@howardian: So it depends on how you define robust. When exploring, you're literally flying around in your ship until you find a place you want to land (be that a POI highlight, you spot a mineral you need, or it just looks cool). From there you are walking around, while managing your shields and life support to deal with the planets' atmosphere (cold/hot, toxic, radioactive, freezing rain, etc).
You will find barren planets, just as you would in a real galaxy, but you'll also find planets filled with life (both fauna and flora). On any planet though, you will find elements that you will need for like upgrades, fuel, and repair; and to gather them you shoot them with your mining beam. Some elements are rarer than others (damn you iridium), while sometimes you'll find massive deposits which can be exploited for easy cash.
Each planet has a set number of flora, fauna, and geology (that number can be 0 for flora and fauna), and to scan them you use your binoculars (think tagging in MGS5). Whatever you discover you can name and upload to the server for easy money and the possibility of having another player find Harambee2016.
Using the elements, you will build upgrades for your suit (extra stamina, more jetpack, better at cold, etc.), for your ship (better warp drive, better deflector shields, better guns, etc.), and your multifoil (better mining, faster cooldown, shoot grenades, etc.). All of these things you build will use various elements and/or constructed pieces to make and recharge them.
Combat with the multifoil is not great; and you'll be doing it against different types of sentinels and angry fauna. Combat with the ship is ok, but could be better; and you'll be doing that against pirates, sentinels, and victims of your piracy.
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