FTL

Finally, something to break my Spelunky addiction. I would love to see a tabletop/boardgame version of FTL, the game lends itself very well to role play. I spent most of last night with friends narrating our playthrough in a Firefly-esque fashion. Two sectors took us about 1.5 hours, I can't wait to do it again!

mr_n00b wrote:

Finally, something to break my Spelunky addiction. I would love to see a tabletop/boardgame version of FTL, the game lends itself very well to role play. I spent most of last night with friends narrating our playthrough in a Firefly-esque fashion. Two sectors took us about 1.5 hours, I can't wait to do it again!

I think you mean http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3... (I've never played it, but have heard FTL called a digital version of this, and I think I read it inspired the creators)

absurddoctor wrote:
mr_n00b wrote:

Finally, something to break my Spelunky addiction. I would love to see a tabletop/boardgame version of FTL, the game lends itself very well to role play. I spent most of last night with friends narrating our playthrough in a Firefly-esque fashion. Two sectors took us about 1.5 hours, I can't wait to do it again!

I think you mean http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3... (I've never played it, but have heard FTL called a digital version of this, and I think I read it inspired the creators)

I actually think BattleStations is more like FTL than Space Alert, though Space Alert has the real-time element to it. Or rather, I saw FTL as a real-time version of Battlestations.

Yeah, actually, it does have a boardgamy feel to it, doesn't it?

Certis wrote:
Tamren wrote:
Certis wrote:

I can consistently get close to the end on Normal at this point. I don't want to finish it on Normal any time soon. Once I do that, I might feel done with the game. To me FTL isn't really about finishing per say.

With what ships? Maybe it's just the Kestrel that I'm having trouble with. The other other one I have tried in the Engi variants and the Red Tail.

I tend toward the Alternate Kestrel variant. You really gotta reach for some missle weapons by sector 4 or so.

Ah, that would be the Red Tail. It's a nice ship! I think part of what is hard about playing as the default Kestrel on normal is that you only have humans for crew. When I play with the other ships I always see more blue events pop up.

Reminds me mostly of Battlestar Galactica.

Caved in and bought it. Not an easy game.

Working night shifts this week, and started a game half an hour before heading off for work.
Now craving getting back to my game like you wouldn't believe. This game is so addictive.

Until now I've been playing pretty much as far as if I engage in combat, I rarely (if ever) have jumped out.
But I'm thinking I need to change this approach, looking instead at my hull points lost as cash lost, and will come up with a simple algorithm to assess how much damage I'm likely to take relative to reward and reassess during combat.
Does anybody do this in combat, or only jump out when it feels like its getting a little hot?

troubleshot wrote:

Does anybody do this in combat, or only jump out when it feels like its getting a little hot?

Principally check the enemy ship's shields and hull points, then glance over it's weapons and room types to see what kind of battle it'll be (do I have the right defenses/weapons). Then I make an educated guess about whether I can take it out with out too much fuss. If I don't think I'll be able to then I'll either turn down the fight or plan to jump as soon as it's available. I haven't worked it out algorithmically but I'd imagine you can usually afford to take around 3 - 8 hull points of damage given what you'll usually earn from a fight (you'd need to adjust for the likelihood of finding a store, and for the amount you're trying to save for big purchases)

Maq wrote:

Reminds me mostly of Battlestar Galactica.

I named my Fed Cruiser the Galactica. Sadly, got badly mauled at the drone stage.

You guys were right, boarding is awesome.

That is all.

Edit: Are there any ships where the boarding bay is a 2x2 instead of a 1x2?

I generally go with HMS Marathon or HMS Vasa

e2a: What was the default ship name in Sentinel Worlds? Turtle Flinger?

Yonder wrote:

You guys were right, boarding is awesome.

All my boarding attempts thus far have been ignominious in the extreme

Finally beat the flagship last night on easy with the Engie ship. I never found a store or got an event that gave me another crew member, but I did end up with the fabled dual ion blaster mk2 combined with L2 defense and attack drones. It was so easy I wondered why I had so much trouble the other dozen times I fought the flagship. Next up I'll have to try this 'boarding' everyone is raving about. Teleporters are just so expensive!

Good advice DanB.

Also, I'm yet to try boarding. Interested in the whole wiping a ship out by other means. Am I right in the understanding that if everyone on board and enemy ship is dead then the battle ends and you garner more than the usual scrap reward? Any other goodies gained this way? Weapons, drones etc?

Any beginner advice? Almost got through the first map on normal.
Should I try to discover most parts? And still stay ahead of things of course.
One time I got drones, but couldn't use them. Not sure why.

Yonder wrote:

You guys were right, boarding is awesome.

That is all.

Edit: Are there any ships where the boarding bay is a 2x2 instead of a 1x2?

The alternate layout of the the mantis ship, the Basilisk has a 2x2 teleporter room to start with and boarding drones. It is awesome.

troubleshot wrote:

Good advice DanB.

Also, I'm yet to try boarding. Interested in the whole wiping a ship out by other means. Am I right in the understanding that if everyone on board and enemy ship is dead then the battle ends and you garner more than the usual scrap reward? Any other goodies gained this way? Weapons, drones etc?

More scrap for killing all the on board crew rather than destroying the ship. Other potential rewards for killing the crew with a boarding party. There's something especially ghoulish about disabling your opponent's ship and then waiting out their oxygen supplies.

Sparhawk wrote:

Any beginner advice? Almost got through the first map on normal.
Should I try to discover most parts? And still stay ahead of things of course.
One time I got drones, but couldn't use them. Not sure why.

I'm still in the beginner phase but I've unlocked a couple of ships and can fairly consistently get to sector 7.

1) Start playing on easy to unlock things
2) You can't visit everywhere in a sector because of the advancing rebel fleet
3) I usually head straight towards the exit.
4) For the first 3-4 sectors, when I get to the exit area I'll explore all the nearby jump points around the exit until the rebel fleet is too close, thus maximising my scrap collection
5) I usually abandon that in the later sectors when the fights are more punishing
6) I always check any distress beacons I pass, although I assume with different events odds on Normal that probably isn't advisable.
7) Unlock the basic Engi ship asap.

Minor boarding tip for automated ships:

Spoiler:

Rockmen have so much life that even with a level 1 teleporter they can just barely survive a round trip with no oxygen. Still dangerous though, as if the teleporter is damaged they will be screwed, and it there is no oxygen in the teleportation room when they return you will also be in a lot of trouble.

How to I give my crew weapons to fight boarding parties?
And where do I buy something to install and use drones?

Thanks so far DanB

Sparhawk wrote:

How to I give my crew weapons to fight boarding parties?

They already have weapons on them

Sparhawk wrote:

And where do I buy something to install and use drones?

Some ship layouts start with drone control, sometimes you can buy it at stores.

It is unfortunate I can't control the boarding drone once he gets to the other ship, or even pick what room he crashes into.

Nevin73 wrote:

It is unfortunate I can't control the boarding drone once he gets to the other ship, or even pick what room he crashes into.

I prefer to think of him as an autonomous metal Tasmanian devil of death, whirling insensibly through metal, electronics, and flesh alike leaving nothing but destruction and a faint whimpering sound in his wake.

DanB wrote:
Sparhawk wrote:

How to I give my crew weapons to fight boarding parties?

They already have weapons on them

Sparhawk wrote:

And where do I buy something to install and use drones?

Some ship layouts start with drone control, sometimes you can buy it at stores.

Drone control is an extra system you have to buy in a store, and then it will show up to the right of your weapon system display. Keep in mind that every time you click a drone to activate it, you will use one Drone Part. And, AFAIK, they don't carry over after a jump, so you have to deploy them again if you need them. Also, Drones need available power to run, similarly to the weapon system. You can use the ship inventory screen to control which drones you have available for use at a given time, again, like weapons.

Mixolyde wrote:
DanB wrote:
Sparhawk wrote:

How to I give my crew weapons to fight boarding parties?

They already have weapons on them

Sparhawk wrote:

And where do I buy something to install and use drones?

Some ship layouts start with drone control, sometimes you can buy it at stores.

Drone control is an extra system you have to buy in a store, and then it will show up to the right of your weapon system display. Keep in mind that every time you click a drone to activate it, you will use one Drone Part. And, AFAIK, they don't carry over after a jump, so you have to deploy them again if you need them. Also, Drones need available power to run, similarly to the weapon system. You can use the ship inventory screen to control which drones you have available for use at a given time, again, like weapons.

Anti-personnel and system repair drones will stay on the ship after a jump. You can deactivate and reactivate them as necessary without using up more drone parts.

I think the Hull Repair Drone is a bit of a waste. He only repairs a little bit of hull damage and then uses up a Drone Part. Drone Recovery Arm doesn't seem to work with it either.

There's a ship system, forgot it's name, that allows you to take back deployed drones after the fight (if they're not destroyed in the fight). So you get back the drone parts.

Gah, drone stage killed me again. I think I spread out my upgrades too much and should have focused on upgrading key systems only.

Nevin73 wrote:

I think the Hull Repair Drone is a bit of a waste. He only repairs a little bit of hull damage and then uses up a Drone Part. Drone Recovery Arm doesn't seem to work with it either.

LIKE HELL IT ISN'T!. Don't you realize that the hull repair drone is the only way to fix the ship outside of the store and random events? All you need is 10 drone parts and you can repair your ship up to full anywhere and anytime.