Elite Dangerous

[Guest Killjointica]

Alright, not sure who here has played this game or played the original from God knows when. Late eighties, early nineties, not sure. Anywho, the current title as it stands has been up for a good while now, few years I believe, on Steam. It plays a lot like a flight simulator, controls that are generally built for use with a flight stick, but can be managed just as well with a controller or mouse/keyboard setup. Along with this, this game has a massive learning curve that can be somewhat difficult to overcome, making this a game not suited for most people. Along with that, is something of a grind to be able to acquire better gear. In my experience, the first while will consist heavily of basically being a "space trucking simulator." Hauling cargo and data between stations and outposts, gaining reputation with local factions in those places and grinding away for cash and ranks. On top of that you can choose a one of several superpowers in the galaxy to align yourself with. Or not. Perks can come along with aligning yourself with a Federation, an Empire or an Alliance. I'm not sure if your starting spot is entirely random or not, but you'll find yourself starting somewhere within the realm of one of the superpowers and certain options more immediate than others in terms of progression.

 

Now, here's the thing with Elite Dangerous that I have to put out there first and foremost. Like many other online only games which require you to connect to a central server, I always ALWAYS ALWAYS question the end of life plan for these games. Dozens of games from the past fifteen years which relied on a central server to play at all have either died due to either age or their dev/publisher going bankrupt or being bought and mismanaged or stupid behavior by the dev/publisher which killed the game. In several instances games have had their source code put out by the developer so that players can mod the game and have player owned servers which keeps the game alive. I just feel mentioning this helps people become more aware of how many good games have died because of their reliance on a central server.

 

Now, the first few bites of the meat of this game are big ones. Luckily, since the games inception, the tutorials have been re-done and are far more intuitive than before and make much more in terms of understanding your keybindings and movement controls. And this is a hurtle that's huge. Once you actually engage in battle, you'll find that a good understanding of maneuvering with the six degrees of freedom are essential in every dog fight. Thing is, Elite Dangerous is something of a sink or swim scenario there. The only way to get better is to engage in fights, problem is the AI already has an advantage in understanding the game mechanics and players who have hundreds of hours in this game will be able to take you out in literally seconds, despite your best efforts. However, most people tend to keep to themselves and not bother you, so long as you aren't running around racking up a bounty on your own head. In some of the busier systems with more human players moving about, trolls (like any online game) will always be there with vastly overpowered ships stalking the shipping lanes and taking out those who can barely defend themselves. But of course, the game gives you plenty of options to avoid things like this. Now, in my personal opinion, I've gone around to various sources on Reddit and Steam forums to read up on tactics on engaging other human pilots. Or how to run away. You can find tons of other details on ideas on how to go about your business and plenty of tips on getting started in what I can only describe as an almost overwhelmingly massive area to explore.

 

I could say a whole bunch more, but this is already turning into a text wall. Point is, if you ever find yourself with the extra cash on hand and are looking for a challenging, but surprisingly entertaining space flight sim, Elite Dangerous does deliver. It requires a ton of patience and planning, but its reward system can keep you going and saying to yourself, "Okay, one more run. Okay... one more run."

 

SlamifiedBuddafied on Steam. Killjointica on the Frontier (the dev/pub for this game) identification.

[Guest JimAlmeida]

Well, it is my belief that games with centered teamwork gameplay as this one or Star Citizen will be the games of the future for organizations like of our own, going lone wolf on games like these ain't fun at all for me as you had said, you're bullied by more experienced players. Only reason that I don't play Elite, not only because I fear for my own Real Life, but also, because Star Citizen may offer a more complete experience which is very similar to that show The Expanse, which I like.

[Guest Killjointica]

Well, it is my belief that games with centered teamwork gameplay as this one or Star Citizen will be the games of the future for organizations like of our own, going lone wolf on games like these ain't fun at all for me as you had said, you're bullied by more experienced players. Only reason that I don't play Elite, not only because I fear for my own Real Life, but also, because Star Citizen may offer a more complete experience which is very similar to that show The Expanse, which I like.

I honestly haven't looked to much into Star Citizen, but what little I have seen, it is a full on simulator that has been fleshed out over the years. I think Elite Dangerous maybe a bit more streamlined. I can say, in my own experience, most players will leave you alone while your running around, whether your hauling cargo, making data deliveries and the such. But I do very much agree that games like Star Citizen can hold a bright future for clan groups and some team effort can go a very very long way. One thing I will note, like other games such as Eve Online, these games take an IMMENSE amount of effort too, especially if your going lone wolf like I have been. Once you begin making a head and have several plans for combat, evasion, trade routes and who your allied with, things do come together a wee bit.

 

In the future, I really do want to look into Star Citizen, but with the switching from Cry Engine over to that Amazon platform...thing? And the fact the game is still in development and is generally incomplete, it's something I would rather continue waiting on. I will have to take another look at Star Citizen, the last time I looked into it was back in the Summer of 2016 when the entire Cry-Tek thing went down.

[Guest Ret.1stSgt.Bwa=US=]

Elite Dangerous is a pretty fun game, played it with an army buddy for about a month straight. Id Re download it if people are interested in playing it again.

[Guest AudioChocolate]

I've got a copy of Elite Dangerous too. The game got old playing it alone, but I'd download it again if we can get a regular group going.

[Guest L0G1C]

I'm always up for gaming with clan buddies, no mater the game. I do have a copy of elite dangerous as well but tbh have only played it for about 10 minutes! lol

[Guest Killjointica]

Well, at the moment, I'm somewhat "unavailable" in Elite Dangerous, considering I'm just over 15,000 light years away from human controlled space, headed toward a pair of unusually close black holes for a high paying mission.

 

It's getting weird out there by myself man. I haven't seen ANYONE FOR DAYS.

[Guest CPT.Vanarambaion=US=]

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[Guest Killjointica]

Well if I run into Dave and Hal and the space baby out there, I'll be sure to screenshot it.

[Guest digit4lgh0st]

I snagged it when it was on sale a few weeks ago and even bought a HOTAS to play it with. I stumbled through the basic tutorials using an Xbox controller. I'd definitely be interesting in playing with you guys if a group gets organized.

[Guest AudioChocolate]

@RT.digit4lgh0st=US=

 

Quite a few members have the game. We should all arrange to group up sometime. Maybe this upcoming weekend?

[Guest digit4lgh0st]

Barring any unforseen circumstances, I should be doing my JCS interview Friday @ 2030hrs and hopefully my E-0 Orientation that evening also, if not I'll try and get it done Saturday evening @ 2030 hrs. Aside from that I should be free

[Guest Ednac]

I play Elite Dangerous and enjoy playing it, we could all go to a high risk zone or battle and kill bounties and such.