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[Sirus]

Infinite Space is a space-themed RPG created by the suspiciously-named company Nude Maker. That alone might not make it stand out among the endless number of fantasy-themed games. Where it shines, however, is the real-time battles, huge list of characters (almost 100 crew members, not counting the insane number of supporting cast), many dozens of full 3D ship models (surprisingly well-detailed, for the DS), massive amounts of customization, and an epic story that covers two galaxies. It is also one of those rare games that you can tell the ratings board didn't cover very well; heads get blown off, eyes get stabbed, and people get DRUNK (with hi-larious consequences).

While the game was well received in Japan, western audiences got turned off by the sheer scale of the game and the admittedly somewhat cliched storyline, not to mention how difficult the battles can be (random encounters can kill you if you don't figure out the combat system quick). Personally, I enjoyed it very much, and was nearing the end of the game when I somehow lost my cartridge (  ).


This will be a screenshot LP with LOADS of text. Keep in mind that this is a space opera inspired by stories from sci-fi giants like Clarke and Asimov. If you frequently visit the Something Awful LP forum, you'll probably recognize the practice of using cut-out heads to tell the dialogue, rather than full screenshots. This will PROBABLY NOT be a 100% run; in fact, getting 100% in a single game is pretty much impossible thanks to branching dialogue paths and the ability to pick different sides in different conflicts. Some optional crew members are pretty dang hard to recruit as well.

Audience participation is encouraged, mostly when it comes to decision making. If you have a creative streak and want to RP or whatever, that is fine as well - so long as it doesn't get out of hand.
One more thing: unless I spoil it first, this thread has a NO SPOILING policy. I'm guessing that quite a few readers have never even heard of this game, much less played it. Be kind and take any discussions about the ending or whatever to private messages. Hell, I don't even know how it ends.


And now...let's sail the sea of stars!

Spoiler: Characters (click to show/hide)

Yuri
Sex: M
Age: 16
Main character and protagonist. Yuri wants to become one of the "zero-G dogs": people who leave planet life behind and make their fortunes among the stars. Just one problem: the law of his planet, Ropesk,  forbids space travel. Yuri is grounded...unless a lifter comes along and helps out...


Nia Lochlain
Sex: F
Age: 23
Nia is a "lifter", a person who makes his/her living helping others get into space. While the game doesn't elaborate much, it can be assumed that they are contract workers, taking whatever jobs they can get. Nia took Yuri's offer, and was heading to Ropesk when she hit a bit of a snag...


Demid Panfilov
Sex: M
Age: 71
The feudal ruler of Ropesk. Once a famous explorer, he colonized Ropesk and decreed that no space travel would be allowed on or off world. He is the first (of many) obstacles that Yuri will face.


Torlo Adkin
Sex: M
Age: 16
Torlo is the leader of a transport gang. He caused quite a bit of trouble for Yuri, but it seems that the two have reached a truce.


Radimir
Sex: M
Age: 49
Radimir runs a tavern on Hapsal. It seems he has a habit of asking other people for money to help keep his tavern afloat.


Kira
Sex: F
Age: 14
Yuri's younger sister. Was captured by Panfilov in a bid to force Yuri to quit space travel.


Gen
Sex: M
Age: ??
An old man who seems to know a thing or two about tactics and strategy...


Alik
Sex: M
Age: 7
A young boy traveling with Gen. Despite his shyness, he's a promising student in the art of warfare.


Galkin
Sex: M
Age: 52
A member of the Novgorod Pirates in the Lutsk sector. Seems to have a grudge on Yuri after the latter destroyed so many of his associates.


Poplo
Sex: M
Age: 38
Former leader of the Trump Mercenary Squadron. Now working for Yuri.


Gadina
Sex: F
Age: 35
Former second-in-command of the Trump Mercenary Squadron. Followed Poplo into working for Yuri.


Rufina
Sex: F
Age: 52
Runs a tavern on Lutsk. Complains of her money-grubbing ex-husband.


Tatiana
Sex: F
Age: 18
Childhood acquaintance of Torlo's. Formerly a waitress, she joined Yuri's crew in hopes of finding her brother, who enlisted in the Elgavan Forces.


Karlo
Sex: M
Age: 34
The son of the late president of the weapons manufacturer Efimov, Inc. The company was taken over by the Novgorod Pirates, and the president was executed. Karlo joined Yuri's crew hoping to get revenge.


Vladykin
Sex: M
Age: 32
A pretty cool guy, Vladykin is a commander in the Central Elgavan Forces. His goal is to eliminate piracy, and he was impressed by Yuri's skill.


Novikov
Sex: M
Age: 43
Vladykin's superior in the CEF.


Mudakov
Sex: M
Age: 35
Commander of the Lutsk section of the CEF.


Zakhar
Sex: M
Age: 31
Tatiana's older brother, and a member of the CEF. Currently undercover in the Novgorod Pirates.


Balik
Sex: M
Age: 45
Leader of the Lutsk branch of the Novgorod Pirates. Not a nice guy, despite his cool hat.


Argun
Sex: M
Age: 76
Balik's older brother, and leader of the Elgavan branch of the Novgorod Pirates. Has a reputation for using dirty tricks.


Ian
Sex: M
Age: 15
An apprentice of Galkin's, Ian is very smart and determined to command his own ship some day. For now, he works for Yuri, though he sometimes questions Yuri's abilities.


Melania
Sex: F
Age: 15
A waitress from the tavern on Gorodok. Tends to flatter the males of Yuri's crew, to the dismay/annoyance of the women.


Fomich
Sex: M
Age: 49
Defense Minister for Elgava. Not much is known about this guy yet, but he seems a little slimy.


Musin
Sex: F
Age: 26
A scientist from Alatyr. She joins Yuri's crew after an attempt on her life by a Driutesk nationalist.

Spoiler: Videos (click to show/hide)

Otlichny
Orfey
Borodino
Final Roar

[Simmura McCrea]

Sounds sweet. Do eet.

[Anvilfolk]

The premise sure sounds interesting! Sounds like something I'd enjoy... on the PC :\

[warhammer651]

I tried playing this on an emulator a while back, didn't work very well though. Do continue

[MonkeyHead]

Sounds like the sort of thing I would get a kick out of... I am in.

[EuchreJack]

Definitely worth hearing more about.

Also, I only follow screenshot LPs.  So you're OK in my book.

EDIT: Hey Sirus, just noticed you're the OP.  Any chance of play-by-committee?

[Sirus]

14 hell yeahs, not including my own? It's on, babies 
The first post shall be edited to have a more thorough introduction to the game, plus official rules of the thread, stuff like that.

@ EuchreJack: Hello again, yeoman! No committees this time, this game is much more story-driven than GalCiv. Things will be kept somewhat informal in regards to decision making.

[Aklyon]

This is a good game I'd say, but WHY ARE THE SOUND EFFECTS SO LOUD. with no sound options.

[Sirus]

This is a good game I'd say, but WHY ARE THE SOUND EFFECTS SO LOUD. with no sound options.

That won't be a problem in THIS LP 

[Sirus]

Update 1: Prologue, Tutorial, and Stuff

Spoiler: Meet Captain Badass (click to show/hide)

Ropesk Sector - Near the Void Gate

??: The Ropesk sector, eh? No wonder we've hardly seen a ship worth mentioning!
: Yes, well, it is an autonomous dominion in a remote frontier, sir. Do you really think he's here, though, in a place like this?
??: Oh, he's here alright.
: Really?
??: I can smell him.
: Heh. If you say so, Captain.
(sirens blare in the background)
: An enemy?

((Whoa, look at this stylish guy! We'll be officially introduced later. For now, we shall refer to him as "Capt. Badass"))
: Well, well. I'm surprised that anyone in this sector would pluck up the courage to challenge me!
: It doesn't look like Ropesk security. It appears to be an anti-pirate force from the Central Elgavan Forces. What do you want to do, Captain?
: Those fools...they forget their place.

Spoiler: Battle Tutorial Time! (click to show/hide)

We're gonna be fighting quite a substantial force, and we're just in a single ship. Fortunately, it is one AWESOME ship.

As you can see, it doesn't even fit on the screen.
: The enemy is getting ready to fire, sir.
: Crush them.
: Aye, Captain!

The tutorial (which you can skip if you've played before) goes through the combat mechanics step-by-step. I'm just gonna cut to the chase and show you the overview of the Battle Screen:

Yes, it's a lot to take in at first glance. Fear not, I shall walk you through it!
1: Combat Gauge. This shows the distance between your fleet (green icon) and the enemy fleet (yellow icon), as well as your targeting range (green line). Some weapons may have shorter or longer range than this line.
2: Command Gauge. Slowly fills up during combat, the exact speed dependent on things like crew weariness and the size of your ships. The bar empties when you perform actions.
3: Enemy ship marker. Keep an eye on this, as the color of the outline shows you what the enemy's command gauge is at. We can see that the enemy fleet is in the red range.
4: Fleet Status. Hit Points (green bar) and crew health (blue bar) for each ship. The little blue icons indicate weapon systems. If the icons are red, it means that the enemy fleet is out of range of that particular weapon, and thus it won't fire.
5: Enemy Fleet. Shows the type of ships in the enemy fleet and their positions. BB = Battleship, CG = Cruiser, and DD = Destroyer. The destroyers are in the front row, followed by the cruisers, with the battleship safely in back. You can target any ship in the fleet, but ones farther back are much harder to hit. So the destroyers will have to die first 
6: Commands. The bread-and-butter of space combat. Normal is a basic attack that fires every available gun once. The command gauge must be in the yellow range or higher. Barrage is the "strong attack". The command gauge must be red, and it uses twice the power of a normal attack, but each weapon fires three times. However, the barrage is easily negated by the final command, Dodge. It uses the same amount of energy as a normal attack, and thus must be in the yellow range.
7: Movement Buttons. Combat is pretty much on a 1-dimensional surface; you can move forward, backward, or stay where you are. The enemy will be moving around as well, so you have to move as needed to keep them in your weapon range. Remember, this is all taking place in real time (except during attack animations).

Confused yet? Good! Now let's kill these guys!

The first barrage kills both of the destroyers:

...and weakens the cruisers enough for a normal attack to destroy them both. Now it's just the battleship.
Captain Badass fires one more normal attack:

...and the battleship blows apart:


Hell yeah.

Spoiler: Bye Capt. Badass, Hello Nia! (click to show/hide)

: That's the end of them.
: Bah. That barely even broke up my boredom. Think I'll lie low for awhile. It shouldn't be long before we get a hit.
: Aye, captain! Shutting down the inflation inverter. Switching to inertial navigation in thirty seconds.

And the ship of Captain Badass flies away. But wait, what's this?

Another ship appears, chased by Ropesk security!
RS: Unidentified ship! Stop right there! This is Ropesk Territory! No one is allowed passage without express permission! Halt immediately, or we will open fire!
The unidentified ship attempts to make a break for it!

Inside is a very special and classy lady:

Nia!
: Seems to me you already opened fire! Nobody likes a guy who's too eager to pull the trigger, know what I mean?
boom!
: What the...?!
Nia barely dodges several more laser blasts.
: Damn you! So you want to die that bad, do you? Fine, then, have it your way! I'll gladly knock you into Grus! Turn the Daisy around! Switch to AS mode!
Operator Voice: Anti-ship mode. Roger. Halting I3 warp engines. Switching over to battle engines.

Spoiler: Nia fights (click to show/hide)

This here is the "quiz" battle, as in "it's technically possible to lose this battle, if you truly suck". It's the Daisy versus an "Other" class ship. Unlike the previous battle which featured devastatingly overpowered weapons and defenses, the Daisy is a rather weak ship, who's only saving grace is a missile weapon (which you won't be able to purchase for some time) to go with it's single laser.

Thankfully, Ropesk security uses ships that are even more crappy, and it dies to a single Barrage.

: Phew. Looks like what they need now is a scrap collector.
boom!
: What the...?!
Several more security vessels have joined the chase, and the Daisy takes a hit!

: Agh! This is not good!

Spoiler: Enter the hero (click to show/hide)

Far below, a young man stares up at the sky

"This is Ropesk, my home. Space travel is banned on this planet. It's ruler, Demid Panfilov, has ordered that no one venture out into space. But still - I don't want to be stuck here on this planet's surface anymore. I want to explore the sea of stars, just like my father did. The stars in the sky have always called out to me, for as long as I can remember. It was just recently that I first heard about the launchers - they act as guides for people like me, and take them out into the sea of stars. I was desperate, and I didn't have any other options anyway. I managed to contact a launcher, and then spent every night searching the stars for them.

"A week went by, and then two...Even as I started to lose hope, I still climbed that hill every night to watch for any sign of my launcher. And one night, with a sudden bright light that slashed across the horizon...

"...my guide to the stars fell from the sky."

Ok, I think that's enough wall o' text for tonight! Join me next time as we hopefully get to actual game-play! If you have any questions, be sure to ask!

[ExKirby]

I forgot how pathetic those guards were. Good job, I guess.

[monk12]

This thread is relevant to my intarests

[Sirus]

((So, for whatever reason images aren't fully loading. Which is weird, because the image hoster displays them properly :/
I can fix them if people demand it))

Update 2: More Story! Still No Gameplay! Whoooo!

Welcome back to Infinite Space! Last time, we watched as Captain Badass took down a small battlefleet without breaking a sweat, while Nia got shot down by some of the weakest enemies in the game. Moving on!

Spoiler: Lift off! (click to show/hide)

Late at night on Ropesk. Someone is walking through the woods.

??: It should be somewhere around here...

*gasp!*


: Hoo boy! I really made a mess of it this time. Now what do I do?
Suddenly, the sound of someone shuffling through the bushes!
: Huh?


Crap! It's a zombie!

Boy: ...
: What the Grus are you lookin' at?! Get lost, kid! I don't have time for games.

Boy: Uh...you're the launcher, aren't you?

: Huh? Oh. Yeah. Don't tell me you're my client!

Boy: That's right. I'm Yuri. I'm the one who contacted you. But I never thought a real launcher would ever actually come for me.

: Well, Grus. I'll go anywhere, if the price is right. Why wouldn't I? But you know...I wouldn't
think a kid like you could afford my services. Do you even have the money?

For extra fun, read the above two lines as if it's a porno. Shouldn't be too hard.

Yuri: Sure, here. 1,000 G. You can count it if you want. It's all there.

: Well, I'll be! 1,000 G. It really is all here! This must've been hard to come by.

Yuri: I've been working in an engine repair shop. So now you have the money. Can we go now?

: I'd like to tell you we're all set, believe me. But as you can plainly see, I've got one tiny
problem to take care of.


Keep in mind, this is one of the smaller ships in the game.

: Oh, yeah.
Here's the first good look at our boy Yuri. Doesn't look like much in that sackcloth shirt, does he? Don't worry, it won't last long.

: I'll have you know, this isn't a reflection of my piloting skills!
And Nia's full portrait. Like I said in the first update, she's a real classy lady.

: I had a little, let's say, "unforeseen trouble"...
: Okay. But, you know, it doesn't look too bad. I bet I could do something with it.
: Huh?
: You got some tools I can borrow?
: Yeah, sure.

Fadeout. The sky is noticably brighter when Yuri returns.

: There. That ought to do it for now. That should give you at least the bare minimum of power.
: Hey kiddo, you're not half bad. Where'd you learn all that stuff?
: I told you. I've been working in a repair shop. I've been studying, getting prepared so that I could go up into space.
: Well, what do you know? This whole thing isn't just a childish whim with you, is it?
Dramatic music!
: Okay, fine, let's shake on it, then. The name's Nia. Nia Lochlain.
: I'm Yuri. It's nice to meet you.
: All right, then! Come on. Let's get out of here before the Ropsek Security Patrol busts us. Don't you have anybody you want to say good-bye to first? You got any family?
: No. My family's all dead. I don't have anyone.
: Oh...Well, let's go then! To the sea of stars!
: Yeah! Into the sea of stars!


: All systems go! Power output: 30...40...50!
Engines flare
Operator voice: Thrusters up. Attitude control, angle of elevation, 37. Escape-mode speed, 17,000.


Yee-haw! We're off!

Spoiler: A Mysterious Interlude (click to show/hide)

??: The subject's sphere of awareness is expanding rapidly.
??: Synchronizing imaging progression.
??: Initializing Tracker. Calculating coordinates for initial appearance.
??: Starting metamorphosis of existence probability.

Ok, I'm calling this update quits for now. With luck, the next update will be shorter and yet contain more progress. There will still be plenty of dialogue, but more shit will blow up. A win-win in my mind!

Oh, and I'm looking for some sort of free image hosting that allows multiple uploads at once. I'm currently using TinyPic, which is a pain in the ass.

[Aklyon]

img.ie is useful, and has multi-upload.

[monk12]

I've been using Imgur with no complaints.