Elite: Dangerous

jumbobreakfast · 17-05-2014 12:25am #1

Alpha 4 is out, I'm on premium beta so I have to wait until the 30th to try the latest builds but the single player missions that you get with the premium beta have been fun so far. I play a lot of battlefield and arma so I wasnt sure that flying and fighting with a space ship would hold much interest for me but they have some really interesting game mechanics. The main ones being that not only do you have to avoid being shot and balance power between systems in your ship but you also have to manage your ships temperature. By going into stealth mode you reduce your chance of being locked onto but you have the drawback that your ship holds in heat (and your shield is off) and if your temperature gets too high your ship's weapons stop working. So, mid-battle you might have to use your heat sink to dump heat quickly but this reveals your location and because of having no shield on you have to bolt out of there. I'm looking forward to getting access to the multiplayer content such as trading, docking in space stations and using the hyperspace jump:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIPVegyKksI

jumbobreakfast · 18-05-2014 12:20pm

Another video that captures most of what the latest Alpha brings and will be available to premium beta buyers on the 30th of may:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q04axMTIIO8

ZeroThreat · 18-05-2014 12:42pm

when will the game go live?

Yeti Beast · 18-05-2014 12:53pm

Was very tempted by this, but really had to curb my early access backing ways. How demanding is it to run, jumbobreakfast?

Sabre Man · 18-05-2014 12:58pm

Thanks for posting. It's looking very good so far.

ZeroThreat · 18-05-2014 3:17pm

I'm interested in both this and star citizen, although SC is still very early in development phase afaik, and it's not certain that a game will be released eventually.

jumbobreakfast · 18-05-2014 4:50pm

From their store the minimum system requirements are:

Direct X 11
Quad Core CPU ( 4 x 2Ghz is a reasonable minimum)
2 GB System RAM (more is always better)
DX 10 hardware GPU with 1GB video ram
Nvidia GTX 260
ATI 4870HD
Internet connection

So running fine on my 4770K + nvidia 780 and I'm using keyboard and mouse.

I backed it during the kickstarter last year with a small amount and then was able to upgrade to the premium beta a few months ago so it broke the cost up a bit. I loved Frontier on the Amiga so I couldnt resist even if it wasn't the most sensible purchase

. Another thing that sold it was the Oculus Rift support.

Here's a summary of how the galaxy will work and all the past newsletters are here too:
http://eepurl.com/TOdBf

degrassinoel · 18-05-2014 6:43pm

ZeroThreat wrote: »

I'm interested in both this and star citizen, although SC is still very early in development phase afaik, and it's not certain that a game will be released eventually.

with over 40million dollars in crowdfunding backing it will have to be

ZeroThreat · 19-05-2014 12:35am

degrassinoel wrote: »

with over 40million dollars in crowdfunding backing it will have to be

either that or the developers will have to go into hiding.

degrassinoel · 20-05-2014 12:56am

yeah lol, 40 million could buy a lot of hiding places

Kiith · 20-05-2014 9:19am

We'd still find them.

I'm more excited about Elite to be honest, as Star Citizen is a long way off it's final form (!!). This looks a lot further along, and i can't wait to give it a shot, especially if i can get my hands on a Rift.

humanji · 20-05-2014 10:26am

Is there any indication as to the variety of activities in this? I mean, the previous ones had cargo hauling and fighting, with some mining thrown in, and that was pretty much it. The context of the hauling and fighting changed, but it was all essentially the same. Have they said if there's anything else to do, like exploration, owning companies etc?

That's the only thing the worries me about this. I wouldn't have much of an interest repeating things over and over on increasing difficulty levels, just for an Elite title and exploring on it's own would be fairly meaningless if there's no incentive other than your own curiosity.

Kiith · 20-05-2014 10:37am

That's true actually. A billion stars of nothing is still nothing.

humanji · 20-05-2014 11:10am

That's one of the things that interests me in Star Citizen, in that exploration is a viable career with scanning asteroids, salvaging old wrecks, discovering nav points etc. Hopefully they have plans for something similar to occupy people in Elite. It'd be odd if they didn't.

Baked.noodle · 20-05-2014 2:12pm

I read inthe FAQ that some features of the DLC will involve first person elements.

Can I walk around the ship, planets and space stations?Edit

Yes, you will be able to walk around ship interiors, board and steal other ships, walk around in space stations, do space walks to repair your ship, operate land and underwater vehicles and walk on full 1:1 scale populated planets with living cities, forests and be able to big-game hunt wildlife as part of expansions.
The scope for Elite is huge, so a sensible strategy is used to add to the game in stages.
See this Zoo Tycoon - Dev Diary for a glimpse of the technology that Frontier Developments have for this.

I think the game will be expanded on long term, so I hope the depth of the game will grow in time. Looking forward to the sheer scale. It could be awesome.

AtomicHorror · 20-05-2014 3:37pm

humanji wrote: »

Is there any indication as to the variety of activities in this? I mean, the previous ones had cargo hauling and fighting, with some mining thrown in, and that was pretty much it. The context of the hauling and fighting changed, but it was all essentially the same. Have they said if there's anything else to do, like exploration, owning companies etc?

That's the only thing the worries me about this. I wouldn't have much of an interest repeating things over and over on increasing difficulty levels, just for an Elite title and exploring on it's own would be fairly meaningless if there's no incentive other than your own curiosity.

Exploration is designed as a viable profession. The map data available to players from authorities is relatively low detail and gets worse once you move outside the core systems. So those authorities and I think other players, can trade in map data, with places of interest getting the best prices.

Players can discover entire new star systems and dark systems (planetary systems with no star) and features within known systems such as planets, asteroids, comets, shipwrecks, "beauty spots" and miscellaneous freaky space anomalies.

On the point of heat management, exploration functions such as scanning and launching probes increase your heat signature making the player highly visible to anyone else in the system.

AtomicHorror · 20-05-2014 3:41pm

AtomicHorror wrote: »

Exploration is designed as a viable profession. The map data available to players from authorities is relatively low detail and gets worse once you move outside the core systems. So those authorities and I think other players, can trade in map data, with places of interest getting the best prices.

Players can discover entire new star systems and dark systems (planetary systems with no star) and features within known systems such as planets, asteroids, comets, shipwrecks, "beauty spots" and miscellaneous freaky space anomalies.

On the point of heat management, exploration functions such as scanning and launching probes increase your heat signature making the player highly visible to anyone else in the system.

Full details here:
http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6418

The same forum answers pretty much any and all questions on features in the game. Very comprehensive.

humanji · 20-05-2014 4:30pm

Cheers!

Kiith · 20-05-2014 4:36pm

I love the idea of discovering planets and solar systems. Would be great if they had a ton of random things to find as well (derelict ships, spacial anomolies, ancient tech etc...). Basically the best parts of Star Trek.

humanji · 20-05-2014 4:39pm

Kiith wrote: »

I love the idea of discovering planets and solar systems. Would be great if they had a ton of random things to find as well (derelict ships, spacial anomolies, ancient tech etc...). Basically the best parts of Star Trek.

Green chicks in bikinis?

Kiith · 20-05-2014 4:40pm

Of course. No day exploring the galaxy is complete without a sexy Orion slave girl to come home to :P

AtomicHorror · 21-05-2014 7:36am

Malevolent Entities with Ulterior Motives are also an extremely important part of space exploration, but sadly no mention of these.

Rory28 · 21-05-2014 4:26pm

I just found out about this game and star citizen today and now i need to start saving for a new pc to play one of them on. or both of them. Star citizen sounds better imho, but as long as i can be a space pirate or Mal Reynolds incarnate i will be a happy man.

Baked.noodle · 26-05-2014 12:06am

Elite: Dangerous Progress Diary #12

I think the system specs just jumped a tad :pac:

ZeroThreat · 26-05-2014 12:29pm

Baked.noodle wrote: »

Elite: Dangerous Progress Diary #12

I think the system specs just jumped a tad :pac:

Intel Haswell I7 and gtx780ti minimum along with 32GB 2133mhz ram.....

*screams and faints*

humanji · 26-05-2014 12:51pm

That is pretty spectacular looking.

_Kaiser_ · 26-05-2014 1:44pm

Looks fantastic.. I may need to buy a gaming PC again

I just figured out what the new Hyperspace jump sequence reminds me of too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aeoi_lWGuoc

In fact from the bridge of that Pyton(?) you could almost rename it Destiny

ZeroThreat · 26-05-2014 3:26pm

Baked.noodle wrote: »

Elite: Dangerous Progress Diary #12

I think the system specs just jumped a tad :pac:

I wonder if we'll get to have a 'this is no cave....' experience if you choose to lank on a random asteroid.

AtomicHorror · 27-05-2014 3:40pm

Baked.noodle wrote: »

Elite: Dangerous Progress Diary #12

I think the system specs just jumped a tad :pac:

Anecdotal evidence, but I've heard from some Alpha backers that it's fairly forgiving if you're willing to drop some video settings.

I really hope so, because I don't think my 2013 iMac is much of a powerhouse.

jumbobreakfast · 29-05-2014 9:46am

Looks like Elite: Dangerous will support the Oculus Rift Devkit 2:

https://twitter.com/DavidBraben/status/471717110679220224/photo/1

humanji · 29-05-2014 9:52am

Who's in the beta (hopefully. I'm looking at you Star Citizen!!!) tomorrow? I caved and bought into it, just because I've more money than sense (and not that much money, actually).

jumbobreakfast · 29-05-2014 10:19am

I'm in and looking forward to it. I reckon I'll spend most of the first few hours getting frustrated with the controls because I think the layout will change quite a bit from the single player sneak peek we got. For the same reason I'm not too interested in PvP combat as I don't think I'll match up to the Alpha backers and their mega expensive flight sticks etc.

I'm usually on gaellords.com TS in the evenings and anyone is welcome there so it might come in handy if any of us get stuck or want to try and work together. Just send me (jumbo) a message if I am in a private channel. You can create your own channel too if you just want to play with your buddies.

Branoic · 30-05-2014 10:14am

humanji wrote: »

Who's in the beta (hopefully. I'm looking at you Star Citizen!!!) tomorrow? I caved and bought into it, just because I've more money than sense (and not that much money, actually).

I've been in the Alpha and am itching for the Beta to start later today. Can't wait to see what it entails and for thousands of new players to have a look.

ZeroThreat · 30-05-2014 10:32am

Branoic wrote: »

I've been in the Alpha and am itching for the Beta to start later today. Can't wait to see what it entails and for thousands of new players to have a look.

How much did you have to pay to get into Alpha, and if I wanted to get into Beta is it still possible?

humanji · 30-05-2014 10:47am

ZeroThreat wrote: »

How much did you have to pay to get into Alpha, and if I wanted to get into Beta is it still possible?

You can still get into the beta, I believe. It's £100 for the premium beta which gets you into the beta, gets you the game and all expansion packs when they're released.

Then there's the £50 for the beta and the game when it's released.

https://store.zaonce.net/?_ga=1.26599357.1234666292.1400855809

_Kaiser_ · 30-05-2014 11:29am

humanji wrote: »

You can still get into the beta, I believe. It's £100 for the premium beta which gets you into the beta, gets you the game and all expansion packs when they're released.

Then there's the £50 for the beta and the game when it's released.

https://store.zaonce.net/?_ga=1.26599357.1234666292.1400855809

Aww so tempting though I'd definitely need a new machine first. I very much doubt my XPS 12 with its Intel 4400 would be up to the task

Branoic · 30-05-2014 11:52am

ZeroThreat wrote: »

How much did you have to pay to get into Alpha, and if I wanted to get into Beta is it still possible?

An obscene amount

jumbobreakfast · 30-05-2014 12:21pm

Yeah I think the Alpha and Premium Betas are for people who have a history with the original 8-bit and 16-bit games and/or perhaps have an Oculus Rift devkit 2 ordered. Otherwise it's too big a risk for most people.The Premium beta gives access to the multiplayer today and all the expansions later on. Standard beta is cheaper but doesnt give you access today and doesnt give you the DLC season pass.

And yes, an intel 4400 would definitely not do the job I'm afraid but I wouldnt rush out to buy a new PC unless you can afford a really decent one as the final PC spec could change.

ZeroThreat · 30-05-2014 12:29pm

Branoic wrote: »

An obscene amount

You do know once upon a time, people were actually paid to take part in game testing - well if not paid, they at least didn't have to pay hundreds to test the game for the likes of fatcat Braben

_Kaiser_ · 30-05-2014 12:36pm

ZeroThreat wrote: »

You do know once upon a time, people were actually paid to take part in game testing - well if not paid, they at least didn't have to pay hundreds to test the game for the likes of fatcat Braben

Valid point.. when did people start paying to do developers work for them? Although to be fair, I suppose it should result in a better game on release - from all I've seen on YT it's already very playable!

Unlike say Star Citizen which last time I looked consisted of an admittedly gorgeous hanger bay and static ships.

I loved the original Elite back in the day (not so much Frontier though) so I probably will get myself a PC to play this on later in the year.

ZeroThreat · 30-05-2014 1:01pm

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Valid point.. when did people start paying to do developers work for them? Although to be fair, I suppose it should result in a better game on release - from all I've seen on YT it's already very playable!

Unlike say Star Citizen which last time I looked consisted of an admittedly gorgeous hanger bay and static ships.

I loved the original Elite back in the day (not so much Frontier though) so I probably will get myself a PC to play this on later in the year.

Will a gtx670 be sufficient to run it as it currently is?

jumbobreakfast · 30-05-2014 4:20pm

GTX760 should be fine. As for this trend of early access I suppose it does help independent and smaller producers make games in these days of having only a handful of big producers. Kind of getting tired of it all the same though.

Branoic · 30-05-2014 4:59pm

ZeroThreat wrote: »

You do know once upon a time, people were actually paid to take part in game testing - well if not paid, they at least didn't have to pay hundreds to test the game for the likes of fatcat Braben

True, but then the whole point of paying for alpha access or kickstarting a game is that it allows the fans to fund something which otherwise would probably not get made, because publishers are cowards. I didn't pay for alpha access. I paid to fund the game development, and alpha access was a benefit of that.

I know there's a whole existential debate going on around the merits of the crowdfunding model, and plenty of people think that those who pay for alphas or kickstart a project are eejits. Yes, some people take it to the extreme, become kickstarter junkies and back everything going, then get burned when loads don't work out.

Me, I've only backed 3 games projects, and each were considered purchases -

1) Prison Architect, because Introversion are fantastic, deserve support, the alpha is amazingly polished and I have no doubt the game will be great.

2) Satellite Reign - Syndicate Wars spiritual successor, done properly and not the Syndicate travesty of a shooter that was released previously. Had to back this.

3) Elite Dangerous - Elite 2 featured significantly in my childhood, and I would say played a major role in defining and forming my interests and hobbies. I have been waiting literally decades for Elite 4. If Frontier Developments needed help in funding the project, and it allowed them to stick to their vision instead of a publishers, then I am all for that.

Of the 3, I'd say the one Im most concerned will not see the light of day is possibly Satellite Reign, its gone too quiet since the funding campaign ended.

Elite Dangerous Alpha access was significantly more expensive than the other two, but worth it I feel.

And leave fatcat Braben out of it - the man is a God to me

ZeroThreat · 30-05-2014 6:56pm

I'm seriously tempted to pay the €120 premium beta, could be playing today if I wanted

Baked.noodle · 30-05-2014 7:19pm

David Braben on the ambitious future of Elite: Dangerous

ZeroThreat · 30-05-2014 7:21pm

So if you order it now, do they send you a code or just post a physical dvd out to you?

Baked.noodle · 30-05-2014 7:30pm

It's not terrible value for money at €120, but I am going to buy the finished game for €40, and if I like that I will buy all the DLC for €40. I'm probably going to need an upgraded PC in the next year so I can't justify spending big money on one game, no matter how excited about it I get. I'm not nearly as excited about Star Citizen so maybe I won't need a super computer after all.

jumbobreakfast · 30-05-2014 8:27pm

ZeroThreat wrote: »

So if you order it now, do they send you a code or just post a physical dvd out to you?

They send you the link to the installer. That installs the launcher and then you login with your Frontier store login and it downloads and authenticates the game

jumbobreakfast · 30-05-2014 11:55pm

Premium beta first impressions: I played through all the single player missions from the Alpha 1.1 first to get the controls right and it was a lot easier this time.

Docking is impressive. I found myself saying "Where's the feckin' door?" a lot but the space station doesnt respond to voice commands

Really nice so far but I had to stop once I docked since for some reason the game doesnt like my 1680x1050 resolution so it's heavily clipped at the edges making the map in particular very hard to use. I raised a ticket and posted on their beta support forums, hopefully its something stupid that I've overlooked

humanji · 31-05-2014 1:52pm

Yeah I'm having a bit of trouble with resolution too. I've set it to the best I can, but a bit of the screen is cut off. Nothing major though. I'm tempted to pick up a trackIR thingy which would get rid of that problem.

I've managed to set up a Saitek switch panel for this, which adds a bit to the immersion (and I like flicking switches!

). It's funny how easy the preview videos have made flying, and in particular docking seem. Docking can be a little fiddly until you get used to it. What I thought was pretty cool was the way the Alpha videos had a ship entering into a station and then being sent to a docking bay, while the Beta, because it's multiplayer, has a load of docking bays lit up with ships landing and taking off from them, so you actually have to pay attention to where you're going.

jumbobreakfast · 31-05-2014 2:52pm

Yeah just sitting in the docking bay and watching other players wobble around the place is fun

I discovered that the resolution issue is a known one. The games doesnt like anything other than 16:9 but you can fix it using two methods.

1. Create custom resolution and use GPU display scaling to scale to your monitor
2. Edit the C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Frontier_Developments\Products\FORC-FDEV-D-1000\GraphicsConfiguration.xml file and change <MinimumAspectRatio>1.600000 to 1.7777

This last method is the easiest and what I use but it leaves black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.

It keeps crashing on me now while I'm trying to write down the price of commodities so I still havent left the station lol

Elite: Dangerous

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