if
Sea of Thieves can be recommended for evolving when it was only recently released, I don't see why this game couldn't
SoT has evolved a lot more in its first year than Elite has since go-live. Now, granted, SoT is a much smaller game in scope, but SoT aside, let's look at Elite's progress realistically.
Neither the size nor shape of the bubble has changed.
The general feel and accessibility of features within the bubble has not changed.
Space stations have changed, but only cosmetically.
Some other assets have been added (megaships, small orbitals, etc.), that do virtually nothing to impact gameplay.
Colonia was added... more of the same space stations added to a handful of stars 12,000 Ly away... which has virtually zero impact on gameplay.
Thargoids and Thargoid stuff were addeded. The content is almost entirely optional and has virtually zero impact on gameplay.
Guardian sites were added... solve the puzzle, get a ship module. Virtually zero impact on gameplay (yes, flight and outfitting are a bit different because of them).
Some objects have been added to space - all static and non-impactful to gameplay.
Yes we've had engineers added, and changes to the mission system over time, and some SAR stuff added, and some mining changes, etc. But the
core... the overall story of the game is like a whisper amidst this otherwise static galaxy. From faction politics, to Powerplay, to Thargoids and their antics... the overall story "experience" this game offers the player is the same as reading about some war or political strife in a country half-way across the world that you don't care about. Like "Oh, rebels and loyalists are fighting in Oogaboogaland again? Oh, shucks."
So we've had some changes to mechanics, and a few things added to the galaxy. But what has really "evolved" for the player? How has any of this actually impacted their gameplay? Because I can login today and (aside from some GUI changes) it feels like I'm still playing the same game I started playing three or more years ago.
So yeah, Elite has had some things added to it, but has it really "evolved"? In my opinion, the answer is "No".
