Elite-Dangerous

[Schlack]

Like battlefield it will be a base game for about 50 and another 50 for add ons.

prices in euros

35 and 35 in shitty english money

http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=14313

[Schlack]

After 25 years I couldnt wait any longer.

I bought into the premium beta. bloody expensive, but i figure if i get more than 100 hours out of the game it will be a good buy. I will definately get more than that out of the beta alone.

the game is in very early stages and i would not recommend getting into it now.... unless like me you cant wait! despite the progress wiping bugs, limited galaxy (5 systems), PvP griefing, all those frustrations i log back in immediately upon death. I am really enjoying it. Its shaping up to be the elite of my minds eye from all those years back.

So far the plus points are:

Docking: - it really does have the feel of elite. lining up the rotation , nudging nudging, scraping the sides and then getting in. Sweet. each dock is a triumph. (no docling computers just yet!). now im getting the hang of it im bombing in an out of stations with wild abandon

Flight, supercruise, hyperspace mechanic: this is the most elegant mechanic for dealing with space distance i have experienced in a space sim. still some kinks to be worked out though. Supercruise within systems is fun with a modicum of pilot skill required to hit your target on the button. I dont think ill ever get tired of Hyperspacing into a system. (in ED you come out of witchspace at the star not the edge of the system)

The sound effects are spot on, the engines revving make me smile each time i power up

The graphics are beautiful, supercruising through a planets rings alone is worth the entrance fee

The less good:

It is a bit of a grind at the moment though, you start with the sidewinder (only 4 tonnes of cargo space) with one peashooter. with free replacements upon (regular) deaths. progress will be wiped with future updates so no point in breaking my nuts.

Still a lot of work to be done on it as yet, no comms between players, the economy is not suited to trading (too small for so many players), lotsa bugs, griefing, and CTDs.

As i understand it there will be a premium beta 2 (shortly) followed by a standard more expanded beta to be followed by a furher expanded pre-release gamma. I do think its on the right track and will probably get my moneys worth from the beta alone.

[Para]

The more i read & see about ED the better it gets, getting quite excited by it now cant wait till its final release i wasted my entire youth on the c64 version, do you think this version can really hold a candle to it gameplay wise Shlacky ?

[Schlack]

The more i read & see about ED the better it gets, getting quite excited by it now cant wait till its final release i wasted my entire youth on the c64 version, do you think this version can really hold a candle to it gameplay wise Shlacky ?

It seems to be far more complex yet captures the essence. I finally got my cobra Mk III. Trading is something of a grind until you get one of the bigger ships and plenty of cash. better to first get combat bounties in free sidewinders.

A hell of a lot of tweaking to be done. Still remains to be seen how multiplayer is integrated. (there will be a single player mode). losta griefing and gaking goign on at the moment cos there are no po po.

far too many buttons and commands. im thinking of getting voice attack. http://www.voiceattack.com/ only 8 dolla.

vid of pirating with voice commands:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwSvT31RqMk

apparently works best with a Hotas(s) Joystick and throttle combo. And if the ocolus rift consumer version is worth it ill buy that too.

Might be up to a 6-700 quid investment for a game? jesus on second thoughts...



newsletter 30

http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=dcb ... ddf8da5f8b

Beta proper starts end July, should have a multitude of improvements including voip

[Schlack]

Standard beta starts 29th July, more than 50 star systems, comms, missions, po-lis, fuel - including scooping from planets and stars.


Newsletter 31

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=dcb ... ecf2198bb5

Newsletter 32

http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=dcb ... 0439f6773e

Lifetime expansion pack offer runs out soon if you were interested. plans include planetary landings, spaceport interiors, boarding other ships to take them over!

[wesbot]

See they just announced price for preorder: a not too shabby £35.

https://store.zaonce.net/elite-dangerou ... erous.html

Full list of contents:
• A digital download Elite: Dangerous
• Your very own Eagle fighter ship docked in a secondary location in-game
• Exclusive pack of ship paint jobs
• A ‘day one’ ship decal
• A digital players guide
• A digital concept art book
• Plus loads more digital goodies to be announced over the coming weeks.

[Schlack]

If you were a kickstarter support - you might also be able to get in on the beta when pre-ordering.

Beta 2 is expected by the 30th (no official announcement jsut yet)

Beta 1 has 55 systems and a lot of the base mechanics. Beta 2 is expected to provide a hell of a lot more content.

[Schlack]

Beta 2 due to drop 30th sept.

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=dcb ... e676783725

will now feature:

ranks
reputations with major factions
500 star systems
in System maps
Ship modules - difference jump drives, life support, cargo capacity etc
Wear and tear on ships
New space station type
small outposts
System news feeds
Music and graphical upgrades

get all that working and were close to a finished game!

Netcode still needs improvement though

[bambam]

and on to Beta 3... I've just installed it and have a Rift headset coming tomorrow... I think it'll be interesting to look around in but I'm not sure I can be arsed with the space dogfights.

[wesbot]

You bought a rift already? Early adopter you.

[Schlack]

each payday i resist the urge to buy the rift.

Beta 3 is pretty good, but far from feature complete.

Whats your cmdr name Bams?

[bambam]

Whats your cmdr name Bams?

Lol fuck knows, I'm still mooching around star systems losing money on trades. I typed bambam_ofc in at some point but don't know where player names acually appear.
I am the docking demon though. WASD are thrust up/down/left/right, and scroll wheel is throttle.

I've got some 'stolen mission' food canisters stuck in my cargo bay from a mission I never did - how the fuck do I cancel ou of that and get the 2 cargo slots back?

[bambam]

ahhhha... I'm now Commander Bambam, after setting the profile on https://support.orerve.net.

And I just made my first *ever* profitable trade (I found out there are hints in the Galaxy Map - Trade Routes).

How you you tell which spaceport in a starsystem actually has the commodities market? I just made the mistake of haulin to Aulin and going to the wrong fucking station - it needs to be Aulin Enterprise how the fuck are you supposed to know that?

[Schlack]

If you were thinking of buying, but haven't yet, you might want to hold off until after release - although you will miss out on the pre-order beta goodies.

Offline mode - a truncated single player mode has been dropped by the developers. there will still be an online solo mode, but a constant connection will be required. EA sims-like drm perhaps? Devs say that the background simulation requires regular update to the client (e.g. all in game market transactions) the games Eula also hints at in game advertising - by real companies which would be a real immersion killer. The real problem is that once the devs stop supporting it, the game dies.

latest newsletter indicates that they have gone into "ship" mode and are polishing what they have rather than developing further at this point. The latest beta build (3.05) is quite bare bones compared to what was expected. its definitely playable, but i suspect would get tiresome. a further build 3.9 is expected on 20th with a gamma release candidate due to drop on 22nd. If 3.9 doesnt bring a host of performance improvements and refined features I will be seriously concerned - the Elite forums are going apey-poo at the moment!

Biggest concern: co-op play is still not fully functional - difficult to meet up with anyone you know.

Post release updates (and expansion packs) are promised.


latest newsletter:

http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=dcb ... cea4f4cd56

[Schlack]

ahhhha... I'm now Commander Bambam, after setting the profile on https://support.orerve.net.

And I just made my first *ever* profitable trade (I found out there are hints in the Galaxy Map - Trade Routes).

How you you tell which spaceport in a starsystem actually has the commodities market? I just made the mistake of haulin to Aulin and going to the wrong fucking station - it needs to be Aulin Enterprise how the fuck are you supposed to know that?

the ingame trade tools are bugged to shite at the moment. you kind of have to guess which systems have which needs extraction - refinery - industrial - high tech and so on. The lovely graphics designed to show trade flows are in effect abstract art with little function. external trading tools developed by interested indy code monkeys have been effectively borked - theres no legal way to scrape and collate market information at the moment.

also by a hotas joystick (thrustmaster - yes i know - has a good cheapo one).