DocRandal

This is similar to my time where after listening to an open-ended Thumbs episode, iTunes automatically switched to my Pandora app that played a sponsored message for diapers. This commercial was spoken by a voice actor playing a cultured baby that sounded suspiciously like Chris. I was thinking "Holy crap, those magnificent bastards did it, they got Nature Dipes!"

This kind of strategy talk fills me with satisfaction. Do you guys have room for a casual player who's sitting at 30 Light because I haven't played more than 2 evenings since a week after The Dark Below launched? Would love to see Crota and do some PoE.

According to me, none of the platforms made any horrible mistakes and all had new and interesting games. Therefore we all won E3. Feels good.

http://kotaku.com/why-destiny-players-feel-screwed-over-1713417685 This is Adam Orth-level hubris. I like Destiny's mechanics just fine but this makes me want to put the game down. How not to treat your customers/clients 101.

I was thrilled on Saturday to find a system with an Ammonia-based life rocky planet (with rings) and a potential terraforming planet. I'll post the picture later. Since it's rumored that the Thargoids (aliens) will be living on Ammonia based planets, who knows if this may be important later. Taking screenshots of the system view whenever I find a terraforming candidate. So far my record is 3 terraforming-suitable planets in one system. Still hunting for an Earth-like. I've been using the Galaxy map to vet multi-star systems before jumping and only had one jump where it might have been dangerous (the primary having a companion star in close binary orbit).

Chris: Remo </help>

The next update, in July, will be: New Hero: The Houndmaster! This rugged ex-constable will wander into the Hamlet, accompanied by his faithful Wolfhound and help restore order to your lawless acreage! Sanitarium overhaul! A significant rework of quirks, diseases, and the Sanitarium is coming! You'll be able to sculpt your heroes a little more by locking your favourite positive quirks on them - but be warned, doing so is permanent, and cannot be reversed. Diseases will also be separated into their own category, and better integrated into the game game flow. Armor up! Armor icons will upgrade on all heroes. "And more..." Quality of life changes, balance, tuning, gameplay tweaks and other additions are always going into the build! Other backer rewards, like personalized heroes, item design, etc will be coming online over the summer - you haven't missed anything! We'll be in touch with you regarding these rewards as soon as we're ready to roll them into the game. Looking Ahead... After the July update, the next stop for us will be the Cove, a completely new dungeon with it's own bosses, monsters, curios, traps, and obstacles! If things weren't salty enough, get ready to choke down on the briny waters as your sodden adventurers push ever closer to... The Darkest Dungeon! Our full 1.0 release is scheduled for late October, this year! The final dungeon and story content will be added, and you will conclude your quest to restore your family's estate, or die trying. What can you expect in the Darkest Dungeon? We're not saying a word.

Well, have my Diamondback Explorer equipped and I'm ready to go on my first deep explore dives (At least 1000ly). Any suggestions for target location? I want to save a SagA* trip for later. Probably go for a test run to the Pleiades cluster if nothing better comes to mind. Edit: Deep in the black now. Visited Antares, went 120 galactic up, then headed spinward towards the Sagittarius arm until <20% of primary suns were discovered. Now scanning virgin star fields looking for an Earth-like.

I was wondering "what's next after bug fixes and balance adjustments to Powerplay". From previous elite games: 1) Planetary landings (expansion-level addition) 2) Passengers and ships (I want to smuggle fugitives and slaves out to other systems, etc) 3) Thargoids/aliens (obviously coming out in stages) 4) I still haven't pursued high faction in the superpowers so I'm not sure if there's additional content there, or additional content once you achieve high PIlot's Federation rank. If not, there should be. I would love the Tier 1/2/3 NPC quest lines/familiar contacts to add flavor, if they have enough depth to avoid the Freelancer "here comes the same conversation for the 1000th time" issue. Although in that case you were treated to FMV cut scenes of the same lines and the wait time irritated more than usual. It would be interesting if the occasional mission let you pursue scripted alternative resolutions to the original agreements to add variety to the current missions. I'd also like to see missions that are themed to the type of system/government type as well. >>I would LOVE to see mission chains with reward bonuses to factions/powerplay/money/modules become available ala powerplay/limited time discounts/limited time cargo selling bonuses/black market bonuses/eligibility for more mission chains, etc. It would give you something to work for and likely take you around known space. I've seen the "get out, walk around, get into FPS-style gun fights!" interviews with Baraben and I know that that stuff is years in the future. Piloting the ships need to be super fun first. Wookiee, can you provide any insight as to what the inner circle is targeting next? PS: Is it just me or is everyone else getting constant "wedding ship celebration!" chatter in supercruise? Edit: Common suggestions on the forums - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=83366

From mining reddit it looks like blowing up Archon Delaine's Kumo crew (pirate faction) may get bounties on your head but only in the systems controlled by him. Still, may be the fastest way to merit point victory. And if he gets eliminated the no-fly zone you're exposed to is small.

From my initial powerplay testing, I can see a nearly passive way of building rank while doing a large rare good trade route if you have the cargo space; simply collect powerplay intel cannisters from potential new target systems that have rare goods to trade. When you fill up with cannisters, drop them off at the home system (ideally, make the home system part of your rare trade circuit route). I'm thinking about getting a Lakon Type 7 or 9 to eventually do that. You do get paid every week once you start climbing the ranks, making it a good supplemental income and you will get access to the specialist equipment associated with the power. The fastest way to get rank is to actively undermine other powers by going to their systems and interdicting/destroying their power-associated ships (15 merits a kill), but you will build bounties on your head that way that will have to be paid off. Not recommended for the penniless or commanders that want to stay in good terms with the entire galaxy. Although if you do it in an anarchy system, the damage may just be limited to the target's associated superpower. I need to try and undermine the pirate faction and see if that comes without any loss of reputation (it might be a net gain). Anyone know of an anarchy system controlled by the pirate-associated power? Perfect test site.

I'm guessing it means more local system authority ships, increasing the chance for scans, assistance with criminals, etc.

Player guide to powerplay: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1A7K-q-n5GUjTdJE8WEm5ULsZ064bwHRPktN1eAub3Q0/present#slide=id.ga0a0cdb8a_0_45 The guide also shows the specialist equipment associated with each power, something that's not at all clear in game. Have a Diamondback explorer in the dock, running Diso corn to afford that size 5 class A FSD. Then it's out for a deep exploratory run.

Powerplay patch launching today. Looking forward to putting together a Diamondback explorer. Edit: Changelog link: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=151945&p=2337131#post2337131

In the AMA today Frontier announced that they would be rolling back the 10% sell back charge for ship components in the upcoming patch until "they figure out a better way to implement it." The other big clarification was that gaining PowerPlay reputation with minor powers would buttress/prevent loss of reputation with the minor powers' associated Super Power (Alliance, Federation, Empire). Good for casual players.

Going back to rare trading due to the incoming Powerplay patch wiping all current missions. Normally it would go in tomorrow, but I'm not sure this time, as it's a major adjustment to the game. Beta 5 change log: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=150542

With 1.3 I'll go to having a stable of ships as well. Anyone know the current way to get the most bounties while hunting wanted ships in sectors? I'm hanging out at ring extraction sites but the wanted python/anacondas are few and far between. Is it more profitable to sit in supercruise and check out small unidentified signatures? Or are warzones the most profitable if available?

Go ahead and break this robot’s legs. It can figure out how to chase you without them In a study published Wednesday in Nature, researchers report a robot that can adapt to "injury" by quickly learning to move in spite of damaged limbs. In less than two minutes, the six-legged creature can learn to compensate for two broken legs. Using the same technique, the researchers also created a robotic arm that could continue to move objects in spite of multiple malfunctioning motors. Since the picture files didn't allow pasting, equivalent example:

Google patents creepy smart toys that interact with kids and report to Google HQ (and Stealth PetMan Legions) http://www.engadget.com/2015/05/25/google-patent-smart-toys/

--- If you are with a faction for at least 4 weeks, high rank gives you access to Power-specific equipment, such as an extra-strong Prismatic Shield, or a Mining Lance that mines and does combat damage YESSSS Edit: That was 17 year old me playing Elite on the Atari 1040ST. Maybe Elite:Frontier me as well.

Congrats on whatever's making you take the move Dr. Wookie, I assume it's an exciting opportunity. Been popping pirates out in the Ceti sector for the latest community goal, but after that I think I'll be running rare goods. Is the Diso corn route still amplified?

The Elite: Dangerous Powerplay Beta is available for download for those players with beta access. (only including new content/features in this post) Full change log link: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=147485&p=2276904#post2276904 New Content/Features: Powerplay addedPower map views added to galaxy map Added power information and action screens Power specific ship modules added Power specific ambient traffic added Spawn AI to hunt player if they defect Power specific goods and actions added Playable ship Imperial Courier added Playable ship Diamondback added Cargo/Mining chunk collection drones added Fuel transfer drones added Prospector drones added Mission system overhaulInbox integration for branching missions Missions scaling up based on rank Missions scaling up based on reputation with mission giver Mission targets can be generated in supercruise rather than USSs Spawned AI difficulty determined by mission (if spawned by mission) Missions requiring only mineable materials added Revamped military progression missions Added Founders and Elite ranked missions More mission variants added Chatter tables updated Updated bounty systemBounties cannot be paid off (Pilot's Fed contact is gone!), but expire after 7 days. Major factions don't record crimes anymore, only minor factions. (You may have major faction stuff in your saves left over from the previous system). Fines now take 7 days to expire, but never coexist with bounties (bounties absorb fines and dormant bounties with the same faction). Expiry only actually happens when you login, hyperspace or resurrect. (This stops cases of "I attacked a wanted ship that had no bounty a few seconds ago") Friendly fire values relaxed Add select nav target functionality to system map Add mining bonus for mining operations within extraction sites Added Painite as a minable commodity Added osmium as a minable commodity Added low and high intensity resource extraction site scenarios Loan ceiling scales based on player's highest Elite rank Founder decal now gold Added crimes for reckless flying (collisions) within starport no fire zones:Shields only collisions above speed limit is a fine Hull damage only above speed limit is a larger fine Ship destruction within short window after collision above speed limit is a bounty Respects 'Report crimes against me' setting Allow any general purpose slot on any ship to contain a fuel tank moduleShow progress to next PF rank NPC chatter works in supercruise Added rank up messages and animations to inbox

Powerplay beta launching May 26th, right on commanders! Edit: Beaten by my colleague Dr. Wookie. Question: Where do you look on the internet to see where the ships are cheapest? Or was the Asp discount due to a successful community goal? Mining: I still have yet to see a ship ideal for mining (large cargo space, 2-3 mining lasers, 3 refiner bins, space for the new drone ore collectors) (and turrets for the largest of mining ships for auto-defense)

Kickstarter update: In case you haven’t seen the news elsewhere, we are excited to confirm that we’ll be posting a HUGE content update later this month (Thursday, May 28th). This FIENDS & FRENZY update will contain two new hero classes (Arbalest and Man-at-Arms), three new bosses, new special trinkets, and more! I also just voted for the wolfhound in "choose the Houndmaster's dog" survey.

Wookie, that gold and black paint job is pretty swank. Congrats on the Python! Also nice community medal. I confess I stalked you just enough to look up your astronomy publications. With the end of spring term and publication deadlines burning a hole in my free time I haven't had much chance to catch space lately.