[FTL] Faster Than Light - Advanced Edition and iPad Version coming 2014!

cardboard delusions

With Tube's permission I proudly present to you FTL: Faster Than Light - A spaceship simulation roguelike-like. My close friend of many years has been working his butt off with another fine gentleman to bring this idea to life. They currently work and live in Shanghai, China and although the game has just begun it's Alpha stage has received some real positive buzz. I can say from what I've played it's very addicting.

Tom Francis of Gunpoint described it as “Firefly by way of Spelunky.” It has also been compared to Weird Worlds and Battlestations.

I like to think of it as Oregon Trail in outer space, with much greater focus on your wagon. Head over to the site and see for yourself and if you want to know more feel free to let me know.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbE7e4czo3Q&feature=player_embedded





If you're having trouble waiting and want to know more about the game, check out some of the various "let's plays" on YouTube or these articles:

An overview with lots of screenshots at Space Game Junkie.
Impressions at Game Arena.
Thoughts from a fellow board game lover at Maximum Pixelation.
A detailed overview at RPG Codex.
An interview and overview from around the launch at Destructiod


Big news: We've finally set a release date. We plan to launch the completed game on September 14th. That's only a little over 2 weeks away!

Second, FTL will also be available on GOG.com! They will be selling a DRM free version that will include some bonus materials (music tracks / development art). Also, they have kindly offered to give keys to everyone who backed the game at the $10 level and up! That means everyone who gets the game through the Kickstarter will also get the bonus content offered through GOG.com.

In other news, FTL has been nominated as one of the finalists for IndieCade! Head over to LA Oct 4th-7th for lots of game related fun. We will also be showcased in the Fantastic Fest's Arcade Sept 20th-23rd in Austin where FTL will be featured with its own arcade cabinet.

And finally, our official trailer is now live! Watch it! Send it to your friends! Watch it again! Check it out below, or at:

Handgimp

I'm in - just tell me how to gift it already.

Cantido

Do the walls bleed later on?

(Just finished watching Event Horizon)

Mahnmut

This is cool. I'm interested.

BloodySloth

This got me to get an OnLive account. It sounds neat; I'll give some impressions once I've had some time with the demo.

Ninja Snarl P

Oh yes, definitely interested in this.

BloodySloth

OK, So I got through the tutorial, and started up my first game. My first random jump led me right to the surface of a sun, but before the jump could power up again, a pirate started attacking me and blasted my engine. The heat from the sun was starting fires in random rooms of the ship, which burnt a majority of the O2 that was left before a solar flare wiped out the oxygen system. I'm forced to open up some airlocks to kill the fires so I can safely send a repair crew to the destroyed systems, so now instead of burning to death, everyone is asphyxiating. Meanwhile, the little remaining energy I have left is being diverted to weapons so I can fend off the pirate ship.

Eventually, the pirate explodes. Just in time for power to completely cut out. Everyone except the pilot has burned to death or asphyxiated, and all the rooms are dark. In one last half-assed attempt, I send the pilot running to the back of the ship to try and finish the repair work that others had started. He makes it halfway before succumbing to the icy grip of space.

This is fantastic.

Basil

YES DEMO YES YES

I shall return with impressions.

-Right!

This neat!

I merrily rampaged from star to star, knocking out the weapons systems of my foes and cackling with glee as their frantic crew attempted to put out fires and fix holes in their hull as I shot them to pieces. I also got to see what happens when a missile puts a hole in my own weapon control and sparks fires from there into the engines, forcing me to vent them to space and send my crew in to asphyxiate while trying to repair the damage.

Oh I like.

My own experience with solar flares was less traumatic than BloodySloths, as during my skirmish my shields came up just in time to take the brunt. I only had one fire start, but the rebel ship was absolutely overcome by flame and their whole crew burned to death in short order.

'Course, a little skirmishing and upgrading is all that's really on offer at the moment, but these fellows have a rock solid idea.

BloodySloth

Is it hard to click on doors, or is it just me? It seems like the only situations where you actually need to open/seal doors are ones where it needs to happen immediately, and they seem a bit fiddly.

Mojo_Jojo

This is quite fun. It'd be better if I didn't have to run it through Onlive, the occasionally lack of response/graphical artefacting is a pain.

I merrily destroyed a pirate ship, but then got solar flared to death.

WMain00

Yeah that was good fun. I look forward to a demo that ISN'T on OnLive. That way the mouse won't feel so ridicolously laggy

NotoriusBEN

Im throwing money at the screen, why I not haz it naow?!

and yes, this looks fantastic. Im a sucker for roguelikes and this looks like a logical step of Space Alert becoming a computer game. if we could download the demo without onlive it'd be perfect.

... ... has your friend talked with Steam?

Mojo_Jojo

A ha, you can donate on Kickstarter to pre-order it.

Iolo

Mojo_Jojo wrote: »

A ha, you can donate on Kickstarter to pre-order it.

This is reaaaaally smart:

FTL Kickstarter wrote:

Pledge $100 or more
24 Backers • Limited Reward (76 of 100 remaining)

Receive the above rewards, a limited edition poster and your name will placed in the crew rosters so that players can hire you on their ship.

$100 is (well) above my impulse threshold, but still. Who wouldn't want a chance to be this game's Patrick Stewart?

Rohan

Have hardly any money, but enough to get into the beta. This is a game well worth paying for, and a team well worth donating to. Can't wait (I'm not going to play the demo through Onlive, eff that)!

Edit - I've cancelled the purchase of a Michael Whelan reproduction in order to donate to this. I can't stress how much I am looking forward to this game

Iolo

Wow, the Kickstarter is hustling. In the last 30 minutes they hit their goal and added $1000.

MegaMek

This game sounds phenominal. I cannot wait to get home and try it out. I literally cannot; the wait is killing me.

eobet

It looks very interesting, but from the trailer, also weird... is it really more important to move your crew around in the ship, than actually moving the ship around in space and making sure it's targeting the right thing?

Having the camera locked on a ship looking stationary like that, and just having incoming fire from seemingly random directions feels slightly... I don't know, fish in a barrel? But perhaps that's the point?

Mojo_Jojo

eobet wrote: »

It looks very interesting, but from the trailer, also weird... is it really more important to move your crew around in the ship, than actually moving the ship around in space and making sure it's targeting the right thing?

Having the camera locked on a ship looking stationary like that, and just having incoming fire from seemingly random directions feels slightly... I don't know, fish in a barrel? But perhaps that's the point?

As far as I can tell there isn't anything outside the ship. Enemy ships show up in a little box and you just choose where you'd like to shoot them.

Rohan

They've just passed $12,000. 32 days to go!

Edgie

I've played the demo and it is indeed awesome. I'm definitely excited to see the full release.

Lord_Snot

Yep. REALLY interested in this. It looks amazingly fun.

cardboard delusions

I know it has been posted on the site, but my friends have said they apologize to limiting the demo through OnLive since it does have its limitations. That being said the beta will available on Windows either through direct download or through something like Desura. Ultimately they would love to be able to distribute through Steam, but there has been a lot of positive feedback and we're really happy with the pace things are moving. Completely blown away!

Mike Danger

This is pretty rad. I'd like to think this brings us one step closer to the giant Star Trek RPG of my dreams.

WMain00

Now that i've played it a bit more, this is very impressive and good fun! Will definitely be making a purchase soon....soon as I can find money

Iolo

Thanks for posting this, cardboard delusions. I guess it's too early for your (very very happy) friend to say if pr-purchasers will also get a Steam code if/when it comes out there.

Xaviar

Hey. I gave you my money. I hope you enjoy it at least as much as I enjoyed your demo.

[Edit] Also I'm really digging the music.

Kristmas Kthulhu

This sounds like a thing I would enjoy. I will keep my eye on it, and probably end up contributing before the Kickstarter's over.

cardboard delusions

Xaviar wrote: »

Hey. I gave you my money. I hope you enjoy it at least as much as I enjoyed your demo.

[Edit] Also I'm really digging the music.

It was done by Ben Prunty - let him know

Big Classy

OH MY GOD
WANT WANT WANT

Good Idea

This got me to try out OnLive. It's a bit too laggy for me, but the game itself is great fun. The ship feels a bit small - more Firefly than Star Trek. I'd like to upgrade to something bigger later in the game. Not necessarily Enterprise big, but maybe with a bridge instead of a cockpit.

End of game spoilers:

Anyone manage to defeat the demo boss yet?

Dongs Galore

Dear Sir,

Tell your friends that Dongs Galore is monitoring their videogame.

HammerNinja

Damn, this game looks sweet! Can't wait for a version that doesn't require onlive.

johnwing

Good Idea wrote: »

This got me to try out OnLive. It's a bit too laggy for me, but the game itself is great fun. The ship feels a bit small - more Firefly than Star Trek. I'd like to upgrade to something bigger later in the game. Not necessarily Enterprise big, but maybe with a bridge instead of a cockpit.

End of game spoilers:

Anyone manage to defeat the demo boss yet?

I don't think you are supposed to be able to defeat him. I once had a very strong ship with 3 units of shields and a lots of rockets and still I couldn't damage it. The engineers are too quick. Besides Without the engines I don't have the dodge chance of 25%

hatedinamerica

Damn, this game sounds awesome, and exactly like something I've been wanting forever.

Wake me up when it's on anything besides OnLive.

johnwing

hatedinamerica wrote: »

Damn, this game sounds awesome, and exactly like something I've been wanting forever.

Wake me up when it's on anything besides OnLive.

Does OnLive install some malware on the computer or something? I don't understand the hesitation to install Onlive on one's computer. Or is it that people don't want to register or give away their email account to another third party?

Shimshai

Well I wouldn't play it on Onlive because I'm in Ireland with a rubbish internet connection.

As soon as there's a downloadable demo though, I'll be all over this.

Xaviar

[edit] Changed my mind about this post. Don't want to sidetrack discussion of this awesome game with Onlive talk.
--
I lost two of my starter crew pretty quick in. I did okay with the other two, but I only was offered a chance to replace them once, for cash, and I had no monies =(

johnwing

Anyone destroyed fought a rebels on purpose and won? If so what happens after that? I imagine it should be possible.

Axen

Looks like Kickstarter has been a grand success for yet another game.

If I am reading this right, they ave $34,234 dollars and their goal was 10k with 32 days left.

Fantastic.

Joe Camacho MKII

I'm interested in this game, but it looks like those strategy/economy games I love to read about and suck playing.

I will still buy it.

On steam.

On a sale.