Subset Games Forum

I noticed in my play-throughs (admittedly not nearly as many as some of you) that each play-through is based almost entirely on luck, and not in a way that creates strategy. The ability to adapt quickly and the skill to tactically make snap decisions, sure, but strategically this game is fairly dry. I've had many playthroughs where I'm in a very solid position at a store, then 3 sectors later (after exploring nearly the entire sector!!) I haven't found any more stores, and I run out of fuel and die horribly. How is that my fault? It's like a coin flip.

If I understood the game more and had played more often, I'd suggest a point-value for each sector that consists of the sum of the 'value' of each beacon. That way, each sector could be relatively 'balanced' between each playthrough, while still being random?

Zetal wrote:...3 sectors later (after exploring nearly the entire sector!!) I haven't found any more stores, and I run out of fuel and die horribly. How is that my fault?

It's not your falut. You didn't expect that you'd run out of fuel before finding the next store, but now you know it's very possible. The only suggestion is to buy more fuel to avoid bad luck. You can buy less fuel when you get closer to the end, but as a rule of thumb try to keep 15-20 units in reserve at all times. You might find ships in distress that ask for fuel and get no fuel for 10 or more beacons very easily, so it's helpfull to have extra fuel. Of course there's never enough scrap for everything and you don't know what you'll need in every run. That's the game's challenge.

The problem with FTL is that consequences of player mistakes are not imminent. Being stranded with no fuel can be a consequence of choosing path through uncharted nebulae (which are known of having only 1-2 shops) 2 sectors earlier.

IMHO running out of fuel was your decision.

Once you get the hang of the game, running out of fuel has only one bad consequence. The Rebels take over beacons so there's no usefull encounters there anymore. As long as your ship is prepared for a fight you can get to the exit even if you get stranded. The starting fuel ought to be enough to get some upgrades but you never know.