Games Elite: Dangerous

[Rubric]

hmm thanks guys.

 

[Jupitus]

1680x1050.
wut.

Yeah - small desk and no money!

 

[old.Tohtori]

Hey btw fyi etc and all that; how's the bounty hunter / lawman aspect of the game? I usually like to play rangers/lawbrigers/sheriffs in games so hunting down naughty folk really appeals.

Also are there different species/races or is it just generic humans?

 

[Jupitus]

1680x1050.
wut.

As it happens, old monitor died today, so I now have a 23" hp capable of 1920x1080... not a massive improvement but all I could(not) afford ... happy with the picture quality so far!

 

[Jupitus]

Hey btw fyi etc and all that; how's the bounty hunter / lawman aspect of the game? I usually like to play rangers/lawbrigers/sheriffs in games so hunting down naughty folk really appeals.

Also are there different species/races or is it just generic humans?

Difficult to say right now as they are nerfing ability to make money in areas other than through set missions... this is as a tool to make sure they get tested....

 

[Scouse]

I've changed my mind. There's still too much to do before xmas.

Trying to get a game with a mate and be flying around with him is a pain in the ass. Targetting can be a pain in the ass if you're trying to target your mate when you do eventually get a game with him. It's also still too jerky and unreliable going into and out of hyperspace/supercruise.

If they're struggling with friends groups at this stage then I think they're too far off tbh.

 

[TdC]

god I havent played in ages. must....update...to...beta2....ngggh

 

[Scouse]

On the plus side - I ran up task manager and flew into an asteroid field and had a bit of a dogfight. Alt-tabbed out and I was running at about 60-65% CPU.

I reckon I may be able to seriously boost my framerate, maybe to Oculus Rift supporting levels, with a graphics card alone.

 

[Athan]

You'll want to double-check performance when near a big station with at least NPC ships flying around if not players. Actually in some ways it's better to test that in Solo so that you're doing the work of running the station so as to get a 'max' figure for CPU utilisation.

 

[Lethul]

Isnt it better (as usuall) to just wait for the finished product?

 

[Jupitus]

Isnt it better (as usuall) to just wait for the finished product?

Yes and no... I agree it might dilute the 'ooo new and all shiny' experience of launch, but the game has quite a steep learning curve so playing a bit in moderation helps overcome getting to know the basics, and there is a lot to get used to. Also, there is a strong chance they'll allow carry-over from final beta to release so it's a bit of a chance for a headstart.

 

[Athan]

Yes and no... I agree it might dilute the 'ooo new and all shiny' experience of launch, but the game has quite a steep learning curve so playing a bit in moderation helps overcome getting to know the basics, and there is a lot to get used to. Also, there is a strong chance they'll allow carry-over from final beta to release so it's a bit of a chance for a headstart.

Yes, if by 'final beta' you mean 'gamma', then that's their intent. They've stated many, many times that once Gamma starts they won't wipe unless there's a dire need.

As a heads up to all, FD are planning some form of wipe for the transition to beta3 on 28th October. The post said something like a partial wipe was 'almost certain', and a full wipe 'likely'.

 

[Scouse]

I think they're fooling themselves if they think they can get final beta sorted by 28th October tbh. There's some serious things they need to get sorted before the end of october IMO...

 

[Urgat]

I think they're fooling themselves if they think they can get final beta sorted by 28th October tbh. There's some serious things they need to get sorted before the end of october IMO...

I kind of agree, TBH.

Don't get me wrong... I love the game already, I was massively into the original (and elite 2) and ED really captures the spirit of both games for me.

Add in a HOTAS and head tracking... And you are pretty much fulfilling the dreams of 12 year old me.

The multiplayer part is very worrying though. I mainly play in solo at the moment, because the net code has been so unreliable.

For a game that was pitched as "Elite- with multiplayer" this is something they have to get right.

Ill play it is solo if i have to... But i imagine a big draw for many, was the boyhood dream of playing elite with friends.


On an unrelated note... Holy shit those Elite 'condas can turn fast!

 

[old.Tohtori]

In game devving the multiplayer bit is almsot always the hindering point. You basically have two options; make solo game and stick some kind of multiplayer on it, or make a game that's based on the whole idea of multiplayer. Can see from other games how that pans out(usually).

From what you guys are saying i think they might have put multiplayer on the backburner in the early stages of the project and that's why it now has to play ketchup a bit.

That also probably means that they have more people working on it so it will speed the process up.

 

[Athan]

Today's newsletter is announcing the end of Beta availability, although not an actual release date just yet (they teased that we should see that in next week's newsletter):

After November 22nd the opportunity to join the Beta will no longer be available for new players, but the Beta backers can continue to test (and play!) the game until the release of the game and beyond. All Beta backers will continue getting builds to test and play up until the final release.

 

[TdC]

updated to the latest beta version last night. had a bang around with the default Warthog HOTAS defaults and, while it's not too shabby it doesn't have everything. I have some schematics of how I did mine in the scripting engine if anyone's not running a Saitek.

 

[Athan]

Newsletter #48 is out.

We are delighted to announce Tuesday 16th December as the release date for Elite: Dangerous!

...

Every Alpha and Beta backer will receive a pre-release ‘Preview’’ build (which we have called Gamma in development-speak in the past) on November 22nd, and can continue to play, receive updates, and help us verify it before the final game is released on December 16th.

 

[Jupitus]

Yep - lots of doubters on the Frontier forums about the game being 'ready', but I remain optimistic

 

[Scouse]

Fucking god damn you Elite Dangerous

I lost everything some time ago when a bug spawned me into the walls of a space station when I'd bought a load of cargo. It pissed me off royally as I got "into debt" to rebuy my old ship and it's taken some time to get out.

Finally I've managed to save up enough cash so I could start doing some high value trading runs to settle my debts. Found two missions for 7 superconducters each for around 70k - and a mission for 130k for 8 consumer technology.

Just managed to scrape enough cash to buy the necessary and fuel my ship to it's destination. Couldn't launch tho - I presume it was busy in Dahan station and the client just sat there doing nothing. So I logged out.

Logged straight back in. To the station wall. Exploded. Lost everything. More debt.


Total ragequit. TOTAL.

 

[Scouse]

Yep - lots of doubters on the Frontier forums about the game being 'ready', but I remain optimistic

It's a long way from ready IMO.

Entering hyperspace? Jerky as hell. Exiting supercruise? Anywhere from 3 to 12 seconds and a horridly jarring "everything appears" moment. Nearing destination whilst in supercruise? Pause whilst it loads or downloads something.

The bugs I can live with tbh. But the basic mechanics don't seem to be improving. Maybe people just aren't reporting them any more - but if it's like this at launch I can see certain parts of the press giving it a kicking - and they don't seem like small easily fixable issues tbh.

 

[Jupitus]

Fucking god damn you Elite Dangerous

I lost everything some time ago when a bug spawned me into the walls of a space station when I'd bought a load of cargo. It pissed me off royally as I got "into debt" to rebuy my old ship and it's taken some time to get out.

Finally I've managed to save up enough cash so I could start doing some high value trading runs to settle my debts. Found two missions for 7 superconducters each for around 70k - and a mission for 130k for 8 consumer technology.

Just managed to scrape enough cash to buy the necessary and fuel my ship to it's destination. Couldn't launch tho - I presume it was busy in Dahan station and the client just sat there doing nothing. So I logged out.

Logged straight back in. To the station wall. Exploded. Lost everything. More debt.


Total ragequit. TOTAL.

I actually managed to fly out when trapped in the station like this, but I do know what you mean! Build up a little slower and keep insurance money available... I keep telling my son the same thing

 

[Scouse]

I actually managed to fly out when trapped in the station like this, but I do know what you mean! Build up a little slower and keep insurance money available... I keep telling my son the same thing

Shouldn't have to. It's nice to "risk it all" when you could get intercepted by a NCP pirate or even a player who's being a cunt with a bellyfull of cargo and a single destination to go to.

Only for the game client to fuck you in the ass with a bug that's been unpatched for a long time

 

[Jupitus]

It's a long way from ready IMO.

Entering hyperspace? Jerky as hell. Exiting supercruise? Anywhere from 3 to 12 seconds and a horridly jarring "everything appears" moment. Nearing destination whilst in supercruise? Pause whilst it loads or downloads something.

The bugs I can live with tbh. But the basic mechanics don't seem to be improving. Maybe people just aren't reporting them any more - but if it's like this at launch I can see certain parts of the press giving it a kicking - and they don't seem like small easily fixable issues tbh.

Hmmm.... I travelled away from the 'core' systems and since then the game has been very smooth without crashes or hangs at all for me. I'll port back over to Eranin in the next day or so and see if it's still smooth...

 

[Jupitus]

Shouldn't have to. It's nice to "risk it all" when you could get intercepted by a NCP pirate or even a player who's being a cunt with a bellyfull of cargo and a single destination to go to.

Only for the game client to fuck you in the ass with a bug that's been unpatched for a long time

I don't disagree, and I enjoy a bit of risk taking just like the next.... 153k trip to where in 10 mins??? Awww g'wan then, I'll give it a try

 

[Scouse]

Hmmm.... I travelled away from the 'core' systems and since then the game has been very smooth without crashes or hangs at all for me. I'll port back over to Eranin in the next day or so and see if it's still smooth...

How about when you hit hyperspace? Does the animation jerk for you? For me it runs at about 50fps, but freezes for half a second at a time, jerky jerky 2fps and then back to 50.

Then it drops me out by the sun, nicely...

I've not been much further out than one hop from SOL (it won't let you go there) - but it's pretty quiet out there and I get the same shit (as does everyone I know IRL who plays it).

 

[Jupitus]

How about when you hit hyperspace? Does the animation jerk for you? For me it runs at about 50fps, but freezes for half a second at a time, jerky jerky 2fps and then back to 50.

Then it drops me out by the sun, nicely...

I've not been much further out than one hop from SOL (it won't let you go there) - but it's pretty quiet out there and I get the same shit (as does everyone I know IRL who plays it).

Nope - all pretty smooth.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying those problems don't exist. I was getting very peed off with killing the process etc myself on a very regular basis (perhaps 10 times a night) but I have been very satisfied recently. As I said, I'll head back to busier systems to test

 

[Jupitus]

Hi @Scouse

So, I have spent a bit of time in busier areas and although I have not had any crashes or bad stutter I can definitely report some very slow exits from SC, slow jumps, and slow launches too. All seems to be a lot slower in response to be fair.

I may go far from the madding crowd again

 

[Scouse]

So, I have spent a bit of time in busier areas and although I have not had any crashes or bad stutter I can definitely report some very slow exits from SC, slow jumps, and slow launches too. All seems to be a lot slower in response to be fair.

Logged back on to make up some of the cash I lost. I got fined 40k (not paid it) because I took a mission to deliver 20 indium to somewhere very easily reachable 1 jump away with 45 minutes to do so.

Jumped, got there, tried to hand over the cargo - it was marked as "stolen".

The tickets I raised about the jumps have all been closed as "resolved". Which ain't 100% true...

 

[Urgat]

Finally got my viper upgraded to a level where it is outstandingly beastly in a fight.

I wish i had the patience to trade... As that is obvioisly where the big money is... I prolly would have a clipper by now... It just bores the shit outa me.

Ill stck to bounty hunting. Those 160k contracts fior elite condas are fun and challenging to collect.

On the subject of release... I love the game, but am with scouse. Its not ready. By a fair margin IMO.