looking at this now that it's 15, Horizons is what got me interested, but since the price is level now I'm so tempted... but I guess I still don't really understand the game flow. Is it similar to Eve in that you do whatever, but it's in-cockpit instead with more actiony combat?
it's okay if you don't answer, I'll actually read the thread now. just displaying my interest brahs.
I just tried a trial of Eve a looooooong time ago, so don't take my knowledge of Eve as gospel or anything, but basically I would say Elite is less objective based or anything like that. Yes, huge fights can break out, and it definitely is more action-focused like you said. There's a simulation aspect to it so the ships behave realistically, there are tons of functions of your ship to get the most out of piloting it.
Being completely honest, I would say Elite is a grind, but the phrase "The journey is better than the inn" really applies here. There's no "classes" or set career paths, or anything like that. You do whatever the hell you want to. However it's up to you to choose how you make money. There are ranks in three categories: Combat, Trade, and Exploration.
There are multiple methods of making money in each of these. For instance, for combat you can go to conflict zones, pick a side, kill as many ships as you can on the enemy side, and turn in the combat bonds for cash. Combat bonds are a bit more consistent based on what rank and what kind of ship you kill. Bounty hunting generally involves going to Resource Extraction Sites and killing wanted ships. The more dangerous of an RES you go to, the bigger ships with bigger bounties on them.
Trading sounds boring at first, and I was of the same mindset of a while. I still much prefer combat, but trading is basically about finding trade routes for commodities where you can buy low and sell high. You can either figure out the trade routes yourself using the in-game Galaxy Map, or use sites that set up trade routes for you based on where you are.
Exploration is generally the idea of just going to systems no one has been to yet, and selling the data you get from scanning planets, moons, gas giants, etc. Many of the pretty looking screenshots you see in this thread are from explorers. You would get a ship that has a long jump range, and a fuel scoop and can go a long way from civilization to see what's out there. You can see black holes and other cool stuff like that. It's a more relaxing path, and probably the least profitable right now, but Frontier is working toward making it more viable.
There's a ton more options in what you can do for each of these. There's also the Powerplay system which is a whole other explanation.
Basically, if you like space sims, and general flight simulation, with combat, you will probably like Elite. This comes with a warning though: The game doesn't throw the fun things at you automatically, you have to go find them yourself. You might have your own personal goal of what you're trying to make money toward, and how you're going to get there.
