FTL Goes First Person in Final Frontier

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
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FTL Goes First Person in Final Frontier


Two modders are using Garry's Mod to build a cooperative ship management game in the vein of FTL.

2012's FTL: Faster Than Light was an addictive mix of strategy and resource management that returned rogue-likes to space in a big way. That being the case, it was also a lonely game. Some of this was clearly by design, creating a scenario where players had nothing to rely on but their own skill and wit as they struggled to keep their ship and crew intact. Nonetheless, the experience doubtlessly left some wishing they could bring their friends in on the action.

If you were among those forlorn folk yearning for company as you floated through the void, Final Frontier may be your ticket. Final Frontier is an in-development first person co-op game where players will take on the role of a crew running and defending a starship. "Final Frontier is our attempt to make a unique and novel Garry's Mod game mode centered around the teamwork involved in controlling and maintaining a starship doing space things," said the developers in a <a href=http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1277720>forum Q&A. "This game is (heavily (blatantly)) inspired by FTL, a game we all enjoyed playing but felt would be improved with multiplayer. Unlike FTL, you control a single crew member in first-person perspective, and must manually perform the tasks that FTL characters carried out by standing at their posts mashing keyboards."

Players in Final Frontier will need to manually work with in-game interfaces to manage the ship's varied systems. "How well you perform your job is entirely dependent on the skill of the player at that task; there will be no in-game skills to grind that make a progress bar move faster, rather the efficiency at which actions are performed depend on the experience of the player in deciding how to carry out the activity." The game will feature a variety of systems for players to master ranging from weapons to transporter. If the Garry's Mod prototype is successful, the two modders behind the project hope to port Final Frontier to a "more flexible environment."

Source: Rock Paper Shotgun


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josemlopes

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Jun 9, 2008
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Ah, Garry's Mod, where thinks go from dumb to smart, then back to dumb and again to smart in the span of 5 seconds.

This one however looks like it hangs nicely on the smart.
 

Dirty Apple

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Apr 24, 2008
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That's alotta micro-ing. I could see it being fun with a committed group, but trying to pub that would be a nightmare. It would be a team killer/troll's fantasy come true.
 

Bertylicious

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Apr 10, 2012
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Dirty Apple said:
That's alotta micro-ing. I could see it being fun with a committed group, but trying to pub that would be a nightmare. It would be a team killer/troll's fantasy come true.
To be fair, after playing FTL enough times and getting taken out by some cheap nonsense half-way, I'd say the frustration would make it fairly close to the source material.
 

Double A

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Jul 29, 2009
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Dirty Apple said:
That's alotta micro-ing. I could see it being fun with a committed group, but trying to pub that would be a nightmare. It would be a team killer/troll's fantasy come true.
There could be an entire game mode where someone is a saboteur.
 

Lightknight

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Nov 26, 2008
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Jamous said:
Oh god yes. I must try it. Sounds so good.
I'm genuinely not sure if this would make the game better or just frustrating. Things were difficult enough without actually controlling individual characters.
 

Gatx

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Jul 7, 2011
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I think Guns of Icarus already provides that kind of experience well enough, and with more influence on the part of the player - being able to aim the guns and actually pilot the ship.
 

Smooth Operator

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Oct 5, 2010
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Well it's a good start, even with the hideous radial bars.
But really this must be finished as a single player experience first otherwise all their time will be aimlessly spent trying to prevent trolling.
 

lancar

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Aug 11, 2009
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When I saw the headline, I was genuinely interested. I loved FTL, and was very curious about what they had in store next.

Then I opened the article and saw it was Garry's mod.

Now I'm depressed.

Thanks, internet.
 

Jamous

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Apr 14, 2009
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Lightknight said:
Jamous said:
Oh god yes. I must try it. Sounds so good.
I'm genuinely not sure if this would make the game better or just frustrating. Things were difficult enough without actually controlling individual characters.
Can you imagine it done really properly though? Rather than getting experience over time you actually have to govern your station; make best use of the engine, the shields, the weapons, etc. You could implement combat systems so taking out boarders could be easy after you figure out a few tricks. It would be amazing, especially if you found yourself a good party to play with. And now I'm frustrated. God damn.
 

Aikayai

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May 31, 2011
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BabySinclair said:
So it's Artemis Bridge Simulator in first person? Interesting.
My thoughts exactly. Its what Artemis could have been (or still could be).