Elite: Dangerous

[DD_Crash]

I am sure that Fruitbat will post some videos later today as the Premium Beta is due very "soon"

[DD_fruitbat]

I think work is going to get in the way of that, looks like a late one today, and working the weekend, grrrrrrr.

[6S.Manu]

It's been released!

 

But unfortunately I can't play until tonight.

[DD_bongodriver]

I won't tell you how awesome it is playing the beta with full controller support in the rift is like then..............

[DD_fruitbat]

twat!

[Bando]

Come on Bongo, been f5-ing this for quite some time.

How's life between the stars en the rift?

[DD_bongodriver]

My first thought was 'come on DK2 hurry up and arrive', but using the DK1 is good enough to give the sense of scale of things, this is going to be truly awesome in the rift, with all the futuristic computer information the game portrays it seems to suffer less from the low resolution issue that a WWII flight sim is likely to, with the rift on your face and some decent stereo headphones and you really are shot off into the stars.

[Bando]

Great to hear that.

Can't wait for the final version to come out.

[DD_bongodriver]

did I mention it's awesome in the rift?

[Bando]

You did!!!!

 

Now shut up!!!!

 

[DD_Crash]

@ FlatSpinman, this thread might interest you http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=14712

[FlatSpinMan]

Crash - to view it I had to make an account (no problem) but even then it won't let me view that link. Can you repost it or something?

[DD_Crash]

Sorry about that, it was in the Private Backers forum, however Frontier have confirmed that they will port it to Mac OS a couple of months after the windows release. here is a Mac thread from the general forum.http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=9090

[FlatSpinMan]

Thanks for the thought!

I actually run Win 7 on my iMac, and once this one craps out I'll never bother with one again, I think.

Had a good read through their forums last night.

Premium Beta with the eternal DLC is very tempting.

[FlatSpinMan]

Just spent an idle hour watching Elite bids on YouTube. This led me to wonder if you experienced WW2 sim pilots find the dogfighting easy, or at least easier. In the vids I've watched, no one seems to know how to lead a target, nor how to do Immelmans or scissors to keep a nearby enemy in your sights.

And no one ever, ever looks to their rear! I guess the ships do have HUD displays with threat indicators, but I found it a bit surprising.

 

Looks great.

[Panzerlang]

Just spent an idle hour watching Elite bids on YouTube. This led me to wonder if you experienced WW2 sim pilots find the dogfighting easy, or at least easier. In the vids I've watched, no one seems to know how to lead a target, nor how to do Immelmans or scissors to keep a nearby enemy in your sights.

And no one ever, ever looks to their rear! I guess the ships do have HUD displays with threat indicators, but I found it a bit surprising.

 

Looks great.

 

There's zero rear view, at least in the Sidewinder and I'm not aware of any ED ships that have a bubble canopy. As for real-world flight maneouvers, they don't work at all. Ships can stop on a dime, reverse orientation while maintaining original forward speed and increase rate of turn by manipulating the throttle. Then you throw vertical and lateral thrusters into the mix and it's UFO time. Dogfighting is an entirely different ballgame.

[6S.Manu]

Just spent an idle hour watching Elite bids on YouTube. This led me to wonder if you experienced WW2 sim pilots find the dogfighting easy, or at least easier. In the vids I've watched, no one seems to know how to lead a target, nor how to do Immelmans or scissors to keep a nearby enemy in your sights.

And no one ever, ever looks to their rear! I guess the ships do have HUD displays with threat indicators, but I found it a bit surprising.

 

Looks great.

 

Between CTDs I did some dogfights but IMO it not so enjoyable right now: the only two ways I could do a real fight has been during an interdiction by a single AI pirate (since it was a 1v1 and you can prepare yourself) and inside an asteroid field where you can use asteroids to protect yourself.

 

But most of the times you are ambushed then you're going to die since you are already losing your shield, and of course running away is not an option. To not be ambushed is difficult since the high number of contacts in the scanner, the low range of this one and the complete lack of a rear cam (that's the reason people don't look to their rear).

 

Add to that some weapons like the gimballed ones are far more accurate (personally I won't let players mount them on light ships) and the game become more a matter of equipment instead of skill. I mean there are some great pilots but I've to fight with them yet (and the fight is still heavily dictated by the engagement). 

Edited June 4, 2014 by 6S.Manu

[DD_bongodriver]

Just spent an idle hour watching Elite bids on YouTube. This led me to wonder if you experienced WW2 sim pilots find the dogfighting easy, or at least easier. In the vids I've watched, no one seems to know how to lead a target, nor how to do Immelmans or scissors to keep a nearby enemy in your sights.

And no one ever, ever looks to their rear! I guess the ships do have HUD displays with threat indicators, but I found it a bit surprising.

 

Looks great.

 

OK, Oculus hat back on (pun intended) the dogfighting experience is very interesting, the fact that there are more axes of travel make manoeuvring a whole new ball game and the need to visually track your target more important and the oculus is much more intuitive to use than TIR, as well as pitch roll and yaw you have vertical and lateral thrust as well as the ability to reverse, Newtonian Physics also meaning you can travel in one direction but point in another, simply brilliant.

[Walkyrje]

I loved ED to this evening. loose some nice weapons. Becouse i was smart going to battle with only the hull on 15 %. and only 800 credit.  Blame me and only me.  But ok i still love the game.

[Feathered_IV]

I think from what I've seen so far, the precision of movement makes the control of the ships behave more like a turret than a free floating object of hundreds of tons and all the inertia that goes with it. If rolling a huge ship for example, you would expect it to be slow at first, then accelerate into the rolling with a fair bit of fuel and thrust needed to bring it out. Add the effect of mass on every axis and the control of ships would be a lot more believeable, and probably a lot more satisfying.

[DD_bongodriver]

Turn off flight assist, it is effectively their version of fly by wire and that is why it is so stable and controllable.

[Feathered_IV]

Thanks bongo, that's good to know. I haven't got onboard yet, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out for vids of the complex flight behavior. I recently discovered the excellent Homeworld series (ten years after everyone else) and am feeling pretty ripe for a good space sim.

[FuriousMeow]

Without flight assist, its a totally different experience. With flight assist, its like in an atmosphere - without, it isn't that much more difficult until you try to get into one of the bases. That's when it goes full tilt to astronaut pilot training.

 

So far, very different, interesting and still figuring out if a lot of things I'm coming across are AI or real people. I think AI, because I haven't seen chat functions and I've been interedicted several times jumping to different areas trying to get a feel and understanding for the MP mechanics but the craft that interdict me chat to me, so I'm pretty sure AI. They are easy to beat, so reinforces the AI belief.

 

Lots of cool and interesting features to ED, I've been enjoying it quite a bit when I get the chance to experience it. The SP was good for basic weapons tutorials, AI very easy to beat, after 5 missions I jumped to MP and I'm finding that far more interesting. Its early in dev but so far I like where its heading.

[FlatSpinMan]

Thanks for the info, guys.

FIV - re Home world, I was a relative early-adapter, only about five years late to the party. I never finished the first one but just loved the design and atmosphere of the game.

[6S.Manu]

So far, very different, interesting and still figuring out if a lot of things I'm coming across are AI or real people. I think AI, because I haven't seen chat functions and I've been interedicted several times jumping to different areas trying to get a feel and understanding for the MP mechanics but the craft that interdict me chat to me, so I'm pretty sure AI. They are easy to beat, so reinforces the AI belief.

 

You need to watch at your scanner: squares are ships with hardpoints retracted, triangles are the ones ready to fight.

 

If the icon is hollow, then it's a player.

 

FD is working for a solution (ID transponder) who will avoid people to be attacked only because "they are people" (ruining the immersion).

Edited June 11, 2014 by 6S.Manu

[FuriousMeow]

You need to watch at your scanner: squares are ships with hardpoints retracted, triangles are the ones ready to fight.

 

If the icon is hollow, then it's a player.

 

FD is working for a solution (ID transponder) who will avoid people to be attacked only because "they are people" (ruining the immersion).

 

Does the scanner show these when in "hyperspace" (or whatever, when travelling really fast from point to point)? I thought my scanner was blank, but I was too busy trying to slow down so I could drop out of hyperspace to avoid being shot out of it.

[DD_bongodriver]

There is no game manual is there? I am aware of an unofficial one.

[6S.Manu]

Does the scanner show these when in "hyperspace" (or whatever, when travelling really fast from point to point)? I thought my scanner was blank, but I was too busy trying to slow down so I could drop out of hyperspace to avoid being shot out of it.

 

Nope. Scanner works only inside the final location.

Edited June 11, 2014 by 6S.Manu

[6S.Manu]

There is no game manual is there? I am aware of an unofficial one.

 

This, but it's not a good one:

http://elite.frontier.co.uk/downloads/Sidewinder_Owners_Manual_WIP.pdf

 

Otherwise this thread can be useful:

http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=20322

[DD_bongodriver]

Thanks

[FuriousMeow]

I played for about another hour last night, just trying to figure out how to dock after requesting dock and practicing that. Its really difficult with a super senstive throttle and rotaries assigned to the lateral/vertical thrusters but I did manage to accomplish it after two failed attempts. Luckily I never blew up or took hull damage even though I threw the Sidewinder into the landing pad very hard several times. Started looking for ways to get some credits so I could add another laser cannon to the Sidewinder and found that the Federal Distress Signal is a good place to do it. Shoot down a few Federal ships and you get 500cr for each one. I took out five and figured that was enough, checked my credits and had 0 gained but 5 kills. Upon reviewing several threads I found I had to join a side first and then shoot down the other side to get any credits. That was a waste of an hour.

 

I haven't tried supply runs or looting yet, I think I'll do that to get enough credits for the second laser cannon because if any players showed up I would have been toast near the FDS.

[DD_bongodriver]

I have been experiencing a weird problem, every time I want to launch from a landing pad my ship just shoots off sideways? what's the trick?

[6S.Manu]

I played for about another hour last night, just trying to figure out how to dock after requesting dock and practicing that. Its really difficult with a super senstive throttle and rotaries assigned to the lateral/vertical thrusters but I did manage to accomplish it after two failed attempts. Luckily I never blew up or took hull damage even though I threw the Sidewinder into the landing pad very hard several times. Started looking for ways to get some credits so I could add another laser cannon to the Sidewinder and found that the Federal Distress Signal is a good place to do it. Shoot down a few Federal ships and you get 500cr for each one. I took out five and figured that was enough, checked my credits and had 0 gained but 5 kills. Upon reviewing several threads I found I had to join a side first and then shoot down the other side to get any credits. That was a waste of an hour.

 

I haven't tried supply runs or looting yet, I think I'll do that to get enough credits for the second laser cannon because if any players showed up I would have been toast near the FDS.

 

I use the 3th PoV for the Left/Right and UP/Down thrusters. I think using rotaries makes combat real hard.

Sadly in this Beta the market is already screwed and it's possible to have profit only in warzone... it's so boring that I'm still with 32k and the sidewinder.

 

I'm gonna way for the next release.

 

I have been experiencing a weird problem, every time I want to launch from a landing pad my ship just shoots off sideways? what's the trick?

 

Only in Dahan.

 

Anyway here's the new trailer.

[FlatSpinMan]

How's the market screwed up, just out of interest?

[6S.Manu]

How's the market screwed up, just out of interest?

 

Too many players in only 5 systems, adding the guys who hacked the game for more credits.

 

There is no system with High Demand for goods: so the profit is really low.

 

Maybe with a Cobra you could still trade, but with a Sidewinder/Eagle the only choice is to take down AI in the warzone.

 

Another choice is going for the wanted ships, but the only high bounties ( ex 1300cr) can be found in the anarchic mineral extraction site: so easily you're blown apart by hiding players (they can kill you even if your status is clear, since there is no law there).

Edited June 12, 2014 by 6S.Manu

[steppenwolf]

I like that they've added people. The game is really look'n great!

[FuriousMeow]

I like that they've added people.

 

Added people? I'm not sure what you mean.

[DD_Crash]

The people standing near the landing pads where added later. David Braben  has said that they would like to add people to space stations later in the build and as we will be getting a "walk about " add on  it would be hard not to

[DD_Crash]

Quote from a programmer of Elite

 

 

Most definitely!

There's several bits of dressing like this planned to give stations more variation and signs of life, these features are waiting further down the list of priorities for now though so I can't give an ETA.

Time... it's always our enemy

 

[steppenwolf]

I'm very interested in seeing how they do the 'walk about' add on. GTA V-esque?