Your comment does not do the game justice IMHO. FTL is a solid game and I spent a lot of hours with it. It is true that there are a lot of random events in the game but you can plan a little or let's say: You can improve the odds:
For example there is a subsystem (forgot it's name) that let's your ship jump to every previously visited location. So if you find a map of the current sector later on and this map reveals a store you may be able to simply jump back to it if the fleet is not yet there. Also: If the fleet is already there you can still jump back. You only have to fight a ship from the fleet. Then you go to the store, buy your goods and jump back.
Also: You can plan your route through a sector. You should try to visit as many places as you can but still be ahead of the fleet. This is a very cool challenge - especially for CS people… route planning, route optimization, etc…
Your actions also have a direct influence on what you get: For example if you encounter a hostile ship you can destroy it or make a plea bargain with them. Usually the ship will offer you fuel, scrap (=money) or other stuff you may or may not need. If you decide to destroy the ship instead you usually get less goods (fuel, weapons) and more scrap (money). So if you plan (haha) to visit a store soon you may decide to destroy the ships on your way.
There is a whole wiki-community for this game. They note different strategies:
Also you can upgrade your ship with scrap (money). You have to decide what system to upgrade.
When fighting another ship it makes a huge difference if you know what you are doing or not. Of you are a noob you will most likely be destroyed or loose too much during the fight.
Before you start your journey you can also pick one of several different ships. Every ship has different characteristics. Even your crew members have different capabilities:
There is one species where each crew member gives the room where the crew member is in additional power.
Guys from other species are made of rock: Use them to distinguish fires on your ship.
Fire on your ship is a huge topic.
Fire occurs when your ship is hit by sun flares, big weapons or other dangerous stuff. Fire is causing damage to your ship and makes the current room unusable. You can plan ahead to deal with fire:
You can control the hatches of your ship. Some people have all hatches open so that all unused parts of the ship are exposed to space. This means that those rooms have no oxygen in them. When a fire happens in those rooms it automatically disappears after a few seconds because in those rooms there is no oxygen.
What you're thinking of is the "Adv. FTL Navigation" augmentation instead of a Subsystem.
Completely agree with the rest of the sentiment. I usually have a general idea of what I want (ex: get shields to 3 by sector 4) but improvise depending on what drops/encounters I get.
For example there is a subsystem (forgot it's name) that let's your ship jump to every previously visited location. So if you find a map of the current sector later on and this map reveals a store you may be able to simply jump back to it if the fleet is not yet there. Also: If the fleet is already there you can still jump back. You only have to fight a ship from the fleet. Then you go to the store, buy your goods and jump back.
Also: You can plan your route through a sector. You should try to visit as many places as you can but still be ahead of the fleet. This is a very cool challenge - especially for CS people… route planning, route optimization, etc…
Your actions also have a direct influence on what you get: For example if you encounter a hostile ship you can destroy it or make a plea bargain with them. Usually the ship will offer you fuel, scrap (=money) or other stuff you may or may not need. If you decide to destroy the ship instead you usually get less goods (fuel, weapons) and more scrap (money). So if you plan (haha) to visit a store soon you may decide to destroy the ships on your way.
There is a whole wiki-community for this game. They note different strategies:
http://ftl.wikia.com/wiki/FTL:_Faster_Than_Light_Wiki
Also you can upgrade your ship with scrap (money). You have to decide what system to upgrade.
When fighting another ship it makes a huge difference if you know what you are doing or not. Of you are a noob you will most likely be destroyed or loose too much during the fight.
Before you start your journey you can also pick one of several different ships. Every ship has different characteristics. Even your crew members have different capabilities:
There is one species where each crew member gives the room where the crew member is in additional power. Guys from other species are made of rock: Use them to distinguish fires on your ship.
Fire on your ship is a huge topic.
Fire occurs when your ship is hit by sun flares, big weapons or other dangerous stuff. Fire is causing damage to your ship and makes the current room unusable. You can plan ahead to deal with fire:
You can control the hatches of your ship. Some people have all hatches open so that all unused parts of the ship are exposed to space. This means that those rooms have no oxygen in them. When a fire happens in those rooms it automatically disappears after a few seconds because in those rooms there is no oxygen.
You can plan so much in this game…