Bosses

[Ablogqwer]

Okay, so I'm going to be doing a little background that may seem to belong in Beginner's Luck, so bear with me...

I have repeatedly died, quit, and started up new games in as a newbie while I tried to figure out all the keys and survival skills to properly playing the game without being shafted. Inevitably I managed to -finally- survive to St. Katherine's Star System without actually dying, and in two systems immediately after that, made a clever purchase of Worldship armor (which I then slapped regenerating nanos to).

Now, sure, it's not "that" good... but I'm a cheap bastard and dislike spending money for anything (also why I was using a wind slaver's weapon and an omni turbolaser). At this point I had gotten fed up with slowly grinding my way through each system and proceeded to run all the way to the last level.

Yes, that's right. I did this. I did not die once. I did not, in point of fact, take any significant damage even when running through clouds of those green-headed drones, cylindrical body destroyers, or those swarms of ships the Commonwealth Fleet was fighting (sorry if I don't remember their names-too busy running. Oh, did you know the green-headed drones' shields are ignored by laser and particle weapons)?

Anyway, I got to the last level with it's field of radiation and found the last boss. This is where I got enraged as you realize that every weapon I had did no damage. Now, okay, fine. They're not very good weapons. I can accept that. Except the boss couldn't damage me. Two autoturrets, a cargo ship with Titan thrusters, and some basic laser/particle weaponry... AND THE BOSS COULDN'T DO CRAP.

So here's my beef: The boss isn't a boss. The level right before it is harder. I'm not kidding. He's a waste of your time, because the bullets can either be shot out of the air or avoided with ease. So here's my advice on how to actually make him a decent freakin' opponent.

1. More Health [slash]=[/slash] Harder. For the love of god, that only makes them incredibly irritating. All weapons should be able to at least damage him, even if the weakest ones take forever and a half.

2. Make him faster. He's using INERTIALESS DRIVES. He should be almost as fast as you are when using best thrusters in the game, but not quite (much bigger, after all). Plus he'd destroy you.

3. The command ship should be a carrier! Launch those little buggers reminiscent of the other small ships that circle around you and shoot the crap outta ya. Seriously. Make things a bit tricker.

4. Give him less predictable weapons. Sure, missiles, cool, but they only fly in one direction and can be shot down with relative ease. Maybe a field of them that flows around you and then flies inwards. I 'unno. Something.

5. Teleportation.

The game was, admittedly, fun. With the collection and the hack-and-slashing, along with storylines and concepts I quite enjoyed. It's just that this part bothers me, although I suppose I can be blamed by running through the game-but I've noticed other people have also had problems doing damage even when they haven't.

SO.

[Betelgeuse]

The boss isn't a boss

That is entirely correct.
You may not know this is just the first part of three. While I agree that the resistance of its shields it way to high the game while rewarding fast play doesn't require it. People need to be able to play a trader or miner if they feel like it. Nothing else in the game is required other than that boss. Personally I would have many ways of getting past that point. A hard boss isn't interesting to fight if you have done it 40 times before.
We need some problems that require lateral thinking.

[Xephyr]

I guess I agree with you. But wait - You were using worldship armour plates. They're made of meteorsteel, so they shouldn't allow you to have a shield generator. Without a shield generator, you would be disintegrated pretty quickly, don't you think?

[Ablogqwer]

People need to be able to play a trader or miner if they feel like it. Nothing else in the game is required other than that boss.

Irrelevant to the current topic; I was pointing out potential changes that could make a boss fight more enjoyable (vis la vis, making it a challenge). What does that have to do with a trader or a miner, other than indirectly (which is handled in the next paragraph)? o_O

Personally I would have many ways of getting past that point. A hard boss isn't interesting to fight if you have done it 40 times before.

See, exactly! This I agree wholeheartedly. What if the boss didn't attack you and you could instead dock with it before shooting, offering treasures in exchange for going through? I think that would work nicely. Or just sneaking past him, somehow? I don't know how that would be managed.

You were using worldship armour plates. They're made of meteorsteel, so they shouldn't allow you to have a shield generator. Without a shield generator, you would be disintegrated pretty quickly, don't you think?

Uh.

...This isn't a hypothetical situation. I did not make this story up to look awesome. The times he DID hit me I died instantly (yes, he killed me. I already said that). I found it pretty funny, admittedly. And yet, somehow, I'm still complaining his bullets are too easy to dodge...

Ponder that.

[Yugi]

(yes, he killed me. I already said that)

Where, exactly?

[Ablogqwer]

Okay, next person to ask anything about fighting the boss gets taunted mercilessly, because that has nothing to do with the subject I wished to talk about, which is: Potential changes to the boss.

Yugi: Usually in the back while I was running away, or in the side when the big lightnin' ball of death appeared and went after me from a random(?) direction when I wasn't expecting it to (although, admittedly, the turrets helped after the first time).

...And if you're asking about whether or not I fought him in the heretic system, I am just going to pity you. You have that many posts and you've never gotten that far?

[Yugi]

Sorry - what I meant was, where did you say that?

[Ablogqwer]

[French]"Your mother is a hamster and your father smells of elderberries!"[/French]

[OddBob]

I think there should be a challenge just to get from the initial radiation gate to the command ship. Perhaps the QD could be replaced with 4 mini QDs (or at least be a little harder to shoot down with an ICX) and they begin firing the moment you enter the system - add some wrecks to hide behind as well - as the battle rages on you cover is disintegrated.

[Charon Mass of Goo]

[French]"Your mother is a hamster and your father smells of elderberries!"[/French]

Completely inappropriate and uncalled for. And you said it wrong anyways.

I think there should be a challenge just to get from the initial radiation gate to the command ship. Perhaps the QD could be replaced with 4 mini QDs (or at least be a little harder to shoot down with an ICX) and they begin firing the moment you enter the system - add some wrecks to hide behind as well - as the battle rages on you cover is disintegrated.

Agreed, and perhaps the "Boss" as you are refering to it, should be farther away from the "Object" it is gaurding. (Seriously, we don't want to spoil it for people who haven't gotten that far.) perhaps on the other side of the system, so it requires a bit of extra fuel? And the fact that what you need is what the boss is carrying wasn't very obvious. maybe a few indacations that you should actually fight him?

[OddBob]

Completely inappropriate and uncalled for. And you said it wrong anyways.

...Seriously?




Anyway, why does it need to be farther away? The farther it is away, the LESS obvious it will be that you need something from it.

Besides, it doesn't need to be obvious while it is alive (although it is currently so). Remember it is in the process of trying to kill you when you first encounter it. Most people at this point will, if they haven't figured it out already, put aside the problem of "the gate desn't work" in favor of "I am going to die". Once the latter is solved then it becomes a "how to make the gate work" puzzle, and even so, you have a stargate that is broken and then you come across an object that you've never seen before and it has the word "stargate" right there in the name.

[Charon Mass of Goo]

Besides, it doesn't need to be obvious while it is alive (although it is currently so). Remember it is in the process of trying to kill you when you first encounter it. Most people at this point will, if they haven't figured it out already, put aside the problem of "the gate desn't work" in favor of "I am going to die". Once the latter is solved then it becomes a "how to make the gate work" puzzle, and even so, you have a stargate that is broken and then you come across an object that you've never seen before and it has the word "stargate" right there in the name.

Good point. But there is a problem with the gate with the green... things. around it. If some one is too stupid to figure out that you CAN'T go through it, and they do, it crashes the game. Of course they can just load it from where they were, but still.

And if some one is too stupid enough to never be able to figure out to loot the you know what, and they run out of fuel, well, heh, self explanatory.

[F50]

That's their problem then.

The OP is right. If the Iocrym command ship (the boss) was made as fast as a wolfen (but not as maneuverable) it would be more fun to fight him (repeller + plasma wall).

I also agree that Worldship armor should be to be damageable (even if 99% resistant) by all weaponry except perhaps laser.

[OddBob]

Good point. But there is a problem with the gate with the green... things. around it. If some one is too stupid to figure out that you CAN'T go through it, and they do, it crashes the game. Of course they can just load it from where they were, but still.

Um, it crashes your game? How does it crash your game? This doesn't happen to me - I am able to go through the gate in both directions without any problem....

I also agree that Worldship armor should be to be damageable (even if 99% resistant) by all weaponry except perhaps laser.

Why? I don't understand why you want to nerf it further?

[Periculi]

NO NERF!

*shakes it off*

whoa, sorry, I don't usually shout in here.. but I think I made my point.