After a couple days of learning Starfarer general tactics and strategy, I've finally beaten Hornet's Nest and The Last Hurrah. Yesterday I beat Sinking the Bis'mar. The reason for this post is that I'd like to remark the on the surprisingly different gameplay between these missions. In the Bis'mar mission, I barely used the warroom at all - in fact, after the initial assignments at the beginning, I never entered it again. Instead I focused solely on the expert piloting of my strike craft. Avoiding and shooting down missiles, landing hits on successful strafing runs; it was amazing.
For missions like Hornet's Nest and The Last Hurrah, it would seem to me that the warroom is of vital importance, and that my own piloting only became key in the final stages of the mission. The Last Hurrah was especially satisfying. After the furious initial melee in which most every ship on both sides was wiped out, I was left with only my flagship. Arrayed against me were the two enemy battleships, and one of the smaller cruisers. So, I first went and captured the remaining points which was made easier by already having taken the nav buoys. This gave me increased speed and range, which actually became crucial in the last moments of the game. I looked carefully at my armor readout so I always knew which side of my ship had the strongest remaining armor, and I nearly lost it all when I accidentally passed directly in front of one of the enemy battleships - they have a powerful explosive projectile weapon that took out all of my armor on one side in just a single hit. From then on I was careful to line up strafing runs across the rear of the battleship. They have the simpler on/off shields, with a large uncovered spot near the engines, so I targeted there with my broadside battleship weapons and eventually took them both out.
Overall, I'd say this game is extremely fun already, despite the steep learning curve. It's very deceptive; the tutorial makes it seem like I'd learned everything there is to know about the game in the first 5 minutes or so. This is of course not the case, and the gameplay is very deep indeed. I'm excited also about modding, and have created a couple of missions for fun. This is really quality stuff, and I look forward to the future of Starfarer!!
