FTL: A space based roguelike

[zespri]

Thanks for that - makes sense. Another one: how do you decide whether to accept surrender?

[Wingflier]

Haven't tried it, but this game sounds absolutely amazing.

Damn Guild Wars, Torchlight 2, Borderlands 2, and this for all coming out at the same time. For over a year I was struggling to find something to play, now I've been swamped with good games ;p (first world problems).

[keith.lamothe]

Thanks for that - makes sense. Another one: how do you decide whether to accept surrender?

The overall rewards tend to be lower than simply killing the ship, but sometimes they're actually better (i.e. their random-roll ranges seem to overlap), so it's more of a tactical decision for me:

- Am I concerned that it could do substantial damage to me in the remainder of the fight, or otherwise require the expenditure of resources (i.e. missiles) I want to hang onto?
- Am I concerned that it could FTL out before I finish the job?

And, of course, if I'm trying to win by boarding (most of the time), I won't accept a surrender unless I really need to, because boarding does give significantly better rewards than either surrender or shot-to-pieces.

[zebramatt]

Thanks for that - makes sense. Another one: how do you decide whether to accept surrender?

Mostly you just have to ask yourself whether you can you kill them quick and easy after the surrender request. If so, it's a matter of whether you want to take the moral high ground or reap the extra goodies. On the whole you'll get more fuel and scrap from outright destroying a ship.

With slavers it's slightly different, since they offer you crewmembers in exchange for their lives - which you can only otherwise get from them by killing their crew and leaving the ship in tact, I believe.

[keith.lamothe]

With slavers it's slightly different, since they offer you crewmembers in exchange for their lives - which you can only otherwise get from them by killing their crew and leaving the ship in tact, I believe.

Yea, I normally go for a crew-kill so I get the crewmember anyway, but if I couldn't do that I would take the surrender if my crew count was under 8.

[zespri]

May be bad RNG but the reason why I asked was that 5 times in a raw the reward for killing was less than offered surrender goodies.

[keith.lamothe]

May be bad RNG but the reason why I asked was that 5 times in a raw the reward for killing was less than offered surrender goodies.

It varies.  I think killing it has a slight advantage on the average.  But if you're in particular need of a specific resource and the surrender offer has a lot of that resource, go for it.

[Mánagarmr]

Guys, after I upgraded shields, when they are hit a small lock sign appears on top of the system icon and the energy indicator for system turns blue. under the system icon 2 or 1 in a circle is shown for short time. what does this represent?

That is indeed Ion weapons. They'll remove 1 power from the system for a set time. Particularly devastating if it ever hits weapons, but usually shields are up so they get to eat the Ion Blast instead.

[keith.lamothe]

Ion damage is great.  I love the engi ship's MkII Ion starting-gun.  With an experienced crewman at the weapons station (and especially if combined with the -15%-weapon-cooldown ship-aug) it can tear down even 4-point shields faster than they can regen, paving the way to the juicy center.

It's especially nice since I don't really want to do hull damage, I just want to make the enemy not hurt me while my mantis marines facilitate communications and terminate hostilities.

[Mánagarmr]

Ion damage is great.  I love the engi ship's MkII Ion starting-gun.  With an experienced crewman at the weapons station (and especially if combined with the -15%-weapon-cooldown ship-aug) it can tear down even 4-point shields faster than they can regen, paving the way to the juicy center.

It's especially nice since I don't really want to do hull damage, I just want to make the enemy not hurt me while my mantis marines facilitate communications and terminate hostilities.

That's interesting. I've always scoffed at the Ion cannon due to shields generally recharging before you can capitalize on them being down. I never considered a proper recharge time being able to actually strip shields...intriguing.

[keith.lamothe]

The Ion MkII (with weapons station manned) recharges so fast that my main challenge is making sure it doesn't waste time in the "charged but with no target" state (I haven't tried the autofire toggle because I don't know if it will retain my previous firing order or just pick enemy rooms at random).  I occasionally think of what it would be like to have 2 Ion MkIIs going at once, and cackle with glee.

But I'm not sure how effective it is compared to the really good strategies in the game, as I'm not all that great it yet.

[LaughingThesaurus]

I actually don't plan on really getting this game, since it doesn't seem like my cup of tea (though it looks amazing), but I'm curious about something. What actually happens if the rebels catch you? Is it a battle that you can't possibly win? Or, is it just an event-type death where the game's like "Well, you got shot by a hundred nukes, because the rebels found you, so game over."

[Aklyon]

Thanks for that - makes sense. Another one: how do you decide whether to accept surrender?

1. Are they offering an augment or a weapon?
2. Is it a slaver offering crew?
5. 3. Does it seem like more than you'd get from explodificating them?

[keith.lamothe]

What actually happens if the rebels catch you? Is it a battle that you can't possibly win? Or, is it just an event-type death where the game's like "Well, you got shot by a hundred nukes, because the rebels found you, so game over."

It's a tough fight but you can win.  But it gives you zero rewards (other than 1 unit of fuel so you can jump out) so it'll seriously wear you down.  I'm not sure if something worse happens if you loiter too long before jumping.

[Mánagarmr]

The Ion MkII (with weapons station manned) recharges so fast that my main challenge is making sure it doesn't waste time in the "charged but with no target" state (I haven't tried the autofire toggle because I don't know if it will retain my previous firing order or just pick enemy rooms at random).  I occasionally think of what it would be like to have 2 Ion MkIIs going at once, and cackle with glee.

But I'm not sure how effective it is compared to the really good strategies in the game, as I'm not all that great it yet.

It will remember your picked room and keep shooting it.