Frantic?

[ianpwilliams]

I've just discovered this game, and I'm curious about it. I love Roguelikes (I know this isn't a Roguelike really though), and I love games with replay value, which this game definitely appears to have.

But having watching the demo video on the home page, it looks extremely frantic. I know you can pause at any time, but still. Is the game as frantic as it looks in that video? I read a review that said it makes you feel like a starship captain, which is great, but I wonder if I would feel less like a captain, and more like an engineer if I was frantically clicking everywhere all the time rather than making important decisions etc.

While I'm here, has anyone ever suggested a mod or game mode for this game which makes it turn-based? I have no idea if it would work or not (obviously it would make it a lot more Roguelike-like), but it's just a thought.

[5thHorseman]

Hmm. It's hard to answer your question. Yes, it is frantic sometimes. Usually right before you die. But yes, you do feel like a captain and you make all the decisions affecting your ship. There is micromanagement (I frequently don't just tell 3 guys to go in a room to fight someone. I tell them WHICH SQUARE TO STAND IN and then move them from square to square as the battle progresses) but as you noted you CAN pause it.

For me, I play FTL the same way I play Mass Effect: I pause it whenever I'm about to make a decision or whenever I need to assess the situation. For me, most fights ARE essentially turn-based.

[ianpwilliams]

Sounds good. And to be fair I can hardly go wrong at £6.99!

[The Captain]

Part of being a starship captain is making important decisions under pressure. You're being boarded by superior forces; there are fires on your ship; systems are damaged. How do you best defend your ship and attack the enemy? What needs attention now, and what can wait? Do you stay and fight or run? Do you make a safe jump or jump to an unknown beacon?

Pause is definitely your friend. Otherwise things can get frantic.

[zeek]

It gets less frantic with time. Early on as situations are new to you it can seem quite frantic, but I've played for hundreds of hours now and most of the game is almost auto-pilot for me. Just remember to pause when you're feeling overwhelmed.

[ianpwilliams]

Looking forward to it

[spongebobsaget]

Remember, "Easy" is the new Hard!

Once you get the basics down, it will slow down and feel less crazy / frantic for ya.

One of the things that made the biggest leap in ease of gameplay for me was to stop relying on autofire. Most of the time, you want all of your shots to hit the enemy ship within a second or two of each other to maximize the shield penetration and damage to the ship.

I would, of course, recommend going with the smaller weapons first and follow up with the heavier items, so you max the damage done.

If you are trying to first work on their shields, then of course making the ion cannons the last shots into the ship can be key to shutting down their shields (or weapons or drones or whatever!)

[ianpwilliams]

I've bought the game anyway, I just can't play it yet, because my PC is so old Good thing I'm buying a new PC soon.

[spongebobsaget]

I've bought the game anyway, I just can't play it yet, because my PC is so old Good thing I'm buying a new PC soon.

I'm surprised by that! I wouldn't think FTL would take a lot of horsepower to run

[ianpwilliams]

It does run, it's just very slow.