Potential new player here (it’s on my wish list). From lurking on social media, I gather that the devs have released several significant updates recently, among them an overhaul of space stations (“Orbital”). I get that they are procedurally generated, which means that no two should be alike, but… how different are they?

I ask b/c, while this might sound silly, during my time in Elite Dangerous, one of my favorite things was approaching stations, lining up my ship with the entrance, avoiding collisions, dealing with all the different axes & what not, and then setting her down on the landing pads. (and then I wish I could get out of my ship and explore on foot)

With space stations being procedurally generated, do they still feel pretty same-y or are they unique enough to keep someone like myself entertained? The wiki page for the Orbital update promises a variety of space station interiors, just wondering if actual players would agree.

Also, does NMS have any sort of “advanced flight mode” where I can enjoy the challenge of steering my ship through the obstacles or is it basically fly within the vicinity of a space station and press X to auto dock?

Sorry for the barrage of questions. Thanks in advance!

  • nocturne@sopuli.xyz
    4·
    3 days ago

    The outside they are pretty different, but the inside, as far as I have seen, is the same. There are three dominant species across the galaxy and each station is inhabited by that system’s species. And there are also pirate stations. Those are different than the others. There used to be abandoned stations in abandon systems, but I have not yet played enough (I mostly play during expeditions currently) to comment on those. Lastly there is the anomaly, I will not go into detail about that because of spoilers. But it is different than the others.

    One thing I will tell you is once you get close enough to a station’s entrance you are put onto autopilot for landing.

    • yo_scottie_ohOPEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      but the inside, as far as I have seen, is the same.

      Gotcha. This seems to contradict the marketing materials on the NMS website, but is in line with other commenters—thanks for confirming that.

      From the website:

      Space Station interiors are now procedurally generated and vary dramatically from station to station. A huge range of different designs are waiting to be found, as well as a wide array of atmospheric and lighting arrangements.

      I gather there’s some variety depending on the system’s economy type (e.g. high tech vs mining), just not as “dramatic” as the devs promise. And honestly, this isn’t my only reason for enjoying space games, so I’ll probably scoop up NMS during the next sale anyway and then see for myself. Thanks again.