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Otherwise, it's more "the same but better"...less of a revolution and more of a big improvement on an existing formula, like Civilization 2 or Fallout: New Vegas were to Civ 1 and Fallout 3. Mechanically the same game but made better.
notably the four weapons do feel pretty different (although it's pretty clear the combat perks are still basically stubs), and fights are now more than "do the combo, dodge when a boss telegraphs, otherwise just keep attacking". even regular enemies can warrant paying attention to how they move and what they do, and the lock on works splendidly.
i do have some trouble with ranged combat, but i'm playing on a controller, and i hope that can get cleaned up some in future adjustments to the controller ux (or maybe it'll get better with a better weapon..? i dunno).
so for me, sandrock feels VASTLY better from the combat changes alone... then there's the better flow in building, not having to have all your mats on hand while crafting, and many other qol things.
while i don't want to say portia is can be completely replaced (there's so much story and personality that is distinct), i can say that for me at least sandrock is a better experience qualitatively across the board so far.
MTAP took the basic idea of Stardew Valley, or even Harvest Moon, and applied a large number of QoL improvements. Like being able to search through all chests instead of having to go through them one by one. But it still had some annoying quirks, like you had to actually be holding the item to add it to whatever you're building and you could only queue up one set of materials to be created on the various machines.
MTAS takes all the lessons learned from MTAP and fixes most of them. It's not perfect, but it definitely feels like the developers have applied a lot of the things they learned during MTAP development. They also expanded upon it, like with the character dialog. MTAP, you get sick of hearing the same one or two lines from NPCs every single time. MTAS obviously still has a finite number of responses, but they're more varied and there's more of them so you don't hear the story of the dancing robot 500X during one playthrough and get to the point where you wish you could reach into the screen and just strangle Minister Lee to make him shut up about the damn robot.
Personally, I think the characters in Portia were better, but Sandrock makes up for it a bit with characters like Pen and Cooper who steal the show whenever they're around, and characters that are better written. Sandrock also has more humor in it. Portia had some, but Sandrock is full of little gems. Like the deputy ceremony, the scene with Pen and the mirror, or the Musa visit to the Saloon. I also like the interaction between the two childhood friends Mint and Qi. It's all the little things that Sandrock does better that really add up to it being a better experience.
As to the main differences, besides what's been mentioned, I would say:
1) The characters: Most of the Portia characters are inviting and welcoming and I found them easy to bond with. Sandrock - it takes time, like it would in real life with people who are struggling. You have to put in more effort to get to know more about these people. Sometimes it can be frustrating because they aren't as open, but as you develop relationships, you can find someone who may have annoyed you actually being a character you like.
2. Yes, you were helping to improve Portia, but you were not trying to save it like in Sandrock. Helping Sandrock is so rewarding!! Every little thing you do helps the town so much, and the game is clearly gearing up for you to help save the entire town from being swallowed by the sand. The story is richer and more complex. It's delightful.
People using controllers it was HARD getting used to the way they re-arranged the controls, and with no way to reconfig them currently.
It solidifies my decision to buy this one soon. I might not be able to play it before it either finishes on EA or when I finish Portia but everyone's insights really makes me happy to see it's an overall better QoL than Portia! I have qualms over Portia but I understand it's been a while for it, hearing Sandrock gives a much better QoL really perked up my interest.
And mentioning the characters and story, that's quite a plus. I do like a hard faced npcs that slowly grows closer.
Thank you again SimuLord, esotericist, Zentun, Aerogems, Livia and Bored Peon! I'll look forward to when I play this as I do enjoy the series.
The two big disappointments so far for me was Portia Fishing to Sand Fishing and Round Table games to Game Center.
Other than that there is quality of life improvements in the game:
- Dumping inventory items into a chest with one button, GREATLY reducing the inventory management.
- Being able to upgrade an existing machine to the next level rather than have to use the assembly to do it.
- Items can be delivered for quests straight from your storage.
- Commissions tell you how many of an object you own before taking it.
- Commissions tell you how many raw resources are needed to construct the items, not always accurate.
- Queuing in a machine will auto set itself to the minimum amount needed for the assembly platform or commission.
YEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!! I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!
Yes, this too. There's so many wonderful little improvement like this that just really improve Sandrock.
OH! I forgot: the horseriding is stunning and fun. I can easily just spend a day of game time riding the horse (course, this was more fun before they added in stamina, but I find having two horses at full gets me through my day, no matter what I do since you can call mounts instantly to you - which is amazing!)
That's what we're here for, to...do Pathea's marketing for them...er, I mean, to help!