Thank you.

Discussion in 'FAQ & Feedback' started by zaphodbbl, Mar 15, 2019.

  1. zaphodbbl

    zaphodbbl Ensign

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    I recently heard that Space Engineers left Early Access on Steam. I own a lot of games on Steam, including that one and yours. Don't jump ahead in your thoughts about what this message is about. :)

    The first thing I wanted to say is that, even though SE is coming off of Early Access first, that really doesn't matter to me. Truth of the matter is, I play your game. I don't play SE. Not that I don't bounce into it every once in awhile, because I do. But I don't think I've ever been in the game longer than 15 minutes.

    I have over 1000 hours in your game, however. And I think it's a good thing it is not off of Early Access. If I judge you guys right, that might not happen for awhile yet. And I'm happy with that. Because I am very happy with the way your game is progressing. I think as time passes and your vision of what you want Empyrion to be when it is released approaches reality, your game is going to blow the pants off SE.

    SE doesn't have a Solar System Generator. The SSG, and what I hope it will become, makes the replayablity of your game vastly superior to any other space sim out there today. Sure, there are a few games out there that give you a whole universe to explore. But they're procedurally generated universes (or static) and allow you very little control (or none at all) in their generation. I am hoping that the SSG will eventually be able to produce star system clusters, which will really open the game world up by giving us small galaxies to play in. As it is, being able to create a single solar system with as many planets as you want (within moderation, of course) and of so many different types... Well, it's one of my favorite features of your game. And if a player (such as me) can think about it in the right terms, creating a new solar system after you've claimed all the planets in the current system could be thought of as travelling from the old system to new one.

    While it isn't entirely intuitive to use, you can basically enter a number, press a few buttons and have an entire new solar system to play in. I think it would help if we could eventually edit the planetary playfield files from withing the SSG. I see what I believe to be the start of that feature. But if it is, I haven't been able to figure out how to make the changes stick. One thing I think would help many people out is an updated SSG 'manual' or a wiki page that explains what all the new controls and fields are for and how to make them work together to create a system.

    I also like the assortment of planet types you have. I'm hoping more are in the future, but there are already enough to give of diversity in the systems.

    I like the way the fauna are turning out. The addition of a more advanced AI makes the world much more interesting. There are a decent number of different species, but I hope to see the creation process of those species become a little more random. And maybe some mechanism to create species with characteristics specific to the type of planet on which they are found.

    While sometimes being a little hard to adapt to existing structures, the logistics part of the game is great, IMHO. That system, in combination with the ability for the constructors to make intermediate materials on the fly, makes the whole construction process suprisingly easy. For designers of CVs and Bases before the logistical change, I imagine some might have had a few choice words about having to change huge amounts of regular cargo boxes to the container controller system. I have a CV that has about 30 cargo boxes (the old type,) and it does help that the logistics system allows you to select them for input and output purposes. Those people who prefer to have weight/volume turned on are probably a little upset though. And is why, even though I dread the project, I will be changing the old cargo boxes to controllers and expansions.

    The simplification of the 'recipes' in constructors and processors kinda took a bit out of the game for me, as it did for farming. This is because the old way gave a reason to grow different plants, and you had to go out and look for iron, copper, etc., instead of being able to just create it from crushed stone. Albeit, it takes a huge quantity of stone to get a decent supply of the basic metals, but it still feels like cheating. And speaking of metals, it is my personal opinion that autominers should always deplete the nodes they are placed over. Having it as an option makes it possible to find one iron node and fill the coffers from that one node.

    LOL I could probably write a book about my thoughts on the progress of the game and what I hope to see in the future. But you have other things to do, so I'll draw the line here. :) Again, thank you for your hard work. I will celebrate the entire day when you announce the game is coming out of alpha. Peace.
     
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  2. ravien_ff

    ravien_ff Rear Admiral

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    These devs are amazing! There's been hiccups along the way sure but that's exactly to be expected in early access and the devs fix them.

    I like both Space Engineers and Empyrion but to me Empyrion has way more of what I want in a space game. Plus far more creative options and tools that don't require the use of mods. I can make POIs that look a hundred times cooler in Empyrion than anything I could make in Space Engineers even with downloading 50 mods. :D
     
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  3. Taelyn

    Taelyn Guest

    Thank u for those kind words :)
     
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