KickStarter Star Traders: Frontiers - space sandbox game by Trese Brothers

[LordofSyn]

I've had my eye on this game (and these threads) for a very long while, and it seems very tempting, except for one thing: Sounds like encounters with other craft are somewhat random and unavoidable a la JRPGs, and even if you choose to flee and have modules/skills to aid in escaping and putting distance between you and the aggressor, your ship can still easily get trashed while trying to skedaddle.

Is there a way to foresee and/or avoid encounters, or are you just forced into them on a regular basis?

There are ways to know when the encounter rate will be higher. There are Rumors to check that will give you insight. There are Faction Conflicts that can also make encounters higher.
There is no wrong to play and your first few captains will be learning curve captains anyway. There is a lot of depth to this game and there is always something new to explore or discover. You can def build for escaping ship combat.

Reputation means everything. You are the sole owner of your choices and obligations.
Say you feel someone picked a fight, and they will...
If you leave without firing on them, it will not look bad on you. If you blow their ship up...
Well they will have already paid their debt with their lives while you will have to work through that Reputation loss. Even if you merely cripple them and leave without ransoming them or destroying and salvaging the ship, then it will still be less impactful negatively for you than doing any further hostile moves.

I highly recommend the game. Not very often you can pay $15 and get $60+ worth of value out of it. Plus, this game will be supported with new content for a long time to come and a helpful community. The devs communicate with their fans daily and there is still much more in the Dev Roadmap to look forward to.

There are far worse things you can spend your money on. Just saying.

Sent from my LGLS996 using Tapatalk

 

[LordofSyn]

I am working on a scheduled 3rd Season of Frontiers. It should be starting in the first week of October. It will be posted to my YT channel. Syn's Arcade.

Sent from my LGLS996 using Tapatalk

 

[baud]

I've had my eye on this game (and these threads) for a very long while, and it seems very tempting, except for one thing: Sounds like encounters with other craft are somewhat random and unavoidable a la JRPGs, and even if you choose to flee and have modules/skills to aid in escaping and putting distance between you and the aggressor, your ship can still easily get trashed while trying to skedaddle.

Is there a way to foresee and/or avoid encounters, or are you just forced into them on a regular basis?

Some encounters will not end in a fight, depending on your reputation: military might search your ship for contraband, pirate might try to loot for valuable and with neutral faction, you can sometime bribe them so they fuck of and leave you alone.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

In other news, Corey said on stream that their next game is probably going to be a sequel to their Cyberpunk RPG Cyber Knights and will probably be Kickstarted in 2019.

Oh, and hostility rules got an update, which should please most people:

We've made some modifications to the hostility thresholds for Merchants and Smugglers. Now, regardless of any circumstances (Blockading, your own villainy and bad reputation, Trade Wars, etc) neither captain type will ever forcibly remove the Retreat option and force a fight. Merchants will offer Bribes at more hostility levels and Smugglers -- disinterested in searching anyone's ship -- will not accept Surrender but instead prefer Retreat.

 

[baud]

In other news, Corey said on stream that their next game is probably going to be a sequel to their Cyberpunk RPG Cyber Knights and will probably be Kickstarted in 2019.

Oh, and hostility rules go an update, which should please most people:

We've made some modifications to the hostility thresholds for Merchants and Smugglers. Now, regardless of any circumstances (Blockading, your own villainy and bad reputation, Trade Wars, etc) neither captain type will ever forcibly remove the Retreat option and force a fight. Merchants will offer Bribes at more hostility levels and Smugglers -- disinterested in searching anyone's ship -- will not accept Surrender but instead prefer Retreat.

It's cool, it means the player won't be forced to enter a fight with someone who will just jump away on the first turn?

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

gib me muh xp xenos gib me muh xp.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/335620/announcements/detail/1691556695839699697

Update #108: Major Milestone "RELIC"
8 October - Trese Brothers

The major milestone RELIC ushers in a completely new style of play, profession and a new major system -- Salvaging at Orbitals. While Salvaging shares some cross-over with other orbital ops (Spying, Blockading, Patrolling) it is the extreme high risk and high reward variation. In addition, Salvaging operations are tied directly to fickle Rumors, so the chance to swoop in and make a credit ... or lose a few crew ... does not last forever.

Salvage operations are not for the faint of heart. But the dangers match the possible bounty offered. From big credit rewards ($5K to $80K), to high value mission offers, to relic gear (45 new gear added), specialist weapons (12 new weapons added) or armor (6 new armor added) the rewards are premium. But so are the potential disasters from double-stacked xeno fights, negative Trait mutations, massive Reputation loss, death of Contacts in the quadrant, punishing ship damage or even the terrible double-stacked fatality card.

No, not for the faint of heart at all. This one's for the scrappers, the gamblers, those tough enough to survive.

Welcome v2.4.x
As we shared when the game launched, this is just the beginning. Star Traders: Frontiers is already a massive game but we have plans to keep expanding it as we've shared in our development roadmap and the RELIC milestone is the first major delivery on that roadmap. It officially ushers in the v2.4.x family which is going to be a big one -- just check out Salvage below!

Hunt the Rumors
Unlike other orbital opportunities, salvage sites can only be found where there are certain Rumors -- Derelict Space Hive, Abandoned Military Station, Abandoned Medical Station, Orbital Construction, Orbital Disaster. These 5 new rumors open up 5 distinct versions of the Salvage mini-game, each with a set of unique risk and reward cards. Looking for weapons -- you'll only find them on military stations. Some of the most valuable specialist gear around can be found on abandoned medical stations, but so can a lot of other bad things.

To be a successful Scavenger, you'll need to travel the stars, chasing the Rumors. And it will be important to have a crew capable of picking up on rumors on the crackling wires or over the spice plate.

To help Scavengers focus your efforts, Contacts like Salvage Broker, Retired Exo-Scout, Hunna Lieutenant, Spice Runner and Retired Explorer or any Contact with the Techno-Addict Trait. These Contacts all offer a new service, allowing you to pay to learn Salvage Rumors specifically. Their connections into the galactic network help them connect you with valuable salvage opportunities -- though it won't be cheap!

Race the Clock
More than just limited by location, Salvage is also always on a timeline. The orbital construction project is sure to finish sooner or later and the crumbling wreck of a space hive your crew are risking their necks to pick apart is sure to eventually drop into the atmo and disappear forever. The high-value rewards available during Salvage are paired with very nasty risks but are also available only for a specific window. If you want to rummage that wreck, you will have to focus down while it lasts.

Hire the Experts
If you're going salvaging, you will want to hire those who are skilled at picking over wrecks -- Scavengers. This new Job packs 13 exciting Talents that mix Salvage, Explorer and Doctor. Every thing exists in some form of decay and a Scavenger knows how to patch it up or rip it apart to get the best value. The Scavenger is adept at picking over the decaying bones of orbital wrecks and at foraging the wilderness.

If you want to plunge head first into crawling over a trash-heap salvage sites, Scavenger is now available as the newest starting profession, but it requires the "De Rivesh Legacy" unlock.

The Scavenger Job is not the only one getting in on the fun. 10 new Salvage Talents have been added across the Crew Dog, Gunner, Electronics Tech, Mechanic, Engineer, Pirate and Smuggler Jobs. We've provided all the options to build out a salvage-specific crew.

Kit the Ship
Salvage Bays, EVA Decks and all the ship and crew protection modules from standard orbital operations all take action in salvage operations, helping to boost rewards and protect your team in this extreme risk environments. We've provided all the options you need to build out a perfect scavenger ship.

New Battle-Pattern Void Engines
Now available at high rated shipyards, the new Warhammer and Behemoth ship engines are both built around the venerable battle-pattern Void reactor core. Depending on size, these engines are capable of generating 9 or 10 Reactor Points per turn. As a trade off, they guzzle fuel like a snob crew dog when the chilled spice beer is on the captain's tab.

The rare variant, called a Behemoth engine, is over-engineered to an extreme and packs more internal armor and shielding than some ships. Both of these engines are tuned for combat, providing an emphasis on combat performance and soak pools.

v2.4.1 - 10/8/2018
Major Milestone "RELIC"
- Added all new profession, way of life, path to play: Orbital Salvage is a high-risk and high-reward job of extracting valuables from derelict orbital wrecks
- Added 5 new Rumors: Derelict Space Hive, Abandoned Military Station, Abandoned Medical Station, Orbital Construction, Orbital Disaster
- New Scavenger Job includes 14 new Talents, mixing Orbital Salvage, Exploration, Doctor and Boarding Victory abilities
- Contacts Salvage Broker, Fixer, Smuggler now offer Scavenger Job recruits
- Added 10 new Orbital Salvage Talents across Crew Dog, Gunner, Electronics Tech, Mechanic, Engineer, Pirate and Smuggler Jobs
- Added 45 new pieces of Gear that can be recovered during orbital salvage -- military, medical, relics up to level 8
- Added 12 new crew Weapons that can be recovered during orbital salvage
- Added 6 new crew Armors that can be recovered during orbital salvage
- New Traits "Crafty" and "Hazard High" increases bonuses and Morale during Orbital Salvage, "Vulture" Trait also increases salvage profits
- New Contact Service "Learn Salvage Rumor" allows you to specifically pay Contacts to learn about salvage opportunities
- Contacts Salvage Broker, Retired Exo-Scout, Hunna Lieutenant, Spice Runner, Retired Explorer all offer Learn Salvage Rumor
- Any Contact with "Techno-Addict" Trait will also offer Learn Salvage Rumor
- Added new Contact Trait "Collector" -- these Contacts will recruits Scavengers
- Salvage Broker Contact now available as a Starting Contact
- Achievement "De Rivesh Legacy" now unlocks new starting Profession: Scavenger
- During Orbital Disaster or Orbital Construction rumors, Engineers are available to recruit in the Spice Hall
- Cooldowns for all Talents that increase rewards in Exploration, Patrol, Spy and Blockade extended to 6 weeks instead of 3 weeks
- Added 9 new Awards for Salvage, Recovering Relics and Discovering Rare Trade Good Stashes
- Added 3 new Steam Achievements / Unlocks

Other Additions
- Added 7 new Ship Engines with 10 RP for hulls M7000 and above
- Added 7 new Ship Engines with 9 RP for hulls M2400 to M6000
- Spice Trader Contacts now offer Smugglers for recruit
- Enemy AI now uses faction-specific ships: Crimson Defender, Aegis Freighter, Royale Gladius, Corsair Interceptor, Tiberian Highliner
- Corrected Faction for Crimson Defender to be Rychart
- Contact Links improved with new rules that prioritize high Influence and provide counters moves to block Rumors
- Increased Influence gained and lost by Contacts interacting with Rumors
- Increased Influence gained by completing missions for Contacts
- Increased Water-Fuel costs for Radiation Storm and Ion Storm Rumors
- Crew no longer abandon ship in Templar Faction zones or when Starport is 3 or less
- Fixed bug where Cargo Missions were not properly showing Permit requirements for cargo
- Fixed bug where "Running Guns" mission would still be successful even if you fought and lost to scavengers

Hotfix!
We deployed a hotfix this evening with the following fixes --

v2.4.3
- Fixed bug preventing Contacts from selling weapons, armor or gear
- Fixed bug showing some unlearned Talents as being on cool down at start of game
- Fixed mislabel of some "Salvage" Talents as "Victory" type
- Improved sorting of Contacts in new game template
- Improved EVA Deck and Salvage Bay upgrades

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Grampy_Bone]

I want to like this game but the faction system is sucking the joy out of it.

-You constantly get attacked by pirates who are aligned with factions. Except if they are sanctioned by a government, then they should be privateers, not pirates, but whatever. If you run, you lose rep for being a pussy. But if you fight, you lose rep for having the audacity of fighting back against hostile aggressors who attack you for no reason. And if you actually try to loot the debris of the ship who just tried to murder you, you lose like triple the reputation, because oh my god, how dare you try to recoup some of the losses the ship inflicted on you, and all the tens of thousands of repair and medical bills you are going to incur. I swear the designers seem to hate fun.

It wouldn't be so bad if you gained rep with the pirate's enemies, but nooo, it's all downsides. No one seems to be concerned with losing rep with my friends. I can never say to a pirate, "Hey if you attack me, you will lose 17 rep with my faction so-and-so. You cool with that?" It's so dumb.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Grampy_Bone]

just spread your legs and invite pirates over.

When I did that it seemed to cause morale damage, and then I lose more crew when I dock.

What are the classes with talents to avoid this?

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Also, I restarted with a custom template, gave myself ship priority A, got the dragoon cruiser. I noticed there are only about 5 ships that outclass this, and they all cost over a million space bucks.

So I started with a ship that's better than 80% of the ones available in the game? Okkaaaaaaaaaaaaay..... Such strange design choices.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[thesheeep]

Ship size IIRC really only matters for combat and combat yields very few worthwhile rewards anyway.
The only real upside of a bigger ship is a larger crew and thus more skills.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Ship size IIRC really only matters for combat and combat yields very few worthwhile rewards anyway.
The only real upside of a bigger ship is a larger crew and thus more skills.

Too bad, without the combat what else is there? Reading text boxes?

It's so strange. They make this whole combat system, including boarding during ship battles, class combo and leveling system, ship loadouts for different ranges and talents, and teams with abilities for boarding and fending off enemies. Neat. Then the game punishes you whenever you engage with this system in any way.

So it's a very elaborate running away simulator. What a waste.

 

[thesheeep]

Ship size IIRC really only matters for combat and combat yields very few worthwhile rewards anyway.
The only real upside of a bigger ship is a larger crew and thus more skills.

Too bad, without the combat what else is there? Reading text boxes?

It's so strange. They make this whole combat system, including boarding during ship battles, class combo and leveling system, ship loadouts for different ranges and talents, and teams with abilities for boarding and fending off enemies. Neat. Then the game punishes you whenever you engage with this system in any way.

So it's a very elaborate running away simulator. What a waste.

Unfortunately, I came to more or less the same conclusion.
The systems you do very often engange in (pretty much everything except battles) and which are mostly lucrative are made with this random-card system with minimal interactivity.
The ship combat, which has a lot built around it, is either a waste of time or too risky. The personal combat is better, IMO, (at least it has more than two participants...) but similar to the ship combat, it ls too samey all around.

I must honestly say, that despite it being a polished experience and fun for a dozen hours or so, in contrast to Templar Battleforce this game doesn't really "come together" to me. Maybe they tried too much at once.

 

[baud]

Latest update reduce ship encounter by 10 % and tweak rep loss when winning against another ship: against a pirate the rep loss will be lower.

Update 112: Razor's Edge

We're glad to be back! After 10 days without updates, we've got the big one you deserve. New storyline, new encounter and Rep improvements, new enemy AI smarts, new starting contacts and so much more. It's packed full of the good stuff -- including lots of suggestions from right here on the Steam boards -- so be sure to review the full patch notes at the bottom!

Here's Update #112!

New Bloody Vignette
If you've reached the 3rd Century Era, keep your eye out for a new story vignette invitation -- from one Eryn Razor. I won't spoil the story of the new "Bloodsport" narrative, it is a highly challenging and late-game story arc that will put your crew combatants to the test. It also has the potential for tie ins from multiple other storylines and makes available some mighty new unique story rewards.

In other story news, we've added some more delays between late game Eras to slow them down a bit. We've increased the turn at which story vignettes start joining the game which will reduce the crowded feeling that can happen early in the story. And, we've fixed the issue where the Highwind Case story objective would sit as "Coming Soon" for a long time -- now it keeps its deadline correct even as your actions may extend it.


Ship Encounters
We've fine tuned and improved the balance and rate of ship encounters in the void with Update #112. Overall, ship encounter rates have been reduced about 10% with special attention paid to some types of Rumors that were spiking it beyond normal levels. This fine tuning also includes more targeted encounter types, such as more Bounty Hunters once your Rep falls below -45 with a faction. We're excited to keep tuning this rule set and these rates.

Pirates and Rep Loss
With this update, we've pushed more nuance into the rules about Rep loss when you defeat an enemy ship. The potential Rep you stand to lose is based on the enemy type and descends the farther away from lawful the captain is, the scale being: Military Officer > Merchant > Zealot > Bounty Hunter > Explorer > Spy > Smuggler > Pirate.

We've also improved all of the descriptive text about Rep loss and gain in ship combat victory to help clarify the reasons behind such changes.

If you happen to be facing a Pirate while carrying a Permit 2 of the Pirate's faction, we've improved the title of the Surrender option to be clear -- "Protected by Permit" as such a Pirate will not loot a licensed trader of their faction.

Enemy Crew Combatants
We've rebuilt the enemy AI's logic for picking crew combat Talents for individuals and for their team. This has made crew combat more competitive, fun and pushed our testing teams to use more of the systems. Swordsman, Pistoleer, Soldier, Assassin, Spy, Sniper are all improved, and if it goes well, we will dig into the other combat Jobs next to hone the knife.

This also includes fixing issues where AI crew were not carrying Snubbers in the front row.

Also, we've fixed a bug that could sometimes duplicate your crew and improved the heavy armor options in Weapons Locker A4 and A5 to make sure they are competitive.

New Starting Contacts
Open up more options during captain creation, we've introduced two new starting Contacts -- the Ex-Merc and the Gestalt Explorer. Each plays to different play styles, but between them they offer Combat Medic recruits, Zealot recruits, Trait Conditioning, combat armor, exploration missions and sabotage missions. A mighty new pair to add to your set!

We've also made a few tweaks to other Contact's special recruits -- Spice Tenders now hire Pirates and Diplomatic Counsels offer Quartermasters.

Finally, we've changed the new game rules to prevent any of your starting Contacts from appearing in Aetaan Char's faction. For those captains getting involved in the Faen story arc, these Contacts soon lost their value as Effective Rep plummeted.

v2.4.15 - 10/29/2018

Spoiler

Story
- Added new story vignette: 'Bloodsport' narrative, new unique story rewards and challenges
- New story vignette starts sometime after 3rd Century starts and has potential for tie ins to multiple other storylines
- Added some additional delay between late-game Era starts
- Increase turn at which story vignettes start to add to game
- Improved tutorial instructions on first escort mission about the use of saving Talents in missions to guarantee success
- Resolved story bug where you decided to tell Calagan of a plot, but no option was present
- Fixed story bug causing "Highwind Case" story objective to get stuck "Coming Soon" for a while before triggering

Encounters and Rep
- Ship Encounters: overall reduced encounter rates by 10%
- Ship Encounters: improved and fine tuned effects of Quadrant Rumors on ship encounters
- Ship Encounters: more quadrant faction Bounty Hunters will appear if you are criminal status (-40 Rep)
- Ship Victory: Rep loss with faction now depends on enemy type of ship (Military Officer > Merchant > Zealot > Bounty Hunter > Explorer > Spy > Smuggler > Pirate)
- Ship Victory: improved descriptive text for all Rep loss within ship victory, added custom explanation per enemy type
- Improved description of Surrender option for Pirates when you carry Trade Permit 2 or higher, "Protected by Permit"
- Improved enemy ship builder AI's ship weaponry selection

Enemy Crew Combatants
- Rebuilt AI that builds enemy crew combatants -- Swordsman, Pistoleer, Soldier, Assassin, Spy, Sniper all far more dangerous at picking Talents as individuals and across the team
- Fixed bug preventing enemy crew combatants from picking up Snubbers in the front row
- Fixed bug that sometimes allowed members of your crew to appear twice in crew combat selection
- Improved Heavy Armor option in Weapons Locker A4 and A5

Starting Contacts
- Added new starting Contact: Gestalt Explorer (hires Combat Medic, Trait Conditioning, exploration missions)
- Added new starting Contact: Ex-Merc (hires Zealots, sells Combat Armor, saboteur missions)
- Contact Recruit changes -- Spice Tender now recruits Pirates, Diplomatic Counsel recruits Quartermasters
- Starting Contacts in distant quads no longer appear in Aetaan Char's faction

Talent Adjustments
- Swordsman Talent "Balanced Blade" now requires 1.5x Weapon's Initiative to use for powerful buff
- Fixed description of Talent "Unrivaled Patch" to include the character's Repair Skill (in total, 20% + Skill)
- Prize Ship Talents are displayed even if you cannot afford the court fees
- Renamed Pirate's "Faked Signature" Talent to "Blackheart Fraud" and Spies "Faked Signature" Talent to "Counterfeit Identity"

And More
- Zone services now include time taken in their event log ("Paid $500, took 2 days")
- Selling Intel to a Contact now takes 1 Turn
- Increased duration of Time Lost card during any type of orbital operation
- Fixed bug occasionally causing Rep displays to become incorrect after selling Intel
- Fixed bug preventing crew combat debuffs from playing their SFX
- Fixed bug causing Blackheart starting Contact to be locked behind Faction Defender instead of Privateer
- Fixed bug with character hand positions not matching snubbers or sniper rifles sometimes
- Fixed bug with save slots sometimes displaying the wrong weapon in Load Captain screens
- Fixed mismatches in ship descriptions between starting and maximum crew, now listed both if different -- "24 starting crew (30 max)"
- Improved size and style of Skip All button in story scenes
- Improved sizing of tooltip over Date in the HUDs
- Improved text in tooltips, descriptive text for some Talents, spacing in UI

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/335620/announcements/detail/1703946667365170215

Update #118: Rich in Conflict
29 November - Trese Brothers

Update #118 circles back to the orbital ops -- Spying and Blockading specifically -- to rebalance some of the base cards as well as add 3 new cards related to Conflicts. We've also made some player suggested changes to recruit UI, made the final planned tweak to Skip Off the Void and added a customizable keybinding for repeat last firing orders. Not to mention a few bug fixes, some minor UI tweaks -- its a good one and starts a new push to further deepen the interaction between orbital ops and Conflicts.

New Cards: Conflicts and Riches
With Update #118, we've improved the opportunities to directly make money Blockading and Spying, especially when there are linked Conflicts. First, we've increased the amount of credits you can earn with the "Extort Bribes" card while Blockading and the "Credit Score" and "Credit Skim" cards while Spying. These rewards have always been based on the local Economy ratings of the zones in the system, but each Economy point now grants even more potential earnings.

On top of that, there are new cards that can drive even higher profits from systems in Conflicts. If you are Blockading over a system of a faction in a Trade Ban or Trade War, the new cards "Trade Ban Coercion" and "Trade War Bribery" are added to the deck. Each gives a much larger bonus in terms of credits extorted and influences the Conflict, helping the enemy of the faction you are blockading. In the same way, "Spy War Leak" offers a $8-20K reward for spying in a faction system that is locked in a Spy War and will similarly influence the Conflict Score.

None of the new cards will make friends with the targeted faction, but you sure can wrack up the credits.

Recruit Talent Visibility
Whenever you are recruiting from the spice hall or from a Contact, you will now see a note about the number of recruiting Talents that are ready. This can increase your awareness of when you want to recruit and help you manage a larger pool of Talents as they go on cool down. It's a very convenient feature, so thanks to @OfficerGenious for suggesting it!

Again, Skip Off the Void
In a continued effort to balance Skip Off the Void, we've made a change to how it calculates damage to the Hyperwarp Drive. In the past, the damage was mitigated by the entire crew's Navigation Skill, which for many ships could be 60 to 120 points. This almost always resulted in the lowest possible damage for the Drive. The change now brings Skip into alignment with all other Talents -- Talents use the Skill of the individual and not of the entire crew. Therefore, the damage is now mitigated only by the character's Navigation Skill. To offset this change, we've reduced the damage range for the Talent from 30-70% to 30-60%. A single use won't know your drive out, but it is going to do more damage unless you have a really skilled Navigator. In final note, a Navigator can gain up to 27 Navigation from their Job in total, so you can see that you can still achieve near minimal damage even as an individual.

Ship Combat Weapons
We've fixed a long sneaky bug that sometimes kept weapons from being able to fire after they were damaged and then repaired during ship combat. We've also added a keybinding (default of R) for repeat last firing orders.

v2.4.35 - 10/2912018
- Increased credit rewards for Spy cards "Credit Score" and "Credit Skim" based on local economy rating
- Increased credit rewards for Blockade cards "Extort Bribes" based on local economy rating
- Added 3 new Conflict-based cards for Spy and Blockade -- Blockade for "Trade Ban Coercion" and "Trade War Bribery" and Spy for "Spy War Leak" to get even larger credit rewards ($8-20K) and influence the Conflict
- Spice Hall Recruit and Contact Recruit now state the number of ready Talents that will improve recruiting
- Changed "Skip Off the Void" Navigator Talent to only use the Navigation Skill of the owner character, not entire crew to mitigate damage
- Repeat Last Firing orders can now be bound to custom key in options, default is 'R'
- Fixed rare issue with mid-combat Repair Talents not bringing weapons or components fully back on line
- Fixed crashes in ship combat with repair talents and repeat firing weapons

With this patching frequency I expect that I can actually start playing this in year or three.

Spoiler

I'm still waiting for Heroes of Steel to be story complete

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Pope Amole II]

With this patching frequency I expect that I can actually start playing this in year or three.

You're assuming that this patching makes the game better.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

So I picked this up and it's pretty decent, though yes, very complex. Its basically the kind of space game I've always wanted to see - large focus on characters and not on ferrying cargo from A to B.

Though granted, I would have liked more procedural elements and procedural characters. Maybe personalities for each of the crew etc, but that's probably asking too much from a story focused indie game. Still, nice concept overall and decently fun.

 

[Morkar Left]

Though granted, I would have liked more procedural elements and procedural characters. Maybe personalities for each of the crew etc, but that's probably asking too much from a story focused indie game. Still, nice concept overall and decently fun.

Characters are basically procedurally generated and come with different traits which affects gameplay (e.g. greedy, spice addict etc.). The npcs have traits too and basically depending on their stats and relationships different goals. It takes a while but doing missions for your contacts will likely put you in the crossfire of different npc goals.

Maybe some tips which are hard to get:
- the key for combat is the piloting skill (and navigation is used in range 5 and 4 instead). Piloting trumps everything else. Second is command skills.
- for boarding you can use character traits specifically for it only when your officers or captain have them. EXCEPT you're in boarding range 1, then all traits can be used from the whole crew
- The outcome of the card games is HIGHLY influenced from the planets stats which you can see under the planet in orbit and rumors and conflicts.
- difficulty rises with time going by. If you start to notice you're constantly using against everyone it's time to upgrade (but rumors, conflicts and reputation seem to affect how strong enemies are, too)

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

difficulty rises with time going by

And time goes by FAST. That's the most difficult thing. You start wasting time picking herbs Skyrim-style and everyone is going to die.