Now, That's What I Call a Glitch in my Network Connection :)
- Thread starter Whipped
- Start date
don't waste ur time with darkstar unless ur really bored 
all u do is jump from system to system to the same old stuff again and again
#1 shoot down pirates, #2a) jump to the next system or #2b)talk to quest npc to #3 shoot down another squad of stupid pirates while flying backwards so u can complete the quest and jump on the the next similar quest...
the only thing remotly interesting are the cutscenes of the story... but don't expect too much here either, the plot is something so unbelievably new it will take u less than 30 min to guess who the bad guy working with the aliens is (oops spoiled ya) just to discover a few hours later that saving the universe actually could have been done in 30 min if the char u are playing would have had half the brain of Dan Quale
all u do is jump from system to system to the same old stuff again and again
#1 shoot down pirates, #2a) jump to the next system or #2b)talk to quest npc to #3 shoot down another squad of stupid pirates while flying backwards so u can complete the quest and jump on the the next similar quest...
the only thing remotly interesting are the cutscenes of the story... but don't expect too much here either, the plot is something so unbelievably new it will take u less than 30 min to guess who the bad guy working with the aliens is (oops spoiled ya) just to discover a few hours later that saving the universe actually could have been done in 30 min if the char u are playing would have had half the brain of Dan Quale
Not really, the problem is that they have pretty much all the basic features like energy control advanced targeting stuff etc but there is nothing apart from those basics and the fight u are having again and again and again is 4-8 enemies closing in against you or sometimes one quest npc who doesn't do shit
You blast one down before they reach you then they start circling around you firing salvos while u push down the reverse thrust button and point and click enemies to death
Sometimes there are enemies that got 2 instead of one braincell and they stop circling if ur going backwards to slow, but as u got the plasma addon, u can either boost ur shieldenergy regeneration so u can ignore those few till its their turn to be clicked or u can just use the level 6 boost (maxlevel is 20 or so) that is a pb:ae stun for a few seconds or you could call it an "I win button"
Oh and did I forgot to mention, they got the great idea to use a scaling systems so enemies adapt to ur level... Coz obviously leveling is such a great idea and why waste time for balancing just include another feature that doesn't make a difference in the game
You blast one down before they reach you then they start circling around you firing salvos while u push down the reverse thrust button and point and click enemies to death
Sometimes there are enemies that got 2 instead of one braincell and they stop circling if ur going backwards to slow, but as u got the plasma addon, u can either boost ur shieldenergy regeneration so u can ignore those few till its their turn to be clicked or u can just use the level 6 boost (maxlevel is 20 or so) that is a pb:ae stun for a few seconds or you could call it an "I win button"
Oh and did I forgot to mention, they got the great idea to use a scaling systems so enemies adapt to ur level... Coz obviously leveling is such a great idea and why waste time for balancing just include another feature that doesn't make a difference in the game
Athan
Resident Freddy
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2003
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- 1,063
No-one's really done playable space combat since Elite, have they ?
Although reflecting on the mid 80s when I played Elite a lot I do have to wonder if I'd find it anything like as addictive now. Elite back then was very, very innovative; the 3D graphics, 'dogfighting' that took skill, upgrading of your ship, trading, a few missions etc. But these days none of those are very special at all.
-Ath, oft-times pondering learning enough OpenGL (no, not DirectX) to cook up some space sim.
Although reflecting on the mid 80s when I played Elite a lot I do have to wonder if I'd find it anything like as addictive now. Elite back then was very, very innovative; the 3D graphics, 'dogfighting' that took skill, upgrading of your ship, trading, a few missions etc. But these days none of those are very special at all.
-Ath, oft-times pondering learning enough OpenGL (no, not DirectX) to cook up some space sim.
Athan
Resident Freddy
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2003
- Messages
- 1,063
Well, I WAS bored, so I downloaded the demo to see what it was like.
Is there any way to skip over cut scenes ? Very annoying to see the same one time and again when you're only trying stuff out and keep forgetting to keep an eye on your shields, so do the same bit a few times....
To be honest I was actively resisting the "go backwards lots" method of combat, but don't like what then ends up happening. Basically it's "1) find the right speed, 2) follow the arrow for the selected target, 3) pummel away until it's dead, all whilst 4) hoping your shields don't run out". And they've used pretty much the same setup as Freelancer did, i.e. use mouse control (yes I know it allows for joysticks too), move mouse off centre to steer that way, and for combat that's moving your weapon cursor too, so it just becomes a game of keeping the weapon cursor on top of the enemy predicted position cursor *yawn*.
Trade is annoying. Sure you can take a look at the system you intend to go to for its Exports, then write those down or remember the list of 5, and try and find something cheap in your current system that's NOT on that list, but that's just a pain in the ass. There's really no reason to not be able to specify your destination system and have the computer suggest likely good trades. The challenge should be in getting the cargo there (quickly enough so that prices haven't changed so much the items are no longer profitable), not working out what the cargo should be. At this kind of tech level the prices in other systems ARE going to be known. Maybe range limit that, but for systems in the same 'cluster' there's no reason not to have the info.
The whole Cargo Pod thing is weird too, and annoying. The first time I decide to trade I jump to the target system and pirates decide they want my cargo. I try ro do a runner, nothing happening, I end up dying. Ok, try again, jump, get threatened, right let's drop the cargo so I can fight them, do so, then errrrr, where's my cargo gone? I assume one of the pirates picked it up before I blew him up.... So had a 3rd go which involved running until the pirates turned actively aggro, THEN dropping the pod and fighting the pirates. Thankfully that worked.
I'm going to have to dig up a copy of Elite in an emulator (the PC version was naff and likely wouldn't work on XP anyway) to see if I can pin down what was done *right* in it.
-Ath
Is there any way to skip over cut scenes ? Very annoying to see the same one time and again when you're only trying stuff out and keep forgetting to keep an eye on your shields, so do the same bit a few times....
To be honest I was actively resisting the "go backwards lots" method of combat, but don't like what then ends up happening. Basically it's "1) find the right speed, 2) follow the arrow for the selected target, 3) pummel away until it's dead, all whilst 4) hoping your shields don't run out". And they've used pretty much the same setup as Freelancer did, i.e. use mouse control (yes I know it allows for joysticks too), move mouse off centre to steer that way, and for combat that's moving your weapon cursor too, so it just becomes a game of keeping the weapon cursor on top of the enemy predicted position cursor *yawn*.
Trade is annoying. Sure you can take a look at the system you intend to go to for its Exports, then write those down or remember the list of 5, and try and find something cheap in your current system that's NOT on that list, but that's just a pain in the ass. There's really no reason to not be able to specify your destination system and have the computer suggest likely good trades. The challenge should be in getting the cargo there (quickly enough so that prices haven't changed so much the items are no longer profitable), not working out what the cargo should be. At this kind of tech level the prices in other systems ARE going to be known. Maybe range limit that, but for systems in the same 'cluster' there's no reason not to have the info.
The whole Cargo Pod thing is weird too, and annoying. The first time I decide to trade I jump to the target system and pirates decide they want my cargo. I try ro do a runner, nothing happening, I end up dying. Ok, try again, jump, get threatened, right let's drop the cargo so I can fight them, do so, then errrrr, where's my cargo gone? I assume one of the pirates picked it up before I blew him up.... So had a 3rd go which involved running until the pirates turned actively aggro, THEN dropping the pod and fighting the pirates. Thankfully that worked.
I'm going to have to dig up a copy of Elite in an emulator (the PC version was naff and likely wouldn't work on XP anyway) to see if I can pin down what was done *right* in it.
-Ath
Athan
Resident Freddy
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2003
- Messages
- 1,063
As I said, the PC version was crap. I think it might have been Elite Plus I had, dunno about the II version.
I'd be looking at either the BBC version or the ZX Spectrum one, the latter being what I played most. Oh, actually the Atari ST (and the Amiga one would have been mostly the same code) was good too.
-Ath
I'd be looking at either the BBC version or the ZX Spectrum one, the latter being what I played most. Oh, actually the Atari ST (and the Amiga one would have been mostly the same code) was good too.
-Ath
