Transcendence

Transcendence is a sci-fi-themed, freeware, action RPG for Microsoft Windows. It was created by George Moromisato. Gameplay The player begins the game in one of three ships with basic equipment, a few credits (one of the two in-game currencies), and a near-empty cargo bay. This ship cannot be changed or upgraded to another ship, so the players are recommended to choose wisely. The player controls their ship in a two-dimensional universe, representing the planetary plane of various star systems; stargates are used to travel between star systems. The player encounters various stations and ships, friends as well as enemies while exploring the depths of the known universe. The player collects money and items by several means, such as trading, looting the remains of destroyed ships or stations, escorting freighters, or agreeing to medical experiments. Key systems and encounters are pre-planned, while the less important systems and events are algorithmically generated, which makes the game very variable and re-playable. There are dozens of various adventure factors, such as military assignments, smuggling, and defense missions. Some missions provide access to better technologies and the ability to upgrade equipment on the player's ship. Ships are protected by segments of armor and some also have a shield generator equipped. The player's ship has four armor segments and a shield: damage is absorbed by the shield which regenerates even while taking damage. However, if the shield is depleted then the player's individual armor segments are damaged depending on the angle of incoming attacks. If any one armor segment reaches below zero health then the player's ship is destroyed and the game ends. Some of the larger ships (both friendlies and enemies) have internal 'compartments' on top of armour. To destroy these ships, the player must first deplete an armour segment and then destroy the compartments lying underneath. This 'compartment' system was introduced in Transcendence version 1.6. It added another layer of fun and challenge to the game. Destroying compartments is essential to beat large ships, but if too many compartments are damaged, the chances to get the destroyed ship's equipment intact become less. None of the playerships have compartments. There are also limited weapon and device (devices are equipment which provide certain abilities, like faster acceleration to maximum speed) slots, which cannot be expanded.