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FTL: Faster Than Light had humble beginnings as a Kickstarter project from a two-man studio before it blossomed into a fully-funded indie smash hit. The rogue-like spaceship simulator was a consistently entertaining voyage (read our review), though the game itself was relatively short. Thankfully, it was a highly replayable title that drew a core crowd of fans that would later push the game onto platforms like Steam, allowing the title to be exposed to an even larger grouping of gamers.

FTL: Faster Than Light has been out for more than a year now, and developer Subset Games has now announced a free content expansion pack which will become available early next year.

The Advanced Edition is an optional expansion pack which can be enabled or disabled through the main menu, leaving the ability to play the vanilla game there - for those who don't want the added features or sectors. Here's a quick rundown of some of the new content which will be made available at no cost to gamers in 2014:

  • Mind Control System, where you can manipulate boarding enemies to repair the damage they've done to the hull.
  • Hacking System, which has unique effects for each system hacked. For instance, Med-Bays will damage instead of heal or teleporters can be forced its own boarding party on the other ship.
  • Weapons and Effects, like shots capable of freezing crew within certain areas and the ability to overcharge weapons for more damage.
  • New Sector and Events, written by lead writer Tom Jubert and guest writer Chris Avellone. Gamers can expect several new random events and a new plot arc.
FTL Faster Than Light Crew Ship

Subset Games also announced a few tweaks that were requested through the user forums, such as the ability to save crew positions to quickly send them back to their corresponding rooms, more purchasable items within stores, and the ability to save and quit during combat. The latter feature is always a risk, so gamers might want to think carefully before they save themselves right into a no-win situation.

The developers also revealed that FTL: Faster Than Light will be coming to iPad. The studio responded to questions about Android support as well, stating that they'd love to create support for all tablets, but are going to give themselves a break after the update due to the small size of their development team. For those gamers waiting for it come to mobile phones, Subset Games confirmed that they've tried to port the game over but won't be pursuing that platform.

What do you think, Ranters? Are you surprised that the studio has been working for months on a free content update?

FTL: Faster Than Light is expected to receive this content update in early 2014.

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You can follow John Jacques on Twitter @Makelevi.

Source: FTL Game