You’re welcome
I like this game. I feel like there could be more too it but I can’t think of anything in particular so it might just be my usual feeling that every game could be better.
When i read this i felt almost like i was reading a CoG version of Mass Effect and i mean that in a very good way. Kinda curious, did mass effect inspire this in any way?
I’m not a big Trekkie, but I liked this in general. Didn’t mind the jargon so much, though the pacing could use work. However, the quality of the prose is much poorer than Marine Raider – too verbose, uncertain, bad punctuation and other typos. Granted, it’s still plenty better than several other hosted games, and many games in development.
I also didn’t get any of the jokes or puns the protagonist was supposed to be using. For example, ’ “Helm, set our destination for Apex Command. I need to give my report in person.” You say, try to keep a gleam of humor hidden as you let the joke slowly unfurl.’ What’s the joke?
-When i read this i felt almost like i was reading a CoG version of Mass Effect and i mean that in a very good way. Kinda curious, did mass effect inspire this in any way?- Well FunnyMan, I’ve heard good things about Mass Effect and a number of my friends have suggested that I give it a try. Starting with the first, of course, and then working my way through the other two. Too bad it isn’t on Steam anymore, then acquiring all three would be easy.
Even so, while Mass Effect didn’t directly inspire me, good Sci-Fi will often permeate through other mediums. No doubt I’ve seen and enjoyed something that was in turn derived from Mass Effect.
HoraceTorys-… That is a fair critique. Marine Raider had the virtue of being short and manageable, which meant I could concentrate my efforts. Apex Patrol turned into something of a monster (Nearly 1.800k) with many a path that a player might never bother with.
These include; Personally leading the rescue in the Binary system, recovering the probe in the Nebula, Leading the marine effort to take the Siltren base and disarming what Kasador left behind there, an entire section devoted to intricate starship dueling, getting your ship crippled and then having to figure out how to pull one over on Kasador, thirty some different Kasadors depending on how you told the story at dinner, and so on.
The story just never congealed as I would have liked. I wrote it, so I knew all the various pieces, but a player can’t see that unless they play through an incredible number of times and it is too long to encourage that.
I’ll still work on improving it, starting with paring things down like the failed joke. That seemed funny when I wrote it, but I never returned to it with a truly critical eye because there was so much else to work on.
Next time, something shorter.
Just curious, in one part you can actually end up with the chambered star and Kasador doesn’t (if I remember right), but in the following ship battle, s/he has the star again and you don’t. Was this an oversight?
It was :-q
It would have to be. Do you have a snippet of the text where you first noticed the error?
No need to answer Velosify. I think I found the piece of errant code responsible for the mix up. A ‘1’ when there should have been a zero. The forthcoming patch should fix things.
Incidentally, does anyone have a good name to suggest for a star-ship in ‘Apex Patrol’? There is room for another entry or so, and I am open to suggestions.
“Bad Neighbor.”
Loved it.
^w^ really liked it though i wish i could have seen what happened with my character and her “lover” (the bad guy).
“Bad Neighbor”? Ramidel, I like it. That is just the sort of thing for a ship with far too much maser power.
Thanks Squul. I’m glad you enjoyed playing it. May I ask if there was any part of it that seemed particularly enjoyable to you?
Nyxkora; I too wonder how it would turn out between them. Impossible to say, as they are in a rather complicated relationship.
Thank you. I thought the reference was fitting.
On the game. While I liked it a lot (it was plain fun and felt like an enjoyable pastiche of Flash Gordon and Star Trek Original Series), in retrospect one of the most problematic parts was that there felt like there was too much dithering and level-grinding in the first half of the game, and then your nemesis was completely and utterly un-foreshadowed and…hm, unconnected. Kasador is revealed out of nowhere, and after that point, the entire plot is laser-focused on fighting him/her. Way too jarring. In short, the game lacks a beginning, middle and end; there’s the beginning section and the ending section, without enough of a “middle” to properly develop a story.
Unfortunately, the best solution I can see to this would be to extend the game’s size by half again by expanding the midgame (the space between encountering Kasador and going into the final battle, involving the Siltren negotiations) to be equal to the “scanning for the problem” section and the Exciting Conclusion! And given how multithreaded the game is already, that would probably end up more than doubling its current size.
Now for a major pat on the back: You did make our decisions matter, and while there were bad endings (which we only got if we really deserved it) there were no uncool endings. Our actions really saved that sector. (Or destroyed it; Tau Cannons and star-powered hypercruisers do not mix :
: )
Thanks Ramidel. Kasador certainly did/does need more foreshadowing and while I’ve planted several additional references, the game simply sprawls too much to be certain that a player will come into contact with those particular threads. I’ll see if I can’t solve that problem with the next patch, but don’t hold your breath for it; I’ve started writing a western.
I enjoyed the feel of it specifically because of the feeling of involvement you get after your first play through. From sci-fi to western? Interested to see how you make the transition.
Squul, I’ll be interested too. 
Apex Patrol had a bit of the western in it, owing to the stellar frontier, but the majority of the rest doesn’t translate well. As of late I’ve been delving into horse breeds, revolver types, the Trans-continental Rail-road and the Shoshone Indian language and that’s just for the early part of things.
Trent01, In the latest patch I went back and indicated that much of what a player goes through with the comets is initial stat generation for captain, ship and crew. And, in fact, the very last initial bonus is in fact completely random. I originally decided on that in order to enhance successive replays, but it sounds as if I may have gone a bit too far.
There are a indeed lot of stats and while writing it I cursed the variety often. A personal stat or ship stat is often tested following crucial decisions to determine success or failure. On occasion, it is more complicated than that; a captain with a lot of Guts might not need as much maser power because he directs his ship in a bold and daring manner. A high Intellect can sometimes mitigate shield difficulties due to technical skill and logic applications while a high Charisma often allows you special person-to-person interactions or outcomes. And Luck? Sometimes terrible things just don’t happen when the universe loves you. Trouble is, I didn’t write all that in a way that players could see. Not certain how I’d go about it either. At least, not without interrupting the story flow.
Damage control is a rarely used stat that comes into play only when your ship is badly damaged or else in a sustained battle where minute fluctuations of power can be critical. Crew casualties reduce your commendation points, nothing more. Sadly for the red-shirts and their gray tunic fellows, it is assumed your ship always has enough warm bodies to function effectively.
All that said, does anyone think it would be useful to create a bypass for the introduction and initial stat setting scenes? A way for a player who, preferably, has completed the story at least once before to directly choose his or her captain’s own stats, the ship’s stats, heavy weapons, the ship’s Executive Officer and so on without having to guess at the outcomes of early choices? Essentially offer more direct control in exchange for less of the early story?