It more or less reminds me of that Rick and Morty episode. They were playing an asteroid shooting.

> Morty: it's boring. crank up the realism slider to max

> Rick: why does it get even more empty? Wait, I got it... because the universe is empty.

At the end, I think there is little point in simulating the vastness of the universe in a video game (even just a fraction of it).

▲ pbhjpbhj an hour ago | parent | next [-]

On that last point, when I first played Dyson Sphere Program (DSP), I left the starting planet without enough resources and didn't understand the inter-planetary warp drive system .. I just drifted out into space and couldn't get back with the fuel I had left. It was almost scary; the vastness of the space was so apparent, it was very immersive to me.

Early game you don't have enough resources to travel quickly through the solar system you start in, nevermind between systems, it takes time. It gives a real impression of scale and wonder imo. You have to plan taking the scale into account - and it's nowhere near realistic. They got a good balance there.

▲ trashb 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

  "I have never thought to myself that realism is fun" - Gabe Newell

▲

TylerE 2 hours ago | parent [-]

True realism is often interesting though, which provides more long term engagement than fleeting shallow fun. Look at some of the hard core 3rd party addons for flight sims, for instance, which are so realistic they actually ship licensed versions of the real aircraft training manuals and checklists - because every switch and procedure works.

	▲	NBJack an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		True realism at the right place and time. Fly out of SeaTac or Chicago O'Hare in most flight sims at sunrise, and you'll get a richly detailed airport, realistic traffic, realistic surrounding terrain, etc. with hopefully jaw-dropping views. Pick a random airport at a random time with an obscure name or location in the US Midwest, and they all start to look the same (even with detailed, realistic geography): a mostly flat expanse with some hills, and either just the local city lights (if that) or a dull mid-day sun. To be fair, those checklists are also largely there for so many pilots and those in training whom want to get the experience.
	▲	djeastm 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		It's interesting for a niche audience (and I'm one of them). But that's a small minority of gamers (and $$$).

▲ ByThyGrace 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

There are levels to this. The NMS day/night cycle is geocentric.

It's a sandbox game yet when it comes to its "space" premise everything is thrown out the window. Dogfights carry no difficulty or skill. Flying around a system is pretty much pointless other than to stumble upon quests (100% RNG). Most of the fun you'll get at planet surface.

▲ estebank 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't think that simulating the vastness of the universe is ever going to be fun, but approximating a theme park ride that evokes the vastness of the universe can be breathtaking, like Outer Wilds was. (The gameplay is confined to a single solar system, but it certainly makes you feel both the a sense of adventure, and the vastness of space-time.)

▲ flir 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That's the problem every Elite after the first one had.

The first one was dogfighting in space, all the others were so. much. space.

	▲	Waterluvian 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I think the first major issue I had with Elite Dangerous is that there’s, I think, three orders of magnitude of flying around. Which really disconnects me from the feel of it all.

▲ latexr 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR1uLHmxmcg