Is "Instant Death" a Common Part of the Game?

[shadowcrust]

Ok, let's say you are right. Then what's the fun in playing a game you're guaranteed to win virtually every time if you're skilled enough and where you've most likely seen every kind of encounter before? Game over. It's like playing Monkey Island 100 times in a row because this time the Sword Master may start with a different pun.

And while I don't say I win every time I start the game and I think you guys are a bit exaggerating (with the Vortex, I had a lucky streak of losing about 10 games in row in encounters that cost a crew member while still only having a single crew member), I consider Normal mode more or less Game over as well. It's not enough of a challenge anymore.

So let's hope that Hard mode will regularly kill also the most skilled players to get that rogue feeling back. Or let's play another game

[5thHorseman]

Ok, let's say you are right. Then what's the fun in playing a game you're guaranteed to win virtually every time if you're skilled enough and where you've most likely seen every kind of encounter before? Game over. It's like playing Monkey Island 100 times in a row because this time the Sword Master may start with a different pun.

Honestly, there sometimes isn't any. If I wasn't recording videos I'd probably quit whenever I got my ship final-boss ready. However, the game is still fun and still throws you curves. Just because you're sure you can handle them doesn't mean handling them isn't fun.

So let's hope that Hard mode will regularly kill also the most skilled players to get that rogue feeling back. Or let's play another game

Yeah I'm really looking forward to hard mode. If I lose over half my games I'll be the happiest guy on the forums

[spacecadet13]

So, this thread starts out with one guy complaining that the game is too cruel and dishes out unfair 'instant death' too often to be fun, and evolves into discussions about how the game is easy ...

Me, I still lose often enough on Normal to be on my toes, so to speak, and not take it for granted that I'm gonna make the flagship each time. Hell, I got wiped out first jump with the Basilisk - the freaking Basilisk! - just recently (D Drone misses the very first missile from the Auto Assault ship, which of course hits the drone control room. Second missile; shield room. Which shortly afterwards gets set on fire by a Burst Laser II round. The BL2 then takes out the helm, and sets back the painfully slow Mantis repair of the drone control. Now shields were down, and the shield room was fully ablaze, so when the next missile took out the engine, I just sat back and watched. It wasn't long.)

I don't think there was much I could have done differently that would have saved me - if anything - and I'm OK with that. Cruel, unfair defeats make the victories all the sweeter. I haven't played Easy for ages now, because there's no risk or challenge to it, and the ever-present risk of "rogue-like permadeath" (TM) was what hooked me into FTL in the first place. If I get the point where I can play Normal with any ship and feel like I can't lose, that would probably be the point where I'd stop playing. But it sounds like Hard mode can't get here soon enough for some!

[shadowcrust]

To add insult to injury to the original poster (sorry!), after some reflection I think I actually mostly agree with the assessment that virtually all games can be won with any ship. My example with repeated losses with the Vortex was bad, as the losses were mostly (completely?) due to my normal playing style of accepting all challenges and helping everyone asking for help and never jumping out of a fight unless there's simply no chance of winning. Having only one crewman in the beginning and prioritising survival, one can simply skip all events that risk your crew and still be able to win comfortably (albeit with a lower score, which is a big deal for me, as you might have guessed ).

[Twinge]

Ok, let's say you are right. Then what's the fun in playing a game you're guaranteed to win virtually every time if you're skilled enough and where you've most likely seen every kind of encounter before? Game over. It's like playing Monkey Island 100 times in a row because this time the Sword Master may start with a different pun.

How appropriate. you fight like a cow.


It mostly isn't fun to play normally for me anymore, so I don't. I did the 18-win streak because I was tired of how many people claim the game is luck-heavy and decided to put forth solid proof it wasn't. If I play FTL anymore, it'll be with some self-imposed challenge, and then the fun is seeing if I can still pull off the victory with the extra restrictions and difficulty.

[RAD-82]

I did the 18-win streak because I was tired of how many people claim the game is luck-heavy and decided to put forth solid proof it wasn't.

Random = Luck! I'll take this quote from spacecadet13 over your win streak. It's enough to put cracks into your solid proof.

Me, I still lose often enough on Normal to be on my toes, so to speak, and not take it for granted that I'm gonna make the flagship each time. Hell, I got wiped out first jump with the Basilisk - the freaking Basilisk! - just recently (D Drone misses the very first missile from the Auto Assault ship, which of course hits the drone control room. Second missile; shield room. Which shortly afterwards gets set on fire by a Burst Laser II round. The BL2 then takes out the helm, and sets back the painfully slow Mantis repair of the drone control. Now shields were down, and the shield room was fully ablaze, so when the next missile took out the engine, I just sat back and watched. It wasn't long.)

Edit: Just for fun, I went back to the first post.

Are "instant death" encounters a common part of the game?

No. Instant death encounters are quite rare and are most likely to occur in the first sector before you have a chance to upgrade yourself.

[5thHorseman]

"Luck" implies (at least to me) that something bad was supposed to happen and you got lucky and avoided it. Like you had 10% dodge and that ship-killing missile missed.

Having your defense drone shoot a missile that would have hit your drone system, which would then start a chain reaction that causes you to lose in the first jump is NOT luck. The drone shooting the missile is the default. What happened to spacecadet13 was BAD luck. You expect the good thing to happen (drone shoots missile) and it did not.

I can't personally remember the last time I lost where I honestly thought I didn't do anything wrong. Not in hindsight, mind you. Just an honest appraisal of my play. Can you win 100% of the time with 100% perfect play? Of course not. But that doesn't mean you need "luck" to win a vast, vast majority of the time.

[shadowcrust]

How appropriate. you fight like a cow.

But it seems the community is milking YOU for answers how to properly play the game.

[Kenshkrix]

"Luck" implies (at least to me) that something bad was supposed to happen and you got lucky and avoided it. Like you had 10% dodge and that ship-killing missile missed.

Having your defense drone shoot a missile that would have hit your drone system, which would then start a chain reaction that causes you to lose in the first jump is NOT luck. The drone shooting the missile is the default. What happened to spacecadet13 was BAD luck. You expect the good thing to happen (drone shoots missile) and it did not.

I can't personally remember the last time I lost where I honestly thought I didn't do anything wrong. Not in hindsight, mind you. Just an honest appraisal of my play. Can you win 100% of the time with 100% perfect play? Of course not. But that doesn't mean you need "luck" to win a vast, vast majority of the time.

Luck is just the result of randomness, good or bad is irrelevant as long as there was some unpredictable element outside of your control.

Neither can I remember my last flawless failure, but I only played the Stealth B a few times and didn't have the misfortune of my first jump dropping me into battle with several angry beam drones (Like a video I watched awhile back).

[LeadHead]

Unless your engines are completely and absolutely FUBAR'd, then there's always an escape.