Basically you get passenger missions with decent payouts that would normally require you to go to some tourist destination in some other system. But at Quince, the destination is basically right next to the station. So you can load up on passenger missions and make a lot of money per hour. AFAIK it hasn't been patched out yet and since you're technically just doing the missions you're given I don't think it counts as an exploit either. Still feels dirty to me, but whatever boats your float.
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Elite Dangerous: Horizons |OT| Just scratching the surface
- Thread starter Anton Sugar
- Start date
Basically you get passenger missions with decent payouts that would normally require you to go to some tourist destination in some other system. But at Quince, the destination is basically right next to the station. So you can load up on passenger missions and make a lot of money per hour. AFAIK it hasn't been patched out yet and since you're technically just doing the missions you're given I don't think it counts as an exploit either. Still feels dirty to me, but whatever boats your float.
60EffPeeEss
Member
You just make your own thing of it, really. Bounty hunting, trading, mining, exploring, whatever you want. Don't expect to find wildlife and other creatures, as humans are the most abundant lifeforms in the game and you're all jammed into ships or SRV's.
And with the online stuff, it keeps you connected to the same galaxy as everyone else. Trade prices fluctuate, systems go into civil wars, new parts of the galaxy get charted, and it all updates your game in real-time. You can play "solo" so you will never encounter another human player, but they're rare to encounter unless you hang about systems with active goals, or stay in the new player systems. I just stay in Open play at all times due to this. You don't have to "hide" in offline to avoid harassment, because the galaxy is one huge place. You can just find your own quiet corner to enjoy.
SRV Scan missions are what people are doing now at Quince, not the Passenger stuff. I think that was nerfed already.
Bahahahahaha! It's doesn't mess around. I have had mine blown more than once... but I've always made it back ;-)
I don't find it like NMS. That feels like it happily guides you along a path with little nudges here and there. The planetside stuff adds a dimension that you just don't get in Elite. In comparison, space traversal and flying in Elite is unrivalled. In NMS, you feel like someone has put a cockpit sticker on your visor, in Elite you ARE in space. It just feels like a hell of a more robust structure of galaxy and mechanics to get around. It's a real event.
Elites loop is missions and combat, NMS is more about moment to moment resource gathering. You can actually have each game side by side.
I feel like Engineers is for combat more than anything. Yeah, you have stuff like FSD upgrades, but again, you aren't exploring against other human players. You aren't trading against other human players (unless you get interdicted and attempted to be pirated, and in that case thrusters might be useful). By and large more than anything, Engineers seem to be geared most toward combat as they have the most to gain from it, and PvP combat it's pretty much a necessity.
Hey guys so I started playing the game on PS4 yesterday and quite enjoying it.
Unsurprisingly I'm a bit lost tho lol.
I've got the basics covered and I want to focus on trade for now.
I already upgraded from the Sidewinder to the Hauler by doing simple missions from stations to stations but now I'm thinking about doing trade loops.
My friend talked to me about the loop tool on eddb.io but it's got me more confused than anything else right now lol.
Any advice?
Unsurprisingly I'm a bit lost tho lol.
I've got the basics covered and I want to focus on trade for now.
I already upgraded from the Sidewinder to the Hauler by doing simple missions from stations to stations but now I'm thinking about doing trade loops.
My friend talked to me about the loop tool on eddb.io but it's got me more confused than anything else right now lol.
Any advice?
Man, this sounds so sick. We're moving house later this year, so maybe I can splash out on a HOTAS once we're settled and have some more space to play around with.
Hah! I've had that happen to me a couple of times since PS4 launch.
It actually happened during my very first "live" docking attempt, believe it or not.
I was so confused. I tried everything before cancelling my docking request, not realising you only get a minute to leave the station (bear in mind this was my first day of playing).
I panicked and almost blew myself up as I bounced out of the slot.
Things have been looking up since!
As Widge said, the two games complement each other quite nicely. If you want rich, vibrant surface worlds to explore and play survival in, then NMS is great. But if you want full sim-like control of your ship and like the idea of playing in a consistent galaxy with other players, then there's nothing quite like ED.
I got NMS on sale a few months ago, and I was obsessed with it for about a month, but haven't really touched it lately. I really like the idea of base building, so I'll probably go back to it eventually and try to find a nice planet to settle down on.
Perhaps I'm in a similar honeymoon phase with ED right now, but it's scratching that space nerd itch while simultaneously giving me things I didn't know I wanted from a game. Also I went into it with very little prior knowledge, and there was relatively little buzz surrounding the PS4 launch, which may have helped to keep expectations in check.
As with NMS, you do need to make your own fun to an extent. Going off the beaten path can be an intrinsically rewarding experience. As long as you have some patience, an imagination, and are keen to learn, ED will show you a good time.
Couple of more questions. Will my 10 year old saitek x-52 be adequate for immersion?
And do I immediately need Horizons/Commander Deluxe edition, or can I start with the $30 base game and get the rest later?
I don't know what that first thing is, but you probably don't need Horizons straight away unless you really want to fly/drive around planet surfaces.
It includes some other QoL improvements which others will tell you about, but personally I think there's more than enough to keep you going with the base game. You can always upgrade later (if the season pass goes on sale or something).
It includes some other QoL improvements which others will tell you about, but personally I think there's more than enough to keep you going with the base game. You can always upgrade later (if the season pass goes on sale or something).
Prophaniti
Banned
You can start with the base game if you want. That's what I did and I bought horizons a week later.
Well in that case I'm heading their now lol only 69 more jumps. Ugh.
Dreams-Visions
Member
Unlock the core engineers (Todd and Farseer) and you have access to grade 1 versions of most of the upgrades you need. Grade 1 upgrades are quite good in most cases. If you want to farm mats for better versions, it will take more time and effort, and you'll get better upgrades as a result. Just a matter of what you can be content with.
Dubbedinenglish
Banned
It's this:
Used that until the yaw went out on the stick. Works fine for Elite, the hat on the throttle is great for lateral thrust.
that immersion
Are you in Open? They are probably down in the hangar.
I said it kind of poorly, Dreams-Visions pointed out that the FSD upgrades are pretty easy to get. I put in zero effort into getting materials and I was able to grind out level 3 engineers stuff from just the stuff I had on hand. It's not a grind I really want to do, but I got some benefit from it putting in very little effort aside from driving out to them in the first place.
It's this:
Damn, nice. Looks like all you need now is a VR headset!
PS4 Thrustmasters: are you all using this? Any variations worth considering?
What are some setups/bindings you recommend? I'm really tempted to go all out with this game if it keeps its hooks in me.
It's this:
I'd not recommend bothering with that particular HOTAS ("Pro" version included). If you want a cheap HOTAS with a lot of features, have a close look at the Thrustmasters FSC HOTAS. The throttle has a proper mini stick which is a godsend for 6dof in Elite.
If you're in the market for more expensive HOTAS, it's worth looking at the CH Products HOTAS or the Thrustmasters Warthog, but both work best when paired with pedals. Saitek's reputation for low bud quality and breaking stuff is infamous.
I already bought this HOTAS. In 2006.
I'm getting along mostly fine so far with the 8-way HAT switch on the throttle for 6dof.I went ahead and got the game and played the docking training mission. Aside from accidentally getting stuck in headlook mode, it all went smoothly. Docked and landed on my first try. Pretty dang fun so far.
I'd have to agree with this post. I have an X52 and still use it, and it's certainly not bad. I did have to warranty it once about a year ago. Haven't had problems since then, but yeah, for the price especially, the T16000M is straight up a better deal. In fact, it was designated the "official" ED HOTAS. Granted that label doesn't really mean much of anything other than marketing crap, but it goes to show that FD seems to have faith in it at least.
Zepp Twofist
Member
Is the T16000M the official Elite HOTAS while they modeled the actual appearance on the X52? That seems weird.
Retro Edge
Member
Look the first 10 minutes of this video, you will be hyped to the moon. No extra binding needed except for 2 or 3 buttons that have no use, rest is perfectly configured.
Unless they at least manage to have a competent default layout for the stick in the game (unlike for M+K, idk if it's still as atrocious as at launch), that means nothing at all. Lipservice and hot air. You could argue that the ingame cockpit has had its stick and Throttle modeled after the X52.
And yet, that doesn't change that the throttle wastes space on useless nobs, a useless display and a bloody useless mouse nub handling like a joystick (auto center), but pretending to be a mouse. Not to forget the ridiculous detents of the thing.
It'd be so much better off with less half baked rubbish gimmicks and more usable buttons and a proper mini stick instead.
The whole thing is simply very poorly thought out and tries to cram in fancy features at a price point where that's not what it ought to do and falls flat on its face as a result. That's even in case you don't have it breaking on you. I sold my X52 Pro in perfectly fine condition as well. It played fine, but was full of useless rubbish whereas a couple of proper buttons more in the right places and a mini stick would've made me a lot more happy.
I already bought this HOTAS. In 2006.
Possible, just as you can put yaw on digital inputs, but not too satisfying for me after I've played with the CH HOTAS. Not that there's anything wrong with digital inputs for lateral and vertical thrust. Playing a lot with M+K most of the time, I'm used to it after all.
Idk which better alternatives where available in 2006 other than the CH Products stuff, but that's a different price point as it requires additional pedals for the full setup, but it'd strongly recommend avoiding the X52 to anybody looking for a new HOTAS today. There are better alternatives available, even at a reasonable price point. Case I point, the Thrustmasters FCS. Less rubbish, more actually useful inputs. On PC, the most effective alternative to a HOTAS is still M+K. For aiming fixed weapons, it even beats any HOTAS.
Camp Freddie
Member
It's worth noting that the x-52 is literally what your pilot model is using when you look down at your hands. I assume there was some sponsorship deal.
Hmmm... This thread will soon have me searching for an expensive HOTAS to replace my Toaster HOTAS X. Must... Resist...
Herr Starr
Member
Let's just put it like this: The in-game joystick and throttle you see in the cockpit of your ship is modeled after your x52. There is no better HOTAS for immersion in this game.
NotSmartEnough
Member
The HOTAS 4 is the only one supported by PS4, apparently it works with Eve Valkyrie, War Thunder and Starblood Arena as well as Elite, but I haven't tried any of the others yet.
I've kept most of the default bindings. Added chaff to an unused button. Moved the fire group selection to square and the altitude buttons on the throttle.
Two weird omissions from the default setup is there's no axis for controlling the angle of the galaxy map (I changed it to use the throttle axis), and no mapping for the fine forward/backwards thrusters.
Wow, looks like a great out-of-the-box experience. I am kind of hyped...
Thanks for the notes! This may be going on the Christmas list...
Moose Biscuits
It would be extreamly painful...
With all this talk about HOTAS, while I'm usually a HOTAS fan I think I'd miss the headlook if I switched from the DS4. It's such a great implementation of it; I've tried headlook on the hat switch for the HOTAS X in War Thunder (same as the HOTAS 4) and it's poor in comparison.
PC players have TrackIR or the EDTracker for headatracking. Turns looking around into a natural extension of your body and frees any input it might've taken up before for more crucial functions. I'd say it's the next best thing in terms of secondary hardware for "immersion" after a VR headset. Bonus points for not raising the baseline of required hardware to meet the framerate demands of VR headsets. If a PC player had to decide between a HOTAS and headtracking, I'd say headtracking is the better investment for a better playing experience.
It's imo a bit of a pity that there are no "standard" headtracking solutions build into cockpit games on consoles per default. But it's understandable, that for maximum living room comfort, they'd not go the route of requiring an attachment on a headset to work.
Moose Biscuits
It would be extreamly painful...
Yeah. War Thunder on PS4 actually implemented a headlook based off the PS4 Camera and its face tracking tech, but it wasn't perfect and it involved plugging in a camera which I am severely mistrustful of.
I think I just like the simplicity of the sixaxis tracking.
The last two times I've gotten in to this game I've basically only done trucking. I want to get back into it except this time get good at combat. Are there any good guides on quickly getting started - getting a good ship for combat - and learning effective strategies and tactics? I don't need to learn mechanics from the ground up necessarily.
Yes, IMO headtracking is more important than a HOTAS. I'm used to both, but when I started playing I only had TrackIR and played with an Xbox controller. I bought a HOTAS after about a month of playing. I had originally previously bought TrackIR for Arma.
I really wish the console folks (not using VR) could see what they are missing with headtracking. I honestly can barely play the game without it just because it's second nature to me. Everything comes as simple as just looking at it. I can look slightly off center to target ships, look at left, right, and center panels, as well as comms panel to activate them. I can also easily look out the cockpit during fights, which is incredibly useful.
Yes, any module that you want to upgrade has to be done at the Engineer's base.
This guy: https://youtu.be/hElXzArVdmM?list=PLST2VzDxDCrwvkU6wYfo-z4UhGbObjl_M
Depends on what ship you're running now, but from there I can give you a few suggestions. Some may disagree with me on these:
Early game - Viper Mk III - Good early game combat ship,j I used it for quite a while and farmed toward my vulture. It's a small ship, so fast and agile. Has two Class 2, and one Class 1 hardpoint, which is not terrible.
Next step - Vulture - Power plant is it's weakness, but makes up in it's speed, size, and hardpoints being two Class 3. You can get a Class 5 shield, which is nice for a ship of this size.
Ultimate dogfighting ship - Fer-De-Lance - Often considered the end all be all of it's type for the most part (although there are plenty of other viable ships of this style at this tier), has one Class 4 hardpoints and four Class 2. It's a glass cannon, but you have great mobility, especially for a ship of it's size. Boosted and light enough with 4 pips to engines it can break 400. View from cockpit is great, other than the fact that the pilot's seat is off-center and you have this ugly bar in the middle of the screen when facing forward. You have quite a wide viewing angle though.
There's the larger ships such as the Anaconda, but those are kind of a different class, but can still be used for combat.
For weapons, generally thermal weapons are good vs shields, kinetic weapons are good vs hulls/modules. Some weapons are technically both, such as railguns. Often in the early game you'll want to use Beam Lasers to destroy the shields, then aim for the power plant and use multicannons, cannons, or even pulse lasers are viable if you want to not worry about ammo. Honestly though you will probably have plenty of multicannon ammo before having to go back. If your ship isn't an Anaconda or something, don't bother with Turreted weapons. You want fixed or gimballed. Fixed Beam Laser is good just because it's incredibly easy to aim. Gimballed multicannons are also good. Plasma Accelerators are a nice option too.
For your combat modules, you want A grade powerplant, always, A grade FSD is fine, but if you really want to you can go with D. I'll get to why it's okay to keep A FSD, no matter what powerplant soon. D sensors, D Life support (you have more than enough time if your canopy shatters). For Shields you can go wtih C Bi-Weave or A, whichever you prefer. Bi-Weave charges a lot faster, but A is stronger. Regardless of that, you want some shield boosters if you have the available utility mounts. I recommend A shield boosters. Also get a Kill Warrant Scanner, you want D grade. If you want to interdict, get an Interdictor, also D grade, class doesn't really matter. A grade thrusters, always A. A grade power distributor, also always A. You also should look into Shield Cell Banks. For every SCB you have, you should have a corresponding Heat Sink.
For your power management, for the most part it should be 4 pips to systems and 2 to weapons. Systems benefits your shields. If you are not in a vulnerable position, and need the extra power, you can shift to 4 pips to weapons and 2 to systems. If you're trying to keep your target in line of sight, shift to either 4 pips to engines and 2 to systems, or 4 to systems and 2 to engines, depending on if you are vulnerable or not.
You should also set power module priority. Lowest should be stuff you can't possibly use outside of supercruise. This is stuff like Interdictors, etc. Next lowest priority is stuff you can't possibly use when you have your hardpoints deployed. This includes mostly your Frame Shift Drive, it does have a boot time when to turn back on, but you can boost while fleeing and waiting for it to come back on. Next lowest is going to be weapons, Kill Warrant Scanner, and things of that nature. Second to highest will be defensive stuff, shields, chaff, SCBs, shield boosters. And highest will be stuff you absolutely need to go anywhere: Thrusters, Sensors, Life Support, Power Distributor, etc.
Learn to toggle flight assist, and practice it. Once you know how to leverage having Flight Assist off, it's quite useful for catching up with your target.
Dreams-Visions
Member
I'mma fundamentally disagree.
Head tracking is a great add-on. Icing on the cake. VR is its much bigger, more immersive, much tastier brother.
A HOTAS, however, changes every aspect of how you play the game. It's like getting your first racing wheel for Gran Turismo. You can't go back to a controller. There is in my opinion *nothing* more important to Elite Dangerous than a HOTAS. The only thing that rivals a HOTAS in feel and immersion is VR.
You could take my VR headset from me. I'll keep playing E
.You could take my TrackClip Pro headtracker from me. I'll keep playing ED.
If you take my HOTAS from me, Elite Dangerous is fucking dead to me. And considering you can get a decent head tracking solution for $40-$50, nobody should be doing an either/or thing. Get a HOATS first. Get headtracking whenever.
I'mma fundamentally disagree.
Head tracking is a great add-on. Icing on the cake. VR is its much bigger, more immersive, much tastier brother.
A HOTAS, however, changes every aspect of how you play the game. It's like getting your first racing wheel for Gran Turismo. You can't go back to a controller. There is in my opinion *nothing* more important to Elite Dangerous than a HOTAS. The only thing that rivals a HOTAS in feel and immersion is VR.
You could take my VR headset from me. I'll keep playing E
You could take my TrackClip Pro headtracker from me. I'll keep playing ED.
If you take my HOTAS from me, Elite Dangerous is fucking dead to me. And considering you can get a decent head tracking solution for $40-$50, nobody should be doing an either/or thing. Get a HOATS first. Get headtracking whenever.
I still have a hard time going back to the controller. I tried to go back last weekend when I was playing (couldn't use my PC and was playing Elite through steam in-home streaming, and couldn't get my X52 working through that). I played using the Steam controller. I could do some stuff, but definitely not near as well as I could on my X52. I certainly couldn't do combat competently.
That said, it's still playable, and I'm sure with more practice I could get just as good on the controller. I think TrackIR is more important IMO, but I do understand why you would say HOTAS is more important.
Moose Biscuits
It would be extreamly painful...
I'mma fundamentally disagree.
Head tracking is a great add-on. Icing on the cake. VR is its much bigger, more immersive, much tastier brother.
A HOTAS, however, changes every aspect of how you play the game. It's like getting your first racing wheel for Gran Turismo. You can't go back to a controller. There is in my opinion *nothing* more important to Elite Dangerous than a HOTAS. The only thing that rivals a HOTAS in feel and immersion is VR.
You could take my VR headset from me. I'll keep playing E
You could take my TrackClip Pro headtracker from me. I'll keep playing ED.
If you take my HOTAS from me, Elite Dangerous is fucking dead to me. And considering you can get a decent head tracking solution for $40-$50, nobody should be doing an either/or thing. Get a HOATS first. Get headtracking whenever.
Except on consoles, where it quite literally is either/or. No VR, no headtracking outside of the aforementioned sixaxis controller movement.
The sole HOTAS available for PS4 has a single hat, which is a digital eight-directional switch. So you're either looking forward, or perpendicular to forward. Of the few ships I've played so far only one has any view vertically, and most have very limited view to the sides.
I've tried it in War Thunder (although it's the same model as the HOTAS 4, the X doesn't work in ED, but I think WT would accept any input device), and for the life of me I couldn't stand that hat switch for headlook.
I too thought a HOTAS is a necessary peripheral until I was stuck with a laptop and doubled down on reconfiguring the laughable default M+K settings. Turns out, after the initial learning curve, I'm about as effective with M+K in the game as I'll ever be with a HOTAS.
Each setup has tradeoffs and a HOTAS is far from the uncontested best setup if you're on PC. It loses in aiming fixed weapons compared to M+K, wins in terms of lateral thrust fine control and for permanent FA off, loses in initial entry fee for most people, because it's a potentially very expensive secondary peripheral while M+K is ubiquitous, is viable in VR like a controller whereas M+K is almost unfeasible there.
It's really not as clear cut. Head tracking however potentially improves your performance no matter which controller you chose, as it frees your viewpoint from the default straight ahead view.
Camp Freddie
Member
I usually play without headtracking on PC because it's a bit of a hassle to set up and I'm a lazy bastard (one day I'll set it up properly though, and write a little batch file to launch the game with headtracking, EDDI, Ediscovery, EDpathfinder and any other 3rd party stuff).
Headtracking is brilliant for exploration though. The view is so much nicer.
The HOTAS is essential for me though.
Not because it's 'better', since M/KB can be at least as effective (I've seen videos of a great FA-off M/KB setup and I'd never want to meet that guy in PvP!).
I use a HOTAS because it just 'feels' right, and (for me) Elite is about the feel of flying a spaceship more than anything else. I'm not one of Frontier's "IMMERRSHUN!!!" guys either.
On the subject of immersion, I really hope they make the obvious "why not both" change to transport and allow cheap low-cost transportation or high-cost instant transport (perhaps with a time-vs-cost slider).
It would let people transport a relatively cheap ship (Viper or maybe Vulture) for instant winging-up while the higher costs would make it harder to 'abuse' for instantly transporting your most expensive ship at no risk.
On the other hand, allowing delayed-but-cheap transport helps to allow people to move stuff around without being priced-out.
I don't "hate" the current system because the transport costs are about right, but I would hate it if I was someone that regularly played with a group of friends, since it would be impossible if you had to wait half an hour for a suitable ship.
Headtracking is brilliant for exploration though. The view is so much nicer.
The HOTAS is essential for me though.
Not because it's 'better', since M/KB can be at least as effective (I've seen videos of a great FA-off M/KB setup and I'd never want to meet that guy in PvP!).
I use a HOTAS because it just 'feels' right, and (for me) Elite is about the feel of flying a spaceship more than anything else. I'm not one of Frontier's "IMMERRSHUN!!!" guys either.
On the subject of immersion, I really hope they make the obvious "why not both" change to transport and allow cheap low-cost transportation or high-cost instant transport (perhaps with a time-vs-cost slider).
It would let people transport a relatively cheap ship (Viper or maybe Vulture) for instant winging-up while the higher costs would make it harder to 'abuse' for instantly transporting your most expensive ship at no risk.
On the other hand, allowing delayed-but-cheap transport helps to allow people to move stuff around without being priced-out.
I don't "hate" the current system because the transport costs are about right, but I would hate it if I was someone that regularly played with a group of friends, since it would be impossible if you had to wait half an hour for a suitable ship.
I think part of the system, especially the wait time, is screwed up just because of how ridiculous they are. I had an 1:16 long delay to transport my FDL 129LY. That's ridiculous IMO.
Ships shouldn't have to be able to do EVERYTHING. Exploring ships optimize for jump range. Combat ships do not. If I want to go somewhere far across the bubble (or maybe even just outside it) and do a combat thing there, I shouldn't have to go completely dismantle most of my Fer-De-Lance just to get over there in a reasonable period of time. Ship delivery should be a solution to that, and right now it technically still is, but the wait time is pretty ridiculous.
I've said it before: Should be wait time OR cost, not both.