I want this game to do well, but this is not really deserved at the moment. They need to fix all the broken shit before this game can be said to be in an acceptable state. It may be a better game content-wise now than at launch, but it's a far more broken one. Games that do not work as they should do not deserve good ratings.
(I was not one of those who lashed out against this game and the devs back then, I liked it for what it was. I'm just very disappointed to come back a year later, excited to try all the new stuff, only to find such a sad, glitchy mess of a game.)
I think people should choose to emphasize whatever they like when reviewing a game, and it's important also to bear in mind that not everyone has identical experiences playing a sandbox like this. I have encountered minor bugs, but have also found most systems including brand new, revised, and old to be functioning properly for me even on an existing save. I am basically enjoying the shit out of my time coming back to the game since briefly playing again in April. The biggest issue I want fixed is the Cargo slot upgrades, which are a new and welcome addition but are currently just not working right. Though it sucks, this still hasn't affected my enjoyment
that much. You would be welcome to leave a review relating your current negative experience of course just like mine would currently fall on the positive side.
But regardless of disagreement about the current state of the game or where ratings come from, it is outright false to describe the game as "far more broken" now than at launch. At launch there were several showstopper bugs some of which prevented people from even acquiring a hyperdrive, could get their ships stranded without the ability to be repaired, could get themselves stranded in space stations, along with a slew of minor bugs that were still more obtrustive than the ones we are currently seeing despite fewer systems involve. Including a bug directly related to a preorder bonus I didn't want in the first place constantly disrupting my UI and some basic multitool upgrades having the opposite or no effect There were a bunch of other issues that wouldn't have been characterized as bugs but were deep design flaws that have been corrected since then too. I played a lot of the game at that time and I am confident there is absolutely no comparison. I would think it's more likely that your personal experience is unlucky than that the game is fundamentally "more broken" as it exists right now, even with newly introduced bugs.
You're probably instead comparing the state the game was in around two weeks post launch when there had been I believe 4 support-oriented patches already.
Either way, it's completely fair to take from your experience that the game is a disappointment and rate it poorly, etc. You would probably be better served to check back after one or two more hotfixes are pushed, and if you find no more enjoyment then to just shelve the thing at that point.
Thx, not sure if it is a bug or design change (it certainly isn't difficult to find habitable bases now), but will file it just in case.