Elite : Dangerous .... Space is big

[Lurking Lawyer]

I abandoned PC gaming nearly 10 years ago, when my obsolescent PC would no longer cut it and it was easier to buy an Xbox 360 to play Oblivion than to upgrade the PC to the requisite spec. TBH, I haven't really thought about returning.

This could be the one game to make me seriously considering doing so. Shame I can't afford a decent gaming rig :/

It makes me feel very very old to be reminded that this came out nearly 30 years ago. I have vivid memories of playing it at a schoolfriend's house on his BBC Micro and being blown away by it.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Anvilfang[/url]":ly75cbz6]

Lurking Lawyer[/url]":ly75cbz6]Shame I can't afford a decent gaming rig :/

Aren't you a lawyer?

I am. By "average" national salary standards, I'm a reasonably well-paid one.

I also have a sizeable mortgage, a wife who hasn't gone back to work yet after our daughter was born and I work for a firm that has had to lay off a number of people due to changes in the way litigation is funded over here and so had to take a pay cut to avoid being made redundant.

Don't believe the stereotypes!

EDIT: Don't break out the violins either - I'm not looking for or expecting sympathy

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014- ... d-xbox-one

Now maybe on X1 and PS4? Oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please.....

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Braben does address that point in the article:

Braben said he was convinced both the PS4 and the Xbox One were capable of realising Frontier's vision for Elite: Dangerous, which has been built to run on a wide variety of PCs.

"The PC is a funny platform," he said. "It's not really a platform. It's a whole range of platforms flying in loose formation.

"You compare a laptop with an uber dev PC, with someone's PC which has had such a lot of rubbish installed on it that it's got all sorts of broken drivers, and the game is expected to run on each of those. There is so much variation. So it's really hard to put on the outside of a box what the minimum spec is.

"We're putting a lot of effort in to put in a lot of controls so the player has control over what's coming out. We're going through some wonderful effects internally that look truly beautiful, and we're saying, that slows the frame rate a bit, doesn't it? And we say yes, but we don't mind, because it looks so beautiful. But what we're going to do is attach it to this part of the detail slider. Or we'll call it out as a tick box.

"One of the beauties with console is we can then hand tune it to be just right. This is why we put all these options in."

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

SnowGhost[/url]":nzobfoh6]Elite dangerous has always been considered for release on consoles. It's listed in the FAQ for the kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14 ... -dangerous

So that eurogamer article is a great deal of hot air about not much.

Fair enough. It was news to me.

Not being one of the PC Master Race, I hadn't looked in detail at the Kickstarter when it was announced simply because I knew I wasn't going to be able to play it.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

schizrade[/url]":3i3zctkj]
Every ship should run the largest fuel scoop available.

Surely that depends what you're outfitting it to do? What's the point of fitting a fuel scoop at all, let alone a large expensive one, if you're mooching around within a few systems of a "base" or just scooting to and from a station to a CZ/RES?

If you're heading out exploring or doing long distance trading/smuggling, I'd agree entirely.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

schizrade[/url]":1xljfuq5]

All it takes is one brain fart jump and you are self destructing. It happened to me while I was mooching around a few systems.

Each to their own! That's a lot of insurance against a brain fart, both in terms of the cost (at least on mid-size and bigger ships) and taking up a large equipment slot which could be more gainfully put to other use.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Diaguandri is my go-to shipyard and outfitting station. It has a great range of ships and modules, and has the benefit of the automatic 15% Li Rong Yui discount.

Not exactly next door to Lave, I admit, but it's only 120 LYs or so, from memory.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Mark Havel[/url]":eqd7wsot]By the way, is there a 'release' date for the space station in the Pleiades nebula?

If that's the one that was "built" through the recent series of Community Goals, it's already open, I think - in the Maia system.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

zAmboni[/url]":19c3n7pw]Outside the bubble, (and if the system has never been discovered ever) does the System map just show blank for the planets even after honking with the ADS? If the system map would show something that looks earth like I would go and scan it whether or not it was in the goldilocks zone just because it would be worth a pretty good chunk of change. I guess I'm saying that a list of the different goldilocks zones is not much of a help if the System Map already shows what general class a planet is in. (again, I am not sure what it would show outside the bubble).
mode.

When you jump into an unexplored system, the only thing you will initially see in the System Map is the main star next to which you arrived. If you "honk" with the ADS, the System Map will then show all of the bodies in the system, and you can by looking at them make an educated guess as to what they are. There's a helpful pictorial guide out there if you Google it which shows you what each type of body looks like.

Additionally, you can hover over the planet in the System Map and it will "sing" - it emits an audible tone which can give you a clue as to what it is. Water worlds have different sounds to Earth-likes and so forth. It didn't work too well for me when playing on a monitor with built-in speakers but it's more discernible if you play with headphones.

When I made my trip to Sagittarius A*, I started out detailed scanning pretty much everything other than asteroid belts and rocky bodies. As I got further out and the novelty waned, I took to just scanning bodies that looked like they could be Water worlds or Earth-likes, and gas giants if they weren't too far from the main star. I very rarely travelled in-system to get to a distant second star and its orbiting bodies unless relatively certainly it had a Water world or Earth like. On the way back, I pretty much gave up completely in the desire to get home - I just honked and jumped, all the way back to the Bubble.....

Working out Goldilocks zones was way too much faff for me but I guess the point of it is that, if you can't tell whether a planet is a water world or earth-like from looking at the pic in the System Map, working out whether it fell into the zone would give you a clue one way or another as to whether it's worth trekking out there to do a detailed scan.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Kilgaine[/url]":4jxsppug]
At first I wasn't paying much attention, and ended up going through a series of systems with no stations, and ran out of fuel. Woops. How do you guys typically handle this? I just flew into the sun, because I couldn't think of another way to reset myself easily.

1. Fit a fuel scoop! You can scoop fuel from stars in classes K, G, B, F, O, A and M. You can filter the Galaxy Map to show only those star types, to make it easier to work out where you will be able to refuel. I tend to fit one as standard equipment these days - it has saved me on more than one occasion when I hadn't been paying attention to jump range and routing....

2. If you've left it too late and have ended up in star system which doesn't have a scoopable star, try swapping your route planning in the Galaxy Map from Fastest to Most Economical - you may yet be able to jump to a system with a scoopable star.

3. If not, summon the Fuel Rats! http://www.fuelrats.com

4. If none of those work, you can use the Self Destruct option in the menu on the right hand side of the cockpit.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Kilgaine[/url]":3m5a1rz9]Ouch, that sucks... Consoles aren't supposed to have issues like that! :/

Elite on console currently has a number of such "known issues".

I loaded it up (on X1) the other night for the first time since the 1.5 update only to find that every time I made a hyperspace jump, the nav computer "forgot" my target and I had go into the Galaxy Map to manually reset it. After three consecutive jumps of having to do that, I docked and turned it off.

I love this game but I have too much other stuff to play that works properly for me. Roll on a fix....

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

zAmboni[/url]":2fj3n6t8] Ran across a bunch of systems with main star discovered and the rest undiscovered . From one of the discovered systems:

The further out you go, the more common this becomes - a symptom of half-hearted explorers like me who, once the initial novelty wears off, can't be bothered to do much more than an ADS scan on arriving in the system, scan the main star and then jump out again.

I got so fed up with scanning on my trip to Sag A* that that is pretty much all I did on the 26,000 LY journey home. Jump, honk, charge FSD, jump, honk, charge FSD....

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Has anyone here hit Explorer Elite recently? I'm just wondering how much you need for the final rank these days. The wiki suggests that, historically, it used to be around 100M credits to get from Pioneer to Elite but also cautions that this was correct for version 1.3 but needs revising.

I'm currently about 1/3rd of the way from Ranger to Pioneer, so on the old figures need another 25M or so to get there. My last major trip out into the Black, to Sag A*,yielded around 30M - but I got fed up of scanning around 2/3rds of the way there and did no more than honk-and-jump all the way home. I've taken a trip out the Seagull Nebula recently and have been finding quite a lot of undiscovered system, but I can't see that making all that much of a dent in the progress needed to get to Pioneer, let alone to Elite.

Looks like I'll have to return to Sag A* and locate those fabled black hole and neutron star fields to farm, if I'm going to grind my way to Elite!

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

zAmboni[/url]":20dwr7f3] Unless they change some of the gameplay mechanics to make things a bit more interesting for trading/combat, I doubt if I will ever reach Elite in either of those....but I will try for exploring

Yeah, I feel much the same - I'm about roughly the same progress on Trade and Explorer but I've lost all interest in the former. I've made most of my Trade progress through smuggling in an Asp - I recently bought a T9 to try, and found a decent route that was generating around 3,000 credits/tonne, which worked out to around 1.5M every 12-15 minutes, but it bored the pants off me. It's what prompted me to revert to the Asp and head off back out into the back of beyond. I'm just past Expert in combat and don't seem myself getting that up anywhere near Elite.

I'm on X1 so no Horizons available. Looks like I'll have to grind Explorer rank the old fashioned way!

Thanks for the pointer towards the neutron fields, 68K and CPX. When I eventually get bored out in the "south east" quadrant of the galaxy, I'll head back to the Bubble to cash in my data then head off again in the general direction of Sag A* to go and find them.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

lorcas[/url]":3sy2vcmo]Got enough ISK to get into an ASP Explorer

ISK?! Wash your mouth out man and get back to your filthy stinking EVE!

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Alyeska[/url]":2zbjra5j]
I wish module power management let you actually power modules off on a priority basis. I don't need power to the FSD or fuel scoop when I'm in combat. The guns are powered down when retracted, why can't you set a module to power down when not in use? That would help reduce heating of the ship.

You can!

From the right hand cockpit screen, select the modules section. There's a priority tab which allows you to determine when individual modules are powered.

With the Vulture, it's pretty much a must if you're maximising your weaponry. I haven't pew pew-ed for ages now but I recall having to set the FSD, fuel scoop and other stuff you wouldn't use in combat to power down when weapons were deployed because there either wouldn't be enough power to fire the guns or they would overheat mega-quickly.

Even after doing that, power is still an issue with the Vulture. That's the trade off.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Alyeska[/url]":rjvwsfl3]

Duly noted. I will plan another hop outside the bubble next weekend. Do you have any good location suggestions? In my jaunt I didn't find anything worth note except a few water worlds and one ammonia atmosphere gas giant. I found freaking tons of red dwarfs, no valuable stars.

Depends how far you want to go, TBH.

It's probably more of a sightseeing tour rather than "proper" exploration (since it's a well-trodden path) but you could head out to VY Canis Majoris, the largest known star (and it's VERY large). Ditto Betelgeuse - another very large star but not as big as VY.

I think from memory I went out to look at Betelgeuse and then carried on going towards one of the obvious nebulae. You may not get the 50% First Discovered bonus but you'll still be getting credits for scanning the systems you pass through. If you're short on time (or willingness to stay out of the Bubble), you can either be selective in what you scan or just honk-and-jump to save time.

HIP 63835 is well worth a visit. I'll leave you to visit to see why

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Alyeska[/url]":270xossx]Is it possible to earn ranks with multiple factions? I'm currently sided with the Federation, but I would love to get an Imperial Clipper.

It certainly is. They're not mutually exclusive, so you can progress both at the same time if you choose.

I found Fehu to be very good for grinding Imperial rank - lots of donation missions.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Man, the final step up from Explorer Pioneer to Elite is a slog...

I got as far as Deadly in the ZX Spectrum version in the 80s, then again on the Amiga version in the 90s, but never as far as Elite. I'm determined to do it this time around, and exploration is more my "thing" than either combat or trading. Getting to Pioneer wasn't too hard, after a trip to Sag A* and then a foray out to the Omega nebula and PW2010 super cluster, but the jump from Pioneer to Elite is going to take another 100M credits or so of exploration data.

I've schlepped out to the neutron star fields out towards the Core to try to grind out the remaining progress required to get me from Pioneer +6% to Explorer Elite. Each neutron star nets around 50K - with a 50% bonus if its a first discovery - so I'm going to conservatively need a minimum of 1,000 (plus the other data I've got going there and will get going back), and probably rather more since I'm assuming a lot will already have been discovered.

I managed around 50 last night before I got bored and had to turn off. It's going to be a long grind... :/

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

zAmboni[/url]":n0z02jid]Oh shrub. I guess I still have >100M to get to elite explorer then . I am at Pioneer 60%, so guess I need to finish Pioneer and then fill out the bar on Elite. .

I think you're a lot closer than you think! At Pioneer +60% you have only got to fill up the remainder of the Pioneer and you're there - Elite is the next rank up and triggers when you fill the Pioneer bar. So, you're 40M away, give or take. Right on, Commander!

I keep thinking about giving Beagle Point a go, but I don't get a lot of gaming time and so it would take an absolute eternity. I'll carry on with farming neutron stars until I get bored and then maybe head corewards to the Great Annihilator before heading back home.

Knowing my luck, I'll get interdicted and destroyed by an NPC back in the Bubble before I can land and turn the data in!

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

zAmboni[/url]":1lj4b1ef]

KT421[/url]":1lj4b1ef]I'm planning on staying out there too, because I won't be ready to turn around and make the return trip for a while. And since I'll be docking at Jaques to deliver the cargo, I can't take the short way back to the bubble (lithobraking on a Hi-G world, among other methods).

I know it may be a pain with a type-9, but you could hop around and do some exploring while waiting for the CG to end. It kinda sucks for this CG that you can sign up for it anywhere, but you have to be at Jaques Station to cash in afterwards.

MadMac_5: Not sure if Jaques station has a Universal Cartographics service, but you can go out and then sell your data there if needed instead of going back to the bubble.

I haven't done a CG in months but previously it was the case that if you hadn't manually claimed your prize within 30 days it was automatically deposited into your account. I was on my way to Sagittarius A* when a CG I had participated in concluded, so couldn't cash it in. The funds appeared in my balance while I was on my way back. I'm guessing that's still the case.

Pretty sure I read that all that is at Jaques is the commodity marketplace - no Universal Cartographics and no repair facilities. I'm guessing the current CG will potentially add these facilities, depending on what tier it reaches? I'm out exploring again, farming neutron stars for the push to Elite, and so haven't actually checked the terms of the Jaques CG.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Looks like Jaques now has all basic services operational, including Universal Cartographics.

Which is handy for me. I finally docked there last night after a 30K LY jaunt out to the Great Annihilator and then across to Jaques, taking in a load of neutron stars. I can now hand my data in without having to schlep back to the Bubble and without the risk of getting interdicted and killed before I can cash it in....

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

I turned in my data at Jaques last night. The trip from the Bubble to the Great Annihilator, taking in 500-ish undiscovered neutrons and a few black holes, water worlds and ELWs, and then across to Jaques generated around 62M and took me from Pioneer +6% to Pioneer +67%. So, around 33M more in exploration data required for Elite.

I think I may take a break for a while now and play other stuff. When I return, I'm off to wend my way through the neutron field directly below Jaques to grind away that last 33M....

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Working my way through the neutron field directly below Jaques Station finally got me the last few million needed to hit Explorer Elite. Yay me!

I first played Elite on the BBC Micro Model B in 1984. I subsequently got to Deadly in the ZX Spectrum version and then again in the Atari ST version, but never quite made it to Elite. 32 years on, I finally made it. Long term gaming goals FTW!

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

zAmboni[/url]":182od4w6]Yay!

Congratulations! Welcome to the club!

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

68K[/url]":2n6lzg1w]So where's Jaques Station these days?

It's in EOL PROU RS-T D3-94.

If you're an explorer, there's a neutron field about 100 LYs directly below it.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

I feel dirty for doing it but, man, the long range hauling missions from Sothis (and other similar stations on the edge of the Bubble) are just so lucrative and really help the progress towards Trade Elite.

I hit Tycoon last night so need another 600M or so to get to Elite. My last few runs from Sothis back into the Bubble, in an Anaconda with around 330 cargo capacity and an engineered 26 LY jump range even when fully-loaded, were generating 30-35M each trip and taking an hour or so each on average.

It's admittedly quite dull - although I'm no stranger to dull, having spent 5 months out in the back of beyond scanning hundreds and hundreds of neutron stars and black holes to get to Explorer Elite - but it doesn't feel like it will be the grind that Explorer Elite was. At the current rate, another 25 or so runs should see me there.

Triple Elite is a very distant prospect though. I'm only Expert in combat, and I doubt I have the persistence to stick at getting that up.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Mugur[/url]":1fu37dja]

Pokrface[/url]":1fu37dja]

Lurking Lawyer[/url]":1fu37dja]I feel dirty for doing it but, man, the long range hauling missions from Sothis (and other similar stations on the edge of the Bubble) are just so lucrative and really help the progress towards Trade Elite.

I hit Tycoon last night so need another 600M or so to get to Elite. My last few runs from Sothis back into the Bubble, in an Anaconda with around 330 cargo capacity and an engineered 26 LY jump range even when fully-loaded, were generating 30-35M each trip and taking an hour or so each on average.

It's admittedly quite dull - although I'm no stranger to dull, having spent 5 months out in the back of beyond scanning hundreds and hundreds of neutron stars and black holes to get to Explorer Elite - but it doesn't feel like it will be the grind that Explorer Elite was. At the current rate, another 25 or so runs should see me there.

Triple Elite is a very distant prospect though. I'm only Expert in combat, and I doubt I have the persistence to stick at getting that up.

How are the interdictions when doing Sothis runs? I jumped into it months ago when it first blew up and it was so maddening I abandoned it after only a couple of runs. Are you still basically clobbered at every star by the same impossible-range pirate Viper?

Interdictions are ok. Like 1-2 at most on the way back and up to 1 on empty. At least, for my last runs (I'm doing Ceos mostly and just go to Sothis as a secondary mission source) I got the same expert FAS or FGS that does not keep up with the 332 mps of my Anaconda on boost. I even took out all the weapons to increase my jump range (41 ly on empty and 30 ly laden) because the risk of being destroyed is 0.

I was doing ~40 millions per trip, but I wanted to reduce the time, so I exchanged a 5A fuel scoop with a 6A one. I'm currently at 304t capacity, but I also carry ~10t of engineer commodities, so I'm doing currently 30-36 millions per run.

The problem is that for the last couple of days the missions were not so great. Also according to Galnet, Sothis is on the list of UA bombed stations again (not down, just "having difficulties").

I'm trying to reach Elite Trader until 2.2 (only 29% left), because there are rumors that those long range missions and smuggling will be nerfed again. I also need the money for some new ships.

Yeah, my experience mirrors Mugur's - not too many interdictions when loaded, and very few if any on the way back empty. I do get occasional ones if I'm carrying cargo received as mission rewards, but I tend to sell that before setting off back to Sothis unless it's useful Engineer stuff.

I'm grinding trade rank pre-2.2 for exactly the same reason - more a case of hauling s**t, rather than making hay, while the sun shines

I was tempted to follow Mugur's example and ditch weapons to increase range but I'm loath to ditch my engineered large beams and have to find all of the commodities all over again. I guess I could buy another ship with large hard points to store them on. We really need module storage adding in....

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

I'm about halfway from Tycoon to Trade Elite (thanks Sothis....) and so I've got one eye on next goals and grinding out combat rank once I'm done. Double Elite may have to be enough as I'm not sure I've got sufficient willingness to amass enough kills to get from Expert to Combat Elite and so get the Triple. Anyway, I'll give it a go.

With that in mind, what's the recommendation for an out and out PvE combat ship? I loved the Vulture when I had a brief combat phase early on in my Elite career - the power management took a bit of getting used to, and the canopy seemed like it was made of chocolate and would shatter at the merest touch, but it felt like a hard-hitter and made short work of everything other than the big ships.

Is there an obvious step up? I'm assuming that the Fer de Lance is the natural one but I've never tried one. Anyone have any comments on how it fares as an out and out PvE fighter? Any recommendations for load out? I've seen the Federal Assault Ship referred to approvingly in certain quarters but, again, have never actually tried one.

I probably also need to look at weapons-based engineers. I've got Farseer up to level 5 and have some nice FSD and thruster mods but haven't really looked into any of the weapons upgrades.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

dredphul[/url]":x2fl6iti]Got promoted to Tycoon from my Sothis/Ceos runs. So I only need, what, another billion credits to hit Trade Elite?

600M from Tycoon to Elite, give or take.

I've been grinding trade rank at Sothis for the past couple of weeks, doing one long range haulage run per evening. I'm at Tycoon +90%, and with 368 cargo space each run is yielding 35M to 55M (depending on how picky I am about the missions I take, and how long I'm prepared to wait cycling mission boards - typically no more than 15 minutes), which equates to 5-9% rank progress each run. As a rule of thumb, you ideally want no less than 100,000 credits per tonne of cargo.

Should reach Double Elite tonight or tomorrow!

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Workaround[/url]":169ydkcn]What's everyone's opinions on owning multiple ships? I am trying it out with my Type-6 and a Viper Mk.4 per MadMac's suggestion - one for hauling, one for fighting. Is this a poor idea?

Depends how much spare cash you've got! Initially, I limited myself to one ship - Sidewinder, then Cobra Mk 3 then Asp Explorer. I flew the Asp for months and months and then when I had amassed a reasonably sizeable chunk of cash I bought an Anaconda. I garaged the Asp and have held onto it. Since then, I've added a Type 9 (ugh - there are more responsive icebergs), a Beluga, an Imperial Clipper, a Python and most recently a Fer-de-Lance.

I'd say stick to one ship to begin with simply because it's too much of a draw on limited resources to buy and upgrade a second in tandem.

But if you feel like you can afford it, or just want to be able to quickly swap between space-trucking and pew-pew-ing, go for it!

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

dredphul[/url]":14gqtyzt]

I got to Rear Admiral (rank needed for Corvette) by grinding out donation (credits, fish, tea) missions at Tun.

I think donation missions may have gotten nerfed, but you may still find other missions at Tun.

I don't think there are as many as there used to be, but there are still a decent number of donation missions at Tun. I arrived there over the Christmas holiday and spent a few hours doing boom data delivery missions on top of the donations.

It is a grind - but intersperse it with other stuff and it's not too bad. FWIW, I got from Lieutenant +60% to Lieutenant Commander +20% in 3 hour or so. One mission was near enough 1% progress. It will get increasingly grindy as rank increases though, I assume.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

philhanson[/url]":25yrdqm0]On Steam it says Horizons is an expansion to Elite, so I'd have to buy both.

Horizons added planetary landings. Without the expansion, you can play the game but won't be able to access missions that require interacting with planetary stations.

It's not essential - you can play without it - but personally I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

GreyAreaUk[/url]":2iiaoklc]

Lurking Lawyer[/url]":2iiaoklc]

philhanson[/url]":2iiaoklc]On Steam it says Horizons is an expansion to Elite, so I'd have to buy both.

Horizons added planetary landings. Without the expansion, you can play the game but won't be able to access missions that require interacting with planetary stations.

It's not essential - you can play without it - but personally I wouldn't recommend it.

While Horizons is technically an Expansion (in that it builds on the previous version) it's probably better to think of it as just 'the current version'.

I don't disagree with you - but it's definitely sold separately as an expansion, on Xbox One where I play and also on Steam judging by what philhanson posted above.

I think he wanted to know whether he could get by without it. He can - but I think you and I agree that he'd probably be better off not hobbling himself in that way!

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

nimro[/url]":38wo1dsi]
THARGOIDS

Point of order!

That remains to be seen (although the octagonal symmetry would certainly echo the original Thargoids) but I'm sure I remember reading that The Braben (peace be upon him) had commented when aliens became a thing again a year or so back that there were at least two different sets out there, one of which was Thargoids....?

He also said that how they respond to us would depend on how we treat first contact with them. I think we all know the answer to that one....!!

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

Camp Freddie[/url]":28d2pbnl]

Do I have to essentially choose a "home base" system and farm some shitty courier missions so I can get them to friendly? Or is there an easy way to get a boost to rep.

That's exactly what I did. I'm not sure whether there's a better way - if there is, I couldn't find it.

TBH though, it wasn't that difficult to build up rep with the factions in a single system. You can do so quickly by turning in exploration data (which will improve your standing with the faction that owns the station) and by turning in bounties for the relevant factions. Add that to the low level courier and data delivery missions, and sometimes donation missions, and it wasn't long before I was getting decent passenger missions in my chosen "home" system.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

skazz[/url]":3ra81xr0]If they just allow you to choose between single jumps or strings of jumps plotted as a group it would save a lot of pain. Until you plot a string of jumps and the destination has no scoopable star, so you're stuck

Since the last update, you have been able to plot a route using only selected star types. If you just check the boxes for star classes O, B, A, F, G, K and M you'll always jump to a system where you can scoop from the main star.

I'm not a fan of the increase in jump length added in at the last patch - especially if what's posted above about the actual loading bit taking only a few seconds is correct. That said, I'm principally an explorer and so for me there was a real sense of achievement of making the 26,000 light year trip to Sagittarius A*. I recognise that that won't be the case for all though, but I do think that insta-jumping to the range of your ship and fuel tank would make the game far too easy.

I don't buy the argument about limited gaming time - I only get an hour or so each evening and it hasn't put me off.... Again, each to their own though, I guess.

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

dredphul[/url]":xadhkmnq]

schizrade[/url]":xadhkmnq]ST:TNG and ST:VOY make great ED shows. Get you into that deep space mindset.

The Expanse is on Amazon and it puts me in the ED mood.

I'd echo that recommendation. I was late to the party and only got around to watching it just before Christmas (it didn't get picked up by any of the networks in the UK) and really REALLY enjoyed it.

(The books are every bit as good as the TV series - and, for once, the TV adaptation does justice to the source material)

 

[Lurking Lawyer]

pokrface[/url]":1vkrsbur]
Feels like Elite is a long, long, looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way away...

I feel your pain!

I first played Elite back in 1984 on the BBC Micro and made it to Dangerous. I went one better on Spectrum and Amiga and reached Deadly, but never quite Elite.

I was therefore inordinately proud to reach Explorer Elite last year, so many years later, and then rather less bothered to reach Trade Elite (mainly because it felt rather devalued because of the Sothis/Ceos shit-hauling cashfest). I never really focused on Combat though. I'm currently at Expert +70% and so Combat Elite feels like a very looooooong way away. I've put hundreds of hours into this game and rather suspect I'll have to put in not far off the same again if I'm going to reach the goal of Triple Elite.

Time to break out the FDL and go and grind away around a Compromised Nav Beacon. I suspect it would go quicker if I engineered my weapons but I just can't be arsed with the hunt for materials, even after the recent relaxation of requirements....