Subset Games Forum

The Vortex on easy was my first win. It's not as bad as people make it out to be. You just have to not get one of the events that kills your one crew member.

I started playing on Friday evening.

I've never played a roguelike (despite my username) and was ordered to get this game and play it by friends. I'd read about it on Penny-Arcade a while back.

I got most of the way through the map on my first try and then decided to restart, having learned a few valuable lessons about managing my money and upgrades.

I beat the boss on my second attempt and again on my third, both in the Kestrel default loadout.

I was using Autofire all the time (which I now realize is not really a good thing for most situations) and went heavy on laser/beam weapons since I hate having to purchase drones and missiles. I prefer to save my scrap and invest in things that'll last. Shields, shields, shields. I'm upgrading shields before anything else. I have two shield bubbles by the time I'm out of the first node, three by the time I'm out of the third, and four well before I get to the last stand.

I'm big on the spacebar, too! I don't know how you're playing, but man, I'm a pause maniac. In realtime this game probably takes about 15 minutes, but with the pause I'm spending maybe two hours fine tuning EVERYTHING and considering what the heck to do next.

I like to have a tank of a ship with a good set of rechargeable weapons, such that I can set targets and basically sit back and let it tear apart the enemy. I attack shields first 99% of the time, and move on to other systems on my second or third volley... but I normally keep one weapon pounding those shields for most ships. I want the shield generator red, the shield room on fire, and the crew scared to go in.

So that's my rambling. At this point I'd have to check, but I'd say I'm around 40% for winning on Easy.

roguerpi wrote:...Shields, shields, shields. I'm upgrading shields before anything else. I have two shield bubbles by the time I'm out of the first node, three by the time I'm out of the third, and four well before I get to the last stand.

I like 4 shields as well. Many players prefer 3 as it's considerably cheaper and works almost as well. I would suggest pumping upgrades into those engines esp. since you're not big on drones. Shields don't do jack against missiles.

roguerpi wrote:I'm big on the spacebar, too! I don't know how you're playing, but man, I'm a pause maniac. In realtime this game probably takes about 15 minutes, but with the pause I'm spending maybe two hours fine tuning EVERYTHING and considering what the heck to do next.

Same here. I like to ponder things and besides, sooner or later my attention is scattered all over the place. I can't keep up with my boarders, their boarders, fires, breaches all at once.

roguerpi wrote:I like to have a tank of a ship with a good set of rechargeable weapons, such that I can set targets and basically sit back and let it tear apart the enemy. I attack shields first 99% of the time, and move on to other systems on my second or third volley... but I normally keep one weapon pounding those shields for most ships. I want the shield generator red, the shield room on fire, and the crew scared to go in.

Disableing shields is very important but as you progress the enemies will have better engines and sometimes ludicrous evasion. Taking out their Helm or Engines becomes a priority. It's hard to keep shields down when so many shots miss. Deciding how to tackle their Weapons, Shields and Engines/Helm is a common problem. And one of the reasons i prefer to bomb their medbay and clobber the crew instead.

Good luck with the rest of the game. Once you have mastered the Torus, you will probably like drones a lot more.

roguerpi wrote:I'm big on the spacebar, too! I don't know how you're playing, but man, I'm a pause maniac. In realtime this game probably takes about 15 minutes, but with the pause I'm spending maybe two hours fine tuning EVERYTHING and considering what the heck to do next.

Don't sweat it, it's how most of us play the game, and how the game was designed to be played. In a way, the "hard" mode is to play without pausing. A few players have managed to win that way (there's notably a video on YouTube of a pause-less game), they have all my respect.

UltraMantis wrote:I like 4 shields as well. Many players prefer 3 as it's considerably cheaper and works almost as well. I would suggest pumping upgrades into those engines esp. since you're not big on drones. Shields don't do jack against missiles.

Disableing shields is very important but as you progress the enemies will have better engines and sometimes ludicrous evasion. Taking out their Helm or Engines becomes a priority. It's hard to keep shields down when so many shots miss. Deciding how to tackle their Weapons, Shields and Engines/Helm is a common problem. And one of the reasons i prefer to bomb their medbay and clobber the crew instead.

Good luck with the rest of the game. Once you have mastered the Torus, you will probably like drones a lot more.

Interesting point about the cost of level 4 shields. I certainly know they're expensive!

Yeah, I've recently focused more on the helm, since it's almost guaranteed to have a crewmember manning it that's an extra bonus of damage.

I like the Torus and I like drones, I just hate the cost. So that Drone Recovery Arm is pretty crucial. Otherwise a lot of the time with the Torus I'll go through a battle without deploying my drones, if at all possible.