Really Disliking the Forced Starting Game

[CuriousBlackCat]

Hey there, so I have quick question as to why we as Captain Steele have gone from being able to get themselves prepped and ready to go on their adventure to literally bolting out of the station almost immediately after just getting your ship and (maybe) first crewmate in response to a thief of a cousin.

Even in character, I can't figure out just why my Steele would rush off without having at least scoped Tavros out, looking for any extra weapons, armour, crew, or ship mods before bouncing...assuming that supplies like food and the like have already been stashed aboard and there's a supplier on the next planet found, commissioned, and given time to ready themselves to resupply the ship with provisions. On one hand, letting your rival gain too big a lead is not good certainly, but at the same time, that rush to keep their momentum got them and Dane captured by the Nyrean Queen and in a crap tonne of trouble had it not been for my Steele showing up.

Why was it implemented and what did it honestly add to the gameplay?

I'd honestly look around Tavros a little bit to get to know the lay of the land and setting specific goals to return to accomplish later on, even if I'm unable to buy much, I'll at least have a general idea of how much cash I need to make on my adventure before returning for a little bit.

 

[Theron]

Even in character, I can't figure out just why my Steele would rush off without having at least scoped Tarkus out, looking for any extra weapons, armour, crew, or ship mods before bouncing...assuming that supplies like food and the like have already been stashed aboard and there's a supplier on the next planet found, commissioned, and given time to ready themselves to resupply the ship with provisions.

Basic food is not something the game really concerns itself with. Nor fuel. You're the offspring of one of the richest men in the Galaxy. All that has been taken care of for you. Even if you could look around, there are no Weapons, Armor or Shields that can be bought on Tavros, so you can't really prepare that way. It's all low-stat Clothing and Mods. The Ships and associated equipment are way too expensive for a starting character to do much with.

On one hand, letting your rival gain too big a lead is not good certainly, but at the same time, that rush to keep their momentum got them and Dane captured by the Nyrean Queen and in a crap tonne of trouble had it not been for my Steele showing up.

Shh. You're not supposed to know that yet. Also, their momentum may be entirely negated if you got the Probe from Shekka. Personally, I role-play kind of rushing through Mhen'ga (they always get there first) and Tarkus, then I can take a bit of a breather after beating the Cousin to the Probe.

Why was it implemented and what did it honestly add to the gameplay?

It's meant to be a tutorial dungeon. How much it actually teaches you is questionable. The Scavengers are supposed to be beaten by physical attacks and the Techies by Tease, but the Techies can be difficult to Tease down until you've gotten a Virgin-Killer Sweater and/or a Hardlight Thong from them. Meanwhile, if you get an Arc Sledgehammer from a Scavenger, the Techies become much easier.
It does introduce the Circuit and Lights Out puzzles.
The loot is useful. I used to have to buy a Short Sword on my Melee Merc, but the Arc Sledgehammer is a good upgrade from the Knife. The Steele Tech Hazard Suit is also a decent starting armor.
You can pick up STD Immune before Tarkus. For free, even, saving you 10K Credits. Sterilex is also 50 Credits cheaper. You can also get 5K credits for calling Steele Tech, which is a decent chunk of cash at that point.

I'd honestly look around Tavros a little bit to get to know the lay of the land and setting specific goals to return to accomplish later on, even if I'm unable to buy much, I'll at least have a general idea of how much cash I need to make on my adventure before returning for a little bit.

While that would be nice, your money-making capacity is somewhat limited on Mhen'ga. Tarkus isn't that great, either. Annoyingly, Jade has a couple of Transformatives that are level-locked, so if you come by too early, you may think you've seen everything she has.

 

[CuriousBlackCat]

It's meant to be a tutorial dungeon.

I didn't mean the FIRST-14, that part I get and understand wholeheartedly, just the "GO! GO! GO! We go now!" bit at the beginning before the Tutorial Stage.

All I honestly wanted to know is why the agency we had on Tavros to start whenever was removed.

 

[Theron]

I think it's that there's honestly not much you can actually do on Tavros at that point. You just don't have enough money. You start with 500. Getting your hair styled is 1200. Just about all you can buy are dildos.

Plus, an actually new player wouldn't miss anything.

 

[TheIrishOtaku]

I didn't mean the FIRST-14, that part I get and understand wholeheartedly, just the "GO! GO! GO! We go now!" bit at the beginning before the Tutorial Stage.

All I honestly wanted to know is why the agency we had on Tarkus to start whenever was removed

You keep calling it Tarkus when the game starts on Tavros station.

 

[CuriousBlackCat]

Just had a fruit salad now and for some reason, I have a new perspective on things especially after rereading your posts @Theron.

The more I think about it, the more I realise that the last time I had started from scratch was like two years ago(?), I think when FIRST-14 was a random encounter...I also stopped playing TiTS for a while somewhere in that period of time.

I think I just got hit in the face with a few new things all at once and left me flailing a little. This is going to be an interesting experience, playing this game again.

 

[one_two]

While that would be nice, your money-making capacity is somewhat limited on Mhen'ga. Tarkus isn't that great, either.

Tarkus seems literally littered with synth horse cocks you can sell to Anno for 15k a pop. In terms of early game income it's downright insane.

 

[TheShepard256]

Tarkus seems literally littered with synth horse cocks you can sell to Anno for 15k a pop. In terms of early game income it's downright insane.

The problem with that is, SynthSheaths are in limited supply and you'll need them if you want to give horse-cocks to certain NPCs (the number of which already exceeds the number of SynthSheaths you can obtain). Farming Hammer Shields and (if possible) Vials of Grey Goo is less lucrative compared to how much effort you need to put it, but repeatable indefinitely.

 

[Baggrin]

Why was it implemented and what did it honestly add to the gameplay?

To begin with, I note that the Forced Start and FIRST-14 were introduced in different versions.

0.8.057 Changelog:
Character creation now routes you directly to Mhen’ga.

Personally, I found it somewhat annoying that I have to return (to where I just was) after the start of the game for underwear/pheromone accessory.

0.8.133 Changelog:

New dungeon: when starting a game, crash land on FIRST-14 and repair your ship before joining the Rush for real! You can return later, if you wish.

From a subjective point of view, I find this tutorial dungeon to be a bad decision, as the character is thrown into battle without a chance to prepare. Not to mention, starting the game in a dungeon absolutely kills the point of a bio with an increased starting amount of money.