Let's Play FTL Livestream!

Arcanum · 10-01-2012, 09:32 AM

So remember a super long time ago when I said I was going to do a livestream? No? Good. Because the games I listed in that thread are all terrible when compared to FTL - Faster Than Light.

Oh wow NPF is blowing these images up for some reason

What is FTL?

FTL is a roguelike space adventure. You take control of a Federation ship and crew in possession of crucial intel about the Rebel fleet. It will be up to the "elite" team of NPF-named officers to get that intel to the Federation fleet while dealing with pirates, aliens (slugs, bugs, rocks, and more), rebels, and whatever hazards space wants to throw in our faces.

When/where is the livestream?

This will probably happen Friday at around 9pm Eastern (the time we used to have regular Steam Nights). I say "probably" because this weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving but as far as I know Friday should be clear for shenanigans.

My livestream channel is http://www.livestream.com/arcanummbd

Why are you livestreaming this?

1) Because there is too much going on in any given encounter for this to work with the classic "post screenshots, add flavor text" method.
2) There are always lots of choices to be made (what system to explore, what to upgrade, what to buy, do I engage this pirate or try to hide, do I help this stranded ship or blast it and salvage the scrap, etc etc), and watching it live means you get to help make those choices in the moment.
3) I'm still rather new to the game, and will most likely die several horrible deaths. I say this because I know some of you enjoy watching people/me suffer, and I'm serving this up to you on a silver platter.

Some basic info on the game

This is just to give you an idea of what to expect on Friday. When you start a new game you pick a ship (and name it) and name your starting crew. Sadly you can't rename crew in-game, so only 3-4 NPFers can ~~die terrible deaths~~ be heroes at a time.

This here is what the default ship looks like but there are plenty of others.

Once in the game proper you can get your crew to man certain stations (bridge, shield, weapons, engine) to improve their efficiency. You also manually control power flow to each of these stations. Putting more power into the engines will increase the ship's evasion, but unless the reactor is upgraded you will need to divert that power from somewhere else. You can also manually control the ship's doors, and vent atmosphere to stop fires or asphyxiate borders.

The combat is simplistic yet strategic. You wait X seconds for a weapon to charge before it fires, but you can choose what section of the enemy ship it shoots. Damaging a section also damages the systems within, so you can shut down the other ship's weapons, shields, or even oxygen supply. There are also a few different types of weapons but I'll go more into that on Friday.

If there's anything else you want to know about the game, feel free to ask. Otherwise, I will see you on Friday.

Episode List

Episode 1: The USS Osterbaum and Rocky IV

10-01-2012, 09:32 AM	#1
Arcanum Strike the Earth! Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 3,185	Let's Play FTL Livestream! So remember a super long time ago when I said I was going to do a livestream? No? Good. Because the games I listed in that thread are all terrible when compared to FTL - Faster Than Light. Oh wow NPF is blowing these images up for some reason What is FTL? FTL is a roguelike space adventure. You take control of a Federation ship and crew in possession of crucial intel about the Rebel fleet. It will be up to the "elite" team of NPF-named officers to get that intel to the Federation fleet while dealing with pirates, aliens (slugs, bugs, rocks, and more), rebels, and whatever hazards space wants to throw in our faces. When/where is the livestream? This will probably happen Friday at around 9pm Eastern (the time we used to have regular Steam Nights). I say "probably" because this weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving but as far as I know Friday should be clear for shenanigans. My livestream channel is http://www.livestream.com/arcanummbd Why are you livestreaming this? 1) Because there is too much going on in any given encounter for this to work with the classic "post screenshots, add flavor text" method. 2) There are always lots of choices to be made (what system to explore, what to upgrade, what to buy, do I engage this pirate or try to hide, do I help this stranded ship or blast it and salvage the scrap, etc etc), and watching it live means you get to help make those choices in the moment. 3) I'm still rather new to the game, and will most likely die several horrible deaths. I say this because I know some of you enjoy watching people/me suffer, and I'm serving this up to you on a silver platter. Some basic info on the game This is just to give you an idea of what to expect on Friday. When you start a new game you pick a ship (and name it) and name your starting crew. Sadly you can't rename crew in-game, so only 3-4 NPFers can ~~die terrible deaths~~ be heroes at a time. This here is what the default ship looks like but there are plenty of others. Once in the game proper you can get your crew to man certain stations (bridge, shield, weapons, engine) to improve their efficiency. You also manually control power flow to each of these stations. Putting more power into the engines will increase the ship's evasion, but unless the reactor is upgraded you will need to divert that power from somewhere else. You can also manually control the ship's doors, and vent atmosphere to stop fires or asphyxiate borders. The combat is simplistic yet strategic. You wait X seconds for a weapon to charge before it fires, but you can choose what section of the enemy ship it shoots. Damaging a section also damages the systems within, so you can shut down the other ship's weapons, shields, or even oxygen supply. There are also a few different types of weapons but I'll go more into that on Friday. If there's anything else you want to know about the game, feel free to ask. Otherwise, I will see you on Friday. Episode List Episode 1: The USS Osterbaum and Rocky IV __________________ POS Almighty has spoken. Last edited by Arcanum; 10-06-2012 at 01:59 AM.