Elite: Dangerous

[Tradesonred]

Anyone playing this?

Bought it 2 days ago, only regret it slightly, although i paid 80$

My main gripe so far is that it seems like online was put as a DRM measure as the economic system doesnt seem to be anywhere near the interactivity you get from Eve online. Also would like more depth with the cartographics as so far ive seen just a grind in putting the buyer for the stuff you gather info at an arbitrary 20 LY away from where it was gathered. Im sure down the line itll have its use but seems kinda meh forcing people to go online with what seems at first glance as a pretty shallow experience (trading and cartographics commerce)

It also means that people cant mod the fuck out of it since the small company is probably gonna move with content at a snails pace.

I love how you fly though, but im already seeing myself getting bored out of that soon unfortunately if they dont add more depth.

[dafier]

Anyone playing this?

Bought it 2 days ago, only regret it slightly, although i paid 80$

My main gripe so far is that it seems like online was put as a DRM measure as the economic system doesnt seem to be anywhere near the interactivity you get from Eve online. Also would like more depth with the cartographics as so far ive seen just a grind in putting the buyer for the stuff you gather info at an arbitrary 20 LY away from where it was gathered. Im sure down the line itll have its use but seems kinda meh forcing people to go online with what seems at first glance as a pretty shallow experience (trading and cartographics commerce)

It also means that people cant mod the fuck out of it since the small company is probably gonna move with content at a snails pace.

I love how you fly though, but im already seeing myself getting bored out of that soon unfortunately if they dont add more depth.

I played Eve for 6 Months. The learning curve was the worst I've seen in a game in a long time, but it was a really fun game.

I joined the UK forums for Elite Dangerous and watched MANY MANY videos before release. I read a lot in the forums and decided it's not the game for me due to the time sink.

It looks like a great game and has a TON of potential but at release there was limited things you can do, imo.

They had a lot of Online issues at release because supposedly there are 'instances', so if you join up with someone and are in their instance, finding them was very difficult even if you were in the same place (exact spot in space). I don't know if they fixed that.

The commerce seemed pretty cool and but again the time sink running around was stupid. Literally flying from one space station, to another sector and docking in another space station takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour (Maybe that is round trip).

At any rate the graphics are amazing and it looks like it's very fun. You can actually have an effect on the environment (Local governments, commerce, cause civil uprisings/unrest) and keep moving on. There are thousands of star systems and more.

Star Citizen looks like it's going to be better, in a way.

[Pyrion]

Star citizen will be great i think but it is still a long time off. And it's really a different type of game. In ED you have a simulated universe that totally does not care about you. In SC you have a campaign and an arcade feel, sacrificing a realistic universe.

ED is not for everyone that is for sure. There is a grind (like in EQ). At the moment you can grind by trading or by fighting and to a lesser degree, exploring. Mining is only a bare bones implementation... though that will change in the coming weeks with the 1.3. update. If you don't want to grind, you can try to influence politics. That's already possible. You can directly support factions with your actions, driving them to expand. In the 1.3. update this will be pushed to a new level, introducing super factions that you can directly ally with. This will push PvP a lot i think.

If you are an astronomy geek, ED is already a "must have". The galaxy is beautifully modelled. There are really amazing star systems with all kinds of weird orbits. Systems can have a lot of suns (although that is rare). There are double and even triple planets. Very nice planetary rings, neutron stars and black holes.

ED does not take you by the hand, it has a steep learning curve for beginners. If you like a real sandbox, try it.

[Tradesonred]

Im having trouble with how alpha the whole game feels, like not being able to keep the weapons i buy in a station somewhere, so i can have loadout A B and C for my cobra. Like if i wanna go mining in a system, thats it, i have to sell my loadout and never see it again after i just did a 10 LY + run to reach a system that sells them.

[-TK-]

I picked this up the other day and have only put a small amount of time in it. I got my flight stick and pedals setup, did two tutorials to test my settings, and jumped into the game. I picked up a contract to destroy two transport vessels and headed out. I found a couple ships and blew one up which then put a bounty on me. I had to log out abruptly so that's where I left off. Not sure what to expect when logging back in from that.

I've talked to a couple people with 300+ hours in this game and they've all said the game is boring in it's current state and the reason they have so many hours is because they have a solid core of friends playing. I picked it up primarily because I'm a flight simmer and I want to explore so I imagine I'll get burned out because the MMO aspect seems non-existent and I don't know anyone playing but I wanted to give it a shot.

[MrSparkle001]

I've been doing a lot of bounty hunting in a Vulture. I make millions doing it.

I'm Powerplay will add a lot to the game especially with missions. I'm intrigued by the background simulation that's constantly running but so far it doesn't have a lot of effect overall.

There will also be planet landings and I think walking around on stations but it could be a long way off. I don't know how large the dev team is.

[Tradesonred]

I've been doing a lot of bounty hunting in a Vulture. I make millions doing it.

I'm Powerplay will add a lot to the game especially with missions. I'm intrigued by the background simulation that's constantly running but so far it doesn't have a lot of effect overall.

There will also be planet landings and I think walking around on stations but it could be a long way off. I don't know how large the dev team is.

Thats all interesting in the long run, i hope they come through with that, but right now i feel like it would be like working on the expansions when the Classic content is barely into beta.

Would love to explore just a few systems and find stuff there. For example, a hidden pirate base in an asteroid field. Hoping to find more than "resource extraction point" at gas giants, as i keep scratching the surface to see if theres more under.

Skimming through feedback, i see alot of annoyances at eve comparisons but to me Eve got alot of things right and at first glance seems economy and player interaction (cant even sell shit to other players i think?) is really lacking compared to eve. The excuse for not making the game play in single player was that there was gonna be this fantastic multiplayer aspect to it that they just couldnt do with a single player game. So far it feels more like DRM just to make sure the only way to get the game is to gamble 80$ on it. We would have gotten a shit ton of mods probably if it was available in single player too.

[MrSparkle001]

I didn't spend anywhere near $80. Wow.

[Tradesonred]

I didn't spend anywhere near $80. Wow.

Did you back it?

I mean its forty pounds, converted into Can dollars, 78$.

Its a bit frustrating to see 20$ paint jobs getting sold already when theres so little content it seems in-game.

[Kevris]

TL/DR:

Size, scope and scale are difficult concepts to convey. For example: I’m writing this from Palm Springs, California in the United States of America, on the western hemisphere of the planet Earth, in the Sol system, in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, located in the Local Group of galaxies within the Virgo Supercluster, which itself is part of the Laniakea Supercluster within the observable area of the Known Universe. That’s about 28,000 Megaparsecs, or around 46,000,000,000 light years. I can say that; I can “think” I know the meaning of these numbers, but never before have I had the ability to “feel” what that much distance means. Elite: Dangerous is a game that, in its’ current form, models the space from the solar system level through the galactic. It is able to (especially when paired with a Virtual Reality device) convey the feeling of a slice of that 46 billion light-year distance like no form of media before. It’s a game that has layered real scientific data on top of a procedural generation system to produce the most accurate recreation of our galaxy to date. While there is absolutely no doubt this is a technical triumph, the question must be asked: does it make for a good game?

The answer to this question is: “Well, it depends…”

To start, it must be stated that Elite: Dangerous is not “complete.” The game available right now, that costs sixty of your hard-earned dollars, is not what will be available to players who purchase it next year, or even next month. Creator David Braben, and his company Frontier Developments, have committed to producing content for this title for a long, long time. Some of that content, such as the upcoming “Power Play” expansion slated for release in June, will be free. Some of the promised content, such as the ability to land your space ship on one of the (literally) billions of planets found in in the game’s representation of our Galaxy, will be sold as paid expansions. Many players find themselves asking if the game, as it stands today, is something they would be interested in. Many other players are incredibly happy with the game that is available right now and find the additions to be icing on an already incredibly delicious cake.

It should also be stated that while Elite: Dangerous can be played with any combination of devices from a basic mouse and keyboard up through an expensive Hands-on-Throttle-and-Stick (HOTAS) setup, it is “meant” to be played with a HOTAS.

Finally, this is not a game that feels like it was designed for mass-market appeal. You will not find any magic compass pointing you on to your next objective. There are no cut-scenes, quick-time events, dialogue wheels or quick-saves. It provides a basic tutorial on how to maneuver your ship, dock and fire your weapons, then releases you into an incredibly large (and often times cruel and unforgiving) galaxy with nothing but a tiny ship and 1,000 credits to your name. If you’re accustomed to games telling you exactly where to go and exactly what to do, this will come as a huge shock and may cause you to turn the game off and never play it again. Rather than cast you as the dashing hero saving the day on a daily basis, Elite: Dangerous puts you into the work-boots of an everyman. You’re not Luke Skywalker; you’re “Red Eleventeen” who’s not named when the credits roll. You are a small cog in a galactic machine that keeps turning whether you are playing or not.

Elite: Dangerous can be distilled into three basic gameplay modes: trading, exploration and combat. With no quick-save, and no way to simply reload if something goes awry, these three core gameplay modes frequently overlap with exciting and serious repercussions. Hauling a load of valuables that cost the entirety of your fortune has real risk: if you are destroyed by pirates on the way to your destination you can’t simply reload and go a different route.

Trading in Elite: Dangerous operates on a simple principle: buy low and sell high. The populated area of the Galaxy (which is tiny when compared to the galaxy at large, more on that later) consists of space stations that produce commodities. To produce these commodities, they require other commodities. For example a station that produces Battle Weapons will need metals to make the weapons, food to feed the population of workers, entertainment for those workers and so on. Star systems are defined as Industrial, Extraction, High-Tech, etc. and by learning which types of economies rely on each other players to create their own trade routes. This is akin to a 34th century Silk Road, with player-merchants buying and selling goods along the way for profit. Complicating this seemingly simple concept is the fact that space is a vast, open area governed by many different forms of government sprinkled with areas of true lawlessness. Much like the ancient trade routes from our own history, these roads are populated by opportunistic pirates, both human players and NPC’s that will attempt to intercept you, steal your cargo and end your life. Further complicating matters is the myriad of star systems have their own governments. That load of Tobacco you bought in System A may be illegal in System B, and if the local authorities scan your ship and discover it they’ll be more than happy to dispense justice from business-end of a rail-gun. While the idea of playing “space-trucker” may not sound appealing, it is incredibly fun and without the gaming trope of save-scumming to back you up it is incredibly exciting. In addition to simply buying low and selling high, players can engage in various black-market activities. Remember that tobacco you bought in System A before? Well, it’s still illegal in System C; however System C has a thriving black market that is always paying good money for packs of Parliaments.

So about that galaxy: 400,000,000 star systems. Of which a tiny handful have been mapped, and from that tiny handful, another tiny handful have been settled. The rest of these stars are where the second gameplay mechanic, Exploration, comes in. Every star on the (truly enormous) Galaxy Map has some basic information on it: its type and location for example. With this information, players are able to jump into unknown systems and scan the system by flying close to it. Anyone with a basic appreciation for astronomy will find this experience rewarding and enjoyable. Let’s face it: we will personally never be going to space, and especially not space outside of our own solar system. The experience in Elite: Dangerous is the closest thing I have ever felt to discovering something new, and the fear and trepidation I felt edging closer to my first black hole (so I could observe the accurately modeled gravitational lensing) was as real as it gets; this is especially true when paired with an Oculus Rift. I would imagine it’s the almost the same feeling explorers here on Earth had hundreds of years ago upon discovering that the world was not flat. Data gathered on these exploration trips is sold to space stations with rewards scaling to the value of the planets found: you’re going to be paid a substantial amount more for discovering an Earth-like world than you will be for lifeless rocks in space. Compared to the other means by which to make money in Elite: Dangerous, Exploration is not the fastest way to achieve wealth. With that said, the people drawn to the explorer role are not the types of people who are playing the game to be the richest man in the galaxy. The fact that this exists in the game as an option for those kinds of players is a very welcome change and one that the community appreciates.

The final way to make money is through various forms of combat. These include: fighting in war-zones (which are generated by the underlying political simulation), assassinating persons of interest to the games countless number of small local governments, or hunting down and dispensing vigilante justice to wanted criminals through the bounty system. With artificial limitations on the yaw axis intentionally in place, combat in Elite: Dangerous feels a great deal like World War II air combat. For people who grew up on games like X-Wing, Wing Commander and Descent this is a highly enjoyable white-knuckle seat-of-your-pants thrill ride. While other space simulation games such as Eve Online offer combat, the experience does not compare to a fully manual hands-on simulation. This is not a matter of standard MMO rock-paper-scissors balanced hotkeys, this is a truly skill-based affair and experienced pilots who are out-classed and outnumbered can still achieve victory through superior tactics and good piloting. It is a welcome change to the genre: one that rewards players who are able to adapt on-the-fly, think fast, and react quickly. And when paired with an Oculus Rift, or even a limited and simple head-tracking device such as Track IR, the joy of space combat has never been greater.

So, do these systems make a great game? The answer is one that varies on personal taste: If you’re the kind of person who enjoys a slow pace peppered with moments of intense excitement, you will enjoy Elite: Dangerous. If your idea of the quintessential space movie is 2001: A Space Odyssey rather than Star Wars, you will love Elite: Dangerous. If you are looking for something that is good now, but will be truly great in time, you should buy Elite: Dangerous. While it could stand to improve in some areas, it is the most enjoyable space simulator to date and is getting better with every patch.

[MrSparkle001]

Did you back it?

I mean its forty pounds, converted into Can dollars, 78$.

Its a bit frustrating to see 20$ paint jobs getting sold already when theres so little content it seems in-game.

I spent $50 for the preorder Mercenary pack.

[Uteunayr]

Ya'll need to get involved with the background sim. I've been toppling systems left and right for the glory of the Alliance. Up to 900 hours in this game. Not sure what lack of depth you all are experiencing.

Hopefully Powerplay will streamline it so people can figure out the depth of the game more easily. As it stands right now, most people don't even realize how they impact the background sim, and why it is so important. Also note, that's another reason for always online: Everyone, everywhere playing the game is impacting the sway of galactic politics. The system flipping, the battling between factions, all of that would be lost in the game if there was offline.

Now that isn't an excuse. There should be offline. They promised there would be in their kickstarter, but they didn't deliver. Just saying there is a reason in the game for it.

Also, if any of you all haven't made the connection yet: Elite Dangerous' system is exactly the same as the system proposed by EQ Next for world development. Interesting connection, I think.

[Tradesonred]

Ya'll need to get involved with the background sim. I've been toppling systems left and right for the glory of the Alliance. Up to 900 hours in this game. Not sure what lack of depth you all are experiencing.

Hopefully Powerplay will streamline it so people can figure out the depth of the game more easily. As it stands right now, most people don't even realize how they impact the background sim, and why it is so important. Also note, that's another reason for always online: Everyone, everywhere playing the game is impacting the sway of galactic politics. The system flipping, the battling between factions, all of that would be lost in the game if there was offline.

Now that isn't an excuse. There should be offline. They promised there would be in their kickstarter, but they didn't deliver. Just saying there is a reason in the game for it.

Also, if any of you all haven't made the connection yet: Elite Dangerous' system is exactly the same as the system proposed by EQ Next for world development. Interesting connection, I think.

An example of lack of depth where you might explain to me what im missing:

Reading tutorials right now on rare com trading. Apparently you need to sell something 130-160 LY away to make a profit. How is that not a time sink and arbitrary? Like for example in Eve, if you found a buying order for some item somewhere at 150k, if you were sitting in a station 3 systems away, and you could buy this item 25k, you just made 375k. (450k selling - 75k for buying it).

I dont get why distance has anything to do with the money you make selling it, seems like a time sink just to make people travel.

[Norok]

Anyone playing this?

Bought it 2 days ago, only regret it slightly, although i paid 80$

My main gripe so far is that it seems like online was put as a DRM measure as the economic system doesnt seem to be anywhere near the interactivity you get from Eve online. Also would like more depth with the cartographics as so far ive seen just a grind in putting the buyer for the stuff you gather info at an arbitrary 20 LY away from where it was gathered. Im sure down the line itll have its use but seems kinda meh forcing people to go online with what seems at first glance as a pretty shallow experience (trading and cartographics commerce)

It also means that people cant mod the fuck out of it since the small company is probably gonna move with content at a snails pace.

I love how you fly though, but im already seeing myself getting bored out of that soon unfortunately if they dont add more depth.

I bought it and played it over a week; probably 20 hours in total. Very beautiful, fun, and inspired game. I even bought a joystick just to control better and had my friend bring over his Occulus Rift... talk about immersion!

However, the progression curve is too steep. I bounty hunted as it was the most engaging role. I earned up to a Vulture which is superbly combat capable. It costs about 4 mil credits. I was earning at least 1 mil/hour. The next real upgrade is the max level ship the Anaconda for 76 mil. I could not see it really making combat much more efficient for 70+ hours of grinding to get it.

In the end I ran out of things I was interested in doing. I got my money's worth but lament there wasn't more to it.

[Uteunayr]

Yes, it is a time sink if you're going to buy 10-15 rare commodities, and then fly 150 LY away to sell it for maximum profit. But, if you're smart, you'll create a long trade route. You pick up rare commodities in one star system, fly 15 LY away, and get 15 more rare commodities of another type, and so on. You do this until when you're 130 LY away, you sell off your original stock of 10-15 rares for maximum profit, and then buy new items, and make a trade loop. So for example:

0LY: Buy 15 of rare commodity A.
15 LY away: Buy 15 of rare commodity B.
40 LY away: Buy 15 of rare commodity C.
50 LY away: Buy 10 of rare commodity D.
80 LY away: Buy 10 of rare commodity E.
110 LY away: Buy 15 of rare commodity F.
130 LY away: Sell off all 15 rare commodity A, buy 15 of rare commodity G.

And then you start swinging back in a large arc to get back to the original system with commodity A. When you get back to A, you sell all your rare commodity G.

These trade loops are common, but they require you to research and figure out how to plot your route for maximizing your income. On top of this, the places you buy from and sell to add to the political stability of that region. So, if you buy and sell commodities in Leesti which is run by the RI, you're adding to their control of that system. On the other hand, if you deliver Tantalum, which is used in the construction of weapons, or sell other weapons in Leesti, you add to the ability for a minor faction in the system to topple RI because there are now more guns and tantalum to make guns to kill off the faction in control.

So, if you're an Alliance Trader with Empire sympathies who hates the Federation, you need to create a creative route that works for you.

On top of this, if you move beyond rare trading, most space ports run out of supply in about 3-4 hours of trading in the largest ship in the game (The Type 9, or the Anaconda if you add speed as a factor). So being an effective trader is about building up a network of trading sources so you're able to maximize your profit per hour over time. Personally, I have about 80 networks. However, it used to be around 110 trade networks until one of the Federation player guilds decided to flip Empire systems to the Federation. That meant I could no longer sell Imperial Slaves to those markets, killing off that trade route. These do not require you to go great distances, just to find two economies that mesh. One system is High Tech, so it needs minerals and metals to make into High Tech resources. High Tech systems create technology which helps extraction. So? Find an extraction economy system, go there, buy metals. Go to the High Tech system, sell the metals for massive profit, and then buy extraction technology and sell it to the Extraction system. That's how normal trading works.

There's also the potential to create long roads of trade where you soak maximum profit over time, rather than just going back and forth.

As for why rare commodities cost more the further away you are: They are rare. Not many people, NPCs, etc. are going to trade long distances. Why was silk not expensive in Asia but when it had traversed the Silk Road into Europe did it suddenly become valuable? Because the commodity is foreign there, and has greater value to those who don't live on it. This is a real big issue in modern days with oil exporting countries. The oil companies in countries like Iran don't want to sell Iranian oil to Iranians because it is so much cheaper in the country which produces it. They'd rather sell it abroad and make much greater income, but the Iranian government needs to offer sufficient incentives for the oil companies to sell domestically so that way they can assure for their domestic energy needs.

It is pretty much how international trade works.


However, the progression curve is too steep. I bounty hunted as it was the most engaging role. I earned up to a Vulture which is superbly combat capable. It costs about 4 mil credits. I was earning at least 1 mil/hour. The next real upgrade is the max level ship the Anaconda for 76 mil. I could not see it really making combat much more efficient for 70+ hours of grinding to get it.

Note that the Anaconda costs about 130 million to buy, not just 76. But it is a shitty combat ship. It is good for trading (420/436 tons, large jump range, more maneuverable than the Type 9). After the Vulture, the next best is the FDL (caps out at 100 million with full upgrades). After that, the Python, but it is more a shield heavy FDL. My Python, maxed out, costs around 230 million.

Also note the way to make money isn't to just grind 1 million an hour. Get involved in community goals. I played for 4 hours this week due to the release of The Witcher 3, and in those 4 hours, I made about 4 million in Alliance bounties. But I turned them in at 78 Ursae Majoris as a part of the community goal of making the region safe for the President's visit. The CG ended earlier today, and I got 9 million more on top of it.

One of the more recent CGs was about Unknown Artefacts which have been starting to appear around civilized space. You can see one here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxxZB9ytxQw). They corrode the inside of your ship when you carry them, and they were believed to be on Alien origin. So, the story is starting to lead into the introduction of Aliens. All at the same time, The Empire is divided over a succession struggle, and the Federation is getting rife with crime due to a lame duck President.

One of the ones before that was a CG based on the liberation of the system Lugh from the Federation. Back in Gamma, players decided to test the background simulation by helping the Crimson Party of Lugh grow in power in the Lugh system as opposed to the Federation. Frontier used this to patch up the background sim system, and in the end, made a 4-5 CG long event over the course of a few weeks of the war between the Crimson and the Federation. The Crimson were victorious (my side!) and the Federation pulled back, and Lugh was freed from Federation control. I made about 40 million on that event.

Community goals are the "story" of the game. It is how you get involved in the expanding, growing galaxy. If you're not reading GalNet, you're never going to find those community goals, and you'll wander around aimlessly. And that's fine, if what you want to do is wander around aimlessly. But if you want something to do, to be a part of the story, the option is there, you merely need to look for it. Since I was a part of the liberation of Lugh, whenever I go to Lugh, I know I was a part of that. New people to the game will never know how crazy the PvP was in that war, because they weren't there for it. But there will be more wars in the future for them to be involved in. It's the exact same thing as EQN proposed about creating a story in an open world environment.

The story is there, and it is something you can get involved in, but you have to want to do it. You can't just log in, go bounty hunt, and log out and expect the story to be jammed down your throat. Just like with EverQuest, the story and the lore, it's out there. It is in the world. It is in the books and news you find. The game doesn't begrudge you listen to the story, merely offers it to you to take it, to enjoy it, if it is what you want.

[Tradesonred]

As for why rare commodities cost more the further away you are: They are rare. Not many people, NPCs, etc. are going to trade long distances. Why was silk not expensive in Asia but when it had traversed the Silk Road into Europe did it suddenly become valuable? Because the commodity is foreign there, and has greater value to those who don't live on it. This is a real big issue in modern days with oil exporting countries. The oil companies in countries like Iran don't want to sell Iranian oil to Iranians because it is so much cheaper in the country which produces it. They'd rather sell it abroad and make much greater income, but the Iranian government needs to offer sufficient incentives for the oil companies to sell domestically so that way they can assure for their domestic energy needs.

It is pretty much how international trade works.


Thanks for your input through your whole post, always informative :)

I didnt realize how much of this interaction was already in the game. Still my point holds i think?

I mean the reason silk or spices were valuable in Europe was that they were not available there and there was demand for it, not because they had to be carted halfway around the globe, in itself. Like if i dug out a hole in Spain in 1535 and found 2 tons of gold, it would still be as valuable as gold they brought back from South America.

For example, id be cool selling Space fuel to somewhere 130LY at a much larger price than i bought but because it is rare in those systems, not because of the distance the various items travelled.

Like if this space fuel can be bought locally for cheap and im selling it high because of the distance i travelled, it breaks immersion and thats where i think my criticism is still valid. I havent really checked on it thoroughly but i thought thats how it worked? The commodity rises in prices as you take it more and more away from the region you bought it from, not from much reasons of the local market on that specific item.

[-TK-]

Information......

I learned more from your post than I have from numerous YT videos and talking to the people I have. I'm still only figuring out ship controls and very basic game play but just the mention of the GalNet opened up a lot of information to me. Thanks.

[Uteunayr]

Thanks for your input through your whole post, always informative :)

I didnt realize how much of this interaction was already in the game. Still my point holds i think?

I mean the reason silk or spices were valuable in Europe was that they were not available there, not because they had to be carted halfway around the globe. Like if i dug out a hole in Spain in 1535 and found 2 tons of gold, it would still be as valuable as gold they brought back from South America.

Yes, and rare goods are not available in the places you're selling them. They are less available the further you are from the source. The further you go from Leesti, the rarer it is to find Leestian Evil Juice. So, the demand and the price is going to drive up there. In the end, the resource not being available in Europe is because the center of production was half way across the world. And yes, gold would be, because gold can be found throughout the world in mines. Silk was rather uniquely produced in one place at that time. Hence, the difference between a commodity and a rare commodity.

For example, id be cool selling Space fuel to somewhere 130LY at a much larger price than i bought but because it is rare in those systems, not because of the distance the various items travelled.

Sure, but space fuel isn't a rare commodity, it's just a commodity. What you describe is exactly how commodity trading works. One system wants Gold, the other system sells gold. They are 10 LY apart. Buy gold in one, sell it in the other, make massive trade. But these are not rare commodities, they are not unique. So they wont get more valuable the further you go from the source, because there are *many* extraction systems devoted to mining asteroids. Gold isn't Leestian Evil Juice, which is only made in one system: Leesti.

So to sum up: The difference is that Rare Commodities are different from Commodities. Commodities are found all over civilized space. Gold mines. Some places may have more of them, other places less, but they are all over. Rare Commodities are unique, they are produced in one place, and only one place. The further away from that one place, the harder it is to find, so the more valuable it is. It doesn't matter how far away you cart gold, there's probably an extraction system within 20 LY of wherever you're going to sell it. But there's only one Leesti.

I learned more from your post than I have from numerous YT videos and talking to the people I have. I'm still only figuring out ship controls and very basic game play but just the mention of the GalNet opened up a lot of information to me. Thanks.

Np. Add me up in game: Surrealis. We can wing up. That offer goes to anyone here who has the game. You can also add me on Steam (http://steamcommunity.com/id/SurrealSage/).

[Tradesonred]

Ah, i get it, thanks! :)

[Uteunayr]

Oh, also note that as you buy a resource (say gold) from one extraction system, it reduces their supply, and the price drives up. When you sell it in a high tech system, their demand reduces, so they will start to pay less for it. So prices are dynamic. The more people know about a particular trade route and use it, the more limited the supply, the more satiated the demand, the higher the prices to buy, and the lower the prices to sell, and overall the less profits earned. So it is really in the interest of the trader to find trade routes other players don't frequent so they can maximize their profits.

[Tradesonred]

Do you have advice on the best way to make money if im sitting on like 1mil and a cobra right now? I enjoy blowing pirates up more than trading but i could see myself doing trading for a while if i can make a shit ton more money through that and have accumulated money to go pvp in open play later on.

[Uteunayr]

Do you have advice on the best way to make money if im sitting on like 1mil and a cobra right now? I enjoy blowing pirates up more than trading but i could see myself doing trading for a while if i can make a shit ton more money through that and have accumulated money to go pvp in open play later on.

Resource Extraction Sites if you just want to earn money, or get involved in community goals if you want to get more for your buck. At the moment, there's a war up in 78 Ursae Majoris in preparation for the President's arrival. The main faction, the one I suppose, Alioth Independents, they are killing off a weak faction who was looking to disrupt the President's journey.

Although the bounty hunting CG is over, the war zone one isn't over for another 2 days. If you fight in the war in a conflict zone, earn cash, and cash in combat bonds, you will get a couple million in reward in a few days.

Now if you want to be a bounty hunter to raise cash, get out of the cobra. Get a Viper. Faster, more maneuverable, and strong. I personally prefer just Laser weapons (although they do less damage to direct hull), so I'd go 2x Size 2 Pulse, and 2x Size 1 Pulse.

Get good Thrusters. That's essential. They make you turn faster, and move faster.

Go to a RES, and kill people who are wanted. You'll get a lot of income. In about a half hour, I earn around a million credits. Work that up to a Vulture. With a Vulture, you'll obliterate tons of stuff.

Trading is safe money. Bounty Hunting is still effective money. I wouldn't do trading unless you want to chill and listen to an audiobook.

See my last post. Add me on Steam and in game, and I'll hunt with you for a bit.

[Tradesonred]

Added you on elite, my name is Ortenz there

Added you on steam as well

[Tradesonred]

Go to a RES, and kill people who are wanted. You'll get a lot of income. In about a half hour, I earn around a million credits. Work that up to a Vulture. With a Vulture, you'll obliterate tons of stuff.

Trading is safe money. Bounty Hunting is still effective money. I wouldn't do trading unless you want to chill and listen to an audiobook.

See my last post. Add me on Steam and in game, and I'll hunt with you for a bit.

Thinking about it, part of my problem with doing Res sites is that the brown and black asteroid make my computer stutter, its a known issue. Havent been able to find another belt with another type of asteroid in it which kills my fun a bit.

[Kevris]

Curious:

What is the multi-player like?

I have yet to even launch the game in that mode.

[Tradesonred]

You have a chunky link uteu that explains some of the stuff you can get involved in the game? Regarding factions and the upcoming 1.3 patch but other stuff as well? Ill be available to play tonite if you feel like it

[Uteunayr]

Curious:

What is the multi-player like?

I have yet to even launch the game in that mode.

Full PvP. Be ready to kill and be killed if you're in any high population area, like the Lave Cluster. Same with any CG locations.

If you want a non-PvP experience, search the private groups for "Mobius". That's a pure PvE private group one can play in.

You have a chunky link uteu that explains some of the stuff you can get involved in the game? Regarding factions and the upcoming 1.3 patch but other stuff as well? Ill be available to play tonite if you feel like it

Nope, I don't do video updates for ED. I'll be around. Just send me a message.

[Kevris]

Full PvP. Be ready to kill and be killed if you're in any high population area, like the Lave Cluster. Same with any CG locations.



Hmm..I should buy a throw-away ship and check it out.

[Norok]

Uteunayr, how do you find CGs? From the news events you see at stations?

[Uteunayr]

Yup, you check the GalNet, and read up on where stuff is going down.

There's also this thread: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=113495

The OP there maintains it so all new CGs are listed there, and an archive of the history of them is there too.

[Baler]

Who wants to buy me a copy of this game.

I have a X52 Pro stick and throttle all ready to go.
Years of experience in X games and freelancer.

We can take over the galaxy together!

[Kevris]

Who wants to buy me a copy of this game.

I have a X52 Pro stick and throttle all ready to go.
Years of experience in X games and freelancer.

We can take over the galaxy together!

Get an oculus rift. You won't regret it I promise!

[newagemystic]

i have the CH Fighterstick pro throttle and pedals, wish i had some skill to use them is all ;)

[-TK-]

I was attempting to travel to 78 Ursae Majoris for the CG when I realized I had miscalculated the needed fuel. I was much further away than I anticipated and had no fuel scoop and the 1k credits you start the game with. I tried to make a last ditch effort to a local station when I was interdicted and promptly blown away.

Upon respawn in my new free Sidewinder, I decided to try one of the bounty missions worth 164k credits with a 2 day timer. I figured that would be good for a beginner due to the long duration. It listed that the criminal could be found frequenting 3 nearby systems so I spent some time flying around each and scanning the locals. I didn't find who I was looking for but I did find some random guy with a bounty on him so I took him out successfully. Sadly, the bounty was only for about 4,600 credits but it felt like an accomplishment. I managed to die once and make 4,600 credits in my 2 hours of playing. Right before logging I did learn that the unidentified signals are part of my bounty mission so I'm hoping tonight to be able to complete it. I should probably do some more research on the game as I'm going in rather blind, but it's been entertaining learning by trial and error. When I was experimenting with hypder-drive and super-cruise I did manage to fly into a star. Quite the experience.

[Uteunayr]

Oh shit, if you're still in a newbie Sidewinder, dont head to 78 Ursae Majoris. Not the time for that, lol.

Also, your experience with the bounty mission is not unique to you. I did it, and Yahtzee did it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLzW0dl87JY).

[-TK-]

Oh shit, if you're still in a newbie Sidewinder, dont head to 78 Ursae Majoris. Not the time for that, lol.

Also, your experience with the bounty mission is not unique to you. I did it, and Yahtzee did it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLzW0dl87JY).

I'm pretty new. I've got maybe 3-4 hours including controls setup and a couple training missions. I figured I could make it to 78UM as long as I plotted my course appropriately with refueling but if I'm just going to get nuked upon arrival I'll stay where I'm at and try to earn some cash first. I'll have to look around locally to find a binary system to visit in the meantime as I was looking forward to checking out 78UM. I also want to eventually see if I can make a trip to Delta Cephei if it is in the game. It's the namesake of the Cepheid class of variables.

[Tradesonred]

I'm pretty new. I've got maybe 3-4 hours including controls setup and a couple training missions. I figured I could make it to 78UM as long as I plotted my course appropriately with refueling but if I'm just going to get nuked upon arrival I'll stay where I'm at and try to earn some cash first. I'll have to look around locally to find a binary system to visit in the meantime as I was looking forward to checking out 78UM. I also want to eventually see if I can make a trip to Delta Cephei if it is in the game. It's the namesake of the Cepheid class of variables.

You can make half a million pretty quickly in Kremainn, just tagging pirates at the RES site and letting space cops do most of the work, and bounty station is nearby.

[-TK-]

You can make half a million pretty quickly in Kremainn, just tagging pirates at the RES site and letting space cops do most of the work, and bounty station is nearby.

I'll have to see where that is in relation to my current location. I can't remember the name of the system I logged out in last night and I haven't seen many PC's yet so I'm assuming everyone doesn't start in one location. Thanks for the tip.

[Tradesonred]

Had some fun times last night getting coached by Uteu, thanks!

Another couple of things that are bugging me about the game, maybe Uteu can tell me it isnt so bad again :)

- I feel like i max stuff way too easy and that ive already seen much of what can be seen. Ex: Theres only a small amount of different weapons, they arent different like the ones in wow where you will get a weapon with slightly better stats (Say, different A3 pulse lasers, "green, blue, purple, orange". Same with commodities. Like, ive seen em all, first time you click on commodities in a station, thats it, youve seen everything 400 billion suns have to offer in commodities.

Also, im wondering if price to buy ships ever vary and will they have different kinds of ships (like rare or semi-rare version of a cobra or whatever). I really hope theyre not thinking of charging people soon for an expansion with all this stuff XD

[Uteunayr]

There's a rather vast difference in weapons because of how they handle, their thermal load, and their power. For example, when I found out what you were using, 2x Beam Lasers, 2x Multicannons, I told you to change those into 4x Pulse Lasers. The reason for this is that Beam does super strong burst DPS, but can't maintain that for long. With a high speed ship like the Viper, you'll be capable of keeping the target in your sights far more often, so you don't need burst damage, you need sustained damage.

Pulse Lasers offer the benefit of laser weaponry (strong anti-shields), but with a low thermal load, meaning they drain your weapon banks slower than beam or burst lasers.

As for variety in weapons, yes, all weapons are standard. There's no "rare" ones. There is a lot of variety in weapons, however. When you get a ship that has a stronger reactor, you can use weapons like Plasma Accelerators, Rail Guns, shit like that which have massive power consumption, and major damage. However, since they drain so much power, you can't put them in light ships.

Second thing, not all commodities are available in all stations. For example, you've never seen Imperial Slaves for sale unless you've been in Empire space. There are also a variety of illegal goods that vary on the commodity menu based on which system you go to. If you go to a system which has lax laws on things like alcohol, tobacco, etc. then you'll find those commodities. But if you travel to places where it is illegal, you're smuggling.

Third, prices of ships do vary based on CG efforts. For example, down in Empire space there was a CG to help construct a fleet of Imperial Clippers. The Imperial Clipper was sold at 28% off for 2 weeks afterwards. Also, if you reach "Elite" status, you gain access to Shinrarta Dezra, a system which is always stocked with every internal component, and all ships, and they sell it all at a 10% discount. It is the center of the Independent Pilot's Federation.

[MrSparkle001]

I was attempting to travel to 78 Ursae Majoris for the CG when I realized I had miscalculated the needed fuel. I was much further away than I anticipated and had no fuel scoop and the 1k credits you start the game with. I tried to make a last ditch effort to a local station when I was interdicted and promptly blown away.

Upon respawn in my new free Sidewinder, I decided to try one of the bounty missions worth 164k credits with a 2 day timer. I figured that would be good for a beginner due to the long duration. It listed that the criminal could be found frequenting 3 nearby systems so I spent some time flying around each and scanning the locals. I didn't find who I was looking for but I did find some random guy with a bounty on him so I took him out successfully. Sadly, the bounty was only for about 4,600 credits but it felt like an accomplishment. I managed to die once and make 4,600 credits in my 2 hours of playing. Right before logging I did learn that the unidentified signals are part of my bounty mission so I'm hoping tonight to be able to complete it. I should probably do some more research on the game as I'm going in rather blind, but it's been entertaining learning by trial and error. When I was experimenting with hypder-drive and super-cruise I did manage to fly into a star. Quite the experience.

The 164k bounty missions are vs elite anacondas. Don't try them in a sidewinder :)

Actually in the beginning you can do missions until you get a viper for RES bounty hunting.

[-TK-]

Everything I fought tonight whooped my ass in the Sidewinder.

[Tradesonred]

Everything I fought tonight whooped my ass in the Sidewinder.

Again the trick is to let space cops do most of the work, just make sure you tag the ship once and then be in range (something around 3km) when it blows up. It took me like 2 hours to get in a cobra in Kremainn. Like bam 78k bounty, bam 56k etc etc

[Tradesonred]

made 7.5 mil from that CG, nice.

Gonna go for that vulture now i think

[Tradesonred]

From the goon forums

"One thing that space games have going for them, is that there is always room for expansions"

http://i.imgur.com/eRE1Oa9.jpg

[-TK-]

Again the trick is to let space cops do most of the work, just make sure you tag the ship once and then be in range (something around 3km) when it blows up. It took me like 2 hours to get in a cobra in Kremainn. Like bam 78k bounty, bam 56k etc etc

I was letting the security forces help me if they were around, but I was dying to random criminals nowhere near anything and died alone. I just figured out what an RES was thanks to Uteunayr. I took your recommendation on going to Kremainn and died to a few NPC ships last night and then Uteunayr pointed me in the direction of the RES since I apparently overlooked that in your post and was just flying around random parts of the system. I made about 300k then died not realizing you lose unclaimed bounties. :( I'm going to go hunting again now. I sent you a friend invite in game.

[Tradesonred]

Im not sure where to go next, im tempted to do what i did in eve online during my first month: Go scavenge what the bigger fishes are dropping in the sea... I just read somewhere that you have players blowing themselves up and their cargo is just laying around. I might be heading to lave and try that type of gameplay. Maybe buy a hauler or something so its cheap to buy back if i get blown up.

Buying an industrial ship in eve after selling shit for like 3 million isk (when noob missions gave me 25k), after not listening to people telling me not to go to 00 was one of the best MMO experiences ive had. I made 50 mil ish in my first month and i then got an invite from somebody to a local corp so he could teach me how to make some real isk flying a battleship.

[Uteunayr]

Up to you what you want to do. The game is a sandbox, just like Star Wars Galaxies. No one tells you what to do, you just pick what looks fun, and go for it.