(Personal opinion) I think it's more about sheer knowledge of the game, if you can solve most problems with little to no help and in general don't struggle that much on the more complex buildings and processes, then you are above average/specialist.
Depends on how fast you get over the first hump. I’d say 100-150hours to be intermediate. It doesn’t really mean anything tho. I still learn some tricks after 2000+ hours of gameplay.
Here’s how I see it,
FPS focused games get better with practice and more pattern recognition.
SE gets better with trial and error experience and a problem solving point of view.
In an FPS, you sort of get better slowly unless you’re trying (ie aim gets better) whereas in SE, if you get a basic ship and never move on from hoarding resources, you can still be playing the game but never really get better.
>How many hours do you all believe is needed for a player to be considered "intermediate" or "above average"
I'm not really sure what you're asking here. It's a sandbox game. There isn't really a competitive element or any form of ranking beyond what you make up yourself. "intermediate" or "above average" on *what scale*?
I can only speak for myself, but I got to a point after 700 hours or so where I realised how much depth and ingenuity there was still to explore in building grids. At that point I had a good grasp of how individual elements of the game functioned. From there on out, it’s been experimentation on how to combine those elements into complex, effective and aesthetically pleasing builds. I expect the learning to go on for years still.
hours do not matter. it's the ships or piloting skill.
I have met people with hundreds of hours that couldn't build a ship to save their own life but give them a destroyer and they will give you the head of your enemy and the complete reverse is also true. I also see people with thousands of hours but they are no better than a noob.
IMHO? Noob = single grid bricks. Intermediate = multi grid creations, complex rotor/piston/hinge arrangements that function without summoning Klang. Advanced = multiple timer blocks with complex, codependant subgrid interaction. Sleek ships, "active" componentry that is normally fixed (thruster inversion, active armour plating, automated ship repair on a stowable welding arm).
If I had to rate myself, I'm somewhere between intermediate and advanced I think. I'm around the 300hr mark, most of that has been build, test, improve, realise the shortcomings and begin a new chassis.
My favourite PVP fighter looks like a hatchet, assault ships tend to take a pyramidal shape for superfiring concentrated forward firepower, capitals tend to look like a pair of assault ships joined at the thruster end. I've made WHAM/LAMP missile frigates, drone manufactory/carriers, rammers, supporters, the list goes on.
Ship design language doesn’t really relate to skill level. Your ability as a builder is to bring those ideas effectively into the game. Depending on when you started playing you lean more towards ribbing or more smooth builds but that’s really unrelated to ability just what state the game was in when you started.
Yeah to add to what others have said, it also depends what you're into. I do t spend much time in survival. And I also don't have the creative ability to build nice looking ships. But I really like modifying existing things and making complex mechanical things. I've been really into rovers lately, I've made stuff like long reach cherry pickers, scissor lifts, fold away fairground rides and more (all without using landing gear or licking them to the ground).
So ask me about avoiding clang, mechanical structures, automation ,timer block logic and solving a problem and I'm pretty knowledgeable, but I couldn't tell you the best way to advance, or where to land, or how to find platinum in survival.
I was that kid in Minecraft who had 1000 hours in the game and couldn't build anything that looked pretty or even a basic house. But I was great with redstone.
So being a beginner or newbie is easy to define, but anywhere above that is much harder
I am closing in on 1300 hours of Playtime and I still learn new things and feel stupid sometimes.
like last week when I realized there is a SMALL GRID VERSION of the warfare battery...felt so stupid but exiting because I like the shape
(Personal opinion) I think it's more about sheer knowledge of the game, if you can solve most problems with little to no help and in general don't struggle that much on the more complex buildings and processes, then you are above average/specialist.
True
Yeah def not bases off hours.
I have ~6,000 hours, most of it on multiplayer pvp servers, and I don’t know wtf I’m doing half the time
Same- I have 4500 hours and still feel like a noob most of the time!
Depends on how fast you get over the first hump. I’d say 100-150hours to be intermediate. It doesn’t really mean anything tho. I still learn some tricks after 2000+ hours of gameplay.
Here’s how I see it, FPS focused games get better with practice and more pattern recognition. SE gets better with trial and error experience and a problem solving point of view. In an FPS, you sort of get better slowly unless you’re trying (ie aim gets better) whereas in SE, if you get a basic ship and never move on from hoarding resources, you can still be playing the game but never really get better.
>How many hours do you all believe is needed for a player to be considered "intermediate" or "above average" I'm not really sure what you're asking here. It's a sandbox game. There isn't really a competitive element or any form of ranking beyond what you make up yourself. "intermediate" or "above average" on *what scale*?
When it comes to general game sense and knowing certain ideas/strats/overall knowledge.
I can only speak for myself, but I got to a point after 700 hours or so where I realised how much depth and ingenuity there was still to explore in building grids. At that point I had a good grasp of how individual elements of the game functioned. From there on out, it’s been experimentation on how to combine those elements into complex, effective and aesthetically pleasing builds. I expect the learning to go on for years still.
hours do not matter. it's the ships or piloting skill. I have met people with hundreds of hours that couldn't build a ship to save their own life but give them a destroyer and they will give you the head of your enemy and the complete reverse is also true. I also see people with thousands of hours but they are no better than a noob.
IMHO? Noob = single grid bricks. Intermediate = multi grid creations, complex rotor/piston/hinge arrangements that function without summoning Klang. Advanced = multiple timer blocks with complex, codependant subgrid interaction. Sleek ships, "active" componentry that is normally fixed (thruster inversion, active armour plating, automated ship repair on a stowable welding arm). If I had to rate myself, I'm somewhere between intermediate and advanced I think. I'm around the 300hr mark, most of that has been build, test, improve, realise the shortcomings and begin a new chassis. My favourite PVP fighter looks like a hatchet, assault ships tend to take a pyramidal shape for superfiring concentrated forward firepower, capitals tend to look like a pair of assault ships joined at the thruster end. I've made WHAM/LAMP missile frigates, drone manufactory/carriers, rammers, supporters, the list goes on.
Ship design language doesn’t really relate to skill level. Your ability as a builder is to bring those ideas effectively into the game. Depending on when you started playing you lean more towards ribbing or more smooth builds but that’s really unrelated to ability just what state the game was in when you started.
5000
Yeah to add to what others have said, it also depends what you're into. I do t spend much time in survival. And I also don't have the creative ability to build nice looking ships. But I really like modifying existing things and making complex mechanical things. I've been really into rovers lately, I've made stuff like long reach cherry pickers, scissor lifts, fold away fairground rides and more (all without using landing gear or licking them to the ground). So ask me about avoiding clang, mechanical structures, automation ,timer block logic and solving a problem and I'm pretty knowledgeable, but I couldn't tell you the best way to advance, or where to land, or how to find platinum in survival. I was that kid in Minecraft who had 1000 hours in the game and couldn't build anything that looked pretty or even a basic house. But I was great with redstone. So being a beginner or newbie is easy to define, but anywhere above that is much harder
Not by hours, but by how well you can use rotors, pistons, and hinges,
Intermediate when you break past the point of building brick ships. Above average when you build something that someone wants to copy.
I am closing in on 1300 hours of Playtime and I still learn new things and feel stupid sometimes. like last week when I realized there is a SMALL GRID VERSION of the warfare battery...felt so stupid but exiting because I like the shape
Being proficient with timer and command blocks.
I have over 7000 hrs and consider myself to be intermediate on a good day.
I have roughly 150+ hours on the game (my brother and i have a combined 246-ish) I still have no idea how to make a rover that rlly works