Is there any way to disable the timer?

[Malidictus]

I apologise if it sounds weak of me to ask this, but... I really like Flame Over, yet really really dislike timed games. I know there's no official way to do so, but I'm willing to forego any kind of rankings or achievements or whatever else if I could just get rid of the timer. The rest of the game makes me very happy, but dying for running out of time does not.

[Rhinne]

The timer is one of the main parts and points of the game. There's no way to disable it and they have already said that they don't plan to make that an option.

[Malidictus]

Originally posted by Rhinne:

The timer is one of the main parts and points of the game. There's no way to disable it and they have already said that they don't plan to make that an option.

Pity. Every time I've died so far, it's been to the timer. I did manage to make it up to the British floor of the building, largely by not screwing up the Miss Ion, but it's still... I don't know, bothersome. Oh, well - it is what it is, I guess.

[Goliathfan]

I think not having a timer would be nice, just so you can enjoy the firefighting as it is. I don't have the game (am interested). I don't much like timed games either, which is a shame, because the game looks to be very well done, nice art style, fun gameplay.

[Malidictus]

Right, that's how I feel, as well. I've never been an "achiever" and would rather fight fires at my leisure, even if my score didn't "count." Flame Over has the vibe of a competitive game without actual competition in it, which I don't much like. Reminds me of speed-running regular games, except without the ability to not do so.

[Vilkata]

The structure of the game is really designed for you to get better at the tactics while losing. Since you carry over upgrades (not items), each run builds on the previous. As you get better, you'll also acquire critical upgrades that will make the game easier. Just keep at it and you'll suddenly find yourself at a point to where you have lots of extra time to burn.

Also, if you're always losing to the timer, then I think that's kind of the point of it. You're not playing aggressive enough to get hurt. Dive into the fire, take damage saving a life, or take damage just keeping the electrical fires from spreading again. Sometimes it's a good trade off to give up a heart to clear a difficult room more quickly. The timer forces you to learn to tackle tough rooms aggressively enough to get them under control before they respread or you run out of water and have to run back.

Keep at it, once you get good, it's very rewarding!

[Malidictus]

Originally posted by Vilkata:

The structure of the game is really designed for you to get better at the tactics while losing. Since you carry over upgrades (not items), each run builds on the previous. As you get better, you'll also acquire critical upgrades that will make the game easier. Just keep at it and you'll suddenly find yourself at a point to where you have lots of extra time to burn.

The game does a HORRIBLE job of explaining this to me, so I have to ask - what do you mean? What do I carry from run to run? Because from my perspective, I'm making no progress at all. I've only been given the "buy upgrade" screen once despite making it all the way up to the chemical laboratories (so I guess that's what the gas mask is for), and the one time I got to shop like this was right after I started. Are you saying I get to keep the "larger tank" upgrades and such?

I understand that this a "Rogue Lite" game and it wants me to discover what items do on my own. I don't agree, but I understand it. But not explaining the meta-game aspect of what exactly my progress means seems awkward. I keep earning upgrade tokens. I think I must have attained 20 of them by now, but I have no idea how to use them. If I could make my subsequent runs easier, then you're absolutely right that I'll do better on the timer, but that doesn't seem to be happening.

Originally posted by Vilkata:

Also, if you're always losing to the timer, then I think that's kind of the point of it. You're not playing aggressive enough to get hurt. Dive into the fire, take damage saving a life, or take damage just keeping the electrical fires from spreading again. Sometimes it's a good trade off to give up a heart to clear a difficult room more quickly. The timer forces you to learn to tackle tough rooms aggressively enough to get them under control before they respread or you run out of water and have to run back.

You're talking about speedrunning, essentially. I tend to not find speed-running rewarding on the grand scheme of things. More often than not, it forces me to play foolishly and waste my resources. Yes, it's easy to suggest that I should lose hearts and toss my water bombs to clear a difficult room, but the game isn't exactly generous with either and that just leaves me running on empty and taking a lot more time because I lack those resources when I really need them.

More often than not, I lose to the timer because the game spawns people on the far side of a room where I simply can't get to them before they burn, and it hasn't seen it fit to bless me with a defibrilator by this point. When Miss Ion dies before I even knew she existed, I pretty much know that run's ending short - she gives me 60 extra seconds twice for not that much of a time investment.

It might help if I could upgrade my character between runs, but I've not found a way to do that.

[Vilkata]

You retain all of the upgrades from the upgrade screen (which should start popping for you as you die to running out of hearts, not the Reaper). I know there's a lot of things not explained in the game, and I agree it was frustrating. During the first couple of days after release, a few of us were really active on this forum and got a lot of answers from the devs directly. I'd suggest also finding the post on what each item does.

I know if you feel like it's a 'speed run' because of the pressure of the timer, but once you get a few upgrades under your belt, the pressure really lets off. As far as the upgrade screen goes, I feel like there are a couple of crucial upgrades that make a big difference to making it through a full run. There is an upgrade to increase your chance of finding items (search opportunities). This will lead to you finding extra hearts, 30 second bonus timers, and more water grenades than you can find a use for. Secondly, there's an upgrade that increases your resistance to fire. It won't take long before sacrificing a heart is trivial because on most levels you're saving the cat while already being at full health.

The upgrades make a big difference, and as you start to save people more easily, you'll find you have lots of time to spare; I think on my last run I had around 19 minutes banked at one point.

Most of your other concerns get mitigated by items you pick up during a run. There is a little bit of luck involved with having the shop keeper offer stuff you want, but a few items, each on their own, significantly improve your ability to clear levels efficiently.

Personally, my top 5 items, in order are:
1. Super Hose (man, this thing is amazing)
2. Large Tank
3. Speed Boots (in later levels, they're very helpful with doing Miss Ion's quests)
4. Heartbeat sensor (at the start of the level you'll know exactly where Miss Ion is)
5. Super Extinguisher

Obviously the defib is very useful, but it's also situational. I find that I rarely lose an NPC, and even if I do, it doesn't really impact my success. Losing Miss Ion is annoying though, but again, rare that I lose her.

As things stand, I'm hoping they'll add higher difficulty settings.

[Malidictus]

Well, clearly I was playing the game wrong :) I guess the point of dying to the Reaper and leaving all your stuff behind is to leave yourself little "caches" of money and upgrades to help with subsequent runs, but I kind of wish there were some way to learn this in-game. From where I'm standing, I keep playing and playing, I do quite well... And never get an upgrade screen. I just thought I wasn't doing well enough. Turns out the game was stealing my progress. "The more you know."

I'll try to kill myself and see if that helps.

[Malidictus]

OK, that worked. In just two runs, I bought around half the upgrades available, which must mean I'm doing well. Killing myself seems very... Silly, however. The last time I ran out of time in the science wing I basically had to sit in a fire and wait, and even then it took quite a while. Guess I should plan ahead, huh? Why couldn't we have some sort of "out," like just leaving the building. "Oh no! The building is about to collapse! You've done all you can, now get out of there!" Maybe I can try my luck and dodge the reaper, or maybe I'll cut my losses and leave. It's already a conscious choice, it just uses mechanics which are infinitely goofy.

Fire proof helps, though. Being able to not die so quickly has allowed me to wade into the fire with more confidence and rescue people a lot more often. It's also made fighting the fire faster since I don't worry about hanging back as much. But my god, the electrical fires in the science wing are just EVIL... Can't imagine how sinister the factory's going to be.