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KickStarter StarCrawlers - indie sci-fi dungeon crawling RPG

Self-Ejected

aweigh

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i thought about it for about 0.3 seconds but then realized none of that will ever get implemented because, simply put, i'm not that passionate enough about thisi game to go make a proper "case" for my herp-derp-so-obvious-fixes for this game.

feel free to do it on my behalf ofc if you feel like it.

...i gotta go practice street fighter combos now.
 

Lord Azlan

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Sadly I did not enjoy this one.

I liked the reputation system and for some reason it reminded me of Captive, one of my I wish I could play it again one day list.

The other game it reminded me of was Pillars of Eternity where the character development sort of felt samey and inoffensive as you leveled up.

Try as I did, I never could figure out whether to use large shields or their smaller versions. Whether it was better to take a time hit for using a certain weapon or not. Items all merged into a vagueness where I found it difficult to make choices. Same for character development and skills too. For some reason I could not connect the dots and aim for a certain build or party.

After 12 hours I began to dread combat which certainly indicates to me the progression urge of the blobber was hidden from me.

Hopefully I can give it another go once my knowledge about the game increases, otherwise it was a huge waste of 12 hours.

There is something there - just well hidden.
 

Lord Azlan

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I liked the reputation system

Reputation kind of felt meaningless.

Maybe - I never got far enough in the game.

I thought it unique in dungeon crawlers where I began to ignore loot because of the negative rep it would give me and then trying to link back the job boards to the reputation profile. I tried to find jobs that would improve rep with people I had pissed off a bit.

Would have been interesting to see how far reputation affects game play.

When selling off loot there was an option to sell stuff anonymously so no reputation loss but I can't remember if the act of stealing made any difference.

Combat was interesting in a sort. I could not figure out how the shielding of npcs worked and whether it was better to take down shields first. One thing I did not like was lack of group damage spells.

The developers could learn a lot of Bards Tale spells, where even from level 2 you had utility, group, light, all sorts of stuff from the very beginning.
 
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I really wanted to like this game, but the truth is it quickly devolved into a boring war of attrition. The writing and world are actually fairly well done and understated, but the combat is just a slog. Some builds and even classes are downright useless compared to others, and the devs bizarre decision to make healing items/abilities a relative rarity discourages exploration (a cardinal sin in a blobber) on any mission of a higher rating than cakewalk.

Hopefully they've learned from their mistakes and SC2, if it happens, will be more enjoyable.
 

Zombra

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In general, I am down with games that are more goal-focused and don't expect the player to explore everything.

 

Iznaliu

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The game is definitely worth buying and definitely worth playing, but barely meets the criteria for being an rpg. What it has is good, but needs more. I wished they aimed for a Wiz8 or MMX type game content instead of the main and generic mission system included.

I think that would be much harder to implement than attributes.
 
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the devs bizarre decision to make healing items/abilities a relative rarity discourages exploration (a cardinal sin in a blobber)
Last time I checked, tight resource management was considered one of the main virtues of a blobber, not a sin.


True, but a good blobber also uses tight resource management to incentivize exploration ( "shit, my priest is out of spell-points and my whole party is unconscious or poisoned.... Well maybe there's something off the beaten path that will save us").

In Star Crawlers there is hardly ever anything worthwhile off the beaten path. Most of the time there is a health kit that heals 50hp at the far end of a hall of 5 squads of mobs that deal 100 hp per hit. The game actively discourages doing anything but beelining towards your objective.


Edit: I should clarify, for those of you who haven't played it, that the game does not always show you your objective, so there is some exploration involved.
 
Last edited:

thesheeep

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I tried starting the game twice now, but couldn't finish it both times.
And it is one of those cases where I have a hard time finding a glaringly obvious reason why.

The combat system is fine (I just wish the game would feature shortcuts instead of having to click all the time - ugh).
The classes and progression allow for a lot of replayability (and can be REALLY different).
Exploration also differs depending on who you have in your party.
You can even challenge yourself any way you want by taking on harder missions.
It has both hand-crafted and procedurally created content (which I'm a total sucker for).

And yet - I just don't feel any desire to come back after spending 10-15h or so.
 

Lord Azlan

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I tried starting the game twice now, but couldn't finish it both times.
And it is one of those cases where I have a hard time finding a glaringly obvious reason why.

The combat system is fine (I just wish the game would feature shortcuts instead of having to click all the time - ugh).
The classes and progression allow for a lot of replayability (and can be REALLY different).
Exploration also differs depending on who you have in your party.
You can even challenge yourself any way you want by taking on harder missions.
It has both hand-crafted and procedurally created content (which I'm a total sucker for).

And yet - I just don't feel any desire to come back after spending 10-15h or so.

You seem to have gained more out of it than I did.

How did you choose what equipment to use? Was it based on the individual character, on NPCs you were likely to face or an overall preference or group strategy?
 

thesheeep

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How did you choose what equipment to use? Was it based on the individual character, on NPCs you were likely to face or an overall preference or group strategy?
For weapons: Accuracy. I heavily suspect the numbers for to-hit-probability the game shows are much bigger than the actual chance. At least some abilities had a miss ratio of > 50% for me despite being shown as 80% hit chance or more. Very infuriating, so I just used weapons with higher damage, and only those with 80%+ hit chance. Maybe later in the game other things become important (like the actual damage type), but I never cared.

Shields: I never fully understood how they work. In theory, sure, you got your charges, which block up to X damage and which disappear after receiving Y damage. But in practice, that doesn't seem to be what actually happens. Some attacks at least are excempt from that rule. With 5 per-turn effects, several minions' attacks, large number of buffs & debuffs, of course faster combat animations, etc., it is hard to really get what is going on at all times. Honestly, I just went for more green stats :lol:

Armor: Characters that are supposed to tank get the heavy armor. All others tactical. Never found any use for light shields (though some classes may only be able to use light, of course).
 

Iznaliu

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I tried starting the game twice now, but couldn't finish it both times.
And it is one of those cases where I have a hard time finding a glaringly obvious reason why.

The combat system is fine (I just wish the game would feature shortcuts instead of having to click all the time - ugh).
The classes and progression allow for a lot of replayability (and can be REALLY different).
Exploration also differs depending on who you have in your party.
You can even challenge yourself any way you want by taking on harder missions.
It has both hand-crafted and procedurally created content (which I'm a total sucker for).

And yet - I just don't feel any desire to come back after spending 10-15h or so.

I think what you're missing is that the actual levels are boring and repetitive.
 

thesheeep

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Maybe that is it, yes.
They seem awfully devoid of life. Just empty corridors and some enemies, yet you are supposed to be in some office spaces even, sometimes.
And they are definitely extremely samey, independent of the actual "biome".
 

Shackleton

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:necro:

So started playing this recently when I fancied a bit of crawling again. It's been staring at me from my Steam library for the last few months, making me feel guilty I play so many blobbers but I've never given it a try.

This is not just a blogdex post though, I wanted to say that with the latest version of the game at least one of the issues with the game is fixed. No more holding down the left mouse button to select an attack; it's now toggle-able. I also didn't see much in the way of praise for the save system, but tbh I really appreciate a blobber dev having some balls and not allowing save scumming in a dungeon. Not sure if it's different on lower difficulties, but on the second hardest you get 'save and exit' and that's it. It's led to a couple of fails on story missions so far and I like the tension of actually having to choose whether or not certain combats or hack attempts would really be a good idea.

The other comments about the repetitive environments and occasionally dull levels are still valid. I certainly feel the procedural, small levels hurt it compared to the classic crawler formula of exploring a large, multi-tiered dungeon from a central hub, but it was a small team and you can see why they went with that decision. I didn't play earlier versions so I can't comment if they fixed the classes since most of you were playing, but it certainly doesn't feel like Kill Switch is an 'I win' button. It's good, but so are most of the top tier skills. I've found my soldier more indispensable than most when it comes to combat as he has the taunts and the self heals that enable longer runs without using medkits. I tried the Demolitionist tree and switched back to the tanking one as although stuff died fast, so did the rest of my party.

Traps are a bit of a disappointment- very easy to spot and even easier to disarm. Just click on the red laser, no skill-check or anything? The story is occasionally amusing and the faction stuff is extra flavour. I'm 17 hours in having done a number of side missions and feel like I've got my money's worth already, even before I've finished it.
 
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Codex Year of the Donut
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StarCrawlers v1.1 - Hotwire Update is LIVE
June 16 - Thunderflux
[imgur.com]

StarCrawlers v1.1 - Hotwire Update

Hotwire Hotfix 1 Deployed! Details inside...

The Hotwire Update is live and it’s FREE. Originally intended as DLC, we’ve reworked and integrated all of the content from Hotwire into the base StarCrawlers game as a free update for all players. Here’s what’s inside:

Hacking
  • Hacking is now a fully developed and separate system that works alongside the base game.
  • Datajacks will now spawn on randomized missions allowing access to the virtual Wire network which connects all of the systems of the map you’re on.
  • Using your Deck, jack in and ride the Wire to encounter 35+ new enemies and discover 25+ new abilities exclusive to hacking.
  • The Hackshop in STIX sells Programs and Utilities to beef up your Deck and tackle the toughest denizens of the Wire.
  • Enemy programs guard the Wire and change depending on the type of network, security rating of their nodes, and other factors to give a different feel to each network you hack.
  • New hacking element types (Security, Corruption, and Deception) each have their own enemies and program types for you to unlock and use both in hacking combat and when interacting with nodes.
  • Nodes in the network control security doors, alert levels, contain loot data, and more. Hack your way to the Core and crash it to bring the system down and stick to the megacorps.
  • Now that hacking is live, more hacking specific content is in the works (and will arrive Sooner™)!

Additional Patch Notes for v1.0.4

Tip Jar
  • We’ll be supporting ongoing development of StarCrawlers with free updates and content patches by adding a Tip Jar button to the title screen. If you enjoy the Hotwire Update and want to see more of it (and new stuff!), please consider showing your support with a $1 tip!
  • Tipping confers no in-game advantage and never will (but we’ll think you’re really cool) and amount may vary in your local currency as determined by Steam.
  • If the Tip Jar bothers you, simply click the Hide Tip Jar button and you’ll never see it again.

Story
  • Fixed a plot hole that could allow a certain character to randomly appear on the final mission (despite your refusal to work with them earlier in the story).
  • Firing the Prototype allows it to be rehired from the STIX bar - possibly. It may wander off and do its own thing if it feels like it.

Smuggler
  • Sped up animation of Showdown crosses on target when stacks are greater than 3.

Linux
  • Unsupported resolutions checks are no longer ignored on Linux as a workaround - as such, you may need to adjust your resolution and reset your preferences if you are playing on Linux with a non-3:4 display.
  • If you encounter issues with your resolution on Linux - please let me know your distro and native resolution in the forums so I can support as many as possible.
  • Double typing on text entry is still a known issue - Unity has not patched it. Investigation continues!

Other notes
  • Fixed additional elusive typos.
  • Minor bug fixes and QOL improvements.
  • Known issue (non fatal) with event entering hackshop for the first time that can cause a sentence be skipped.
 

Grampy_Bone

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Jan 25, 2016
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Wandering the world randomly in search of maps
It's got a pretty unique combat system, though I wasn't a fan of the way it handles health restoration. Items are pretty neat too.

It also has an interesting take on grid movement + free look; lots of secrets and items to find in the environment. Procgen dungeons aren't great but they aren't that bad either.

FYI, when attempting to use the new hacking system, make sure to fully equip your deck. Otherwise you're stuck doing 1 damage with all attacks like I was because I forgot an offense module.
 

Morblot

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So I recently found this sitting in my GOG library and decided to give it a go. It's actually quite addictive for such a simple game; I especially like the music. I do wish they'd fix the enemy HP bloat on later levels (I'm level 10 now), but considering how many times it's been brought up in this thread alone, I don't think they ever will.

The new hacking system is banal shit boring, though. It's basically just a different sort of combat with slower tempo, less things to do and even more enemy HP bloat. The rewards seem paltry as well. I'd guess it's safe to skip jacking in altogether.
 

Emmanuel2

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HP bloat isn't really an issue in the later game (NG+/NG++), everything dies within 1, 2 or 3 turns anyways if you have a decent party.
 

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