I think the new sound engine lacks something, I don't even know if the sound engine is new just whenever I turn on absynth 3 it was hard to turn off and it seem like a one of a kind VST while abynth 4 just seems like a boring upgrade of absynth 3.
sci-fi sounds are sweeeeeeeeeet! just process then
When I wanted to learn Absynth 3 - didn't take long they are all universial. just sit down and mess around with it.. try not to make music. it's easy to learn
Once u get past the fact that the presets are presets and that its a synthesizer that will benifit u when u program your own sounds you will discover Absynth is a great tool in the arsenal. Get the tutorial dvd from NI. I used to use Reason for my soft synth but after copping Komplete 4 it is collecting dust