FTL

Beat it for the first time last night! Or, let me clarify, I beat the first stage of the final boss for the first time, and then went on to finish it off entirely. I used a cloak to hide from its special attacks and breach bomb II's to keep the missile launchers down. Other than that it was just a matter of maintenance.

Man, I *love* Zoltan B type. I just wrecked the game on my first playthrough with that ship.

Also, this marked my least number of crew members to reach the final sector ever - at four. I only ever got two guys to join my ship, but I lost two as well. Upgraded doors are the only way I was able to survive against boarders.

I used the dual Ion cannons with the beam for a good while. Eventually I had to swap out the beam for a laser. By S7 I was running with four lasers and an anti-ship drone, which was pretty brutal.

For the boss fight, beware of teleporting into the non-isolated part of the ship during stage 1 because the flagship's cloaking device will mess up your timing. I lost a veteran boarding party that way and had to use my "backup" boarding party for stages 2 and 3.

Man, Crystal type B is another ship that I have a world of trouble with. The 4-pad teleporter paired with crystal dudes is great, but the lack of a starting weapon (and the very steep cost to add another bar to the weapon system) leaves you incredibly vulnerable to unmanned ships.

Zoltan Shielded ships are also brutal when you play this ship.

Sometimes I feel like this game is intentionally screwing with me. I had a pretty good Zoltan ship going with a nice assortment of weapons and lots of shielding, but no drones and no crew beyond my starting 3. What does the game throw at me? Mantises with teleporters, frickin everywhere I went. I ended up having to upgrade my doors and 02 so I could just flush most of the air out of my ship every time a squad of mantises beamed in.

What an awesome run. I unlocked alternate Kestrel layout, Mantis ship and Frigate, all in one game. Moreover, I killed the boss for the first time. On easy, I admit. Time for normal, after 40 hours of play, I guess.

Scrap Recovery Arm costs 50 scrap. It's a 10% bonus. Most scrap drops are 10-25. If you're doing 8-10 jumps per sector, it could take a TON of time to make back the money you spent on it.

Am I doing my math wrong, or does the Scrap Recovery Arm have a solid "DON'T BUY" status?

Ariskany Evan wrote:

Scrap Recovery Arm costs 50 scrap. It's a 10% bonus. Most scrap drops are 10-25. If you're doing 8-10 jumps per sector, it could take a TON of time to make back the money you spent on it.

Am I doing my math wrong, or does the Scrap Recovery Arm have a solid "DON'T BUY" status?

I haven't crunched any numbers, but the scrap payouts in later sectors are much higher than 10-25. It more than pays off by sector 5 or so.

Ariskany Evan wrote:

Scrap Recovery Arm costs 50 scrap. It's a 10% bonus. Most scrap drops are 10-25. If you're doing 8-10 jumps per sector, it could take a TON of time to make back the money you spent on it.

Am I doing my math wrong, or does the Scrap Recovery Arm have a solid "DON'T BUY" status?

If you board a lot, it pays off very quickly.

Ariskany Evan wrote:

Scrap Recovery Arm costs 50 scrap. It's a 10% bonus. Most scrap drops are 10-25. If you're doing 8-10 jumps per sector, it could take a TON of time to make back the money you spent on it.

Am I doing my math wrong, or does the Scrap Recovery Arm have a solid "DON'T BUY" status?

I don't think it's worth it generally, even though the math may seem to favor it. That 50 scrap could have been used for some other kind of upgrade, which might have allowed you to save money in other ways (saving repair costs, missiles, drones, etc) or even save your life.

Aside from that, it not only costs the scrap, but it also fills up a slot that could have been used for something that actually helps you in combat (see above).

About the Scrap Recovery Arm (SRA), remember that scrap drops increase as you get further into the game. You'll get 10-20 in the early sectors, and 40-50 in the late sectors. Naturally, the earlier you buy a SRA the more effective it is. Also, 8-10 jumps per sector seems a bit low. You should be aiming for 10-12 jumps per sector.

My in-game stats show that during a typical (successful) run I collect ~2000 scrap over ~90 jumps, of which ~35 are combat encounters. So let's call that 40%, or 800 scrap from combat, so that's 80 scrap from the SRA. Add in the 40 from the special encounter that lets you use the SRA for mining, it turns out to be a reasonable (but perhaps not game-breakingly good) investment. And yes, there's an opportunity cost, as with buying any augmentation or system upgrade.

If at a shop and given a choice between a crew teleporter and a scrap recovery arm, I'm buying the teleporter, but there are always tradeoffs.

muttonchop wrote:

I feel like this game is intentionally screwing with me.

Yup. Pretty much why I quit after unlocking the Rock ship. How many iterations of the mechanics am I expected to master to make up for the lack of more content and scenarios? I'll look forward to their next game until then.

Scrap recovery arm: if you see one available in sectors 1-5: BUY! Even sell things if necessary. Only if you see them in 6-7 is it too late to really get much out of them. I had two of them before sector 4 once....had a fully maxed out ship before long, and my choice of all weapons, crew, and droids.

Infernarl wrote:

Has any one else played Sarah Northway's Rebuild and feel that it has a similar feel to FTL?

Played it and if by you mean feel = randomness, then yes. However, unlike rebuild once you get mid/late game in FTL your game can still go south (jump into a star, get boarded, jump, oxygen and doors are damaged while having to fight an enemy ship).

Thin_J wrote:

The endboss isn't fun. The rest of the game is... the endboss isn't. Have lost all drive to actually finish after getting there a couple times.

I think the problem is that the rest of the game doesn't teach you the tactics you need for the endboss. On the surface, all the pieces are familiar. But they're turbo-charged and combined in a unique way, plus each stage has a unique special power. There are some solid strategies to let you win, the only issue that you have to play through all 9 sectors before you can experiment with different plans of attack. There's some good tactics for the endboss in the thread, mostly spoiler tagged.

Quintin_Stone wrote:
Thin_J wrote:

The endboss isn't fun. The rest of the game is... the endboss isn't. Have lost all drive to actually finish after getting there a couple times.

I think the problem is that the rest of the game doesn't teach you the tactics you need for the endboss. On the surface, all the pieces are familiar. But they're turbo-charged and combined in a unique way, plus each stage has a unique special power. There are some solid strategies to let you win, the only issue that you have to play through all 9 sectors before you can experiment with different plans of attack. There's some good tactics for the endboss in the thread, mostly spoiler tagged.

It's a good point. If FTL were a more traditional rogue-like the sectors would be never ending, yet with a never ending difficulty curve that would eventually destroy you. I like that there's an ending, but it's a large enough spike in difficulty that it still requires that rogue-like treadmill. They could have sprinkled some mini-boss type encounters in to get you ready for some of the flagship's tactics, but I think it works this way.

No real design flaw from my perspective, so it comes down to whether or not you like that type of challenge.

I picked up this game last night, and in my first 2 games, I experienced the extremes.

My first game, I made it to the end, one jump from the boss battle.
My second game, I made it 3 jumps in before some mantids teleported onto my ship and started running roughshod over everything.

I also managed to unlock the Engi ship.

Squee9 wrote:

It's a good point. If FTL were a more traditional rogue-like the sectors would be never ending, yet with a never ending difficulty curve that would eventually destroy you. I like that there's an ending, but it's a large enough spike in difficulty that it still requires that rogue-like treadmill. They could have sprinkled some mini-boss type encounters in to get you ready for some of the flagship's tactics, but I think it works this way.

No real design flaw from my perspective, so it comes down to whether or not you like that type of challenge.

I wouldn't go so far as to call it a design flaw, but I don't really like the final boss. I think at this point he's only killed me once, because I now "build for the boss" - I have a general sense of the minimum I need to get in order to win. And that knowledge shapes how I approach the rest of the game.

I kind of wish the "boss" wasn't really a single boss, but rather a whole sector of extra hard random events. The fact that the boss is always the same kind of takes something away from the game to me.

An endless mode would be much appreciated too, though. Beating the boss with a really fun ship is actually kind of a letdown, since the game just stops afterward.

gore wrote:
Squee9 wrote:

It's a good point. If FTL were a more traditional rogue-like the sectors would be never ending, yet with a never ending difficulty curve that would eventually destroy you. I like that there's an ending, but it's a large enough spike in difficulty that it still requires that rogue-like treadmill. They could have sprinkled some mini-boss type encounters in to get you ready for some of the flagship's tactics, but I think it works this way.

No real design flaw from my perspective, so it comes down to whether or not you like that type of challenge.

I wouldn't go so far as to call it a design flaw, but I don't really like the final boss. I think at this point he's only killed me once, because I now "build for the boss" - I have a general sense of the minimum I need to get in order to win. And that knowledge shapes how I approach the rest of the game.

I kind of wish the "boss" wasn't really a single boss, but rather a whole sector of extra hard random events. The fact that the boss is always the same kind of takes something away from the game to me.

An endless mode would be much appreciated too, though. Beating the boss with a really fun ship is actually kind of a letdown, since the game just stops afterward.

Yeah this game definitely needs a few different modes: Endless Mode, Race Mode, Score Attack. That sort of thing, wouldn't be that much to change a patch or dlc would do it.

Itsatrap wrote:

About the Scrap Recovery Arm (SRA), remember that scrap drops increase as you get further into the game. You'll get 10-20 in the early sectors, and 40-50 in the late sectors. Naturally, the earlier you buy a SRA the more effective it is. Also, 8-10 jumps per sector seems a bit low. You should be aiming for 10-12 jumps per sector.

My in-game stats show that during a typical (successful) run I collect ~2000 scrap over ~90 jumps, of which ~35 are combat encounters. So let's call that 40%, or 800 scrap from combat, so that's 80 scrap from the SRA. Add in the 40 from the special encounter that lets you use the SRA for mining, it turns out to be a reasonable (but perhaps not game-breakingly good) investment. And yes, there's an opportunity cost, as with buying any augmentation or system upgrade.

If at a shop and given a choice between a crew teleporter and a scrap recovery arm, I'm buying the teleporter, but there are always tradeoffs.

Are you sure the Scrap Recovery Arm only gives you bonus scrap for combat encounters (and the special asteroid mining event)? I think it gives you +10% for almost all occasions where you get scrap (everything but selling items at a store).

grobstein wrote:
Itsatrap wrote:

About the Scrap Recovery Arm (SRA), remember that scrap drops increase as you get further into the game. You'll get 10-20 in the early sectors, and 40-50 in the late sectors. Naturally, the earlier you buy a SRA the more effective it is. Also, 8-10 jumps per sector seems a bit low. You should be aiming for 10-12 jumps per sector.

My in-game stats show that during a typical (successful) run I collect ~2000 scrap over ~90 jumps, of which ~35 are combat encounters. So let's call that 40%, or 800 scrap from combat, so that's 80 scrap from the SRA. Add in the 40 from the special encounter that lets you use the SRA for mining, it turns out to be a reasonable (but perhaps not game-breakingly good) investment. And yes, there's an opportunity cost, as with buying any augmentation or system upgrade.

If at a shop and given a choice between a crew teleporter and a scrap recovery arm, I'm buying the teleporter, but there are always tradeoffs.

Are you sure the Scrap Recovery Arm only gives you bonus scrap for combat encounters (and the special asteroid mining event)? I think it gives you +10% for almost all occasions where you get scrap (everything but selling items at a store).

This is my impression as well.

Picked this up yesterday and having serious amounts of fun with it. It's the Star Trek/BSG ship management game I never knew I wanted.

I like that there's an ending, but it's a large enough spike in difficulty that it still requires that rogue-like treadmill.

My personal description of FTL: "Nethack in space. 10 levels, under severe time pressure. Asmodeus is at the end."

grobstein wrote:

Are you sure the Scrap Recovery Arm only gives you bonus scrap for combat encounters (and the special asteroid mining event)? I think it gives you +10% for almost all occasions where you get scrap (everything but selling items at a store).

Oh, if it's a flat +10% across the board for everything, then it's pretty much a must-have upgrade, right behind teleporters and the long range sensors.

Keep in mind that you can also dump the SRA for 25 scrap when you're getting towards the end, run out of augmentation slots, or need an extra boost for a purchase. Great pickup in my book.

Still no official word either way, but I can confirm that cloud saves are working. At least for me. I switched from Windows XP to 7 and it copied my FTL profile automatically. I was all set to transfer it and the folder was already there. I noticed it did that for Spacechem too even though I haven't started that program yet.

Itsatrap wrote:
grobstein wrote:

Are you sure the Scrap Recovery Arm only gives you bonus scrap for combat encounters (and the special asteroid mining event)? I think it gives you +10% for almost all occasions where you get scrap (everything but selling items at a store).

Oh, if it's a flat +10% across the board for everything, then it's pretty much a must-have upgrade, right behind teleporters and the long range sensors.

Yes, you get bonus to everything that nets you scrap (including the events that allow you to exchange missiles/drone parts for scrap).

Alright Im a noob in this game. When they say explore each sector before you jump to the next... What does that mean? Cause when I find a pirate and survive, do I stay in that sector for a bit? Or is that sector over. I dont know how you explore.

Might be confusing as there are 30ish sytems in each sector. It pays to jump to as many solar systems in each sector as possible to maximize your potential gains in weapons, scrap, and crew.

Balthezor wrote:

Alright Im a noob in this game. When they say explore each sector before you jump to the next... What does that mean? Cause when I find a pirate and survive, do I stay in that sector for a bit? Or is that sector over. I dont know how you explore.

Basically, you want to jump around within the same system sector until the fleet takes it over and you're forced to move on anyway (or die, because they keep finding you). Exploring each system sector means you'll have encounters, become more powerful (assuming you survive them) and find new items at stores.

For example, occasionally you will have the option to "bribe this guy to delay the rebel fleet." It's almost always worth it to take an option that delays the rebel fleet, because that gives you more time to explore and gain loot. If you just rush to the exit in every system sector, you will be seriously underpowered by the end.

Edited: for clarity