The Future of FTL; What's Next?


As previously mentioned during the initial release of 0.7.0, the bulk of player side content has been released. Specifically, all Licenses, Frames, Systems, Core Bonuses, and Talents that will be in the "finished" expansion are already in the current version. As should be apparent, this doesn't mean that there won't be an update to the existing content; there just won't be new content. Kind of.

Aside from FTLs campaign and NPC options there is, technically, a little bit of Player Side content left to release, that being Player Bonds. Specifically, a Bond that gains information through a relationship with the past (The Cosmopolitan), one that cannibalizes its own and others failures to manipulate the situation (The Dreg), and finally, a Bond that gains bonuses for itself when first aiding others (The Errant). You shouldn't expect to see these bonds soon though, and that's because of the NPCs.

The reason for this is in regards to the nature of testing player side content versus testing GM side content. If I make a change or addition to player side content, then anytime a game is run at a table that allows for FTL I potentially have four chances to see how that content fairs in a game. But for GM side content, there's one GM, and my chances are predicated on how many combats they're running, and even then, that number is further altered by what kind of sit reps they intend to have the players fight through, and further still manipulated by what the map is like. Assaults are probably the most bread and butter NPC players can face off against, but not every scene includes assaults. So if I create a striker that's even more niche than an assault, then that means it's viability for use in play testing is equally more limited.

At present, there are actually several NPCs that are in a relatively "completed" state. Specifically the Marauder (a ½ Sized biological with a focus on jockeying), the Mag Mine (a size 1 disruption unit), the Squire (a half size support unit with a focus on protecting allies from ranged effects), and the Errant Knight (a close range striker that punishes hyper focus and fights like Artorias).

Finishing the last of the NPCs is my current focus. Not just because they've been languishing on the back burner for a while now, but also, to admit a failing on my end, due to a lack of familiarity with Itch. Typically, in the homebrew space, GM side content is typically paid for content. But I wouldn't feel comfortable releasing paid for content that I knew was going to get updated, without also knowing for sure that people who had already purchased said content could access the update for free. That's ultimately kind of a silly reason to focus on NPCs, but that is my reasoning.

In short, while there will still be some minor mechanical updates to the Player Side content of FTL, expect the focus for the time being to be on the release of NPCs and other GM Side tools.

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