So I bought Elite Dangerous way back when it was announced as a Kickstarter, I paid for the game, and for unlimited lifetime DLC access. Based purely on the amount of fun I had playing Elite on my Spectrum (got to rank Dangerous using nothing more than a keyboard), and later Frontier: Elite 2 on the Amiga.

When it was released, I was unable to play it properly due to my terrible internet connection that wouldn't even give me solo play.

Now I live in a different place and thought I would try it out again, I downloaded the latest Horizons build and gave it a go. Initially I wondered where my Surface Roving Vehicle was, no sign of it, until I realised I was probably playing the same game that I tried way back years ago, so I deleted that and started another. Bingo, SRV is where it should be.

I then proceeded to lose the entire weekend doing nothing else than ED. Enjoyed it hugely, what have I been doing for 6 years. Got myself a Diamondback Explorer now, I don't pay attention to the "best most effective & efficient builds & how & where to get them" type of routes, I upgrade & modify as & when something is available naturally during my wanderings. I find I have immediately tended toward exploring as my preferred game style.

I mean, what a game. I spend just so much time simply gawping.

Welcome back. I know what you mean getting lost in it. I've got over 2400 hours since I began. Core mining is very profitable once you get the hang of it. Questions just ask

Wingy

And to think I nearly abandoned the game in the first few hours because I hadn't a clue what I was doing.

So glad I persevered with it,it's been a great time-sink over the years.

Thanks guys. No questions yet, I like to figure stuff out over time, no sense in rushing through the experience

I just found out about Flight Assist on vs off. I'm going to keep it on for now and gradually move to off over time, specifically for combat reasons, I don't see any immediate need for extra difficulty while I'm learning other ropes.

My plan for ship progression is: Sidewinder >> Diamondback Explorer >> Asp Explorer. I chose these because of their exploration & mining abilities, but mostly because of their good cockpit visibility. I really want to see all the stuff I'm not in any rush to get to Asp just yet, I want to enjoy the Diamondback as much as possible first.

(Actually I do have a question - can I clean my cockpit glass? it seems very... streaky especially when a star shines directly through it.)

At the end of this year/beginning of next, I'l be looking at a new PC (my current one is 9 years old, but still more than capable enough to run ED) in order to get a VR setup. I read/hear everywhere that ED in VR is sublime.

Love the DBX, great choice! I named mine "Mad Hops" haha 60+ jump range is nice.

I haven't played since last May or June I think. I keep intending to give it another go, then find something else to play. But I will be back sooner or later.

Asp Explorer is another fine choice. I think I have flown that more than any other ship in my fleet. I think your progression plan is good, and the next step after the AspX could be a Python, if I may be so bold. At some point though you may want a combat ship, and the Vulture for example would fit well in there somewhere. Looking forward to your progress DM, a re-awoken ED forum might be the impetus to get me back in the pit. That's what happened last time

My fleet (no one asked but this is how I get enthusiastic once more lol)

Keelback -- Planetary Lander. Outfitted with SRV and ship launched fighter. Used for raw material gathering and canyon joyrides in the Taipan

Asp X -- Deep Exploration and part-time module shuttle

Courier -- Mat gatherer. Used to investigate USSs and scan wakes

Vulture -- Bounty hunting

Python -- Multi-role. Used mainly for boom time deliveries, and other trading missions. But is sometimes reconfigured for passenger hauling, assassinations and bounty hunting

Fer de Lance -- Combat, all types, bounties, assassination, combat zones,

Orca -- Passenger missions. Mostly sightseeing, some transport

Diamondback Explorer -- Bubble-runner, exploration, taxi. 60 jump range is sweet

I've owned and sold a few others, such as the Eagle, Cobra, Chieftain and the T-9. Ship discussion is quite interesting to me, so if you have any questions, or simply want to debate the pros and cons I'm always up for that

Oh, yeah, I have an Anaconda too. Probably a few other I've forgotten as well. 'Conda is used for freight and passenger missions.


And I think I bought the iEagle too. Good grief, I need to hop back in and see what I actually own.

Logged in to Inara and I see I did indeed buy the iEagle, and I never did sell that T-9. Plus I have a couple hundred million in the bank. Time for a new ship!

That's quite a fleet you've got there I was already looking at the Vulture as a possible future ship (because of my preference for that cockpit type with good views), but I figure that's way off in the future right now. I'm not in any rush to make millions yet, I make enough to regularly upgrade my DBX with better stuff as & when I come across it.

I'm enjoying the planetary excursions in the SRV too. Too bad there's only one model of that

That's the right approach in my opinion. Just do what's fun and the space ducats will come. Ice and I had a bit of a go since he couldn't wrap his head around an approach that was not optimally geared for max progression and profit. I on the other hand bought two Couriers just because.

Vulture has good cockpit vis, aside from obscured lower side view. It's fantastic bang for the buck if bounty hunting and combat appeal.

AspX is one of the best views and you'll love it for that and it's versatility.

I’ve been enjoying Elite quite a bit recently as well. I picked up an Oculus Rift and Elite in VR is indeed amazing. You actually IN the cockpit, you look around next to you, behind you, above, etc and it’s all there. The Asp has an amazing cockpit view - I actually got a little queasy the first time I jumped into that one in VR. Stations are HUGE and combat is awesome too, driving the SRV is still tough for me though,very nausea inducing.

DM it sounds like you and I both started the same - only I had a C64 for the original Elite game. I played frFrontier on my Amiga 1200 too! Also did the Kickstarter AND the lifetime pass.

Since we’re sharing fleets, here’s mine:

Asp - exploring and cruising around for small errands. Right now I’m gathering engineering materials and will be heading to the crashed Anaconda this week to get the items available as well as just check it out.

Python - my choice for deep core mining. Not only nicely profitable, but pretty fun and engaging gameplay. Worth checking out. Void Opal mining also earned me Trade Elite status.

Anaconda - trader and station rescue. Station rescue is a short range passenger hop from a station damaged by Thargoids to a nearby rescue ship. Pretty cool as the damaged station is a hazardous environment - debris floating through it which can hit you and knock you around, random explosions which can throw you around, smoke, fire, and lots of heat. Bring heat sinks to do these. Also handy for working Federation and Empire ranks.

Kraft MK-II - combat missions. I also have a Fer de Lance forcombat, but I wanted to have a ship launched fighter and collector limpets to pick up salvage after combat and couldn’t fit them into the FDL.

Nicely rounded fleet there JC. That has the bases covered no doubt.

You wrote Kraft, but you mean Krait? That was released since I stopped playing. How do you like it? Can you give a mini review comparing it to any other ships?

My T-9 mystery persists. I bought one, and hated it. Flew a few missions in it and got killed in open losing a big payload. On May 25th I posted that I sold it, and rightly so! But Inara still shows it in my fleet. Probably just didn't update Inara afterwards. So until I actually fire ED up again I will assume I sold it haha.

I've mentioned Inara a few times and I highly recommend it. Very useful. You can search my stuffz there under CMDR Sinisalo. It obviously isn't completely up to date as it still shows the T-9, but mostly accurate.

In case it may be of interest, this is my DBX, Mad Hops. Engineered to jump far, and run cool. Not sure if this link will work, and you probably need to be logged in to Inara but it shows the engineering I've done to it

Mad Hops

Since that may not work, I decided to do a Coriolis build. Long time since I have done that!

Mad Hops Coriolis

It has an ADD of course, but I didn't see that in the options list

On Coriolis I see that there are a number of new ships aside from the Krait. Mamba, Krait Phantom, Crusader and Challenger are all new since I have played. Any opinions on these new ships?

Hi JC This time last week I had no idea it was even possible to own multiple ships in ED, it was a surprise to me to see a "store" option when purchasing the DBX. This makes me happy

I just recently watched a video describing the Krait ship, it looks like one I'd definitely be interested in after the AspX, it seems it might have just about the best cockpit view of any mid ship, and seems pretty capable all round. Apparently it's a new ship since the summer so DBond you might be interested in looking at that I think it's the only ship that has a coffee maker visible in the back of the cockpit

This weekend I'll probably give mining a go, I like the sound of splitting those ice/rock chunks apart.

DBond - I typed it on my iPad - I thought I caught all the typos LOL!! I like the Krait - it has a lot of optional slots to fill a lot of needs, nicely maneuverable. Legs are a little short but longer than the FDL as memory serves. A capable ship!

Oh and there was a massive change in exploration after the last update, so now the ADD is built in to all ships (freeing up a slot). You'll have to do some control mapping and some guide-reading to handle the new mechanics, but they aren't too bad to get used to. Kind of nice too.

The new core mining mechanic is great - you crack open asteroids and maneuver around them to blast chunks of tasty bits off, collect them with limpets, and make good money. The current top seller are void opals, going for 1.6m per. In my python I can earn over 150m for a couple hours mining. It's really opened the game to me.

My current play style has me hopping from activity to activity as I feel the urge, I'm not grinding or slaving away at one thing until I get it done. That's why I've got the fleet I have. I feel like a combat mission? Hop in the Krait. Guess I'll grind a little Federation rank with rescue missions - 'conda. Do a little planet hopping and pick up some engineering mats - Asp. Mining? Python! I've really been enjoying the game just bouncing from thing to thing like a 6th grader on a sugar high.

DM I gotta look for that coffee maker! I've also wondered where the door in the Asp goes to!

Oh and not only can you store ships and modules, you can ship them to where you are (for a fee of course). I've found that to be quite a handy little time saver. Now that I can mine my way to riches, I don't worry about the cost so much. A night in the Python (and cruising through an asteroid belt in VR is awesome!!!) covers that and more so.

Thanks for the info. I have to research these new ships.

The thing I have always struggled with in Elite is the fact that I can only manage a single goal. More ships.

Everything is done with that pursuit in mind. I find little else compelling in terms of objectives. So new ships is good. Maybe new mechanics will change my mind. A year ago Raw Kryptonite made a thread asking some questions (it was also this time of year) and that re-stoked my interest, much like DM's thread here is doing. Time to set up the Cougar and TIR again perhaps

I don't know if I've gone away from "goals" or just made them smaller and achievable in a short time to avoid the grindy feeling. For example, last week I spent a couple of nights doing station rescue to grind rank. Turns out the station I was doing them from had both Empire and Federation factions in them, so I was grinding both.

After a couple of short nights doing that, I decided I wanted to do some materials gathering. So I hopped into my Asp and landed on a planet that had a lot of phosphorous (for FSD range level 3), landed and started doing some surface mining. It was fun tooling around in the SRV. I even found some old cargo containers guarded by Sentrys, but I couldn't get anything from them, so after getting a fine for shooting down the Sentry's I went back to mining. I did that for a couple of nights.

Now I plan on going back to my Conda and engineering the FSD some more, as well as the Python. After that I might do some combat missions or opal mining - I'm feeling that itch after describing it. So it's kind of haphazard/random gameplay but it works for me. I've also got just under 1B credits left from opal mining, so that removes the "gotta grind for cash" feeling that I had previously. I really feel that has freed the game up quite a bit. I can buy pretty much whatever I want ship wise and do with it as I please.

You should look into VR. It's totally worth it, Elite in VR is jaw dropping. It may even be what's kept me in the game as much as anything else I'm doing. I've also found some rather fun titles for VR as well - a good number of freebies too.

I do the same, mix it up and go for triple Elite or ranks with Fed/Imps. So I suppose I do have other milestones. Still, it feels as though ships are the only thing I am working toward. This isn't a problem until it's a problem. I've come back to Elite several times now after long layoffs. I play it because it's fun, then at some point it's not fun and I stop. But this thread has caused me to look in to what's new, to read old threads and see how enthusiastic I was and I am getting the itch once more. It's great fun while it lasts

Having new ships to try is motivating. Learning new Exploration mechanics might not be. I suppose it depends on how I feel about the changes.

What I find I am not looking forward to is engineering new ships. Does engineering still work as it did a year ago?

If I can find my Track IR I think I will give it a go tonight. Just have to deliver my air freight cargo in GTAO, then I think I'll log off and have a bash in Elite for a bit.

I think engineering is pretty much the same, but I'm not sure, sorry!

New exploration mechanics took me very little time to get down, but I'll be honest - you've got to do some control mapping.
Check it out here.

I hated the new exploration mechanics but I persevered and did the re-mapping thing. Still not enjoying it as much and exploration was what I did the most. Ah well...

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter Chucky, as you're the most successful explorer I know, that I know about anyway

So I gave it another go. If DM's the 7 year noob, I'm the 3 year version. I even skipped doing my air freight delivery in GTAO and it's double money this week lol. Talk about motivated. I dug out the TIR and dusted off the Cougar. Everything worked, which was nice.

Having taken 8 months off I decided that running through a few training missions would be advisable. Did the first three and felt reasonably comfortable once again. Hopped in to a solo game and spawned in the Anaconda. I was pleased that I left me a nice gift in the form of a 244m bank account. I imagine that's largely from the proceeds of selling the #%&*$# T-9. I'll turn that moolah in to a new ship or two eventually, but for now I just wanted to get back in the groove. Had a look through my stored ships, which were mostly gathered at Fowler Orbital in Dvorsi. I was surprised to see my Courier with a top speed of 3 hundred something. But then I remembered that just before I shelved Elite I had bought the iEagle and must have used most of the internals out of the Courier. And that because of one thing. Speed!

And being too lazy or cheap or both to get another set of everything. Anyway, I put the Conda away and took the iEagle out of the station. Clear of the airlock I hit the smash button and this thing goes over 700 and I was back. I love fast ships

(and extra points if they are also shield tanks)

I spent 10 minutes farming wakes for the mats and flew back to port. So then I decided to run a delivery in the Python since it was already configured for cargo. Grabbed a nice boom timer, 13 LY for 2 million and took off. Got to the delivery location to see that I didn't actually take any of the flux capacitors with me. So this was changed a bit. Flew back to Fowler and saw the thing where you now have to click to load the stuff. I did that, and saw it said that I was 'taking' the correct amount. Flew to the destination to see that once again I had failed to actually load anything. ANd of course didn't check the hold before proceeding.

With a good amount of jump, evasion and docking practice now under my belt I flew back to Fowler and made #%&*$# sure I brought that sh!t with me!!

(Gotta hit spacebar, yep)

The biggest difference I noticed so far is the redone UI. Especially the right panel which is completely different from what I last used.

Thanks JC for the heads up and the video.

Ha ha thanks DBond,I seriously doubt it though. I never managed to venture too far from my starting point(s) to be honest. But then again you don't have to to do what I did. As of late 2018 only 0.3% of the Galaxy had been discovered,how crazy is that?

Now I could go for Elite Explorer for the third time but not with the new system. It doesn't matter how many people tell me the new system is 'better' (and there have been lots,especially on Steam) I enjoyed exploring using the old system,end of.

I'll still dabble with it from time to time but the love affair is over.

Here's an odd thng that happened to me last night: I was playing, solo, exploring some (for me) far away system, mapping planets. One of them was landable and looked fairly interesting, so I choose an interesting looking crater, land & take the SRV out. For the first time I dismiss the ship and wallow in the feeling of isolation and loneliness

I pootle about and circumnavigate a small mountain that's right in the middle of the crater, finding these small rocks that keep popping up on my scanner, I assume they're harvestable materials or something. When I get all around the mountain, I call down my ship and board it, take off and have a quick go of a new beam laser I had purchased recently but hadn't used yet, I decide to find one of those rocks and see if it's destroyable. While watching my scanner I see another type of signal, very glitchy and unstable, I follow it down and as I approach it, it looks like a ship, stuck to the side of the same mountain I had just driven over, clinging on at a 45 degree angle. As I get really close I actively scan it and it is a ship, a federal gunship, with a wanted tag.

In the middle of nowhere, on a random rock, I seem to have driven my SRV right by a hiding pirate I mean what are the chances :/

He's rated Master, in a federal gunship, fully shielded, and I'm mostly harmless in a poorly armed explorer, I figure that although this seems to be a lucky find and an easy kill, in all probability if he gets up & active he'll kick my ass all over the rock. As I'm carrying a lot of data I decide NOT to engage him and leave him to it.

Was a nice little moment

Cool story!
So DB I’ve done the not-taking-the-mission-cargo thing a number of times myself - last time was last week! I’m not sure but I believe the thinking is that you can take the cargo in multiple hops to complete the mission with it now.

Discretion is the better part of valor, as they say. I would have done (and have done) the same as you.

Those rocks you are seeing are where you obtain raw materials used in engineering. You may have little or no interest in engineering at this stage, but it's probable that you will want to do some eventually. When you see me saying my DBX jumps 60+ that is only possible through engineering. So while you are still finding roaming around in the SRV fun, you should take advantage and grab some of these raw materials for use later. To do so you need to shoot the rock. It will explode like a pinata and spill out things like iron, phosphorous, nickle, chromium, arsenic and the sort. Deploy the SRV scoop and drive over each fragment and you've got it. These 'mats' take up no cargo space.

You can see what materials a planet has in the system map. Most are useful. Arsenic is one you should grab whenever possible.

Chucky that doesn't sound promising. I saw last night that I was completing scans just entering a system, automatic like. I need to get up to speed on sensors, mapping and such.

JC, thanks for that. At least I am not alone haha.

Some of the really common mats will allow you to also do things such as make SRV fuel, ammo, and repairs. I found that pretty helpful last time I went SRV-ing.

That's a great point I failed to consider. They are useful even if you are not engineering.

Have some rep JC.

Ooops wrong forum....

Thing is, and I can't speak for DM who may continue to love it forever, but the shine of SRV operations can dull over time

So best to use it while it's hot so to speak.

So a couple of years ago I was attending a GDC (Games Developer Conference) and one of the speakers was talking about how, very broadly, game players can be categorised into one of 4 general groups (or are on a scale of the category, or are a blend of some or all of the 4 at varying levels):
Killers - they just want to kill everything, they think everything in a game is there for him to kill.
Completionists - they want to complete the story, do all the sidequests, get all the stuff, the best stuff. (I believe some of that is expressed in this thread with the ship gathering, riches & status etc :)).
Team players - they don't particularly mind what they play, but they want to play on and/or against a team.

And I come right smack-bang in the middle of the 4th kind - the explorer. I just want to see all the things and go everywhere. For me, the main thing about the SRV is that I get right down to the surface and see things really up close from a different perspective to the ship, including seeing the ship. (I know there's a free camera but currently I'm sort-of roleplaying this.) If I were to wish for a change right now it would be more stuff to find, like crashed ships, derelict ships (in the void or among rings/asteroids) hidden cargoes etc.
I expect that the initial wow-factor will fade over time, but in around a year from now I hope to have a new rig with VR capability, and this will revive it somewhat.

And long may it last

I think eventually we will see more fleshed out ground ops. If we ever see atmospheric planets (and can land on them) I expect this to be a more well rounded aspect of Elite.

DM, there ARE crashed ships to check out. Just an fyi.

DM fair warning about the SRV and VR- it can be very very-sickness inducing. The first time I used the SRV in VR I got it pretty badly and had to stop - I should have quit for the night much earlier than I did and I paid for it. Then I found some settings that can help with that - locking the camera to the horizon, eliminating camera shake, and blacking out the screen when you roll it. That helped, but I still got queasy. I’m happy to report I was able to drive around with no ill effects last night so I’m hoping I’ve got my SRV-VR legs now!

Ooh - interesting I'll keep my eyes peeled.



Thx for the warning I'm sure I'll figure it out. I'm fairly resilient to motion sickness in any case, but if I suffer I'll roleplay it and just take it easier (I guess that's not strictly speaking roleplay... )

Jeez. I spent 9 straight hours on Sunday playing this thing. :/

Anyway, last night as I was preparing to finish I found myself in a totally rad system (can't remember its name right now, but it has a station placed between a landable planet and its rings and about a billion other landable planets, albeit very, very far away from insert point) and I thought it'd be a great place to make my home system. I looked into transferring my ships to it, and also so I could gaze upon my 3-strong fleet. I have an AspX now too since yesterday morning.

Anyway, when I went to that tab on the screen it informed me I actually have 4 ships, Sidewinder, DiamondBackX, AspX, and also an Eagle. Where did I get that Eagle from, did I accidentally complete some mission and get it as a reward?

Turns out that as an early adopter I get 2 ships at startup, a Sidewinder and an Eagle. Which is nice I didn't know this. It's not very capable, but is quite maneuverable, and is super cheap to A rate everything. As a jalopy toything it's a nice enough freebie

Did I mention I now have an AspX? Because I now have an AspX.

Congrats on the Asp DM! That's one of the best ships in the game in my opinion. It was my main whip for a very long time. Love the AspX!

Congrats on the Eagle too. Lots of fun to fly, but a paper hull, and crap shields. Good thing it is so maneuverable haha. I sold mine since I couldn't make it last very long bounty hunting. Eventually though I bought the Imperial version of the Eagle. It boosts over 700 m/s (with engineering and could go lots faster too) and is a joy to fly and peer out of

Four ships already eh? You are certainly on your way. Keep it up!

[quote=DM

If I were to wish for a change right now it would be more stuff to find, like crashed ships, derelict ships (in the void or among rings/asteroids) hidden cargoes etc.

DM check out the crashed Anaconda at HIP 16613 1A. Lots of grade 5 goodies to gather. There's also a crashed SRV close by to check out. Map the planet in DSS and these sites will show up on the nav window. You can also rinse and repeat for those goodies.

Wingy

I'll second the ASP comments from DB, I use mine quite a bit for just humping around, and it's SRV hauler as well.

I'll have to check out that Anaconda too, the one at Orrere was neat to see but a little disappointing in the haul.

Thanks for the tip I started out on my journey toward that place last night, after equipping my ship to be able to do deep core mining, so hopefully I'll find some new systems out there that I can discover and do some mining. I've not tried it before so I hope I have all that I need as far as I can tell the only thing I'm missing is collector limpets, which I don't think are essential, only convenient. There's a couple of nebula out that way also so I'll be interested in visiting those. It'll be my furthest trip out so far. Fairly well armed so I hope to be able to look after my fruits

No collector limpets will slow you down quite a bit, but it's still do-able. Personally I'd rather not have to chase down every chunk of rock, but I'm a lazy old fart.