Elite Dangerous Catch-All

groan wrote:

"Controls suck my butt"

What is he doing wrong?

For starters I'm pretty sure he misunderstood HOTAS.

Re My yaw/roll question earlier: I moved yaw to the thumb hat, and I think it'll work nicely. Having trouble with getting the look to function how I want it though.

Whats the big deal with Lave?

Edit: It appears that I cannot make a hat switch perform different functions while flying and in a menu, but the control options suggest otherwise, any ideas?

PS I'm bad at this.

ELewis17 wrote:

Whats the big deal with Lave?

It's the starting system in the original game. It has a rare commodity, and so do several of the systems immediately around it, so it's easy to get 30-ish rare goods near there. There's a fair amount of player traffic, though not as much as some other places. I keep my ships there. Someone bought up all the gold in Quator.

This is really frustrating. The game has been out 3 days, and the first night I spent the evening watching the game update from the combat training to the full game, the second night I spent a short time waiting for the game to update, and then spent a long time trying to figure out controls, and now tonight, I'm spending all night long waiting for it to update again.

So far Elite consists mostly of a bar move across a screen.

Fredrik_S wrote:
Balthezor wrote:

Ok, so this is finally out. Haven't played since Premium Beta.

Got my HOTAS, new video card. What else is essential? Track IR? Voice command software? Any new starter guides out there to help get started?

I am loving the voice attack with the voice pack Astra. But I think we can all agree that the ultimate setup has to be oculus, voice and hotas all working together?

Yep, that's what I plan on doing once the Oculus gets retail release. In the meantime, I hooked up my 40in TV to use as a monitor.

Laarrs wrote:
Fredrik_S wrote:
Balthezor wrote:

Ok, so this is finally out. Haven't played since Premium Beta.

Got my HOTAS, new video card. What else is essential? Track IR? Voice command software? Any new starter guides out there to help get started?

I am loving the voice attack with the voice pack Astra. But I think we can all agree that the ultimate setup has to be oculus, voice and hotas all working together?

Yep, that's what I plan on doing once the Oculus gets retail release. In the meantime, I hooked up my 40in TV to use as a monitor.

I ran a few tutorials with an OR DK2 that was loaned to a friend of mine and wow! Even with the screen door effect and not being calibrated to my eyes due to astigmatism and glasses the emersion was spectacular.

I'm having reservations ordering the consumer version when it's announced since Facebook bought them out but it's so, so tempting.

El-Producto wrote:

My only wish would be for some story. I know it's there, and I know you are supposed to create your own stories, but something to latch onto would be nice.

Well, there's two major stories I know about right now, the succession of the Emperor and the slave rebellion. There's probably a bunch of minor ones, and it seems any place with two opposing factions can be thrown into civil war with a little player intervention. So, they're there, they're just not handed to you like in WOW or any similar game where an NPC starts a quest line for you and you follow an obvious A to B to C.

Orphu wrote:
Shoal07 wrote:
El-Producto wrote:

It's funny I was trying to sell a buddy on it, and he said that he didn't think the ships were very much to look at.

I told him screenshots do not do the game justice.

The ships aren't much to look at, mostly a bunch of triangles - BUT - I understand that's the history of the franchise. Still, not very sexy. Some of their more recent ships are a bit more creative, but still not that creative.

We've been over this, but they look like they might actually be functional. Which I like! I love the ships in this game.

Yeah, we did, and we disagreed. Triangle is just about the worst shape for anything besides supporting a bridge (poor structurally, poor space wise). Cylindrical or round would be more functional, and making it look like a futuristic scifi ship (that we're used too) would be more aesthetic. It's purely a throw-back to the old Elite, and I've made my peace with that. I can still think it's a poor design choice. The Eagle, Orca, and the Imperial Clipper are neat, but everything else to me is... meh.

I do think the visibility in some of the cockpits (T6, ASP) is both cool and functional, but the other interior touches are almost too subtle to be noticeable (like the various quality of air vents styled after modern cars - a little too subtle until someone points them out). I also think they did AMAZING things with the sound (seriously, fly a Viper folks) so to me the design "meh-ness" of the ships is disappointing.

I mean, the planets, space stations, even the stars are AMAZING and yet I get to choose between mostly triangular or rectangular flying brown space poops.

LiquidMantis wrote:
groan wrote:

"Controls suck my butt"

What is he doing wrong?

For starters I'm pretty sure he misunderstood HOTAS.

Well, first it's finger --> butt, then is size an issue?

Hotas is third.

But(t) seriously, I played a month with with K&M and FD did a wonderful job with the controls layout.

Sure, a hotas makes it more flight sim like and combat a bit easier, but this game is totally playable with K&M.

I guess we have talked about it. Most of the ships that are in there now are legacy designs. All of the triangle ones are based on 30-year-old designs. I expect that as more ships show up down the road they'll become a bit more diversified. Or you can join the Imperials and get a Clipper, those are pretty sweet.

Basically, you'll only take my Cobra over my dead body.

Found a pretty sweet intrasystem trade route, 10 minutes for 7.500 credits in my upgraded sidewinder.
End goal is the Cobra, so I went to the hauler. The funny thing is that I only get 4 more tons of cargo with my upgraded hauler... I know it makes a difference in the long run, but I was hoping for something more.

Man, I need to set my weekend goal as getting a Cobra.

Taharka wrote:

Found a pretty sweet intrasystem trade route, 10 minutes for 7.500 credits in my upgraded sidewinder.
End goal is the Cobra, so I went to the hauler. The funny thing is that I only get 4 more tons of cargo with my upgraded hauler... I know it makes a difference in the long run, but I was hoping for something more.

Take out shields, guns and so on and replace it all with cargo holds. You can get 22 tons in that thing.

Ok, I added everyone to the VA documents that requested it. Let me know if you have any issues.

Veloxi wrote:
Taharka wrote:

Found a pretty sweet intrasystem trade route, 10 minutes for 7.500 credits in my upgraded sidewinder.
End goal is the Cobra, so I went to the hauler. The funny thing is that I only get 4 more tons of cargo with my upgraded hauler... I know it makes a difference in the long run, but I was hoping for something more.

Take out shields, guns and so on and replace it all with cargo holds. You can get 22 tons in that thing.

Really? I took out shields and the discovery scanner to add 6 additional tons, taking it up to 14. 22? I need to look at it more closely.

Ah, crap. Was doing some testing of voice attack and just jumping around some systems in my eagle when a anaconda interdicted me and blew me up. Is the eagle gone or is it stored somewhere? I chose not to revive it due to lack of funds.

Taharka wrote:
Veloxi wrote:
Taharka wrote:

Found a pretty sweet intrasystem trade route, 10 minutes for 7.500 credits in my upgraded sidewinder.
End goal is the Cobra, so I went to the hauler. The funny thing is that I only get 4 more tons of cargo with my upgraded hauler... I know it makes a difference in the long run, but I was hoping for something more.

Take out shields, guns and so on and replace it all with cargo holds. You can get 22 tons in that thing.

Really? I took out shields and the discovery scanner to add 6 additional tons, taking it up to 14. 22? I need to look at it more closely.

You can upgrade the stock 4 ton bins to 8.

So two 8's, a 4 and a 2 will get you to max carrying capacity.

Veloxi wrote:

Had a GREAT time with Laarrs last night, helping him hunt undesirables about Freeport along with resource extraction sites, which are just beautiful in their own way.

http://www.twitch.tv/spacegamejunkie...

I watched the first part of that video. Looks like you guys had a great time.

You sure have a noisy joystick.

Hrdina wrote:
Veloxi wrote:

Had a GREAT time with Laarrs last night, helping him hunt undesirables about Freeport along with resource extraction sites, which are just beautiful in their own way.

http://www.twitch.tv/spacegamejunkie...

I watched the first part of that video. Looks like you guys had a great time.

You sure have a noisy joystick. :D

Yeah, I have some trombone slide grease on the way.

Some Faction Info.

Some "Storyline" Info.

Fredrik_S wrote:

Ah, crap. Was doing some testing of voice attack and just jumping around some systems in my eagle when a anaconda interdicted me and blew me up. Is the eagle gone or is it stored somewhere? I chose not to revive it due to lack of funds.

You can go into debt (up to 200k) to revive a craft. Since you didn't revive it, it's gone.

Gremlin wrote:
El-Producto wrote:

My only wish would be for some story. I know it's there, and I know you are supposed to create your own stories, but something to latch onto would be nice.

They will be adding stuff gradually. Right now there are only the galaxy-wide events that get posted to GalNet (the slave rebellion looks like it is spreading) and the player driven stuff like Lugh and the boom at Lave, which mostly hasn't reached the critical tipping points yet. Which is more than is traditionally in Elite games, but can be a bit thin if you really want some character-driven story stuff to interact with.

groan wrote:
Veloxi wrote:
groan wrote:

i'll liekly have it before next week :/

Smart man. ;)

My brother bought it, played 10 minutes and was bored. He said, and I quote "So far ... Bored in 10 mins. Controls suck my butt"

What is he doing wrong?
signed,
concerned brother

Well, it's not a wall-to-wall action game, so the sedate pace turns some people off. It can be a little tricky for some people to figure out: I helped a newbie who didn't realize that you could supercruise and thought that it would take a year for the ship to get anywhere at all. The tutorials could be more helpful.

Personally, I like that it feels like I'm flying a real spaceship, so that's my bias. Also I deliberately took three hours to set up my HOTAS and enjoyed every minute of it because I'm weird like that.

I describe it as a game you play in, not a game you play through. That's not for everyone but it certainly is for me.

Laarrs wrote:

Maq, this one is for you, buddy.

See?! How perfect is that? =D

Veloxi wrote:

Yeah, I have some trombone slide grease on the way.

So I've been playing when I can, but still don't have as much time with it as I'd like--maybe 2-2.5 hours. But all that will change after today (hopefully) as I begin a two week vacation.

So what's the easiest way to traverse long distances? Many of you are trekking to Lave, which I can certainly find on the galaxy map. But I can't plot a course beyond a few jumps (fuel range?). With the 3D nature of the map, it's difficult to plot a path of any distance. Is it patience and persistence I'm lacking or just my noob showing?

What's your jump range? It seems that's the largest hurdle to overcome. Apparently I don't have a route to my brother without about a 15 ly jump range.

Gremlin wrote:
El-Producto wrote:

My only wish would be for some story. I know it's there, and I know you are supposed to create your own stories, but something to latch onto would be nice.

They will be adding stuff gradually. Right now there are only the galaxy-wide events that get posted to GalNet (the slave rebellion looks like it is spreading) and the player driven stuff like Lugh and the boom at Lave, which mostly hasn't reached the critical tipping points yet. Which is more than is traditionally in Elite games, but can be a bit thin if you really want some character-driven story stuff to interact with.

groan wrote:
Veloxi wrote:
groan wrote:

i'll liekly have it before next week :/

Smart man. ;)

My brother bought it, played 10 minutes and was bored. He said, and I quote "So far ... Bored in 10 mins. Controls suck my butt"

What is he doing wrong?
signed,
concerned brother

Well, it's not a wall-to-wall action game, so the sedate pace turns some people off. It can be a little tricky for some people to figure out: I helped a newbie who didn't realize that you could supercruise and thought that it would take a year for the ship to get anywhere at all. The tutorials could be more helpful.

Personally, I like that it feels like I'm flying a real spaceship, so that's my bias. Also I deliberately took three hours to set up my HOTAS and enjoyed every minute of it because I'm weird like that.

I sent him a link to a video guide that will help to introduce him to the features. We'll see. I hope he sticks with it. I told him to come here for help if he needed it.

I may come talk to you for Hotas help when I get mine. It's back ordered so who knows when it'll get here.

D_Mann: did you start in LHS 3447?

I just made that trek last night. My start was as follows:

Fly to the bigger station from the outpost you start on (can't remember the name, sadly)

Sell Eagle for ~40k

Buy a better FSD and a Fuel Scoop for the sidey, replacing the cargo hold

This will let you jump ~11LY at a time, and refuel as you go so you don't have to land anywhere.

The galaxy map will plan out routes for you up to around 100LY, but you have to be patient as the route-finder works it all out, it can take a long time, calculating all the possible routes you could take from each of the systems.

The journey is too far to map out the route all at once, so I think I ended up splitting it into roughly thirds of the distance and concentrating on that.

It's a lot of jumping, with a little Supercruise, but not much, and occasionally fuel scooping to refuel, without melting your face.

Took, maybe.. 45 minutes of not-rushing, slow paced jumping to make the trip, as it is pretty far away for the starting sidey. However, one you make it there, and if you've sold the freagle (if you had one?) then you have nothing to make you ever go back to the starting place, and you can call this area home now

Travelling Long Distances
First thing to note, is that the pathfinding in the route planner is really quick and useful within 50 lightyears and gradually spreads the pathfinding up to about 100 or so over the course of a minute. (I think there's probably some optimizing that they can do, but unbounded pathfinding is a hard problem.)

Pathing further than 50ly is best done in stages. What I do, once I've picked my destination and set it as the target, is to click the arrow button that zooms back to my current system and then scroll out and rotate until I've got both the destination (orange arrow) and my current location (blue arrow) onscreen and more-or-less in the same plane. Then, using the right mouse button to scroll up and down and WASD to move around, I pick a system that's roughly in the right direction and about 50-60ly from my current location and plot a route. When I get there, I return to the galaxy map and repeat.

I have a fuel scoop, so I don't have to take into account stopping to refuel anymore, but before I got it I was careful to refuel when the tank was about 40% full, since some systems don't have stations. I had some close calls before I started getting cautious. Blue dashed lines in the route planner indicate that the route will take more than your current fuel.

As LiquidMantis notes, having a longer jump range is the thing that will do the most to make this easy. With 6ly range, you'll have long detours around gaps, with 11ly range you'll have some corkscrew paths, with 16ly range you'll mostly go in a more-or-less straight line. (This varies depending on the density of the local stars, but it's a good rule of thumb for human space.)

Note that the pathfinder has two modes: least fuel use and fewest jumps. Long jumps take more fuel than the same distance covered in several hops, so keep that in mind.

Answers to frequently asked questions from the last few pages:

1: Yes it's eminently playable with a mouse.
2: Use elitedangerouscentral.com for plotting long jump routes and combine with the in-game galaxy map.
3: Do missions and local cargo runs until you can buy a new ship and/or upgrade your frameshift drive to get better range.
4: I dunno, just naturally that sexy I guess.