I know the space stations and ship building are the highlights and everyone is talking about them, but I just wanted to share my love for some features that I seriously appreciate but aren’t really talked about:

First, I’ve always complained about the standing system being completely pointless. Even when Outlaws came out and gave us the ability to reset our standing, I kept thinking there was no point for it, apart from like one mission being locked off, it genuinely felt like the numbers you saw in your catalogue were completely detached from the actual gameplay. So I’m finally overjoyed that it has a genuine purpose now with discounts! Prices in station shops reflect your standing with the race and it tells you by how much! It’s a start I’d say, but a really impactful one too!

The guild now also has a physical presence and no longer feels like some imaginary concept that was also entirely detached from the game and only existed as a number in your catalogue. Now they’re actually in the game (I still haven’t figured out what determines which one of the 3 appear in stations) and raising standing with them is actually really encouraging since they give you some really useful items either for free or at a discount. Increasing standing with them is also much easier now with the new donation mechanic rather than doing missions.

Next, the frigate expeditions once again always felt like an imaginary thing; you sent them out on expeditions, waited a few hours, and they’d say what happened and you had to pretend it was true while they gave you the loot. Now there’s an actual consequence that you get to be involved in. Instead of the whole thing being a passive money making thing, they occasionally ask you for advice or help protect them from enemies. One time I was asked to warp to their location and land on a frigate so I could read a message they found and they asked me what to do… turns out the language I knew directly affected how much of the text was readable and I could make an informed decision, so knowing the language has more meaning as well!

And lastly, the trading. It was something I knew existed but 100% ignored. But now the economy scanner has a new function where you can choose to detect economy surges and it’ll tell you which system to invest what in, and it’s on a timer so it’s like a little mini game to get rich. Trading is actually kinda fun now that there’s an actual guided mechanic around it.