From Other Suns: Free Weekend, and Beyond

[Zenbane]

I have yet to purchase From Other Suns, but it has remained at the top of my list.

The last free weekend I enjoyed was Archangel - which I ended up buying and beating. I am really excited to see From Other Suns added to the Free Weekend list. As someone who has been using the Rift since its release in 2016, I have to say that it is very impressive that Facebook-Oculus have continued to provide high-end VR experiences "for free." Whether it be permanently free, or just free for a few days... a really great way to reward those who are spending money on high-end VR.

Anyway... is anyone interested in getting some multiplayer action going over the Free Weekend?

EDIT #1:
The Free Weekend ended, but several members of the community have since purchased the game. Feel free to use this thread to discuss tactics and coordinate Multiplayer gatherings.

EDIT #2:
Adding a Tips & Tricks section for those trying to get back to Earth successfully.

Achievements
https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/7e3qbw/from_other_suns_achievement_rewards/


General Tips

1. Have a plan, and upgrade accordingly.
   
2. Don't rush; strategize each attack and take breaks as needed.
3. If you don't plan to upgrade your ship's combat ability, then keep lots of money on-hand for pay-offs.
4. Hacking is the key to resource management, and resource are crucial to getting back to Earth. Do as many "Droid" missions as you can, because they have the higher chance of droping Hacker Modules, which can range from Level 1 to Level 5. The closer you get to Earth, the higher level requirement for Hacker Modules. But it's worth it!
   

Ship Survival Tips

1. Get your shields up to level 3 as a minimum. When you are attacked by strong pirates, level 3+ Shields gives you time to lock on to their ship, Teleport in, and kill everyone before they blow you up.
2. Don't pick a fight unless you know you can win, or you have no other choice (some pirates just attack by default).
3. With the default Skimmer, it may be best to avoid ship fighting altogether. Just focus on your shields for survivability. Once you get back to Earth, you get a new ship that is a beast in combat. For your Skimmer, just upgrade: Shields (3+); Engine (level 2); Hull (Level 2 or 3)
4. Keep your crew at max even in single player. Having a full crew lets your ship work slightly above ability (110% ship attributes), and AI Crew members are great in combat in the event that pirates (or even an Alien) board your ship. Also, this gives you infinite lives should you die in combat (you respawn as a Crew member).

Personal Combat Tips

1. Upgrade your ships Medical Bay to Level 5, this is the max. It gives your entire Crew more than double Health. This is invaluable for the later missions where the Robot enemies come in 3's, all highly armored and weaponized.
2. When entering an enemy ship, activate their Teleporting asap. This lets you port back to your ship to heal, get supplies, etc. Although be careful, enemies can follow you over (an Alien boarded my ship once using this method).
3. Play standing during combat, since you can do full body movements to avoid getting shot: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and Dodge.
4. Practice accessing your inventory during combat effectively. Being able to use a healing Stim Pack in 1-2 seconds is a winning tact.
5. Be careful with the single shot Plasma guns, they can blow you up too when in close proximity. They are great for long-range combat and hitting enemies who are behind cover. For all other combat, lean towards the Plasma Homing shots (no splash damage but better accuracy).
6. Beam Weapons become invaluable during the mid- and late-game. They do less base damage than heavier weapons, but their damage is a constant stream. The beam makes aiming easier... and always aim for the head. Even the strongest of enemies can go down in 1 or 2 beam blasts.

Boss Battle Tips

1. When fighting a Pirate Lord, rush him quickly to avoid dealing with too many spawning support enemies. These bosses are quite easy in single player, but get harder the more people who join your campaign. Go for head shots to end them fast and stop the enemy spawns.
2. The Titan. This is my least favorite boss, and I often skip this fight. But if you must... he is indestructible and you can only kill him by firing at his exhausts "when they open." You will spend a lot of time hiding behind cover and trying to trick his guns in to opening the exhausts. It can be a daunting task in single player, but may be much easier in multiplayer (one person plays bait while the other hits those exhausts).
3. The escaping Pirate Ship. In this battle, you must destroy a ship before the pirates escape. There are about 5 glowing energy nodes on the ship. You must shoot each one until they explode. At least 3 of these nodes are on the side of the ship, and 2 are on the top. This is a timed battle so use your map and focus more on the nodes and less on the spawning pirates. Using the Rules of Dodgeball are key to avoiding bullets while shooting nodes.
4. All other bosses: There are several other boss battles that won't be individually covered here. They each have their patterns, however, the best thing to do is run in-and-out of the "boss room" to regroup as needed. Many boss battles let you escape the room to safety, and the escape area can often be used as a great strategic point for winning.
   

[Fazz]

@Zenbane  - Was the pirate ship made up of ai or was it human players spawning onto your ship?

[nalex66]

It was AI. I don’t think there is any PvP, just co-op. 

[Zenbane]

It would be kinda cool to have PvP at some point, but for now the game functions similar to BattleZone: Team up with Friends and battle your way to the end.

The AI is impressive though. They take advantage of "cover spots" during combat quite well.

Plus one AI group escaped on their ship during a lengthy gun battle. That whole sequence was badass.

[nalex66]

There is sort of PvP in the form of friendly fire and griefing (it can be a bit of a problem, from what I've read).

I just played an hour solo, but I left my game open to friends just in case anyone wanted to join. As I was finishing off clearing out a pirate ship, it occurred to me that someone could join in, head to the bridge, and either destroy the pirate ship with me on it, take off and leave me behind (if that's possible), or just sabotage my ship so I return to find that my O2 generator has been damaged and my crew are all dead.

[OmegaM4N]

I enjoyed this, although it would be nice to be able to add people you meeet in the game quickly to your friends list, i had a few games with some fun people but when we lost the ship they were gone. 😞

But overal a cracking game.

[Tadin]

Had fun but sooooo hard, after the first mission had a couple of guys join my team and the next battle we went to had at least 20 robot AI surround us and kill us, and thats not unusual, practically every 2nd mission was enough to wipe everyone out.

Obviously we were probably just crap, but it could do with ramping up a little slower 😛

I didnt realise it defaults to starting with the game open to others, so it was a bit of a shock the first time other people joined, but it did add to the fun, even though half the time that had silly names and we'rent taking it seriously, so to speak 🙂

[Zenbane]

I purchased this as well while it's 25% off; although I had so much fun I'd have no problem paying full price.

Hopefully we can get a few more community folks onboard to have some semi-regular gaming sessions!

[Zenbane]

@cybereality

Are there any plans to increase the size of the "friends list" that players can see in VR? I can't scroll beyond the letter H lol

This makes it hard to find people to invite or to add to an Oculus Group (which is helpful to stay in contact between games).

I know this has been mentioned before, but with the increase of multiplayer games coupled with the increase in the number of Rift owners... it seems a much needed ability.

[Javelin396]

OmegaM4N said:

I enjoyed this, although it would be nice to be able to add people you meeet in the game quickly to your friends list, i had a few games with some fun people but when we lost the ship they were gone. 😞

But overal a cracking game.

easiest way to add friends if you are using the oculus 2.22 Core beta with dash is to press the oculus button, access the oculus destop from dash, access the oculus software app and select the "home" tab. from there you can scroll down to where it will say "make new friends" or something like that and you can add people you have recently played with.

[Zenbane]

I played solo tonight... made it 94% back to Earth.

Once you get over 80% things get insane. The game escalates rather quickly, such as with the introduction of Boss Battles. Master Robots, Alien Overlords.

I even shouted loudly due to a jump scare in an area that went full on Aliens:




Hoping to try again tomorrow!