FTL: Faster Than Light
| FTL: Faster Than Light | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Subset Games |
| Publisher(s) |
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| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Roguelike |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
FTL: Faster Than Light is a video game loosely described as roguelike[1], developed by Subset Games. FTL was announced on February 27, 2012 via Kickstarter and released in September 14, 2012 for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.[2]
Gameplay
In FTL, the player controls a spacecraft whose crew has intercepted a data packet from a rebel fleet. The goal is to reach a Federation fleet, waiting several sectors of space away, without being destroyed or caught by the rebel fleet that is in pursuit.
At the start of each game, the player chooses a spacecraft which houses a number of rooms devoted to specific systems, like piloting, engines, weapons, and life support, as well as a crew. The game then randomly generates a series of sectors ala roguelike games, each sector containing about twenty-some waypoints of interest. The player must direct the ship to warp between these points, normally unaware of what to expect at each point, making their way to a specific "exit" point to move onto the next sector until they reach the Federation. Players can revisit waypoints they have been at before, but each warp jump causes the rebel fleet to occupy more of the space in each sector; these encounters can become more deadly the deeper they occur within the rebel's sphere of influence.
Waypoints may include stores where the player can upgrade the ship's systems, purchase fuel and ammunition, and recruit new crewmembers using in-game currency. Other waypoints may appear as calls of distress, either from stranded ships needing help or traps set by the rebels or other nefarious groups. Certain destinations may be hazardous to the ship or disable certain functions, such as asteroid belts that continually cause damage to the ship while the craft remains within it, or nebula that disables sensor systems. Often, the player will encounter an unfriendly ship that engages in combat. Here the game becomes a real-time space combat simulator, though the player can pause the game to evaluate the situation. During combat, the player must manage which ship's systems to activate considering the power draw on the ship, ordering the crew to specific stations or rooms to repair damage, and targeting and firing of weapons on the enemy. Damage to the ship can include failure of specific systems until a crewman repairs them, hull breeches that leak air to space, fires that can be either put out by the crew or exposing the fire to the vacuum of space, and general damage to the hull which can only be repaired at specific ports. Should the hull fail, the ship is destroyed, ending the game in permadeath; though the player can save games between playing sessions, the save game is immediately overwritten upon relaunch, preventing the player from restarting a game from a previous saved game. The player is successful in combat either by destroying the enemy ship or damaging enough to cause the ship to surrender; this provides resources that the player can use in bartering or further combat.
The game has an internal achievement system which is used to gain new hulls and room layouts for ships.
Development
FTL is the product of the two-man team of Subset Games, Matthew Davis and Justin Ma. Both were employees of 2K Games's Shanghai studio. Davis had left 2K Games early in 2011, and after biking through China, returned and joined Ma, who had also recently quit, and began working on the core FTL game.[3] The idea for the game was inspired by tabletop board games and non-stragetic video games, such as Star Wars: X-Wing, where the player would have to route power to available systems to best manage the situation.[3]
Their preliminary versions used primitive art assets to allow them to focus on the game; only as they neared the August 2011 Game Developers Conference in China, where they planned to submit FTL as part of the Independent Games Festival there, did they start focusing on the game's art.[3] The game was named as a finalist at the IGF China competition, leading to initial media exposure for the game.[4] PC Gamer magazine offered an early preview of the game that created more media interest in time for the Independent Games Festival at the March 2012 Games Developer Conference.[5] The OnLive cloud-based gaming service included FTL and other Independent Games Festival finalists for several weeks around the conference.[6][7] At the Festival, FTL was nominated, though did not win, the Grand Prize and the Excellent in Design award; these accolades further helped to spark interest in the game.[4]
Although much of the game was initially self funded, Subset Games turned to Kickstarter in order to fund the final polish of the game as well as costs associated to its release, seeking a total funding goal of $10,000.[2] Their Kickstarter approach was considered well-timed, riding on the coattails of the highly-successful Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter in March 2012;[8] with interest spurred in crowd-funded games, Subset games was able to raise over $200,000 through the effort.[2] FTL represents one of the first games to come out from this surge in crowd-funded games, and demonstrates that such funding mechanisms can support video game development.[8]
Reception
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 84.25%[10] |
| Metacritic | 82/100[9] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Eurogamer | 8/10[14] |
| GameSpot | 8/10[13] |
| GameSpy |   [12] |
| IGN | 8/10[11] |
FTL received positive reviews from journalists on its release, with praise for the game's captivating nature and means of tapping into the imagination of players who have envisioned themselves as captains of starships. The game's approach and setting has been compared to science fiction works; Ben Kuchera of Penny Arcade Report calls FTL "Firefly by way of the Rogue-like genre",[15] while others have compared it to Star Trek, Star Wars, and Battlestar Galactica.[14]
References
- ^ "FTL: Faster than Light - FAQ". Subset Games. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
We use the term loosely, mostly just as a representation for some of the main thematic elements of the genre.
- ^ a b c "Subset Games is raising funds for FTL: Faster Than Light on Kickstarter!". 27 February 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
- ^ a b c CjnLion (2012-05-10). "Kickstart to Lightspeed – An FTL Interview". Destructoid. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
- ^ a b Rose, Mike (2012-09-20). "Kickstarter, contests bring FTL to life". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
- ^ Smith, Graham (2012-12-06). "FTL: a game about managing a spaceship in an infinite galaxy". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
- ^ Francis, Tom (2012-02-28). "Superb spaceship game FTL is now playable through OnLive, buyable through Kickstarter". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
- ^ "OnLive Announces Indie Showcase in Partnership With the Independent Games Festival" (Press release). OnLive. 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
- ^ a b Hillier, Brenna (2012-09-17). "FTL: Faster Than Light heralds the Kickstarter age". VG247. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
- ^ "FTL: Faster Than Light (2012: pc)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ "FTL: Faster Than Light". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ Johnson, Leif (2012-09-19). "Where No Roguelike Has Gone Before". IGN. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ Cobbett, Richard (2012-09-15). "FTL: Faster Than Light Review". Gamespy. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ Todd, Brett (2012-09-17). "FTL: Faster Than Light Review". Gamespot. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ a b Whitehead, Dan (2012-09-21). "FTL: Faster Than Light review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ Kurchera, Ben (2012-09-14). "FTL is Firefly by way of the Rogue-like genre, and it's punishingly brilliant". Penny Arcade Report. Retrieved 2012-09-21.