Made my first foray into “Rugged” territory last night. Essentially travelling to a different planet which is more hostile than the regular starting placid ones. The tutorial/quest system pushes you in that direction and you start to realise some of the materials you want to use are not available on your starting planet.
I went semi-prepared - food, tools and a blank atlas - and it was very different and a lot more hostile than “home”. Landing zone was a little dangerous and lots more aggressive wildlife about. I died. (penalty is in the form of reduced XP gain for a set amount - which is a decent way to do things). Went back but swapped in some better weaponry and did a little better. Fumbled about collecting stuff without finding what I needed something about Meteorite Drops. I was searching what looked like craters but not finding anything. Then one landed near me! You actually have to wait for one to drop and then loot it by mining what is in the core. The meteorite itself was good material to be grabbing anyway but it also seemed to attract a lot of unwanted wildlife. My trusty iron crossbow thing only got me so far - actually almost survived - but I died again. Respawning I thought I’d lost it but I found it again and mined it for all the goodies.
I explored a little whilst waiting for another drop - eventually finding enough raw yams and berries to survive and heal up. Located a guild house in the forest. It’s this social, not alone, feel that gives it a distinct vibe from Minecraft. It’s not overly populated with people but lots of signs of them. From huts and houses to shops and large people made areas.
Came back home to restock and rest up. Travelling back and forth via a warp gate is easy enough now - though the 500c cost each way is going to start eating into my cash if I do this too regularly. I’ve made a decent amount completing tasks but I’m not quite sure how I’ll make more as those dry up or get tougher. I think they have recently added a new machine which will “cash” in stuff you don’t want. No a great return but some way to make some cash from the junk you’ve collected. I needed more shelves and storage after my trip!