What game can this be compared to? And other questions...

[(Clever Name Here)]

So I know nothing about the game. Sorta reminds me of No Mans Sky, though minus the crafting it looks like. What is this game like? Is it fun? Slow? How is the learning curve?

[KrazyKrackA]

Kinda like no mans sky just 1000x more barren. There are no earth like planets you can explore its all just rock and dust and very little plants if any and all outpost look the same as far as on foot goes. Pretty sure Ship mechanics are their main focus. Pretty much do bounties and transport stuff from 1 spot to the next. Has potential but expect doing the same things over and over again (bounties,mine,transports things,scan plants).

[Schrobes]

I'd say this is a Simulator geared towards Ship Flight, Conflicts, and Economy. I think the closest to compare to would be EVE online.

No Man's Sky is an Arcade experience compared to this game. The Grind is real in this one two. PVP I think is optional? The Ship mechanics in this game demand scrutiny and attention far exceeding anything i have seen in space games.

[Sighman]

Originally posted by EDF! EDF! EDF!:

So I know nothing about the game. Sorta reminds me of No Mans Sky, though minus the crafting it looks like. What is this game like? Is it fun? Slow? How is the learning curve?

No Mans Sky is checkers. Elite Dangerous is chess.

[Brew]

ED is a real milky way galaxy, realistic star systems, immersive spaceflight, societal detail (faction/power/superpower rivalry, economy, government, security). You can't build any ships or bases (yet... supposedly some things like are that in development). There is less "survival", more careers. You play as a nobody special.

NMS is a colorful cartoon. You can build bases, deform terrain, assemble ships from parts. There is more "survival", fewer careers. You play as a special "traveler".

They are very different games.

[CarpoonSan]

In my opinion, it really just boils down to what kind of game you want, No Man's Sky is super in depth with planetary exploration, but definitely not realistic, space exploration is pretty much non-existent and combat is pretty barebones and simple, and the flight mechanics themselves are quite simple. No Man's Sky is also more of a sandbox experience with base building and ship customization, as well as being able to freely name your discoveries.

Elite Dangerous takes a far more realistic approach, being very empty all of the time, the game leans more toward realism with most planets having little to no life on them and space is empty, and more of a focus on being in a ship in space rather than on foot exploration. Thus, the ships are much more complicated in Elite Dangerous than in No Man's Sky making particularly combat a much larger challenge, and there is also much more combat variety, with being able to fight both Human ships and Alien ships, which both provide entirely different combat experiences. (No Man's Sky has the Sentinels, I know, but combat with them isn't too different from standard space combat in that game.) Ship customization is also very different, there aren't ship classes with ranks, instead, there are simply manufactured ships that you tailor for your needs with certain modules. many ships are designed for a particular purpose, but you can use any ship for whatever you want, just like in No Man's Sky, but from what I hear tailoring a specific class of ship to do something else effectively is a huge grind. This game is a huge grind, be willing to spend whole weekends grinding to min-max just one of your ships, or grinding for money to buy modules or a fleet carrier, or grinding to unlock modules through Powerplay. Unlike No Man's Sky, Elite Dangerous simulates civilization and society through what we call the BGS factions compete for power in every populated system which can lead to a number of situations, such as the factions warring with each other, or an economic boom, just to name a few. There's also something known as Powerplay where various figures, known as 'Powers' compete for influence over the occupied systems, which works alongside the BGS, you collect things called merits which is your progression metric, the more you help your power the more merits and therefore goodies you get, and each power has their own buffs which are only active in their controlled systems, to give you an incentive to help your chosen power. As I mentioned before, this game takes a heavier focus on Space itself, instead of planets, but cool discoveries in space are few and far between, but let me tell you, it's worth it because the rare discoveries are super cool. There is still planetary exploration but it is super different, you only get one vehicle, a rover, and planets are much more barren, which is why it can be very lucrative if you can find life on a planet, there are structures too, but they are limited in number and all of the discovered ones are documented online. And minerals aren't super abundant either, you have to find specific nodes that drop them once you shoot them with your rover. Unlike No Man's Sky, there is not a station in every system, it is VERY possible to get stranded if you're two far from civilization with no way to refuel, which you save yourself by self-destructing and paying the insurance costs for your ship. Crafting is a thing, but its different, you don't craft items, you use the materials you gather to craft upgrades for your modules, which force you to visit specialists known as engineers at their own planetary settlements to do so. The last thing I can think of is both jumping between systems and travelling within one uses the same fuel, as opposed to No Man's Sky, unless you have a Fleet Carrier (The Freighter in No Man's Sky pretty much) which use Tritium for their jumps, and it isn't the easiest thing to find or that cheap to buy.

TL;DR
No Man's Sky: Sandbox with a focus on planetary exploration and ships are really just a medium between planets.
Elite Dangerous: Much more realistic experience with a focus on ships being the main gameplay.

[Sighman]

The great thing is when you get tired with one game for a while, you can play another. You're not getting married to them.

[Katatonik]

I have the same question but more narrowed, what is this game compared to:
1. Classic MMORPG like FFXIV, Warcraft, Elder Scrolls Online, etc
2. Survival game like DayZ, SCUM, Rust, etc but in space, or
3. Online Freelancer

[Sighman]

Definitely not 2.

There are community events, and you can choose to play on Open, Private Group or Solo, but it's not an MMO where you'll see dozens of players queuing up to hand in the One True Trinket to an NPC, and there's no plotted storyline or story quests. Just a ton of rich lore, a huge Codex, and voiced news articles leading (often) to in-game stuff.

Instead of ranking up your character's skills, making them better in combat, you can build better ships ... but a good/experienced pilot will destroy you in seconds even if they're flying one of the weakest ships. It's about player skill where combat is concerned, not character stats.

There's also a ton of peaceful gameplay, and all the on-foot stuff as well.

[Katatonik]

Originally posted by Sighman:

Definitely not 2.

There are community events, and you can choose to play on Open, Private Group or Solo, but it's not an MMO where you'll see dozens of players queuing up to hand in the One True Trinket to an NPC, and there's no plotted storyline or story quests. Just a ton of rich lore, a huge Codex, and voiced news articles leading (often) to in-game stuff.

Instead of ranking up your character's skills, making them better in combat, you can build better ships ... but a good/experienced pilot will destroy you in seconds even if they're flying one of the weakest ships. It's about player skill where combat is concerned, not character stats.

There's also a ton of peaceful gameplay, and all the on-foot stuff as well.

I see.
I thought we are gonna just juke it out and everyone is a bandit like no 2 survival game.

If I can play peacefully, gonna grab it now since it's on discount now.

[Sighman]

Originally posted by Katatonik:

I see.
I thought we are gonna just juke it out and everyone is a bandit like no 2 survival game.

If I can play peacefully, gonna grab it now since it's on discount now.

If you play Solo or PG and take missions, you can be interdicted by NPCs, and if you break the law you can have bounty hunters after you, but they're not too hard to escape. You won't see any other random players though.

(Everyone can create their own private group in-game, and you can control who joins it. Some have 1 member, some have 30,000)

Once you're about 500 light years outside the bubble of inhabited systems, you won't even see NPCs.

[Katatonik]

Originally posted by Sighman:

Originally posted by Katatonik:

I see.
I thought we are gonna just juke it out and everyone is a bandit like no 2 survival game.

If I can play peacefully, gonna grab it now since it's on discount now.

If you play Solo or PG and take missions, you can be interdicted by NPCs, and if you break the law you can have bounty hunters after you, but they're not too hard to escape. You won't see any other random players though.

(Everyone can create their own private group in-game, and you can control who joins it. Some have 1 member, some have 30,000)

Once you're about 500 light years outside the bubble of inhabited systems, you won't even see NPCs.

I kinda see the big picture now. At least not everyone is a bandit and make the game a battle royale.

Gonna get it now, thanks!

[The man, the myth, the leg]

seeing actual players is quire rare(otuside of a few notable systems), but pretty much every location has a good ammount of various NPCs

you can also play and progress equally in private servers

if you are carrying stuff there are still NPC pirates what will try to intercept you and steal your cargo. if you get a bounty on your head you will also have to worry about local law enforcement.
or you could become the bounty hunter, looking for various criminals
or just abandon all civilisation and become an explorer

[EverySingleTime]

ED is the DCS of spaceship games.

[loandreu]

Originally posted by Sighman:

No Mans Sky is checkers. Elite Dangerous is chess.

With the new PP2, it could even be compared to go.

[brionl]

Originally posted by Sighman:

The great thing is when you get tired with one game for a while, you can play another. You're not getting married to them.

Whhaaaaatttt? That's just crazy talk.