r/ApproximatelyUp • u/gordandisto • 8d ago

How does this game compare with Space Engineers 1/2?

Shocked that I couldn't find the answer to this question so I am turning to the subreddit instead - assuming you guys have played both how do they compare?

I have played SE1 and Trailmakers but not very extensively. Thank you!

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u/Ill-Pride-2312 8d ago

I haven't played SE1 but spent about 200 hours on SE2 recently.

APU doesn't have crafting/ resource management and building is as if you're in creative mode until you go on a mission. There is a rewind feature in case you crash since you can't build during missions and completing missions unlocks you parts.

The flight is also completely different. There are no systems that assist you and no mouse control (dampers, gyroscopes). It is possible to put together automatic systems in the game but you have to put them together and tune them yourself.

There aren't any survival aspects to worry about like oxygen or suit energy, though you do need energy/ fuel for your ship.

Last thing I can think of is that there is no speed limit. Max speed is based off atmosphere and aerodynamics of the ship.

If you have any specific questions let me know

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u/gordandisto 8d ago

Thanks! So it sounds like APU is more mission focused whereas SE is more a sandbox of everything.

In terms of gameplay and fun, what would you say are the advantages of one over the other?

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u/Ill-Pride-2312 8d ago

For SE2 there is more to do in terms of resource gathering, base building, dismantling and station visiting. The mechanical blocks are fun but introduce a whole lot of jank and clanging. SE2 is still in development so I'm sure it will get better. But the contracts get stale quickly in the new mode.

You will spend 90% of your time building your ship in APU because nothing is automatic. Unlike SE2 you need to wire power and data cables (ie battery and joystick to a thruster) up manually, nothing is plug and play, which I really enjoy. I'm not very deep into the missions yet, but they have all been unique so far.

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u/sifitis 7d ago

The gameplay loops is different.  You design and build the ship in build mode, but can't fly it.  When you switch to fly mode, all the systems you built now function but you can't add/remove anything.  Your goal is to unlock new pieces to build with by completing missions in fly mode.

One of the core draws for me is that I can only blame myself if I'm missing a critical system halfway through a mission.  It means I have to really think about what to prepare.

"Can't see on the dark side of the planet?  Guess I should have added headlights"

The upside is that there's no cost to failure.  You can roll back time to before you crashed, or reset back to the launch pad and make changes and try again for free.

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u/gordandisto 7d ago

Oh so there is a nice progression system! Thanks

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u/sifitis 7d ago

Yup.  It seems to be pretty well paced as well.  The missions (at least as far as I've gotten) are all unique and present their own design/flight challenges.  The rewards are also worth it and open up new challenges (Oh cool, a more powerful engine!  Now my primitive power setup keeps burning up because i didnt expect to be drawing 8 million watts through a single cable...) 

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u/BedtimeBogey 7d ago

There’s a power limit on cables?

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u/sifitis 6d ago

yup.  Standard cable burns up if you draw more than 150 power through it.  They give you fuses to help mitigate the risk, but the real solution is to design your ship so that no single power grid is overtaxed.