I've no idea how to play :D

[johnnywintermute]

Hi there

Just started and can't work out how to play.The 'basic' guides seem to require some level of understanding, e.g. active and passive, but I don't know what they are. Can anyone suggest something for a complete and absolute novice?

Many thanks!

[this first-draft dream of mine]

Just ♥♥♥♥ around until stuff happens and you'll learn, the game is pretty forgiving. Is there a specific question or problem that you have?

[johnnywintermute]

OK, I'll just carry on pressing everything until something happens :) There's nothing specific yet. I seem to be muddling through but without really knowing how. I don't understand the options yet, or what 'active' and 'passive' mean. The guides assume you know.

[this first-draft dream of mine]

I was the same way :) "Active" and "passive" don't really have significance for you at the very beginning of the game, but as you continue progressing and level up and such, you'll eventually be presented with things like that. Just make sure to read comprehensively at checkpoints/when presented with choices and you will be fine, you'd have to actually work at it to get yourself stuck (e.g., by putting on too many limiters -- and if you don't know what those are yet, rest assured, they will come!)

I will mention that once you get enough Functions, it's possible to drag'n'drop them, not just go through the whole rigamarole of clicking "Select Function" and such. This wasn't apparent to me at first, and it's true that the UI basically just drops you in the pool and expects you to swim. Fortunately in this metaphorical pool it's not too deep and there are lifeguards :P

[johnnywintermute]

Thanks for the info. I'll keep at it and see how it goes. I don't like giving up on games but I'm just not getting this one at the moment. But thanks anyway!

[Closer of Doors]

Well, if you want to get really basic, here goes.

See those numbered boxes? Those are your active functions. Depending on your control configuration, you use them by either hitting the number they correspond to, or hitting the number they correspond to followed by a right click. Speaking of which, your cursor is where your attacks will be targeted.

Now, there are two main ways to fight. The first is to just spam your abilities as much as you want. Unfortunately, this lets your enemies fight back and dodge.

The other way is to hit the space bar to activate your Turn(). This will let you plan out moves (you can erase a bad move with R) without the enemy being able to do anything. Once you are done, you hit the space bar again to execute your plan at super speed. The drawback to this powerful playstyle is that you will be unable to use most of your active functions again until your turn has recharged (which is a nice way of saying you should run away for a while after you use your turn).

As you progress through the game, you will unlock more functions. When you get to an access point, you can change your build to incorporate your new functions.

You can replace your current active functions with different ones, of course, but there are other options as well.

You see, each function can also be equipped as an upgrade to another function (assuming you have an upgrade slot available). For example, Breach (that big blue beam attack) can be un-equipped and then placed as an upgrade on Crash. Now your Crash will have more range. By the same token, you could put Crash as an upgrade on Breach to make Breach stun opponents. Neat, huh?

In addition, you will eventually unlock Passive Slots, which you can also put functions into. A function in a Passive Slot will give you a passive bonus. Crash, for example, will give you 25% damage resistance if placed in a passive slot.

You'll probably notice that each function has a certain number of little lines on it (Crash has one, Breach has three). That is the memory cost of each function. When you use an access point, you'll see a bar on the left side of your screen, showing how much memory you have available. Eventually, you'll have so many functions to choose from that you'll have to carefully decide which ones you want to include in your build.

If your health hits zero, don't panic, because you aren't dead yet. One of your active functions will be overloaded (taken away) and your health will go back to full. You only die if you lose all of your active functions. Overloaded functions can be restored by finding new access points.

You'll eventually unlock these things called limiters. You can turn these on at access points. Basically, turning them on will make the bad guys stronger, so you might want to just ignore them when you're just starting out.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

[johnnywintermute]

Great, thanks for taking the time to write that, I appreciate it. I'm going to start afresh (I hadn't got far, only about twenty minutes) and pay more attention :) Along with your notes, I should get on a little better this time ...

Cheers!

[johnnywintermute]

Thanks for the comments - getting the hang of it now :)

[Rothana]

Thank you so much reaper! That was very helpful information. I've also played for only about 20 minutes and although I'd started to figure out most of what you'd said, being able to read an overview of how things are supposed to work has given me a little more confidence in my exploration of the game. Which makes it more enjoyable!

I'm still finding it quite tough, enemies seem to move awfully fast and I rely heavily on Turn(). I also find it difficult to get my character to move where I want her to go - in particular I keep hitting those white pillar things in the middle of the room, get stuck on the corner before I can adjust, and of course get hit by enemies. This movement/control issue of mine is quite frustrating.

[this first-draft dream of mine]

It's fine to rely heavily on Turn. I cultivated my entire function array around the idea of just staying alive until Turn was ready again. Feel free even just to use Turn as a way to basically hit pause and safely get a look at what's facing you; if you decide you don't want to use Turn yet after all, you can just "unpause" with no penalty by hitting your execute key without having put in any commands.

To avoid getting stuck in the columns, make liberal use of Jaunt (which ignores obstacles) -- just be aware of the function's use interval (i.e., if you Jaunt five times, it's not going to be five immediate instant teleports -- there's a little moment at the end of each Jaunt where you're just recovering, like a sprinter pausing for breath).

[daithey]

Don't go nuts with the limiters, is my advice.

[Closer of Doors]

Originally posted by Rothana:

Thank you so much reaper! That was very helpful information. I've also played for only about 20 minutes and although I'd started to figure out most of what you'd said, being able to read an overview of how things are supposed to work has given me a little more confidence in my exploration of the game. Which makes it more enjoyable!

I'm still finding it quite tough, enemies seem to move awfully fast and I rely heavily on Turn(). I also find it difficult to get my character to move where I want her to go - in particular I keep hitting those white pillar things in the middle of the room, get stuck on the corner before I can adjust, and of course get hit by enemies. This movement/control issue of mine is quite frustrating.

For the movement issue, are you using WASD, or mouse movement? Either way, the control issue is most likely a result of you simply not being used to the isometric view yet (it's rare in modern games).

The game seems to be designed around the assumption that you will make heavy use of turn, so don't worry about it. Before I discovered Super Lifesteal Void, I used Turn all the time, and I'm fairly good at the game (I've defeated all the Cluckers on that rooftop, for example).

But yes, make use of Jaunt. In fact, I would argue that it and Mask() are essential, as they are the game's only true escape skills (and the game seems to assume that you will always have at least one of them as an active function).

The standard tactic is to always be Jaunting around when it's not your turn to ensure you stay alive long enough to get off your next turn.

Here are some more advanced tactics:

- You don't have to use all of your turn (less turn usage means a faster recharge)
- The last function you use will always go off, even if you don't have enough turn() left for it (you only have a planning potential of 100 and breach costs 42, but three breaches will still go off)
- Try not to use your turn to approach the enemy or escape; do that before and after your turn with Jaunt
- Focus your damage on individual enemies; a wounded one can still hurt you just as much as a healthy one
- Backstabs are good

Good function combinations for a beginner include the following:

- Spark or Load on Jaunt (or both if you want cheese) let you attack while your turn is recharging
- Spark is great on Help
- Switch needs no upgrades (unless you're putting Spark and Help on it for hilarity), and doesn't really want to be an upgrade itself
- Crash works better as an upgrade or passive than as an active
- Passive Load gets around Load's planning cost weakness
- Ping reduces the recharge time of Mask
- Bounce is a great function in general, but in particular loves being a passive

Oh, and don't forget to pick up Void, Cull, and Tap when you get the chance (Void first, then one of the other two). Trust me on this one.

[Eyeven]

Nice

[daily-relief]

I feel as though everyone has their own style. Some people are good at making intricate plans using differnt attacks, where as I just spam a friendly ping and try to avoid being attacked while waiting for everything to destory each other.

[Rothana]

Thank you again reaper. I'll certainly be coming back to your tips once I'm far enough along for them to make more sense to me! =)

I am using WASD, but you're probably quite right that I'm not used to the isometric view. Although I do have the added challenge of having some visual processing issues and I know I've had problems with isometric images in the past. Back in university during a 3D drawing class, I barely passed the unit dealing with isometric drawings. That was a horrible class. My brain just couldn't get a grip on what was happening.

Luckily it's easier to look at this game as a viewer rather than having to try and draw it myself! I'm also guessing that because the graphics have lots of little details on them, I'm having problems distinguishing what is floor and what is wall. It's just visual information overload for me.

It's fun though, and interesting. I will get better at this game!

[Closer of Doors]

If you need advice for anything else, let me know.

Originally posted by daily-relief:

I feel as though everyone has their own style. Some people are good at making intricate plans using differnt attacks, where as I just spam a friendly ping and try to avoid being attacked while waiting for everything to destory each other.

If you like Ping, you'll love Super Sniping Stunlock Purge(Breach, Crash). It's basically a super long range homing stunlocking Ping.

That said, I used to be a big planner. Now I just spam Super Lifesteal Void. It makes the game very easy (I kill them with Healz!).