Star Traders RPG is a complex turn-based strategy RPG, set in a vast, dynamic, and complex galaxy torn apart by war, betrayal, and the shifts of commerce. In this epic space-opera, you play a Captain of a spaceship, traveling the Quadrant in search of fame, riches, infamy or death. As a Star Trading captain, must balance the complicated politics of the Great Houses and Syndicates , maintain and upgrade your fleet of ships, keep your crew paid, fed and loyal, and most importantly, survive. Star Traders RPG is available on the App Store for your iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, and is a Universal App. Want to see it now? Watch the Epic Adventure on YouTube! http://youtu.be/cpBiH7eUPas Warning: Star Traders RPG is not a casual game. This is a complex space simulation and strategy game with a real difficulty scale. If you like deep games with a lot going on and endless replay, try Star Traders. We have gamers on our forum who have been playing this mobile game for more than 2 years! That's anything but casual. Think you can handle it, captain? As a captain of a spacing machine, you may choose many paths, from being a loyalist to your faction's military, plying the interstellar lanes of commerce, exploring lost and forgotten planets and ruins, bounty hunting targets, blockading, spying, or pirating your way to riches. Your command of the ship is under constant threat, both internal and external. Can you manage your resources, crew, officers well to enough to turn a profit on your contracts and trades? Those that do will be among the Faction's elite Star Heroes -- and those that fail will be branded bandits and Crime Lords. Star Traders RPG is inspired by classic games like Pirates!, Space Trader, Eve, Elite and is in the genre of Firefly, Serenity, and Star Wars (not Jedis -- think Hans Solo, bounty hunters, and all the rest). As a Star Trading Captain, you will: Pick sides in a shifting war between 6 unique Factions. Buy, Sell, Battle and Pilot over 450 unique spacecraft. Create your own path, playing as a Merchant, Assassin, Explorer, Warlord, Pirate, Bounty Hunter, Smuggler or choosing from one of the many ways to play. Travel and immense and expansive galaxy Discover, Explore and Quest on more than 140 planets Where can I get Star Traders RPG? Star Traders is available on: The App Store (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-traders-rpg/id528949262?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4) for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch We are also available on Android markets -- Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corytrese.games.startraders&hl=en) for your Android device. Amazon store (http://www.amazon.com/Trese-Brothers-Software-Star-Traders/dp/B004UBM7Z6) for your Android device. Who are the Trese Brothers? The Trese Brothers are three brothers on a mission -- to build the best RPGs for mobile devices, to build games that you love to play, and that we love to play. We cant compete with big game shops and big graphics, but we take our productions in a different direction. We produce and faithfully support deeply complex and challenging mobile games that go far, far beyond casual. We listen closely to our community of fans, gamers, and critics on how to improve the games and continuously keep pushing new updates and improvements on all our games. We have literally shipped hundred of game updates to our three games over the last two years. And we have fans who have played our games for two years and still love them. Trese Brothers are also the makers of Templar Assault (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tresebrothers.games.templars) which is set in the Star Traders world, and Cyber Knights (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tresebrothers.games.cyberknights&hl=en). Screenshots:
The Trese Brothers mission statement (and the strong anti-casual vibes and sentiments ) sold me more than the game itself, but boy, does the game look interesting as well. I will hopefully report back soon with the breaking news that along the final frontier, graphics do not really matter, after all.
@ayjona - we try to warn people... Star Traders is not casual. If you are looking for casual, you might not like it, and we don't want to push it to the wrong crowd! If you dig our work, we are very open to feedback from the community and are always fixing bugs, responding to questions, and implementing new RFEs that come in through our community forum (http://startradersrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi).
Star Traders RPG Trese Brothers Command your officers and crew from the bridge of your star ship to travel, trade, and battle across the immense Star Tr… Free Buy Now Watch Media DetailsCommand your officers and crew from the bridge of your star ship to travel, trade, and battle across the immense Star Traders Quadrant. Employ a wide variety of strategies as an Assassin, Bounty Hunter, Trader, Pirate or Smuggler. Can you manage your resources, crew and officers well enough to turn a profit in the complex economy that’s sprawling across the on-going interstellar conflict? This epic space pirate RPG offers a deep and challenging world and economy to Star Trading captains. You must navigate the waters of Quadrant politics and chose sides among the constantly conflicting Factions, or take the risk to stay independent. Enjoy endless replay value in this deep space civ and trading simulation which allows you to take any path you want as a captain. Act as a pirate against the merchants using the great shipping lanes, join the Solar War as a military captain, or hunt targets across the Quadrant as a fearsome bounty hunter! Star Traders is a turn-based strategy role playing game (RPG) inspired by games such as Trade Wars, Space Trader, Master of Orion, Pirates! and many other classic computer RPGs. If you enjoy retro games, adventure and tactics games, Action RPG or Sci-fi RPG with complex depth (such as Master of Orion or Mass Effect) you may enjoy Star Traders space trading simulation. A permanent .99 IAP expands Star Traders with the Elite experience. Elite includes more than 200 new planets, more than 2,000 new sectors in the massive galaxy, over 400 new ships, twice as many rumors and officers, and more unique art! Advanced ships, ship upgrades and special abilities are unlocked with skillful play. A list of feats and awards can be seen in the 'Unlocks' menu. For players seeking a shortcut, a permanent .99 IAP immediately grants all feats and awards to all characters. Our development team is actively continuing development and updates based on your feedback and is regularly updated with new content, features, and fixes. Please email us with suggestions or bugs! As a Star Trading captain you will: - Explore more than 300 planets - Trade in and manipulate the complex and deep economy in this economic simulator - Buy, sell, and battle over 500 unique starcraft - Fully customize your captain (picking from 6 classes), officers and space ships Experience the Elite upgrade: the epic new content includes 2,000 new sectors, 200 additional planets, and hundreds of additional ships, more rumors, art board, and officers. Your command of the ship is under constant threat, both internal and external. Can you manage your resources, crew, officers well to enough to turn a profit on your contracts and trades? Those that do will be among the Faction's elite Star Heroes -- and those that fail will be branded bandits and Crimelords. Star Traders is on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/startraders Game Development Blog: http://tresebrothers.blogspot.com/ Web: http://www.tresebrothers.com/ Join the Community Forum: http://startradersrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/TreseBrothers Information Seller:Trese Brothers Genre:Adventure, Role Playing Release:Nov 21, 2012 Updated:Feb 12, 2015 Version:5.2.1 Size:26.6 MB TouchArcade Rating:Unrated User Rating: (5) Your Rating:unrated Compatibility:HD Universal fallen Well-Known Member Nov 22, 2012 812 149 43 Boston http://www.tresebrothers.com #5 fallen, Dec 17, 2012 @undeadcow - woah, how did you do that? Cool! Thanks! fallen Well-Known Member Nov 22, 2012 812 149 43 Boston http://www.tresebrothers.com #6 fallen, Dec 20, 2012 Thanks to pokerjunky on our forums who has contributed and hosted this amazing Star Traders charting tool which allows you to compare and contrast all of the ships within the Star Traders Quadrant. You can see the app here: http://charts.startradersrpg.com/ Please check out this amazing resource. It is especially exciting to see someone else's charts and mathematics show that our ship balancing algorithms have achieved their purpose! We hope that this will help you pick the best warship, smuggler, and defender as you build the fleets for your Captains ... and beyond. Pokerjunky explains his process on the forum: http://startradersrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=rules&thread=3121&page=1 Riotgirl Well-Known Member Apr 5, 2012 240 0 0 UK #7 Riotgirl, Dec 20, 2012 QFT! I was sold at "epic Space Opera" in the same breathe as RPG. What the hell is going on with so many fantastic under (and over) the radar releases? Sci-Fi, but especially serious Space Opera, is too oft neglected as source material for RPGs. Added to 'wish list' because I'm in a Final Fantasy trip at the moment. Love to hear more reviews and feedback from fellow TA members on this one. If the game lives up to the description, then I will have a new addiction. Sorry Baldur's Gate. As much as I love you, it looks like I'll have zero time - even when the UI is fixed for the iPad! The only note of concern is that people may skip the game based upon it being free with a single IAP. So once Ayjona and Undeadcow have had sufficient time to play and feedback, hopefully more of the TA RPG crowd will become interested. fallen Well-Known Member Nov 22, 2012 812 149 43 Boston http://www.tresebrothers.com #8 fallen, Dec 20, 2012 @riotgirl - I hope that you will find that you enjoy our space-opera when you get time to play it. I can say its got depth that keeps people coming back -- some of our forum members have been playing actively for 2 years on Android. One of our new forum members posted this quote a few days ago: "i am increasingly impressed by the subtle interaction of events, like stardock closures and conflicts affecting metal availability in the region. i read on another thread that after a product is banned, merchant ships coming off the planet will be packed with it and ripe for piracy. now that i am looking for these deeper patterns i am seeing more of the cause and effect. this might give me those little edges that can get me from insane to impossible." Read more: http://startradersrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=rules&action=display&thread=148&page=5#ixzz2Fck9i1vc We are very new to the App Store -- can you explain why you think a single free game with on IAP would get "over looked?" To be honest, we are definitely feeling a bit overlooked right now. We are used to a booming market presence, and are in the top 100 paid arcade games on Android, but can't seem to get any attention on the App Store. MrMojoRisin Well-Known Member Jul 27, 2012 1,183 0 0 #9 MrMojoRisin, Dec 20, 2012 My guess for your App Store problem is that your game is a niche market hardcore strategy game. Not exactly something that the "Angry Birds generation" is likely to flock to. Maybe you should try to market places like boardgamegeek. I know your game isn't a board game, but it is turn based and is probably something alot of hardcore boardgame players might want to look at. Riotgirl Well-Known Member Apr 5, 2012 240 0 0 UK #10 Riotgirl, Dec 20, 2012 Last edited: Dec 20, 2012 Note: I would recommend updating the thread title to follow the title convention i.e. game title - developer [iPod / iPhone / iPad / Universal] e.g. Star Traders RPG - (by the Trese Brothers) [Universal] More experienced users will hopefully comment. First up, getting any traction on the App store is very, very hard without marketing outside the App store. There are a million and one apps being produced and it is very hard to separate the chaff from the wheat - especially with the pricing structure on iOS which is a race to the bottom. Unfortunately, most of the chaff are the purportedly 'free' games that sell IAP consumables. It may be better having the game sold at the IAP price which includes the IAP. Check out this thread for IAP discussion (and iOS pricing trends in general). A Sci-fi RPG that is complex and serious is a niche market. Hence, I suspect even if it is free, you may not get many takers. At this stage, word of mouth, and especially actual reviews on the App store (as opposed to leaving a rating) will really help gain more traction. Once Ayjona and Undeadcow have sufficient time to play and feedback, the TA RPG crowd may take an interest. IMO, there are a few hurdles to clear: 1. screen-shots may not be representative of deep, complex gameplay 2. complex Sci-Fi RPG / simulation is a niche market 3. too many 'big' releases e.g. Baldur's Gate, FFIV and Ravensword, to name but a few Once the Chrimbo period is over, and people have played the big releases and have sufficient time in their gaming for something different / new, hopefully there will be more feedback in this thread for what appears to be a deep, complex Space Opera RPG / simulation (that requires more than 5 minutes to gain an appreciation). Cheers! P.s. ^ excellent suggestion by MrMojoRisin to publicise on BGG. fallen Well-Known Member Nov 22, 2012 812 149 43 Boston http://www.tresebrothers.com #11 fallen, Dec 20, 2012 Thanks for the help and suggestions @MrMojoRisin and @RiotGirl. We are pretty seasoned at finding ways to make our niche game stay in the light in Android, but we are not hip yet to the ways of the App Store. We will definitely try BoardGameGeek, and we will look into perhaps changing the game's pricing / IAP structure in early 2013. On our front, we know this is a marathon and not a sprint. We've updated Star Traders RPG for 2 years solidly on Android market with new features, content and the like, and plan to do the same on App Store. Thanks! Riotgirl Well-Known Member Apr 5, 2012 240 0 0 UK #12 Riotgirl, Dec 20, 2012 On the contrary, thank you, for bringing a deep, complex and ambitious Space Opera RPG / simulation to iOS. Hopefully, the niche is big enough on iOS and you get enough traction to continue to support iOS. fetagames Well-Known Member Jan 19, 2011 98 0 0 Indie Developer Poland http://www.fetagames.eu #13 fetagames, Dec 20, 2012 That's something different in the AppStore world downloading... undeadcow Well-Known Member Dec 4, 2010 9,493 2 36 Houston, TX #14 undeadcow, Dec 20, 2012 Last edited: Dec 20, 2012 Star Traders RPG certainly looks like it has tons of potential and with generally glowing App Store reviews. App Info tags are a forum stable fallen Well-Known Member Nov 22, 2012 812 149 43 Boston http://www.tresebrothers.com #15 fallen, Dec 22, 2012 Another great Star Traders community gamer and one of our 2 year veterans, @slayernz, recently posted this interactive Star Traders maps. As the Elite Quadrant is immense and very dangerous to traverse from edge to edge, this navigation guide is as valuable as pure spice in the spicing hall. undeadcow Well-Known Member Dec 4, 2010 9,493 2 36 Houston, TX #16 undeadcow, Dec 27, 2012 Last edited: Dec 27, 2012 Short Story: Download Star Traders RPG for free, it's worth a try. Long Story: I unlocked the Elite Edition IAP ($1.99) and that makes a lot of difference in playing Star Traders RPG. So far I've enjoyed it and found it compulsively addictive. This is largely a resource management exploration sim. It's easy to recommend as a free download and for me to IAP was well worth it. On an App Store with full fledged arcade combat sims like Galaxy of Fire 2 or 4x space games like Starbase Orion, Ascendency, or Spaceward Ho there is some competition. This comes across as a streamlined 4x sim with some depth but accessible for casual play (because you control only a ship, not an empire). You direct a ship that travels from space port to space port (on a latitude/longitude style coordinate grid) accepting (or declining) contracts that involve traveling to destinations across the map for pay involving either just traveling to a point and getting paid (dropping off passangers, cargo) or combat with an enemy ship. This is similar to Galaxy of Fire, only instead of taking on the role of a pilot driving from destination to destination travel is automated. Each mission has a time limit so you can't stall too long. On one hand the missions can get repetitive but on the other they are not too time consuming so just fodder for finding combat scenarios or resources to upgrade your ship. There are plenty of resources to chose from and your ship can only hold so much so you have to select enough fuel to get around but also keep an eye on room for commodies to trade sharing cargo room with fuel. Managing fuel versus mission distance is a nice feature (I often scrap by on fuel and need to wheel/deal) and makes things interesting. Different commodities hold different values and may add bonuses to travel/combat. There is a good variety of options in how to stock your ship (artifacts, weapons, clothing, luxury food, fuel, record storage, crystals, etc) but, for example, from the start you can only haul 40 units of anything (including fuel). The ships are upgradeable and if you save up enough you can purchase bigger/faster/stronger or not alternatives. Combat seems turn based with multiple strategic options including assault with torpedos or guns (ammo must be purchased by in game gold at ports) at long/medium range, ramming the other ship or boarding them (at close range), along with other features like raiding their control room. In combat you see the stats of your ship and that of the other. There are plenty of points (hull, engines, crew, ammo, etc) to compare between the two. If you lost combat it will end the game or you will be penalized (loss of crew, cargo, etc); so far the outcome of losing space combat feels a little random. Winning can be accomplished multiple ways (killing enemy captain, destroying enemy ship hull, blowing out enemy engines, etc) but is mainly just a factor of destroying their resource attribute for the relevent value. If you win combat then you can loot the other ship's supply, conscript their members, and even trade your ship with theirs (or destroy it for scrap). The crew is also another resource that required attention due to their moral fluctuating (this can be alleviated if you buy then rounds at ports or haul certain commodities). Battles or exploring planets can deplete your crew and can require you work on recruiting at avaliable ports. At times if unhappy the crew will mutuny and attempt to kill you (the captain). I'm really enjoying Star Traders RPG so far and found it better than it looks at first glance. Definitely worth checking out if you like resource management games and want something that has depth but can't get into someting that's time consuming or has a steep learning curve. FPE Well-Known Member Sep 25, 2010 3,031 0 0 World, now Belgium #17 FPE, Dec 27, 2012 Totally agree with the above! fallen Well-Known Member Nov 22, 2012 812 149 43 Boston http://www.tresebrothers.com #18 fallen, Dec 29, 2012 @undeadcow - thanks for the mini-review! Glad you are enjoying Star Traders and I hope others will post their experiences (positive or negative) here! Excited to announce that the next release will include Awards (challenges for you to complete) and Unlocks (special upgrades, ships, officers, etc) that you can only access after completing certain Awards. One more thing to keep you busy in the Quadrant! undeadcow Well-Known Member Dec 4, 2010 9,493 2 36 Houston, TX #19 undeadcow, Jan 11, 2013 I'm still enjoying Star Traders RPG. Since this is a slow period for new iOS releases now might be a good time for more people to try this out, it's a good accessible but detailed trade/exploration sim. Is there an anticipated release timeframe on the update? gosenbach Well-Known Member Apr 15, 2010 124 0 0 Engineer (mechanical/electrical/software) #20 gosenbach, Jan 17, 2013 Nicely done! I'll have to upgrade to the elete version once I have some more iTunes cash just like the old Star Traders game i had on my palm pilot years ago but fleshed out into something amazing Brings back memories of playing Taipan on my Apple IIc Love it! (You must log in or sign up to post here.) Show Ignored Content Page 1 of 10 1 ← 2 3 4 5 6 → 10 Next > Share This Page Tweet Your name or email address: Do you already have an account? No, create an account now. Yes, my password is: Forgot your password? Stay logged in
Thanks to pokerjunky on our forums who has contributed and hosted this amazing Star Traders charting tool which allows you to compare and contrast all of the ships within the Star Traders Quadrant. You can see the app here: http://charts.startradersrpg.com/ Please check out this amazing resource. It is especially exciting to see someone else's charts and mathematics show that our ship balancing algorithms have achieved their purpose! We hope that this will help you pick the best warship, smuggler, and defender as you build the fleets for your Captains ... and beyond. Pokerjunky explains his process on the forum: http://startradersrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=rules&thread=3121&page=1
QFT! I was sold at "epic Space Opera" in the same breathe as RPG. What the hell is going on with so many fantastic under (and over) the radar releases? Sci-Fi, but especially serious Space Opera, is too oft neglected as source material for RPGs. Added to 'wish list' because I'm in a Final Fantasy trip at the moment. Love to hear more reviews and feedback from fellow TA members on this one. If the game lives up to the description, then I will have a new addiction. Sorry Baldur's Gate. As much as I love you, it looks like I'll have zero time - even when the UI is fixed for the iPad! The only note of concern is that people may skip the game based upon it being free with a single IAP. So once Ayjona and Undeadcow have had sufficient time to play and feedback, hopefully more of the TA RPG crowd will become interested.
@riotgirl - I hope that you will find that you enjoy our space-opera when you get time to play it. I can say its got depth that keeps people coming back -- some of our forum members have been playing actively for 2 years on Android. One of our new forum members posted this quote a few days ago: "i am increasingly impressed by the subtle interaction of events, like stardock closures and conflicts affecting metal availability in the region. i read on another thread that after a product is banned, merchant ships coming off the planet will be packed with it and ripe for piracy. now that i am looking for these deeper patterns i am seeing more of the cause and effect. this might give me those little edges that can get me from insane to impossible." Read more: http://startradersrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=rules&action=display&thread=148&page=5#ixzz2Fck9i1vc We are very new to the App Store -- can you explain why you think a single free game with on IAP would get "over looked?" To be honest, we are definitely feeling a bit overlooked right now. We are used to a booming market presence, and are in the top 100 paid arcade games on Android, but can't seem to get any attention on the App Store.
My guess for your App Store problem is that your game is a niche market hardcore strategy game. Not exactly something that the "Angry Birds generation" is likely to flock to. Maybe you should try to market places like boardgamegeek. I know your game isn't a board game, but it is turn based and is probably something alot of hardcore boardgame players might want to look at.
Note: I would recommend updating the thread title to follow the title convention i.e. game title - developer [iPod / iPhone / iPad / Universal] e.g. Star Traders RPG - (by the Trese Brothers) [Universal] More experienced users will hopefully comment. First up, getting any traction on the App store is very, very hard without marketing outside the App store. There are a million and one apps being produced and it is very hard to separate the chaff from the wheat - especially with the pricing structure on iOS which is a race to the bottom. Unfortunately, most of the chaff are the purportedly 'free' games that sell IAP consumables. It may be better having the game sold at the IAP price which includes the IAP. Check out this thread for IAP discussion (and iOS pricing trends in general). A Sci-fi RPG that is complex and serious is a niche market. Hence, I suspect even if it is free, you may not get many takers. At this stage, word of mouth, and especially actual reviews on the App store (as opposed to leaving a rating) will really help gain more traction. Once Ayjona and Undeadcow have sufficient time to play and feedback, the TA RPG crowd may take an interest. IMO, there are a few hurdles to clear: 1. screen-shots may not be representative of deep, complex gameplay 2. complex Sci-Fi RPG / simulation is a niche market 3. too many 'big' releases e.g. Baldur's Gate, FFIV and Ravensword, to name but a few Once the Chrimbo period is over, and people have played the big releases and have sufficient time in their gaming for something different / new, hopefully there will be more feedback in this thread for what appears to be a deep, complex Space Opera RPG / simulation (that requires more than 5 minutes to gain an appreciation). Cheers! P.s. ^ excellent suggestion by MrMojoRisin to publicise on BGG.
Thanks for the help and suggestions @MrMojoRisin and @RiotGirl. We are pretty seasoned at finding ways to make our niche game stay in the light in Android, but we are not hip yet to the ways of the App Store. We will definitely try BoardGameGeek, and we will look into perhaps changing the game's pricing / IAP structure in early 2013. On our front, we know this is a marathon and not a sprint. We've updated Star Traders RPG for 2 years solidly on Android market with new features, content and the like, and plan to do the same on App Store. Thanks!
On the contrary, thank you, for bringing a deep, complex and ambitious Space Opera RPG / simulation to iOS. Hopefully, the niche is big enough on iOS and you get enough traction to continue to support iOS.
Star Traders RPG certainly looks like it has tons of potential and with generally glowing App Store reviews. App Info tags are a forum stable
Another great Star Traders community gamer and one of our 2 year veterans, @slayernz, recently posted this interactive Star Traders maps. As the Elite Quadrant is immense and very dangerous to traverse from edge to edge, this navigation guide is as valuable as pure spice in the spicing hall.
Short Story: Download Star Traders RPG for free, it's worth a try. Long Story: I unlocked the Elite Edition IAP ($1.99) and that makes a lot of difference in playing Star Traders RPG. So far I've enjoyed it and found it compulsively addictive. This is largely a resource management exploration sim. It's easy to recommend as a free download and for me to IAP was well worth it. On an App Store with full fledged arcade combat sims like Galaxy of Fire 2 or 4x space games like Starbase Orion, Ascendency, or Spaceward Ho there is some competition. This comes across as a streamlined 4x sim with some depth but accessible for casual play (because you control only a ship, not an empire). You direct a ship that travels from space port to space port (on a latitude/longitude style coordinate grid) accepting (or declining) contracts that involve traveling to destinations across the map for pay involving either just traveling to a point and getting paid (dropping off passangers, cargo) or combat with an enemy ship. This is similar to Galaxy of Fire, only instead of taking on the role of a pilot driving from destination to destination travel is automated. Each mission has a time limit so you can't stall too long. On one hand the missions can get repetitive but on the other they are not too time consuming so just fodder for finding combat scenarios or resources to upgrade your ship. There are plenty of resources to chose from and your ship can only hold so much so you have to select enough fuel to get around but also keep an eye on room for commodies to trade sharing cargo room with fuel. Managing fuel versus mission distance is a nice feature (I often scrap by on fuel and need to wheel/deal) and makes things interesting. Different commodities hold different values and may add bonuses to travel/combat. There is a good variety of options in how to stock your ship (artifacts, weapons, clothing, luxury food, fuel, record storage, crystals, etc) but, for example, from the start you can only haul 40 units of anything (including fuel). The ships are upgradeable and if you save up enough you can purchase bigger/faster/stronger or not alternatives. Combat seems turn based with multiple strategic options including assault with torpedos or guns (ammo must be purchased by in game gold at ports) at long/medium range, ramming the other ship or boarding them (at close range), along with other features like raiding their control room. In combat you see the stats of your ship and that of the other. There are plenty of points (hull, engines, crew, ammo, etc) to compare between the two. If you lost combat it will end the game or you will be penalized (loss of crew, cargo, etc); so far the outcome of losing space combat feels a little random. Winning can be accomplished multiple ways (killing enemy captain, destroying enemy ship hull, blowing out enemy engines, etc) but is mainly just a factor of destroying their resource attribute for the relevent value. If you win combat then you can loot the other ship's supply, conscript their members, and even trade your ship with theirs (or destroy it for scrap). The crew is also another resource that required attention due to their moral fluctuating (this can be alleviated if you buy then rounds at ports or haul certain commodities). Battles or exploring planets can deplete your crew and can require you work on recruiting at avaliable ports. At times if unhappy the crew will mutuny and attempt to kill you (the captain). I'm really enjoying Star Traders RPG so far and found it better than it looks at first glance. Definitely worth checking out if you like resource management games and want something that has depth but can't get into someting that's time consuming or has a steep learning curve.
@undeadcow - thanks for the mini-review! Glad you are enjoying Star Traders and I hope others will post their experiences (positive or negative) here! Excited to announce that the next release will include Awards (challenges for you to complete) and Unlocks (special upgrades, ships, officers, etc) that you can only access after completing certain Awards. One more thing to keep you busy in the Quadrant!
I'm still enjoying Star Traders RPG. Since this is a slow period for new iOS releases now might be a good time for more people to try this out, it's a good accessible but detailed trade/exploration sim. Is there an anticipated release timeframe on the update?
Nicely done! I'll have to upgrade to the elete version once I have some more iTunes cash just like the old Star Traders game i had on my palm pilot years ago but fleshed out into something amazing Brings back memories of playing Taipan on my Apple IIc Love it!