Still learning. Replaced an 8T rack with a 16T one now, and will do the other once I can afford it. Found travelling 0.22ly in supercruise took forever (about 90 minutes) and on searching in case I’m doing something silly, I was far from the only one to attempt that journey. It’s the station by proxima centauri and I only went there since I was next to Sol, and heard there were rare goods there. I have now 5T of the stuff and will see how much that sells for as I head outwards.
I almost feel confident enough to shoot at something… how hard can it be?
Still at it… got successfully interdicted while in the Cobra, which also gave me a chance to test out my combat skills. I won The other ship was also a Cobra and never managed to get past my shields.
Even with a pimped out Cobra, trading was slow so I’ve now got a 2nd ship: a T6 now with max cargo of 100T, and working on the other systems now and then. I haven’t got the credits to make optimum profit but at 70-90k each way it’ll do for now. Few more runs should allow me to start on the pricier stuff and get even more. Bit paranoid about getting interdicted in this, but I’m sitting in empire space now for a change of scenery from federation stuff.
Great job Mackerel! The T6 is not the most combat-worthy or agile vessel and can be taken down by smaller ships like Vipers and Cobras, but is a great lugger of goods from one place to another. Check out the Elite Dangerous forum for info on trade routes for Rare goods that can be found and used to make massive profits in a short space of time. It’s not my thing as I’m more interested in getting missions completed and the occasional combat bout to keep my reputation up and now as a Beta backer I’m playing mostly in version 1.1 Beta 2 and waiting for a chance to join a Wing of attack players to have a go at bigger ships, pirates, griefers and arrange co-ordinated attacks. Still not fully in place, but should be a hoot when it’s available.
Trouble is for that other stuff you need the right kit unless you feel suicidal. And to get that kit you need credits… I did the rare thing to get the initial capital, but the long jumps needed meant it took some time. I’ve kinda got a route going now with the T6 where I should break 100k each way average soon. That’s only two jumps apart, and one of the stations is close to the hyperspace exit, so I should be able to get the time taken right down, and profits right up! Until someone else steals my route as it is now public, using Slopeys to find it in the first place. Thankfully the bit of space I’m in doesn’t seem particularly active and I was both of the only recent visitors (in each ship!).
Good idea Mackerel. The others who have travelled there say that the only thing to be aware of is damage caused by getting too close to red dwarf stars when fuel scooping. The further out you go there will not be any repair facilities. The new mobile stations like Yembo will start to be created and moved at some stage, but that is a long way off, so in the mean time, be careful out there
Red dwarfs are fine. I only had one mishap so far on this trip when I pressed the jump button a little too close to the sun and heat went to 120% or so, so still just about fine! I’ve heard you can end up jumping between two stars in a close binary system which could be more of a problem…
DT the “new” game does draw heavily on the old one, and as with so called open ended games it does lack direction unless you find your own. But also like most MMORPGs it becomes a bit of a grind to get more stuff. Also it doesn’t help this game feels like it isn’t there yet. Basics are in place, but the potential has yet to be unlocked in future updates. For a supposedly MMO game the multi-player side really isn’t developed as such.
The new 1.2 update will include a “Wings” feature so that you can team up with some mates and chase down other factions. Will be great if it all works as it should. It can get hairy when you’re in a conflict zone and everyone’s shooting at everyone else. It’s tough to keep a bead on someone as it is without some geezer accidentally blasting you. Will try and video it when it’s released and post here for you to view.
I’m with mackerel - the game is half way there. But the devs seem committed to bringing new stuff in.
I’m playing as a surveyor currently. Taking my Hauler around the galaxy, examining planets and selling the data, with some trades and missions along the way. I, personally, have very little interest in combat cos I’m shit at it. So I sold my laser. I bought a mining laser instead
Been playing with the Viper below in a RES (Resource Extraction Site) in CD-40-395, bounty hunting for pirates. Great fun taking down all sizes of ships from lowly Sidewinders up to Pythons and Imperial Clippers. Upgraded my power plant, power distribution, thrusters and armour to give me an edge so that I could stay in the fight longer and on the last fun-filled hour I earned 742k credits, so all the upgrades have been paid for and I’m back over a million credits :D.
I’m still grinding the neutron star fields. Probably start making my way back to civilisation from next weekend for the next update, which might go live not long after that.
Haven’t managed to get the cash together for a Vulture yet, so I bought the Viper just for ranking up in the Empire and also to get cash from bounty hunting and stored my Cobra for other purposes later.
The BETA 1.3 update is due next week I think and so as a BETA backer I should get a first look at it and see what it’s like to play. I’ll let you know if there are any good points.
Ooh, since you’ve been playing for far longer than me, I’d assumed you’d have a Death Star by now.
Maybe I got lucky with my timing, but after my 1st long distance explore trip and rares trading, I had enough credits to get a low spec Vulture in time to eat everything at the old Lugh community goal, and the payout from that got me an Asp. Another explore trip plus a bit of trade grind gets me a Clipper. I think a Python is my only aspirational ship left now, as not sure I like the large class and even the Clipper is borderline annoying due to its size. If I stick out my current explore trip long enough I should be able to get a non-pimped one easily.
Beta is live now and 2.5GB later I’ve got it downloaded. Gonna quickly check out the Courier before dinner I think…
One item in 1.3 is causing a bit of noise on the forums. “Apply 10% price penalty when selling modules” so a big disincentive to chop and change layouts especially once you get to bigger craft. I can’t even afford to pimp my Clipper as it is…
Ooh! haven’t seen that yet. Was working late and haven’t logged on yet.
I haven’t progressed very far in that I’ve been playing in different areas of the galaxy trying out different systems and factions and not just spending time grinding for cash or going off into the deep unknown to get exploration points. I’m not in a hurry to get loads of cash and in a way I feel sorry for those who have, especially those guys who were racing to get to Elite in all sections. Once you’ve done that, what other achievement is left? The game’s for the long haul not short term gratification and I’m not in a hurry
The exponential nature of everything almost becomes linear in a way… to get up the ranks you need to improve, so you improve and get up the ranks… bottom line is everything is a bit grindy, and no matter where you go it is still pretty much the same things going on.
I suppose exploring and trade are near enough pure grind. Combat could be, but shouldn’t be. In theory I think you could kill a billion small ships and still get Elite, but still get your ass kicked by a skilled pilot. I know that’s where I’m lacking. I still never completed all the combat training missions! I might have to get better soon as the changes in 1.3 should make running from trouble harder!
True. I do enjoy all aspects of the game, except for mining which at the moment is tedious in the extreme, but I’d miss the fun of combat. I had a great time in the first session yesterday and the rewards helped pay for the upgrades so I could return and continue the good work in the second session. Because I keep upgrading ships I keep running out of money, but I have one hell of a time doing it which is why I’m in the game.
Just been reading the forum whining about the 10% tax on used modules. What do these guys think happens in the real world? You take a brand new car out of the showroom and it’s devalued straight away. That’s not faulty game mechanics, that’s life. I don’t see a problem with it myself and it’s also another reason for not upgrading too far too fast.
I’m mixed on it. The problem is that it is seen as another nerf, making things that bit more harder for those starting later. I think two things also need to happen to make it acceptable:
1, the ability to store unused modules so you don’t incur a rebuy cost later on, especially if you want to switch between different layouts on the same ship. As supplement to that, it would be nice if you could configure custom loadout profiles, so rather than moving every module over, you can just switch profiles. As an expensive workaround, people might end up having multiple ships of the same type. Not sure I need it myself though, as I’d end up with different ships for different roles anyway, like a vulture for combat, asp for exploration, and clipper for trading. The only maybe is the Asp, as currently it is also my mission ship thanks to its jump range balancing against defensive ability. I wouldn’t want to fight in one, but it can take enough hits to get away from most. Thanks to the beta discounts I’m testing out a python at the moment. Not sure I like it. Could make a nice mission ship but remains to see if I can adapt my style to use it in combat.
2, perhaps a “preview build” option in outfitting, so you can see the final ship stats for the proposed changes before committing. At the moment you might end up with a load of buy and sell to tweak stuff for optimal power and mass. A 3rd party site like edshipyard is something vaguely similar I guess.
3, alternatively, have a wear and tear rating on equipment. This is distinct form damage, where over time things lost effectiveness, and therefore value. In effect force people to replace modules after a time if they decide the performance has degraded too far. This was also proposed I think as a limiting mechanism for ultra-long duration exploration trips.
Who knows what will happen. Will just keep hammering within what the rules at the time allow.
