Recs.
Updated
Elite: Dangerous is an always online single player MMO space simulation game that consists of simulated space combat, trading and adventuring.
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro A very realistic representation of space & star systems gives the game a feeling of realism
Elite Dangerous uses publicly available real world star maps that are available of the Milky Way consisting of 150,000 star systems. Although full access to the entire galaxy is limited in the current beta, it will be possible to visit any of the 400 billion stars in our galaxy on a 1:1 scale in the final version. Stars that are currently known are properly mapped in place and are the same type as they are in reality. Stars that don't have collected data on are procedurally generated which allows exploring any of the 400 billion of them.
Star systems are intelligently simulated using the "Star Forge", a generator that simulates the creation of a star system forming from its nebular cloud to determine what celestial bodies appear and what orbits they have. This feature leads to many varied and unique star systems possibly with planets that can co-orbit around each other, or with binary star systems, and infinitely more possibilities.
Pro Being in the cockpit creates near perfect immersion when used with a virtual reality headset
More so than FPS games, Elite Dangerous achieves incredible immersion by positioning the player where the pilot is. When using a HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) controller, the player's arms are positioned exactly as they are in game, and move in game when the player moves them. This puts the player's entire body in the same position as the character, which really cements the feeling of actually being there.
Pro Being built with future expansion in mind allows the game to be versatile in its developement
When Elite Dangerous comes out, development won't stop. To build a game with the huge scope of Elite Dangerous, not all of it can be done at once, so the developers have adopted an approach of incremental improvement. Various gameplay elements are being designed as a foundation for later features. For example, although planetary landings aren't going to be available until a later update, the engine has been designed to be able to support going from lightyears away to meters away.
Pro No VR sickness thanks to the design of the game, always being stationary in a cockpit
In games that have you moving around, it is very easy to get motion sickness from the disjointed experience between the character walking while the player's sitting still. By being a cockpit game, Elite Dangerous provides a frame of reference for the player's mind to attach himself to, greatly reducing the possibility of motion sickness.
Pro Exploration at every level of detail planned, which would make for a very large game to explore
Full exploration of the galaxy is planned, allowing the player to be able to jump from star system to star system, and fly around within a solar system from planet to planet, eventually going all the way down to a planet's surface at a 1:1 scale in a later update. Planetary landings will require a lot of details to be developed and designed, but the player can still see the level of detail shift in action when flying into a planet's rings, where getting close enough show the individual asteroids within, which the player can then interact with through mining, or by having a battle among them.
Cons
Con Really complicated to learn
Looking up FAQs and trade routes from first hand users will be the norm for figuring out many aspects of Elite: Dangerous. On top of this notes will have to be taken, which is made more difficult by the fact the game does not support in-game note taking. A pad and paper would be a great way to remember all of the minutia of the game, however this is a VR game which makes taking/reading external notes less than ideal.
Con Some areas/settings cause judder
Shadows are something that can really help immersion and realism, however the current implementation of shadows in the game makes judder unbearable in a lot of areas, such as inside stations or in some high-density asteroid belts. Turning off shadows is currently recommended for a smooth VR experience, but fixing shadows would be better. There's also some temporary judder issues when entering or exiting hyperspace (though it's better than it was in beta) and occasionally when you get close to a planet. Still not bad enough to stop me playing it for hours, but definitely has room for improvement.

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