We know players are bumping up against the level 32 maximum.
How long does it take you to get there with a new Captain? What difficulty?
Is it satisfying or you feel stifled and wish for more levels or different types of advancement?
How does the difficulty feel up in this rarefied air? Is it still difficult or do you dominate?
This is what I consider to be a short abbreviated answer.
1) How long does it take you to get there with a new Captain? What difficulty?
This really depends on how you want to get to level 32. I usually play basic and it takes several days
for a single team. Why?
a.) I spend hours designing a team. Exploring possible combinations for different situations.
Now you know why I ask so many nit picky questions about exactly how a talent is supposed to work.
b.) Unlike my first play through which lasted about week of dedicated, sometimes 24 hour sessions to get to level(32).
I had almost no idea about what I was doing. My goal was just to get there as fast as possible.
Now there has been a tremendous amount of material added including the two story lines.
The time to reach level(32) has become much more fluid.
c.) How much time do I want to use in developing contacts, or explore my impact on different factions.
d.) Did I upgrade to a larger ship? If I added a new officer what type and why? For example I may have a large number of Etechs on board
which are a great aid in Spy card games. This creates whole new mission opportunities. Did I modify my ship to add spy components.
e.) I might not take a team all the way because I couldn't wait to start a new combination using what I learned from my last team
f.) Play-style: On a Twitch session I once saw a developer play on brutal/permadeath. He is a very bold player gambling on outcomes I would never risk.
From watching, I would say there are old players, and bold players. There aren't many old, bold players. That style could take along time to
get a team to level(32).
With reluctance moving on.
2) Is it satisfying or you feel stifled and wish for more levels or different types of advancement?Is it satisfying? What do you two think!
a.) I feel a little stifled because so many talents for Officers and crew have not been implemented yet.
Leveling crew dogs gets stale because you still have to spend points on talents currently left undefined.
The Diplomat has 2 talents worth using.
b.) Balancing: Like HoS it takes time to get your legs under you. For example the Quartermaster really should be
using a talent that autopasses Intimidate test not Command. The Bounty hunter uses talents that require Intimidation
but the character doesn't have that trait.
c.) In the beginning I thought having 32 levels was too limited. Since then. I've discovered the real secret is
looking at your Captain and Officers as a combined team.
d.) Different types of advancement? The answer is self evident. That comes from future character types.
e.) More levels? You have to draw the line somewhere. For me the game doesn't end a level 32 it is just beginning to
get really good because my team plan is at it's strongest, and I have allot of contacts to work with.
3.) How does the difficulty feel up in this rarefied air? Is it still difficult or do you dominate?
a.) Thank gawd for choices! If I was forced to fight ships all the time, it would drive me nuts.
A single battle most often is a Pyrrhic victory. I prefer to play as an Explorer/Merchant
Combination. This provides a more peaceful opportunity to really explore the STF galaxy.
b.) I prefer ground combat during exploration missions. Playing on basic makes this allot more
fun because everybody lives long enough for me to understand how combat talents work together.
c.) I am worried you guys are going to go overboard with the Xeno ground troops and make them nearly
unbeatable. I've even noticed a developer avoiding ground combat with them. That's not a critisim
that's a positive complement on common sense.
Well that's the short version. Thanks for taking the time to read it.