As a first impression goes, I'm blown away by the polish this game has even at this stage. Typically I often felt I was "looking past" the graphical elements of Arcen's games for the novel to genius game mechanics. However, in The Last Federation the visual assets are really critical to creating the fantasy of the game. From the varied races to the usual deluge in the variety of ships, the game immediately makes you feel you are part of a greater environment. Which is perfect, considering the game IS about one individual playing a Yojimbo on an entire system for its own goals. The tutorial are clear and informative, with enough humor that makes them feel warm without cluttering the information. It also makes clear that making mistakes isn't something to be afraid of, that this is a game with replayability.
Aside from the obvious parallel's to Star Control, where you guys inspired at all by the board game Cosmic Encounter? They seem VERY SIMILAR in theme and even gameplay. If you haven't, I VERY HIGHLY STRONGLY recommend you guys check it out. You might even find something mechanically inspiring in it to apply to TLF. It's a fantastic game for 3+ players with some very rich flavor and a ton of alien races with a lot of color.
On to my only gripe so far: Is it intended for time to resume if you complete a dispatch immediately? Even if you enter it paused? I realized the time it takes me to pause immediately is really negligible strategically, but it still feels like I'm LOSING time. An option to have time paused coming out of dispatches would make me feel much more comfortable. I feel like you are encoraged to play the game more fluidly, reacting to events in real time, but I really don't think I'd want to play that way over pausing and reading every last detail before committing to an action.
All in all 11/10 :3 This is already a great game, and it's only getting better from here. Thanks for the game dudes!
