Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I bought a Viper and I'm kind of regretting it...

Should I park it, get my Eagle back out then sell it off, or try and make money somehow to get those heavier weapons?

I didn't factor in the hidden costs as well as I should have so all the class 2 weapons are quite expensive. Might just put pulse laser in and save up for gimballed m-cannons or something.

What exactly are you regretting about it? If it's just a case of missing weapons and low cash, then I'd say just grind a few bounties or courier missions and gear it up. Or don't you like the way it's handling?

By the way:




pew pew!

Wow that is awesome.. what was going on in the vid, who are all the ships fighting it?

Pacific wrote:Wow that is awesome.. what was going on in the vid, who are all the ships fighting it?

I've not been there personally, but from what I can gather it's some sort of uprising, either independent of or as a direct result of the conflict at Eranin. Kotigen is a Federal system, but if you look closely you can see that the FNS Kracer and its escorts are fighting ships of the System Defence Force, which means Feds against locals. I noticed that the background sim has recently been kicked into the next level so that players can now promote or harm factions (I myself have contributed to the Eranin People's Party now spreading its operations into the surrounding systems), so maybe this has led to a shift in power within the local authorities?

The Kracer isn't alone in the system, either. If you want to feast your eyes on a Viper's suicidal attack run on the FNS Damocles, click here!

Feds are out in force today, it seems.



[edit] Looking at the 2nd vid where the player is about to set his IFF transponder, it seems the fight is between two local factions, and the Feds are intervening on behalf of the one fighting against whoever controls the KSDF right now? Curious.

I think it's the money hit really and the cost it will be to equip it well and have a reasonable jump distance. Once I get some more cash I'll put an interdictor on (replacing the exploring sensor), but I think the equipment is going to be more than double the ship cost...

On the plus side, it is fast. I encountered a deadly asp and was a bit worse for wear fighting it with stock pulse lasers to I turned and ran and got out. Was much cheaper than the insurance I would have needed.

Plus of course you weren't exploded, which is proven to be damaging psychologically

Daba wrote:I think it's the money hit really and the cost it will be to equip it well and have a reasonable jump distance. Once I get some more cash I'll put an interdictor on (replacing the exploring sensor), but I think the equipment is going to be more than double the ship cost...

Eh, maybe if you factor in an improved reactor and such. But keep in mind that any investments you make here will add to the ship's resale value, so even if you trade up again later on, you'd already have reached a higher stepping stone, and save up less cash to afford the other ship.

Unless you wish to keep and store that Viper, that is.


By the way, a bunch of pilots are currently running a test to incite an insurgency and flip system control from the Federation to Independents at Lugh. Just in case anyone wants to sign up:
http://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/2oscrb/testing_effort_the_persistent_galaxy/

Apparently, the Independents are currently at 14% influence.

Where is it relative to Archenar? I might pop back in the Eagle (goes further on jumps...) and head over for a bit.

Umm, I think it's quite a bit away (70 LY from Eranin where I am now), but you can easily check for yourself by opening the Galaxy Map and then entering "Achenar" in the search box on the 2nd tab.
That being said, even long journeys can be completed within half an hour or so. I once travelled from Shinrarta Dhezra to Eranin and that was 160 LY or so.

In other news, Frontier just released a sneaky surprise patch - Gamma 2.00 is here!

Personal Highlights:
- 2 new ships (ZP Adder Utility Craft + Lakon Type-7 Transport)
- Waypoint Plotting in Galaxy Map (if set, your navcomputer now automatically selects the next system of your route as soon as your ship has finished a jump - very comfy for longer journeys)
- a much more seamless transition between frameshift and realspace
- expanded missions (now including corporate salvage and faction military) and deep space encounters
- slavery (in economy, as well as appropriate missions)
- general improvements to sound and visuals for added atmosphere/immersion
- cool new main menu (animated - and with an easter egg)
- another easter egg

I also noticed that Azeban Orbital - the outpost where I've set up camp - has gotten a big bigger and added two new modules.
On the downside, however, a "Brotherhood" from a certain nearby Anarchy system has begun operating in Eranin - thanks to player pirates I'm sure - and they seem to be so successful that they've started to displace the Eranin People's Party when it comes to mission availability.
I'm now making it a point to interdict wanted ships from the Brotherhood faction in particular. Go back to Freeport, criminal scum!

Also, another minor new goodie from Gamma 2.00 - decals! I'm not actually sure this was an intended feature as it was not mentioned in the patch notes, and so far there is only a single decal to choose, but ...


Arr! Well, I suppose it kind of fits for mercs/bounty hunters as well, Riddick-style.

You had me at waypoint plotting and seamless transitions.

Hordes coming from Morgor?

Did someone leave the Ring in Eranin?

I'm feeling a bit better about the Viper now (despite crashing and blowing up once), now I've got some more equipment (2 x Gimballed Class 1 m-cannon, 2 x class 2 Pulse Laser, fast enough to go ~10LY still). I might upgrade the Pulse Lasers sometime along the line, but I need to find something suitable in the slot (I haven't found class 2 burst lasers yet, and I'll probably need a power plant upgrade too). Normal cannon seem a lot more expensive than the M-cannon - do they represent that much of an improvement?

Also might be something to do with landing 30k worth of bounties in a couple of fights too (though I lost reputation with the issuing faction for some reason despite them paying me the bounty...)

So just a few days now until the official release of this game? Can't wait to get my hands on it!

Already got my 2001 soundtrack at the ready

Daba wrote:Hordes coming from Morgor?
Did someone leave the Ring in Eranin?

Hah, nah, I meant LP 98-132.

From the navcomputer entry:

I have temporarily relocated from my home on (read: over) Azeban to Lugh in support of the Crimson State's uprising against the Federal occupation force .. but as I left, the "Brotherhood" from LP 98-132 was responsible for about 90% of the missions offered in Eranin. It makes me worry to think the pirates may be taking over. I'll see what I can do to help the Eranin People's Party once I'm back from my stint at Lugh.

As you may have already seen, the players who are currently trying to plunge Lugh into a civil war even made it into the official newsletter now as an example for player-driven narration and the dynamic galaxy. Lugh is quite a bit away from Eranin, but thankfully this was also a golden opportunity to try out the new course plotting feature, and it worked like a charm in conveniently leading me to my destination. The only thing I had to do was keep an eye on the temperature gauge in order to prevent heat damage to the drives by jumping too soon/often, and I had to make a single stop at a station to refuel my Eagle.

Immediately after arrival (and being greeted by two dozen contacts - there is a lot of traffic at Lugh!) I was heading to Knight Dock to rendezvous with my contact of the Crimson State Group when I noticed an Unidentified Signal Signature in the vicinity. Deciding to check it out I dropped in, and caught a lone Hauler in the process of spooling up its jump drive. Perhaps she had just exchanged cargo with another ship? A quick scan of the vessel marked it as belonging to "Lugh for Equality", a local faction whose name initially hinted at a potential ally in the fight to liberate the system from Federal oppression, but the computer quickly informed me that this faction was aligned with the Federation rather than Independent - undoubtedly it was some sort of political puppet, or its leaders had lined their pockets with Federal credits. Either way, their allegiance marked them an enemy of the cause, and thus my first target.

Needless to say, the Hauler was not exactly equipped for resisting the unbridled aggression of an upgraded Core Dynamics Eagle Long Range Fighter, and vented both shipment and pilot after a few salvos of burst laser and m-cannon rounds. I also noticed that my lower left burst laser once again malfunctioned, snapping off another shot as the system was just in the process of cooling down. Something for the mechanics at Knight Dock to take a look at - I suppose I should have taken better care for the ship's Wear & Tear condition. Either way, in addition to a bounty chit (to be redeemed somewhere in the Empire, apparently), the Hauler also spilled a bunch of cargo canisters. Most of them were just rations, but amidst the salvage I also discovered two tons of battle weapons, no doubt intended for the garrison of the Federal occupation force. I vaguely remembered their price on the open market, so with heavy heart I dumped two of the four rare artwork canisters (scavenged them from the wreckage of an Imperial Clipper in a USS) to scoop up the battle weapons. After all, a preliminary briefing had informed me of the existence of a black market in Lugh where I could transform these hot goods into cold, hard credits.

If anyone feels like participating in the liberation of Lugh, here's a crosspost from the ED reddit containing all you need to know:



https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=71327
http://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/2p45bi/this_thing_in_lugh_i_just_want_to_say_something/
http://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/2p2nbm/player_event_the_crimson_revolution_in_lugh/

Daba wrote:Normal cannon seem a lot more expensive than the M-cannon - do they represent that much of an improvement?

I'd say it's situational. They have a much lower rate of fire, but pack more of a punch. They are good for delivering "burst damage", if you manage to account for their slow projectile velocity, and absolutely wreak havoc on internal components. Against smaller, faster targets it would be difficult to ensure a hit, though. But that's what the fragmentation variant is for, I guess.

Daba wrote:Also might be something to do with landing 30k worth of bounties in a couple of fights too (though I lost reputation with the issuing faction for some reason despite them paying me the bounty...)

Did the ships you shot down belong to the same faction, by any chance?
Either way, congrats on the bounties.

If you like bounty hunting, Patch 2.03 will probably have you rejoice.

Pacific wrote:Already got my 2001 soundtrack at the ready

Right on, Commander.

Finally got a Cobra. Was helped a little thanks to getting a 100k(!) bounty for a wanted Imperial Clipper (albeit, combined Empire and Fed bounty after scanning).

I will miss the Viper (I sold it off). After flying it, and then the Cobra for a bit, the Viper was really nippy and had fantastic Yaw (for this game), and the light hard point placement is a lot better. I might have to see if pitch-down turning works well as gimballs on the Cobra seem to favour 'down' rather than 'up' like on the Viper. Maybe once I'm rich I'll but another Viper to play around on. The real killer for it is how hard it is to get a good jump range.

Now, if only I could find a 4D power plant. Only seen 4Bs around...

Found an independent world with almost all the Cobra upgrades (apart from weapons of course) and got the D4. Going to start doing some more hunting, and maybe some trading as I have a lot more cargo space than I'm used to...

The game has finally gone on sale - just downloading it now, can't wait!

Same, downloading now.

Release day.

Congratulations on Frontier Developments and team. I had reason to be confident for this products ability to appear with high quality and on schedule. braden (and Bell) did an excellent job squeezing every byte out of the storage available in the first game, the sequels fit on floppies in a time when everything was moving to CD. With a past of efficiency I can see this project adding more and more stuff in a timely manner and yet with explosive content.
Well done, well done indeed.

Something concerns me though.
The launch sequence, just five hours ago.....




Is that the eye of HAL? Are we all screwed?

 Orlanth wrote:

Is that the eye of HAL? Are we all screwed?

I can't imagine HAL allowing his eye to be treated like that.




"I'm sorry, Dave. I can't allow you to do that."


Though the guy pushing the "eye" is apparently named Dave...

Hmm...

Downloading now..... super excited, especially as I've spotted that the joystick on my amazon Christmas list has been bought......

And now installed, training done! Brings back my childhood - except I'm not looking at a wireframe cobra..... And have also brought back memories of bits of paper with keybindings stuck to the keyboard.....

I'm using paper for some system notes, to keep track of some of the black markets and equipment stations about. I lost the one that sold overcharged M-Cannons. :/

I'm trying out gimballed Cannons now, but I might try fixed M-Cannons (or cannons) in my Class 2 slots and try some Gimballed beams once I upgrade my powerplant...

Remember gimballed guns can be countered by EW.

At this stage of play expect precious little of that though, so its a solid choice.

Whew, that was a smooth launch! I also heard the pre-order goodies will be unlocked by the end of the week, for those who own the Mercenary Edition here.

Nice co-op action here, showing how fun things can be with friends:

Daba wrote:I will miss the Viper (I sold it off). After flying it, and then the Cobra for a bit, the Viper was really nippy and had fantastic Yaw (for this game), and the light hard point placement is a lot better.

Yeah, the Cobra is a great allrounder, but if you want to hunt, either the Viper or the Eagle might have been better options. Then again, all that cargo space gives you a lot of options for "alternative income".

Orlanth wrote:The launch sequence, just five hours ago.....

Hahah, voice from the rear at the end: "God help us!"

Love how the button is wired to a Raspberry Pi tho. Nice detail, and a tie-in to one of Braben's other projects.

eddieazrael wrote:Brings back my childhood - except I'm not looking at a wireframe cobra.....

Better?

Orlanth wrote:Remember gimballed guns can be countered by EW.

You can still fire them manually - they just won't track their target, and they'll obviously still do less damage than their fixed counterparts.

I actually used the extra cargo space to stock up on rare goods to take up to cash in my alliance bounty. And the better jump range to actually get there.

Played the game for a few hours now, really enjoying it!

Couple of questions about the game, don't know if anyone can help?
- Trading commodoties. I can't seem to make sense of it! I've looked at the galactic map, you can look at the info to see flows of goods (and types) from one system to another. This makes sense a lot of the time - for example food from an agricultural world to an industrial one. The agri world sells foodstuffs so I fill the cargo hold and set off. But, when I arrive at the other place they offer me less than the buying price!
I've noticed some systems have lists of imports if you look on that screen - is that the only way of finding out what a place wants, and so the 'flow' diagrams on the map useless? I quite like the idea of being a star-faring space trader, but other than the missions I have been given have had very little success (probably lost money!) trying to do it myself.

- Black markets. Is there any way of finding which systems have these, other than stumbling upon them and recording it? I assume you can dock at these stations with stolen goods, without being scanned?

Very appreciative if anyone can answer!

Black Markets need to be discovered with 'luck'. Note that you can still be scanned if the station is run by a 'reputable' faction, but if it's on an outpost there is seldom anyone to scan (I have never been scanned at a small outpost).

Some of the trade routes are quite odd; I think it has to do with NPC traders (or maybe players) flooding the market so the goods are no longer wanted.

Gonna look out for Navy missions now.

Yeah, the trade routes displayed on the galaxy map are (afaik) effectively just paths taken by other traders, which always means you're following in someone's footsteps. Most of the time this is not a problem, but I think when the target world has a low population and thus low consumption, you may arrive on a market that is already saturated with the goods in question! Likewise, watch out that the stuff you are exploring is sold on the local market at High Availability. Even if stuff is locally produced and exported to other worlds, it may well be that it's expensive because production is low. Supply and demand dictate the price, and thus the profits you make when selling that stuff elsewhere.

A piece of paper and a pen really help in this game.

I made 60k+ yesterday with just half an hour bounty hunting in my Eagle. Got a 20k contract to rid a system of pirates, whose collected bounty added up to another 35k. Plus 5k from salvage I was able to sell on the black market. It was a good day.

PS: Today is newsletter day! Wonder what'll be in it this week.

PPS: Where are y'all located? Anyone planning to participate in the upcoming throne succession struggle (and for whom), or otherwise want to do some co-op some time?

That's very useful to know, thanks for the replies guys!

So the key here is look for high availability, buy low and then sell in a system with a high population.

Got no idea where I am at the moment Lynata! It's as much as I can manage to dock at a port without reducing myself to space-dust at the moment!

I'm in Zeta Fornacis (hometown). I'm now officially an Outsider to the Empire, and have friendly status there.

I'm kind of annoyed there's no Class 2 bursts, as it's going to be quite expensive and power draining to put fixed class 2 beams on. I'm currently running an all-gimballed setup, despite my love of manual aim.

I made 60k in 3 mins yesterday running a slave mission from one system to another, ive never actually seen a slave mission where they give you the slaves to transport... usually you have to source your own slaves first lol.

I found an interesting anomaly in the trading routes/commodities market as well. I had a mission to source combat stabilisers for the Fed Navy, so I bought some trade data which showed that two systems were importing their combat stabilisers from a third system. So I set off for the system that was exporting the stabilisers, there were only two stations in system, and neither of them sold the stabilisers, in fact one of the two prohibited them entirely. Confused, I pulled up my galactic map to confirm I was in the right system, I was. Checking the system map, both stations exported the other 3 types of medicine, but neither of them listed combat stabilisers. So i flew to the other 2 systems that were supposedly importing their stabilizers from that system, the stations were all buying them, and all of them listed the first system as the system they imported from, so I went back to the original system, revisited both stationa, and STILL could not find combat stabilizers for sale anyway... eventually I just gave up, but I cannot explain why it was displaying evidently false info. Just in case I submitted a bug report.