So this is coming from a guy with 1000+ hours in Space Engineers and 400+ in Avorion.
For those who are unfamiliar, the former is Space Minecraft with a high school level of physics applied, the focus of which is building and designing primarily interstellar ships and drill rigs though it lacks in NPC content. The latter is Space Mount and Blade that is part voxel Ship/Station only builder, part fleet management. It would be like ED but strictly third person, past two generation graphics, less physics, and the smallest ship is a corvette.
So what drew me into ED? Simply put, immersion and the scope. This game is apparently the Forza Motorsports of spaceship games. For too long I have designed starships in the aforementioned titles but spent barely a tenth of the time spent designing actually using them in mission. For Space Engineers, there truly is no real NPC content, so it's actually pointless to design something versatile, sleek, or powerful outside of multiplayer: which is a lag affair to say the least.
The promotion of first-person only/mainly is always a plus for me. I know many gamers want to be able to see their ship or character in action, but I feel it's more important to "be" that one in action, decreased situational awareness be darned. The sights and the sounds of this game, not to mention how life sized the galaxy is, is quite impressive. What truly cemented by enrollment was the article that revealed most of the galaxy has been unexplored, even after all these years.
Moreover, I truly love how unprepared a fill for many missions. I only today bought my second ship (not including the sidewinder starter): A Cobra Mk3 and the Viper Mk3. I decided on a cheap fighter to practice bounty missions because I have lost too much cargo at this point. Time to learn to fight back.
On that note: Is it impossible to purchase a Cobra Mk4 at this point? I've read some terrible reviews on it and I want one.
You guys have shown to have a good community. Challenging games will do that to people, when there is a common challenge people will stand together and help each other through. Dark Souls has accomplished likewise.
ED is of course not without its drawbacks. The Arx system is the equivalent of Mechwarrior Online's (I forget the currency) dual credit system, there merely to squeeze a buck out of a gamer's need for individuality via that precious customization. Of course they would issue you a ship with a color you hate.
And then of course there's the grind, and though I have probably about 20 hours into the game as of now, I imagine things are going to get repetitive before long and I've already seen how stale things have gotten among veterans.
That brings me to Odyssey. I got Horizons for 7.50 for sale on steam. Huge grab. Odyssey however, 33+.
And I must say; it's buyers remorse. Look, my PC is a second-to-bottom shelf Lenovo from Best Buy with a low-mid level Nvidia upgrade. Horizons gets about 40-60 frames. O, not so much.
Apparently however veterans have more issue with the extra grind, and the lack of VR support. I'm not a VR player but if you have 1000 of hours sunk into this title I can empathize with the disappointment.
So, I'm basically – as a new player – sticking with Horizons. As a vet Space Engineers player, it's sad to lose the ability to Neil Armstrong a planet but, well, it is what it is.
So, love the game. Happy there's a stable, performant alternative to Star Citizen – which I won't even try to run – on the market.
I look forward to picking the brain of all the burnouts.
For the record, I'm homing at Willis Station in Sungai helping the Values Party. I want to pledge federation.
Cheers.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/r8beiq/a_novice_review_of_edh_and_edo/