Elite Dangerous Catch-All

Took some screenshots. They're kind of large, so linking:

Anaconda in front of a star:
http://i.imgur.com/Pe2fMim.png

Anaconda docked in station:
http://i.imgur.com/kdXvsEy.png

Aulin Enterprise up close:
http://i.imgur.com/0V67THP.png

Aulin Enterprise a little farther off:
http://i.imgur.com/lB92NjN.png

Nice pics! Can't wait till I can play it (around 20th August for me) ....

Nice pics... too much ale tonight to play, would end up plastered on a station wall {took me 10 minutes to type this so far}. Really looking forward to the next update. Till then just looking for nice screen shots and exploring in my Lakon, may trade back to an eagle.
Again, great pics, nice post.

LiquidMantis wrote:

Question for the experienced people: What is the [newly added] small reticle in the upper-right of the dashboard area, next to the speed gauge?

You probably have this worked out by now but anyway - you mean the one just above the speed counter? It's sorta part of the radar setup - if you are locked on say, a space station, and the yellow part of the readout is solid, then the target is in front of you (though possibly out of view), so move your stick to bring the block to the centre of the reticule, then you are pointed straight at the target. If it's just a pair of square brackets (hollow square) , then the targets behind you, so you bring it around until it goes solid, then center it, to point yourself directly at it

Goes back to the first elite game actually

pndragon26 wrote:

Nice pics... too much ale tonight to play, would end up plastered on a station wall {took me 10 minutes to type this so far}. Really looking forward to the next update. Till then just looking for nice screen shots and exploring in my Lakon, may trade back to an eagle.
Again, great pics, nice post.

Yeah, I decided I wanted to get some practice piloting all the ships, so I played like a madman over the holiday weekend and worked my way up from a Cobra to the Lakon, and finally to my own Anaconda. I wish I had some videos of some encounters with the Lakon.

On one occasion, someone in a Sidewinder decided he was going to try attacking me in the Lakon. There's a bug I've run into in a few locations when going to hyperspace where the ship will suddenly go to max reverse throttle for a bit. I was just trying to get away from the attacker, when suddenly the ship goes into reverse. He crashes into me and I hear him explode, and he never even made it through my shields. I couldn't stop laughing.

You get really good at checking the radar before going through the airlock in a Lakon, because it handles like a freight train. Once there was another Lakon that used his afterburner the same time I was going through. I really don't know how we both fit at the same time. Then there was the exact opposite of that where me and the other Lakon sat on opposite sides of the airlock, both waiting for the other to go first. We were like two old people at an intersection, waving for the other one to go.

And at least twice, Sidewinder pilots tried to slip through the airlock while I was going through, only to ricochet into a wall and explode. One Cobra managed to do the same but survive with just 15% hull left. (I target these guys to see what happens to them after we collide.)

So Regular Backers should now have access to the single player content, I think it's the same as the SP content that's in the Premium Beta currently. Just log in to your account and check your downloads.

Get some!

New newsletter is out: http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=ecf2198bb5

Fuel will be in Beta.

None of my hi-res screenshots were featured.

I'm betting on a 1.0 release on September 20. That would make it the 30th anniversary of the original Elite release on the Spectrum.

Now I can stop refreshing the update forum looking for the new newsletter which never seems get emailed to me. Thanks, deftly!

OK i've not done ANY home work on this, and see this mentioned in the Citizen's thread as a competitor and in articles about the high price to jump in now.

I have the 60$ buy in with Citizen, and way to many other games to consider, but was curious whats going on here.

Questions on top of my head are about how in depth will the crafting/economy this game will have? What are the pvp/pirating rulesets? Release date?

Not sure there are any crafting mechanics to speak of. It's a remake of Elite / Frontier / First Encounters from long ago.

The short description is trading / exploration / piracy in a procedural galaxy that closely models the milky way.

I'm also not so sure it's a competitor to Star Citizen. ED focuses on a multiplayer procedural galaxy, while SC is full of set content. SC is more like an Elder Scrolls game, where ED would be more of a rogue-like.

Release date is later this year. Right now you can get in on a few different price points:

* $150 gets you into the beta now, plus all future expansions (maybe 1-3 depending on the success of the game)
* $75+$50 will get you into the standard beta at the end of the month, plus the expansion pass.
* $75 for just the beta access at the end of the month.
* $50 for the game at release.

I think the expansion pass will be removed from sale on the 14th of this month.

Is the Single Player content the series of training missions? Them are hard. Im stuck at trying to take down a whole wing of fighters solo. 1 on 1 I can consistently win but best I can do against that attack wing is 2 of the 4. Of course I still really suck overall. Seems like trying to get a set of controls that makes me feel comfortable is still just out of reach. I'm mostly waiting to really get into it until my Oculus DK2 arrives

Oh yeah, right now "Single Player" refers to the combat training missions. Springing for the standard beta level gets you access to those immediately.

They get tough fast. And the AI has gotten a lot better since they first released those missions in the Alpha.

In the final game, you'll be able to play the main game in a single player mode that just keeps you from encountering other players.

Release date is by the end of this year. Buying in for $50 gets you the game when released. $75 will get you that plus access to the multiplayer Beta at the end of this month, and access to about 10 single player tutorial-ish scenarios right now. $150 gets you into the multiplayer Premium Beta right now, and lifetime DLC. I'd recommend watching some of the gameplay videos on YouTube. It is in a similar market as SC, but a lot of people have bought into both.

I'm not aware of any plans for any sort of crafting.

The backbone of the economy consists of trade between star systems. Some systems generate raw materials, which are transported to systems that refine them, and then to manufacturing systems, and eventually to highly populated wealthy systems. There is also a black market for illegal goods. You can make money by flying those trade routes, or by pirating them. You can also fly to the locations of conflicts and make money by acting as a mercenary in the battles. There are plans for making money by exploring and selling resource information.

Attacking someone unprovoked will earn you a wanted status in that system and a bounty. So will breaking various station rules that the game will warn you about. There is a no-fire zone around most stations. You can attack anyone with a wanted status to claim the bounty on them. You can also pay off a bounty on you by visiting the Pilot's Federation on a station in the system with the bounty. Equipping a Kill Warrant Scanner will let you know if someone has a bounty in a system other than the one you are in. Right now, policing by NPCs isn't very effective, but improvement in that area is planned for the next Beta.

Orphu wrote:

I think the expansion pass will be removed from sale on the 14th of this month.

Yup, just a few days to pick that up. No guarantees on what it will actually end up being worth though. I'm hoping it turns out to be a win.

Well, I put down my hundred quid and squeaked into the Premium Beta. I won't actually start playing until my new HOTAS stick arrives during the week, but I guess I'll see some people in there. Is there a friends list in the game, or is it an MMO like "run into people" deal?

You filthy enablers will probably sell them a $50 copy. Not going in for more though. Tired of the DLC creep.

DudleySmith wrote:

Well, I put down my hundred quid and squeaked into the Premium Beta. I won't actually start playing until my new HOTAS stick arrives during the week, but I guess I'll see some people in there. Is there a friends list in the game, or is it an MMO like "run into people" deal?

They are supposed to be adding some grouping functions with the first standard beta release.

I'm just trying out the combat scenarios with my 360 pad so far. I suck at the combat, even on the First Kill scenario. I guess that I must reacquire my old X Wing speed matching skills. Not really the forte of the gamepad. I need to reclaim my lent out joystick.

Yeah, I think I've played with the 360 pad too much already and now I'm stuck to it. I tried a HOTAS setup at a friends house. Seems wrong now.

360pad was way too clunky for me. Mouse and keyboard handles just fine: docking, dogfighting, everything.

Good thing they support so many control options.

Pretty cool interview: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014...

Also, this teaser of the Beta 1 galaxy map seems to indicate about 57 systems will be available:

IMAGE(http://elite.frontier.co.uk/images/pick_of_the_week/peek_of_the_week_41.jpg)

Looking forward to the Beta. Releases on my birthday. Yay.

Loved what I have seen of this game so far, I've traded and fought up to a Cobra Mk 3, but I'm going to attempt to limit my playtime for a bit. Need to leave a bit in the tank for the Beta and live releases!

That map seriously turns me on. Rowr.

Last night I was exploring the Aulin system a bit, checking out beacons etc.

Found a NPC Lakon just cruising around. Kept getting raido messages about 'buying leaf' and stuff. Some kind of intergalactic stoner. Flew up next to it and just cruised along - felt like swimming with a whale a bit. I didn't bother attacking it, just moved on

Next stop I have an NPC in an Eagle shouting threats at me. He's going to 'dust my bones off'. So I shoot him up first. I manage to get a 1200 credit bounty on my head for this. Seriously, someone shouts something like that at me, I think I'm entitled to shoot first!

Finished exploring, and a little battered from the Eagle fight, I head back to the Space Station. Coming out of supercruise I see half a dozen Proginator(sp?) Cell cargo cannisters floating around nearby with a couple of players scooping them up. Everyone likes free money so I grab a couple too.

Not sure if they were pissed that I joined in the treasure hunt, or noticed the bounty on my head, but the pair of them laid into me. I'm not going to win this fight so I make a beeline for the station.. sheilds are down, hull down to about 30%, and I fly through the station door at full speed. Dock, repair, live to fight another day

Just great fun, and there's hardly any 'content' added yet. So much potential.

DudleySmith wrote:

my new HOTAS stick

Note that is much like saying "ATM machine".... stick is part of the acronym. (Hands On Throttle And Stick.)

If this really is like the original Elite, the HOTAS is probably going to be the way to go, at least the joystick part. Thumbsticks probably aren't going to cut it... they're just not accurate enough.

Malor wrote:

If this really is like the original Elite, the HOTAS is probably going to be the way to go, at least the joystick part. Thumbsticks probably aren't going to cut it... they're just not accurate enough.

If it's really like the original Elite (which it is), then everyone should be flying with keyboard only.

How does one get a HOTAS without paying $400 but still get a decent damned setup? Amazon's not much help here. What about just getting the throttle assembly? Im pretty happy with my cheap Logitech joystick.

I've also considered getting something like this for the left hand instead of a throttle. If that thumbstick is situated well (It doesnt look to me like it is), it could replace throttle, or do even better and be a good way to manage lateral thrust.

IMAGE(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ilgEtatKL.jpg)

Anyone have experience with something like this for a flight sim?

I don't actually own one yet, but I've been researching.

I've tried the Saitek X55 set at a friends house, and it seemed nice, but I've read a lot about quality issues. About $250 for the set. It seems popular.

The one that keeps coming up is CH Products Flightstick Pro. Not much to look at but apparently very accurate and rugged. They sell a throttle and flight stick separately. Each is about $100.

CH Flight stick: http://amzn.to/Ud8dBY

CH Throttle: http://amzn.to/1rsjkmI

Saitek X55: http://amzn.to/1mO01DJ