FTL suffers for having a final boss
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 4:57 am
So, I've had this game since shortly after its release. Played it a ton, just gifted it to a friend of mine, it's good fun all around. It does a very good job of capturing that space opera feel without putting too much emphasis on the laser-firing battle that most other games of this ilk build around.
Until the final sector, that is.
The final boss is, without question, the worst part of FTL, and leaves a sour taste in not only my mouth, but that of anyone I know who has played the game to that point.
At its core, FTL is a roguelike. You explore levels that have zero compunctions about killing you, with randomly generated content and rewards, and if you die, you go back to square one. Having a final boss at the end of the game really only works under the assumption that you can restart just before the boss, and learn the boss' capabilities via trial and error. Roguelikes never do, and the number of roguelikes that really make final bosses work can be counted on one finger (The Binding of Isaac).
Even outside of being bad on terms of being a roguelike, the flagship is a bad boss for breaking almost every rule in the game. Some of these breaks are more forgivable for whatever reason (four weapons rooms are acceptable because each one is easier than a central weapon room to disable) and some are just flat-out terrible (power surges, AI control upon crew death, power surges, multiple phases even if you disable the systems that would allow escape, power surges, power surges, power surges).
Only problem is, what then, if the game does not have a final boss? Without some exciting conclusion, the game would end abruptly and in a dull fashion, and suffer for it just as much.
Me and a few of my friends discussed this a bit, and came to the conclusion that while most roguelikes don't work well with final bosses, they DO work well with final levels, where you're doing the same things you did for the bulk of the game, only they're cranked up to 11. NetHack has the elemental/Astral planes, Crawl has the realm of Zot, Brogue doesn't even give its final levels a special name, nor does it need to. Point being, the tactics you used for the whole game, not just the ones for killing monsters, can and will get you to your objective and help you win.
How could this be translated into FTL? Well, outside of ship battles, the biggest things are (quickly) navigating the sector, making choices at events with benefits for having specific gear, and answering distress/quest beacons. One possibility is merely making it through a sector where every beacon is a Rebel-tier ship challenge, but that's the easy way out and doesn't sound very fun to play, not just because the optimal strategy becomes MAXIMUM ENGINEDUDES.
If the flagship remains central, then one good option is to axe the multiple phases and give it all its capabilities from the word go, BUT delay its ETA sharply and add multiple quest beacons around the sector. Visiting one would have a weaker ship, still very difficult, but more within reason, and before fighting it, allow for a number of blue options. Clearing the quest beacon would remove a given capability from the flagship. For example, say there's a Rebel Engi ship attempting to hack the drone control system, but is in turn being attacked by an ion-specialized ship. If you have the Reverse Ion Field, you can interpose yourself between the Engi and their attacker to buy time to disable the drones, otherwise you could just straight-up fight the ship. Either way, the flagship, once you do fight it, loses drone capabilities. This one still has the final boss, but as the flow of gameplay becomes more similar to what players have been doing up until the final sector. It also lets players take on the final boss on their own terms, so their optimal strategy has some wiggle room.
Really, I do like this game. As much as I hate the flagship and final sector, everything else about the game is good fun and highly enjoyable. I'd really like to see the final sector changed, because that would take this game to a completely new level of excellence.
Until the final sector, that is.
The final boss is, without question, the worst part of FTL, and leaves a sour taste in not only my mouth, but that of anyone I know who has played the game to that point.
At its core, FTL is a roguelike. You explore levels that have zero compunctions about killing you, with randomly generated content and rewards, and if you die, you go back to square one. Having a final boss at the end of the game really only works under the assumption that you can restart just before the boss, and learn the boss' capabilities via trial and error. Roguelikes never do, and the number of roguelikes that really make final bosses work can be counted on one finger (The Binding of Isaac).
Even outside of being bad on terms of being a roguelike, the flagship is a bad boss for breaking almost every rule in the game. Some of these breaks are more forgivable for whatever reason (four weapons rooms are acceptable because each one is easier than a central weapon room to disable) and some are just flat-out terrible (power surges, AI control upon crew death, power surges, multiple phases even if you disable the systems that would allow escape, power surges, power surges, power surges).
Only problem is, what then, if the game does not have a final boss? Without some exciting conclusion, the game would end abruptly and in a dull fashion, and suffer for it just as much.
Me and a few of my friends discussed this a bit, and came to the conclusion that while most roguelikes don't work well with final bosses, they DO work well with final levels, where you're doing the same things you did for the bulk of the game, only they're cranked up to 11. NetHack has the elemental/Astral planes, Crawl has the realm of Zot, Brogue doesn't even give its final levels a special name, nor does it need to. Point being, the tactics you used for the whole game, not just the ones for killing monsters, can and will get you to your objective and help you win.
How could this be translated into FTL? Well, outside of ship battles, the biggest things are (quickly) navigating the sector, making choices at events with benefits for having specific gear, and answering distress/quest beacons. One possibility is merely making it through a sector where every beacon is a Rebel-tier ship challenge, but that's the easy way out and doesn't sound very fun to play, not just because the optimal strategy becomes MAXIMUM ENGINEDUDES.
If the flagship remains central, then one good option is to axe the multiple phases and give it all its capabilities from the word go, BUT delay its ETA sharply and add multiple quest beacons around the sector. Visiting one would have a weaker ship, still very difficult, but more within reason, and before fighting it, allow for a number of blue options. Clearing the quest beacon would remove a given capability from the flagship. For example, say there's a Rebel Engi ship attempting to hack the drone control system, but is in turn being attacked by an ion-specialized ship. If you have the Reverse Ion Field, you can interpose yourself between the Engi and their attacker to buy time to disable the drones, otherwise you could just straight-up fight the ship. Either way, the flagship, once you do fight it, loses drone capabilities. This one still has the final boss, but as the flow of gameplay becomes more similar to what players have been doing up until the final sector. It also lets players take on the final boss on their own terms, so their optimal strategy has some wiggle room.
Really, I do like this game. As much as I hate the flagship and final sector, everything else about the game is good fun and highly enjoyable. I'd really like to see the final sector changed, because that would take this game to a completely new level of excellence.