Elite Dangerous Catch-All

Why do I bother playing in Open? Why do I ever bother? I haven't played in a long time, I've been away from civilization for a long time. So I went to visit the Golconda and then headed back home to Jameson Memorial. I get into Shinrarta Dezhra and what happens? Some ganker in a Mamba intercepts me and decides to shoot me down. For no good reason. I got away, but still. Some people are jerks.

Is there anyone here playing on Xbox and where does it stand in comparison to the PC version? Is it pretty much on par in terms of features or is it completely watered down?

I'd like to give it a go. I'm interested in exploring. What kind of time investment is required to save up enough to buy a self-sufficient spacecraft that would let me take off into the galaxy and never look back? Can the game be even played in that way or would I, by necessity, be forced back into running missions to put food on the table?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

I've only played the pc version but it's my understanding that is that they are feature identical.
as for self sufficient spacecraft, do you mean go out exploring and never looking back? if that's what you mean it's not that bad, the Diamondback Explorer is one of the best explorers in the game without getting into "endgame" modding of your modules and it only costs about 20-30 million credits to get it fully kitted up. that kind of money is relatively easy to acquire by doing limited exploration while you save up.
getting enough credits to get a starter explorer setup will take a few days or of play, but it takes awhile to get a hang of the flight model and how to use features.
i'd bet you can get it on sale REALLY cheap over the holidays, i bought a second account over the summer for something like $15 US for the base game and horizons.

maverickz wrote:

Why do I bother playing in Open? Why do I ever bother? I haven't played in a long time, I've been away from civilization for a long time. So I went to visit the Golconda and then headed back home to Jameson Memorial. I get into Shinrarta Dezhra and what happens? Some ganker in a Mamba intercepts me and decides to shoot me down. For no good reason. I got away, but still. Some people are jerks.

Playing in Open is one thing, but playing in Open in Shinrarta Dezhra is almost guaranteed to lead to that kind of attention. It's the griefer capital of the Milky Way.

I had gotten used to playing in Open during my long exploration trip, but switched back to Private Group as soon as I got close to the Bubble.

I didn't know that. I just assumed that because it's closed to non elites the crowd there is more chill. Good to know!

maverickz wrote:

I didn't know that. I just assumed that because it's closed to non elites the crowd there is more chill. Good to know!

I used to think that way, too.

From what I've read, the big ganker hangouts are:
* Shinrarta Dezhra
* Engineering bases (especially Farseer)
* Anywhere there is a Community Goal/Interstellar Initiative

Tycho the Mad wrote:

I've only played the pc version but it's my understanding that is that they are feature identical.
as for self sufficient spacecraft, do you mean go out exploring and never looking back? if that's what you mean it's not that bad, the Diamondback Explorer is one of the best explorers in the game without getting into "endgame" modding of your modules and it only costs about 20-30 million credits to get it fully kitted up. that kind of money is relatively easy to acquire by doing limited exploration while you save up.
getting enough credits to get a starter explorer setup will take a few days or of play, but it takes awhile to get a hang of the flight model and how to use features.
i'd bet you can get it on sale REALLY cheap over the holidays, i bought a second account over the summer for something like $15 US for the base game and horizons.

Yeah I'm hoping to pick it up on sale. It's currently €50 for base and Horizons and that's just too steep for a game that I may bounce off.

When I say I plan on going out and never returning, what I mean is that I'm not the type of person that puts hundreds of hours into a game. So I'll likely build up a competent exploration ship, get lost in the wilds just seeing the sights and then put the game aside.

I know from watching Twitch streams that many players make detailed routes in their lovingly created ships and everything is reduced to fine details. However I suspect I'll be much more rip-raw in my approach. Send me up there in the cheapest rust bucket that will get the job done and if it crashes and burns then c'est la vie. I just want to see the stars!

Hrdina wrote:
maverickz wrote:

I didn't know that. I just assumed that because it's closed to non elites the crowd there is more chill. Good to know!

I used to think that way, too.

From what I've read, the big ganker hangouts are:
* Shinrarta Dezhra
* Engineering bases (especially Farseer)
* Anywhere there is a Community Goal/Interstellar Initiative

Yeah engineers I'm aware of, but not Shinrarta. I guess I never thought about it much. I wish PvP was opt in rather than forced on you. I really like meeting other commanders in space, I've had some great experiences. But I'm not sure it's worth the risk of death.

what you're looking for is totally doable EmTec, once you grab the game, you'll want to get a hang of flying your initial ship (the sidewinder) and work courier missions till you can afford an adder with an A rated FSD (your hyperdrive). the adder is a decent starter while you learn to explore and get a hang of flying ships in elite.
next step is to go do local exploration near the bubble of inhabited space, mapping star systems that have already been discovered. the money is decent and you'll get enough cash to get the next step, a Dolphin.
the dolphin is a nice little ship, technically it's a small luxury yacht, but it makes a really solid explorer, early and late game.
a few slightly less local trips (maybe to one of the nearest nebulas and back) should net you enough exploration data to sell off for enough cash to buy a nicely kitted out Diamondback Explorer (DBX). with that you can explore pretty much forever without any issues. there are some star systems and areas that will be difficult or impossible for you to reach, but realistically, as long as you enjoy the exploration experience there are no significant limitations that you'll run into with a nice DBX.
just remember, NEVER FLY WITHOUT A REBUY!

Tycho the Mad wrote:

what you're looking for is totally doable EmTec, once you grab the game, you'll want to get a hang of flying your initial ship (the sidewinder) and work courier missions till you can afford an adder with an A rated FSD (your hyperdrive). the adder is a decent starter while you learn to explore and get a hang of flying ships in elite.
next step is to go do local exploration near the bubble of inhabited space, mapping star systems that have already been discovered. the money is decent and you'll get enough cash to get the next step, a Dolphin.
the dolphin is a nice little ship, technically it's a small luxury yacht, but it makes a really solid explorer, early and late game.
a few slightly less local trips (maybe to one of the nearest nebulas and back) should net you enough exploration data to sell off for enough cash to buy a nicely kitted out Diamondback Explorer (DBX). with that you can explore pretty much forever without any issues. there are some star systems and areas that will be difficult or impossible for you to reach, but realistically, as long as you enjoy the exploration experience there are no significant limitations that you'll run into with a nice DBX.
just remember, NEVER FLY WITHOUT A REBUY!

Thanks for taking the time! That's a nice little roadmap you've just provided me with!

Should I be playing in Open during those initial phases? I always like to play a game that way it's "supposed to be played".

Emtec wrote:

Thanks for taking the time! That's a nice little roadmap you've just provided me with!

Should I be playing in Open during those initial phases? I always like to play a game that way it's "supposed to be played".

No - play in a private group if you can. There is one that everyone who plays in pledges not to grief or attack other players - I forget the name and I haven't played in ages so I've probably been kicked from it now. People in that group were super helpful when I used it (on the odd time I was doing something community based) but even then there were some right little sh*ts that would still attack other players, because God forbid someone should play a game differently to how they want.

There is also a GWJ group that Veloxi runs or ran. I think it even owns a couple of systems and system stations.

I've not played since the great Guardian site hunt a year or two back, and the first official Thargoid encounter, but I should probably get back in at some point.

Sorbicol wrote:

There is also a GWJ group that Veloxi runs or ran. I think it even owns a couple of systems and system stations.

I suspect that's PC though? I'll be on Xbox. There's no cross-play.

Sorbicol wrote:

No - play in a private group if you can. There is one that everyone who plays in pledges not to grief or attack other players - I forget the name and I haven't played in ages so I've probably been kicked from it now. People in that group were super helpful when I used it (on the odd time I was doing something community based) but even then there were some right little sh*ts that would still attack other players, because God forbid someone should play a game differently to how they want.

That would be the ElitePvE group (aka "Mobius").

Emtec wrote:
Sorbicol wrote:

There is also a GWJ group that Veloxi runs or ran. I think it even owns a couple of systems and system stations.

I suspect that's PC though? I'll be on Xbox. There's no cross-play.

Yes, the Veloxi group was a PC group. It still exists, but since Veloxi has soured on Elite Dangerous, and because the game's group mechanics require a single group owner (except in very special circumstances), I don't think the group exists beyond a faction name within the game at this point.

However, the Mobius group does have an XBox section (PS too). You can sign up here.

As far as cross-play goes: I don't think that you can be in the same server instance with human pilots on another platform, but all platforms share a single universe.

Sorbicol wrote:

No - play in a private group if you can. There is one that everyone who plays in pledges not to grief or attack other players - I forget the name and I haven't played in ages so I've probably been kicked from it now.

Mobius?

I've only played on PC, but there's a Mobius group for each platform the game is on.

Thanks, everyone!

The light-years have not been kind to my paint job. And I'm still 45kly from home...

IMAGE(https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/785245071219688207/9283C68CC06F46BCCD503C792F9F973C0E7AE280/)

maverickz wrote:

I really like meeting other commanders in space, I've had some great experiences. But I'm not sure it's worth the risk of death.

Mobius is great for that too. Especially for things like community events. Really makes the world feel alive.

Stele wrote:
maverickz wrote:

I really like meeting other commanders in space, I've had some great experiences. But I'm not sure it's worth the risk of death.

Mobius is great for that too. Especially for things like community events. Really makes the world feel alive.

I'll try that. Though I just did that thing that every pilot must do at least once. Pointed in a random direction away from the bubble and flew away.

I've applied to join the Mobius group. In the mean time, I just want to explore the black. I've plotted a course roughly from the bubble towards the general direction of Sag A and kind of upwards. I really just want to run into unexplored systems and see weird stuff. But now I'm thinking is towards Sag A the right choice?

I've already explored all the guardian and Thargoid stuff I care to. What's a good direction for me to randomly head towards to maximize the probability of seeing something besides stars and rocky planets? Otherwise I'll just head towards Sag A and then veer towards Colonia after that.

Do you all mostly play on k+m, controller or Hotas?

I'm using a Thrustmaster 16000m FCS

Heading towards Sag A* or Colonia from the Bubble is a pretty well-travelled route.

You might run into some unexplored regions more quickly if you start by heading perpendicular and up/down, then turning towards Sag A*.

I think there are some known "fields" of Neutron Stars, but I'm at work right now...

You can also get a map with some points-of-interest with the EDDiscovery tool.

I took the plunge and picked up Elite and the Horizons content for Xbox One (I don't have a PC). I realised very quickly that I was going to have difficulty with the game pad. So I grabbed my coat and returned an hour later with a Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One. I believe it's the only one currently available for Xbox but thankfully it seems to have reviewed quite well for an entry model.

What followed was perhaps my most enjoyable gaming experience in years. I love using the Hotas. I've always been bloody awful at flying mechanics in games but the second I plugged it in I was in full control. It's so intuitive. Docking is child's play. Even something as simple as lowering my landing gear is fun! Having to execute those little tasks is very satisfying and completely immersive.

I realise there's a steep learning curve ahead and that I'll have to adjust to Elite's unique charms. However what turned out to be a €100 gamble has been richly rewarded. I wasn't sure what to expect but I certainly hadn't planned for one of my all time gaming 'moments'. Wow!

I use a slightly quirky set of controls: a Logitech Extreme 3D paired with a Belkin Nostromo n52.

I originally meant the combination to be a temporary setup on the way to getting a real HOTAS, but ended up sticking with it.

Welcome to the elite community mate enjoy the ride.
I use a Saitek x52, i love it but from what i hear the new ones are kinda crap. mine is about 15 years old, one of there earlier runs that had good production standards. that being said i've had to go in and clean the sensors which is a PITA.
since we're talking controlers though, I have been somewhat fascinated by this lately
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXR35VN...
not enough to buy it while money is tight, but I gotta say it's really interesting.

I play with a 360 controller, never had a problem.

Apologies for being brief, but I'm short on time to type this morning. If you want a gory extended cut as well as links to how I set things up for myself you can find them if you dig back through the thread a bit.

My default suggestion these days for entry level kit is the T16k FCS that Mav is using. Personally, I use a combo of the T16k stick and a CH Throttle which I combine and enhance with third party scripting software (these days I use a fairly slick and flexible AutoHotKey script, but I can't remember if I ever posted in detail about that new setup when I made the switch from my old GlovePIE script).

But, even just that bare bones TFlight should provide an amazing experience. One of the best things about Elite is how well it makes you feel like you're really there inside your ship, and thus it draws great value from everything you can do on the hardware side to assist with that, with a HOTAS (or even a stick and nostomo kind of setup) being the first step there.

Actually, even before upgrading to a fancier stick setup, I'd actually probably suggest getting some kind of head tracking going (TrackIR probably being the simplest solution, although I believe there are slightly cheaper semi-DIY options available as well). Being able to control head look with your actual head is such a simple thing, but the impact cannot be understated no matter what you do in game.

I agree with zeroKFE; I'm using a HOTAS (CH Throttle & Flightstick) and a TrackIR 3 Pro, all of which were purchased in 2005. While all of that kit is very old, it still works great and makes the whole Elite experience a lot better than it was out-of-the-box. I only touch the keyboard for a small number of things I haven't programmed into the HOTAS buttons.

I've always heard that VR and Elite go great together, but haven't tried it for myself.

Hrdina wrote:

I've always heard that VR and Elite go great together, but haven't tried it for myself.

They do. I use my Rift a lot while playing, and you get an actual sense of how *huge* the ships are. I've physically ducked when entering stations.

The only negative I have is that the galaxy map absolutely *sucks* in VR. For me anyway. So I set up bookmarks before switching to VR and go from there.

tanstaafl wrote:
Hrdina wrote:

I've always heard that VR and Elite go great together, but haven't tried it for myself.

They do. I use my Rift a lot while playing, and you get an actual sense of how *huge* the ships are. I've physically ducked when entering stations.

The only negative I have is that the galaxy map absolutely *sucks* in VR. For me anyway. So I set up bookmarks before switching to VR and go from there.

Going to agree with both these points. Elite Dangerous in VR is amazing, especially with a panel to watch Netflix or YouTube pinned to the cockpit, and I hate using the galaxy map in VR!