relations or gate access. :?

There are some weapon mounts that shoot a boarding ship full of soldiers, which will plunder your target from the inside.

LobsterMobster wrote:

There are some weapon mounts that shoot a boarding ship full of soldiers, which will plunder your target from the inside.

Moving along. Got one large ship unlocked, and doing very well with that. Did another story mission or two, but still haven't got a mothership upgrade. Starting to want some Med hulls for my wingmen or something.

Ah well. Definitely having fun. Seeing a whole lot of space, and grabbing as many items as I can. Nearing level 30 so I should probably head back and work on some story mission. But the exploration is a lot of fun so far.

I'm in about the same spot as Stele. My two little sidekicks are now flying Ranger-class ships, which have two launchers, two small guns, and nothing else. They have heavy armor on the front and sides and medium armor on the back, just to be slightly more economical as their primary function is to explode. They can still make a difference in a fight, but only when we're up against a single ship that's targeting my main ship.

I finally fought my way to a Right Hook. The thing is surprisingly hard to fly (possibly due to the off-center engine) but with full heavy armor it's extremely durable. I put a laser booster in the utility slot, a reactor booster in the missile slot, and three tier 2 lasers in its three gun slots. I no longer need to approach large ships with any sort of caution. The last time I lost my Right Hook was when I was fighting another large ship with about six medium ships flying escort. I've since unlocked the Helix and the Mule but so far I'm sticking with the Right Hook. It's powerful enough that I've been fighting my way into systems four or five levels higher than me.

Just about everyone in the galaxy hates me. Something to do with my habit of attacking friendly ships if I want their blueprints, or shooting my way through every single checkpoint no matter how much the UTA likes me.

I took Mantis's advice and did a little mining but since I can't figure out a way to relinquish control of all three of my ships I tend to sit on top of the asteroid with one of the small ones. The mining laser kept pushing me gently in various directions until I remapped the "Stabilize" function to the capslock key. Now it's a toggle so I can maintain my position hands-free.

LiquidMantis wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

There are some weapon mounts that shoot a boarding ship full of soldiers, which will plunder your target from the inside.

:hump:

Hail yeah!

Those big ships are hard to maneuver.

If I can get that one that's just a frame covered in turrets I won't need to do much maneuvering.

That's called a space station.

Has anyone seen any news on official mod support?

LiquidMantis wrote:

That's called a space station.

Has anyone seen any news on official mod support?

There's a large ship that looks like a letter A that has bunches of turrets, too. It's called the Crawler.

Keep in mind that you don't have to go full up on Heavy Armor, that can make for a very slow, unwieldy ship, depending on your engine. Try putting medium armor in the rear, or even the sides as well, and see how it affects your surviveability.

Yeah since I'm using beam weapons mostly it seems like the front is the only place I need heavy armor.

Flying the same Right Hook Lobster mentioned. Almost got the Helix unlocked, which I am curious about. I have a hard time hitting that low profile sometimes, but not sure if the AI will have the same difficulty hitting me.

Yeah, the Helix is pretty flimsy and I've found the big bomb it carries to do plenty of damage to my own ships, but not nearly enough to the enemy.

I read that in order to get my next hangar upgrade I need to destroy a huge ship. So, guess I'd better enjoy this feeling of power (or even just parity) before I go back to having my ass handed to me.

Picked this up during the holiday sale after fighting not to do so. Already thrown 6 hours at it and stayed up to 1am last night playing. I haven't gotten to the first capacitor yet, though. I spent the whole time expanding the explored areas. I tell you, though. Trying to get through an area many levels above you, to get to the one many levels below you on the other side can be a pain, especially when the UTA doesn't like you much to begin with. At least I picked up my first right hook blueprint, and from what I'm reading from you guys I'm happy I did.

Guess I'll be reading some of the last few pages to see if I'm overlooking things (like boarding).

LobsterMobster wrote:

Yeah, the Helix is pretty flimsy and I've found the big bomb it carries to do plenty of damage to my own ships, but not nearly enough to the enemy.

So... I really love the Helix.

I don't use the bomb, but drop a turret off instead. Whatever the tier 2 one is (snowball on the holiday mod), I can have 2 of them out at a time. They are like another wingman most times, pew-pew-ing the smaller ships so I can focus and waste the large ones myself.

I've had no problem taking down level 0, and 1 space stations. I did just manage to take down a level 2 one as well, but I lost my main ship once, and my wingmen multiple times. Not sure it was really worth the cost. But I wanted the upgrade, and I'm tired of paying ludicrous goon amounts on bribes for gates too. Screw the UTA!

Anyway, one more gate until I can pick up the story mission again. I think I've over-explored a bit, as I'm level 34 or so, and the mission system is only 25.