Deck & Conn

Welcome aboard the CEN Lively! Let me show you around. You do have security clearance, right? OK good, I'm sure that will be fine. The Lively is the finest corvette in the Colonial Earth Navy, and her crew are a cut above the rest too. We've been operating out of Coyote Station for a while now, patrolling the borders with the Federacy and keeping the peace through a show of force, but we've been retasked to Alcor now so I am expecting that things are going to heat up a bit in Charlie Quadrant over the coming months. Certainly for us, anyway. What? The Spiral Arm Federacy? Oh, yes, they ARE "space communists", hahaha. I've heard them called plenty of other things though. Hey, look, no, listen - the last gunboat we captured, we made sure that every one of her crew had a place on a lifeboat before we scuttled her. Do you think that they would've afforded us the same consideration, if our positions had been reversed? No, no, we are the Good Guys, for sure. Well. Yes. Let's not talk about that any more right now: look, here's the reactor room. No, you really don't want to go in there. You, uh... don't have any electronic devices on you right now, do you? Ah. Well it'll probably be fine. Forgive me, a Priority Action Message has just arrived - I need to go and read this in private. I'll hand you over to my XO for now and she can introduce you to the rest of the officers. I'm sure you can't wait to meet our Chief Engineer - although I think that Lieutanant Chinweze is actually on duty at the moment so he'll be a bit busy. You may have to wait until I pick you up again to continue the tour before you get the chance to see him. Busy busy busy. Please, no photographs. The crew have families and their privacy and safety is paramount. It was a pleasure to meet you. Now, if you'll excuse me. Duty calls.

I feel like i have already seen everything the game has to offer. I hope I am wrong. I like the aesthetic, and the idea - this is basically a space Silent Hunter game, tactile and somewhat immersive (pun not intended), though lacking in any deep (once more, not intended) simulation elements, by comparison. But, under the cool bits of busywork and button-pressing, the novelty of which does not last long, it is pretty shallow (damnit). I wish there was more to do, more ways to approach situations. The maximum level of depth on display here is power management, a system only engaging insofar as it is partially obscured/obtuse, and must be figured out on the go. Maybe the persistent elements (crew, upgrades) help keep you engaged, but i doubt this. The crew doesn't actually do anything, appears to work as pretty much a +/- efficiency modifier, and is expended upon capturing a vessel, to be forever lost. The upgrades, though involving several systems, are linear. I'm already topping out on 2-3 of those after one patrol. Long story short: cool idea, i like it playing it, but i can already see myself getting bored quickly. Needs more stuff to do. Ends up too expensive for what it offers right now.

This is a nice little game, but first, we have to set expectations right. This is a nice [b]little game[/b]. Going out to patrol stuff is the whole gameplay, and 8 patrols are the whole campaigns. You can't take different class of ships, only corvettes are available. You can do some upgrades, but there are only a few of them. The game didn't feel particularly difficult to me, as I was able to win against bigger ships as well as against pairs of ships. It might be shallow for some people's tastes, but it's *supposed* to be shallow, that's not a bug, that's a feature. If you looked at the game's screenshots, you've seen all those control panels that are used to control the ship. They aren't that difficult to figure out once you get used to them, and the key point of managing your energy production and consumption in battles isn't difficult to figure out, but then again, that's not a bug, that's a feature. I do feel that the game is a bit too expensive for what it is, so if you want your games to last you dozens and hundreds of hours, offering large variety of things to do and to play with, this is not the game for you. This game is about one thing, and I feel like it does that thing reasonably well. It could be better, but it also could be much, much worse.

good bones, but bare-featured. watch to see if the dev gives any ongoing support. if not, its good for $12, but not if that $12 comes out of your last $100. very replayable but needs more content on the back-half of the game and all the upgrades are direct with no sidegrades, and i managed to fully upgrade after around 3 hours of play also, no saving during patrols. which is fine for me because i'm unemployed, but wild for most people alternative review: please god give me a destroyer CINCCHARFLT i'll do anything i'll suck hollingsworth off if he/she/they/xe wants i just need to see confederates die in nuclear fire from my 12 torpedo bays

Neat, engaging little game that's downright cozy and respects your time investment, especially right now given that mid-mission saving has been added which lets you seamlessly jump in and out of playing, making it an ideal coffee break-type game as well. With the exception of my sole gripe being that I cannot figure out how many days' worth of supplies I have left while not docked at a space station, the game is very well tutorialized, the ingame manual is neatly written, helpful and available at any time, sound effects are pleasant to listen to and the pixel art is cool. If you have experience playing Highfleet and are looking for something similarly immersive this game is a no-brainer to get, worth the asking price imo. I did not encounter any bugs, glitches nor crashes whilst playing.

The ultimate evolution of EGATrek, with added stealth mechanics, refinement of targeting solutions with sensor pings, boarding actions, prize ships, player selected upgrade of ship systems and officers, light crew management during and between patrols, and a campaign. If that's up your alley, so to will D&C be. Recommended! As a bonus, will also happily run on a potato. A hint during play, move your mouse to the middle top of the screen to switch between rooms. I may have missed a memo on that, but you may have too. ;)

I love this game!! - really nice ambience - no time pressure - BUTTONS - retro chique - makes you feel important - looks very DOS - starting up the ship at Base or preparing all systems for a fight out in space feels great. - I personally really like the "no save" during patrols. Makes the game more exciting. - runs GREAT on Steam Deck! Everything is readable, buttons are hard to miss. - playing on Steam Deck makes the saving issue a no issue because of sleep mode, but I play mostly on PC but: - needs way more content! Ship is already maxed out after 5th patrol and there doesn't seem to be more ships, weapons or ship systems in the game... - where are all my awards? I'm a hero of the colonies dammit, where can I stare blankly at my medals, enjoying my PTSD?? - a little more crew management would be nice (or just give me way to rest the crew at depots, when the ship is understaffed) - also pls let me change personnel at base. I can fill empty slots, but there seems to be no way to exchange crew for more experienced ones... (or maybe I'm to dumb to figure it out. xD)