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Netflix Games snags 'Into The Breach' as a mobile exclusive
The company is locking down a solid slate of beloved indies on mobile.
FTL: Faster Than Light cuts cost by 30% for the next week [Update]
Both the PC and iPad versions of strategic spacefaring roguelike FTL: Faster Than Light are 30 percent off until July. The game is a mere $6.99 (£4.99) for the next week, which amounts to a pretty good deal for one of the better games available on the iPad in particular. The Steam version is discounted until June 30. FTL began as a Kickstarter project, earning $200,542 in April 2012 on the funding platform. The game launched on PC later that year and received multiple Best of the Rest nods from Joystiq before arriving on iPad this past March for $10. It launched the same day as the game's Advanced Edition expansion, which was freely tacked on to both versions. Those with both the PC/Mac game and its iPad counterpart can transfer their save files between the two as well, granting extra incentive for players to spend a few bucks this week. Keep in mind: FTL will not work on first generation iPads, only iPad 2 tablets or better. Update: FTL is part of today's Summer Sale deals on Steam, so it's a whopping 60 percent off ($3.99) for the next two days. [Image: Subset Games]
Transfer your PC, Mac saves to FTL iOS
Those who have made the leap from the PC and Mac incarnations of interstellar roguelike FTL: Faster Than Light to the newly-launched iOS version of the game don't need to worry about unlocking all of those ships and achievements again, thanks to a relatively simple trick. The process is outlined in full on the Stack Exchange Q&A forum, but in short, it involves downloading a program that will allow players to edit the contents of an iPad app - in this case, FTL: Faster Than Light - then locating and copying the prof.sav file from your extant PC or Mac version of the game. Since the recent FTL: Advanced Edition expansion creates its own profile on PC and Mac, those who have the addition installed will also need to copy the ae_prof.sav file to their iPad to ensure the game unlocks that content as well. Honestly, it sounds more difficult than it actually is, and anyone with a basic understanding of how to move files from one folder to another shouldn't have too much trouble. We attempted this file swap trick moments ago, and it worked like a charm after less than 10 minutes of effort. That said, make sure you create backup copies of all files before you move them, just in case something goes horribly wrong. [Image: Subset Games]
FTL iPad, Advanced Edition engage warps next week
FTL: Faster Than Light is coming to iPad on April 3, and it includes the Advanced Edition expansion headed to PC for free on the same day. The space-based strategy game is priced $10 on all platforms, and is compatible with iPads version 2 and up - sorry, iPhones. The Advanced Edition is plenty packed for a freebie, adding new ship layouts, weapons, drones, augmentations, and systems to explore and lose your beloved crew in. On top of that it has new events penned by FTL writer Tom Jubert and Obsidian's Chris Avellone. "FTL works really well with the general way you play on iPad," co-founder of dev Subset Games Justin Ma told us at GDC, "just because you can pause it at any moment, come back later, and all the little events are bite-sized moments." [Image: Subset Games]
FTL: Advanced Edition shoots for $10 on iPad
FTL: Advanced Edition on iPad aims for parity with the desktop version, and it includes the full game plus the massive expansion hitting PC soon – and it will cost the same as the PC game, $10. Co-founders of FTL studio Subset Games, Matthew Davis and Justin Ma, recognize that for a mobile game, this is a "premium" price point. "Presumably the higher price point will make players a little bit more discerning on whether or not FTL will be something that they're interested in," Ma tells Joystiq at GDC. "Which is funny, because we're very expensive on iPad with the same price that's extremely cheap on PC. It could even be the same users that have the different perception of what is a $10 game, just based on the system." The Advanced Edition is a "pretty huge expansion," Ma says, and it adds polishing touches that Subset couldn't fit in the launch game, even though they wanted to. There's a new "Return to Stations" button that scatters the crew back to their set positions, and on iPad, you can drag a finger to select all workers and move them at the same time into one area, or drag to open a series of doors. Drag to change the levels of the energy bar in the bottom left corner, too. Davis says that one in particular feels really nice. One thing that didn't translate perfectly to the iPad is the dual-ship view. When your ship encounters another on PC they both populate the screen at the same size. On iPad, one is bigger, and you can change the dominant ship by tapping the one you want to inspect. Tap an attack action, and the enemy ship enlarges. "FTL works really well with the general way you play on iPad, just because you can pause it at any moment, come back later, and all the little events are bite-sized moments – " Ma says, and Davis adds: "You can do a jump and play that for two minutes – " Ma continues, "So that works out very well. And in that way, it's kind of casual, it's just you have to be able to put up with severe disappointment." FTL: Advanced Edition is due out "soon," the team says.
Grow your own crew in FTL: Advanced Edition's Clone Bay
FTL: Advanced Edition is due to launch as a free expansion on PC, Mac and Linux, and as a standalone game on iPad this year. Developer Subset Games has revealed some new systems for the expansion, which also boasts new alien races, equipment and an additional sector to explore. Ships will remain capped out at eight systems total, Subset writes on its blog, so players will need to prioritize systems around preferred play style. The post also introduces a Clone Bay where you can simply grow a clone of your dearly-departed crew member – but if the cloning process is interrupted, then that crew member will be lost forever. Hacking drones will allow players to target individual systems when encountering enemy ships in space. Sending a drone to hack the enemy shields, for example, will immediately drop all shields and open up the vessel to major damage. Finally, Subset is also adding a Hard mode to the game. Subset Games still hasn't given us an official launch date for FTL: Advanced Edition yet, but has said both the iPad game and the expansion for existing platforms will be made available at the same time. [Image: Subset Games]
FTL: Advanced Edition adds new species of alien scavengers
If everything goes according to plan, "early 2014" should see the debut of FTL: Advanced Edition, a free expansion for intergalactic roguelike FTL: Faster Than Light adding a new alien species and new subsystems for your ship, among a host of other features. Like oversized metal locusts, the Lanius are driven by an insatiable desire to consume. Unlike locusts however, the Lanius subsist on metals and have no need for biological processes such as eating or breathing. While a lack of air might choke out less virulent species, the Lanius just shrug it off, completely removing their need for functioning life support systems on board a ship. Surprisingly, this apathy toward oxygen may be a beneficial adaptation as members of the Lanius species innately drain all oxygen from the air surrounding them. As you'd expect, this makes them poor diplomats but excellent candidates for a boarding party. Along with the new race comes new subsystems and drones. These include a new battery backup subsystem which provides reserve power in a pinch and a drone designed specifically to hunt and destroy other drones. Helpfully, developer Subset Games will introduce a third layout option for every ship found in FTL that should offer a bit more room for your new gadgets. If booting up your laptop or desktop computer seems too strenuous, you'll be happy to know that FTL: Advanced Edition will also be appearing on iOS, marking the game's first appearance on a mobile platform.
FTL spools up 'Advanced Edition' on PC, iPad next year
Indie spacefaring sim FTL: Faster Than Light is getting an upgrade in the new year. Developer Subset Games has announced FTL: Advanced Edition, a beefed-up version that includes new weapons, drone classes and equipment for your ship, plus a new sector to explore with events written by Tom Jubert - the original FTL scribe - and guest writer Chris Avellone from Obsidian Entertainment. This content will be distributed as a free update to all existing owners of FTL. In addition to the PC version, FTL: Advanced Edition will also be available on the iPad next year. Both the Advanced Edition update and iPad port will launch at the same time in 2014, Subset Games says. FTL: Faster Than Light is a roguelike. After selecting a ship and crew, players navigate through randomly-generated sections of uncharted space, deal with space bandits and routinely engage in ship-to-ship combat as they attempt to reach the safety of the Galactic Federation.
Best of the Rest: Mike Suszek's picks of 2012
Joystiq is revealing its 10 favorite games of 2012 throughout the week. Keep reading for more top selections and every writer's personal, impassioned picks in Best of the Rest roundups. FIFA Soccer 13I'd argue that sports games haven't quite accomplished what EA Canada managed to do this year with FIFA 13: Mix in a subtle sense of unpredictability that you'd expect from the sport the game represents. FIFA 13's first touch controls forces players to calculate their decisions on the field more carefully than ever before, as one bad bounce can create an opening for your opponent. Layered with that unpredictability and an always-improving AI is the EA Sports Football Club Catalogue, which builds on the XP system pervasive throughout the game by offering players in-game rewards for their efforts. FIFA 13 is a complete game, and is unquestionably my favorite sports game of 2012.
How RPGs colonized some of 2012's best games
This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. 2012 may not be remembered as a fantastic year for pure western role-playing games (especially without a Skyrim to sweep the end-of-year awards) but it's been a great year for me as a video game fan. Why? Because many of the "best games of the year" may not be RPGs, but they've adapted some of the best components of RPGs to become stronger games.XCOM: Enemy Unknown, for example, is one of the best-received games of 2012, due in part to its use of RPG mechanics. Tactics games are often associated with RPGs (especially Japanese-style tactics games) but the connection isn't always so concrete with "western" games. For example, I don't really qualify the original X-COM: UFO Defense as an RPG, due to its too-large squads filled with personality-free squaddies, whereas Jagged Alliance 2 certainly fit the mold.XCOM tweaks the initial game's form in ways that align with traditional role-playing games. The squad size is limited to 4-6 characters, traditional RPG numbers, and only having one base means you rarely need large numbers of squaddies – I never had more than 15 at once, and even that was high due to playing on "Classic" difficulty. It also slightly decreases the importance of the strategic decision-making level, putting the focus on the characters in the field.
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: FTL: Faster than Light
Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We believe they deserve a wider audience with the Joystiq Indie Pitch: This week, Justin Ma and Matthew Davis of Subset Games describe their quick rise to space roguelike-like fame with FTL: Faster than Light, which recently launched on Steam for PC and Mac. What's your game called and what's it about?Justin Ma: Our game is called FTL: Faster than Light and we've been describing it as a "spaceship simulation roguelike-like." The focus is on managing a spaceship and her crew as they explore a randomized galaxy. Combat requires you to control the crew to keep your ship running and fight off intruders, balancing your power distribution, and trying to wreak havoc on the enemy ship. In between fights the game is filled with "choose your own adventure" style text-based events with many possible outcomes.Matthew Davis: The core game can be compared to something like Weird Worlds or Flotilla where the player is travelling to various star systems, encountering events and upgrading their ship. But the combat is focused on the ship interior as opposed to "dogfighting" in space.What's the coolest aspect of FTL?Justin: Each element of the game is pretty simple on its own: Blast doors can restrict enemy movement on your ship; oxygen can be vented by opening the airlocks; fire spreads through open doors. When all of these interact you can get some amazing and unpredictable situations. Your crew might be trapped putting out a fire in the weapons rooms while at the same time boarders are trying to break the doors down because they're suffocating after mistakenly sabotaging your oxygen system.%Gallery-166005%
