Sci-Fi

Cifi: Cells Idle Factory Incremental

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The Game

Cifi: Cells Idle Factory Incremental is an early access games developed by Octocube games. The game is currently only available on Android. The title of the game is fairly self explanatory – we have a sci-fi themed idle game based around generating “cells” and more generators that generate more cells. You start off with MK1 generators which generate cells, you then proceed to buy MK2 generators which generate MK1 generators, which as we already know make cells – this cycle underpins the entire game.

The games has several other currencies that you progressively build up in a variety of ways, it also has a good deal of upgrades you can make to various things in order to increase your cell production. The aspect of the game that really sold it to me was the loop mod research tree. “Loop Mods” are the game’s prestige element, so when you’ve reached a point where you think you are better off resetting you perform a loop and invest your accrued mod points into powerful upgrades. As with all idle games, it’s essentially just a lot of upgrades that make numbers go up – but it’s also so much more and when a completionist gamer such as myself sees a tree like that – I am hooked.

As you progress and acquire more cells you can invest them into a variety of ships, each ship is responsible for a different menu and shop. Each shop has new upgrades or currencies to be collected to help improve your earnings. If all of that wasn’t enough the game also has a couple of arcade mini-games, namely Cubeboy Snek and Bling Blong which may bare resemblance to games you already know.

Worth it?

The ad-free version will set you back around £4.99, this will allow you use the 2x cells booster permanently and collect token and diamond gem chests without watching videos. There are also several other packs and options, but this one is definitely the best value and a great way to support the devs. The tokens are especially worth it as it makes the token shop a lot more accessible without having to watch videos.

The game is also still in development with constant new additions, new ships and new ways to grind even cells. The game goes incredibly deep and has gigantic potential to keep you busy for ages. Each play session may not be necessarily be very long, but the long term unlocks and features will keep you coming back for ages. It would be nice to see a little bit more connection between the arcade game and the main game, for example getting some tokens from it. It would also be nice to have a confirmation pop up before purchasing Zagreus as it can be quite easy to click on purchasing it, rather than saving it for later in the run.

Overall the game has an amazing amount of depth, the loop tech tree on its own will keep you hooked until you get all the upgrades, partner that with the increasingly expensive spaceships, each unlocking a new currency or way to grind makes this an absolute must play for any idle game fanatics out there.

Tips

  • Find the balance between short and long runs – in the beginning, before unlocking shard mining you may find yourself doing more short runs in order to accumulate more mod upgrades.
  • Each time you loop make sure you invest in mod point production – either through shortening ticks, increasing the MP production or reducing the tick requirement exponent.
  • Try to avoid getting the Zagreus on longer runs as other upgrades or things you may purchase may increase MP – the loop/MP accumulation process only begins when you purchase it. (Sometimes this is easier said than done as it’s quite easy to miss-click and purchase it)
  • Evolving your ships gives them a permanent boost that persists through loops.
  • In the early game use your level up points to increase the MP you get per loop.
  • You can also get MP upgrades in the diamond and coin shop – prioritise these.

Useful Links

AI Experiment: Choose Your Own Adventure Sci-Fi

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Preface: Another experiment with ChatGPT, this time prompted to include D&D elements. Note you’ll need 2 d6 dice to play, you can use this.

Starship Paradox: A Sci-Fi Choose-Your-Own-Adventure

Setting: The year is 3125. Humanity has spread out among the stars, colonizing planets and creating a vast intergalactic network. You are Captain Alex Mercer of the starship Paradox, currently docked at the Nexus Station, a massive spaceport located at the crossroads of several major trade routes.

Objective: Your mission is to transport a mysterious artifact known as the “Quantum Prism” to the research facility on the planet Veridion. However, the journey is fraught with danger as various factions desire the Prism for their own ends.

Starting Equipment:

  1. Quantum Prism
  2. Laser pistol
  3. Holo-communicator
  4. 20 Galactic Credits
  5. A pair of six-sided dice (for decision-making)

You’re in the main control room of the Paradox, preparing for departure. Your communications officer, Lira, informs you of a message. It’s a bounty hunter named Korax, warning you to hand over the Prism or face consequences.

Choice A: Negotiate with Korax. (Go to Passage 3)

Choice B: Prepare the ship for a potential attack and depart immediately. (Roll the dice. If the total is 5 or above, go to Passage 5. If less, go to Passage 6.)

Passage 3:

Korax offers 50 Galactic Credits in exchange for the Prism.

Choice A: Accept the offer and give him the Prism. (Go to Passage 7)

Choice B: Refuse the offer and end the communication. Prepare for potential combat. (Go to Passage 6)

Passage 5:

Your quick actions allow you to depart the station without any confrontation. The journey to Veridion is smooth. However, you receive a distress signal from a nearby ship.

Choice A: Investigate the distress signal. (Go to Passage 9)

Choice B: Ignore the signal and continue to Veridion. (Go to Passage 11)

Passage 6:

Korax’s ship approaches! A battle ensues. Roll the dice.

  • If total is 4 or below: Your ship sustains damage, forcing you to dock at a nearby moon for repairs. (Go to Passage 8)
  • If total is 5 or above: You fend off Korax’s attacks and make a successful escape. (Go to Passage 5)
Passage 7:

You’ve traded the Prism for credits. As you ponder your next steps, Lira discovers that the Prism was a fake! The real one is hidden in the cargo bay.

Choice A: Pursue Korax and retrieve the credits. (Go to Passage 12) Choice B: Continue to Veridion with the real Prism. (Go to Passage 5)

Passage 8:

While repairing the ship, you encounter a tribe of moon-dwelling aliens. They offer to aid your repairs in exchange for the Prism.

Choice A: Trade the Prism for their help. (Go to Passage 10)

Choice B: Politely decline and continue with the repairs. (Roll the dice. If 5 or above, repairs are successful and go to Passage 5. If less, go to Passage 13)

Passage 9:

The distress signal comes from a merchant ship attacked by space pirates. They offer a reward for assistance.

Choice A: Help the merchant ship and fight off the pirates. (Roll dice. If 5 or above, succeed and go to Passage 14. If less, go to Passage 15)

Choice B: Avoid the conflict and continue to Veridion. (Go to Passage 11)

Passage 10:

The moon-aliens fix your ship, but now possess the Prism. You resume your journey, but without the precious cargo.

End of Adventure. Outcome: Failed Mission.

Passage 11:

You arrive at Veridion and deliver the Prism, successfully completing your mission. However, the adventure in the vast cosmos continues…

End of Adventure. Outcome: Successful Mission.

Passage 12:

You track down Korax and confront him. Roll the dice for a showdown.

  • If 4 or below: Korax escapes, and you lose the credits. (Go to Passage 7)
  • If 5 or above: You reclaim the credits and continue your journey. (Go to Passage 5)
Passage 13:

The repairs fail, leaving you stranded on the moon. The moon-aliens approach again, this time in larger numbers and seeming hostile…

End of Adventure. Outcome: Stranded.

Passage 14:

You rescue the merchant ship and earn gratitude, additional credits, and a powerful ally in the merchant guild.

Go to Passage 11.

Passage 15:

The pirates overpower you, looting your ship and leaving you adrift in space…

End of Adventure. Outcome: Marooned.

The Outer Worlds

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The Game

The Outer Worlds developed by Obsidian and published by Private Division is a game that may look quite familiar to the more observant amongst you. You would be right to point out the many similarities to Fallout but it’s also worth mentioning that this is the team behind Fallout: New Vegas (but not the newer ones). In a nutshell, The Outer Worlds is what the newer Fallout games should have been.

While it may have a similar retro-futuristic atmosphere to Fallout this game is actually based in the 24th century when humanity has left Earth on its mission to colonise the stars. Similarly to Borderlands you’ll find that corporations and companies are in charge of life on these planets and in a typical hyper-capitalist fashion they are focused on exploiting people until they die – all in the name of maximising their profits. Quite early on you will learn that The Board is in charge of the colony of Halcyon where you now find yourself after being woken up from a hibernation pod, where you’ve spent the last 70 years. However, the colony is in a dire state and it’s up to you to sort it (or not).

The game is heavily decision based, has brilliant dialogue options and gives you an unimaginable amount of freedom. You don’t like this quest giver because they looked at your strange – that’s fine, you can kill them and keep playing. Of course all such decisions will influence the world around you and you’ll quickly learn that every action has consequences and not everything is black and white. There are virtually infinite ways to play through the game, in fact after I finished my first play through I couldn’t just put the game down and instead started a new playthrough immediately, now trying to do the opposite of what I did on the first play through – easier said than done. Virtually every quest will give you at least one decision to make at some point, this will affect the outcome, your relationship with factions and in some cases even the ultimate fate of the colony.

The combat is essentially the established and familiar mechanics seen in the Fallout series. You can choose from a variety of weapon types, be it melee or range, different damage types and weapon mods. This will allow you to customise your weapons so that you can have the perfect gun (or hammer) for any occasion. During combat you can use the TTD (Tactical Time Dilation), which slows down time and allows you to hit enemies in their most vulnerable places.

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Worth it?

While the game doesn’t necessarily do that much “new” stuff it cements its place in gaming history with some of the great titles of this genre like Skyrim or Fallout: New Vegas. The Outer Worlds takes an established and successful formula and turns it into an epic masterpiece. The visuals are stunning, the dialogue is extremely well written, the story is compelling, the characters and their backstories and off the cuff comments are brilliant. There are many side quests and regions to explore, each with its own unique challenges. An average play-through of the game will take about 20-25 hours (my first playthrough was 27hrs and I did a lot of side-quests), depending on how many side-quests and dialogue options you engage in, but as mentioned above that’s only going to be one version of the story. You can easily replay the game taking a different approach and be introduced to other stories and characters. The replay value and potential of this game is actually brilliant – while some key story points may remain, getting to them and their outcomes can differ immensely.

If I had to fault it (which is really difficult) I would say occasionally it sounds a bit empty – maybe some sort of radio or a bit more on the music front and there’s the occasional visual bug, but that’s being picky. At full price the game will set you back £49.99 – honestly I do think that’s a bit on the expensive side as its now a couple years old as well, but you can frequently find it on sale for a much more affordable £19.99 – check out the links below for some good deals on CD keys. If on sale, I highly recommend you give it a go (especially if you’re a Fallout fan, who’s been left wanting after recent games). Overall it’s a brilliant game, great visuals, aesthetics, dialogue, story and gameplay. An absolute must play.

Tips

  • If you are doing ok and not being particularly challenged, don’t spend your skill points as you may reach a point where you need a few extra points in a dialogue option or lockpicking and those spare skill points will come in handy.
  • You can actually make your character dumb at the start of the game, which will unlock some [Dumb] dialogue options (and even a dumb ending) – definitely doing a playthrough like that.
  • Persuade/Intimidate/Lie are useful skills to avoid doing leg-work. Being able to talk yourself out of a situation can save you time.
  • There’s always multiple ways to handle a situation. Sometimes you may see a door that’s locked and think it’s the only way through, but if you look around you’ll often find alternative options – maybe a key somewhere, some dialogue or a PC you can hack that will get you through.
  • Generally speaking there’s two main paths to take – you either help The Board or you help Phineas the scientist who saved you. Each option has a variety of main quests you’ll need to complete to progress with many important and impactful decisions along the way.
  • Adding things into your medicine slots means that you will ingest that when you restore your health.

Useful Links