Impressions

[Helix]

In no particular order of importance:

The game looks better than I thought it would. Yes, there's LOD issues with textures not loading / popping correctly, but outside of that the game is not an eyesore.

Traveling in the game is a cool novelty that I fear will get old very fast. At least early on, using floating to traverse the base is a slow slog. Like wise linear ship travel outside of warp gates feels needlessly time consuming. I know an argument has been you can set a destination and than go netflix and chill but that seems like a poor argument from the perspective of a developer that wants you playing their game. If at any time I feel the need to tab out and watch a movie else while playing "your game", then there's a serious disconnect there. I would like to see faster (but maybe not instant) forms of travel when using ships.

It's going to be interesting to see how they can cultivate pvp interactions considering the vastness of the galaxy and current speed of traversal.

I was traveling some where, but decided I wanted to spawn back at the imperial station. Little did I know that by doing this that my ship would be marooned some where out in the stars and I would apparently be unable to tow or respawn it back at the station because it was outside the SZ. There definitely needs to be some way to retrieve a ship that is outside the SZ without having to slowly float around the galaxy to retrieve it.

There seems to be a lack of an actual map / star map / star chart in game. I know there's a web site but it feels kinda weird to have to go outside the game for this. Sure the argument could be made that a star map would ruin the "wonder" of the game, but I feel like trying to traverse the universe, like the slowness of travel, is a novelty that will also wear thin very quickly. It's also something I would hope would be a built into the game.

The economy and prices of items seems extremely inflated. Obviously I don't expect things to be given away, but as a new player, a lot of the things I look at seem like they are far outside my reach without a mind numbing amount of grind. As someone who is basically playing the game by themselves this might be a deterrent if it becomes the norm going forward. This might not become so much of an issue with a larger population, and thus a larger supply chain.

Things I would like to see:

• FTL travel option for ships.
• Warp gates that can be built and destroyed; use as an alternative to native FTL ship travel.
• Construable and defensible Moon bases.
• Faster infantry travel (backpacks with thrusters?)
• A map of some type built in-game with reasonable functionality.
• A way to retrieve your spaceship lost outside of SZ.

So far the game seems pretty neat, but very rough around the edges.

 

[XenoCow]

A way to retrieve your spaceship lost outside of SZ.

If you know where your ship was, there are tons of people with large hauling ships ready to go and bring your ship back, probably for a price, though.

 

[Helix]

Some additional thoughts and questions:

I remain pretty adamant that there needs to be faster forms of travel. Warp gates you can build might be the solution, but some faster travel options built into the ships might be an even better solution. FTL jump engines that can only be used in larger ships? The biggest example (and my gripe) is the amount of time it takes to get to the moon base; travel time is a big ask from the average player, and if they're tuning out of the game and doing something else that seems really awkward.

There's also the argument of how will fights break out? Imagine traveling half an hour or an hour to a fight that might've already ended? What are the developers ideas on generating conflict? Do they want conflicts to remain regional or become galactic? With the way travel is right now, I can see most people staying in their corner of the universe due to the sheer boredom of travel. The purposed EA release will have 1 gas giant and 10 moons, will that be enough for the multitude of people that will be playing this game? Will the the game become a war of next door neighbors?

On the subject off conflict, what do the developers actually want us fighting over? Right now the game (at least from I can tell) exists purely of elysium and the moon base, and the asteroid base. By the time EA is released can we expect a larger universe? More planets? The potential to build moon bases?

The different ore types don't seem actually matter since we're just turning them in for credits. Will we have the ability to convert ore directly into components? Will the different ores have specific qualities that we might actually want for our ships? Stronger hall plating?

When it comes to player built stations, how will it work when it comes to building stores / build stations / docks / etc? The stations I see outside are all derelict empty husks.

What about personal character growth? Have the developers considered character progression, even if it's limited? The cosmetics are cool, but I would like them to be functional to some degree.

And last but not least, where can we find a road map for the game? What is the end point before the game is "early access" ready? In the present state I see a possible EA candidate in maybe 6 months, maybe even longer. There's a serious lack of a game loop, nothing driving conflict and lots of network issues and lod issues.

If anyone would like to correct or fill in on some of these questions / thoughts, please feel free.

 

[XenoCow]

Will we have the ability to convert ore directly into components? Will the different ores have specific qualities that we might actually want for our ships? Stronger hall plating?

Recently 3D printers were added that can convert ore to parts used to build stations. The player fills ore crates, and the 3D printer, mounted on a station, can then print new parts to fill in the station blueprint.

Different ores do have different qualities. For example, Bastium is very good for structure, like beams and OK for armor, but other materials have better armor values and other ones are less dense etc. Material choice is now a big part of designing ships. The cost of those materials, or their rarity, must be taken into account when choosing.

And last but not least, where can we find a road map for the game? What is the end point before the game is "early access" ready? In the present state I see a possible EA candidate in maybe 6 months, maybe even longer. There's a serious lack of a game loop, nothing driving conflict and lots of network issues and lod issues.

The developers don't have any public roadmaps. They want to allow for surprises and allow for development freedom without players getting hyped for features that need to be dropped later or postponed.

EA is planned for release some time in the next 3 months. I think this is possible if the current rate of development keeps up. I suspect that there are lots of features and gameplay loops that are just on the cusp of being ready for alpha testing.

For example, the auction house was added a couple weeks ago, making the economy player-based. Then stations were launched so that players and companies can build their own stations. Pretty soon we'll probably be able to sell things from those stations and mechanics for raiding those stations will be put in play. There could be a bunch of other stuff behind the scenes to that is just about to come out too!