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Author Topic: Distant Star: Revenant Fleet  (Read 2211 times)

Majestic7

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Distant Star: Revenant Fleet
« on: February 11, 2015, 07:13:29 am »

Warning: Early Access game!

http://www.blazinggriffin.com/games/distant-star-revenant-fleet/

I stumbled upon this game while browsing space stuff on Steam. It is basically a remake of FLT as a squadron level pausable RTS. You jump from system to system, get an option asking what to do, fight baddies. You have money to buy a few ships in the beginning and can upgrade them on the way. Your own ships are disabled instead of destroyed and you get them back if you win the battle; but they pick permanent afflictions. Your ships get experience if they survive long enough etc.

Difficulty level is quite hardcore, you are going to get pounded. So far, it seems to me that big ships are quite weak since they receive so much damage, you are best off flying glass cannons in wild maneuvers while using slow but destructive attacks. AI is weak and the enemies tend to just swarm you with numbers... but yeah, this is EA.

I think the game has potential; the strategic part is fun, the options on dealing with things sometimes are fun and dealing with your finite resources is fun. However the combat could be more fun, it is a little repetitive at the moment, enemies always having overwhelming numbers etc. Perhaps it will be a future gem, but at five eurodollars, it isn't that big of an investment.
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Astral

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Re: Distant Star: Revenant Fleet
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2015, 09:07:14 pm »

It looks promising, like many an Early Access that I've been burned on, so I'm withholding judgement until they get to a point that I don't have to pay to beta test their game.

Don't get me wrong, it actually looks like something I would play, but I've got enough Early Access games in my library as is, and would rather wait the year or more for a finished product, rather than the year or more in development hell, hoping that it eventually gets finished.
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Majestic7

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Re: Distant Star: Revenant Fleet
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2015, 01:59:59 am »

You can get the game for a short while for five euros/dollars, though - it is going to hike up to 15 soon. I'd say it is worth a fiver as it is.
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Girlinhat

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Re: Distant Star: Revenant Fleet
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2015, 02:16:53 am »

$7 USD.  Seems to be a sort of mix between Homeworld and FTL - it has that very Homeworldy feeling with enormous space debris background, drums as primary music, and large amounts of ships, but also bits of FTL in the system hopping progression and choices.  Additionally, everything LOOKS well-polished, the website is immaculate.  But... I get the impression that like, this company released a few flash games and then decided to go full gaming mode.  The videos of combat just have that feeling of being kinda low-key, simple shooting and HP bars and cooldown abilities...  I'm gonna have to pass based on that - if it were a bit more... Starsector, with unique turrets and weapon effects and shield qualities, then it'd be pretty awesome, but as it is, it looks like essentially your ships are beefier by default and then there's a lot of enemies.  Which is fun and all, but...

Majestic7

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Re: Distant Star: Revenant Fleet
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2015, 02:38:09 am »

Your ships actually aren't any beefier than the enemies. They are just the same, if not even better and there are constantly more of them... hence the hardcore difficulty warning. :p

There is an ability to target specific subsystems and they can break. Further, the permanent damage your ships suffer hints at more works under the wraps. I presume things will get more detailed in the future. I agree with the mix of Homeworld and FTL.
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Majestic7

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Re: Distant Star: Revenant Fleet
« Reply #5 on: February 23, 2015, 03:12:39 am »

So this updated to beta; meaning the game can now be played through. The difficulty level has been tweaked to more humane and there is a meaningful progress curve in the campaign. There are multiple system quests in the style of FTL. Several fights can be avoided by choosing other encounter options with the right ships/equipment/luck. For example, having a ship equipped with siege missiles allows you to bombard enemy installation from outside combat range, destroying it without requiring actual combat.
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Majestic7

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Re: Distant Star: Revenant Fleet
« Reply #6 on: March 11, 2015, 04:04:21 am »

New version is up with balance fixes etc. I think the game is turning out pretty interesting, as long as they fix the enemy spawning. Right now, towards the end of the campaign, you get swamped by absolutely huge hordes of enemies, making the fights quite absurd.
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Sinistar

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Re: Distant Star: Revenant Fleet
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2015, 05:21:19 am »

Hm, saw this pop up on Steam just few days ago, gave it a quick look but didn't really pay much attention... this thread ignited my interest in this game though! Just a ptw for now, as I can't really buy it currently, but I'll keep my eye on it in the future...
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forsaken1111

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Re: Distant Star: Revenant Fleet
« Reply #8 on: March 11, 2015, 05:29:43 am »

ptw as well. Never heard of it before, will take a look. maybe.

I have many games already.
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Majestic7

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Re: Distant Star: Revenant Fleet
« Reply #9 on: April 01, 2015, 02:23:44 am »

The game updated again, played a little bit. First impression: better balance. Combat missions now take less time than before, which is a good thing. Encounters are more intense and dangerous, rather than forcing you to slug through wave after wave of enemies. Some encounters are more like text adventures, when you send a boarding party to investigate an abandoned station and order them what to do.
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