Subnautica is the best
Agreed.
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How do No Mans Sky, Elite Dangerous (+ Horizons) and Star Citizen compare?
- Thread starter Gowans
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Agreed.
lastplayed
Member
Subnautica is the best
Is it? I saw this in the store and was mildly interested.
Alpha Phoenix
Member
I don't think many people realize how insanely complex Elite Dangerous is. It's also the reason I don't play it as much as I would like.
UncleSporky
Member
I'm still having a pretty good time with it.
I mean ultimately yeah, the only goal is to buy the ultimate ship outfitted with ultimate gear, maybe get enough money for two ultimate ships with different loadouts, or whatever.
But how you get there, the journey, that's the fun part. Just living in this universe where you can be a bounty hunter, pirate, smuggler, courier, miner, explorer. It's good times.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
I am having a great time with No Man's Sky. I get so absorbed the hours melt away, sadult.
It definitely opened up my interest in Elite Dangerous, and looking forward to the PS4 version if I don't upgrade my PC.
It will be Neo Mode when it hits too which is a good thing.
It definitely opened up my interest in Elite Dangerous, and looking forward to the PS4 version if I don't upgrade my PC.
It will be Neo Mode when it hits too which is a good thing.
Aztechnology
Member
Subnautica is the best
I really wish it had co-op though. Some day!
Good on you. I discovered this gem last holiday when reading this thread about good space exploration games in the wait for NMS:
Just watched Interstellar; need space games that recreate exploration/loneliness - NeoGAF
That was the thread that got me to buy Elite Dangerous during the holiday Steam sale. Lots of great suggestions for those who want to wait on NMS.
lastplayed
Member
It doesn't have to be. All I do is explore uncharted space. I just get a thrill from not knowing what I'll find next, be it landing on moons next to ringed planets, discovering water or earth like worlds, or crazy shit like neutron stars or black holes. I've never touched trading, combat or the political system.
Elite was NMS even before there was such a thing as NMS. Just look at its installments (particularly the second game, Frontier: Elite II).
Yeah I definitely had fun in Elite and all I did was trading. Basically Euro Space Simulator. I got to the Imperial Clipper and thought that was a good place to retire. I'll get this season thing eventually, still waiting to walk around on the actual ships.
I love how every ship feels different in that game. Not only do they look different, even from the inside, but they all fly differently with their own sound effects. Same thing with Star Citizen actually, more so even.
Sounds like you are the perfect target for NMS.
I could get on board with that.
soundscream
Member
Ive currently just been playing as a courier, and have enjoyed my time as a space trucker. If i I ever get bored I can always change up my play style. I also like that the controls are not pick up and play, you have to practice to get good.
UpDownLeftRight
Banned
They don't compare as they're all vastly different. Elite is basically focused on flight mechanics (WW2 type) and trading goods between stations. There's more, but it's so incredibly shallow in design that you'd need to RP any fun into it. NMS is highly focused on planet exploration and discovering wildlife, as a result, the other mechanics are wafer thin. Star Citizen is probably more similar to Elite if anything with a Newtonian system but promises a vast amount of content that Elite either doesn't or hopes to add as an expansion pack down the line. SC covers space combat, FPS, exploration once procedural generation is in, but I'd expect a very different use of it than what we see in NMS. On paper SC covers the most bases but will likely be the last to be completed due to scope, and we won't know what aspects will come out poorly fleshed out until it's much closer to finished.
They all have their own thing going for them. Every single one of them is in active development and will likely remain so for years to come despite two being released already. They all will have shortcomings in areas since these types of games never manage to tick every single box. That's not a knock against them, it's just a given due to the scope.
They all have their own thing going for them. Every single one of them is in active development and will likely remain so for years to come despite two being released already. They all will have shortcomings in areas since these types of games never manage to tick every single box. That's not a knock against them, it's just a given due to the scope.
lastplayed
Member
If I had a PS4 I'd pick it up in a heart beat.
GustyGardens
Banned
This just reminds me that I'm still waiting on Elite Dangerous for PS4. They announced it last year, but I haven't heard a thing about it.
I should really build a gaming PC.
I should really build a gaming PC.
Teknopathetic
Member
"Squadron 42 maybe."
SQ42 is firmly targeted at people who long for a new Wing Commander/X-wing vs Tie Fighter/Freespace experience. *Not* for people who want something even remotely similar to Elite. Two entirely different approaches to making a space game.
SQ42 is firmly targeted at people who long for a new Wing Commander/X-wing vs Tie Fighter/Freespace experience. *Not* for people who want something even remotely similar to Elite. Two entirely different approaches to making a space game.
Aztechnology
Member
Assuming that means you're on Xbox One and don't have a PC?
UncleSporky
Member
Yeah I love playing Euro Truck Simulator for relaxing. But unlike ETS if I get bored I can put some guns on my truck and kill some wanted criminals as the cops back me up!
Or just putting on some music and mining for a few hours, watchin' my drones collect those pieces I chip off of asteroids.
Aztechnology
Member
I've always wanted to ask you, why do you vaguely quote people instead of using the quote feature that allows them to easily find your responses?
To see if they actually care to read and have a greater discussion instead of just drive by posts or insulated posters waiting for direct responses only?
lastplayed
Member
Yep. I have a PC but it's not really a gaming setup. I've checked out the specs and it could run it at least, but I have no idea how well it'd run.
Wow I didn't realise they added this in, is that for Horizons only?
Aztechnology
Member
What are you working with?
I'm hoping No Man's Sky scratches the same itch as Mass Effect 1's Mako segments. I loved those, and was sad to see them removed in the sequels. Not sure how I feel about the inventory management (read there's a bit too much of it) and having to gather resources to keep exploring, but overall it still sounds like something I'll enjoy a lot. Anyway, I just preordered the Steam version, so I'll find out this weekend.
SlickShoes
Member
Elites flying is very difficult if you haven't played a flight simulator before, you will spend actual hours just practising docking with space stations and getting a button configuration that doesn't feel awful on a controller.
With Elite I wish it was more MMO, and with no man's sky I wish there was just a hint of multiplayer.
I'll probably get Elite again when it comes to ps4, the combat is really good once you figure out flying.
The stations and planets in Elite are mega dull, I know the ones I've seen in nms are just two rooms so far but elite is just a ship dock.
I think they are both good games. Star Citizen could be great if it works but as of now it's just a series of demos essentially. Wait and see, don't let the fact it will exist put you off trying nms or elite.
With Elite I wish it was more MMO, and with no man's sky I wish there was just a hint of multiplayer.
I'll probably get Elite again when it comes to ps4, the combat is really good once you figure out flying.
The stations and planets in Elite are mega dull, I know the ones I've seen in nms are just two rooms so far but elite is just a ship dock.
I think they are both good games. Star Citizen could be great if it works but as of now it's just a series of demos essentially. Wait and see, don't let the fact it will exist put you off trying nms or elite.
Its not open world, but it will have open ended mission design, so you will have to for example infiltrate the mining station and you will be able to fly to it and approach it from any angle and in any way you want.
lastplayed
Member
GTX 745. I've tried a few Steam demos and older games I bought years ago on my old gaming PC and it has mixed results.
Buggy Loop
Member
ED is still in the oven honestly, it's not quite ready, but shows a lot of promises.
I've lost faith in Star citizen, I find the controls and ui janky as shit so far.
NMS, much more sci-fi'esque than either of the above. Probably much less depth than what ED and SC will eventually have.
I've lost faith in Star citizen, I find the controls and ui janky as shit so far.
NMS, much more sci-fi'esque than either of the above. Probably much less depth than what ED and SC will eventually have.
UncleSporky
Member
No I was doing it before I had Horizons!
As far as I know it's almost always been in the game?
It's really cool IMO. Get a ship like a Type 6, attach some mining lasers. Buy a refinery, prospector module and collector module, lots of cargo capacity, stock up on limpet drones before you go. Visit a gas giant with rings like Saturn, where its resources are classified as "pristine" and asteroid ring "metallic," which yield the best ore (info visible on the system map). Frey system has one, that's what I use, but there are lists online. Avoid "resource extraction sites," just drop out any random place on the ring, and go to town chipping bits off asteroids. Painite is rare but super valuable, gold and platinum are good, lots of other ore types too.
When you find a good asteroid, you fire off a prospector drone that attaches to it and tells you its ore makeup, and greatly increases your yields before the asteroid gets depleted. Then you make sure you aren't locked onto any ore pieces and fire some collector drones (if you're locked on they grab that one ore and then self-destruct, otherwise they last a long time). Then you laser away at the asteroid and watch your cargo fill up.
And then you worry about getting interdicted by pirates the whole way back to base to sell it all!
Spirit of Jazz
Banned
NMS feels more empty to me than Elite. It has a load of randomly generated creatures, but to be blunt I thought it was done better in Spore where their mish-mash of assorted limbs and organs would actually affect how they behave and their abilities. Nothing in the game feels like it makes any kind of sense logically, it's all just superficially random and pointless. Where as Elite actually has life in its factions and markets.
Lionel Richie
Member
Not to pick on you, but how can you agree here if you haven't played NMS?
Running a Vulture at the moment and the sound of the engine is incredible.
I want to say one thing that is my biggest peeve with No Man's Sky and how people are talking about it:
Hello Games has not made a universe.
They have made what LOOKS like a universe, but there is no interaction between anything.
The AI, the environments, the races, nothing does anything. Everything sits there or walks in place.
If you literally just sit there and look at something, nothing will ever happen.
The player is the ONLY thing that does anything in this game and his/her impact on the universe are tiny and have no actual impact.
It is not a universe, it just looks like one.
Even Elite Dangerous has a so called "background simulation".
In No Man Sky, nothing is connected to anything.
Hello Games has not made a universe.
They have made what LOOKS like a universe, but there is no interaction between anything.
The AI, the environments, the races, nothing does anything. Everything sits there or walks in place.
If you literally just sit there and look at something, nothing will ever happen.
The player is the ONLY thing that does anything in this game and his/her impact on the universe are tiny and have no actual impact.
It is not a universe, it just looks like one.
Even Elite Dangerous has a so called "background simulation".
In No Man Sky, nothing is connected to anything.
SlickShoes
Member
Elite feels alive if you are a trader, if you want to make any decent money you'll have to do that. If you arent going to do any trading then elite feels much emptier than nms to me.
The thing that gives elite life is the multiplayer option and the background economy.
Resource management is not a big deal as people make. If you want to just travel on a planet for sightseeing and then jump to a new one it wouldn't take more than 5 minutes to gather resources for it (like 5 min in an hour of game play). The most basic resources for your suit and fuel (not for hyperdrive) can be found on every planet almost in every 10 meters. For hyperdrive you have to collect different resources but then again it doesnt take much time. People got in to upgrade frenzy and which demands more money which means more resources. I spent whole afternoon only on one planet and all i mined was plutoniom for my suit which was almost everywhere.
Elite is really tough to get into. Especially in VR. You will spend a ton of time trying to figure out controls, get the framerate smooth for VR etc only to probably give up when you realize it's not what you thought it was going to be.
Haven't tried the others yet, but Elite is most certainly an acquired taste.
Haven't tried the others yet, but Elite is most certainly an acquired taste.
lastplayed
Member
ED can be quite empty, but space is vast. Sometimes it can take 20 mins to travel to a second star in a binary system.
There are more things to do in elite. It still feels shallow mind you after putting a hundred hours or more, but you just have more variety of ways of playing it. NMS has one way of playing, a forager/explorer trying to get to the center of the galaxy. In elite you can be a bounty hunter, a trader, a smuggler, a political enforcer, an explorer
UncleSporky
Member
Yeah, in Elite you can drop out at a resource extraction site, where miners are mining asteroids, sometimes in a wing with several friends defending them. Wanted pirates/assassins swarm around, also sometimes in wings of their own, looking for easy prey miners with a full cargo to claim. And space police swarm around in packs as well, waiting for anyone to step out of line. Sometimes the pirates blow up miners and steal their cargo and jump out...sometimes the miners dodge and the police see what's going on and blow up the pirates, sometimes the miners' pals defend them and force the pirates to flee. All of these groups are coming and going at various times, doing their business. And all of them are AI, but other players can and do take part in all of these activities as well.
lastplayed
Member
Reminds me of EVE Online.
This is good to hear, thanks. I'm pretty excited to try it as soon as I can!
far from it. its a game i am enjoying right now. i wish i could say the same with elite.
Aztechnology
Member
Franky I didn't know they made a desktop 745. I don't know I can really comment on that card. What kind of CPU do you have?
Out of curiosity. Is there any sense of progression or challenge as you go on? Is there really any need to upgrade your systems and weapons to counter increasingly dangerous foes or becoming embroiled in intergalactic conflict the closer you get to the center of the universe etc?
lastplayed
Member
Heh, it was mostly bought for work purposes, so I didn't really care about the graphics.
i7-6700 3.41GHz, 16GB RAM
Aztechnology
Member
Oh did you get one of those HP deals? The CPU is obviously miles beyond the PS4's and part of the performance issues on PS4 are CPU computational from the procedural element. You obviously have the trappings for a very competent gaming computer you just need a GPU. You obviously already know this though. Is it something you think will ever be in your budget or do you simply just not really care to play on PC?
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