@ Liudvikas:

I think you could make it last by removing the end boss, the rebel fleet and allowing for endless progression. But yeah, it desperately needs more content.

@ karthik:

Yes, the rebel inversion thing was kinda amusing, even if it didn’t make much sense. :)

@ Mads Johansen:

3 times? WTF, I still haven’t even gotten to the point where I can beat that asshole once. lol

@ Chris Wellons:

Actually wouldn’t the infinite/starvation modes be one and the same? In an infinite game, fuel automatically becomes the limiting mechanic. Or are you saying the starvation mode wouldn’t let you refuel as often?

Also, thanks, Prospector actually looks kinda interesting. :)

@ Josh Gunderson:

Heh, this plugin doesn’t know that Windows 8 exists.

@ MrPete:

Yeah, their website claims they have thousands of unique text events but in reality there is only about a dozen scenarios with various permutations. After you fight the spider monsters for fiftieth time you realize just how few of them are there.

karthik wrote:

Did anyone else find it amusing that it swapped the conventional Federation/Rebel labels around?

Yeah, noticed that pretty fast. It’s like the whole population and most of the military “suddenly” changed sides and you’re the only hope of some die-hards from the old days who don’t want to vacate their comfortable seats.

And that final boss fight. […] But then it runs away, cheats, gets its weapons back, and you have to do it all over again. […] I basically lost all interest in playing again because I know how it ends: with me being ripped apart.

That is exactly the reason why I lost interest in the game.
No matter what I do, the second stage of that boss kills me. The best I managed was to get the weapons offline in the second round but then the drones turned my ship into swiss cheese…

Overall it’s nice for some hours but as soon as you notice that it’s the same all over it’s getting as exciting as the production of charcoal :/

@ Josh Gunderson:
(officially running Windows 8 Pro x64, not Windows NT as the icon says)

I grabbed this recently from the official site (so I could get the Linux version too), and it also came with a Steam Key.

A little too much to pay attention to at first, but really fun once you understand everything.

This is the same impression I had of the game. I’d love to see alternate game modes,

* Infinite mode — No boss, just an endless series of zones. See how far you can go.

* No-rebels mode — Free exploration for as long as you can stay fueled (hunger mechanic)

I believe they’re still working on the game and we may actually get to see more open-ended gameplay in the future.

If you’re interested in the latter option, there actually is a roguelike that does this, called Prospector (a good Let’s Play). “In an unexplored sector of space humanity is trying to establish a permanent presence. Megacorporations employ freelance prospectors to find exploitable resources and map unknown planets for them. The player commands one of those scoutships, trying to become filthy rich as a prospector. “

karthik, you have to beat it 3 times. Left wing, right wing and center.

You do get a new type of ship when you beat the boss though. I got the stealth fighter from a random encounter too (had to search for the plans while avoiding the fleet).
But yea Luke, I want the messing around for a long time too.

Did anyone else find it amusing that it swapped the conventional Federation/Rebel labels around? The rebels vastly outnumber you, have better technology, and you’re on the run from them. In that sense it’s the inverse of A New Hope, isn’t it?

And that final boss fight. Good heavens. I’ve played through six or seven times by now and never finished the game, even on easy. I tried all the usual stuff: cloaking, teleport and disable its weapons, etc. But then it runs away, cheats, gets its weapons back, and you have to do it all over again. I don’t even know how many times. I wonder what they were thinking with that. I basically lost all interest in playing again because I know how it ends: with me being ripped apart.

It’s fun game and I spent many hours playing it, but it is true that it lacks content. Though I don’t know if it’s even possible to fix it with the way the gameplay currently is. It is simply designed to be a short experience and adding more stuff would only break the game.