Zombie Ships and Space Stations in Infinite Space: Do They Make Sense?

 Zombie Ships and Space Stations in Infinite Space: Do They Make Sense?

My analysis of the combat system in the Infinite Space trilogy continues with a new topic: zombie ships. I got the term from BattleTech, in which a zombie 'Mech is one that can continue to attack even after receiving enormous amounts of damage. To that end, it must also have no ammunition-dependent weapons or explosive components (and hence an all-energy loadout), in addition to having at least one of those energy weapons in the head or center torso. In addition to those, it must not have an extralight (or Inner Sphere light) engine; such engines can be damaged or destroyed if either (or both) side torso section(s) are blown off. Such a 'Mech can therefore only be destroyed if its head, center torso, or legs are taken out. This had me wondering: Would the same idea work in Infinite Space, especially Sea of Stars?

This Urluquai Carrier has lost most of its systems to critical hits from a Calatian destroyer, but its fighter bay is still fully intact and functional. Is this enough to make it a zombie ship?

The answer, in most cases, would be no. A zombie ship (or space station) in Sea of Stars is one that can continue attacking even if it is heavily damaged and has only one usable weapon (of which some ships can have up to seven) left with which to attack. This is especially relevant because if a ship's thrusters are disabled, it will still be able to move during the current battle, but not the next one (unless those thrusters are repaired). However, Infinite Space does not split hulls and shields into sections as BattleTech does: if a ship's shields are fully eroded away, then its whole hull is exposed; if the hull is destroyed, then so is the entire ship. Moreover, every component on a ship or space station can be damaged or destroyed, except for the fighter bays on carriers and space stations.

An example of a zombie ship or space station in Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars. The Terran station highlighted above has had most of its equipment disabled and has received severe hull damage, but can still attack other vessels, since its fighter bays cannot be damaged or destroyed, and will therefore remain fully intact until the station's hull has been completely destroyed.

Speaking of which, the fact that these ships and structures are the only ones in the game to have these features makes them more dangerous than any other ship type when you encounter them in combat, since they will continue to disgorge fighters until their hulls have been completely destroyed. This is one more reason to have at least one dedicated anti-fighter weapon installed on your capital ships in most situations. However, you can use the poptart trick (decloak, attack, then cloak again) if you have a cloaking device installed on one of your capital ships, to more easily counter the fighter spam that carriers and stations rely on to survive. Even so, they are the closest thing the Infinite Space trilogy has to the equivalent of a zombie 'Mech... with the exception of all Tchorak ships and the Kawangi Dreadnought, all of which are immune to critical hits, and may fit the profile of a zombie ship even more closely than any carrier or space station.

The Kawangi Dreadnought (above) and all Tchorak vessels (below; Vent Mother pictured) are the only ships in the entire Infinite Space trilogy to be completely immune to critical hits, and as such may well be considered zombie ships. In fact, they may be more worthy of the term than any carrier or space station in those games will ever be.

Carriers, however, have the advantage of being compatible with upgraded equipment, something that is never true of any Tchorak ship (whose armaments are integrated into their hulls and cannot be replaced). The Kawangi Dreadnought, however, combines the Tchorak immunity to critical hits with the ability to be upgraded in the Combat Simulator, although it cannot be acquired by the player in a normal game; as such, it is the most dangerous ship of any kind in the entire trilogy, and is without doubt the ultimate zombie ship, although even it is not totally indestructible.

Last but not least, Ravian capital ships (Seeker Scarabs, Battle Beetles, Hive Lords, and Moon Mutants) take the definition of a zombie ship one step further by having detachable Bug Heads that detach from the rest of the ship when their main hulls are destroyed. However, these Bug Heads have very fragile hulls, no shields, and only a Gluon Web for offense; as such, they are generally not much of a threat in actual combat, especially if you explicitly target them.

In short, zombie ships (and space stations) are much rarer than zombie 'Mechs in BattleTech, but they can still cause a lot of trouble for anyone who is not prepared for them. That said, I have never had to field a zombie ship (such as the Garthan Light Carrier) in a regular game so far; superior combat tactics and strategy will generally tend to negate the need for such units. In fact, whenever I have an opportunity to trade in a Garthan capital ship, I always trade up from a Garthan Scout to a Garthan Corvette or Frigate (or from a corvette directly to a frigate), but never to a Light Carrier from any lesser Garthan ship. This exposes a second problem with zombie carriers in Infinite Space - the fighters spawned from carriers and space stations cannot be upgraded, and always use their default loadouts exclusively, which makes them easier to counter. So although the idea of controlling a zombie ship is tempting, you're not missing out on much by not fielding them in your fleet.

Hotshot Tales, Part 1: The Surf City Barrel Barrage Challenge

Hotshot Tales, Part 1: The Surf City Barrel Dumper Challenge

Recently, I decided to attempt what may be the most difficult Arcade Mode event possible in Hotshot Racing - a 7-lap Barrel Barrage race on Surf City with the difficulty level set to Expert, in any Speed-class car. The objective was simple - be the last driver standing while also completing every lap - but it was easier said than done.

So what makes this particular challenge so difficult with these settings? Let's explain why:

• On Expert difficulty, the cars have a higher top speed than in any other difficulty setting. However, to balance this out, the time limits are much lower, as is the amount of time gained from checkpoints.
• Speed-class cars have the highest top speeds, but accelerate more slowly than cars from other classes. As such, they are best suited to tracks with long straights - Surf City is not one of those tracks.
• A Barrel Barrage event over 3 laps is quite fun, but leaves little time for players to be eliminated. The same event over 7 laps would have a much higher attrition rate due to there being more time for each player to collect - and place - more barrels on the track.
• Regardless of length, in a Barrel Barrage, players receive 20 damage from hitting a barrel, but will only recover half as much of it if they complete a lap, and will be eliminated if their car receives too much damage.
• Surf City (the first track introduced in the Boss Level DLC) is the most difficult track in the game, with two tight bottlenecks and a very tricky double right-hand bend after the first checkpoint. The second bottleneck is a severe chokepoint that can be virtually impassable in Barrel Barrage if enough barrels have been placed there.
• Related to the above, selecting this track (or any other Boss Level track, for that matter) on Expert difficulty gives you only 19 seconds at the start, and just 10 seconds per checkpoint. As such, you'll need to be consistently fast through each sector to avoid running out of time. On the other hand, any race on the same difficulty at any track that's not in the Boss Level DLC will give you more time at the start and whenever you reach a checkpoint.
• Finally, the AI is generally faster and more aggressive on higher difficulty settings (especially Expert), and can potentially build an unassailable lead if they get too far ahead. Thankfully, the AI is not immune to its own mistakes, and will occasionally slam into a wall (which slows them down) or hit a barrel (which will damage or destroy their vehicle), sometimes in the worst possible place.

It took me around two hours' worth of attempts to complete tis challenge. However, when I finally did it, I felt absolutely elated. Granted, other players may have attempted (and even completed) this challenge before I did, but I felt compelled to give it a try anyway.

The result of my first successful attempt on the Surf City 7-Lap Barrel Barrage Expert Speed Challenge.

Right at the beginning, I got a boost start (which is surprisingly easy to do on Expert difficulty) and managed to keep pace with the leaders coming into the first checkpoint. 

Over time, the opposition started dropping like flies, but my cautious approach of sticking to the racing line (only deviating from it when absolutely necessary) and not placing any barrels unless I had no choice but to do so began to pay off.

I could have been the one hitting the barrel ahead, but someone else did - and eliminated themselves in the process (above). Meanwhile, the barrels took their toll on the opposition (below).

By the start of the penultimate lap, I was the last player standing, but I wasn't yet home free. All I had to do was to survive one more lap of a twisting, barrel-infested track without running out of time - and I did exactly that, if only just.

The last lap began with me as the last surviving player (above), with a mostly intact car, but a mistake early on meant that I barely avoided running out of time halfway through it, and had to hit some barrels just to get to the second checkpoint, with my car barely holding together by the time I reached the finish line (below).

Obviously, if the same rules were applied to an 8-player multiplayer race, the challenge would be even crazier - especially if all 8 players were highly experienced and skilled. However, under these circumstances, only one player would have to survive all 7 laps for the challenge to be successful. Nevertheless, this is the hardest thing I've done in Hotshot Racing, and while this may put some of you off attempting it for the sake of your own sanity, the rest of you may be brave enough to give it a go - and hopefully succeed. Good luck, and happy hunting!

Update (January 19th 2024): I've tried a Barrel Barrage with the exact same settings on every other Boss Level track, and am genuinely surprised by the results: On 8-Ball Highway, it's quite challenging to pull off the win due to the fact that its distorted figure-8 track layout necessitates near-constant drifting and boosting to keep pace with the leaders and avoid running out of time. It wasn't quite as hard as Surf City, though, especially since the whole of 8-Ball Highway is consistently wide with no roadblocks or bottlenecks, and neither was Frozen Freeway, whose track layout was similarly twisty (although to be fair, Frozen Freeway has a slightly more open layout, with the third sector being generally wider than the first sector of Surf City). In fact, Cargo Chaos is the easiest Boss Level track in which to win a 7-lap Barrel Barrage on Expert with a Speed-class car, since it is the only track in the set to have a genuinely long straight (and the turns are generally wider to boot), giving you more room to build up some speed and avoid barrels.

New Year's Resolutions for 2024: The Road Ahead

New Year's Resolutions for 2024: The Road Ahead

Happy New Year everyone! It's only the second day (or third day, depending on where you live) of 366 in 2024, this being a leap year and all, but already I am coming up with a list of New Year's resolutions as a Steam gamer (among others). The most important ones are as follows:

• Be more creative as an Automationeer  - whether it's by finding new, imaginative ways to manipulate exterior fixtures in-game, or by unlocking new secrets of engine design and/or trim configurations, I am finally ready to explore all the possibilities brought on by the public release version of the Ellisbury update for Automation (4.3), in which cars made in sandbox and campaign can now be more realistic and diverse than ever before.
• Dive deeper into the Infinite Space Trilogy - Even though it's been almost a decade since I started playing Sea of Stars (the third game in the series), and nearly two decades since I started playing the first game, there's still much to discover in this underrated yet entertaining series of sci-fi roguelikes. In particular, I will be exploring the similarities and differences between it and BattleTech, since both of them have a sci-fi setting (although BattleTech is about combined arms, in contrast to Infinite Space being focused solely on space combat between fleets of starships and the occasional space station).
• Uncover more secrets about the Game of Life - Even though Hasbro has been making the Game of Life for over six decades, there are still some aspects of it that I have not yet covered here. Among them are a detailed guide to Generation V (the current version) - it's at or near the top of my to-do list for 2024.
• Do something crazy (and potentially difficult) in a game I acquired last year as part of a free giveaway - Last year, I downloaded a game for free legitimately as part of a free offer. In the months since, I have enjoyed playing it every single time - so what is it exactly? The answer will be revealed soon.

Do you have any New Year's resolutions of your own? Whatever they are, I hope you manage to keep them by New Year's Day 2025. See you soon!