Even In Space We Cannot Escape Capitalism: Let's Play STARCRAWLERS

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Even In Space We Cannot Escape Capitalism: Let's Play STARCRAWLERS

Falconier111: Jul 18, 2012; S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

Starcrawlers is a �spacepunk� RPG by newbie developers Juggernaut Games combining old-school grid-based CRPG core mechanics with procedural generation, modern design sensibilities, and a slick, tone-perfect cyberpunk setting and plot. It made some real waves on Kickstarter back in 2014, pulling in a cool hundred thousand USD in two weeks before getting greenlit on Steam and making bank in early access. The future looked bright!

Then its supporters found out the dev team couldn�t maintain a production timeline with guns to their heads. Updates slowed to a trickle until Juggernaut gave up and spent a whole year completely replacing the engine, after which the shine was just gone. The full version released over three years after the Kickstarter closed to modestly positive reviews, little fanfare, and general apathy; the grid-based CRPG wave had already crested and Starcrawlers�s backers had mostly thrown their arms up in disgust and abandoned it. The game didn�t fail completely, it made Juggernaut enough money they decided to Kickstart a sequel (itself now three years into development hell), but� Let me put it this way: Starcrawlers, as far as I can tell, has a single complete walkthrough on the Internet, an eye-searing white-on-grey text dump hidden away on someone�s personal site. Nobody cares enough to do anything more.

And that�s kind of a shame. Yeah, the devs shat the bed, the game lacks polish in areas, and the levels get repetitive after a while, but the gameplay is solid, the art and music really stand out, and the story is everything you�d want out of Shadowrun in space. There�s a gem here, one I�ve loved for years.

� And?

This will be a narrative screenshot LP; I�ll be keeping the story as it is, just expanding the characters a bit. Since the writing�s good enough to preserve, I�ll mark out everything directly from the game in italics, and added dialogue and commentary will be in plaintext. You may notice I repeat a lot of text you see in screenshots in the body of the post: that�s an accessibility measure, it reduces eyestrain over long reading sessions and keeps the reading experience consistent for people with different screens. I�m always looking to make this experience better, and if you see mistakes or something I can improve, please let me know � especially because I have to use dictation software and it has a habit of substituting words in without me noticing. If you spot wording that just seems out of place, that�s because it probably is.

SPOILER POLICY

Do not discuss any plot developments I have not shown in the LP. No spoiler tags, no nudge-nudge-wink-wink poo poo, nothing. If it happens in future missions and I haven�t mentioned it, don�t mention it yourself. That is a hard rule and I will not hesitate to turn this thread right around. Spoilers for mechanics of classes we�ve already unlocked and parts of missions I skipped over I care less about, just keep it reasonable.

So what CAN we do?

Make characters! This game has multiple endings and a few different major plot lines, but I have a specific story in mind, so I�ll be guiding us down one particular path and discussing the others as we go. However, Starcrawlers is a class-based game and I�d like the thread to help me come up with characters for those classes, so if you have a character concept, please bold their name (optional), class, and a sentence or two of character description in your post so I can find it. I�ve included class descriptions and in-game fluff from character creation in the next post to show you what you�re in for, but don�t feel beholden to it. I�ll be picking characters based on a mix of thread popularity, how much I like the concept, and party balance, but don�t worry if your concept wasn�t picked; Strarcrawlers only starts you with one character and makes you buy the rest of your party members over the course of the early game, so I�ll be picking up characters one by one.

Class Description posted:

When you need a tough target taken down with brutal efficiency, you need a Cyberninja. Hailing from their homeship, the Yokai, they occasionally join crawler crews, pursuing their own mysterious agendas.

Well, they�re ninjas. They drop smoke bombs, hide in the shadows, and do poo poo-tons of damage. Cyberninjas are obsessively focused on single-target melee damage and the output thereof, strongly emphasizing building combos with light melee weapons and manipulating the action order with a few ninja-themed buffs and debuffs thrown in for flavor, but they fall like a house of cards if someone looks at them too long. Out of combat, they let you do ninja things in dungeons, using stealth to deceive enemies or thwart defensive measures. I�ve never really clicked with these guys, I�ve always found their mechanics a little too fiddly, but they are absolutely terrifying in the right hands: some classes in Starcrawlers are better than others, but all classes are viable.

_{(Some of these official portraits have those ability tiles and some don�t, roll with it)}

Class Description posted:

The Engineer is handy with a pneumato-wrench and can rig just about anything out of a few rusty hunks of scrap. Experts at support using their constructs and mechanical skills.

Speaking of all classes being viable! Any class can do a little something to help you navigate dungeons, but that�s where engineers really shine: their ability to manipulate machinery and tear through barriers make them arguably the most useful class out of combat. Unfortunately, that�s the most they have going for them. Engineers in combat are tougher than most support classes and specialize in deploying bots as off-tanks and off-DPS�s. They have some neat tricks but don�t really excel in anything � generalists in a game full of specialists that easily outpace them. That said, they aren�t bad, just underpowered, and they sure make the repetitive procedurally generated levels later in the game easier to slog through.

Class Description posted:

Sent forth from their monastery homeship, Geduld, Force Psykers quest to develop their powers while collecting tithes to send home. Rebellious initiates often fall in with crawlers, their ability to shape raw psychic energy making them valuable allies.

Force psykers are paladins, plain and simple. While they can take damage or deal it if necessary, they really shine when they manifest their psychic shields, intercepting attacks on allies and reflecting them back (plus Captain America-style shield bounces). They don�t have much to offer out of combat outside of pseudo-Jedi wisdom, but since they�re one of the only classes that uses heavy armor and the only class that specializes in heavy melee weapons, they won�t be competing with other party members for equipment so much. Other classes do what the force psyker does but better, but they do make very serviceable tanks, especially in a party with multiple squishy allies.

Class Description posted:

Masters of nanite manipulation, Hackers are in high demand with crawler teams looking to gain access to high security areas. Ill-suited for direct combat, Hackers provide support with beneficial optimizations and crippling malware.

Finally, an unambiguously good class! Hackers have more out of combat utility than any class except maybe the engineer, hacking terminals and disabling security systems aplenty; for that reason alone I�ve never beaten the game without one. Combat-wise they start out slow: as you�d expect from weedy nerds, they have the weakest attacks and lowest defenses in the game, so until they fill out their ability roster they won�t be doing much. Once you hit the mid-game, though, they turn into debuff monsters, inflicting basically every status effect the game has offered as well as viruses that combine potent debuffs and DoT as they spread between enemies. Those viruses can and do infect purely organic enemies, don�t ask questions. There will be a hacker in our party.

Class Description posted:

Shady individuals with reputations for getting a job done, even if they're the only survivor. Smooth Operators, both in and out of combat, they're not afraid to test their luck on a risky move.

Han Solo meets Clint Eastwood. Smugglers are smooth talkers and dirty dealers; they can negotiate with enemies or surprise them with cheap shots, making them more useful out of combat than anybody except engineers and hackers. In combat, they cover the battlefield with traps and turn dual wielding pistols into a highly dangerous art form, on top of the money manipulation abilities you�d expect out of a JRPG thief. An extremely solid class, with a lot of funny dialogue options as you progress through the game.

Class Description posted:

Soldiers are all about blowing things up, explosions, and detonations. Capable of both dishing out and taking damage as an effective meatshield.

In a game full of ninjas, psychics, and cybernetics, soldiers are all about the proper mitigation and utilization of conventional firepower. Consummate tanks, soldiers have the best aggro control in the game and the defenses to survive all that friendly attention, bolstered by their ability to equip just about anything. As the description mentions, they also specialize in explosives, pumping out powerful AoE attacks and setting everything around them on fire � and that�s on top of using controlled detonations to open things out of combat. They may not have the flexibility of some other classes, but it�s hard to find anybody as good at controlling the battlefield as a soldier.

Class Description posted:

The Void Psyker channels the powerful and destructive maelstrom of The Void to obliterate their enemies. Tapping into these dark powers does come with a few side effects, making them an unstable ally...

Void psykers are an oddball class, very potent but heavily reliant on ability selection. While a little better in base combat than a hacker, they need to use their abilities to keep up � and those abilities feed into an overload mechanic that occasionally bursts and damages everyone on the field. However, properly developed void psykers do incredible DoT and AoE damage, summon otherworldly beasties, place curses, and literally eat enemy shielding: they can even use the overload mechanic to fuel their powers. Of course, sometimes they explode anyway, but that�s just what happens when you deal with powers beyond our comprehension. They don�t have much to offer outside combat beyond spooking the occasional enemy with cryptic bullshit, but they offer some of the wildest dialogue options in the game and later on offer insights into the plot you can�t get from anyone else. A solid choice, as long as you can tolerate the pseudo-Lovecraft.

I�m hoping to update this once or twice a week, maybe more if I have the time, but no guarantees; I�ll let you know if something in my schedule changes. In the meantime, if you have a character concept, please bold it so I can see it; character selection will remain open until we�ve filled all four party slots, so you got some time to think of something.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Update 1: Before You Learn To Crawl

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Falconier111: Jul 18, 2012; S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

Character Backgrounds

CYBERNINJA posted:

CHILDHOOD

Outlander: Born far from the Yokai in the slums of Luna II, you were raised on the stories and culture of your people. Unable to find implants to undergo ritual modification, you taught yourself and constructed your own.

Clan Tao: Child of a ruling clan on the Yokai, your upbringing was steeped in the martial, cybernetic, and spiritual arts of your people. Though you wanted for nothing, you always dreamed of something more.

Clan Megata: Cursed with the stigma that the descendants of your clan are 'untouchable", your family struggled to rase you in the Yokai tradition. Unable to afford quality implants, you settled for what you could steal.

ADULTHOOD

If Outlander:

Chimera Soldier: Though rare for your people to ally with the UFP, for you it was an opportunity to work your way close to the Yokai. The time of the Trial of Ascendance was approaching, and Chimera was a stepping stone.

Jiyin Biotech Soldier: It has long been said that Yokai blood rum through the veins of the Jiyin Biotech elite. True or not, you saw an opportunity to draw close to home, and you took it.

Galaxymart Greeter: Though somewhat misleading, the job title was appropriate. First through the hatch when raiding a corp, you soon learned how your employer could afford to undercut the competition so ruthlessly.

If Clan Tao:

Chimera Soldier: Rejecting the edict of your family to serve no master but the Yokai, you sought out Chimera. The coredwellers balked at your demeanor and ways, but your skill with a blade was never questioned.

Jiyin Biotech Soldier: You sought permission from your family to join Jiyin Biotech and they grudgingly acquiesced. Thrilled at the universe beyond the confines of theYokai, you forged valuable alliances in Jiyin.

Galaxymart Greeter: Though somewhat misleading, the job title was appropriate. First through the hatch when raiding a corp, you soon learned how your employer could afford to undercut the competition so ruthlessly.

If Clan Megata:

Chimera Soldier: You would never find acceptance among your people, so you stole aboard a trade vessel and sought employment with Chimera. Freed from the prejudices of your own kind, you flourished.

Jiyin Biotech Soldier: Though your own people feared you, the recruiters from Jiyin Biotech had no such qualms Your family's cries fell on deaf ears as you sought a new path for yourself with Jiyin.
Galaxymaft Greeter

Galaxymart Greeter: Though somewhat misleading, the job title was appropriate. First through the hatch when raiding a corp, you soon learned how your employer could afford to undercut the competition so ruthlessly.

NOW

Ascendant: Returning to the Yokai to face the Trial of Ascendance, you were victorious. Earning the right to wield your family's ancestral blade and become master of your path, you sought your destiny in the Fringe.

Failure: Returning to the Yokai to face the Trial of Ascendance, you failed. Exiled until you have regained honor or achieved death, you seek redemption on the Fringe .

Ronin: Your experiences amongst the stars led you to reject the Trial of Ascendance and the Yokai. Banished by your clan, you liberated the family heirlooms on the way out. You will serve whom you wish.

ENGINEER posted:

CHILDHOOD

Slumdog: You dreamed of working on the big, shiny, loud ships that rattled your family's tenement housing in the slums on Luna II. Maybe someday. For now, hovertruks and dirt. You sure love hovertruks. And dirt.
Engineer's Guild Brat: Mother's rank in the Engineer's Guild meant the very best tech was your birthright. You were building servos before you knew how to talk. Which was good, because you were never real good at word-making.
Junker: Living in the boondocks of Wayland meant never having the parts for the job, but your folk made do. Your knack for wielding the family pneumatowrench brought in credits, but no extra for book-learning.

ADULTHOOD

If Slumdog:

UFP Engineer: The UFP made an offer of employment and your parents took the chance to give you what they couldn't. You didn't get a say and ended up on the weapon forges for Boomslang.
Astrohund Technologies Engineer: A family friend had worked her way up the ranks of Astrohund Technologies and showed up looking for someone with your talent (if not your smarts). You were hired immediately.

Riggo's Fine Spirits Engineer: If there was one thing dad were real good at, it was drinking. When a Riggo's rep delivered his Lifetime Loyalty tote bag, she saw you working a distiller press you had rigged up and hired you on the spot.

If Engineer�s Guild Brat:

UFP Engineer: Before joining the Engineer's Guild, you had to complete mandatory service with the UFP. Your mother's rank saw you heed into a boring factory job with Boomslang. Woo hoo.

Astrohund Technologies Engineer: Mother insisted you join the Engineers Guild, but you weren't going to take orders from her no more. Sneaking out of your enclave one night, you joined Astrohund Technologies and never looked back.

Mothers penchant for booze got the better of her at an Engineer's Guild mixer and she took a header off of a balcony. Freed from family constraints, you sought employment at Riggo's Fine Spirits.

If Junker:

UFP Engineer: You weren't gonna live and die in Wayland like gramps. Once LiI Jo was big enough to take care of the family, you headed to town and found work on a big 'ol Boomslang hauler. You had never been happier.

Astrohund Technologies Engineer: After Uncle Cletus took fever and died real quick, you realized life was too short to spend it on Wayland. You lit out for town and joined Astronhund Tech and the first ship offworld.

Riggo's Fine Spirits Engineer: Aunt Flo always said you brewed the best Starshine this side 'o Terra, and she weren't lying. When a Riggo's prospector came calling to sample it, he got a blinding hangover and you got yourself a job.

NOW

Sabotaged: Some tool with half your talent and twice your vocab lied to the bosses. The bosses believed the lies, prompting an escape to the Fringe. You took the liberty of stealing some of their prima loot, in lieu of severance package.

Job's Done: You'd been working for a while and it was all ok, but you got to thinking there's more in the 'verse than just being good at fixing. You pulled your last check, quietly gave notice, and headed for the Fringe.

So I Punched The Cogknocker: The boss was bawling you out (again) for no reason (again) and you lost it. Popping him in the jaw felt good. Stealing his cache of loot felt even better. Maybe life on the Fringe will offer more of the same.

FORCE PSYKER posted:

CHILDHOOD

Outlander: Your father was of the Geduld, or so your mother claimed. Why he traveled as far as the slums of Luna II, and why he abandoned your family, are questions she would not answer. Other children mocked you openly for the crazy things she claimed.

House Ziel: Your family has led the spiritual and martial development of the Geduld for decades. Raised with the very best education and training, it is your calling to defend those who cannot defend themselves.

House Woede: All psykers struggle to control their gift, but members of House Woede seem to relish in defying restraint. Some claim they focus too much on the destruction that can be wrought by the might of a Force Psyker.

ADULTHOOD

If Outlander:

Rogue Psyker: Your powers manifested in a schoolyard brawl and revealed the terrible truth of your mother's stories Arrested by Chimera for being an unregistered psyker, you escaped custody, killed several guards, and sought sanctuary in the Geduld.

Jiyin Biotech Ally: A Jiyin doctor dispensing free care to the slums diagnosed your strange headaches and visions as latent psychic power. Risking his life, he smuggled you to the safety of the Geduld and you have remained friends since.

Zealous Crusader: No one expected pirates to strike the core, let alone reach Luna II. Your powers manifested when one threatened your sister with a rusty blade. You slaughtered his crew and carved a bloody swathe through the pirates even as you fled to the Geduld.

If House Ziel:

Righteous Fury: Pilgrimage to Tashan turned violent when you arrived to find Chimera soldiers desecrating the holy site. Your mentor called for restraint, but you struck down the soldiers with righteous fury. Your cause was just.

Jiyin Biotech Ally: While studying the biological changes accompanying your gift, you corresponded and forged alliances with scientists at Jiyin Biotech. Though a corporation, and so to be treated with care, you found them to be honorable.

Zealous Crusader: Caught up in the fervor of the younger houses, you joined a War Pilgrimage that smashed through the pirates on the Dark Rim. Evil must never be tolerated. It must be crushed.

If House Woede:

Righteous Fury: The Chimera ship drew near, and the elders spoke of peace, but House Woods would not risk it escaping with the Geduld coordinates. You raided their ship and smote the crew without mercy.

Jiyin Biotech Ally: The noble houses declared you rebellious, but you were more than happy to demonstrate your powers to the Jiyin Biotech scientists and answer their questions. Such power should not be hidden!

Zealous Crusader: Though the elders once again called for patience, you would not brook pirates hiding in the shadow of the Geduld. They did not know they were under attack until half their number lay dead at your feet.

NOW

Acolyte: You have been granted the rank of Acolyte and are sent to bring honor, glory, and tithes to the Geduld. You strike out boldly to hone your powers against the challenges of the Fringe.

Penitent: A terrible transgression occurred, and the Tribunal named you as the guilty party. Banished from the Geduld until your sins have been absolved, you are cast out into the Fringe.

Rebel Wanderer: Tired of the routine and discipline of the Geduld, you steal away in the dead of night to seek adventure. Stopping by the house vault to pick up a few choice items first, of course.

HACKER posted:

CHILDHOOD

Orphan: The typhon plague decimated Polaris while Chimera ships waited in orbit with the vaccine. Your family's inability to pay cost them their lives and turned you out onto the deserted streets.

Rich Kid: Though the plague decimated Polaris, your family could afford vaccination well in advance. You'll never forget the sight of plague-infested townies clawing at the gates of the enclave.

Gutterpunk: Your family escaped the quarantine before the Plague hit. Unable to head coreward for fear of UFP blockades, they traveled to the Fringe. You spent your formative years in the fetid slums of Ibris.

ADULTHOOD

If Orphan:

UFP Hacker: UFP Peacekeepers cleared you from quarantine and "enrolled" you in their job program. Indentured to Anulap and monitoring traffic on their networks, you displayed skill at intercepting hacker intrusions.
Kage Enterprises Hacker: Rescued by aid workers, they helped you find a job with the security firm Kage Enterprises. Hacking for Kage earned more cred than you'd ever seen, but it wasn't enough.
Freelance Hacker: You made it to the starport and snuck aboard a ship When the crew found you, they took pity and allowed you to stay. Learning the art of code from the cook, a retired crawler, you set up as a freelancer.

If Rich Kid:

UFP Hacker: Your participation in the Calculetes Club earned you lucrative job offers from UFP corps. At the urging of family, you accepted an offer from Anulap and joined the ranks of middle management.

Kage Enterprises Hacker: Top grades in the Calculetes Club meant lucrative job offers after graduation. Your family urged you to join the UFP, but you opted for Kage Enterprises, a private security firm. The paycheck was ok, but the chance to hack around corp networks was priceless.

Freelance Hacker: Jaded by life, you dropped out of Stellans University and forged your own path instead of becoming a mindless corp drone. Before your parents cut off the credits, you procured gear to set up as a freelance hacker.

If Gutterpunk:

UFP Hacker: Careless hacking around the local networks earned you indentured service to Anulap. Making the most of it, you earned the grudging respect of your employer with your skill.
Kage Enterprises Hacker: Bored with life on Ibis, you hacked the Kage Enterprises network repeatedly until they took notice. Impressed by your skills, they opted to hire you instead of having you killed.
Freelance Hacker: You joined smugglers from Gray Solutions in distributing free medical supplies across Ibis that were "acquired' from the UFP Honing your skills, you made a name for yourself burning the UFP.

NOW

Blacklisted: Framed by a jealous rival, your employers believed you'd been stealing from them for years. Opting to blow town, you drained both your rival�s and employer's accounts and headed for the Fringe. Time for a change.

Cashed Out: Tired of cheap paychecks and cheaper thrills, you cashed out and bought the hottest gear credits could buy before heading to the Fringe. Crawlers are always looking to hire hacking talent

Burnt Out: The stress got to be too much and you just lost it. Raiding your employer's tech cache, you made a run for the Fringe and never looked back. Never a desk job. Never. Again.

SMUGGLER posted:

CHILDHOOD

Black Sheep: Scion of a wealthy family, your mother's chem addiction devoured her inheritance and her cerebral cortex. Impoverished and exiled, you learned the value of credits on the streets of Stellaris.

Troublemaker: You spent time in every prestigious boarding school in the core. Your knack for charming your classmates out of their inheritances earned you enemies in most of them.

Fringe Rat: Your parents were traders at a fringe waystation on Ibris. Customers were scarce, money was scarcer, and you supplemented your income by conning travelers out of her loot.

ADULTHOOD

If Black Sheep:

Gem Specialist: Your business acumen served you well on the streets, and you built up a thriving trade in rare gems. A Titan exec took note and offered you a job in corporate procurement.
Foxkin Armory Gunrunner: Scamming the privileged was easy for you, until it wasn't. Staring down the barrel of an untimely demise, fast talk saved your life - and landed you a job at Foxkin Armory.
Freelance Procurer: Cardsharking was a rush, until you miscalculated and wound up working off an indenturement. Debt paid, you vowed never to be under anyone's thumb again, and set up shop as an independent.

If Troublemaker:

Gem Specialist: You caught the attention of a Titan VP after scamming her son for a small fortune in gems. Impressed by your abilities, she made you an offer you couldn't refuse.
Foxkin Armory Gunrunner: Connecting wealthy students with their vice of choice was lucrative and earned you leverage in high places. You cashed it in for a high-paying job at Foxkin and a lifetime supply of 18 yr single malt.
Freelance Procurer: Disowned by family and expelled from every school in the core, your only comfort was the creds you nicked from the family trust. Enough to finance a sweet ship and starter inventory. You never looked back.

If Fringe Rat:

Gem Specialist: The fringe is no place to earn a living, so you made yourself invaluable to a wealthy Titan exec with more money than sense. You earned a ticket to the core and a cushy job in corp procurement.
Foxkin Armory Gunrunner: Trading rusty hunks of metal for other rusty hunks of metal paid the bills, but you were destined for greater things. Conning your way into a job on a Foxkin outrigger, you embarked on a new career.
Freelance Procurer: Legendary skill at holoulette made you a local hero, until a rival convinced everyone you rigged it. Trading your savings for a ship, you escaped the pitchforked mob and embarked on a new career.

NOW

Wanderlust: Bored with your career, you cashed out to seek adventure on the Fringe. You've made and lost fortunes that others could only dream of, but now you aspired to something greater - becoming legend!
Fugitive: The boss backed out on a deal you were deeply invested in, and heated words led to hot lead. You detest violence, but it was justified. The posse that came for you didn't agree, so you fled to the Fringe.
Lost It All: A night of heavy gambling and heavier drinking turned into a morning of regrets. You had your wits intact, and that's all you've ever needed. You hitched a ride to the Fringe and resolved to regain your fortune.

SOLDIER posted:

CHILDHOOD

Runaway: Orphaned at a young age, you were consigned to a UFP youth camp by the Debtor's Court, but managed to escape and eke out an independent existence in the slums of Luna II.
Privileged: As the child of wealthy slavers on Tibris, you were born to a life of privilege and plenty. You never wanted for anything money could buy, as long as you could prove your worth on the sparring fields first.

Fringe Rat: Your parents were traders on a waystation on the fringes of Ibis. Customers were scarce, money was scarcer, and you supplemented your income by divesting would-be bandits of their loot.

ADULTHOOD

If Runaway:

UFP Peacekeeper: A drunken brawl earned you an indenturement with Emer LT. Impressing command with your martial skill, you worked your way out of servitude and took a lucrative position with the UFP Peacekeepers.

Dablue Yutaki Soldier: Opportunity arrived when a Dablue Yutaki exec got in over his head with local thugs. You took down the gang, made yourself a powerful friend, and earned a shiny one-way ticket out of the slums.

Merc: Life on the streets hardened you physically and mentally. Determined to escape the squalor without becoming a corpsec drone, you joined a local merc outfit and set out to build a rep as an elite gun for hire.

If Privileged:

UFP Peacekeeper: Your rank in the collegiate Pugilist Society earned you a UFP officer's commision. Impressing the brass with your discipline and martial skill, you were soon promoted to the elite Peacekeeper unit.
Dablue Yutaki Soldier: Dreaming of adventure outside the iron grip of your family, you ran off before they could ship you to university. Hocking the family jewels financed a cruise to Luna II and enough greased palms to net you a cushy job in an elite Dablue Yutaki security outfit.
Merc: A slave revolt left you orphaned and in need of a new career path. Thanks to your extensive martial training, it was easy to land a cushy job in private security.

If Fringe Rat:

UFP Peacekeeper: The fringe is no place to earn a living, so you made yourself invaluable to a wealthy UFP exec with more enemies than sense. Eventually you were offered a lucrative job in the elite UFP Peacekeepers unit.

Dablue Yutaki Soldier: A dust-up with a Dablue Yutaki exec earned you a corporate indenturement, but you looked at it as an opportunity. You swiftly worked your way out of debt and into a high ranking corpsec job.

Merc: A rough life on the fringes left you with no illusions about the depravity of the UFP. Determined to achieve a better existence without ending up a corpsec thug, you signed on with local mercs and set out to build your rep as an elite gun for hire.

NOW

Deserter: A botched op left you with a shattered neural restraint and a newfound loathing for your superiors. You decided to ditch the outfit and went AWOL before your medical leave expired.

Benched: A jealous superior had you "promoted" out of active ops. Life's too short to spend your days sitting at a desk trying to wrangle a bunch of half-wits, so you resigned and set up shop as an independent.

Scapegoat: Things went south on a high priority job, and your outfit was looking for a scapegoat. Someone set you up to take the fall and you narrowly escaped the reassignment team that came to collect you.

VOID PSYKER posted:

CHILDHOOD

Weirdo: All of the kids raised in the slums of the coreworlds are weird. You were the weirdest. The lights and half-seen phantoms that sometimes manifested around you didn't help convince people otherwise.

Rich Weirdo: The family fortune sheltered you, but no doctor could cure the strange fits. In a dark alley, a wizened crone fixed you with a dead eye and whispered a word that chilled your blood: psyker�
Cursed Child: Bandits broke into the shack on the outskirts of Ibis to find you alone. When your parents returned, they couldn't explain the corpses ringing your crib or the horrified expressions etched on their faces.

ADULTHOOD

If Weirdo:

Rogue Psyker: Berk had been bullying you your whole life. He finally pushed too far and you pushed back, only it made Berk explode in a shower of gore. When the Chimera soldiers showed up, you exploded them too.

Chimera Test Subject: You knew the Chimera doctors were coming, but you weren't afraid. All they asked was a little blood... When the tests were complete, they even allowed you to relocate to the Fringe unharmed.
Nobody: Surrendering at the UFP clinic, you anticipated a swift death. They couldn't see you, would forget your face, moments after talking to you. Something was shielding you... calling... calling you to the Fringe�

If Rich Weirdo:

Rogue Psyker: The Chimera private school was strict. Too strict. It felt like a prison. You realized they had been sedating you. Your brain sizzling with chaotic energy, you fried a dozen orderlies before you could escape.

Chimera Test Subject: Father had friends at Chimera. Powerful friends funding a study of psykers like you. The study fell apart, but you made friends in Chimera that helped you escape to the Fringe.
Nobody: One day, the voices ceased, but your family could no longer see you. You howled and struck at them, but they only cowered, as though you were an unseen ghost. Bewildered, you felt drawn to the Fringe.

If Cursed Child:

Rogue Psyker: You felt the Chimera soldiers long before they showed up in Ibis. You were ready for them. Violet light poured from your eyes and pierced their very souls. More would come. It was time to flee.

Chimera Test Subject: The Chimera doctors weren't the vile shadow-men you saw in your dreams. They were kind and sympathetic. They ran tests and asked questions, but eventually they let you go in the Fringe...
Nobody: You awoke to find Ibis deserted. At least, you think so. Fleeting shadows danced at the edges of your vision, but they soon faded. One dark figure remained. As it fled towards the Fringe, you followed.

NOW

Seeker: The voices generally maintain an appropriate background volume level now. Living on the Fringe has afforded time and solitude to learn a measure of control, but something in the stars still calls to you.

Lunatic: They say you can't move things with your mind, but you can. They say the writhing tentacles are just in your brain, but no, you put the tentacles in THEIR brains! They will see. They all will see.

Dark Wanderer: Wracked with fever for an eternity, you almost cracked. At last, a terrible truth was revealed to you, made self-evident in suffering. You saw what lies beyond. Now you go to spread word of it�s [sic] coming.

Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 03:13 on Jan 10, 2024

# ? Jan 9, 2024 18:32

titty_baby_: Nov 11, 2015

SMUGGLER that's just Johnny 5 Aces
Wanderlust, freelance procurer, fringe rat

How big can your party be?

titty_baby_ fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Jan 10, 2024

# ? Jan 9, 2024 20:20

BraveLittleToaster: May 5, 2019

I've never heard of this game, which is probably the typical experience, but Shadowrun in space sounds like an interesting premise. I'm interested in following this LP.

Name: Is
Void Psyker
An apathetic void psyker that drifts through life and struggles to relate to others. They enjoy subtly messing with others' minds and guessing what strange things will happen next in their life.

# ? Jan 9, 2024 20:28

NewMars: Mar 10, 2013

Huh, I'm reminded that I actually have this game.

...I never completed it.

# ? Jan 9, 2024 21:02

Falconier111: Jul 18, 2012; S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

titty_baby_ posted:

SMUGGLER that's just Johnny 5 Aces

How big can your party be?

Four active slots, though you can in theory hire one of each class. You have to pay for each of them, though, and costs scale while inactive characters don't gain experience, so there's no real reason to pick up more than four unless you change your plans mid-game

Incidentally, I just transcribed character creation options for all of the classes in the second post; you only go through that process for the first character, but it'll give you an idea what classes do and what the setting fluff looks like. It is also the only place on the internet this text exists. Be grateful :colbert:

# ? Jan 10, 2024 02:22

Quackles: Aug 11, 2018; Pixels of Light.

A Hacker and her name or at least alias is Suzie Q. Mischievous and a bit of a smartass because that's how hackers are.

# ? Jan 10, 2024 05:38

CommissarMega: Nov 18, 2008; THUNDERDOME LOSER

Void Psyker:

Nemo-91 never really fit in, even before the incident that defined their lives as a Cursed Child whom their parents could barely stand. It was almost a relief when the the figures in suits of black and suits of white took them in as a Chimera Test Subject, and treated them with a degree of, if not sincere care, then at least a gentle tolerance that they had never experienced before. And once they were done, they supposedly allowed Nemo-91 to leave of their own volition, though Nemo-91 had their own suspicions about this apparent largesse. Still, a degree of freedom is still more than they had ever received, and is nevertheless to be cherished regardless of the source. Thus, led by the voices only they could hear, Nemo-91 has found themselves a new career, officially as one of the many Starcrawlers bouncing about the fringe, but what they truly are is a Seeker looking for something not even they are sure they comprehend.

CommissarMega fucked around with this message at 12:45 on Jan 11, 2024

# ? Jan 11, 2024 12:36

Falconier111: Jul 18, 2012; S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

Update 1: Before You Learn To Crawl

Crawlers

And away we go. We open with one of several relatively lavish splash screens and the main theme. Juggernaut Games brought on Ben Prunty, composer for FTL: Faster Than Light, to do the music, and resulting OST is kind of the game and in a nutshell. Taken alone, the music is excellent, highly atmospheric and compelling without being obtrusive; I can�t really imagine playing the game without it in the background, and that�s exactly what you want out of a good videogame soundtrack. Unfortunately, the OST has only 28 tracks for at least that many hours of gameplay, on top of some of those tracks only playing for certain scenes or in brief clips. I like the music, I�ll be posting music links periodically for reasons, but we�ll see this pattern a lot: excellent fundamentals stretched out too far for them to support properly.

Fittingly, Starcrawlers has a new game+ feature, but I�ve never really messed with it. Apparently you start the game over but with your old party and all the missions adjusted to your new levels, but I don�t really see the point. I like the process of building a party, so we�ll just start ourselves over.

Character creation�s a lot simpler than in many CRPGs: no races or subclasses, no stat selection, no balancing your party before you�ve had a chance to play the game. You just pick a difficulty, a starting class, and run through a quick lifepath system. I play exclusively on normal difficulty, and I recommend you do the same: easy rapidly gets boring and harder difficulties just make the endless slogs some missions turn into even longer and more annoying. I won�t be turning on ironman because I�ll need to go back sometimes to explore alternate paths, but it�s a much more effective way to up the difficulty.

I posted the backstory fluff earlier in the thread, but each choice made in this section also gives you a small bonus: the first set unlocks certain dialogue options when your starting character is in the party and the next couple give you some mixture of credits, better starting equipment, and rep with various factions (which I�ll cover probably next update). Some choices give you penalties (usually a rep malus), and the Nobody choice line for the void psyker gives you jack poo poo, but your starting character will always come out a bit ahead of the first crawler or two you bring on board since only your first character gets access to them.

I�m starting us out with a hacker, mostly to get it out of the way: the first couple missions are easy enough Suzie won�t get flattened by the local equivalent of giant rats and the stat boosts she picks up will go a surprisingly long way later on. Still, if you end up deciding your first character just doesn�t match what you�re building your party into, those boosts aren�t so great you can�t just set them aside and hire on somebody better. Anyway, Suzie gets Rich Kid, UFP Hacker, and Burnt Out.

Doc Sam�s

LUNA: Here we are boss, Terminus IX, hub for the sector� maybe it�s nicer on the inside than it looks out here?

SUZIE: Guess we�ll find out together. Let�s dock.

LUNA: Are you SURE you wanna go down this road, boss? Not a lot of stories about crawlers got happy endings.

SUZIE: I believe I burnt those bridges for a reason, Luna. I�ve told you before, you are more than welcome to choose a less treacherous career path�

LUNA: I�ve stuck with you through way worse decisions, boss.

SUZIE: I suppose we all have a right to our own bad decisions.

LUNA: Speaking of bad decision, last time I checked the Wire here�s run out of the local bar. If we�re looking to pull together a few credits, that�s probably where we should start.

Welcome to Station Terminus IX, or the STIX ( :rimshot:

), our mission hub. Screenshots don�t really do it justice; all the neon has a wavering glow and the occasional shower of sparks bursts out of various terminals. When it�s firing on all cylinders, the art direction in this game really stands out. There�s plenty to do in STIX, but we should get ourselves squared away first with that AP icon in the lower right.

Every class has three skill trees that pull characters towards certain roles as you progress down them; hackers get optimization (buffs and action order manipulation), malware (contagious DoT), and rootkit (status effects). In the long run, optimization�s ability to break the action economy probably makes it the best of the trees, but malware and rootkit give us a few early-game abilities we really can�t afford to ignore. Once we get our initial skill choices out of the way, we�re ready to progress the plot.

A haggard looking bartender is working the bar, his mech arm continuing to wipe down the pitted counter as he sizes you up.

DOC SAM: Evenin�. Haven�t seen you here before, so welcome to Station Terminus IX, jewel of the sector. Locals call her STIX fer short. What�s your poison?

SUZIE: I recall the Terminus installations from AP Fringe History, but I�m actually looking for work.

Sometimes your education gets you opportunities or bonuses; usually you just get extra flavor text.

He grins.

DOC SAM: That so? I can tell you got some decent book learning to you, and while I appreciate the scholarly, you might find yourself in lonely company on STIX. Best keep the ten-cred words to yerself, eh?

He leans forward on the creaking bar.

DOC SAM: Trouble is, my Wire terminal is on the fritz. I can�t get you any work until it�s fixed. Maybe you could do me a favor and grab some spare parts from the basement?

SUZIE: Wait� Is this some kind of tutorial? Are you tutorialing me?

DOC SAM: Well, yes, now that you mention it, but I do need the parts. Actually, hold up and listen punk.

He crosses his arms and regards you evenly.

DOC SAM: Lesson one of crawling, don�t be too quick to turn down a paying job. It�s not all high-stakes heists. Sometimes you gotta make do with what�s on offer, even if it�s pilfering a shipload of stuffed space monkeybears.

SUZIE: Fair enough, I�ll do it.

He waves you off and turns to deal with the surly customer, calling to you over his shoulder as he goes.

DOC SAM: Thanks much. I�ll stick it on the job board. Check it out and then head down to the basement whenever. Watch out for Sudsy!

SUZIE: Sudsy?

DOC SAM: Had to toss that guy out. Tab as long as my arm. Put the job on the board for ya, so as you can see how that works.

We pick up missions from this screen. No free roaming in Starcrawlers; every dungeon has a set aesthetic, mission type, and employer, and once you completed or falled the mission in that dungeon for that employer, you can�t go back. Most missions are procedurally generated, but plot missions like the tutorial here usually have fixed levels. Once we get the good doctor�s Internet connection fixed, we�ll usually have a slate of missions of various difficulties to pick from.

By the way, you absolutely can tell Doc Sam to shove it and skip to the first plot mission, but he�s right when he tells you you shouldn�t. The game refreshes the mission board after every dungeon, but you�ll very frequently find yourself low on missions you want to take, usually because the most cost-efficient ones will piss off factions you want to cozy up to in various ways. The game incentivizes you to take the easy path in mission selection, part of why the game ends up stretching out as experience returns dwindle.

Grinder

Once we take the mission, we get plopped down at the entrance and let loose. Dungeons use grid-based movement paired with free mouselook; you�re encouraged to poke around the environment to see what you can find.

Sometimes you�ll find various goodies, everything from spare credits to medicine to vendor trash to somebody�s booze stash. You only have 40 inventory spaces, and while that isn�t exactly stingy, it does put a limit on how much trash you can carry around to resell when you get back to the shops.

Other times you�ll find barriers. The game doesn�t always do an amazing job visually distinguishing which locked doors are cosmetic and with can be opened, but you can always tell by walking right up to them and interacting with them; sometimes it�ll even tell you how to open them

This one, for instance, is unsealed by a switch in the last room. The game reuses a lot of assets, so most locked doors and security panels look like this.

As the door grinds open, a small hooded figure darts through and past you towards the exit door. It causes and cautiously turns to study you.

It appears to be a small child, probably a station urchin. Underneath the tatters of filthy clothes, you see the glint of something shiny.

You call out in a firm voice that you mean no harm.

The child startles at the sound of your voice and slips into the shadows.

Most dungeons will have you encounter things as you walk around: security bots, security forces, hidden traps, wildlife, secretaries trying to help you, depends on the mission. You usually get the chance to do something, though in this case there isn�t an option that doesn�t scare the kid off.

Ahead lies an unhidden trap sealing up the passageway; while we could step through the lasers and take some damage, we can�t open the door behind them and we�d just take more damage getting back. The answer lies just off to the right.

This door isn�t locked, but stubbornly refuses to open. Using your unique talents, you should be able to convince it to open.

If you haven�t already, open the Character menu to assign Ability Points.

[Rootkit Hacker: 1] Access the door servo controls and order an emergency override.
[Malware Hacker: 2] Access the door servo controls and introduce a virus.

So, remember those class skill trees? They also function as a sort of skill system. Most dungeon encounters have a few skill tree names attached to various options, and if any party members have points in those trees, they can roll against them. Results are random and the game never tells you the roll difficulty, but the more points you have in a tree, the more likely you are to succeed. A lot of the more underpowered skill trees tend to have more use in dungeons; rootkit, for instance, is (arguably) the weakest hacker tree, but you�ll see it as often as malware and optimization combined. This check here�s preset to let any class through, though.

Behind that door lies a data jack console. Data jacking is its own thing, effectively a secondary dungeon type with alternate rules the devs added in very late in development to flesh out the experience, but this post is already so heavy in tutorials I plan on saving a full explanation for later. We�ll be jacking it plenty later on. Suffice to say, we deactivate the lasers and unlock the door.

We Can Always Get Robots to Do Your Job

But behind the door we find a new friend! Combat is semi-turn-based; all actions take a set amount of �time units� to execute, and abilities or attacks move a fighter forward in the initiative order by various percentages of that amount. Hackers can attack for piddly amounts of damage if they really have to, but they really shine when placing viruses, those contagious status effect-dealing DoTs I mentioned earlier on enemies.

Of course, not every hit lands, and all active abilities have cooldown. Overheat there would have stunned Sudsy, paralyzing him for a couple turns until he rolled to break free, but I missed my chance. Fortunately, he is a tutorial enemy; he wastes his turn applying the polished status effect, which does nothing except teach players what a status effect looks like on them.

The next virus, Mindmelt, lands just fine; you can see it in that purpley glow there. It�ll wear off eventually, but for now it does more than enough damage that I can just finish Sudsy off with a couple gunshots.

Firing Up Victory

Every victory gets you a little experience and sometimes some items, though you�ll be getting more of both from other parts of missions. Combat is useful if you want to grind, but you can always run from a tough fight you see coming; healing costs money, so if you take more damage than your loot from the fight and whatever lies beyond the can pay for, you just lost money.

Most plot missions have a little something hiding behind the final boss for you to pick up. While the gun we get here kind of sucks, it will sell for more than the mission pays; looting is where your profit margin lies. But that�s not all we can find.

Hidden behind a panel in the first room is a switch that reveals a box with a medkit, a valuable prize indeed. The only ways to heal damage in Starcrawlers are paying the local surgeon in STIX to freshen you up (which gets very expensive) or using medkits, which are rare and worth their weight in gold � and since medkits heal percentages of HP bars instead of making you pay per point like the autodoc, having a tank draw aggro and take as much damage as possible becomes relatively cost-effective (somebody give me a soldier concept already :argh:

). Most plot missions have similar secrets, many of which are very obnoxious to find; I can�t guarantee I�ll show them all off.

Firing Up Victory

Every mission has at least one clearly-marked exit door; interacting with it either lets you bail early (forfeiting mission rewards and taking a rep hit in the process) or declare victory and go home. No escape ropes here, though since enemies don�t respawn it�s mostly just a boring walk back to the start. The game uses the same theme for victory and mission completion; as I said, reused assets.

Doc Sam�s

Doc glances up as you enter.

DOC SAM: Hey there, Holojockey. Looks like Sudsy was no obstacle and you return victorious, Wire parts in hand. You do something different with your armor? It�s sparkling!

SUZIE: Took the liberty of rewiring Sudsy for you. Didn�t even have to open him up!

With that, we can now start actually taking missions. In theory, I could just go straight back in, but we have just enough money to pick up a new party members � and we are badly in need of a meatshield.

# ? Jan 11, 2024 18:57

CommissarMega: Nov 18, 2008; THUNDERDOME LOSER

I actually have a concept for a Force Psyker, if you don't mind me double-subbing.

Force Psyker:

ELIAS VAN MALKEN, KNIGHT-ERRANT was born in poverty, a fallen scion of a once-great House, an Outlander no matter where his feet fell in Luna II's slums, so taken was he by his mother's evocative yet bitter tales of her unwillingly-remembered past. Yet, once pirates struck the homeland of ELIAS VAN MALKEN, KNIGHT-ERRANT and threatened his family, ELIAS VAN MALKEN, KNIGHT-ERRANT acted as any true son of the Geduld would and raised his mighty hammer, thereupon exacting righteous vengeance against the foul miscreants who thought themselves the vanguard of depravity, yet who had the misfortune of crossing ELIAS VAN MALKEN, KNIGHT-ERRANT! Truly, if the doughty peasantry of Luna II knew the art of weaving (or indeed, comprehended the concept), they would have woven a beautiful tapestry of the Zealous Crusader, ELIAS VAN MALKEN, KNIGHT-ERRANT,who purged their home of sinners most sinister! Indeed the deeds of ELIAS VAN MALKEN, KNIGHT-ERRANT returned exaltation to his House, and indeed, upon their first sight of the worthy lad who had wrought such worthy destruction upon slightly-less-worthy-yet-still-worthy-enough-to-be-considered-worthy foes, ELIAS VAN MALKEN, KNIGHT-ERRANT was immediately made an Acolyte and tasked with an eternal crusade on the Fringe, an act which was greeted with great adulation by both Geduld and Luna II alike! Truly, what worthier fate is there than service in the name of righteous fury and he protection of the weak, which of course is everyone who isn't ELIAS VAN MALKEN, KNIGHT-ERRANT!

# ? Jan 11, 2024 20:10

MechaCrash: Jan 1, 2013

One fun thing about the tutorial is that one of the options is to skip it. If you do, he gives you a gun and some cash. If you chose the right options at character creation as a Hacker, you get some cash from those too. And between the life path cash and the "skip tutorial" cash, you have enough money to hire a full team of Crawlers, which makes the first few dungeons go much more smoothly, because it's assuming you have one to three people, not a full party.

And since you asked for a Soldier...

Dorothy K'gaan is a mercenary who serves as an anti-armor and anti-fortifications specialist. She is not "heavy weapons and demolitions," as that calls to mind people who giggle madly while being terribly irresponsible with explosives, and she is a professional, thank you very much. She has a tool box, not a "goody bag" or "toy chest." Now, you may be wondering why an obviously competent mercenary who clearly knows her way around extreme firepower is out here in bumfuck nowhere, and that's a very good question, and it has nothing to do with her former CO getting exploded. She's very good at her job, you see. Surely it was someone else who tampered with the explosive charge that was set to breach the bulkhead for what surely would have been a suicide charge into heavily entrenched enemies that would have gotten them nothing even if it had worked which it had no chance of doing, which is a stroke of amazingly terrible luck given that the CO was two hundred meters behind the front lines and it sure is a strange freak accident that a hunk of debris with a piece of Space C4 on a delayed fuse just happened to land right next to his command tent. But hey, it's a big galaxy and even the most unlikely events are going to happen when you roll the dice enough times.

But on the bright side, now her skills are yours for a very reasonable price! ...you can pay, right?

(I figure if you take a Force Psyker and this Soldier, the Force Psyker can do Tanky poo poo with this Soldier taking the "hit like freight train with heavy weapons" poo poo. And tank in an emergency.)

# ? Jan 11, 2024 23:13

Junpei: Oct 4, 2015; Can't post for 11 years!

Kazuya Ichinose the Cyber Ninja.

At first glance, you would think Kazuya the stereotype. Icy, quiet, determined. But get to know him enough, and you'll find a veritable cavalcade of snide quips and snarky puns, muttered under his breath, a measure to keep himself sane in a world that didn't like him. Clan Megata wasn't exactly a wonderful place to grow up, and Kazuya grew the icy exterior and the sarcastic interior as a defense measure.

Aside from the actual defense measure of 'being really good at cutting things up with a katana'.

# ? Jan 12, 2024 06:21

Falconier111: Jul 18, 2012; S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

Update 2: Distressing Signals

SUZIE: How do our prospects look, Luna?

LUNA: Well, mostly thin on the ground. Crawlers this far out, they�re either untrustworthy or expensive, you know how it is. Just a few people in our budget I think won�t knife us both in the night and skip town. Of those, most of �em wouldn�t make for good meatshields like you asked, but I did find one. An excellent candidate.

SUZIE: That sounds unfortunate.

LUNA: Don�t you worry, he is a treat. I told him to go sit in the runabout�s hold for the interview, go say hi.

SUZIE: A force psyker, eh? Can you tell me about yourself, sir?

ELIAS: And �sir� is correct! For I am Elias van Machten, son of Machten, of House Machten, Acolyte of the Geduld, Knight-Errant, Defender of the Weak, Protector of the Holy Sites, and Scourge of the Foul Miscreants of the Fringe!

SUZIE: _{Why am I hearing capital letters, Luna?}

LUNA:

ELIAS: I have answered your call for aid, my friends, and I stand ready to lend my hammer and will to your noble cause.

SUZIE: I� Your enthusiasm is certainly appreciated, Sir Machten �

ELIAS: Elias! If we are to be comrades, we must drop the formalities!

SUZIE: � Elias, yes. So, if I may ask, what brings you to crawling?

ELIAS: Indeed you may! You see, I was born to a woman of modest but respectable circumstances in a quiet urban area of Luna II�

*******

ELIAS: � After which I returned, blood still dripping from my hammer, to claim my just reward.

SUZIE: _{Are you sure about this one, Luna?}

ELIAS: Unfortunately, my prior employer believed I had obtained information on their operations too valuable to rest outside of their hands. As I said, I had given my sworn word no such truths would escape my lips, but when I returned, I was greeted by a swarm of hired toughs armed to the teeth!

LUNA: _{He�s talking himself up, but he�s the real deal. Did my homework � boy�s been fighting pirates and corp goons here and there for years.}

ELIAS: One must never underestimate the paranoia and treachery of those with unearned power, after all.

LUNA: _{Doesn�t seem to care much about credits as long as he�s eating and maintaining his gear, either.}

SUZIE: _{A point in his favor, then.}

ELIAS: But rusted steel and crude might are no match for the will of the righteous, and so I dispatched of these miscreants posthaste!

LUNA: _{He�s be a workable choice anyway, but we really don�t have any others, so.}

ELIAS: And thus, with my prior quest resolved on an unsatisfactory note, I came to seek service with another merry band of �

SUZIE: � Excellent, I believe that�s all we need to hear. Welcome to the team, Elias!

ELIAS: Most splendid, my lady!

SUZIE: But didn�t �

ELIAS: I shall prepare for our next venture with alacrity! Farewell, my new comrades!

SUZIE: � Luna, was that intentional? Is this workplace retaliation?

LUNA: What, for you talking like a dictionary? Nooo. Would I do that?

SUZIE: You would.

LUNA: I would. But seriously, he�s more practical out in the field than� You know, that. He�d be dead otherwise.

SUZIE: That�s not what I�m worried about. I have zero interest in him dragging me into unintentional heroics. No more of that. If I wanted to dance on someone else�s strings, I wouldn�t have burned my position at Anulap to the ground.

LUNA: I promise he won�t make us do anything we shouldn�t.

SUZIE: I will hold you to that.

LUNA: Looking forward to it, boss.

And with that, we have another party member. Let�s take a look:

So, damage control in SC has a couple layers. Every bit of damage a character causes (directly or indirectly) generates threat, a pretty standard aggro mechanic that proportionately increases how likely enemies are to target them. Lots of classes manipulate threat (soldiers tank by dealing tons of damage and magnifying threat generated, smugglers redirect it by literally hiding behind somebody else), but that�s not really the force psyker�s forte. Once an attack lands, it has to get through the target�s armor (flat damage reduction) and shields (additional damage reduction that triggers a set number of times per combat depending on equipment). That�s where force psykers shine. Several of their abilities generate barriers, ablative damage protection that sits on top of everything else and easily absorbs as much as shields and armor put together. Barriers are amazing, but they dissipate over the course of a few terms, so force psykers often end up spending combat just maintaining barriers with no opportunity to draw aggro � and since hackers output a lot of damage and therefore a lot of threat, without another tank providing coverage it won�t matter how strong Suzie�s barriers are. Still, we really aren�t far into the game yet. By the time the situation becomes untenable, we�ll have somebody else to help us out.

Distressing Signals

Tairie Hobbs, the STIX engineer, is looking for crew to investigate a distress beacon coming from a salvage junker in the area. Investigate the ship for surviving crew and render assistance.

Anyway, with our second crawler, we�re ready to take our first real mission.

Ghost Ship

A subtle trill from your comlink signals an incoming transmission. Luna appears on the holo, looking annoyed as usual.

LUNA: What�s the what in there?

SUZIE: Atmo is low. Looks like power is too. Nothing exciting in the airlock.

LUNA: We�re looking for whoever sent the distress beacon. They might need a part, some fuel, or maybe a lift back to the station. Either way, let�s see if we can�t help them out. And earn ourselves a paycheck.

SUZIE: Any communication from the crew?

LUNA: No one�s answering my hails on local coms. You should head to the cockpit to see if you can find someone and get a lead on what happened. I�ll sweep the exterior again and check in later � oh. I�m picking something up.

SUZIE: Finally find someone on the ship?

LUNA: No, no, this is something else. I should probably patch you in for this.

CHIMERA REP: Thank you for taking my call. I�m contacting you on behalf of my employer as I believe our interests may be aligned currently. The ship you�ve boarded was delivering medical supplies belonging to my employer. The supplies were to be paid for by the recipients, but as it now seems they will not be delivered, we would like to reclaim our property. My employer will pay you 100 credits to locate and return these supplies.

SUZIE: And the recipients?

CHIMERA REP: They are not a factor in this equation. As the contract they signed with my employer is no longer valid, they will simply have to renegotiate the delivery. Now, would that deal be amenable to you?

LUNA: It�s Chimera�s property, isn�t it? I�ll call you back with pickup information if and when we locate the supplies.

CHIMERA REP: Much appreciated. Thank you for your business.

ELIAS: � Do you regularly work with UFP member corporations, my lady?

SUZIE: The Universal Foundation for Progress has spent the last hundred years running settled space into the ground. I would know. We�ll be handling where the supplies go, Chimera can go hang.

Just a few steps into the mission and we run into our first enemy. While a few enemies stand still, most move on the grid the moment they see you � one step every time you take a step, always in the most efficient path to reach you. Since enemies can�t open doors (even when they really should be able to), you can exploit their AI sometimes to trap them in rooms and escape, but unless you�re running low on health, you usually want the loot and XP.

Meat Shield

See that indicator in the upper left? That�s force energy, their dedicated subsystem. Force psykers start every combat at 100 force energy, regaining five per turn until back up to that maximum; just about every active ability they have either drains or (more rarely) restores their stock, making efficient force energy management a priority no matter what build you�re going for. You don�t have to worry too much about it at first, but keep force energy in mind whenever I talk about force psyker abilities.

Remember how our hacker has two abilities as opposed to Elias�s one? I�ll explore how this works in more detail later, but every option on the skill tree has three ranks purchased individually with the ability points you pick up every level. Differences between ranks can be rather stark. For instance, Warding Blow here is the force psyker�s most basic protective ability, and at the first rank, it consumes 40 force energy to deal about a third of a standard attack�s damage and put a couple dozen HP worth of barrier on your weakest ally. If it misses, you just lose that energy. But that�s not what�s going on here.

At rank three? Every time Elias throws one of his brain hammers, he consumes half as much force energy, nearly doubles the damage and barrier strength, and puts a barrier on every ally if he crits. And that�s not all! Every weapon in the game has a set hit rate, usually between 75% and 90%, generally lower the slower and more powerful the weapon is (and force psykers specialize in slow and powerful weapons). At rank three, Warding Blow as a whopping 60% accuracy boost; even with accuracy debuffs, it will always land. It isn�t game breaking, but that�s a very significant difference.

Not that we need it. PEAs (Personal Emergency Automatons, the devs were big fans of puns in enemy names) are very much beginner enemies. Note the barrier on Suzie, literally covering up her shield pips.

To the lower left of the entrance, we go down a stairway to find our way barred.

SUZIE: Luna, if you have the time: we�re at the cargo hold, but the door is sealed and I can�t override it from here. Are you picking anything up?

LUNA: Yes, actually. First off, something shook the door open, I can see the venting atmo from here. Probably looking at a lockdown protocol, bet you can deactivate it in the cockpit. Also, somebody�s running a space heater in there, there�s a big, fat heat signature right in the middle of the bay. Whatever they�re keeping warm, it�s probably something we can sell.

Off to the right of the entrance lies the crew quarters, which give us some credits, a medkit, and a datapad sitting on somebody�s bunk. Datapads usually have some fluff in them (and I�ll be transcribing the more interesting ones), but this one isn�t that exciting: two of the crew were smuggling drugs under their captain�s nose, and somebody named Smitts stashed them in their locker and says they left the password in the galley �in the usual place. Remember: red, yellow, red, yellow�. How curious!

The galley can be found in the rough center of the ship, just beyond the furthest forward parts of the crew quarters. Nothing too notable here except some credits in one of the seats and evidence somebody�s been hitting the condiments too hard. Wow, those ketchup and mustard bottles are certainly arranged in a distinctive pattern. What could it mean??

Just past the galley and before the cargo hold we find the crew�s lockers. We can rifle through them if we want � one guy filled up his locker with nudie mags, somebody else hid credits under a candy bar � but the real prize sits in Smitts�s locker.

There we find a keypad; we have only three chances to guess the code before it locks up and costs us our loot forever. That code, obviously, is 1483, as the condiment bottles were telling us. At least, I think it is, because I didn�t bother guessing and just had our hacker take the panel off and disable it manually. Plot mission puzzles can�t usually be cheesed like this, but I told you hackers were useful :smuggo:

.

Incidentally, our prize sucks. Chems are drugs in every videogame: they give you small (5-10%) boosts to a stat or two, maybe a minor stat penalty, and have a chance to make a character addicted to them so they suffer penalties every mission they don�t pop one until you pay to have it fixed. You get all the real drugs with cutesy nicknames you expect, but none of them contribute enough to make them worth seeking out and they don�t even sell for much. I may try something stupid with them right at the end of the game, but as far as I�m concerned, they�re vendor trash.

Speaking of things that sell, just forward from the galley we find an open space before the cockpit � and a bunch of crates with an attached shipping manifest. If we click on it�

The manifest indicates the supplies are bound for Brighthall, a colony in the region that has been struggling with an outbreak of pox. The transaction records state that the bill has been paid in full to Chimera and the colony is awaiting delivery.

SUZIE: Luna? We�ve located the goods.

LUNA: Cool. Now what?

SUZIE: How much would they go for on the open market?

LUNA: Guess about 100 to 200 credits, three or four times that if we proved we didn�t steal them, which we can�t if we steal them.

ELIAS: �

SUZIE: That�s a better offer from Chimera than I expected.

LUNA: Everybody has off days?

SUZIE: I suppose it doesn�t really matter.

LUNA: So, boss. Medical supplies. Planet undergoing major outbreak of deadly disease. Yea or nay?

SUZIE: � I�m done with charity. Luna, make room in the cargo hold. Once we clear the ship, we are taking the supplies back to STIX to find a buyer.

ELIAS: My lady, I must protest this course of action.

SUZIE: Your protest is duly noted. You�ll be helping me wrestle them into our cargo hold.

ELIAS: I must say I find this behavior far more dishonorable than I expected of you. I feel I must take action to discourage you.

SUZIE: �Take action�? How very ominous. I don�t feel any interest in changing my mind. Tell me, Elias, are you planning to raise arms against me?

ELIAS: I would never do that against a sworn comrade. I can only ask what your bosom companions all those decades ago, especially Hiroshi, would think if they saw you now.

SUZIE: � Explain. How.

ELIAS: An ally of justice gathers allies in many places, and a wise one learns who to ask to suss out a potential employer�s true character.

SUZIE: � Is he still alive?

ELIAS: I will tell you everything I know, my lady, so long as you make the right decision now.

SUZIE: gently caress. Okay. Alright, congratulations, you get your wish, we�ll deliver the goods. Let�s just get into the cargo hold and go home. Unless you want me to donate that too?

ELIAS: I�ll offer no further objections, let us proceed as we were.

And on the other end of the ship is the cockpit. Just about every ship we�ll run into during ordinary missions has a copy of this room somewhere; usually they contain a data jack where you do fun things like deactivating security or extracting a level map. Not in this level, though, so we won�t be jacking it quite yet. Instead we have to access that terminal in the bottom left.

The bridge is ominously lifeless. Luna�s face appears on your com.

LUNA: Nothing report out here. Escape pods unlaunched, looks like some airlocks might�ve been opened though?

ELIAS: I find it hard to imagine these souls met a good end. The bridge yawns to the bleak expanse of space.

LUNA: Creepy. You find the log?

SUZIE: Let me see�

The display is open to the ship�s log. Someone was in the process of making an entry. Scanning the log entries reveals that the crew recently discovered a massive ship. The words �score of a lifetime� are a recurring theme. This sounds promising�

SUZIE: The logs mention a colony ship, a big one, registered under the name Stella Marin. They found it adrift in the Gugan sector.

LUNA: Gugan, eh? That�s only four parsecs from here. Anyone on board?

SUZIE: Completely abandoned. Systems still functioning, no apparent signs of mechanical distress. There is also mention of some cargo they looted from the ship. The log cuts off after that.

LUNA: I say you unlock the cargo hold and see if they pulled in anything worth taking. No crew means their untimely demise is our gain, right?

SUZIE: Unless their demise was in the cargo.

LUNA: Things finally show signs of getting interesting and now you�re worried about a little danger? You�re a crawler. The possibility of violence is just icing on the loot cupcake. Get your weapons ready and stop whinging.

SUZIE: Good point. Let�s go see what they found.

After disengaging the lock, we return to the cargo hold, which is strangely empty outside of a single massive crate. We approach it and interact with it, but the lid shoots off and hits Elias, stunning him.

Hit the Deck

Meet ?!?!, our first true boss. Bosses get a suite of bonuses like resistance or immunity to most status effects on top of boosted stats and the obligatory special attacks.

?!?! fights entirely through charged attacks, the first we�ve run into. You can interrupt charge attacks with certain status effects, but boss or not, ?!?! is still part of (unofficial) tutorial, so if I tried to pull that off it wouldn�t show us its full arsenal.

Thunderclap, the first of its two attacks, does minor damage to the party, but more importantly it deactivates their shields. You can�t see it, but Suzie�s shields are gone even through her barrier.

Its second attack, Arm Cannon, just does direct damage, albeit a boatload of it.

Unfortunately, it just isn�t enough.

While a harder difficulty ?!?! might put a starter crew in danger, on normal even two crawlers is more than enough to handle it. But it makes sense that a larger party might bring it down�

� Because the prototype is a potential party member! The prototype is a robot, through and through; it even has a malfunction subsystem that paralyzes it once in a while. In combat, appropriately, it is highly customizable and theoretically can fit into any role with options for threat manipulation, direct damage, and unique buffs. It�s really cool!

And that�s why it�s a shame the prototype is so unreliable. Like other generalists, there�s ltlle the prototype can do that another class can�t do better. It can draw threat, but not as well as a dedicated tank, and while it can get limited health regen its defenses can�t always keep up. It has access to a bunch of charged powers (including the two we just saw), but they usually do less damage than just attacking twice would have, and the extra effects they have can be situational. It can buff better than almost any other class, but those buffs have a random element you can�t count on and aren�t strong enough to carry a class on their own. The right skill choices can turn its malfunctions into extremely potent assets, but you won�t pull together enough skill points to get that train going until the late game. Every upside has a corresponding downside, much more than any other class.

But with the right management, the prototype is all upside. You need to micro its equipment and skill distribution like a Starcraft player to get it working right, but if you pull it off, it might have the highest potential DPS in the game � and that�s on top of its unique ability to negotiate with the many, many robots we�ll stumble across in dungeons. Plus, it can recite haiku that boost your crit chance as sakura petals drift across the screen. What�s not to like?

Next update, we can either repair and activate the prototype to add it to our party or scrap it for parts, netting us enough credits to hire a new crawler. We can�t put it off either, we have to decide the moment we get back from the mission. That calls for a vote!

:siren:

Please vote keep or scrap, and if you vote keep, suggest a name. :siren:

Remember we only have four slots to fill, so if you vote keep party will only have one thread-suggested character, but the prototype has some of the funniest lines in the game. Please bold your votes so I can see them. Vote closes in 48 hours.

# ? Jan 15, 2024 20:50

MechaCrash: Jan 1, 2013

Scrap it, which I am voting for because, as you said, it's hella unreliable. I am also voting that way because hey, more player-made crawlers is always rad, and isn't working with whatever pack of murder hobos the thread gives you half the fun of one of these LPs? :v:

# ? Jan 15, 2024 23:03

BraveLittleToaster: May 5, 2019

Scrap it, more reliable party members may be better.

# ? Jan 15, 2024 23:29

Quackles: Aug 11, 2018; Pixels of Light.

Keep It, name it Alice. We're clearly about to go down the rabbit hole.

# ? Jan 16, 2024 00:00

habituallyred: Feb 6, 2015

Keep It If we could adopt it without making it a party member I would. But it joining or getting parted out so it is joining us.

# ? Jan 16, 2024 02:04

Slaan: Mar 16, 2009; ASHERAH DEMANDS I FEAST, I VOTE FOR A FEAST OF FLESH

Scrap it, because my running run used it for my party and I want to see a human party. Speaking of:

Magnolia, the Void Psyker was the greatest chef hobbiest in her ultra selective rich kids private boarding school. You name it, she could fix it too perfection. Why, she was short listed for next season's Titanium Cook competition, thanks to her specialty: astrotentacle a la mode. Nobody knew that the secret ingredient was the Eldritch powers she cut the tentacles off of... Until they did and she had to run out to the STIX.

Now, better ingredients, better pizza (and more!) are to be gained from the wonders of the space frontier

# ? Jan 16, 2024 04:29

Szarrukin: Sep 29, 2021

Keep it

# ? Jan 16, 2024 16:14

Falconier111: Jul 18, 2012; S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

Incidentally, these long updates take absolutely forever to write and I�m not sure how much pleasant they are to read. Do you guys prefer shorter (and more frequent) updates or want me to stick with the longer ones?

# ? Jan 16, 2024 19:27

Quackles: Aug 11, 2018; Pixels of Light.

Falconier111 posted:

Incidentally, these long updates take absolutely forever to write and I�m not sure how much pleasant they are to read. Do you guys prefer shorter (and more frequent) updates or want me to stick with the longer ones?

Do what you feel comfortable with.

# ? Jan 16, 2024 19:35

Decoy Badger: May 16, 2009

Scrap it.

I think more frequent, shorter updates would be better, for no other reason than avoiding bogging down page load times.

# ? Jan 16, 2024 21:22

Falconier111: Jul 18, 2012; S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

Vote closed! No robot buddy for us. I�m feeling future updates will be more along the lines of 1500 words a shot instead of *checks word count* 3500, Jesus.

# ? Jan 17, 2024 18:37

Falconier111: Jul 18, 2012; S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

So, I�ve been hitting a series of technical issues culminating in a save file I can�t really use. That normally wouldn�t be that big an issue this early in the game, but in the process of trying to fix things I stumbled into a new workflow that produces way better results - and I can�t get it to loving work with Starcrawlers. I burned out on this game, it no longer sparks joy.

The game I trialed the new method on, though, does spark joy, almost by definition. I made the executive decision to turn my test into the first post for a new WitchSpring R LP. If you feel like checking it out, I�d appreciate it, but either way thanks for sticking with me for this long.

# ? Jan 22, 2024 15:08

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# ? May 2, 2024 04:46

Explopyro: Mar 18, 2018

I know I hadn't commented yet, but this game looked interesting, and I wouldn't have minded seeing more of it. I appreciate your bringing it to our attention, as I'd never have heard of it otherwise. That said, obviously, don't force yourself to do anything you don't want to.

(And also, I have to admit that this game seems like it's probably more interesting to play than read about... I might have to give it a go, if I somehow find the time or energy.)

# ? Jan 23, 2024 02:18

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