I enjoyed both. my gaming group definitely preferred Empyrion though. especially with the Reforged Eden mod.

I enjoyed building things in space engineers more due to the mechanical aspects. and the fact that you could program and automate things. I enjoyed the hell out of making a giant drill. and the vehicles you can build can do really cool things, check out the steam workshop for cool examples.

on the other hand, in Empyrion you actually get to use the vehicles. and they felt more like my own personalized ship. plus going from picking plants on the surface to launching into space is a great starting game loop. and then once in space you can do mining more easily than space engineers or just take out and scrap opposing ships. or trade is viable.
it can be challenging to get the initial materials required. it can also be unforgiving if you pick a fight above your pay grade, so make sure to save (and prioritize a shield). the building is not as complex, but that actually works for it. my buddy builds some mighty cool ships. I tended to get a cool ship from the workshop and then heavily modify it to make it my own, which is a fun feature.

the xcover is a great phone. not the fastest or with the best camera, but the other features make it fantastic. it’s also pseudo-ruggedized, I carry it without a case and it’s held up great to a few typical drops and such

this is the biggest disappointment to me. the game wasn’t good enough to justify all the crazy star wars mods that could have been. even lightsabers and speeders won’t make this into a good game unfortunately

honestly, even then it’s not really worth the time IMO

It would show a distinct lack of curiosity to have not imagined it even once

Goddamn, the devs of this game are just so passionate about it and it shows in the game itself, love to see it!