So What Makes This Unique From FTL?

[The Puppetmaster]

Other than the looks, of course.

[Uncaged Studios]

If you break down FTL, FTL is a space combat strategy game. The entire purpose is to increase the quality of your ship so that it performs better in combat so that you are able to beat the big bad ship at the end. You encounter events along the way but ultimately the core theme is the ship to ship combat.

The Sentient is a space simulation and management game. There is combat and events that are similar to FTL but unlike FTL the core concept revolves around your crew and how you built out your ship as you watch them perform their duties. The focus is solely on space exploration and traveling the great unknown. Your crew levels and your research continues to grow making you more powerful over time.

Having said that the game is still early in its early access phase meaning some of the long term features are not complete yet specifically in the second half of the game when you acquire marines and a hangar bay. We felt instead of doing a kickstarter and having players wait weeks, months or even years without a beta or game in hand we decided to give the game to you as early as possible and actually implement feedback along as you play. We personally didn't like how many kickstarters would take players' money and you had no idea what was going on.

[Exceptional]

Well you can also have a kickstarter AND release in early acces in early dev too.Like Saurian(and other) is doing/have done.

[Uncaged Studios]

Originally posted by Exceptional:

Well you can also have a kickstarter AND release in early acces in early dev too.Like Saurian(and other) is doing/have done.

Very true but running a proper kickstarter with this team size would have took a lot of time out of the production schedule. Not saying this is completely not possibly or one may not occur in the future.

[Avarice]

I hope you avoid the ticking clock/time limit that FTL had, and focus more on exploration and fun combat...like a mix of FTL and Star Control 2.

[Rafael]

It's a management game + roguelite.
To me, it feels like Sheltered on space. It's very fun if you like micromanagement!
Also, the game is on sale for the next 35 hours, you might give it a try.

[The Puppetmaster]

I like management games, so yea I probably will try it out. Thanks everyone!

[Wraith_Magus]

If there's one thing that stands out to me as a major difference, it's that FTL is a game that is over in 3 hours, and forces you to reset, while this is a game where you build up towards your goals over a great period of time.

It's actually what I disliked most about FTL; Once you've beaten it once, there's no real point or goal in doing anything again but unlocking other ships, and THOSE are mostly pure random chance, so that you can easily go many play-throughs literally accomplishing nothing (other than maybe pointlessly "winning" again, which is painful enough in and of itself with it's 30 minute unskippable cutscene) besides "high score".

In that sense, if The Sentient just manages to make a game that manages to stay interesting for more than 10 hours, it's a better game in my book.

The "management" aspect thus far feels a bit like The Sims was stapled into FTL, in that your crew has "needs" bars, and you set up some rooms, then stuff them with furniture that fill needs. It also sets up an odd dynamic, because in FTL, every location was a "turn", and however long you spend in those locations really didn't matter. In The Sentient, there are two totally separate timelines playing out without relation to one another in the form of the same FTL-like "a turn is a location" sense, but then the Sims-style stuff play out on their own time.

In particular, between events, you can just drift in the void for however long you need, just filling up needs so everyone has had their nap, eaten a snack, watched a TV show at the bar, taken a piss, took a shower, and brushed their teeth before you tell them to go and recharge the shields and sit back down at the weapons station to prepare for the next battle.

The only crossover is a "Supplies" meter you have empties out with each drink or meal, so there's a time limit in Sims time to complete the FTL sectors, which makes the two systems feel like they aren't entirely integrated with one another, at least, not yet.

[Uncaged Studios]

Originally posted by Wraith_Magus:

The "management" aspect thus far feels a bit like The Sims was stapled into FTL, in that your crew has "needs" bars, and you set up some rooms, then stuff them with furniture that fill needs. It also sets up an odd dynamic, because in FTL, every location was a "turn", and however long you spend in those locations really didn't matter. In The Sentient, there are two totally separate timelines playing out without relation to one another in the form of the same FTL-like "a turn is a location" sense, but then the Sims-style stuff play out on their own time.

In particular, between events, you can just drift in the void for however long you need, just filling up needs so everyone has had their nap, eaten a snack, watched a TV show at the bar, taken a piss, took a shower, and brushed their teeth before you tell them to go and recharge the shields and sit back down at the weapons station to prepare for the next battle.

The only crossover is a "Supplies" meter you have empties out with each drink or meal, so there's a time limit in Sims time to complete the FTL sectors, which makes the two systems feel like they aren't entirely integrated with one another, at least, not yet.

Yep the game is meant to be a simulation game with a bit more focus on crew. Onboard ship events are planned for alpha 7 with events occurring while drifting through space and not just anamoly events. These will be random events and events tied to crew member stats etc.