DocRandal

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Everything posted by DocRandal

  1. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Pristine metallic ring systems with nearby trade and combat opportunities and a high tech shipyard are the way to go if you're putting down roots for a while.
  2. Destiny

    Iron Banner was very kind to me this last week. The Rank 5 package was dropping 312-315 primary legendaries (scout, pulse) and I got some 320 legs for my Titan. Additionally it was raining 312-318 ghost shells.
  3. Webcomics

    A lot of great recommendations that I already follow here. Leaving a few: Kill Six Billion Demons: http://killsixbilliondemons.com/ Kate Beaton's main comics page, Hark! A Vagrant: http://harkavagrant.com/ The Non-Adventures of Wonderella: http://nonadventures.com/ Scenes from a Multiverse: http://amultiverse.com/ Link to the other Internet comics thread: https://www.idlethumbs.net/forums/topic/7199-internet-comics/
  4. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Elite:Dangerous is a game in it for the long haul. You could easily come back in 2-3 years and it may have enough depth for you. That being said I'm hoping to actually get some space time in starting next month. Need to get into an Imp Clipper so I have a holder for my space coffee while I mine and smuggle.
  5. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    The Federal Corvette and Imperial Cutter fills gaps in the Large Ship category, very welcome. The others will provide a lot of variety and better stepping stones up to larger ships. I can see that Asp scout being the new smuggler ship of choice if it can go toe-to-toe with the Cobra MkIII.
  6. Moon Terrorists before the majestic launch:
  7. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Seeing SRV combat and shields makes me feel better about trading my ship for a space tricycle. I wonder if turreted weapons would be ideal for summoning ship backup. Congrats on the Anaconda! Been busy IRL and haven't gotten out mining for the last week. I almost have enough for an Imperial Clipper now, but I probably won't get back to Elite until mid-November due to proposal and manuscript deadlines. The joy of science.
  8. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    News update on Unidentified Artifacts (UAs): "We've also observed that they're spreading at an alarming rate over a huge volume of space. We learned a while ago that UAs seem to align themselves towards Merope in the Pleiades, and there is evidence that the systems containing UAs form a 'shell' around Merope at distances between 135 and 150 light years. Current estimates place the potential number of UAs in this region at thousands – possibly even tens of thousands." "This undeniable explosion in numbers is worrying, and we don't yet know its significance. But rest assured that we're working hard, and we hope to have some conclusions soon." I notice that this coincides with the planned construction of a deep space exploration base in the Pleiades cluster. So, odds on Thargoids or some kind of Berserker-style self-replicating AI?
  9. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    What I'm really looking forward to seeing is previews of the types of objects you can interact with using the SRV. Secret bases, ships, SRV/SRV combat, "other". The main problem I can see with the SRVs is getting stuck in a deep crevice and not being able to get out. Did they address that in this or a previous video?
  10. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Wookie, as a fellow HIP 21991 occupant, what do you think would be the minimal best combat ship/loadout for the haz res site? Probably a Vulture? From weekly dev update: "Next week the second batch of player group backed minor factions should go live. Thanks to some brilliant feedback from our players, we’ve made progress with fixing some odd behaviour with influence levels – we hope to address this next week. Exploration data should be operating smoothly now after some issues since the 1.4 release. If you do encounter a further issue then make sure to raise a bug and we’ll investigate. We are currently working on a client update for PC/Mac and Xbox One, all being well these will be released next week. As well as various fixes we’re adjusting the NPC interdiction so it isn’t quite as punishing as it is at the moment. Thanks, Michael" 1) Hm, influence levels. Better do your donation missions while you can in case they get tuned down. 2) Player group backed minor factions. Is this going to be a list of minor factions in Powerplay? Edit: I seem to remember the devs saying they'd expand to 20 factions eventually, maybe this is that.
  11. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Yes, yes I did. So they're scouting probes. Get ready for Thargoid misjumps! Note: I just found out about the crazy payouts for long-distance smuggling. May start doing that to make credits while it lasts.
  12. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Mining/General Notes 2: - Don't forget to sell all your cargo before going back to the belt, you may get 2 separate pirates after you before you make it back in range of the station's guns *cough*. That being said, I'm avoiding about 80% of interdictions - it's good to see I can still manage it. - That easy Empire promotion mission may disappear in the 15 minutes it takes to buy a Viper and load it for combat. - 3 collector drones work better with 2 Type 1 mining lasers, otherwise there's a period where you have to stop and wait for collection.
  13. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Initial mining notes: - Type 6 miner works great. 20 limpets is about the right number for 66T space. - 2 Type 1 mining lasers produces ore about 1.5x speed of pickup, which works. - Getting around 250-600k a run in the Pristine metal rich rings.
  14. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Thanks for the mining tips Wookie! Also, the exploration data servers have fully updated so exploring should now work again. Edit: Frontier has told everyone to not explore while they fix bugs. Edit 2: Fixed! Hoping they tweak the interdictions down slightly, or (better) make the interdictions slightly easier to beat and/or fix the sudden inescapable interdiction phenomenon. *adds a chaff launcher to all ships* Modified Type-6 basic miner loadout (8M Cr, 64T capacity): http://coriolis.io/outfit/type_6_transporter/23A4A4A2D3A2D4C2l2l00030804042048C0C5P4.Iw1+gDMQ.Aw1-kA==?bn=RandalType6Miner 99.8% power usage without the fuel scoop, hit chaff and boost away at any sign of danger.
  15. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Thanks for the info. I knew that a 9-10 bin refinery was the way to go. Now I just need to figure out an optimal loadout that'll give me 2 collectors and 1 prospector while optimizing for cargo space and a shield (because a shield is cheaper than reinforced hull and I need that time to boost escape pirates). How's this: (10.7M Cr Asp Explorer Miner, 96T space) http://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/05D5C5D4D4A5D5C2m2m0p0p24240300010n0504C0431q2rP4.Iw18WQ==.Aw18WQ== (The only issue I see here is that once I get beyond 413T mass that's higher than the max shield rating so I assume they won't work). I assume you're in something like this: (28M Cr Imperial Clipper Miner, 200T space) http://coriolis.io/outfit/imperial_clipper/06D5D5D5D5D5D4C0u0u2m2m0001030m0605482002C02rP4.Iw18aQ==.Aw18aQ== Which is something to shoot for as a minimal build, improving as necessary. While I was at it, I put together what I consider a minimal miner: (4.532M Cr Type 6 Hauler Miner, 64T space) http://coriolis.io/outfit/type_6_transporter/03C4D4A2D2D2D4C2l2l0003010404205gC02rP4.Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA== Everything below this just didn't have the cargo capacity to seem worthwhile given the travel time out. I priced out a Type 7 for around 25M but it only has 160T space, so it makes more sense to shoot for the Imp Clipper rather than switch over. I guess the real question is: How many drone limpets do you usually take to fill out X cargo space. Also, instead of gimballed autocannons, do I just want to go with smart missiles to fire-and-forget at pursuers, after which I high-tail it out of there?
  16. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Dr. Wookie, I still need a good guide to drone mining. I understand the refinery aspect, but how many drones and what type do you typically need to mine with style? I was under the impression that prospecting drones just gave you asteroid mineral composition and didn't actually mine ore for you; you had to use mining lasers and retrieval drones to get the ore.
  17. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Did a quick look into the 1.4 client last night and in the forums: 1) Didn't explode on login - good. 2) CQC has replaced the "tutorial" section, as expected. 3) Missions look like they got a bit of an overhaul, good. Still not the missions I'm dreaming of, but it's going in the right direction. From the forums: 4) NPC Interdictions are much much more common and much much harder to evade. Watch out. Conversely, player interdictions are now harder to get. 5) Shields on a couple of ships are either weaker, or the NPCs are using rebalanced weapons and tearing through shields much faster. 6) Do not explore until Friday; they're updating the database servers for exploration until Thursday and there have been numerous reports of exploration not counting in the last day. Seriously, they should have made that database upgrade a major announcement. I suspect a spot patch to fix up problems 4&5 within a reasonable time frame. #6 is just a failure on Frontier's part. Otherwise, looking forward to 2.0 (Horizons). Edit: Just glanced at the forums again. The TL;DR summary is: Until they fix the chain interdiction problem and the exploration database, the only thing worth doing is bounty hunting. Edit 2: And mining, if you can avoid interdictions.
  18. Star Citizen

    From MassivelyOP: Star Citizen’s Chris Roberts responds to publication’s ‘long troll’ http://massivelyop.com/2015/10/01/star-citizens-chris-roberts-responds-to-publications-long-troll/ Recent reply from Chris Roberts about the anonymously sourced piece in The Escapist: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14979-Chairmans-Response-To-The-Escapist I find it particularly interesting that Derek Smart was threatening Chris Roberts with legal action back in the 1990s over the release of Wing Commander.
  19. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Each iteration is getting better. I suspect Frontier is going to make the "CQC" challenge flight sections the de facto tutorial. Right now, I agree, the 'tutorial' is abysmal other than teaching you the basics of flight. Each time they iterate with a major patch I think "this feels like what Elite:Dangerous 1.0 should have been". Which makes me conclude that they actually did launch at the right time, when the basic mechanics (trade, combat, explore) were mostly functional. Until they have deep mission chains and potentially unique mission chains spread throughout the populated galaxy, as well as all their other planned improvements, I won't consider the game truly finished. That being said, I'm enjoying what game is there.
  20. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    The easy way to balance this would be to make the energy requirements higher or limit other ship components depending on the type of prototype device(s) you're installing. Kind of how you can put heavy guns on a Vulture but good luck running anything other than those guns.
  21. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    From the newsletter: "There are features that are trickier to illustrate but still very significant, like the extensions to the mission system with new military missions and rank progression, Powerplay missions and chained missions which will deliver an even richer gameplay experience. And as already announced, season two will introduce a new loot and crafting system, letting you create unique equipment." Mission chains, finally! Also, looking forward to jury-rigged "prototype" equipment. Commander faces are obvious groundwork for the later expansions allowing you to be outside on planets and in starbases. Multi-crew ships are preparation for capital ships. Re: Bobbleheads - I saw those and said "I guess they wanted to show people that Star Citizen isn't the only space game with crazy cockpit [junk]." Once again I regret not getting in on the Kickstarter (only pre-ordered), no free Viper Mk IV for me.
  22. That's just brazen. Is this a case where lawyers are unleashed to collect a license fee? Or do you just take it and treat it as advertising?
  23. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    That reminds me of my old Elite:Frontier wish list of doing custom jury-rigging to your ships; hopefully it's that and optionally tied with some sort of deep mission tree system. Great move to get in at the start of the Steam VR system - Elite is a great showcase piece for VR. Destiny consumed my gaming time this weekend but it's great to have a game like Elite on deck.
  24. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Weekly Newsletter blurb: At the end of next week we’re attending both EGX in Birmingham (UK), and TwitchCon in San Francisco. The EGX panel is sure to be one of the biggest events of the year for Elite Dangerous fans, so if you’re going to EGX make sure you don’t miss it. Art Director Chris Gregory, Lead Designer Sandro Sammarco, Executive Producer Michael Brookes and CEO David Braben will shed new light on some of the exciting features coming as part of the Elite Dangerous: Horizons new season of expansions coming to PC this Holiday. The first expansion in the Elite Dangerous: Horizons season, Planetary Landings, introduces players to realistic planet surfaces and the first all-new Surface Recon Vehicle (SRV) the ‘Scarab’. Alone or with friends players will explore, mine and engage hostile forces as they attempt to infiltrate strongholds guarding valuable rewards. Players will explore new worlds, coasting over mountaintops, diving into canyons, landing on the surface and rolling out onto the surface in their SRVs, all without loading times or breaks in gameplay. But there is much more to come from the full Elite Dangerous: Horizons season. When we announced Elite Dangerous: Horizons we said that the second major expansion will include an all-new game-changing loot and crafting system. And at our EGX panel we’ll be revealing more amazing new gameplay features coming in the Elite Dangerous: Horizons season! The panel is at 4PM on Friday at the Dev Sessions Theater. The "crafting system" is new. Made my eyebrows go up. The Asp Scout sounds like a fit between the Viper and the Vulture, perhaps with less powerful shielding for balance reasons.
  25. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Agreed re: Python and Vulture combo. Thanks for the Clipper miner idea. I just don't have enough time to play Elite so I'll happily take the overpowered ship combos to compensate for my lack of flying time. Once I have enough credits, I'll gladly take out all the different ships and try out new combinations. The upside to not having enough time to play is a complete lack of burnout. Also, Elite is relaxing. Coriolis.io - best ship loadout site hands down. Re: pristine metallic rings - saw a lot of those exploring. Too bad I couldn't mine them. What I'm really looking forward to is ground landings and new mechanics to sink my teeth into. Hoping Frontier does another pass at the mission structures and puts more depth into those as well. (multi-branched mission chains and salvaging runs as well as ground landing missions)