Incline Colony Ship RELEASE THREAD

[Ol' Willy]

Finished another run with this build. Minmaxxed stats a bit more and picked pistols again. Shotguns are the best choice for a build like this, they have the best damage output per AP spent, but pistols come second in my opinion and worth trying. This char goes really smooth, once again 5 monk fight is the only one to filter me

Maxxing INT allows us to tag pistols, lockpick and computer right away. Crit doesn't even need a tag right now as it will grow very fast. With educated we can tag computers. After getting INT implant and overclocking it we have a choice. We can tag Crit and bring it to 12, giving us base around 90%; or we can tag biotech and get cool high level upgrades. Biotech grows good by itself, and it actually reached 10 the first. I think it is the better option, you can get +12 initiative and 2MP for example with upgrades. Failed to get 10 in lockpick and electronics, even with tags and 10 INT. I am not sure how you get 10 in lockpick, even my previous char with 12 INT and necessary feats remained at 9

Second wind works great with pistols, fighting frogs with this char is particularly fun. Turn 2, all but 1 froggies are gone and I am at full AP

100% crit chance against target with low evasion. I use heavy pistol to take out all worms on turn 1, then use Romeo to distract medusas and tank their damage. This way I don't have to kill them quickly and can do it with regular revolver, saving energy ammo. Only one of the two fights where I brought Romeo with me, the rest it wasn't really needed. The second time I brought him was against cyborgs but it was of little help

 

[Yosharian]

Interesting. I think I would rather do the CHA build though, bringing along party members would make the game more interesting.

I might give the game another try at some point

 

[jackofshadows]

Failed to get 10 in lockpick and electronics, even with tags and 10 INT. I am not sure how you get 10 in lockpick

As far as I remember for me it was rather a fork between 10 lockpick and 10 electronics but either of them were well within reach.

linking my run once again

When you do the frog brains quest you take the third type of that stuff which boost skills, right? Some changes could've been made since release though.

Man if not for Stoneshart I'd be this close for diving in here again after seeing these run reports of yours

 

[Gilius Thunderhead]

Vault Dweller I always thought that you were against crowdfunding because it took from future game profits...

Of course not. Who wouldn't want to have future profits ... today!?

But if there is are no future games, then wouldn't giving crowdfounding a shoot be worth it?

Because it would. not. work. KS isn't a magic well that grants wishes and funds games. It gives you a bit of money that are scaled to your level. If we ask for what we need, we won't get it. If we ask for what we can get, we'd only be milking our strongest supporters.

There's a non-negligible chance that you may have some wealthy benefactors(not me, don't get your hopes up) who're able to chip in a lot more than you expect. I wouldn't mind throwing an extra zero for what I'd otherwise pay for a videogame in cases such as this(unique game from a small studio that is struggling), even though I generally buy things on sale. I'm sure there are others out there who wouldn't think twice about throwing you an additional zero or two.

 

[Ol' Willy]

Failed to get 10 in lockpick and electronics, even with tags and 10 INT. I am not sure how you get 10 in lockpick

As far as I remember for me it was rather a fork between 10 lockpick and 10 electronics but either of them were well within reach.

linking my run once again

When you do the frog brains quest you take the third type of that stuff which boost skills, right? Some changes could've been made since release though.

Man if not for Stoneshart I'd be this close for diving in here again after seeing these run reports of yours

I assume a good number of lockpick checks are placed in stealth missions, the majority of which I skipped

 

[lukaszek]

I assume a good number of lockpick checks are placed in stealth missions, the majority of which I skipped

lockpicks, electronics and computers

 

[Ol' Willy]

A dodge build for a change. Late Pit I had a feeling that this char won't make it, as damage output was not particularly good compared to my previous chars, but then it went very smooth, I would say even better than glass cannon builds.

I go to Factory, do ambush and Detroit, and then remember that I forgot to loot and unload frog brains for a free feat. I killed them all already, just forgot to loot. No biggy, reload, get the feat and redo both of these fights.

With evasion you can't just stand in the middle of the room and dodge like you did in AoD or DR, you need to stack defensive bonuses for yourself and offensive debuffs for enemies - then it works great. Evasion allows you to remain in combat longer to offset the lack of damage. The build naturally gets abilities to maximize on this stuff

100% poison and optic res, also 100% thermal vision. Flashbangs, poisons and smokes don't exist for my char. I can also max neural to 80% with zen stim and proper helmet which makes mind worms a mild annoyance. As you can see from my consumable inventory, smokes and poison were the most useful, the rest - not really necessary.

Later in the game, when build really comes online, "fast" shotguns are the best choice since I don't really need to max range due to my playstyle - the shotgun you pick after killing the Serpent in mission control is very good.

Choosing between heart and armor implants, heart is really the obvious choice. 5HP regen every turn, +5HP max and 25% toxic res are no brainer versus meager DR bonus from subdermal armor. Considering that shield regens too, I can end some fights at full health and shield.

This was the plateau moment. I had Solomon fight at the Arena and Mercy fight (the harder version to get initiative bonus clock going) left before going forward. Solomon fight went better only after skillful use of various consumables, while for Mercy I just cheesed the fuck out of it

I could do it legit way without such pornography, but I needed at least one poison grenade - and I exhausted all of them.

Once you get 100 thermal vision, the good tactic is just throw smoke under your feat and enjoy reduced accuracy of the enemies. This made the Heart fight very easy

Another good feature - having free MPs I can just run towards the guy (no reaction due to heroic feat), unload at point blank, then go back to cover. Obviously shoot at arms more to keep the debuffs on

Of course, no chances against five cyborgs once again, 111 evasion is good but against them it's nothing

 

[jackofshadows]

Of course, no chances against five cyborgs once again

Some day I will do a (party) run just to see them down. And that silly ending.

 

[Pink Eye]

Of course, no chances against five cyborgs once again, 111 evasion is good but against them it's nothing

Yeap. It's *the* hardest encounter in the game. You need stealth gadget with tier 3 upgrades to even have a chance. You also need so many stasis 'nades. In other words, you need to somehow beat the earlier fights without much consumables, which is tricky. Some of the solo builds I saw just ignored the earlier fights.

And that silly ending.

It's a hilarious ending where everyone dies. Made me laugh when I doomed humanity to death. I love the writing in this game, it does a great job of entertaining me with its flavorful prose.

 

[Darth Roxor]

al-willy's enchantment with colon ship only confirms my theory that this game is in fact rusware

 

[TheDarkUrge]

Because it would. not. work. KS isn't a magic well that grants wishes and funds games. It gives you a bit of money that are scaled to your level. If we ask for what we need, we won't get it. If we ask for what we can get, we'd only be milking our strongest supporters.

Ask for what you need then and see whether you won't get it or not, so far you've made so many misjudged decisions with CS that I've lost count, so introspect on your own mistakes and for once do what everyone is telling you to do. Or have the balls to admit that you just don't want to continue instead of lying and saying things like "we're not dead yet" when without any warning you shut down your own forums (which was a huge dick move, especially for those who tried to translate your game for free or those who wanted to download mods that Sunfire and some others did) and for all we know have a different job already.

And yeah, don't even bother doing a Kickstarter (or Patreon) for CS sequel because that definitely won't work (sequels usually sell less for indie games and besides, as CS has shown you won't have enough budget to utilise this setting properly), instead go for that Inquisition game.

Anyway, the mistakes I have in mind are the learn-by-doing system, the wokeness to cater to a target that not in a million years would buy your games (and at the same time that annoys your core audience), the writing (as I've said, instead of another Miltiades or Neleos we got lifeless quest givers and lore dumpers and the whole setting was a wasted potential, we might as well have been in some underground facility, not once have I felt that I was on a space ship) plus other things I've mentioned in my review: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/colony-ship-release-thread.148806/page-42#post-8766955

To be honest I don't know why I even bother since I know you won't listen just as you didn't a year ago and earlier (even that Forbes interviewer suggested it in 2013):

If the situation is so dire then why not going with Kickstarter (ask for money that would allow you to continue, if you won't raise it then so be it) or Patreon? Unless you're bored with making RPGs and prefer to do something else. Your games were always very niche for special kind of players so it's not surprising that they don't sell too well.

I don't think that Patreon would work at all.

WHY DON'T YOU JUST FUCKING TRY
I WANT TO GIVE YOU MY MONEY

Kickstarter and Patreon are also quite powerful marketing tools. Patreon is also a source of steady income and a way to interact better with your fans or should I say - fans of your work.

Also, you've said yourself that you've had an offer from a fairly big developer which you've declined even though you've seen how much money you need to complete the game and in the end we got polished "The Pit" and rushed everything else and now it's the end. Great business decision for a former VP...

Well you've missed an important part he mentioned before:some of his employees quit when they get experience because he can't afford to pay them enough to stay. So the kickstarter money might be enough, might not, but I imagine it's a huge pain in the ass to find another person that does the same job, and also to pick up where some left their work half done. Otherwise I'd agree with your points 100%, but logistically it sounds annoying to deal with that.

 

[thesecret1]

but logistically it sounds annoying to deal with that

...more annoying than shutting the company down? What?

 

[Feyd Rautha]

Colony Rats?

So in this game, Ship Rats, you find yourself on a second colony ship heading for the same destination. However shit just hit the fan and you have to fight yourself to a position where you can take control of the situation and ensure that the ship reaches it's destination. Enjoy!

 

[almondblight]

Closing forums with an active forumbase is a dick move, doubly so doing it without a warning. The devs do it to their most loyal die-hard fans.

I checked it out recently, and the forums had been dead for a while. Most forums are dying these days. The Codex is a bit of an anachronistic hold out, at least for the time being.

 

[Vault Dweller]

but logistically it sounds annoying to deal with that

...more annoying than shutting the company down? What?

Someone's shutting down the company? Well, that's just great! They never tell me anything...

 

[thesecret1]

but logistically it sounds annoying to deal with that

...more annoying than shutting the company down? What?

Someone's shutting down the company? Well, that's just great! They never tell me anything...

Didn't you say you didn't have the money for another game? What other income source do you have then, to keep the lights on? Outsourcing work for other studios?

 

[Ol' Willy]

al-willy's enchantment with colon ship only confirms my theory that this game is in fact rusware

opinion of a polack is like the smile of a prostitute, completely worthless

 

[Darth Roxor]

telling that the rusman considers 'rusware' a pejorative term

 

[Ol' Willy]

I tried other builds for solo in the meantime but dropped them so they don't even worth being screencapped

Melee Juggernaut 10-10-8-4-4-4, something straight out of Dungeon Rats. I know that this build becomes very capable later, but early game is pain. Accuracy is terrible, and goes out completely if you get even one maimed debuff, no MPs early on, low initiative and shortage of non-combat skills. Even when it comes online it remains fairly boring to play

Healing Factor is the same, but now you don't even have the Juggernaut damage bonus. Both of these would be alright for party, but for solo I just can't enjoy them

Tried Mastermind, while being able to tag all four combat skills right away is nice, you don't get any heroic bonuses. Also picked the rifle, which in my opinion is the worst choice for solo build.

Rifle is good for party or duo, you can use dedicated sniper + low PER melee guy, or even sniper + assault rifle for a good effect. But for solo, the damage output per AP spent is inferior pretty much to everything else. Single shots are too expensive, and bursts are cheaper with SMGs

For solo, ranged weapons are not really balanced, shotguns reign on top, pistols second with rifles and SMGs sharing third place

 

[Pink Eye]

Accuracy is terrible

What were your starting feats? If you go low accuracy you build for graze instead since it's the cheapest way to substitute bad Per. For melee you need high Str so your grazes do more damage, Gladiator for more graze chance, Berserker for cheap fast attacks, Heavy Hitter so your grazes can chew through enemy DR, and also Str implant for the upgrade that gives 1 melee damage for even more graze damage. It takes a few levels to get the graze feats, but once you get them, the build is very efficient.

Unlike Dungeon Rats, you have a bit more flexibility in build making in Colony Ship. Also for Juggernaut build you should get the mutation that gives DR when you eat a stim, that stacks with Juggy bonus. This is how much DR it can give:

Colony Ship is like Pathfinder where it's all about stacking as many bonuses as you can get.

 

[notpl]

One of these days I want to see if a Dodge This! knife build works as well as I think it might.

 

[Pink Eye]

Dodge This! knife build

I tried that build! My experience with it was that you needed stealth gadget since you're very weak. Stealth gadget allows you to basically avoid damage. I really like stealth gadget since it helps weak builds a lot. You also need a companion to take all the enemy aggro - in that build I have a shotgunner Faythe who wore heavy armor. The build basically plays like an assassin where you rush high value targets down in backline while Faythe eats bullets and maintains enemy aggression - if you position your Faythe right, you can force a 1v1 while everyone is focused on her. Anyways the whole appeal with Dodge This! is that it facilitates you to consistently trigger special effect of Knockdown/Carve - you can basically trivialize Ol' Bub with Knockdown spam. I like Knockdown spam more than Carve because Carve doesn't work on Robots; but Knockdown works on Robots.

Though I don't really play Critical Melee builds these days, I mostly play high Cha builds so I can buff my favorite companion in combat.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

but logistically it sounds annoying to deal with that

...more annoying than shutting the company down? What?

Someone's shutting down the company? Well, that's just great! They never tell me anything...

Didn't you say you didn't have the money for another game? What other income source do you have then, to keep the lights on? Outsourcing work for other studios?

He said he has enough money for another game of the same size, but he wanted another game to have a bigger scope than previous ones.

 

[Ibn Sina]

EU has funding grants for indie game provided development time does not exceed 2-3 years.

 

[Vault Dweller]

What other income source do you have then, to keep the lights on?

We released 3 games. Do you imagine they suddenly stopped selling? Anyone who thinks that Colony Ship failed (compared to AoD) isn't good at basic math comparing numbers. It's our strongest game by far.