PAX South - Maybe Elite's Not So Dangerous After All

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PAX South - Maybe Elite's Not So Dangerous After All

Elite: Dangerous is a space sim sandbox, but after my interview at PAX South, I'm starting to think it might not be as rough on new players as I first thought.

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Derros

Im actually interested in Elite, and since im actually getting a new computer soon that could actually run it, im starting to seriously think about getting it. I loved Freelancer, mainly for the campaign, but I really loved the idea of a living universe. My main concern is that ive never played a proper flight sim before and would get way to hung up on the flight controls, landing, dogfighting and other things to enjoy it.

Im keeping an eye on Star Citizen too, but elite is out now, and SC has made alot of promises that still need backing up.

Nekoame

Derros said:

Im actually interested in Elite, and since im actually getting a new computer soon that could actually run it, im starting to seriously think about getting it. I loved Freelancer, mainly for the campaign, but I really loved the idea of a living universe. My main concern is that ive never played a proper flight sim before and would get way to hung up on the flight controls, landing, dogfighting and other things to enjoy it.



Im keeping an eye on Star Citizen too, but elite is out now, and SC has made alot of promises that still need backing up.

Derros, as a complete new player to the flight sim genre, I can say that the controls are very easy to learn. I played some months on the mouse/keyboard and ended with a Saitek x52. The game is awesome and made me a flight sim lover <br />

PS: Try the Battle Demo of Elite Dangerous. You can find it around the internet. It is a nice way for you to test the controls and the feel of the game

Talonsin

My issue with Elite is more the time factor. By the time I find a mission, take off, warp, find the bad guys, kill the bad guys, warp back to station, land, about 25 minutes have passed and only 5 of those were having fun shooting pirates.

I only tried it a few times and just felt my time was wasted. It is totally possible things could be better now or that I was doing something wrong. I dont have hours each day to play games and when I do get an hour to play, I want to have fun for the entire hour.

svandy

Derros said:

Im actually interested in Elite, and since im actually getting a new computer soon that could actually run it, im starting to seriously think about getting it. I loved Freelancer, mainly for the campaign, but I really loved the idea of a living universe. My main concern is that ive never played a proper flight sim before and would get way to hung up on the flight controls, landing, dogfighting and other things to enjoy it.

Im keeping an eye on Star Citizen too, but elite is out now, and SC has made alot of promises that still need backing up.

I never played a space sim (other than EVE) or flight simulator before playing Elite, and I had no issues at all. The controls are pretty easy to pick up on, if a little jarring at first.

Elite is a fantastic game, and I don't regret buying it or Horizons. The game still feels like it needs more content, but they continue to add more and more and a pretty good pace. Worth the price of admission, in my opinion. My only real beef right now is that planetary landings are, frankly, pointless beyond neat screenshots. I'm hoping that with the recent alien discovery that we start getting some cool alien themed PVE on some planets in the near future.

Banegrivm

I picked this game up when it came out and man it's a snoozefest. The way they talked about it I was expecting it to be more like the original with an actual evolving story that I could have more of an involvement in. The game is bland and just feels like it has no life at all. The original, as outdated as it is, is so much better.

pantaro

it's not difficult at all. i've never played a space sim in my life til recently nor did i ever care about them in the past.i bought horizons,watched a video on the basics and did the training in game and there was nothing frustrating about it.

I even laughed to myself cause in alot of new player guides they talk about ppl crashing into walls in stations when they are new and i thought ppl actually crash in here??? lol

i loved the fact that it's a new game to me and i didnt just load it up and face-roll the game and i had to actually learn a thing or two.I think we live in a time now where games are just handed to us on a plater,because god forbid we dont have time or need to actually take the time to learn something,which is exactly why i took an interest in space sims to begin with!

Urncaller

The voice packs are really what make the game even more fun...there are voice packs you can purchase that allow you to control alot of the mechanics with your voic e as you speak to the AI he or she after learning your voice learns all kinds of stuff very fun but not needed just makes control a bit easier and more intersting as your flying as she speaks and answers questions etc

Here is al ink to what one of the packs does 

rodingo

Talonsin said:

My issue with Elite is more the time factor. By the time I find a mission, take off, warp, find the bad guys, kill the bad guys, warp back to station, land, about 25 minutes have passed and only 5 of those were having fun shooting pirates.



I only tried it a few times and just felt my time was wasted. It is totally possible things could be better now or that I was doing something wrong. I dont have hours each day to play games and when I do get an hour to play, I want to have fun for the entire hour.

Yeh it's not an instant action game by any means. You really need to have patience and ample amount of time to get things done. It's similar to EvE in those regards however the only thing you "level up" in this game is the amount of money you earn. Then you either actually get better at flying or you don't. There isn't any magical behind the scenes RNG that determines how good you are based on how long you played or how many things you killed.

The death penalty isn't too bad. I wanna say it takes around 10% of total cost of ship + mods to get back to where you were before screwing up or getting screwed (depends on your luck). So it can be worth taking some risks as trying out bounty hunting or smuggling illicit cargo. But again, you will still need ample amount of time to get anything done in a play session.

Kyleran

Talonsin said:

My issue with Elite is more the time factor. By the time I find a mission, take off, warp, find the bad guys, kill the bad guys, warp back to station, land, about 25 minutes have passed and only 5 of those were having fun shooting pirates.

I only tried it a few times and just felt my time was wasted. It is totally possible things could be better now or that I was doing something wrong. I dont have hours each day to play games and when I do get an hour to play, I want to have fun for the entire hour.

Well thats the difference between playing games vs living in virtual worlds. The latter tend to be more about what you are trying to accomplish vs having "fun" while doing so.

Sovrath

Urncaller said:

The voice packs are really what make the game even more fun...there are voice packs you can purchase that allow you to control alot of the mechanics with your voic e as you speak to the AI he or she after learning your voice learns all kinds of stuff very fun but not needed just makes control a bit easier and more intersting as your flying as she speaks and answers questions etc

Here is al ink to what one of the packs does 

Whoa! That's cool!

MadFrenchie

Urncaller said:

The voice packs are really what make the game even more fun...there are voice packs you can purchase that allow you to control alot of the mechanics with your voic e as you speak to the AI he or she after learning your voice learns all kinds of stuff very fun but not needed just makes control a bit easier and more intersting as your flying as she speaks and answers questions etc

Here is al ink to what one of the packs does 

Seriously, if that AI is as fully functional as she seems...  I all of a sudden wanna drop the cash on the game and a joystick to play it with.

Jonas_SG

I never though I would say it, but Elite Dangerous is the most limited Universe I have ever met in Space Sims. It's huge but empty.
The whole idea that there are millions of Earth-like planets, and not a single one of them have life on it that is different from Earth aka Alien life, is absurd.

Frontier created such a big world, yet it limits it self to some old IP game that is long gone.

This is why more and more players are looking at Asian games lately, because they don't limit them selves to the boundries of our own physics. If you character wants to fly, let it fly. If your character wants to run as fast as Flash, let it run. Be creative. Game world is a world where everything is possible.

Xeno.phon

Urncaller said:

The voice packs are really what make the game even more fun...there are voice packs you can purchase that allow you to control alot of the mechanics with your voic e as you speak to the AI he or she after learning your voice learns all kinds of stuff very fun but not needed just makes control a bit easier and more intersting as your flying as she speaks and answers questions etc

Here is al ink to what one of the packs does 

All I can envision is playing SOCOM and yelling "DEPLOY SATCHEL CHARGE" until my roomates told me to stfu...... as we all know, the satchel charge is never deployed.

tiger61378

For those who havn't tried out Elite...just DO IT. It may seem empty...but the real fun of Elite isn't going around following a story that's been scripted out and everyone plays the same thing, and instead creating your own path. You'll start out with a pathetic little Sidewinder with horrifically bad components and 1,000cr (or, if you start in Horizons, you'll get the same horrible POS Sidey and an SRV to play around on planets with), and then have to find your own way. Its not too hard though...just look at the station bulletin board (which is available at pretty much any station you find), pick out a job you think you can handle, and go do it. That's the grindy part of the game...do job, get money, upgrade ship, do better jobs, get more money, get better ships, etc. Once you have some cash built up though...then you can start really doing whatever. Want to be a merc going out and fighting wars for different factions? Just check out the news (in game and online), look for places where there's civil wars going on, and go get stuck in (you get paid by one of the factions when you do, based on what ships you're killing...the bigger the ship, the better the reward). Want to be a bounty hunter/cop type and eliminate criminals? Add a kill warrant scanner and a drive interdictor, and go hunting for wanted ships. Kill them, collect money. Want to be a space trucker? Head out to Hutton, join the Hutton Truckers, and start doing trade runs (basically, buy stuff at a system where its cheap, haul it to somewhere its expensive, and repeat....probably the most soul-sucking thing in the game though, IMHO). Want to go out and do the Star Trek thing, exploring strange new worlds and going where nobody has gone before? Outfit a ship for maximum jump range, add a fuel scoop, pick a direction, and go until the space madness forces you to either return or become a drooling idiot that's constantly hearing voices that arn't there (I'm one of the insane ones who find solace in the deep emptiness of the Black, and am currently on a multi-month trip to the far ends of the Milky Way, just because I can).

Or...you can link up with one of the major powers in the human "bubble" (the tiny little speck of inhabited stars out of the vastness of the Galaxy itself) and involve yourself in their politics and petty wars (again, I'm an Explorer, and have a slightly skewed view on it...when I look back at the bubble and its just a little blob of systems smaller than some of the Nebulae I see out there, it all seems kinda pointless). If you do join up with them, there's a bunch of different activities, mostly revolving around either trade or combat (fortifying/preparing systems with materials from the "home" system, or going out and killing anything that's not affiliated with your chosen Power, preferably in their own systems).

The only way I'd suggest not giving Elite a shot though...is if you want a game where everything will be spoon-fed to you, and can be "beaten" within 20-50 hours. Elite has NO hand holding, its just go do whatever whenever, and it takes time to do anything (space is big...even at many times light speed there's places that can take close to 2 hours to reach...just sitting there watching the screen for the whole time with nothing to do but watch Netflix or read). If you're not prepared for that kind of time commitments, look elsewhere. I hear Star Citizen is better for stuff like that, since its more of an instant thrill....when it works.

Leon1e

hurr durr ... disable flight assist and see if controls are easy again  

MrSnuffles

Talonsin said:

My issue with Elite is more the time factor. By the time I find a mission, take off, warp, find the bad guys, kill the bad guys, warp back to station, land, about 25 minutes have passed and only 5 of those were having fun shooting pirates.

I only tried it a few times and just felt my time was wasted. It is totally possible things could be better now or that I was doing something wrong. I dont have hours each day to play games and when I do get an hour to play, I want to have fun for the entire hour.

One needs to approach the game different than your regular scripted game.

For me it is a very relaxing experience to just explore the systems, pick up some interesting missions on the way while slowly growing my assets and knowledge about the universe.

There is no rush or urgency to reach max level. No carrot on a stick for me to follow. I like to play games how i want to play them not how some game developer decided for me to play it. 

Elite Dangerous delivers an experience not scripted entertainment. Not that anything is wrong with the later, it's just refreshing to see something different.

Moonstruck1969

As others have pointed out, it's the difference between a scripted story game and a true sandbox universe. I've been playing since beta and I went into it thinking, "If I was a space pilot in the 34th century, this is probably exactly what I'd be doing. Much like Malcolm Reynolds, I'm just flying my ship, taking jobs and trying to make my own way in the galaxy." It's not about following a long line of quests. It's about escaping the reality of present day and losing yourself in the adventure of living a different life. Much like real life, it is exactly what you make of it.

Sirmatthias

this is one of the best games for people who create their own path... I left the player starting area a month ago and became a bounty hunter, looking for the strong that pray on the weak. I've since upgraded to an ASP Explorer and have it almost fully decked out. I think I might switch to the Federal campaign so I can personally own a Federal warship called the Federal Corvette. Only recently was it able to be bought by the private consumer. I think from there who knows? will an Alien Race show up? will I be ready? will my fuel leak snap my cockpit on cit-45F? sure is a fun game for one guy

cesmode8

Ive never played space sims before, aside from maybe 5-10 hours of Eve about 8 years ago.

I picked up elite dangerous on a steam sale around Thanksgiving.  Loved it.  Purchased a HOTAS(Hands on Thrust and stick) so that I get the complete feel of piloting a ship in space using a thruster for acceleration and a joystick for maneuvering.  Worth the price.

I played for a month or two, loved it.  Started out bounty hunting and making a lot of credits.  Then I began grinding out reputation so that I could enter the Sol system before making my first exploration trip.  Made my first trip to the edge of the spiral/ring that our solar system sits in before I realized that I need a ship that can jump further than 28 LY at a clip.  Captured some great screenshots, discosvered an earth like and stopped a black hole on the way back (totally cool!  My daughter and I were flipping out when it seemed by ship was almost getting sucked in....my screen got distorted, physics and light became distorted...turned my view slightly to snap a screenshot in a second and then full thrusters to escape!) .  I then wanted to check out mining, its relaxing but can be boring.  I want to get into piracy maybe, before I make another trip out (this time to the galactic core?)  I am now on a small break playing Warframe and D3.

Point is, theres a ton to do.  And Ive always had plans on returning.  After watching the ASTRA voice pack, holy hell.  Thats going to be fun!!  

DarkEvilHatred

I don't understand the point of this article.

If you are going to write about a game, please at least play it enough to know something about it.

I feel like you wrote this article as you got paid to do so but didn't really want to take any time to play the game and tell us what you REALLY thought about it.

P.S. I actually own this game and Horizens and my only complaint is it takes a good deal of your time to get around. It's not really a game for people who have jobs or a life as it is usually very time consuming. If you have the time to spare though, it is a great game and has much potential for becoming even better in the future.

Jonas_SG

DarkEvilHatred said:

I don't understand the point of this article.

If you are going to write about a game, please at least play it enough to know something about it.

I feel like you wrote this article as you got paid to do so but didn't really want to take any time to play the game and tell us what you REALLY thought about it.

P.S. I actually own this game and Horizens and my only complaint is it takes a good deal of your time to get around. It's not really a game for people who have jobs or a life as it is usually very time consuming. If you have the time to spare though, it is a great game and has much potential for becoming even better in the future.

But the Universe is so empty with out Aliens in it.

Erillion

Jonas_SG said:

But the Universe is so empty with out Aliens in it.

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Alien_Structure

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Unknown_Artefact

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Thargoids

Bring a smartbomb.


Have fun

enesisxlr8

I have been playing ED for some time. Currently in an anaconda after sinking many long hours into trading back and forth and starting from scratch. ( nearly losing it all on a few occasions ). At times I would go out and blast things in an high res point or try some missions. However I felt as many have that I was wasting time when I could be making $ trading etc

However since horizons and speaking to a few ingame mates I have learnt its not all about getting the best ship or making the most money in the time you have. It's about the adventure and the storys you can tell from it. Once you can imerse yourself in the game and not be concerned with your time spent making $, but what you achieve within that time you will really start to enjoy the game.

Try new things, challenge yourself! then you start to experience all that is ED

abnesher

DarkEvilHatred said:

I don't understand the point of this article.



If you are going to write about a game, please at least play it enough to know something about it.



I feel like you wrote this article as you got paid to do so but didn't really want to take any time to play the game and tell us what you REALLY thought about it.



P.S. I actually own this game and Horizens and my only complaint is it takes a good deal of your time to get around. It's not really a game for people who have jobs or a life as it is usually very time consuming. If you have the time to spare though, it is a great game and has much potential for becoming even better in the future.

I have a full time job, 2 kids and a *cough*loving*cough* wife. Apart from that I've got a few timeconsuming hobbies, with gaming being one of them.

Seeing the prices of some of the larger ships, and comparing it to the time I spend in-game and how slow I make money due to RL schedule, had me bummed out some months ago, BUT....then I realized that I was playing the game wrong.

If you set your own realistic goals and play your own pace, you will accomplish many many things. You can really do a lot of stuff in this game, you just have to decide on which stuff you want to do first. Oh, and dont JUST do combat, if that's your thing....do combat with trading on the side, and exploring on the side, and mining on the side, and Community goals on the side, and smuggling on the side, and factiongrinding on the side, and Powerplay on the side, and testing out cheaper ships on the side and suddenly without noticing it you can afford that Anaconda that all the I-play-10-hours-a-day-players have been bored of for the last 10 months

I didn't even mention planetary landings. Do a bunch of surface missions and get a feeling of that gameplay. Yes its credits pr. hour is bad, but screw that...it's fun if you don't always stare at your cyber-wallet. (plus you can still grind factions doing surface missions)

Oh, oh and that sneaky aliens-storyline starting to show itself.

Bottomline, this is a game you can play 10 hours a day OR you can play it a couple of hours a week.