So I finally started the actual game for the first time (not Horizons). Here's how it went:
I want to eventually do an explorer role, but I guess the best way to earn the money for that is to do some trading. Looking at the shipyard I think I'll earn enough for a Hauler, and then use that to trade enough for an Asp or something. Any tips on this would be appreciated. I know I need to find a lucrative trade route though and grind that for a bit.
I'd already played a bit of Elite 1 and Frontier: Elite 2, so I kind of had a basic jist of how trading goes down -- find a system that has what's common in the system you're already in, preferably close by, buy low, sell high. What has me confused though is how so many systems don't display their system maps or market data. In the few systems around where I started I could see which ones were industrial or agricultural, but nothing more than that -- not specific imports or exports or even just what was in those systems.
I started out in an agricultural system and one of the ones right next to it was a "refinery" economy, so I decided to see if I could profit off some grain. Turns out the system I traveled to is unexplored. With my basic discovery scanner I was able to find some major astronomical objects -- two stars, two planets, and a couple moons. They'd already been discovered by other players, but I don't think anyone has gotten around to doing detailed scans of the system. Should I keep poking around or just leave with what I've got? If I can get to a station at least 20LY away (that's what the station services menu says) the game says I can sell the data for around 3k. With the grain I was able to make a roughly 400cr profit. I think I'll just keep traveling and trading until I make that distance, making sure to pick systems based on economies.
I still suck at supercruise and landing though. YouTube videos make supercruise look so easy. It's almost as bad as when I tried to travel within systems in Elite 2. I basically had to just leave autopilot on.
Overall (this is including my experience with the training missions) this game reminds me a lot of some flight games I used to play like Fury3 or Hellbender, or maybe that brief time I tried out StarLancer. It's unusual and kind of exciting to see a game with this PC simulation feel but also (roughly) AAA-level graphics. The interface is also surprisingly good in my opinion. I'm shocked by how well Frontier was able to get it to work on both a mouse and a controller. I'm actually primarily using the controller even though this was designed as a traditional PC game. I'll eventually pick up a Thrustmaster though. I'll try to find time to keep playing in-between everything else I've been picking up (mainly Fallout 4 but also some small games I want to finish before the end of the year). From what I've heard and experienced I hope I can find some semblance of the systemic role-playing space experience I've wanted to have for a while, at least the flying and economic part. I think my perfect fantasy video game would be some combination of this, Mass Effect 1 (done right) and STALKER.
I really love the idea of Horizons -- to me it looks like what the Mako in Mass Effect should have been. I'm just not ready to drop $40 on it. I had to wait for a $15 Steam sale just to get the game proper because I'm not comfortable paying full retail price for a game that requires an internet connection at all times.
