how should i start playing this game

[Jean Paul]

ive seen streams and youtube videos of people just playing sandbox ish. Are the campaigns good thats what im starting but i just want everyones opinion

edit: im guessing play campaign to learn the game cause it looks complicated as ♥♥♥♥ with all the menus

[Jean Paul]

???

[Eagle_of_Fire]

The campaign is not even close to what the real game is about. My advice would be not to even bother and then make yourself a custom game to try out stuff.

[Pembroke]

I think the campaign is actually pretty good and well made. And it does teach the basics of the interfaces and other stuff as you go. Plus it's fast paced and entertaining so I'd start with that.

You're right that it doesn't cover the planning and building of production chains for survival play but I think that comes after learning how the user interface and other game controls actually work and what the really basics are e.g. welding, scavenging by grinding, flyiing ships, oxygen and energy etc.

After the campaign I'd say try out any of the "Easy Starts" the game provides. The asteroid platform easy start with the red ship is probably the best for the first try as it doesn't complicate things by offering too many options and is pretty straight-forward as well as forgiving in resources.

[Tom7i]

Originally posted by NJPFearlessKiller:

edit: im guessing play campaign to learn the game cause it looks complicated as ♥♥♥♥ with all the menus

Playing the tutorial or the main campaign first is always a good idea in most games, so definitely do that first :)

Otherwise, like Pembroke mentioned, start with an "Easy start" scenario, probably the Earth or Moon ones would be most suited for beginners.
There you have everything you need pre-built for you as well as some enemies who come to harrass you from time to time, so you can then learn the ropes and experiment a bit with flying, mining, building and shooting.

If you want to go down the full survival road later on, try the Star System scenario, but be aware that currently the default lander is missing for some reason, so you'll have to suicide and spawn again with the lander, otherwise you can't progress.

[=OF=Basic_Infantry]

Originally posted by NJPFearlessKiller:

ive seen streams and youtube videos of people just playing sandbox ish. Are the campaigns good thats what im starting but i just want everyones opinion

edit: im guessing play campaign to learn the game cause it looks complicated as ♥♥♥♥ with all the menus

They play that way because SE is a sandbox game :) No Goals except the ones you set for yourself.

Campaigns were only recently a thing so I recommend watching the youtube vids and get a feel for it.. it won't take you long to catch on to the mechanics of the game!

[Mashtooth]

Watch Tutorials online or prepare for frustration.

[Arachnyd]

Here is what I did: Found Direwolf20's Space Engineers series and watched two or three, then played "Lone Survivor" and used what I learned, then went back and watched more and came back to the game, etc.

When I watch videos I mainly look for ideas & paradigms which I haven't thought of, and, specific how-to knowledge on things I'm having trouble with, or are not sure how they work.

One last thought....start in space....atmospheric is hard.

Arachnyd

[2000]

What Arachnyd said - I would also suggest that you start basic and work your way into more complex things as you experiment and learn, Don't try to do it all - take your time to learn.

Or you can just burn thru everything by watching tutorials and have everyone teach you everything - then IMO, you will have missed the best part of the game (the thinking,
experimenting and learning on your own) That's the main reason some people say there's nothing to do in SE, because they blast thru the learning part relying on tutorials etc. Not using much intuitive thinking, creativity or curiosity - and they miss the whole thing. They understand little about the game and just complain about what doesn't work and what they cant do. They are unaware of and / or ignore all the things they can do.

Seek help only when you are stuck

Also - go into creative mode and experiment with the basics, build on what you learn.
Reverse engineering helps alot too. IMO