FTl has engaged my spare time for the past 2 days. It's a space ship simulation game, in which you travel through a randomly generated galaxy. The randomised nature of the game means no playthrough is ever the same. The common factor so far is each of my playthroughs is short and bleak as hell, as my crew die agonising deaths in the empty void of space. Imagine if your favourite sci fi series ended after 5 episodes. This is not a easy game.
However it's addictive and I keep going back for more. This is the story of my second playthrough.Why second? Well, the first was far too depressing (hint: almost everyone dies in the first 5 minutes). So, this is the tale of the Hot Prospect.
I start off with three plucky humans: Hosbach, Yang and Renee. I assign Hosbach to the helm, Yang to weapons and Renee to the shields and we make the first jump. Shoooom!
Our first jump takes the ship to within scanning range of a destroyed moon colony, where we pick up a lone survivor. Charlie the Rockman joins our crew out of gratitude. Rockmen are hard as, err, rock, and make excellent fighters. He becomes our main guy for ship security. Things are going well.
Distress call from a nearby system. We jump there, and are greeted by pirates. "It's a trap!" I yell to myself in my best Admiral Ackbar voice. My first missile does little, but his tears a small hole in my hull. Never mind, the salvo from my burst laser knocks out his weapons. He won't be shooting me for a while. His life support goes.
Their hull is going to buckle and crack any moment and then I take out the ship's shields. I detect his FTL warming up for a jump, but it's all for nothing, one more salvo from my laser leaves nothing but wreckage.
Things are going well in this sector of space. I can handle the enemies thrown at me and then I come across another pirate. Hold on, he wants to offer his services. I take him up on the offer and he gives me updated coordinates for this sector, in return I hand over 11 scrap (the currency in game).
Several jumps later...
I've jumped into a nebula when I'm greeted by a blackmarket trader eager to push his merchandise. Feeling really ballsy after my last few stunningly successful encounters I decide to take it off him for free and open fire.
This turns out to be a REALLY bad decision. His weapons and anti-ship drone rips chunks out of my hull.
I'm down to my last 5 hull points, my shields are dead, sick bay is off line and engines are barely working when the other ship finally explodes. The resources I find from the wreck will barely cover the damage. Plus, the pilot room is on fire. That's another 2 hull points I really can't afford right now.
Next jump...
It's a store. We're saved! My crew stop for a bit, flirting with the alien hotties and downing a few drinks while the ship is repaired and re-stocked.
Where to now?
However it's addictive and I keep going back for more. This is the story of my second playthrough.Why second? Well, the first was far too depressing (hint: almost everyone dies in the first 5 minutes). So, this is the tale of the Hot Prospect.
I start off with three plucky humans: Hosbach, Yang and Renee. I assign Hosbach to the helm, Yang to weapons and Renee to the shields and we make the first jump. Shoooom!
Our first jump takes the ship to within scanning range of a destroyed moon colony, where we pick up a lone survivor. Charlie the Rockman joins our crew out of gratitude. Rockmen are hard as, err, rock, and make excellent fighters. He becomes our main guy for ship security. Things are going well.
Distress call from a nearby system. We jump there, and are greeted by pirates. "It's a trap!" I yell to myself in my best Admiral Ackbar voice. My first missile does little, but his tears a small hole in my hull. Never mind, the salvo from my burst laser knocks out his weapons. He won't be shooting me for a while. His life support goes.
Things are going well in this sector of space. I can handle the enemies thrown at me and then I come across another pirate. Hold on, he wants to offer his services. I take him up on the offer and he gives me updated coordinates for this sector, in return I hand over 11 scrap (the currency in game).
Several jumps later...
I've jumped into a nebula when I'm greeted by a blackmarket trader eager to push his merchandise. Feeling really ballsy after my last few stunningly successful encounters I decide to take it off him for free and open fire.
This turns out to be a REALLY bad decision. His weapons and anti-ship drone rips chunks out of my hull.
Next jump...
It's a store. We're saved! My crew stop for a bit, flirting with the alien hotties and downing a few drinks while the ship is repaired and re-stocked.
Where to now?
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