A couple of shots from the premium beta that started today:


Weather forecast for today: sunny.



Preparing for docking maneuver



Woah, this thing is HUGE!



Ok, now careful with those lateral thrusters...



Phew! Landed safely. Now, where's the next bar?



Hyperspace



While enroute to another Coriolis station I got interdicted. By a Lakon 9?! That's a heavy transport! Unfortunately this ones sports quite a number of turrets and puts out some serious pain. Shields gone, hull's taking damage!



Fortunately there are several police craft around and another human player in a Sidewinder. I get behind him and unleash the fury of my single, pathetic laser. Weeee! My 1st kill! And a nice bounty.



The game certainly doesn't lack atmosphere (bad pun intended ).

Is it all multiplayer or is that just sort of icing on a single player component? Is it more I-War or Star Citizen?

There will be singleplayer, multiplayer and a mixture of both in the final game. Right now it feels a bit like a single-player game with MP icing.



Difficult to say since we haven't really seen how SC will do things, but I'd say ED is more I-War than SC.

It's Elite. The granddaddy of them all

I'm just asking purely in terms of single player to MMO ratio. I hate MMOs but I love a good space sim. I can live with a mixture . From the sounds of it this is much more in line with something I'd enjoy as opposed to SC.

Looks great. Would love to give it a go, but just can't justify the price. At least for now, things may change after a couple of beer.

What is the download size?

Yeah looks great especially for someone like me that loved Elite on C-64.

I'm looking forward to the release at the $50 price point, been burned or annoyed by too many pre-orders and early access games recently (Star Citizen included nevermind X:Rebirth), Elite is looking great though, very tempting.

Then I think this is a game you would enjoy a lot. Because it really doesn't feel like a "typical" MMO. From what I've read so far you'll also be free to completely opt out of the MMO stuff.


re: the price. Yup, it's quite a handful they're asking. Keep in mind though that this covers ALL future expansions, stuff like planetary landings and walking inside your ships. Seems fair enough for me.

Also, there will be a (cheaper) regular beta later this year.

I am quite intrigued, hopefully they don't go full wackjob like SC has with the million preorders, and insurance deals, and ships, and exclusive unlocks, and God knows what else before anything is even released. I hate being constantly reminded that I can have things if I have my wallet handy in-game. I don't like to play digital storefronts, I like to play games

Nope, none of that. The only things that will be to pay for after are the expansions for planetary landing etc. but if you buy the Premium Beta you get them all included for the price.

I certainly like the sound of that, this is definitely on my short range radar. After some research I may just make the dive.

I'm SO close to buying this, dammit. Why are you doing this me to SimHQ, why?

A slight warning: content it still quite limited in the current version. 5 systems, 5 ships. Don't expect a full game.

Isn't that the norm with all these early access games these days anyhow :P ?

But no towel, so in that SC is superior, ha ha.

Just played a couple of hours...
The feeling I get is of REAL choice being given.

I've found myself in couple of tight spots but managed to either fight it off or simply run, you can just navigate at a fraction of light-speed and enjoy the views...
Or try to make a profit from commerce.

It's not a finished game of course. That means there's still some awkward stuff happening, but at the same time-
Graphics, Audio design, gameplay... Everything screams attention and love towards the game and players.

I love it.
It's not easy, and I only stopped because of a CTD... but hell... I love this.
I wish I remembered to take some screenshots...

A few more:

Well, I bought it. I feel dirty.

Played it for about 20 minutes, with the rest of the time slowly setting up some controls for my joystick. What a marvelous game with infinite amounts of potential. The feel of flying, dodging rocks and spacejunk is amazing. The sounds, the atmosphere of it all ... Phew, better than any flight simulator than I ever played.

Screenshots simply doesn't do the game justice. Not because it's a visual beast but there's so much "information" in a single shot that it's hard to dissect unless you can move your head around, see the scenario and get a feel for it.

Can't wait to play more!

You guys are killing me......

Looks great!

Oh, and I'm playing it with my HOTAS Warthog, Saitek Pedals and TrackIR.

Me too!
Setting controls is basically perfect!

I love every second of it. I simply cannot express how much I already love this game.

Now, not entirely off topic, but there is a very subtle, yet very strong 80's Alien(s) aesthetic to the audio and visuals that I'm picking up. Does anyone know if this is/was intentional?

OMG, atmosphere too? If that's not alcohol talking, I'm in.

You know what? You're actually right. It has that kind of feel.

Can't point my finger at anything in particular but the vibe it's there...

I agree. The art and sound design really make for a distinctive atmosphere that is quite different from your usual space game.

The real make or break question is:

Does it have Strauss An der schönen blauen Donau as music for the docking computer (if you can get one)?

So satisfying to fly around in a huge spacebattle, seeing the bigger ships.

As there's no a docking computer now the piece is missing.

But it's going to be there.
I have it already... with voice attack I launch the command "Request Clearance for Docking" to my ship and it does all the prepping plus launch a mp3 file... that one!

I'm being a peaceful trader at the moment, slowly making money.

One day I'll fly down to those rings but not whilst I'm working, got 4 lots of Grain to deliver.


Approaching the station will never get old and the detail on them is amazing.


Hopefully we will be able to skim these and gain fuel. You can actually see the gas dancing on the surface in the game, fantastic.


So in love with this game, and it's only at beta stage...

Brilliant screenshots Mace!

Agreed. Drool worthy. Imagine them in 4k. Using TrackIR.

So, they went with the classic cube design from Elite for the stations?

Soooo close to pulling the trigger on this. One question for the beta: At this point, can you play offline? I mean...if your internet is down can you still fly around with the AI? I know from the FAQ that eventually you will have an offline mode...I'm just asking about in it's current state.


Thanks!

For the Coriolis Stations, yes...

It is just online right now but I'm not sure what would happen with no internet access as you have to log in.

Nope. Only way to play so far in free form flight is online. Consider that they need as much data as possible at this moment in time.

Plus, if you expect to "play"... maybe it's better to wait. As of now there's a distinctive lack of content.

Yes you can fly, dock, commerce and even outfit the ships. But it still feels like a polished Alpha. Not a game.

As for the stations, the first implementation was of the iconic design. In the future there will be not only more but also procedurally generated, block wise.

EDIT: MACE! Stop ninja'd me! XD

Thanks for the replies...guess I will hold off for a bit.

I have a love hate issue with this game, I love it because it is everything I have wanted in a space game (while escaping what SC is doing with ridiculous pre order stuff) But it sucks NA prime time due to so many players in 5 systems, so I have been waking up early at 5am just to play and it's some of the most entertaining gaming I have experienced in the past decade. Which is surprising because it isn't the most deep gaming wise.

I have over 50 kills, 10 of them players fighting for the federation (you scum)! The combat is fun yet very hard to master the Flight assist off maneuvers that are required to not die constantly. Plenty of control of ship systems, any sim player should love it. half the game of combat is managing power distribution and systems. Running cold (all detection systems are based off heat signatures) and pouncing the enemy is very difficult but very rewarding.


I should clarify the MMO aspect of the game. The market and your save info are all managed by cloud servers, however all zones are instanced kind of like Elder scrolls onlines "mega server" At the moment even at prime time other players are rare enough to keep it interesting even in 5 systems. But the server lag is horrible managing up to 10,000 players in those 5 systems.

It is honestly surprising how well the server stuff is holding it together with all these players, granted it is a beta and lag is there, but it's not blowing up! I cannot wait to have access to the 400 billion star systems, and get my millennium falcon type high speed smuggling ship going when we have access to it.

Got a question, isn't there some easy way to do a 180 turn? I feel like I'm lumbering around CONSTANTLY with enemy fighters are on my ass. I tried going into reverse, stopping and even using the boost function but enemy fighters just seem to outturn me ALL.THE.TIME.

Am I missing a function?

Yes, I would like to have any tips going as well. I am trying to turn, flip about go in reverse all to no avail. I think the mastering of the flight assist is the key, just don't ask me how your meant to use it LOL.

Answers on a post card please!

Cut throttle
FA off
Max pitch up
max thrust down
50% throttle and it comes right around, Boost to get it going straight again quicker then put FA back on.

Cutting the throttle seems more effective imo because if your going too fast and it cant get any more speed it turns just as slow.

The blue lines near the throttle meter are it's fastest turning speed, faster with FA off.

another tip take reverse throttle off of toggle, I like it a lot more as press and hold.



As for being out run, constantly manage systems power between systems, engines, and weapons. Max engine power gives you fast boost recharge and high max speed. Systems power seems to deal with cooling and shield recharge rate (maybe just shield), weapons is self explanatory.

So for example if i know im going on the offensive with my two lazorrrrrzzz I put max into weapons, 2 into engines, 0 into systems. Once you get the hang of it you are balancing it as needed without even thinking about it. IMO systems seems kind of useless. I don't know if it effects shield strength or not, but it effects recharge rate.

I made a quick video showing a dogfight vs the Crimson Triumph (the 3rd combat scenario) with some basic tips:




Make sure to watch in HD and with comments on.

Thanks so much for the tips guys.

The 3rd mission is the one I am currently stuck on. Some times I cant even seem to get hits on the ship. The last one I ran I did manage to get its hull down to 30% but he still managed to toast me!

Para, I will be watching your vid with great interest, thanks again.

Cheers!

Appreciate it. It's weird as I got through most of scenarios but my turn tactic was constantly "Cut power and boost turn" which sort-of worked but it just broke up the awesome combat flow and made me look like a complete pillock.

Will definitely try these out!

I'm stuck on the dang silent running mission (where you need to dodge the mercenary guard). I can usually get one or two of the scouts before that guy finds me and wastes me (since shields are down in silent mode).

Happened to me, too. Then I said "screw this ninja sh*t!" and went for the Cobra first.

Didnt ED do the exact same thing with various levels of preorder unlocking different starter ships / credit amounts and ship insurance discounts?

Huh, I kinda figured I'd fail the mission or something if I tried to kill him. The single missions revolve around you being a corporate shill/mercenary anyway so I guess I'll take your route instead!

AFAIK no


Edit: looked at kickstarter they did offer various ships for pledges during kickstarter, but nothing like SC is currently operating. They don't offer ships ala cart in the store. and no insurance bonuses from my quick skim.


Here is a list of things to come in beta on the way to full release:

http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=19639

From their kickstarter
£25 500 credits - default start - default ship
£32 1,000 credits - Imperial Colony - Imperial Eagle Mk II Fighter
£37 1,000 credits, 1,000 cargo - Federal border system - basic Cobra Mk III
£42 100 credits - anarchic Frontier system - stolen upgraded Cobra Mk III
£55 100 credits - Lave system - basic Cobra Mk III
£70 3,000 credits - edge of explored space - long range version of the Cobra Mk III
£85 4,000 credits - any starter ship

Also Alpha backers get a discount on insurance costs.

So yea same setup as SC but I guess not as overblown as the hollywood style of alpha backing that is SC

Is there a 3rd person view? Please tell me it's cockpit locked view. I'm interested.

There´s been lentghy discussions about that and the stance so far it´s that only first person view will be.
There could be a module equippable that take and "instantaneous" 3D screenshot that you can explore as if you have a single frame of a paused simulation.

When you´ll have the time to safely do that it´s up to you...
Probably when docked.

It is cockpit locked AFAIK. You can she your ship in the third person when outfitting at starports in the garage though.