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Last time I checked, there only seem to be two different difficulty modes, but their names aren't important, because to me they are both way too difficult. Where is easy mode? I have no more patience for this game to be honest. I really love the game, but the direction it went, and continues to go in makes me feel completely repelled away. I just can't keep playing it. I find myself becoming stressed out and frustrated. I really regret buying it. Imagine FTL but much more difficult and complicated and frustrating.
It's not for everybody, but the difficulty level is deliberate. If you play Darkest Dungeon or (to a lesser degree) Don't Starve, this game will feel familiar. It is not 'fair' but it really isn't meant to be. It's a grind where you have to scrounge every advantage you can, and one bad encounter can mess up everything. You can do nothing wrong in this game and still lose, so I understand why you're getting frustrated.
That being said, I love this game! Each failed run gives you more information which lets you better prepare for sector-specific threats, and can unlock bonuses which can help in the future. There are also weird perks you can gain which I think improve your luck, and might be based on how nice you are in your exploration. So the game designers expect you to die and fail over and over. I enjoy finding work-arounds for their attempts to destroy me and come back with a new strategy, and it's so satisfying to come back and crush an opponent who seemed unbeatable on the previous go-round.
Would you like some hints to help you out, or are you completely disgusted?
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AegerHant: It's not for everybody, but the difficulty level is deliberate. If you play Darkest Dungeon or (to a lesser degree) Don't Starve, this game will feel familiar. It is not 'fair' but it really isn't meant to be. It's a grind where you have to scrounge every advantage you can, and one bad encounter can mess up everything. You can do nothing wrong in this game and still lose, so I understand why you're getting frustrated.
That being said, I love this game! Each failed run gives you more information which lets you better prepare for sector-specific threats, and can unlock bonuses which can help in the future. There are also weird perks you can gain which I think improve your luck, and might be based on how nice you are in your exploration. So the game designers expect you to die and fail over and over. I enjoy finding work-arounds for their attempts to destroy me and come back with a new strategy, and it's so satisfying to come back and crush an opponent who seemed unbeatable on the previous go-round.
Would you like some hints to help you out, or are you completely disgusted?
Hey thanks, I appreciate your comment. Now (of course after I played the game long enough) do now realize that it's supposed to be painfully unfair. Would have been nice if that had been made just a teeny tiny little bit more clear... I did understand that it was supposed to be rough and challenging, but it didn't really hit home that it was designed to be outright "unfair" until I played it for a while.

This is what the game page says:
[i]"From the writer of “Teleglitch: Die More Edition” comes Shortest Trip to Earth, a roguelike spaceship simulator featuring exploration, ship management, game-influencing decision-making and real-time tactical battles.
Onboard combat against hostile intruders is a messy business
Explore a detailed and deadly universe
Embark on a perilous journey through a procedurally generated universe and explore massive space sectors crawling with exotic lifeforms. Engage in action-packed tactical combat against hostile ships, boarding parties and inter-dimensional space monsters.
Each ship comes with its own strengths and weaknesses
Master the art of survival by customising your ship with modular components and perks. Choose from a range of spaceships and manage life within your vessel - from crew, pets and drones to ship modules and weapons. Shape your journey through hundreds of multiple-choice events, featuring unique hand-drawn illustrations.
A selection of crew types

Shortest Trip to Earth features unforgiving permadeath, but you can unlock perks to increase the odds of survival on your next run.
Key Features

Master the art of survival in unexplored space!
Traverse a procedurally generated universe full of intrigue
Ship customisation & crew management
Epic real-time tactical space battles
Onboard combat, featuring hostile intruders, drones and battle-hardened pets
Hundreds of random events with unique outcomes
Uncover fascinating and exotic stories from across the universe

Shortest Trip To Earth © 2018 Interactive Fate. Developed by Interactive Fate. Licensed exclusively to and published by Iceberg Interactive B.V. Iceberg Interactive design and mark are registered trademarks of Iceberg Interactive B.V. Microsoft®, Windows® and DirectX® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brands, product names, and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. All rights reserved. Made in Europe. "
[/i]

https://www.gog.com/game/shortest_trip_to_earth

Honestly, I don't feel that this quite did the best possible job at outlining just how insanely unfair this game would be. It makes the game seem extremely interesting, but then you buy it and you're like "oh...." I did read the part where it said "unforgiving permadeath" but in my head I was thinking "Okay so no save game re-loads if I die, but as long as I do okay, I should be fine" but this is not really the case, since staying alive in the first place isn't exactly "allowed" either Lol.

I will say, that I really DO love this game, but as you say, I'm "completely disgusted" at how difficult it is for me to enjoy this game that I know that I love so much. It's got some really nice things in it that make the story a pleasure to experience, but I find myself missing out and dying very often and unable to experience this experience "freely" so to speak.

I would really appreciate any advice you can give me, but I don't think it will actually help me that much to be honest, but I will hear you out anyway if you choose to do so, and for that I thank you.

I just hope this thread reaches the developers somehow, because I don't think they realize just how frustrated and lost some people feel about this game.
Post edited September 16, 2019 by fridgeband
Well, one sneaky tricks I liked to pull just got removed! The game no longer lets you jump while you're overloaded, so you can't arrive in a sector having swapped out containers for guns, shields and ECMs. I think you can still do the trick where you steer around on the star map (the close-in map where you click to fly your ship) with the AWSD keys and can spot red circles in solar systems you can jump to, which is always nice.
Another trick is to note the distance between systems. Sometimes it is cheaper to fly than to jump, saving fuel. Since no time passes if you're not moving on the star map, you can sometimes just sit and wait, letting the orbit carry your ship close to the other sector, and then just fly over once the other system is close enough. Anything less than 50 fuel is worth it, and it generates food/credits for you if you have organics generators or science stations.
On that note, sector 3 is really nice to enter if you have organics generators/science stations. There's so much fuel that it pays to coast around and explore, re-fuelling and upgrading as you go. Already having 750 metal when you enter the system turns it into a vacation where you can plan what gates to take. You do have to watch out for that Squid Empire Bounty Hunter ship which can really rapidly strip your shields. Unless I'm doing really well I often just run from him. He's tough and the gear you can get from him is not all that great.
If you're stripped down to 0 or almost 0 armour it's worth it to activate metal repair for at least a few points, especially if you're travelling around a system with asteroids. Avoid dangerous gas giant mining when you're that low unless necessary, because once your permanent armour drops to lower levels, things get a lot harder.
In sector 4 you're going to be dealing with more ray guns, so fewer point defence cannons are required. If you see Floral ships with MOLAC guns one or two point defence is all you need, as these weapons are easy to shoot down.
If you're fighting a ship with piles of point defence and you have ballistic weapons, holding fire and then unleashing everything in a single volley can overwhelm them. Target the point defence first with the volley and then expand into the rest of the ship. Try to have at least one weapon that starts fires, because the computer freaks out about fires and will often delay repairs to damaged guns to repair it. If you keep hitting and starting fires, the AI might never catch up. This is what makes the firestarting nukes so great. Fire one, wait two seconds and then shoot with a minicannon, and if you time it right the enemy point defence will waste its time on the cannon shots, letting the nuke through to cause mayhem.
If you have insect crewmen and don't carry enough cryosleep modules to house them, stick them on organic generators. Even if they aren't good at growing things, the saved food costs are worth it.
If you have the choice between a weapon that deflects and a weapon that doesn't, almost always take the non-deflecting weapon. Also note that high damage weapons are rarely worth it late game with all the high deflection enemies. Despite their high power output, it's better to have a bunch of weaker shots than one mighty shot. Unless it doesn't deflect, in which case take that gun!
If you're facing an enemy with lots of ballistic weapons, put your best gunners on point defence. I've found that really helps. If your enemy has mostly energy weapons, put them on ECM cannons and replace point defence with your best ECM turrets. I also almost always target weapons as soon as I can. And I try to start fires.
If you have a couple of organics generators and not too many crew/enough cryosleep, selling piles of organics at each trade port that will take them is a really solid strategy. You can get a lot of organics from encounters and destroyed ships as you go and selling off the excess pays for a lot of repairs. Even a Tigerfish with a Shroomery can begin turning a profit this way!
I tend to run away a lot unless I'm playing the Tigerfish or the Nuke Runner. An average encounter might get you a couple of modules, but unless you take very little damage it's usually not worth it. Each point of damage is 25 credits to repair. Unless the modules the enemies are carrying are really tempting (and you usually don't get the ones you want anyway!), or the system looks really profitable, it's often better to cut your losses and warp out. If you're going to take 10 damage or so in a fight, ask yourself if what you're going to get will probably be worth more than 250 credits. If not, book it.
You probably already knew a lot of these. I'll post more if I think of them.
Post edited September 17, 2019 by AegerHant
avatar
AegerHant: Well, one sneaky tricks I liked to pull just got removed! The game no longer lets you jump while you're overloaded, so you can't arrive in a sector having swapped out containers for guns, shields and ECMs. I think you can still do the trick where you steer around on the star map (the close-in map where you click to fly your ship) with the AWSD keys and can spot red circles in solar systems you can jump to, which is always nice.
Another trick is to note the distance between systems. Sometimes it is cheaper to fly than to jump, saving fuel. Since no time passes if you're not moving on the star map, you can sometimes just sit and wait, letting the orbit carry your ship close to the other sector, and then just fly over once the other system is close enough. Anything less than 50 fuel is worth it, and it generates food/credits for you if you have organics generators or science stations.
On that note, sector 3 is really nice to enter if you have organics generators/science stations. There's so much fuel that it pays to coast around and explore, re-fuelling and upgrading as you go. Already having 750 metal when you enter the system turns it into a vacation where you can plan what gates to take. You do have to watch out for that Squid Empire Bounty Hunter ship which can really rapidly strip your shields. Unless I'm doing really well I often just run from him. He's tough and the gear you can get from him is not all that great.
If you're stripped down to 0 or almost 0 armour it's worth it to activate metal repair for at least a few points, especially if you're travelling around a system with asteroids. Avoid dangerous gas giant mining when you're that low unless necessary, because once your permanent armour drops to lower levels, things get a lot harder.
In sector 4 you're going to be dealing with more ray guns, so fewer point defence cannons are required. If you see Floral ships with MOLAC guns one or two point defence is all you need, as these weapons are easy to shoot down.
If you're fighting a ship with piles of point defence and you have ballistic weapons, holding fire and then unleashing everything in a single volley can overwhelm them. Target the point defence first with the volley and then expand into the rest of the ship. Try to have at least one weapon that starts fires, because the computer freaks out about fires and will often delay repairs to damaged guns to repair it. If you keep hitting and starting fires, the AI might never catch up. This is what makes the firestarting nukes so great. Fire one, wait two seconds and then shoot with a minicannon, and if you time it right the enemy point defence will waste its time on the cannon shots, letting the nuke through to cause mayhem.
If you have insect crewmen and don't carry enough cryosleep modules to house them, stick them on organic generators. Even if they aren't good at growing things, the saved food costs are worth it.
If you have the choice between a weapon that deflects and a weapon that doesn't, almost always take the non-deflecting weapon. Also note that high damage weapons are rarely worth it late game with all the high deflection enemies. Despite their high power output, it's better to have a bunch of weaker shots than one mighty shot. Unless it doesn't deflect, in which case take that gun!
If you're facing an enemy with lots of ballistic weapons, put your best gunners on point defence. I've found that really helps. If your enemy has mostly energy weapons, put them on ECM cannons and replace point defence with your best ECM turrets. I also almost always target weapons as soon as I can. And I try to start fires.
If you have a couple of organics generators and not too many crew/enough cryosleep, selling piles of organics at each trade port that will take them is a really solid strategy. You can get a lot of organics from encounters and destroyed ships as you go and selling off the excess pays for a lot of repairs. Even a Tigerfish with a Shroomery can begin turning a profit this way!
I tend to run away a lot unless I'm playing the Tigerfish or the Nuke Runner. An average encounter might get you a couple of modules, but unless you take very little damage it's usually not worth it. Each point of damage is 25 credits to repair. Unless the modules the enemies are carrying are really tempting (and you usually don't get the ones you want anyway!), or the system looks really profitable, it's often better to cut your losses and warp out. If you're going to take 10 damage or so in a fight, ask yourself if what you're going to get will probably be worth more than 250 credits. If not, book it.
You probably already knew a lot of these. I'll post more if I think of them.
Wow... That's really good advice, but if I have to make that amount of tedious effort just to survive, then the game turns into a severely grindy grind... and grind isn't fun. When I play video games, I'm looking for enjoyment. (no sarcasm)
I highly doubt that I'm ever playing this game ever again. $17 (I believe it was) right down the drain.... ouch...
Thanks for your help, I DO really appreciate it a lot. I just... I just can't keep doing this... as you said in the other thread, this game wants me to suffer. I'm trying to have fun, not suffer... very sad :(
I can recommend Renowned Explorers as a fun game where you build up your team over a long series of missions. The difficulty ramps up, but it always stays fair, and it's a lot of fun. Just finding the best combination of crew is great, and there are piles of fun missions combined with a really unique combat system that allows you to win conflicts by fighting, insulting or befriending enemies. The final adventures can be very tough but you get to choose where you send your expedition, so if your team doesn't feel up to tackling the very difficult Shagri-La, you can always explore Transylvania instead, and this can still lead to a triumphant victory. (Although I have successfully explored Shangri-La twice, and it was a hoot.) Winning also increases your chances of victory in later games through a card-reward system, so it's similar to Shortest Trip in that respect as well.
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AegerHant: I can recommend Renowned Explorers as a fun game where you build up your team over a long series of missions. The difficulty ramps up, but it always stays fair, and it's a lot of fun. Just finding the best combination of crew is great, and there are piles of fun missions combined with a really unique combat system that allows you to win conflicts by fighting, insulting or befriending enemies. The final adventures can be very tough but you get to choose where you send your expedition, so if your team doesn't feel up to tackling the very difficult Shagri-La, you can always explore Transylvania instead, and this can still lead to a triumphant victory. (Although I have successfully explored Shangri-La twice, and it was a hoot.) Winning also increases your chances of victory in later games through a card-reward system, so it's similar to Shortest Trip in that respect as well.
Thanks, I appreciate the suggestion. To be honest, it isn't my type of game though, but still thank you.