I think this game warrants a thread on tales of space-heroism and space-tragedy that pop up when playing it. I was sorry to witness the crew of the FSS Birdsong reduced to begging when their fuel ran out and a trader happened by. He didn't take kindly to notions of charity and blew the Birdsong to bits. A good ship, and a good crew.... Ah well, there's always next time.

I just had a play through. Everything was going great, then near the end of the overall mission, I lost all but the pilot. Liu.

After the battle she went from room to room fixing rooms, healing, then coming back for more. Then all on her own she kept going to the next area.

Sure she almost immediately died but I like to think those few bombs she sent into the shield area was her last "Fuck You".

One of my missions I had a full crew on the sector before the end, when I got into a few fights in a row

The first one went allright, the second one I lose 3 members of my crew (Shields, weapons and my repair guy)

Third fight is where it went to shit. Low on hull, 3 people left (1 Zoltan and 2 Mantis') and the enemy had a missile heavy ship. I had the pre-igniter so I quickly shot as much as I could to try and take down weapons, when they beamed over. Instead of fighting them on my ship I beamed my two mantismen over, who were both expert fighters (they were my roaming crew to kill boarders) and opened all the airlocks on my ship. My zoltan died, but my two mantis' destroyed their weaponry, and took down 3 of their men before I warped them back.

Ended up winning that fight with my two men left and 4 hull, made it to a store and got a few more crew and ended up beating the flagship... pretty awesome game.

Section six, I am running 7 deep, original 3, 1 mantis, one crystal, one engi, and one zoltan.

Everything had been going good and I figured I would hit a distress signal before going to section seven and calling it a night.

It's a mantis ship, and two duders board, I send my mantis (two star fighter) and my crystal over to them (in the room next to shields on the right on the Krestal, and launch lockdown. THEN THE SHIP HITS ME WITH A MISSLE RIGHT THERE KILLING ALL BUT MY CRYSTAL, but it gets worse, full fire, crystal has 23 health, but lockdown keeps him in there. He dies an agonizing death while the shield commander hears him.

So now I enter section 7 with no fighters to shuffle around and I end my night.

fuck

@Iodine: What? killing the crew with a regular missile? were they full on health? maybe it was an anti-organic weapon...

@pyrodactyl said:

@Iodine: What? killing the crew with a regular missile? were they full on health? maybe it was an anti-organic weapon...

My mantis was at about half health at the time, crystal 2/3rds. There is a chance it wasnt a missle, but I am pretty sure it was.

I just had a game where I wrote personal logs for each of the human crewmen. It was my longest game and came in at 6000+ words. Would this be of interest to anyone?

do it

MORE LIKE FOR THE LOSE

My one time beating the game was fairly awesome - the last boss is still a giant bitch that's an enormous rise in difficulty / change in tactics compared to the other enemies, but if you're well-equipped enough to take him on it makes for some epic battles.

I had built up my best ship yet. Full crew, fully trained at their positions, a designated repair Engi and two Mantis crawlers to deal with any intruders. Four weapons that could be powered if I knocked down my engine, four bubble shield, two power cloak, drones for defense and attack, and some augments for reducing shield and weapon recharge time. As close to a perfect ship as I could ask for.

Until in the final battle an anti-personnel drone lands on my captain and tears through the hull in my piloting section. I tried to send my repair and Mantis crew to help him, but before I could react he was dead. I had to alternate crews going in there to try to fight the drone and repair, and finally my repair guy is pressed into piloting duties and leads us to victory.

The final stage of the final boss was also crazy with fires breaking out everywhere and me trying to rapidly bring down his shields and keep all the systems up and running, but nothing tops my no-name repair guy watching his captain die and then taking over as pilot against the Rebel Flagship. It helps to have an active imagination, but this game sure does construct some amazing overall stories, even if the system-to-system events get a little repetitive.

I'm not really sure how to share this, since it's a lot of text and I'm not really done formatting it, but if you just want to read it, you can download the personal logs of The Halitron's crew here.

I was in a brutal fight against an AI-controlled ship. In desperation, I beamed Ensign Ricky aboard to disable its weapon systems.

Don't do that. R.I.P. Ensign Ricky. May his sacrifice be a lesson to all captains looking to transport crew onto oxygen-less ships.

@Ubersmake said:

I was in a brutal fight against an AI-controlled ship. In desperation, I beamed Ensign Ricky aboard to disable its weapon systems.

Don't do that. R.I.P. Ensign Ricky. May his sacrifice be a lesson to all captains looking to transport crew onto oxygen-less ships.

If you're quick on the draw and have a fully-upgraded teleporter, you can beam a rockman over to an oxygenless ship and beam him back before he asphyxiates.

Even more cruel, if you have the Healing Burst weapon, you can keep your crew alive but slowly suffocating indefinitely. Or as long as you have spare missiles.

It sounds like I definitely need to get this game.

@Intelligent_Space_Man said:

@Ravenlight said:

@Ubersmake said:

I was in a brutal fight against an AI-controlled ship. In desperation, I beamed Ensign Ricky aboard to disable its weapon systems.

Don't do that. R.I.P. Ensign Ricky. May his sacrifice be a lesson to all captains looking to transport crew onto oxygen-less ships.

If you're quick on the draw and have a fully-upgraded teleporter, you can beam a rockman over to an oxygenless ship and beam him back before he asphyxiates.

Even more cruel, if you have the Healing Burst weapon, you can keep your crew alive but slowly suffocating indefinitely. Or as long as you have spare missiles.

So now I feel like a complete idiot for not figuring out, 'Why does my crew keep asphyxiating on these desolate, robot ships?!'

Jesus.

I felt horrible when I figured out. There was Ensign Ricky, mission accomplished, but his health was draining far too fast for my teleporter to recharge and bring him home. :(

Spoilers if you haven't gotten to the end of the game. Just look at the enemies health. (I didn't know what happened after at the time so it was extra frustrating, now I don't feel so bad)

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=97619695

The Kessler M1 had a good run. Made it to what I believe was the second to last system without much incident, besides that one time I had almost the whole crew furiously trying to repair the doors in order to vent multiple ship fires, with one boxed in fighting them manually from the bridge. With all weapons down, and taking constant fire from the enemy, I slowly managed to extinguish fires and repair the weapons systems just before they were able to bring shields back online, dealing the finishing blow. Spent quite some time repairing systems and healing after that.

Then I got unceremoniously taken out by a lucky blast from a standard rebel ship while my hull was not at its best.

Long live shield specialist Kessler, engineer Bodega, space pilot Souls, and our beloved chief weapons officer/mercenary Emma, who we picked up along the way.

@Ravenlight said:

@Ubersmake said:

I was in a brutal fight against an AI-controlled ship. In desperation, I beamed Ensign Ricky aboard to disable its weapon systems.

Don't do that. R.I.P. Ensign Ricky. May his sacrifice be a lesson to all captains looking to transport crew onto oxygen-less ships.

If you're quick on the draw and have a fully-upgraded teleporter, you can beam a rockman over to an oxygenless ship and beam him back before he asphyxiates.

Even more cruel, if you have the Healing Burst weapon, you can keep your crew alive but slowly suffocating indefinitely. Or as long as you have spare missiles.

Needs more races, like one which doesn't need to breathe to survive.

In what was essentially my first playthrough, my team consisted of J Carthy, J Coffee and J Carter. The ship was dubbed 'Team JC'.

Needless to say, when 'Schultz' became a crewmember, the rest didn't take particularly kindly to him. Relegated to engines at the back of the ship, the others teased him about opening the airlocks and considered him good for nothing. Other crew members eventually joined, though their reception was far warmer. They were given the excitement that Schultz had long dreamed of while working his way up through the Federation. Manning the guns, and seeing to the shields all the while volleys were being traded. It was a kick in the teeth that he was sure the JCs had intended. "Well, damn them!" Schultz kicked his shit into a higher gear and put his all into those engines. If this was to be his job, he was going to be the best mechanic in the whole fleet.

Over quieter moments when the original 3 would get together for drinks in the O2 bay, they'd discuss the new recruits. "That new weapons guy is alright by me," Carter offered. "A little lazy, but he's a demon at the two-card pick-up," said Carthy. It went on like this until they came to Schultz. He was fucking scrappy. Didn't like taking their orders. Didn't even know what the hell he was doing when he first came on-board... but he had spirit, they'd give him that. He'd even come on aways since the Halcion days of Sector 1. He just wasn't made for this, they told each other.

Well, the jumps continued to increase, and the crew number dwindled. Fire beams sent some to an agonizing grave, another had to be sold to the slavers when the crew was in a bit of a tight spot. The usual stories. "This is what they signed up for", was Coffee's mantra. By now, the crew was in deep-space and whittled back down to the original 3... and Shultz. They'd fought some hard won battles together: when the engines were blown out by a missile, they thought for sure that Schultz had bitten it. He was fighting off an intruder moments before; he couldn't have been in any state to survive an impact like that. The comms were silent. Then, "Captain Carthy, the engines have taken quite a battering sir, but I'll get on it right away. We should be able to jump in a few minutes if the shields hold." A smile spread across Carthy's face like none had in a long time. "That fucking guy!", he roared. Schultz had crafted himself into a damn-fine mechanic, and more importantly, he had their respect.

The shields held alright. Just. They jumped into the next Sector and reviewed their systems: the hull was shot and the air supply was low. The O2 systems would sort themselves out... the hull was another issue.

They weren't going to complete the mission; each of them knew it, but no one said a word. They were essentially a means of delaying the rebels at this point, a suicide run. Later, when they sat in the O2 bay, Schultz had realized this, but he was calm. The JCs were partaking in one of their exclusive pow-wows... joined by the scrappy recruit they hadn't taken a shine to. This may have been the greatest moment of his life: sitting there cap in hand, rubbing his head and laughing with the rest. He was staring death in the face, and he didn't care. Not too much, anyway. He was finally part of the crew, sharing what might be their first and last cold beer, and he felt complete.

Things had changed, for sure. They weren't going to get out of this thing, not a chance, but they were a damn fine team and that was enough.

@pyrodactyl said:

@GetEveryone Great read. I would gladly read adventures from your next crew.

Thanks, dude. Stay tuned for more, then. Seems I can bash these out in half a lunch-hour, so I'll probably do one tomorrow, too.

This is the story of Thomas, the scrappy but courageous engineer who still haunts the remain of the kestrel, somewhere in sector 5.

Thomas board journal, day 7

This recon mission has taken a turn for the dramatic today. We finally found the rebel fleet and intercepted one of their communications. It seems there is a weakness in their technology and this might be our only chance to take them down. Unfortunately they detected our presence and gave chase. We're still 8 sectors away from the last federation fleet. God help us.

Thomas board journal, day 9

We're only 3 on board, the captain, the weapon specialist and me, rookie engineer straight out of school. We've managed to avoid the rebel fleet and I upgraded the shield system today. The captain said it was a priority if we wanted to survive the journey home. I kind of hate that guy, so pretentious, always bossing me around.

Thomas board journal, day 20

We've jumped 2 sectors since my last entry and picked up quite an arsenal along the way. I helped weapons specialist Breckon in the installation. He seems like a cool guy if a little to uptight. He's also become a great weapon operator. In fact, we've all improved under the extreme conditions of our journey. I now know that engine like the back of my hand. Even the captain has become quite the pilot. I like our chances for making it in one piece. Just a few more sectors to go.

Thomas journal, day 22

Today, everything went to shit. We were fighting a mantis ship when they beamed a death squad in the back airlock of the kestrel. The captain immediately ordered me to get out of the engine room so he could vent out the oxygen. They made it to the life support system before we could take them down. Meanwhile, the mantis cruiser hit the weapons bay where I was waiting and hurt me and specialist Breckon pretty bad. We had to vent out the oxygen in the med bay to to prevent a fire from spreading. We managed to destroy their ship in all this chaos but a major problem still remained, after the battle: the kestrel was running without life support since the start of the fight and the oxygen was running out. Me and Beckon tried our best to repair the life support but nearly suffocated in there. By some miracle we managed to make it to the med bay but the low grade equipment in there was only barely keeping us alive without oxygen. Life support was still not functioning and it was only a mater of time before we all died of affixation. The captain suddenly stormed out of the cockpit, the only room with oxygen and made a run for the life support. He was going to attempt to fix it alone. ''no way he's going to make it'' Beckon yelled at me, ''We have to do something'' and without thinking, he ran out of the med bay to help our captain. That's the last time I saw both of them alive. The captain did restore life support and died to save us. Beckon, stupid foul, didn't make it past the haleway before collapsing. Now I'm alone in this empty ship with a vital mission resting solely on my shoulders. What am I suppose to do? I don't even know how to fly this piece of junk.

Thomas board journal, day 25

Using the autopilot and computers on board I managed to make a jump into the a slug controlled nebula. Those bastards are waiting for me, deep in this sea of purple clouds.

Thomas board journal, day 27

I destroyed countless slug ships in this sector, using the scrap to repair and even installing a cloaking device on board.

Thomas board journal, day 28

This time, I think that was it. That slug cruiser managed to take down my door control and oxygen supply but I destroyed them and repaired the systems before I ended up like my former crew members.

Thomas board journal, day 31

I encountered a merchant in need today. I accepted to deliver drone parts intended for a science facility in the next sector. Maybe I'll have some luck and find a crew for hire along the way.

Thomas board journal, day 37

In Engi space now. Just left the third or fourth space station in almost 2 weeks. No personnel for hire in any of them. It seems that my luck has finally ran out...

Thomas board journal, day 39

Made it to the research station that merchant was talking about. There's no one responding to my communication. I'll have to check it out.

Board computer

Ship status: has docked to station code 453

Top ranking officer Thomas status: off shore

Ship status: no one on board

Top ranking officer Thomas status: reentering airlock

Top ranking officer Thomas status: life signs low, unstable state, unknown disease detected.

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ASRR SZSV DFGA RG HNBJN YTAQ GKJkh jkjVHG LKhVm.a snsa hkjb vas.

*Critical system malfunction*

My story: I misunderstood what I was supposed to do in sector 8. I lost. And cried.

My story is about my awesome (diverse, talented and well trained) crew, increasingly amazing luck with diplomacy, incredible store stock and fruitful encounters and how it was all ruined by a background Windows update popping up and shutting down the computer.

I feel empty.

My story is I've been spending the last 3 days on this damn game, and I finally beat the game with The Kestrel and only four crew members. The run started off real rocky. In the first sector I lost 2 crew members to sickness. But I had a lot of scrap, as I found out I usually don't spend any scrap on upgrades the first couple sectors, and focus on weapons, augmentations, and cloak. Soon I find myself at the beginning of sector 3 with just my pilot left. But I had one burst laser II, one burst laser I, and two heavy laser I. And was ripping through ships with weapon pre igniter.

Later on I found a Rock, a Mantis, and another Human. And they ran with me through the rest of the mission. On my way I picked up stealth weapons, reverse ion field, lvl 3 stealth, ion mark II, ion bomb, and breach bomb II. Stocking up for the final battle with The Rebel Flagship. That Bastard has beaten me for like the past 7 runs, but this play through felt special. Even though I only had 4 crew members, I had everything I needed to take this ship down once and for all. After going to some repair nodes, I headed to the main battle.

The First Stage was pretty simple. I used ion bombs on the shields, followed by the ion mark II to repeatedly attack the shields. Then I used breach bombs on the missiles, and ion guns to take them out of commission first. I kept just attacking and dodging until the left side of the ship blew and jumped away.

The Second Stage was the challenge. I knew if I could get past the boarding droids and the droid rush, I would sail past the Third Stage. And I did just that. Once I was able to take out the Missiles again, it was pretty much smooth sailing. I breached the bomb place over and over again, until most of the crew just died. Then the 2nd part of the Flagship blew up and Jumped off again. With half my health and all my crew intact, I knew this was going to be game over this time.

So I quickly followed the ship and the Third and Final Stage was under way. I say that this time I was well equipped and prepared for the challenge this go around. My rock and Mantis took care of the opposing crew members who came on my ship, I cloaked at the right moments when a barrage was coming, and I just continually attacked the Flagship until it finally Blew THE FUCK UP!

I was so excited. I flipped my chair over and did one of those wrestler flex and scream type motions. This is one of the most relenting games I've played in a long time, and I was satisfied to beat it. If it was only on easy mode. Now to go for normal mode, and go for all the ships and variants. Now I can rest easy and take a more casual pace of unlocking everything, instead of being compulsively obsessed of beating that damn ship. lol

I just had a game where I wrote personal logs for each of the human crewmen. It was my longest game and came in at 6000+ words. Would this be of interest to anyone?

@Sackmanjones: Not unless an online word processor in the Steam browser counts.