Elite: Dangerous

[DraQ]

that looks as if ed has more without even counting that most systems have multiple stars...

You seem to harbor a funny misconception that this screenshot is showing anything but a tiny fraction of space filled by soup of nameless red and brown dwarfs, between stars bright enough to actually be visible from around each other.

 

[SuicideBunny]

aha. i wouldn't know either way, since i'm not touching space engine until it has some actual gameplay.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

space engine is not and never will be a game. why should it have gameplay?

 

[DraQ]

space engine is not and never will be a game. why should it have gameplay?

Well, the creator seem to want to make it into a game - once he more or less finishes making it a universe.

 

[J_C]

, so they can turn their thrusters off, though that is just crazy and very fucking deadly most of the time, esp with incoming traffic.

Nah, it is not that difficult. If you line up perfectly, you just sail in. If there is no traffic of course.

You mean like on that youtube vid? Way beyond my skill level.

No. It's just about lining up at the entrance, with every system on, and you just storm in full speed. But you can do the stealthy approach too, I myself did it quiet a few times, and found it fun. It is just slower.

I need a little help guys. Where the hell can I buy better pulse laser for my eagly than F1? I'm searching for it a while now with no luck.

 

[Bradylama]

There are no "better" versions of your weapon than the stock option. They all come in fixed, gimballed, or turreted variants. Lately I've been having trouble finding burst lasers, though.

I think I'm going to shoot for the Cobra Mk. III for my first upgrade ship. Affordable, looks like a solid all-around choice. Good jump range, decent speed, decent cargo hold and a fair number of hardpoints. I like its multipurpose role.

Anything bad about it? Good choice?

You better plan for 2 million creds worth of upgrades then, unless you plan on doing nothing but mining & trade runs with it.

The Adder is more cost effective, more maneuverable, and makes a better smuggler when running illegal missions. The Cobra's high top speed, especially on boost, can cut down on a lot of time and makes it the ultimate pursuit ship. If you want to go straight for the Cobra that's fine, but I would recommend shooting for an Adder and planning out rare item trade runs. They're not as lucrative as they were in the Gamma, but some stations can put out a fairly large quantity of rare goods.

Right now, while the Onionhead event has been running for Kappa Fornacis, Harvestport has been retaining inventories as high as 17 units of Onionhead. It's illegal in most jurisdictions so you would need to stick with Anarchic systems, stations, or outposts. Outposts never scan you for illegal goods in my experience, because they never have a System Defense patrol. Carrying 16 tons of Onionhead in an Adder out to a destination roughly 160 lyrs from Kappa Fornacis can net you a score of 250,000 credits profit for an hour's run. It takes a while for the market to fill up, and you can buy a few then buy more as they refill, but 17 units is the max player limit I've seen for Onionhead. Yes, this is what I've been doing to make money since I blew up my fortune.

One thing to keep in mind about rare runs: it becomes cost-effective to fill up the hold with an A-rank frame shift drive when you're flying a Lakon 6 (which I still can't afford). Most rare producing stations are agricultural economies, which can make it difficult to set up an optimally profitable trade route.

I'm flying the Cobra now. It's better all around at everything, but much more expensive to risk after upgrades. The Viper is slightly cheaper than the Cobra but much better at combat, if you're going to settle down in a system and fight a war.

 

[praetor]

I'm flying the Cobra now. It's better all around at everything, but much more expensive to risk after upgrades. The Viper is slightly cheaper than the Cobra but much better at combat, if you're going to settle down in a system and fight a war.

lolno, the only thing the Viper has over the Cobra is hardpoint placement (rendered moot by gimballed weapons) and price (another moot point considering half of a decent rare goods route [i.e. 30mins] will yield you 3 times the insurance price of a decently kitted cobra). everything else is massively in Cobra's favour (more space for everything, higher top speed, roughly the same manoeuvrability, doesn't overheat when you fart, has shitloads of space for health regen shield banks that will make you nigh-invulenrable, double the jump range, faster energy recharge so you can boost all day long, etc...). i kinda want to use my parked viper but the cobra is so much better at combat i'm starting to think you guys either played a completely different game in gamma than what we got in release, are allergic to gimballed weapons, or you were drugged or something

it was obvious even before playing, but the ship progression/balance is just all kinds of bad/stupid

 

[Bradylama]

When you factor in that the Viper is 1/3 the cost to fly as the Cobra, and never overheats if you use multicannons, then it's not at all crazy to claim it's better at combat.

 

[Eirikur]

Here's my take on why the Viper is superior to the Cobra in combat...

If you have any kind of pride as a gamer, you target your weapons manually instead of using gimbals or turrets. If you don't have any pride you should still learn to aim them manually for the sake of efficiency, as fixed (manual) weapons deal higher damage than their counterparts.

Using fixed weapons on the medium hardpoints is unproblematic for both the Viper and the Cobra, but using them on the small hardpoints is only viable for the Viper. This is because the small hardpoints on the Cobra are placed so broadly apart that it's utterly impractical to aim them manually and actually hit something (with both small hardpoints at the same time) unless you're completely up-close to your target. Instead of having one focused aim, you have two aims a bit apart. This basically forces you to use inferior weapons on the small hardpoints of the Cobra.

I currently use Dumbfire missiles on my Viper's small hardpoints, but have to use the less lethal Seeker missiles on my Cobra's small hardpoints. If I switch to multi-cannons on the small hardpoints, I have to use the inferior gimballed versions for my Cobra.

Another essential reason is that the Viper has better maneuverability. If you often switch Flight Assist (FA) on/off (which you should in certain situations, especially for combat maneuvers) you know what I'm talking about. When you reactivate FA with the Viper it adjusts trajectory almost instantly, but the Cobra is slow to respond.

In regards to shield cells: It seems very likely that they'll be nerfed in the near future. But yes, for the time being you can be practically invulnerable by exploiting them, and you have room for more of them in the Cobra.

In any case... if you play as a pirate and/or smuggler the Cobra is a better alternative due to the increased cargo capacity, but if you're purely combat-oriented the Viper is in my opinion the superior choice.

 

[SuicideBunny]

that's pretty much as it should be, considering viper is a fighter and cobra multipurpose. if cobra had good hardpoint placement, it would be the perfect ship for everything but largescale trade.

 

[Bradylama]

Gimballed multicannons far exceed the fixed versions in terms of practicality. It's very difficult to get a good firing solution on smaller and more nimble targets. Gimballed multicannons are also far superior to the gimballed lasers, because milticannons have a cone of fire that goes everywhere at range, guaranteeing that at least one shell will hit and force the AI pilot to react.

The primary benefit of fixed multicannons is to go "whale hunting," or to hunt down Anacondas for assassination missions. Once their shields are finally down, fixed multicannons will tear that Anaconda to pieces.

I miss my Asp so much.

Long gone are the days when I could knock Eagles out of the docking port like an SUV merging into traffic.

 

[Trash]

heat and signature are different things, though connected. heat is the bar on the left (though very low heat will also result in low sig without silent running), signature is the weird signal line over fuel (the less agitated it is, the lower your signature). when you have everything off, you should turn on silent running too, as that will close your heat vents and reduce your signature further, just go in fast enough that you don't overheat. and for the alignment method, going at 4 engine pips and optimal thrust range is enough when you have silent running on and everything but thrusters and life support on.
the youtube vids usually show people aiming for the station with flight assist off, trying to get in using only momentum, so they can turn their thrusters off, though that is just crazy and very fucking deadly most of the time, esp with incoming traffic.

That's exactly how I do it. Though I usually also shut down life support. 3 or so minutes is more than enough time to get through the entrance. I like the stealthy approach as it keeps me from getting blasted to particles and/or accumulating fines.

Will have to try that chaff.

Anyway, grinding radio sources has become a bit boring and I suck at finding a decent trading run. Got some wealth so I'll either try and find a good solid trade run or install that interdiction thingie in my eagle and go and hunt bad guys.

 

[SuicideBunny]

chaff is evil.

 

[Bradylama]

The most high-value activity right now is trading in rare items, which you can probably find a list of producing stations somewhere. Beyond that, trading in mundane goods is for Lakon pilots who have enough cargo space to make a single trip profitable. (compared to system hopping for rares, Lakon flying is easy mode)

Beyond that, if you're a member of an alliance, have a particular ideological bent, or want to grind out reputation with one of the 3 big factions, trading does a lot to help out your favored faction. Filling demands for goods enables them to produce more in the system economy, which can eventually lead to a Boom Phase. It also has some impact on faction influence within a system, but it's unclear what kind of impact it has. Trading in weapons seems to make the biggest impact.

 

[J_C]

There are no "better" versions of your weapon than the stock option. They all come in fixed, gimballed, or turreted variants. Lately I've been having trouble finding burst lasers, though.

What do you mean? There are no better pulse lasers than F1 in the game at all? What the fuck? Or it is only true for the eagle, because you can only fit Class 1 sized weapons on it?

 

[J_C]

Anyway, grinding radio sources has become a bit boring and I suck at finding a decent trading run. Got some wealth so I'll either try and find a good solid trade run or install that interdiction thingie in my eagle and go and hunt bad guys.

Did you do misson runs? I think collecting black boxes, rebel transmissons and hunting pirates for 20K is quite fun for a time.

 

[Bradylama]

What do you mean? There are no better pulse lasers than F1 in the game at all? What the fuck? Or it is only true for the eagle, because you can only fit Class 1 sized weapons on it?

No, it's true for all of the classes. I've seen screenshots of people who have "overcharged" multicannons or some other special weapon variant on their ship. I think there are some systems out there that specialize in a particular part but I have yet to find them.

 

[Trash]

Did you do misson runs? I think collecting black boxes, rebel transmissons and hunting pirates for 20K is quite fun for a time.

Haven't really tried them yet. Most of these describtions seem like I'd need specialised equipment like a wake scanner or interdiction thingie to have a shot at them. That, and most factions simply don't trust me yet. Done mostly courier stuff so far. Plus, for some reason, most BBS's don't have many (if any) missions listed.

Trading has been too slow for me in my poor little sidewinder. Invested in a cargohold with gold and took it to a system a few jumps out. Made less than a thousand in profit. Killed a pirate in that system and got over a thousand. Then found some tech (3 or so) that I smuggled into the station and got several thousand for it on the black market. I think I'll let myself be swayed by qiuck and easy profit and join the dark side.

 

[J_C]

That's just stupid. I can buy everything but

Haven't really tried them yet. Most of these describtions seem like I'd need specialised equipment like a wake scanner or interdiction thingie to have a shot at them. That, and most factions simply don't trust me yet. Done mostly courier stuff so far. Plus, for some reason, most BBS's don't have many (if any) missions listed.

For finding black boxes, rebel transmissions, military plans, you don't need anything. You just visit USSs in the given system, and scoop them up. As for hunting pirates, you need a kill warrant scanner, which is cheap. You don't need to interdict in the missions. Just visit USSs and Nav Beacons.

As for my search for good weapons, according to the Elite wikia, there are none in Elite. Wether we talk about beam lasers, pulse lasers on multicannons, the best you can get is E-F rating. Railguns and missile launcher can get higher, but those are the exception. This is pretty stupid. So I have to stuck with shitty weapons for my ships until the expansion comes out? Because I suspect this is what Frontier is going for, putting better stuff in the expansion.

Edit: scratch that, someone commented that there are better ones in the Beagle 2 station.

Edit 2: scratch that too, that was an idiot who wrote that. There are no better weapons on Beagle 2, just the same shit.

 

[Trash]

Hah. Seems like I'll be going on mission runs then. Always remembered the multiple system hunts of Frontier's missions when I see them listed.* Didn't know it was just more radio source grinding.

Anyway, anyone know of a website or FAQ/Guide (people still make those btw?) that lists good traderuns? Incidently, did Braben release some hints or a roadmap on what to expect in Elite in the coming months?

* One of my fav gaming memories is of me hunting some pilot in Frontier for as assassination mission. He got away the first time, then he jumped away during combat in our second encounter and I couldn't find him in the third system. Annoyed I decided to go and land at the planetary spaceport. And as I came down from orbit what did I find? Him sitting on the tarmac. Raked his ship with lasers and missiles as I screamed down from the heavans. Then got the fuck away as I pissed off everything cop by doing so. Looking forward to Elite: Dangerous including planetary surfaces. Wonder how detailed and busy they'll be able to make them. Frontier's were something to be seen.

Ain't that lovely?

 

[Bradylama]

Nothing about the coming months, it's still long-term.

I've found that Service economies have the highest demand for goods, since they're bloated rich systems that produce nothing of value yet consume everything, just like the United States! So you'll find good prices if you've got high value cargo, but they don't produce anything you can carry to another station except biowaste.

Fringe worlds have really good margins. They do nothing but produce goods all day since they have little to no trade volume compared to core worlds, so they're all high supply & high demand. Very lucrative.

There are no permanent trade runs in this game. You'll need to work a spreadsheet sometimes to find that coveted 1,000 profit-ton margin. When too many players trade in one system (like Kappa Fornacis) they fill up all the high value orders and buy up all the high value produced goods, until the prices are either too low or too high to make good profits off of.

http://i.imgur.com/ang1e0I.jpg

This Trader's Bible is a good rule of thumb, but don't be shocked if you fly into a system where the to buy price is lower than what you paid for, even for an economy with typically high demand.

 

[Makabb]

Looking forward to Elite: Dangerous including planetary surfaces. Wonder how detailed and busy they'll be able to make them. Frontier's were something to be seen.

when they will add this?

 

[Morkar Left]

Beyond that, if you're a member of an alliance, have a particular ideological bent, or want to grind out reputation with one of the 3 big factions, trading does a lot to help out your favored faction. Filling demands for goods enables them to produce more in the system economy, which can eventually lead to a Boom Phase. It also has some impact on faction influence within a system, but it's unclear what kind of impact it has. Trading in weapons seems to make the biggest impact.

Is there a reference / source where it is mentioned / confirmed? Would be actually cool if it would really work that way.

 

[Trash]

Is there a reference / source where it is mentioned / confirmed? Would be actually cool if it would really work that way.

They've been advertising with this since the start of development. In the Kickstarter they named player influence over the galaxy as a mayor thing. With prices going up and down due to trading and players apparantly influencing faction power through combat and trading it appears it's actually implemented in some way already. They've also recently claimed that players have initiated several civil wars after them doing an update after a dedicated try by a group of players failed doing so. Personally I'm looking forward to them actually implementing factions building new space stations. Visiting a building site on that scale could potentially rock if done well.

And I do wonder what will happen when a system's economy goes down the drain for a longer time.

when they will add this?

Didn't I just ask? Anyway, seems like there is no (known to us) clear timetable but a list of features that is planned is around.

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Features_in_the_expansions

 

[DraQ]

* One of my fav gaming memories is of me hunting some pilot in Frontier for as assassination mission. He got away the first time, then he jumped away during combat in our second encounter and I couldn't find him in the third system. Annoyed I decided to go and land at the planetary spaceport. And as I came down from orbit what did I find? Him sitting on the tarmac. Raked his ship with lasers and missiles as I screamed down from the heavans. Then got the fuck away as I pissed off everything cop by doing so.

The guy you were seeking was probably a passenger, though and no longer on board after the first landing.

Looking forward to Elite: Dangerous including planetary surfaces. Wonder how detailed and busy they'll be able to make them. Frontier's were something to be seen.

Ain't that lovely?

We can't have anything like that today, you know, technical limitations.
Just like we can't have combat at arbitrary velocities and instance bubbles larger than tens of km.

Anyway, @ Elite: Dongerous fags, how's flight model? Are derpy max velocity limitations still in place? Rotation rate depending on velocity for whatever reason?
Tell me you can at least thrust freely with assist off (meaning main thrusters as well, not just RCS).