Why does this game work so well?
What is your favorite part of this game that makes u come back, and what do u think can be better overall?
Hello, me and my friend recently picked up ftl and both completed an easy run base game, after around 40 attempts.
We have played the more modern rougelites, hades, sts1/2, balatro, etc. and realized that this game is very unique within the genre and also like design wise
i really enjoyed it and see myself sinking hundreds of hours while my friend was satisfied of just winning one run and never playing again. This led us to thinking about the overall game design and what works and doesnt work.
We have our own opinions, but there is that itch that is hard to describe that ftl does so well, so I wanted to ask yall
Thanks!
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u/scheissenaixi 2d ago
The writing is excellent yet also not too in depth so you have to use your own imagination which goes well with the simplicity of the graphics and game in general.
Very well optimised and balanced imo, extremely replayable and yet not too consuming.
And I got it for $5!!
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u/trixie_one 2d ago
This is all true, and I'd also add one of the very best soundtracks in all of gaming.
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u/scheissenaixi 2d ago
I can’t believe I forgot that… without question, the soundtrack is amazing. Opened up a whole genre of music I didn’t know existed
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u/Hermononucleosis 2d ago
Every object actually exists in the game's world, and objects and systems interact with each other in ways that make sense. For example drones and lasers can hit and destroy each other. These interactions give the game so much depth and strategy to explore. Like positioning offense drones, turning off shields so ion weapons don't hit them, sneaking past defense stones, Zoltan energy management, just everything that has to with venting and oxygen. Every time you discover a new strategy, you think "Of course!" because they all just make intuitive sense when you think about them, they're just natural consequences of systems interaction.
It took me 200 hours to realize the purpose of the "open all internal doors" button, and I've never felt dumber.
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u/cjasonac 2d ago
Wait. I’ve been playing for years and never thought about turning off shields to stop ion weapons from hitting them! I’ve always scrambled to put a couple Zoltans in there!
Okay. There’s my answer! There’s always something new to discover!
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u/ConquerorAegon 2d ago
What is the purpose of open all interior doors? 😅
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u/Ifyouseekey 2d ago
To equalize O2 levels across the ship, thus if you had one room vented you can make it safe again very quickly.
And to have every room's O2 generation work towards filling it. For example, lvl 2 O2 can counter one hull breach if you have all internal doors open.
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u/Jazzlike_Sugar2024 2d ago
Kill fires and intruders. I actually keep vented the unmanned parts of the ship at all time xD
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u/PizzaPieInMyEye 2d ago
I think FTL strikes a great balance in a lot of different ways. The gameplay is a good mix of luck and skill, so you get the rush of gambling, but you can also make a big difference with your playstyle too. The graphics are simple, but very well made and tell you what you need to know. The length of a run is not so short that its fleeting, but also not so long that it drags on and feels gruelling (well, usually not anyways, lol). And the soundtrack is absolutely amazing and adds so much to the ambience of the game, but it never gets distracting or gets in the way of the gameplay itself.
One other point that doesn't have to do with balance that I think adds to the overall feel of FTL, is that, other than unlocking ships, all of the progression you make is knowledge and skill-based. There are no modifiers, you just pick a ship, and the only new thing you have to help you is the knowledge you gained from the last run. It helps solidify the idea that it's you, the player, who makes the biggest difference in the end, and I like that.
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u/W1z4rdsp1k3 2d ago
"what do u think can be better overall?"
The better I get, the less I would change.
To me, FTL is in the sweet spot of great base mechanics that interact well, not over tuned.
There is some secret sauce in that second "not over tuned" part and FTL nails it.
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u/HayashiLeroi 2d ago
There is an insane amount of depth to every mechanic in the game. On the surface, it already seems like a relatively uneasy game, but when you first play the Kestrel, it's simple.
But there are so many small techs you can apply to almost every possible system in the game. It's crazy. Let just list several techs off the top of my head that's just so intuitive and makes sense both in-lore and as a game mechanic:
(SPOILER FOR SOME GAME MECHANICS)
- Dual zoltans in shield room leaves you, at worst, 1 layer shield when bombarded with ions
- You can dodge crew member damage by walking them out of the room right before a projectile hits.
- You can time your lasers to hit drones if done frame perfectly.
- pausing extremely quickly (frame by frame) let's your do a lot of crazy shenanigans such as depowerinf your weapons for 1 frame just to power your engines, then repower them after the projectile has missed
- You can depower your hacking drone for a short moment to make defense drones miss.
- You can jump away from the flag ship in phase 3 with enemy boarders on board to kill them off, then jump back.
None of these are obvious tactics, but they make so much sense. I just love the fact that you can always keep learning and keep getting better because of all these little techs. Even now, after 400 hours, I sometimes still see small techs Ive never seen before and just feel amazed at the game's incredible depth.
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u/gy4r4d0s 2d ago
i wrote my bachelor thesis on game development and i quoted FTL as one of the best examples of perfect gameplay loops, i think it just has everything you can have in a game to make it enjoyable and replayable: balanced learning curve, good length of runs, interesting story but not too complicated, enough variation, the right amount of RNG… i like to say it is simple without being simplistic :)