It really does seem to be exceedingly well designed.
What other games are we all playing?
- Thread starter Schindler
- Start date
Well, Odyssey does look WAY better (graphics-wise) than the 1990s graphics of Empyrion.
More Deep Rock Galactic.
It's such a perfect "hang out with your friends" game. The selectable difficulty options make it such a versatile experience. The lower difficulties are ideal for low-key "having something to do while you chat with your friends" styles of "harvest/mining" play, while the higher difficulties take the same template and turn it into an absolute nail biter of a group coordination and cooperation challenge with the potential for huge dramatic turns of fortune right up until the end of each expedition. Quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite coop PVE games.
It's such a perfect "hang out with your friends" game. The selectable difficulty options make it such a versatile experience. The lower difficulties are ideal for low-key "having something to do while you chat with your friends" styles of "harvest/mining" play, while the higher difficulties take the same template and turn it into an absolute nail biter of a group coordination and cooperation challenge with the potential for huge dramatic turns of fortune right up until the end of each expedition. Quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite coop PVE games.
edit: originally responded to the wrong post.WOW!Empyrion Galactic got an insane functional content update yesterday. The major feature in this is the new RNG galaxy. The new craftable teleportation system (for the TL DR travel types) is an awesome addition by the dev. And the time saving updates they made to station ship maintenance as well. You can now refuel, trade and do service maintenance on your ship within a certain distance of a planetary station without being forced to land/dock at the landing pad. All this shows a lot of consideration and insight on their part for respecting different play styles.
Also seems it good some graphics and texture updates as well. Empyrion has already had space legs, FPS encounters at RNG POIs, NMS foraging/harvesting to build bases/ships/hover & land vehicles, atmospheric and earth like planets (complete with water, swimming underwater and associated O2 needs). The less arcadey graphics and light survival elements (e.g. temperature effect on colder planets requiring need for shelter like tents etc) gives it a significant competitive edge over NMS. But stops short of ED standard where realistic visuals are concerned due to the dated graphics.
Regardless, this update now puts Empyrion on par with NMS and ED from an exploration perspective. And on par with SE with its mining/foraging/ship & weapons crafting, survival and base building themed loops. Guess it's time to revisit the EG universe
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlXYsKCU818
I wish I weren't so easily fixated on graphics/aesthetics, because everything in that video seems absolutely amazing. It just looks so visually poor that it would be hard not to be continually irritated and ripped out of the experience as a result. Still might have to give this a try and see if I can get over the looks; it really does seem like everything that I wish Elite and NMS could be.
Is the materials->crafting->building progression done well, in your opinion? That's kind of the make or break thing for me is whether all the little game loops tie back into themselves effectively. For reference I give NMS a B+ in this, Elite a D-, and Subnautica an A.
Your assessment is correct. Though I'd say based on EG's description on their Steam page
and the recent major update that finally removed the static Skybox for a proc gen universe, this put EG's fundamental game loop on par with NMS. But not ED which is more grindfesty because ED still lacks flora/fauna RNG POIs you can interact with to date.
However EG's survival game mechanic (and how this impacts the mat farming/craft loop) is what sets it apart from NMS, ED and SE. Also realistic mapping limitations like the ability to scan and discover where RNG POIs resource nodes, potentially hostile no go zones (in which territory node resources may be located), potential trade partner/enemy NPCs (whose disposition towards you is dynamic based on your reputation with them), and other important POIs like your base/temp base/hovercraft/vehicles and even original crash pod site are on the planet.
Better realism in threat analysis. Say you're scouting the planet from the surface for best location to build your HQ/base. The fog of War obscures your ability to view undiscovered POIs. And the planets are realistically large enough that Euclidian geometry can be assumed when viewing POIs like shown below:
EG's survival mechanic is also realistic enough not to be an irritating micromanagement nightmare in the game's diurnal cycle (unless you chose hard difficulty). As long as you plan ahead and keep adequate food/water/O2 provisions, weapons, survival gear etc. in your inventory (and/or ready access in the quick bar), the game's exploration loop is now well setup to support the gather resources/craft/build loop seamlessly.
So IMO your sleep/eat/drink/O2 and associated health needs (from fauna and environmental hazards like poison, rads etc) are depleted reasonably over time and seem reasonably balanced. But note this status can potentially change with the next update(s) the dev has planned in the future.
So I'd say the scavenge/harvest mats - crafting - building loop is fairly well established since its Early Access release on Steam. But this is only for single player as I've not tried the multi player server mode option. Perhaps someone else whose done the MMO side can address that.
Visually (as dated EG's graphics are) the trend is
SC (ultra realistic SHD) >> ED (realistic industry standard) >>> EG (dated realistic) > SE (superior Mindcraft voxel based graphics) >> NMS & Subnautica (arcadey & cartoony spectrum end)
Exploration game mechanic/replay value (not graphics but from a RPG perspective of how strong/weak the franchise lore & story line elements keeps player engaged/immersed in doing the scavenge mat/craft/build loop)
Subnautica (highly focused/structured RP/mission/story line end) >>> NMS (very structured RP/mission/story line end) > > EG (significantly weaker main story/mission engagement) >> ED (similar to EG with a decent lore considering mysteries like Raxxala/Guardians. But much weaker supporting and engaging story elements like PP) >> SE (non existent lore and heavy bias towards space Mindcraft style/sandbox end game play)
Vanilla survival based game play (no mods). Just how well the vanilla RP/functional survival game mechanics compliments and challenges the player while they execute the scavenge mat/crafting/build loop. i.e. features like crafting vanilla:
- gear & shelter like tents, bases etc.
- thermal/HVAC gear to adapt & maintain player homeostasis in extreme environments like space, non earth like planets, high altitude/variable g planets, extreme temperature, radiation, & aquatic environments
- using precursor craft modules to make better weapons & armor to support hunting/gathering alien NPC fauna & flora for raw food and other crafting mats.
- using precursor crafting modules to make more complex craft modules. Which can be made part of the permanent infrastructure i.e. bases/ships or mobile/inventory based. And used to make survival mechanics of food/water/O2/tools/other equipment necessary for exploration/questing loop
- using precursor crafting modules to craft/build better transport vehicles to expedite exploration, NPC trade and/or engage in hostile NPC FPS interactions in space/at surface.
- ability/flexibility for player to customize the game mechanics which affect their world/universe e.g. survival difficulty level
EG >> SE (which lacks vanilla flora/fauna to harvest/farm mats & food to date. Fluff/RP build elements like kitchens & toilets are purely cosmetic & not functional) >>> NMS > Subnautica >>> ED (because of the survival HuD elements remain nonexistent in ED to date. But could potentially become an official feature pending space leg implementation)
Overall scavenge/farm/harvest - gather resource mats - crafting weapons/armor/food/supplies & gear - building land/space/air ships & hovercraft loop:
EG >> NMS and SE (i.e. superior due to its solid survival feature support of this loop) > Subnautica >> ED (pending how well space leg feature affects this or not)
Continuing my Deux Ex franchise playthroughs, I've just finished playing through Deus Ex: Mankind Divided twice (standard and new game +). Felt rather unfinished, as if it was never intended to really stand alone as an independent game, or even a sequel...so many dead end plot lines and references to non-game media in the franchise. It also has all the pitfalls of Human Revolution, magnified.
I think I've pretty much exhausted the low-hanging fruit as far as replay value goes, largely because the save games are encrypted and I can't edit them. I have no desire to play through most of the content again and would like to fast track things to see different outcomes, but because of provisions for other DLC and 'achievements' this overly difficult to do.
Overall, it was entertaining enough to justify the sale price on GoG, but I'm sure glad I didn't pay full price for it and it's significantly dampened my enthusiasm for any potential sequels. If I want to scratch my itch for some Deux Ex, I'll play the original again and hope Cyberpunk 2077 isn't so locked down.
I think I've pretty much exhausted the low-hanging fruit as far as replay value goes, largely because the save games are encrypted and I can't edit them. I have no desire to play through most of the content again and would like to fast track things to see different outcomes, but because of provisions for other DLC and 'achievements' this overly difficult to do.
Overall, it was entertaining enough to justify the sale price on GoG, but I'm sure glad I didn't pay full price for it and it's significantly dampened my enthusiasm for any potential sequels. If I want to scratch my itch for some Deux Ex, I'll play the original again and hope Cyberpunk 2077 isn't so locked down.
I love it. Kinda bought it by accident (sounds like another recent game getting a lot of attention) , but read it had time-looping and insta-bought it (I loved Majora's Mask).
It's a very smart little game. I love how you can kill yourself in silly ways - e.g. I took off in a ship, clipped something as I took off and ended up pinned to the wall of a viciously spinning rocket unable to reach the controls to stop. Ended up face-planting into planet after a few minutes (of laughing deliriously).
The ship controls / physics are generally easy and fun, especially in areas where gravity gets wacky.
Edit I should add - it's mostly on-foot, the ship is to hop between planets. It's just a very small-scale Majora's Mask type game, crossed with NMS. You could probably finish it in one sitting. The setting is a small system with a handful of planets, each of which is changing over time, paths are opening up and closing off. The trick is to find clues to learn where to be at what time in order to progress further and learn more. The ship (well, "pod") has a nice little mind-map style display on one of the screens that tracks the clues and progress, so if you pick it up after not playing for a while you can catch back up quickly.
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It depends up whether you consider Star Citizen levels of "fidelity" to be functional or not. You can certainly get up and walk around. Just don't be surprised if the game goes all Philadelphia Experiment on you.
That being said, from what I've read, the development team is working on the problem, and hopes to have IVAs while in flight eventually. Personally, if they never get it working right, I don't think it's a great loss. Unlike some games I could mention, space travel in EGS doesn't take too long to get anywhere interesting, so there's no real desire on my part to get up from the controls and do the one or two things you can't do remotely.
Personally, I consider EGS to be much farther along in basic gameplay/locomotion compared to SE. Besides the status of IVA currently, the only other three things SE can do, that EGS can't, are wheeled vehicles, a physical conveyor system, and rechargable vehicles.
AFAIK if you add a gravity generator to a capital sized ship, you can walk around on stationary ships (both planet side for low G planets and in space). However, EG ships were NOT intended to be a ship walking and touring simulator like SC TBH. The dev also added a teleport feature that will quickly allow you to travel between ships, planets and even Solar systems. So it doesn't seem as though they're leaning towards the level of detailed immersion at the SC end of the spectrum while you're on your ships. EGS ships are a lot more functional (like in NMS and SE) than they are visual tourist sightseeing opportunities.
I've never tried doing this as there was no need to RP doing so in past. That was since the longer space travels when the skybox existed precluded this possibility. But now that EG is a proc gen universe like NMS --to include an updated version of interesting space regions/planets/POIs as part of the MQ) I'm now tempted to try this. And perhaps the complete lunacy of EVA as well. Although I'll admit I'm not too keen on loosing my ship en flight if the physics decides to troll my PC though.
quick summary on what's new in Alpha 12:
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Switching gears to SE: With the Keen livestream over, the Sparks of Future DLC is now out on Steam for $4.00 USD. Still trying to recover from the bizarre salt coming from some of the SE fan base faithful. Over how "expensive" this DLC is. LMAO. Anyways, the priced DLC is purely the cosmetic only update. The functional update with new space station and other functional goodies are available as a free update on Steam. Summary of what is in both packs is at 2:19 min
Not going to lie. That money shot of those 2 SE fan bois kneeling in the pool was absolutely hilarious. To the point where I forgive Keen for this truly immersion breaking moment.
Regardless, I"ll be dancing a jig of joy once Keen permits our Avatars to remove and wear normal clothing under the space suits. If you can go in your space suits whenever you want, then you should also be able to go in them while in the pool IMO
edit: Just saw Darkfrye99's post. And yes, this question has been raised on the official EGS forums since EG debuted in Early Access on Steam. So the devs are well aware of it to date. Really hoping FDev is paying attention to what EGS can now offer by means of survival themed game play elements. Adding a few of EGS features (optional basic needs that can be toggled, RNG POIs with RNG spawned fauna/flora to harvest for mats, and even direct teleportation into your ships from space/surface) would go a long way in supporting the space leg feature update.
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For me it's not SC I want to emulate, but rather SE. If I'm crossing the vast distances of space, that's a good time for me to get up and go to my hangar and work on my SLF, reload my main guns, or go EVA and check the hull for damage, etc. Even just getting up and looking around out different windows to take in the view (I almost exclusively play 1st person) is enjoyable to me on long trips. I find this very immersive and enjoyable.
And of course then there's the "I'm fleeing from a pirate and I've got an air leak that needs patched!" damage control aspect of SE that sets it apart from other games like ED that I just adore.
Again my experience, there really aren't "vast distances of space" in EGS like there are in SE. At the orbital scale, distances are much shorter compared to what you see in SE, and speeds are higher. You're pretty much only a couple of minutes from anywhere interesting, which really doesn't give you much time to do much of anything, especially if you're in a particularly big ship.
OK now I'm confused. Were you talking about walk simming/EVA en flight in EGS or SE?
Re-read your post and it seems you were wondering what pros/cons SE has v. EGS? If so, this is definitely some much needed comparison work for the likes of OA, Yamiks or some dedicated vlogger on YT. I suspect the Alpha 12 update in EGS is still a bit too new for the YT space vets to do comparisons on as yet. All I've seen to date are planet side playthoughs. I've yet to see anyone build a capital ship and take off into the great unknown on YT to date. Definitely something I need to add to my To Do list when I get some time to playing EGS. Will attempt some of this over the weekend.
Darkfyre99 are you talking about intra-system travel (where you're limited to using small to medium ships to travel) v. inter galactic system travel (where you can either teleport or only use Capital ships) which is a requirement that has been added with the new EGS update? i.e. based on what you just posted, is this assessment for the new proc gen universe?
Re-read your post and it seems you were wondering what pros/cons SE has v. EGS? If so, this is definitely some much needed comparison work for the likes of OA, Yamiks or some dedicated vlogger on YT. I suspect the Alpha 12 update in EGS is still a bit too new for the YT space vets to do comparisons on as yet. All I've seen to date are planet side playthoughs. I've yet to see anyone build a capital ship and take off into the great unknown on YT to date. Definitely something I need to add to my To Do list when I get some time to playing EGS. Will attempt some of this over the weekend.
Darkfyre99 are you talking about intra-system travel (where you're limited to using small to medium ships to travel) v. inter galactic system travel (where you can either teleport or only use Capital ships) which is a requirement that has been added with the new EGS update? i.e. based on what you just posted, is this assessment for the new proc gen universe?
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Well the new update to SE has brought some bugs with it (I'm sure they will be fixed soon), and right now I'm not actually in the mood to weld and grind and mine and whatnot, so maybe I'll give this EGS a try, even if it's just walking around and exploring NMS style. Hopefully I can train my brain to ignore these Quake-era graphics..
I'm actually talking about orbital travel. My current game hasn't reached the interplanetary travel stage yet, I've kind of gotten distracted with building, and then rebuilding, a hanger for my base, but I'm pretty sure that it still involves an instantaneous jump between planets, as opposed to traveling through space like SE does.
It's on sale (as is everything) on Steam. I looked at the trailer, and I like these kind of games, but what is the point? I mean, you're manufacturing things, but why? Do people come in ships and trade with you or buy your goods, or does all this just end up in a warehouse or something?I'm not sure I can recommend it, life suffers as a result, wish I had bought it at the start of lockdown though
Seriously though, there is something about it that is very (ought to be illegal) addictive.
I'm back in ETS2 with a new profile and Promods installed, finally a decent UK to drive around! set the economy to 0.1 so I'm only getting 1.5 - 2 quid per mile.....gonna take a while before I get my own truck...but different to my main profile with over 1.5 billion!
My friends have discovered a sale on Steam, and we are buying things like Terraforming Mars, etc.
Must learn how to play Tabletop Simulator properly.
So much for fleet carriers.
Must learn how to play Tabletop Simulator properly.
So much for fleet carriers.
Forgot to mention it now has a main storyline which was was enhanced in the recent update. Similar to NMS and ED, the main story quest will take you to visit new, exotic places in the new proc gen universe. And interact with aliens (both hostile and peaceful) as well.