Differences and similarities with Space Engineers.

[WarPigeon]

Space Engineers is probably my favorite game on Steam right now. How does this game compare to it? I'm not asking "which game is better". I just want to know how the gameplay, engineering, sim aspects of each differ. I have a feeling I'm going to get this game eventually anyway, but I want a better picture of what it's like first.

[wishi]

This game actually works. ;) ... i play space engineers since a year and i have a problem finding a goal in se. After building big ships in multiplayer it turns out that this engine doesnt even is threadet. The hole Server in SpaceEngineers is running on one core. also the Physics in SE is crap... for example if you build a thruster parallel to the point of mass, the ship should rotate, but in SE the engine dont know this type of phyics. I dont think that SE will ever be a fully functional game, because the developer allready left other project like miner wars.

From the depth is able to calculate more stones including a better physics. it is imoprtant to set the thruster on the right place. The developer is know implementing more multiplayer functions like CO-OP missions/Campaign. Sice a few weeks you can use the creative in Multiplayer. He also hired an Grafikartist who is redrawing the hole models.

even From the depth is new on Steam, it has a lot more to offer than Space Enginner, on the other hand it has a lot potential, since it has a good developer.

[A Fish]

Bro, please, "From the Depths is able to calculate more stones including a better physics"

lol wut?


SE has an amazing in-house engine, yes, it ignores center of mass, until another ship latches on.


The main difference is the building, for me.

(obviously its coool that you can fight ship-ship in from the depths, i'm simply assuming the guys at keen intend on getting there eventually themselves, so thats neither here nor there)


With keen, they went about it old-school voxel style, with what amounts to legos. single cohesive function blocks are the primary method of building in SE,

In From the Depths, its a much more multi-block system of things.

For example, there isn't a "gatling gun" block, there's a firing chamber, a few assorted barrels, gauge increase blocks, and different ammo types.

I REALLY enjoy that aspect of from the depths,

Honestly, they're two halves of the same game to me, ones got eerything but the stuff the other has and vice versa.

p.s. really hope they all end up working together eventually haha

[wishi]

Originally posted by UEMC FungIAmongI (Admiral):

SE has an amazing in-house engine, yes, it ignores center of mass, until another ship latches on.

wtf ????, SE's game engine is crap... it runs on a single core (for those who dont know what this means. If the server has 4 cores you can use 1/4 of the Server power ;) ), it also has a lot of problems managing the memory ( 5-6 GB Memory in use for nothing), iam reading the post of the community everyday end even the biggest fanboy dont like low fps or crashing games in multiplayer. good looking ships or a working interface has nothing to do with the engine itself. The problems with the engine are since day one. On our community Server we have to restrict the building of the players in a lot of ways some times we have to erase a building from the server, because the Server cant handle it. Also nearly all features like rotors dont work in multiplayer and causes more lags or funny explosions. you can play SE in single player. but thats all. Multiplayer you can play on a Server until the admin tells you to stop ;) ...

For real, they have 10 times the buddget and time than From the depths, but have a lot more problems

[A Fish]

Yeah, it's one of the underlying fears of the SE community, that they'll do what they did to Miner Wars, to SE.

However, they created the engine on their own, so theres that, and they've got a plan, they say.

So i'm content to wait it out, they're starting to get around to focusing more on the optimization of things.

The way they go about things may not be the most effecient, and they're probably setting themselves up for more work than necessary, the way they're going about things., but i'm not a programmer haha

Their budget though, is an issue there, they've sold so many copies, they can afford to really fix some things.

but hey, they say they got a plan, and they'e already got my money so they got my best wishes haha

And who knows, maybe they're taking it easy for a bit, and enjoying their success, I know I would, a bit early, for sure, but you can tell they're trying to pawn a good bit of the work for fleshing the game out off to the modding community, which sort of upsets me, but also is exciting, i just dont think its at that place yet, ya know?

and hey, there really isnt an MP experience to be had yet in From the Depths either, ya know

[Bobblehead O Doom]

Both games have their strengths and weaknesses. From the depths is largely done on a single core as well with only one specific task being processed on a separate thread.

I enjoy both games but ftd has pulled me away from se for the last few weeks. Ftd has more of a focus on combat while se is more about engineering.

[A Fish]

yeah, if only they'd work together haha

[WarPigeon]

Re: Performance:
So far SE runs pretty well for me. Maybe I am just lucky.

Re: Physics:
I actually like that the thrusters don't take the center of mass into account. It makes it really easy to make something quick if you only want to focus on visual design. Moreover, if you want something more realistic, you can just use gravity drives instead of thrusters. Gravity drives take center of mass into account. You can even use well positioned gravity drives in lieu of a gyroscope if you want.

The one thing that worries me about FTD is that you do have to be especially careful with the physics of your ship. Like I said, sometimes I just want to make something quick and pretty.

Also, and maybe this is just me, but the flying movement in FTD seems a bit "floaty" (I'm just judging off of videos though).

Re: Updates/Abandonment:
Both devs seem quite dedicated as far as updates go. I have a feeling that Keen learned from their mistakes in the past, and even if they abandoned the game in its current situation I'll still be playing it for some time to come (though of course I'll be a little disappointed).