GB Feature: Drox Operative Preview
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The RPG side of the game is a bit more mundane, but still generally pretty robust. As you only control one ship (which is determined by your starting race and follows a limited upgrade path), you have a handful of stats, including Tactical (damage), Helm (defense), Structural (armor), Engineering (energy), Computers (targeting), and Command (ship model upgrades). As should be plain, these roughly correspond to Strength/Dexterity/Intelligence/etc. seen in other RPGs, so despite the names, their effects are pretty easy to figure out. Controls are similar to just about any isometric action-RPG (point and click to move around, hotbar for skills and items, etc.), with the exception of movement, which relies on thrusters and thus can be a bit swimmy by design.
Stats don't just improve your base attributes, they also determine what loot you can use. You "equip" components of varying types, usually fitting into heavy, medium and light classes. While there are no RPG-like skills to be found, the components you have can drastically change your set of abilities. Equip a shield, for instance, and now you have an added layer of protection that recharges over time, while armor plating, while more robust, needs to be repaired. Weapons range from lasers of varying types, to heat-seeking missiles, to nuclear bombs for orbital bombardment, and they all have different strengths and weaknesses. Equipment overall is managed by power requirements - power generators can be used to add capacity, effectively increasing how much you can trick out your intergalactic ride.
