head to head
vs
Frontier: Elite IIvsThief: The Dark Project
Frontier: Elite II leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Thief: The Dark Project leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Frontier: Elite IIThief: The Dark Project
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 3
Frontier: Elite II leans harder on execution: Newtonian combat and manual landings need some hands
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 3
Frontier: Elite II leans harder on variance: Procedural galaxy hides markets and encounters until charted
Optimization8 vs 8
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.