KickStarter Star Traders: Frontiers - space sandbox game by Trese Brothers

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Morkar Left]

What am I missing?

Didn't play for a longer time now. Though I might miss a lot of things. But the Gunhawk Sabre ist just a lot more speedy and agile and allows you to have one officer more. The office alone is a huge thing. Seems to be a specialized boarding vessel (but lacks the medical bay which is odd for such a build). On top of it it needs less fuel. It seems a bit too expensive in comparison but it might need less refitting to your personal peference. Which means it will need less time to reconfigure. Time is actually a valuable ressource because there is some timedependent levelscaling in the game.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

Officer cabin (and more crew) can be easily retrofitted too. I guess my main problem is that while I like it fast to either zoom in for boarding or quick escapes, these tiny vessels seem to be pretty fragile in comparison to the bigger ones. I lost all my games by being blown up with smaller ships.

 

[Morkar Left]

Officer cabin (and more crew) can be easily retrofitted too. I guess my main problem is that while I like it fast to either zoom in for boarding or quick escapes, these tiny vessels seem to be pretty fragile in comparison to the bigger ones. I lost all my games by being blown up with smaller ships.

But there's a max. count for each ship to keep in mind. And especially small ships usually have small crew and unfortunately fewer officer slots (Juror class). I prefer small ships too to get that firefly feeling by avoiding combat mostly and have a small crew. Last time I played I started with more standard sized ships. Will probably try this again when playing soon again. But it seems there are more improvements for small ships by now, too.
But yeah, a small ship basically means less of everything but good chances to escape / avoid combat and quickly leveling up your crew. In combat they are class cannons for quick boarding. Don't know if that has changed (with small craft fighters / bombers, new equipment, ships and rebalancing). And I'm not sure if they are still best when escaping from long range (Navigation and Electronics is still key for that right?).

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

i can board and escape perfectly fine with the most expensive, biggest ship available. ship sizes make no sense, have no meaning, once you can afford the biggest ship with the 10 points engine you're set, you won, even xeno ships can barely do anything once you landed your first bombardment (turn 1 or 2). small crafts are a joke, a level 3 bomber does slightly more damage than your average *small* weapon but once every 4 turns and take way more important space on the ship. and a crew slot too.
what's supposed to be the endgame?

 

[Morkar Left]

i can board and escape perfectly fine with the most expensive, biggest ship available. ship sizes make no sense, have no meaning, once you can afford the biggest ship with the 10 points engine you're set, you won, even xeno ships can barely do anything once you landed your first bombardment (turn 1 or 2). small crafts are a joke, a level 3 bomber does slightly more damage than your average *small* weapon but once every 4 turns and take way more important space on the ship. and a crew slot too.
what's supposed to be the endgame?

I think they nerfed the small craft to be more useful.

Endgame is basically finishing all era story arcs and whatever personal goal you might have. Would have been nice to have some sort of Pirates! endgame summary with description once you retire.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

Is there a forced end/retirement? I never got that far.

 

[anvi]

Am I the only one who thinks there is far too much text in this game?

 

[Nutria]

There's like 8 sentences every 30 minutes. If that's too much for you, I don't even know what to suggest since even comic books would be over your head.

 

[anvi]

Nah it seems too wordy. I just counted and there are 22 sentences before you even get to play! And that is not including the intro. Then you visit a planet and it has several more things to read not including all the CCG cards that pop up. I think devs need to get some self awareness of this stuff. And I wouldn't read a comic book because I'm not 12. I would read a real book which I do regularly. It is a lot different to read something written by a published professional writer than it is to read line after line written by a Ukrainian programmer.

 

[Nutria]

To be completely honest I skip through about half of it, but I think that having a vague idea of what's going on in their story makes it a better game.

 

[anvi]

To be completely honest I skip through about half of it

Couldn't you have just been honest with your first reply instead of trying to pretend it is my problem? I can skip through it and get the gist too, it is how I play almost every modern game which insists on being full of this bullshit. But having to do that deserves to be criticized. Why add all these crappy lines of text that most people skip? And it is extra stupid having to skip through 22 sentences before you even get into the game. It also makes it seem like the game will be full of this shit posing as content.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

22 sentences before you even get to play

But that's a mere whiff, a trifle, an absolute nothing.

 

[anvi]

Jeez this game is almost constant reading. And the worst UI I've ever seen. Uninstalled. Gonna try Starsector next.

 

[baud]

Funny, from my memories of playing that game, it was mostly travelling, fighting other ships and some commerce, because I kept losing money doing the first two activities. Still I didn't really followed any storylines and just goofed around.

 

[anvi]

I would skip all the text but you need to read enough of it to understand what to do and where to go, at least the start. But the amount of text is insane. 22 sentences before you even get to see the game and your ship. Then you press Space and it auto flies to pick up some diplomat lady and she has another big conversation with you. Then you deliver her where she is going and there is 40!!! sentence conversation about all sorts of shit, and then some guy has another conversation with you about the woman. Games these days have totally lost their fucking way and I feel like I am the only one who is even noticing it.... You read endless crappy bla bla bla written by a programmer or you are faced with a screen filled with icons and no idea what anything is or what you are supposed to do.

And if I am just gonna fly around shooting stuff, there seems to be far better alternatives. I started Starsector and it seems much better. I did the tutorials and there was a fair bit to read in that, but it is all informative instead of pretending to be dialogue, and you also get to play at the same time.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Skip the dialogue you nigger.

 

[Nutria]

Couldn't you have just been honest with your first reply instead of trying to pretend it is my problem?

This is the Codex. I just come here to shitpost and start fights with people when I'm drunk. Well that and also catch up on which new games might be promising.

 

[anvi]

Skip the dialogue you nigger.

I will try some other time. I already switched to Starsector instead which seems better.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Skip the dialogue you nigger.

I will try some other time. I already switched to Starsector instead which seems better.

Alright, have fun.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

I would skip all the text

Why are you on this forum?

 

[anvi]

I would skip all the text

Why are you on this forum?

I don't mind reading if it is interesting. The text in games is always boring and shit, like your posts.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

I don't mind reading if it is interesting. The text in games is always boring and shit, like your posts.

How many times did you re-roll, be honest. That might have something to do with the opening tedium .
Just spam through it once you know what it says, takes like 3 secs tops.

 

[Luka-boy]

Update #187: Major Expansion "BROOD"
Slithering out of the Alzean Core comes an ancient threat

The BROOD has been awoken in this major new expansion pack which includes a extremely challenging Story Era, the new Gundeck Boss Job and invites enemy captains to command carriers and launch squadrons of attack craft.

With the drop of this major expansion, we're inviting new captains to come sail the quadrants and save 35%. If you're enjoying the game and the continuous stream of major expansions without any DLCs, please take a moment to leave a review or tell a friend. If you're new to the frontiers, post your comments, feedback and suggestions to the discussion board or join us on our Discord where there is a great community to help!

Brood Awakens

To avoid spoilers, we won't say much about the ancient, slimy, snaky void-slug evil that has slept since the time of Shalun. The BROOD Story Era will start during the 3rd or 4th Centuries with a series of introductory stories. No matter how old your game is, it will start if you play for a few years -- as always we work hard to make sure veteran captains can keep enjoying new content without any restarts.

Prepare your ship, sharpen your blades, load up on hexshell. This one won't be easy, captain.

Enemy Carriers and Gundeck Boss

Enemy captains now have the fully operational battle carriers! High level human captains of certain professions like Military Officer may challenge you in the void, ready to launch interdictors, bombers and boarding shuttles against you. And, the jyeeta race is well known for its craft swarms. In both cases, it is time for your captain to consider some changes to ship weaponry, ship components, Talents and even perhaps Job distribution on the boat. Consider the % to hit craft when picking ship weapons, as you'll want to blow the enemy craft out of the sky before they reach you. Take another look at Autocannons. Consider of the C-Tak and Railtrak Guidance components that play double-duty on your ship, or Pilot Assist Modules which help your capital ship evade bombing runs. Finally -- most ship Jobs already provide Talents with capability to jam, disable or debuff craft, and now a new specialist Job has arrived as well.

The new Gundeck Boss Job brings a strong anti-craft capability to any ship, combining the sensibilities of a quartermaster with the skills of a gunner. Stalking the gundecks, the boss roars orders, pinpoints targets and rallies morale in ship combat. Adding Gunnery, Intimidate and Repair, the Gundeck Boss is a great cross-Job for a ship officer but can make for a powerful stand-alone crew member. Even on a small ship, the Gundeck Boss can make a big impact versus carriers.

Roadmap Next Steps

With the BROOD expansion, we've closed down the entire v2.6.x family of the roadmap, adding the promised 7th story Era and the jyeeta xeno species in a single blow. We've also completed our goal to add +33% new Jobs and Talents and +50% new Contact types and services after the game's release, which means we're starting to tick off some of the big boxes in the Content Expansion Goals as well.

Next Project Announced!

While we still have a lot of work to finish out the Star Traders: Frontiers development roadmap, we're excited to be coming out of the pre-production phase on our next game and ready to share.

In Cyber Knights, you are the razor-sharp leader of a covert merc company operating in the New Boston Zone in 2231. Built around a core of turn-based gameplay featuring stealth, hacking, ambushes, firefights and complex missions, Cyber Knights weaves the human story of your team, their loyalty and their sacrifice in a dehumanizing cyberpunk world.

Coming to KickStarter in Feb 2020, sign up to get the call and alerted about free first day rewards, discounts and more! We're gathering the most crackpot amazing alpha team ever and we hope you'll join us.

v3.0.1 - 11/4/2019

- Added 7th Story Era: Jyeeta Xeno Brood Awakens!
- Added new anti-craft "Gundeck Boss" Job!
- Enemy captains may now fly carrier ships including the dreaded Jyeeta Xeno and their swarm
- All new simulation rules, Rumors, Conflicts, and Contact actions/mutations during this new period of galactic threat
- Added new Era-specific Echoes that forever change the simulation due to the 7th Era
- Added 4 new Era-specific Rumors which can affect entire quadrants, systems and wilderness zones and multiple Rumor echoes which can appear anytime after Era
- Added 1 new Era-specific Contact Type, the controversial Xenologist, who will also echo and appear after Era
- Added 5 Era-specific Contact creation rules to seed the Era new blood
- Added 4 Era-specific special cargo rules for Spies, Merchants, Smugglers and Pirates
- Added 5 Era-specific Explorer cards which can also echo and appear anytime after Era
- Added 6 Era-specific Orbital Ops and Salvage cards which can also echo and appear anytime after Era
- Added new Era-driven ship encounters and mechanics when meeting the Jyeeta xeno in the void
- Added 13 new Era-specific crew barks for different Rumor typess
- Added new Rare Trade Good, Jyeeta Artifacts
- New Spice Hall recruit of Xeno Hunters during Jyeeta Spore system Rumor
- Rippling effects of story choices made all the way back in the first Era bearing fruit
- Added new Contact type "Fleet Commander" offers high rank and edict, pardons, ship upgrade discount, recruits Gundeck Boss
- Renamed Contact Trait "Naval Vet" to "Wing Vet", added new "Naval Vet" Contact Trait
- Contacts with "Naval Vet" Trait gives more weight to Faction Rep, has +1 bonus level to Recruits, and Recruits Gundeck Bosses
- Increased duration of Navigator's "Fast Getaway" Talent to 3 turns from 2
- Buffed Battle Prow 1, 2 and 3 components with improved Electronics and Boarding Bonus
- Rebalanced Military Officer's "Incite Victory" Talent
- Fixed bug with Sell All sometimes still selling "F" demand resources
- Fixed issues with total component counts sometimes reporting incorrectly in starport
- Fixed issues with Awards -- Survivor III, Navigator I, II and III
- Fixed issues with some enemy Talents showing up in the player's log