Starsector - RT 2D indie space goodness

[anvi]

Is it better than X3/4?

 

[Perkel]

Is it better than X3/4?

Completely different game. It is more like warband. X3/X4 are mainly economy/strategic games without RTS and player being able to take in battles himself.

Game has shitload of great stuff like combat itself which is just fun it is just that developer don't seem to have idea what to do with its game. If this is supposed to be warband, rpg ?, space sim, economy game ? and so on. It is plain fun to fly around with your fleet watching your scan range, going dark, burns etc. or exploring galaxy finding weird stuff like abandoned research stations that is so close to binary star that you risk your whole fleet trying to get there.

It tries to create unique missions and content which is great and usually problem in spacegames that often to much relly on random roll of dice for its universe. Factions are great that feel different, stuff like AI being outlawed and you learning why etc.

Hmmm. It is like Kenshi in space i guess.

 

[Black]

 

[Joggerino]

Whoa, replay time??

 

[anvi]

Hi N word erino! <3

 

[Twiglard]

Play Highfleet instead of Starsector. It has way better systems, no grind, and tense combat.

Thread: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...s-in-post-apocalyptic-wasteland.138105/page-5

The bullshit stormy hyperspace and controlled burn have nothing on this.

 

[Galdred]

Is it better than X3/4?

Completely different game. It is more like warband. X3/X4 are mainly economy/strategic games without RTS and player being able to take in battles himself.

Game has shitload of great stuff like combat itself which is just fun it is just that developer don't seem to have idea what to do with its game. If this is supposed to be warband, rpg ?, space sim, economy game ? and so on. It is plain fun to fly around with your fleet watching your scan range, going dark, burns etc. or exploring galaxy finding weird stuff like abandoned research stations that is so close to binary star that you risk your whole fleet trying to get there.

It tries to create unique missions and content which is great and usually problem in spacegames that often to much relly on random roll of dice for its universe. Factions are great that feel different, stuff like AI being outlawed and you learning why etc.

Hmmm. It is like Kenshi in space i guess.

It definitely felt like Kenshi in space to me, with the same settlement improvement to drive exploration. The 2D space combat is really fun, and the ship design part too, both at the strategic (you want to build a fleet that can handle threats and explore far away without bankrupting you) and tactical level.
It is much more streamlined than X3 IMO.
For me, X3 was a bit like Eve Online: I didn't like the core spaceship gameplay enough to really want to bother with the empire building part.

 

[Skdursh]

Play Highfleet instead of Starsector. It has way better systems, no grind, and tense combat.

Highfleet is great, but the games aren't really comparable.

 

[Galdred]

I am now in love/hate relationship with Starsector. I love game but:

1. Colony part of game is mistake. It trivializes game if you can earn first 3-4 mln as money you get back from it quickly get rolling.
2. Salvaging even after latest update is still way too overpowered trivializing most of other gameplay. You can get huge fleet just by following some conflict very easily. Repairing ships barely cost anything. In theory D-mods should be bad but they are just too weak of malus to matter. Moreover no one asks you where did you get empire carrier and why do you use it just like that when you can't buy it. Tri-tachyon doesn't care that you are flying their latest ships and so on. Latest patch added salvagers flying around but that is nothing since they are pretty slow. After battles it should be clear that salvage belongs to those sides of confict. Salvaging should be boon to repairing and finding unclaimed ships you find in space rather than mass salvaging aftter battle getting those destroyers and carriers and even then cost of repairing should be high.
3. Same with buying ships. At start sure getting some new ship is hard but later on buying ship is basically nothing as cost between highest and lowest kind of ship isn't that high. I don't understand why some frigate can cost say 20k but full on carrier just 200k. Getting beast ships doesn't feel like any achievement at all. Creating fleet with best ships.
4. Weaponry. Same here. Sure finding some of them is hard but buying them ? They cost basically nothing. Best kit carrier should be worth multiple times of base version.
5. Recently introduced rework of skills and fate points make game even worse. Fate points are just basically your way out of jail/great find card and you can stack them. At least previously getting into dangerous sectors had some stake in it. Now as long as you have fate points there isn't any. Skills themselves feel like they don't belong in game. Previously they at least gave you ability to pick and choose what you want creating "build" but now it basically forces you to follow only one path as the greatest reward are at highest tier of those skills. You have to take first skill to get last. Stuff like hyperspace traversal jump should be equipment for ships rather than skill so player could create stealthy fleet, nope you have armada and you can gravity well jump just because of skill. Stuff like better replacement should be crew training rather than officer skill. Officer could be limiting factor instead say officer gives max 100% replacement rate instead of 50% without officer.


As much as i love game i just don't find it good game in longer run because most of achievements feel worthless. It is a game comparable to warband but it doesn't feel "right". The "unknown" that are supposed to be menace are just a joke as i can fly in their sectors without any issue and almost always run away.

Mods only increase those problems. Colonies go wild, more better ships for cheap and so on.

Game is the most fun when you struggle at start because there are some goals you can follow. Those goals get way to quickly done. Getting your first carrier should be an achievement not o geez another one i have already 5 salvaged ones and i don't know what to do with them anymore.

I don't agree about the colony part:
It takes so long for them to pay back all the investment poured into them, that by the time the first ones had paid the few millions I put into them back, I had literally explored the whole sector.
Most of the money I got at the time it mattered came from smuggling supplies to Ludic Path. It is usually very lucrative, trivial, and without any consequences (even though you are supplying terrorists that try to destroy your own colonies...).

My issue is that they don't matter that much; as you said, you can easily get the things you need otherwise. I got an old Paragon back in shape way before I could produce one. Same for virtually all the ships. Basically, the colonies were useful to create meme fleets of 15 hyperions to test, or dedicated builds to farm the AI fleets, but at this point, the game was already over.

As you said, exploring is a joke, because you can avoid most encounters. I explored with a phase fleet, drove remnant patrols away before going back and robbed most places dry.
I totally agree about salvaging.
My main issue is that there is little end goal. I like open ended game, but in Kenshi and Mount and Blade, you have more challenges to overcome. In Warband, you are basically never good until you become the strongest power.
Here, once your colony can defeat inspection fleets by itself, you don't really have much to look forward to. You can print more money, but there is little point to it, as ships are cheap indeed, as you pointed out.

I love the combat, even though I am not very good at it, but here too, it was not worth fighting in the beginning (the supply bill was too expensive compared to phase robbing the deep space), and now, there is little to fight for (I can farm AI core, but for what purpose? To get my colonies to print even more money I don't need?).

I am tempted to try Nexerellin next time (or maybe Beyond the sector? But this one seems buggy), as I really wish there were late game "existential" threats (and not only end game bosses that should be destroyed for loot).

tindrli Agent bounties now can go up to 600k+ There is an unique one for 1M with super the unique AI ships (the same that guard the coronal hypershunts).

 

[PorkaMorka]

The combat is amazing but they need to completely rework the overworld map, I recommend copying seeking inspiration from the mechanics of some similar sandbox game that actually works.

The meat of the game is the fights, the overworld map just needs to link together appropriately scaled fights, but that's what it refuses to do.

Instead I find myself spending most of my time on the overworld map, working very hard to find a worthwhile fight.

And it's a lot more profitable to find free ships just floating in space, instead of winning them from a battle.

Some of exploration stuff at the fringes of space is pretty neat, but there is a lot of time wasting in between, where I explore a boring sector, obtain boring loot, then drive back to sell it off and repeat.

 

[Sarathiour]

Some of exploration stuff at the fringes of space is pretty neat, but there is a lot of time wasting in between, where I explore a boring sector, obtain boring loot, then drive back to sell it off and repeat.

Well if you get pre-collapse artifact every time you scavenge some shit, it kinda ruin the thing.
Also sell loot ? If it's not worth at least 100C you're probably better off just dumping it.

I'll probably give an other go next year, seems like the just added new stuff with "ghost sensor" and spatial stream.

 

[Galdred]

The sensor ghosts are more a lore thing that something that will impact gameplay a lot imo.
One of the recent update also added new end game enemies and a cool unique phase capital ship you can get by following the storyline.

 

[razvedchiki]

the end game enemies are passive or sent fleets against you?

 

[Galdred]

the end game enemies are passive or sent fleets against you?

They are passive:
- the unique ship appears near the end of the academy storyline, in a not-system you need to explore
- the "dorito" cruisers guard the coronal hypershunt. Another one is with the 1M unique fleet bounty

In a way, it is weird because all they do is give you super strong weapons(if you get to salvage some of the OP ones, like antimatter SRM or rift torpedoes) to fight lesser enemies, but there is no realy challenges to your colonies late game (except the luddic path terrorist attacks you have no realy way to counter if you are tired of playing whack a mole with their bases).

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[Sarathiour]

The persean League was lacking some kind of emblematic ship, nice to see that they are fixing this.

 

[Üstad]

So when will the new update be available?

The persean League was lacking some kind of emblematic ship, nice to see that they are fixing this.

Sindrian Diktat getting soft nerf with the new April update I hope they won't implement it. They are nerfing them for lore reasons. The lore should revolve around the gameplay not the other way around.

 

[Üstad]

Watch this video if you want your IQ to be drained.

 

[Sarathiour]

I'm not following the game update per update, I just come back to it every year or two.

 

[Modron]

I'm not following the game update per update, I just come back to it every year or two.

So update to update? I hadn't looked at it in three years and it moved from .92 to .95.

 

[Sarathiour]

Watch this video if you want your IQ to be drained.

I'm not watching 1 hour of this, tier list should be read, not spelled in low effort video made live on tiermaker.

 

[Üstad]

I'm not following the game update per update, I just come back to it every year or two.

Well it's your call but with the new update the factions will be more unique it'll change the gameplay in a good way.

Watch this video if you want your IQ to be drained.

I'm not watching 1 hour of this, tier list should be read, not spelled in low effort video made live on tiermaker.

Just skip video to the end and see the stupid results.

 

[Sarathiour]

I did that , and I will obviously disagree with some stuff, but what's the criteria for this tier list ? IA pilot in fight ? Ratio in term of bang for you supply ? Are piloting it yourself ?

 

[hello friend]

Hey what are some good strats and loadouts on current patch if you just want to play Fleet Manager 2022 and AI combat all fights?

 

[Galdred]

Hey what are some good strats and loadouts on current patch if you just want to play Fleet Manager 2022 and AI combat all fights?

FWIW, the fleet I found the most AI friendly was:

- Onslaughts with shield shunt, Hellbore cannon and Storm Needlers
- Paragon with Tach lances
- Radiant Class Drone Battleship with auto pulse lasers
- Hyperion Frigates with Safety overrides

I would control either a Paragon (for chilling out), a Doom, or the storyline ship (Ziggurat).

It may not be optimal, but I defeated every kind of fleet with it. The Ziggurat ship was really key, and requires you to focus on using it, so it is not really fleet manager compatible, but it can take out most things that are not Doritoes (I don't even recall their real name now...) without you microing the Ziggurat.

But my mid game plan to make money (until my colonies became self sufficient) was:
Get all my fleet in phase ships (Doom, Harbingers, Afflictors, and Revenants+Ghosts for transport), and explore deep space while avoiding combat as much as possible, or take the same fleet to smuggle things to Luddic Path cells and pirates.

Watch this video if you want your IQ to be drained.

I only looked at the final list and didn't watch the whole video. How come the Doom is C? The AI is bad with it, granted, but when played by the player, you can do a lot of things with mines+phase, like deleting fighter swarms easily, or getting ships to get their shields away from you. It should be A or S when flown by the player.