Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

[Dinosaursssssss]

I had a lot of fun using a a Viper with 2x fixed pulse lasers and 2x gimballed autocannons. I think the ship is only about 300k so that should be doable for you, I used the autocannons because the Viper is always short on power so 4 energy weapons wasn't really feasible. Just fly into a Resource Extraction Site (ideally on a planetary ring with high metal content, in a high population system) and kill anything that's Wanted. Also don't fight stuff that's much bigger than you unless there's some system authorities around to help, though if you do get into trouble, the Viper is generally fast enough that if you divert all power to engines you should be able to escape.

 

This was what I did for the vast majority of my E:D playtime and it was mostly fun. Probably the most frustrating part about it is when you inevitably accidentally hit a System Authority Vessel a single time, you'll get a bounty and they all aggro, so you're forced to fly back to a station and pay it.

[Dr Wookie]

I had a lot of fun using a a Viper with 2x fixed pulse lasers and 2x gimballed autocannons. I think the ship is only about 300k so that should be doable for you, I used the autocannons because the Viper is always short on power so 4 energy weapons wasn't really feasible. Just fly into a Resource Extraction Site (ideally on a planetary ring with high metal content, in a high population system) and kill anything that's Wanted. Also don't fight stuff that's much bigger than you unless there's some system authorities around to help, though if you do get into trouble, the Viper is generally fast enough that if you divert all power to engines you should be able to escape.

 

This was what I did for the vast majority of my E:D playtime and it was mostly fun. Probably the most frustrating part about it is when you inevitably accidentally hit a System Authority Vessel a single time, you'll get a bounty and they all aggro, so you're forced to fly back to a station and pay it.

I'm not sure when you last played, but some new mechanics have been added to see whether it was accidental friendly fire or not. For example, 1 hit to a ship who is not targeted is usually dismissed as an accident.  I used to run with C3 burst lasrs, and I think friendly fire detection systems took a dim view, what with 3 successive pairs of  high power hits !

[Badfinger]

Neat. That basically squares with what I've been reading. Are ship and part prices generally static? The wiki says the Viper is 140k. Are there pitfalls to avoid or is buying a ship somewhere basically the same as anywhere else (so long as I can get to where I want to go)? Should I get a warrant scanner?

[Dr Wookie]

Ship and part prices are generally static, but can be cheaper if you get discount for being allied, or if there is a sale as a result of a community goal. If you go from a ship wih large jump distance to one with smaller distance, then it is possible (though unlikely) to be stuck in that system.

If you want to go bounty hunting definitely get a kill warrant scanner! Normal scans only give local bounties (and there are often no bounties in anarchy systems); the KWS gives you bounties from all jurisdictions, and these are often more than the local bounty. However, if a ship is clean locally, and wanted elsewhere, then shooting it will mark you a criminal!

[Dewar]

Hmm, has there been any ballpark announced for the price of an Imperial Courier. I'm really interested in getting an Imperial Clipper, but that's a long way away at this point.

[Dr Wookie]

Hmm, has there been any ballpark announced for the price of an Imperial Courier. I'm really interested in getting an Imperial Clipper, but that's a long way away at this point.

Not sure yet, but we'll have an idea when the beta starts; it was due to start tomorrow, but is delayed by a few days. It's definitely less than the clipper, and the required rank is much lower too (DB mentioned that it could be Master rank, which is the 3rd one up, and 4 below that required for the Clipper).

[Dinosaursssssss]

I'm not sure when you last played, but some new mechanics have been added to see whether it was accidental friendly fire or not. For example, 1 hit to a ship who is not targeted is usually dismissed as an accident.  I used to run with C3 burst lasrs, and I think friendly fire detection systems took a dim view, what with 3 successive pairs of  high power hits !

 

I was having trouble with it...last weekend, I think? I don't believe there's been a big patch since.

[Badfinger]

I had a much more interesting and fun time tonight shooting space mans than hauling space grain. Made about 600k in bounties, which is closing in on the value I've made over the entirety of the game on trade. eeking out the next piece of the upgrade puzzle is super interesting, too.

[Architecture]

It's good to consult Google when shopping for a new ship--you can get 20% off the cost of an Asp (not an insubstantial amount of credits!) in the Alioth system, for instance.

 

What I want to know is where the good weapons are sold.

[Badfinger]

yeah there are some parts and pieces I'd like to add to my ship. Some of them are just super expensive (for the ship), and some aren't available where I've been poking around. Would be nice to be able to sniff that stuff out. Fightin' and Upgradin' is still by far the most rewarding experience I've had so far.

[Dr Wookie]

This week's Dev Update said that powerplay beta will start next Tuesday, May 26.

 

Some base Courier stats have been teased: costs  twice as much as Type 6, so about 2 million credits, has 3 medium hardppoints, 4 utility points, a jump range of 7.8 lyr, a speed (probably not boosted) of 270 m/s, and a default capacity of 12 tons. Obviously all of these stats have considerable scope for improvement with upgrades

 

New cheating tools have been put in place, and people have been banned this week for cheating in community goals as well as account trading

 

Powerplay will include updates to shields so that the values persist in supercruise; this prevents commanders in wings from jumping out and back again with recharged shields

[Dewar]

Interesting, less hardpoints means I won't be able to keep up my mining/fighting hybrid setup. Really it sounds like my Cobra is better in pretty much every way.

[Dr Wookie]

Interesting, less hardpoints means I won't be able to keep up my mining/fighting hybrid setup. Really it sounds like my Cobra is better in pretty much every way.

Depending on the target, 3 medium could be considerably more effective than 2 medium and 2 small lasers, but otherwise I tend to agree with you based on just those numbers. I always got the impression that when buying Gutemaya ships, a substantial portion of the cost goes towards flash and swagger (the interior of the Clipper is by far the swankiest I've seen so far). The Clipper can be extremely fast though, with a boost >400 m/s while carrying >200 tons.

[DocRandal]

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)

[Architecture]

I used this wiki for ship pricing. The Asp is always 20% off at Irkutsk Station in the Alioth system, which requires a permit from the controlling faction. I'm not sure if every ship has a discount in a specific system, but the wiki is also helpful for comparing armament, speed  & hauling capacity.

[Dinosaursssssss]

I started doing some space trucking in my Cobra last night, basically just going from one stations with rares to another with rares that's ~120ly away. It definitely doesn't seem as profitable as bounty hunting, but I'm mixing some exploration in and it's been a good break from dogfighting. Rare trading seems like a weird system that's really targeted at new-ish players with really small cargo holds; I haven't done it a huge amount or crunched the numbers but it seems like even with absurdly high margins on each ton of cargo, the max allocations limit your profits to a couple hundred thousand credits.

 

I've been working from this list of rares and where they're sold, is there a better way to do this? It'd be nice to be able to find a couple stations selling rares that are close to each other so I can fill my cargo hold, but it's a huge pain to search the location of everything in that list every time I wanna make a run.

[Dr Wookie]

The old worlds from the original game (lave, diso, Leesti, uszaa, orrere, zaonce and maybe reorte) are close together and have rares. Here has been a community goal reward at diso which gives up to 50 tons of diso ma corn, which sells for about ~700 k profit

[DocRandal]

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 added
  • Power 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 overhaul
  • Inbox 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 system
  • Bounties 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 module
  • Show progress to next PF rank
• NPC chatter works in supercruise
• Added rank up messages and animations to inbox

[Dr Wookie]

Thanks Doc, saved me some typing ! While Doc only relayed the highlights, the actual changelog is huuuge!

I should be able to have a quick go of the beta before packing everything away for my transatlantic move this weekend

[Dewar]

Have they added quite a few minable resources in the past? I see a lot more minerals and metals on the list the last couple of star ports I've visited, and I'm not sure if it's because I'm in a different area, or if it's new.

[Dr Wookie]

Have they added quite a few minable resources in the past? I see a lot more minerals and metals on the list the last couple of star ports I've visited, and I'm not sure if it's because I'm in a different area, or if it's new.

It's probably a mixture of both not all stations demand/supply the same stuff, but also Painite was added in 1.2 to be taken from NPCs; Painite and osmium will be minable in 1.3

[DocRandal]

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?

[Dr Wookie]

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?

Thanks Doc , the opportunity came up 5 years ago, and now I have run out of extensions for my visa, but it has been fantastic time!

 

I've had a bit of a play with the 1.3 beta, and am impressed. If you go on the forums there are a whole bunch of people whining about the two new ships, the ~500 kcr Diamondback and the ~2.4 Mcr Imperial Courier, because they are not magically the best in class as what they do.

 

The Diamondback is pitched as a "combat explorer". It is fast and maneuverable, and gets up to ~24 ly even when fully equiped; it's sort of like a baby Asp or more combat-specialised Cobra, and it's freaking adorable. It has very little room for cargo though, but that's not really in its remit. Quite a bit of moaning was based on quoted maneuverability stats, which are incorrect.

 

The courier is billed as a VIP transporter, so would probably be better used when passengers are added. In some ways it seems to be a beefed up eagle. I think the price tag is definitely largely due to bling, which may end up allowing a higher class of passanger

 

There is a comprehensive and impressive screenshot thread covering most of the new changes here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=147904

 

There are substantial spoilers for the some of the events going on right now, so if you're sensitive to that, then don't look too closely at the faction leaders.

 

Powerplay itself looks promising, and I like that it is not a direct way of making money; instead, you gain influence within the faction on a weekly basis, and gain perks and access to special equipment that may help your profit.

 

--- Each Power has an area of influence, and is looking to prepare systems for control or exploitation, expand, and fortify current systems; they may use various tactics for each (combat, financial, or social from what I've seen).

 

--- Powers use Command Capital (CC) to achieve their goals, which are resolved on a weekly basis.

 

--- There appear to be 5 ranks that the player can attain by gaining "merits". Rank 1 has no perks, and to be in the running for Ranks 2--5, you must have obtained at least 100 merits the previous week. These ranks are not permanent, and must be maintained by activity (if you want to engage)

 

--- Perks I've seen include 5/10/15% extra money from trade within controlled systems, up to 50% extra money from bounties, or boosts to infulence change

 

--- 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

 

--- If you defect, you can expect assassins after you, and you cant chose another power for a certain amount of time

 

--- Merits are gained by performing specific actions, such as running propaganda to new worlds, or sealed orders to clandestine agents (I went with Aisling Duval for the beta).

 

--- However, your access to these materials is restricted based on rank, or ability to pay. Rank 1 has access to 10 power items per 30 minutes; however, you can get the next batch for 100,000 cr kinda like free to play mobile games, but with ingame cash

[DocRandal]

--- 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.

[Dewar]

Hmm, might finally be time to give up the mining lasers and upgrade from my Cobra to a Diamondback.

 

Edit: Might also be time to just have a stable of ships to select from.

 

Edit2: Man, that courier looks nice though, even if it's somewhat impractical.