Subset Games Forum

I was wondering why the sublight engine and ftl drive are sort of combined into one system. What if the FTL drive was a subsystem that could be upgraded seperately from engines. Upgrading it increases your jump range between beacons in the sector map. Every time you upgrade it, you can skip one beacon in the beacon network. The upside is jumping past beacons would cause the rebels to advance slower, since it only counts as one jump on the timescale. The downside is it uses extra fuel. This would make backtracking easier if you wanted to explore the left most side of a sector too. Another downside to skipping into unexplored is jumping blindly, since long range sensors can only warn you of hazards in adjacent beacons.

)A* B C D E
For example. We have Beacons A though E
If you are at A and jump to B, it uses one fuel and the rebel fleet advances normally.
A) B* C D E

)A* B C D E
If you are at A and jump directly to D, straight through B and C, you'd use up 3 fuel, but the rebels would still only advance the same amount.
A) B C D* E

Your suggestion makes the FTL upgrades just a wee-bit overpowered. Fuel is easy enough to come by, but things that slow the rebels, or allow easier travel are not as easy to come by. Making the FTL an upgradable system undoes that. Your suggestion needs a bigger negative.

The price of the ftl drive upgrades of course. Spending precious scrap early in the game on something which would give you no combat benefits whatsoever is a gamble. Its an early investment that would pay off later, allowing you to potentially explore more beacons per sector.

To make it fit in the current game, just price it to match its effectiveness. 100 scrap for the first upgrade? 200 for the 2nd? maybe just have 2 upgrades for it? We'll have a third system room that has to be kept online to allow FTL escaping from combat too.