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[Gowans]

I'm tempted to pick NMS up on PC tomorrow but I have Elite waiting (messed around with the VR stuff) and Star Citizen has interested me too when it finally comes out.

As someone who's hasn't been paying super close attention to it all, apart from them being space exploration games how do each compare?

 

[wesly999]

I'm not sure either. I like the aspect of NMS and I like how it has much more content. I have Eliteangerous but I hate the flow of that game. Star Citizen is too far off to be considered in this lineup.

 

[Bornstellar]

Can't speak for anything other than Elite, but it's pretty great.

 

[Spiral Insanity]

Star Citizen feels so rough still. Elite is empty and has some weird/unfortunate design decisions, and they have been gouging their fans with their pricing/expansion packs.
No idea about NMS at this point, I'm worried about the PC port.

 

[_woLf]

Elite Dangerous is a game, No Man's Sky is half a game, Star Citizen is a concept

 

[stryker1138]

Elite Dangerous is a game, No Man's Sky is half a game, Star Citizen is a concept

This seems unfair. Elite can be great fun as a space combat sim, but it's absurdly empty.

 

[RedRum]

Elite Dangerous is a game, No Man's Sky is half a game, Star Citizen is a concept

There it is.

I'll eventually get to NMS when Neo comes out. Hopefully, there's more variety then.

 

[molnizzle]

Elite Dangerous is a game, No Man's Sky is half a game, Star Citizen is a concept

eh

I'd argue that if exploration is your thing, NMS is a hell of a lot better bet. I love Elite but exploring that galaxy still boils down to jumping to a star, flying around it for a minute or so to refuel, then jumping to the next star. Maybe super cruise close to the system's planets if you want the scans. Rinse, repeat. NMS seems to have a lot more going on for explorers.

 

[PKMNTrainer]

No Man's Sky is a much more...relaxed experience I guess. Closer to a laid-back exploration with, at times, excessive resource/inventory management.

Elite Dangerous can be much more engaging and realistic, but is fairly hardcore in it's gameplay loop in comparison to NMS.

I know very little about Star Citizen.

 

[nakedeyes]

Star Citizen feels so rough still. Elite is empty and has some weird/unfortunate design decisions, and they have been gouging their fans with their pricing/expansion packs.
No idea about NMS at this point, I'm worried about the PC port.

Elite has come a long way in the last 6 months if you haven't given it a go recently. Also, I disagree with the price gouging, but that's subjective for sure.

It does seem like Elite and NMS both are the "make your own fun" type space game. I feel like Star Citizen aims to have more concrete goals, but I could be wrong. The "modules" I have played from SC are a complete and utter mess. They look ok but feel AWFUL. I have very little hope for SC right now, but of course its the one not out and they could always turn it around.

I will be playing NMS for a while. Playing Elite for a loooong while. And skipping SC unless it turns around.

 

[CyberPunked]

Star Citizen feels so rough still. Elite is empty and has some weird/unfortunate design decisions, and they have been gouging their fans with their pricing/expansion packs.
No idea about NMS at this point, I'm worried about the PC port.

That's because it's a game which is in development.

 

[~Cross~]

Entirely different things.

Elite Dangerous easily feels like the most complete out of all of them. It has proper flight dynamics for each ship and they all feel different. It has proper bounties, trading, reputations, ship enhancements, physics all in a very logical and although not entirely realistic, feel realistic enough without being bothersome. The game is still pretty simple and can get repetitive, but its the best example of a game that demonstrates the vastness of space.

SC isnt going to be done in a year, its not going to be done in two. Its flight mechanics are constantly being redone, ships are constantly being redone, models are constantly being redone and general mechanics are extremely sparse right now. Give it at least another year before you put any money in it. If Elite and NMS have shallow gameplay loops, SC right now doesn't have any.

NMS is all about going from planet to planet seeing things that almost no one has seen before. It does ground exploration a whole lot better than Elite and it also probably does character improvement loops better than it. But things like trading and space combat almost feel like an after thought when compared to elite.

That's because it's a game which is in development.

Yes, its development predates the other two examples in the thread and its also years away from being anywhere near "feature viable" for release

 

[jabuseika]

They're all in early access.

Spoiler

/s

 

[lastplayed]

Elite is mostly based on our galaxy, with real stars and nebulae you can visit. NMS doesn't look like it is, and I don't know about Star Citizen.

So if you want to swing by Wolf 359 or Epsilon Eridani then Elite's your game.

 

[Brazil]

No Man's Sky is fun although a bit shallow, Elite is way too damn complex, and Star Citizen doesn't exist.

 

[I'm new be nice]

I can't speak for NMS or SC.

Elites VR support is second to none, it feels great, and there's a strong sense of direction towards the games development. I've sunk hundreds of hours into the game, and then hundreds more once I got my Rift, and I know i'll sink hundreds more into the game as it is now.

To think about the future of how it will continue to evolve makes me ever more excited. They've clearly thought long and hard about designing the game with expansion in mind. I've had no problem with their payment model thus far, and feel like each update between expansions has been various steps in the right direction.

 

[Akronis]

No Man's Sky is fun although a bit shallow, Elite is way too damn complex, and Star Citizen doesn't exist.

Good hyperbole

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsb7cPeSStY

 

[CyberPunked]

Yes, its development predates the other two examples in the thread and its also years away from being anywhere near "feature viable" for release

Development for both Eilite and NMS predate Star Citizen.

 

[fernoca]

eh

I'd argue that if exploration is your thing, NMS is a hell of a lot better bet. I love Elite but exploring that galaxy still boils down to jumping to a star, flying around it for a minute or so to refuel, then jumping to the next star. Maybe super cruise close to the system's planets if you want the scans. Rinse, repeat. NMS seems to have a lot more going on for explorers.

Yeah.
No Man's Sky is focused more on exploration and resource management. Is about arriving to a planet, not knowing the conditions or if even you might have resources to get out.

You can end in a planet with too few resources and no fuel, you could be exploring around hours looking for enough to just get out.

Heck, you can travel between planets and take hours flying around, or minutes with boost or just seconds.

So it can be a relaxing experience.

 

[chillybright]

Elite is a hardcore NMS, and Star Citizen will be the game to end the universe.

 

[cordy]

Star Citizen isn't even out yet? Am I hearing this right?

Wow. I thought it would be out by now.

 

[Goldenroad]

Elite is a hardcore NMS, and Star Citizen will be the game to end the universe.

I remember people saying the same thing about No Mans Sky 6 months ago. I like your optimism, but maybe reign in that hype train a bit.

 

[Aztechnology]

I'm not sure either. I like the aspect of NMS and I like how it has much more content. I have Eliteangerous but I hate the flow of that game. Star Citizen is too far off to be considered in this lineup.

I remember people saying the same thing about No Mans Sky 6 months ago. I like your optimism, but maybe reign in that hype train a bit.

I think they mean no matter what happens, much like NMS it's going to cause a shit storm. My expectations are fairly low though. I just want Arma in space.

Star Citizen isn't even out yet? Am I hearing this right?

Wow. I thought it would be out by now.

It would have been everywhere if it was out. The game is far too big to just slip by unnoticed. It is the most backed project ever. It's a much bigger deal than just being a game at this point.

 

[Akronis]

Star Citizen isn't even out yet? Am I hearing this right?

Wow. I thought it would be out by now.

Development started in 2012. For the scope of the game, it will take time.

Elder Scrolls Online took 7 years.

 

[~Cross~]

Development for both Eilite and NMS predate Star Citizen.

lol ok smart guy, tell me when E, NMS and SC started official production too see how deep you are into the space madness.

 

[a very cute dog]

The mechanics of spaceflight in Elite are wonderful, but the core game itself I find extremely boring. There's no life to it.

 

[GSG Flash]

I bought Elite Dangerous during the Steam holiday sale during Christmas, I played it for a few hours but haven't touched it since. I honestly find the game a huge chore to play and the ship to be a pain in the ass to control, it feels like the controls are made for joysticks.

 

[Phanatic8390]

One little known entry into the space sim genre is Evochron Legacy. I haven't played it but I've been thinking about getting it in lieu of No Man's Sky. It's made by 1 guy and is very complex. But it plays similar to Elite from what I have read. It has seamless planetary entrance, base building and all the other stuff you'd expect in this genre.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/398170/

 

[Raticus79]

I'd include Starbound in the list. As someone else said, it's a lot of what people were expecting from NMS - just in 2D.

Elite is solid, but I found it tedious.

Star Citizen is anyone's guess. Wait and see. Gamescom should be pretty good.

 

[mcrommert]

Star Citizen isn't even out yet? Am I hearing this right?

Wow. I thought it would be out by now.

See you earliest 2019

 

[shintoki]

Elite Dangerous ranked 2nd on Rock, Paper, Shotgun's best Space Sim titles. Only behind the greatest space sim of all time, Freespace 2. That alone has me interested in it.

 

[CyberPunked]

lol ok smart guy, tell me when E, NMS and SC started official production too see how deep you are into the space madness.

Calm down, junior. NMS began production "Five years ago" according to Sean Murray, and elite began development in 2012. SC began it's Kickstarter in late 2012 at which point they had nothing but a demo.

 

[Aztechnology]

The mechanics of spaceflight in Elite are wonderful, but the core game itself I find extremely boring. There's no life to it.

Ditto and that sentiment. .

Elite was great for spaceflight as you said, but it's utterly devoid of life outside of that aspect. It's a mile wild and an inch deep. Same reason I've decided to stay away from NMS for the time being.

NMS is more of a procedural/engine prototype than anything else. Marketing just made it out to be much much more than it is.

SC is supposed to be a smaller hand crafted universe when it's done with some procedural work on planets but generally a catered universe experience for multiplayer, this is the best approach IMO as it's small enough to be instilled with life and interesting and unique implementations but large enough to feel at times you're out in space alone.

 

[la_briola]

This seems unfair. Elite can be great fun as a space combat sim, but it's absurdly empty.

Space is empty.

Spoiler

semi serious.

 

[DiscoJer]

Can I throw the Evochron games into the ring? This guy has been making space sims for the last 15 years but they are completely overlooked even though his games have features of all the latest ones (and have had them for quite some time).

http://www.starwraith.com/evochronlegacy/index.htm

There's a time limited demo, so check it out.

 

[UncleSporky]

I've said this in another thread, it's kind of interesting how Elite and NMS are on different ends of the scale in some respects, too far one way or the other.

Prior to launch, NMS developers said most worlds would be stark and dead and 10% would be teeming with life. The game came out and it turns out that almost all worlds have some form of life, most have lots of it. And it seems like quite a few people are disappointed that there aren't many/any truly dead hunks of rock out there.

Meanwhile, Elite with Horizons lets you land on most planets, and it's much more realistic in that nearly every world is dead, but if you want to explore some planet with life on it you can't - can't land on any planets with atmosphere. Which I suppose is understandable, it takes a lot more effort to create models for trees and plants and creatures than simply rocky terrain and a couple buildings (there are lots of settlements out there, some of them well-defended).

Elite is pretty awesome though. Playing online is kind of MMOish, there are those shenanigans you might be used to by now with griefers camping areas to kill noobs and people deciding to help out and hunt down the griefers. But you can also play solo at any time if you don't want to deal with all that. There are community events to take part in, repair some station lost out in the middle of nowhere. Join a major faction and help them progress their goals in taking over new planets every week, defend your faction's planets from the others. Learn about legendary engineers hiding out on various planets, prove your worth to them, get them to mod your ship gear, make friends with them, get rumors about other engineers with their own quirks.

It's pretty well designed too, I love the pip system for designating power to shields, engines or weapons on the fly. Star Trek bridge crew type stuff. Makes combat much more dynamic and interesting than just...here is your ship, this is how it handles 100% of the time.

 

[nubbe]

Elite gets boring after 500 jumps, there isn't really anything there to do
Star Citizen is a lie

 

[Reverend Funk]

They really ought to duct tape all these games together it could make something really cool

 

[Aztechnology]

Elite gets boring after 500 jumps, there isn't really anything there to do
Star Citizen is a lie

Receipts.gif

Empirical evidence it's a lie please.

 

[TheRed]

Elite gets boring after 500 jumps, there isn't really anything there to do
Star Citizen is a lie

I don't get this Star Citizen is a lie stuff. Did people understand the scope and and high detail they have as a vision for it? The game is like a Rockstar Game project if not bigger in ambition. Of course it takes time, we've already seen more of it then whatever Rockstar has coming next too.

 

[Patchy]

Elite Dangerous is a game, No Man's Sky is half a game, Star Citizen is a concept

Elite is a quarter of a game, actually. After 200 hours I've given up on it, the devs just simply do not listen to their customers.

 

[RK9039]

- Star Citizen is a dream

- Elite Dangerous is reality

- No Man's Sky is...

In all seriousness, Elite Dangerous and NMS are a bit comparable because of how vast the size of the playable space is meant to be. NMS has atmospheric planets with animals on them, as well as crafting whereas Elite doesn't (it only has really basic crafting atm like ammunition). Elite has way more in-depth combat, ship control mechanics and also has real multiplayer, plus you can try to fly into a star and make your ship explode. Elite's development is an on-going process ("seasons"), eventually there will be atmospheric planets, EVAing(?), multi-crew ships (which already exist, but it's only solo atm) and many other cool things

Spoiler

maybe

.

Star Citizen, if it comes out and I hope it's coming along nicely, is supposed have most of these things when it goes live. However, supposedly, it will only be limited to 100 star systems because it's all handcrafted, unlike the other two games, and each system itself is supposed to be huge in size with plenty of content. It has a much higher level of detail as well, seriously, it looks f'ing amazing (I took that in 2014). And it has a singelplayer with the Joker, Scully and that Prisoner of Azkabans guy from Garry Potter.

 

[Aztechnology]

I don't get this Star Citizen is a lie stuff. Did people understand the scope and and high detail they have as a vision for it? The game is like a Rockstar Game project if not bigger. Of course it takes time, we've already seen more of it then whatever Rockstar has coming next too.

They've been incredibly transparent about the whole endeavor. It's been fantastic as a supporter.

 

[Lime]

Elite Dangerous with less repetition and less grind and a singleplayer campaign would be the game of forever for me.

 

[OrlanisWorks]

They've been incredibly transparent about the whole endeavor. It's been fantastic as a supporter.

Indeed. I knew what I signed up for those years ago and it's been a blast watching development.

I've played Elite Dangerous. The way I was playing it: it was like Space Truck Simulator. I couldn't take on any AI, because the dog fight would last a long time. It's a game miles big and inches deep, which is really disappointing.

I'm looking forward to NMS tomorrow afternoon. It looks like it won't reach my initial expectations, but I'm trying to go in with an open mind that it still be enjoyable.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Elite Dangerous is a very fun game. The way you travel through space and on planet surfaces is the best in the genre. The sound design is awesome as well. I own Star Citizen, but I haven't installed it yet, still waiting on an official release.

No Man's Sky feels like an offshoot of Elite Dangerous in all the wrong ways, with a boring gameplay loop that can't match it's ambition.

 

[Uthred]

This seems unfair. Elite can be great fun as a space combat sim, but it's absurdly empty.

Indeed, I enjoyed my time with Elite but its flight mechanics are about the only engaging thing about it, as you said its absurdly empty and absurdly grindy.

 

[~Cross~]

I don't get this Star Citizen is a lie stuff. Did people understand the scope and and high detail they have as a vision for it? The game is like a Rockstar Game project if not bigger in ambition. Of course it takes time, we've already seen more of it then whatever Rockstar has coming next too.

Understanding the scope of the game and what they've accomplished so far is why people argue that SC is a lie.

While the game exists as mostly words and no actual concrete thing that you can jump into, people will continue to fantasize about their ideal game. Which is exactly what happened with NMS. Now picture a game thats a hundred times more ambitious with 30 times the staff.

 

[Omega Kirby]

Subnautica is the best

 

[Dex815]

I have the feeling that Frontier is going to tease many of the soon-coming goodies of Horizons at GamesCon, they have hinted it. Maybe you want to wait until next week.

They may even tease space legs or atmospheric landings who knows, last year they teased Horizons with the landings and commander creation.