I played the beta since about 3 to 4 months before it was officially released. The games been released since December 2014 but has only been on Steam since April 2015. So think about 100 hrs. more/less of gametime.
I personally have been looking for a game such as this since Star Trek: Bridge Commander came out.
Even if you weren’t into Star Trek, that game could’ve been a great space game if they ever thought of doing something like an MMO. But sadly, because of much legal reasons later, Activision don’t have the rights to Star Trek anymore and I’ve yet to see that type of game or the engine used that way again.
If anyone remembers that game, and wanted something like that but be able to play something other than TDM against other people, I honestly can say this is it.
You fly your ship, you maintain it, modify it to your play style. The only thing you have to worry about right now is making money and evading bad guys.
NOT EVE ONLINE
If you’re looking at this and thinking it’s an EVE Online, it’s not. You fly your ship from First Person view, there is no “skill tree” or “XP” or anything like that. There are no books to read, no skills to unlock, the only restriction is how much money you have and whether or not you want to spend said money on either upgrading your current ship or getting different one. Oh, and there is NO SUBSCRIPTION.
Paint Jobs = TF2 Hats
This is strictly a pay once and done. There is no “PAY TO WIN” option. The only pay option outside of actually buying the game, is ship paint jobs. They do NOTHING to better your piloting skills, they just show that you like a certain color or a certain flag of a country. Think of Team Fortress 2 hats in space.
Still Updating, Still Evolving
Right now the game is still evolving with updates, the most recent being the Powerplay update which allows you to pledge allegiance to a power and help them expand there power over sectors which gives you unique items *dependent on who you ally with* such as special weapons. The powers give you a “pay check” for working with them. The more you work for them, the more money they give you in your “pay check” along with the other monies you get by doing work for them.
Future Major Expansions
There are MAJOR updates promised for the future. There is no set date for these and don’t expect them anytime this year. But some of the major updates of the future are being able to walk around your ship, fixing your ship from the outside (in space suit of course) and stations and being able to land on planets. And I will warn you about this, these major updates coming, you WILL have to pay for that. They’re likeclassic games when “expansion” really ment an EXPANSION and not just “cut content we’ll add later for a price.” With all the work they’ve done so far and are still doing and not asking for more than for me to buy the game, I think paying for a major expansion is worthy enough when it happen but that’s just me.
No Single Player Story and it’s Always Online
There is no “single player,” just single player mode. There are no “story missions” to play and you will need to always be online to play it but in single player mode you will never meet other real people, just NPC’s. But you can team up in a squadron and kill pirates, or be pirates yourselves. Or be legit and take missions from local stations. Many ways to make credits. You and your friends can be in “single player mode” and only fight NPC’s or be in “Open Mode” and fight other players along with NPC’s.
SHINEY!!!!
For all you graphics lovers out there, it’s full of nice and pretty shiney bits. This game is BEAUTIFUL. When you jump into a system, you jump to the star and seeing a blue sun or twin white drawfs is awe inspiring. To this day I still get shocked sometimes on how pretty it is. Seeing the dark side of a planet and seeing all the cities light up, dropping out into the rings of a planet and trying not to hit giant asteroids as your firing your lasers and rockets at pirates.
It’s just a really pretty game.
For you Frugal people
For you people out there seeing this game as a bit too pricey, don’t get me wrong I understand. I personally love this game and feel that it was worth the $75 for me (bought into the beta, cost $15 more) but I get from your perspective that it’s a bit too much to buy into. I suggest waiting just a bit longer until some more features and content are added, if not, wait until a sale happens then try it out.
Sum up/ TL;DR
Very pretty game, future content coming, community is good, play alone in space or play with friends alone in space, this isn’t EVE Online, maybe wait until a sale.
