[Skybird]

So, three hours of first impressions.

It seems I belonged to the more lucky ones. After an installation that lasted 1 and a half hour, thanks to the incomplete DVD content), I thankfully was NOT playued by the many startup problems the forums are singing symphonies of currently. Many people seem to have immense troubles, not being able to start the game, haunted by low frame rates, and so much more. Cannot say whether there is a difference between those buying the DVD and those downloading it all from Steam. I had NONE of these issues so far. Frames are fluid, and absolutely playable, can't give a number, but I have no complaint there with graphics setting in the medium and upper range.

The visuals are - stunning. It gives me very plenty of Blade Runner feeling, it is the intense colours and neon-sort of looks all around, also, the police gliders remind of the flying cars in BR. The space station I checked out so far, was really big and complex in structure. Plenty of traffic all around, and some individual fights. However, the AI clearly finds its limits here and there, and the flights physics of individual fighters sometimes seem to "warp" a bit . I assume the game is not really fully optimized and that is why the AI lags at times. The handling of the ship is okay with mouse and keyboard, joystick and joypad I have not tried. The space around is very colourful and filled with sensations, from gas c louds over asteroid fields to things that i still have not figured out what to be. It does not necessariyl look like space in some sectors, but like the painted cover of a fantasy book, however, it is great fun watching it. The system of stellar "Autobahnen" works very well. I can imagine to have some nice fighting once I have upgraded my ship a bit, becoming faster and more agile. Gameplay is essentially a beefed up cloine of the old Elite, paired with Frontier and some more games like that. The sations can be docked with and wlaked around, however, here I see the chance that the walking inside can become repetitive quite soon, since there is not too much diversity in interiors and changes. People of many different functiosn and professions stand or walk around and can be hired, asked, or offer you jobs and contracts. What Elite did with simple text menus, is done via this boarding-the-station and meeting people. Sound and music adequate - nothing special and sensational, but okay. The world seems to be very big, every sector being done in a different visual style, probably.

The game offers very huge potential, if it is modding-friendly (what I do not know). But it is a porked release for many people, obviously, or see my DVD complaint above. The publisher rushed this out too early. But I see reason to stay optimistic that this turns into something really good and big. first the obvious bugs and problems need to be worked out. Then let the modding community embark on it. The world they are given to work with, looks stunning and is huge and probably filled with wonders.

There is nothing wrong with waiting some more time and watch things unfolding before buying. But to not leave it behind already completely - keep it on your radar. If the developer does his homework now and the modding scene springs to live, this has the potential to become something extraordinary.

Status: it got rushed out and shows that with its unneeded starting problems - but it also shows its tremendous potential. Outlook: positive and quite promising. If modding is supported, the galaxy is the limit.