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Elite: Dangerous |OT| Every Man's Sky

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F

Funky Functionality

Member
100% FSD boost at level 3 is so beautiful I might cry. I have several carbon stars on my list that were unreachable even with a min/maxed Exploraconda, just a few LY out of range... no longer! This is awesome. I wonder how synthesis of those items works, though, and how many of them you could possibly store at once. Saving up a lot of them and cutting your return time in half from a distant expedition would be amaaazing in addition to reaching those farther stars. RIP Beagle point.
 
J

Jedi2016

Member
Finally broke down and bought some new paint from the Frontier Store.
eaHGz6r.jpg
Click to expand...
I originally wanted to go for black (it's included in the pack), but the ship looks pretty good in white, without the purple that the stock paint job has.

I also realized that the game scales the high-res screen captures based on your normal rendering resolution. When I got a new monitor and started playing at 1440p, the high-res screencaps went from 7860x4320 up to 10240x5760 and are 168MB apiece (uncompressed). Yowza.
 
H

Hylian7

Member
Thanks to kvk1 for giving me a heads up about this.

ATTENTION ALL WINDOWS 10 SAITEK STICK OWNERS!

Do NOT install the latest Windows 10 non-security updates. It breaks the beta drivers. kvk1 had a disaster happen with his, Mine is still save as i was able to disable updates in time.
 
B

Burny

Member
Hylian7 said:
Do NOT install the latest Windows 10 non-security updates. It breaks the beta drivers. kvk1 had a disaster happen with his, Mine is still save as i was able to disable updates in time.
Click to expand...

Telling people to get another Joystick/Throttle is among the least constructive things to do, but having used the CH Products Pro Throttle recently - albeit in combination with mouse & keyboard - I feel it spanks the X52 Pros throttle good and proper. Even though mine has the issue with the HATS not registering reliable enough. The downside may be the somewhat less ergonomic shape and flat travel, depending on what one prefers. But the mini stick is invaluable for lateral thrust. It's seriously amazing. Instead of all kinds of useless sliders and nobs attached to the base or that horrible mouse nub on the X52 pro's throttle, it just has a bunch of HATs, three buttons and the mini stick. Which all work without digging through the OS configuration (disabling the clutch function) and through Saitek's profile software, deassigning fuctions on certain buttons. >.<

Downside: It doesn't have a default configuration in E:D, as far as I know.

I received a mail saying that my MFG crosswinds will be ready for shipping soon - my HOTAS/pedals setup will be finally complete and I'll be in sim-bliss. :3


On another note!

The Infinity: Battlescape Kickstarter has only 4 days to go and ~25k$ for the base funding left. Has everybody here with a liking for space games had a look?

The scope of what they're proposing is a PvP battle arena rather than the MMOs E:D and SC are going for. But it brings seemless movement within a solar system to the table, from space to the planet's surface. The prototype looks great and I very much hope they manage to get the funding. Pity imho, that it looks increasingly unlikely that they'll hit any of their further stretch goals. Especially considering the perverse amount of money people are pumping into the fantasy ship pledges of Star Citizen, while these guys have a prototype running that is already doing things neither Elite nor Star Citizen are likely to achieve, due to their instanced nature.
 
C

ColonelSkills

Member
I need to experiment when it's actually out, but Bi-weave sounds really good for the trade offs. The capacity is a bit painful, but between the SCB changes, the higher viability of boom and zoom/fighters, and hull tanking, having a 50% faster regen for a trade off in alpha protection makes a tonne of sense.

Frees up a shitload of power too.

I wonder what sort of alterations to this tech will come with crafting.
 
A

Anton Sugar

Member
No livestream/dev update this week, as they say they're heads down getting the Horizons beta ready!

Patch coming to 1.5 beta soon:

Hello Commanders!

In the next beta update, we'll be making some adjustments. I'll briefly explain each one, and the reason behind it.

1. We are doubling the length of time a shield cell provides shield regeneration benefit. This effectively makes shield cells stronger, mitigating *slightly* the need for cell stacking.

2. We're retaining the heat penalty for cell use, but improving heat sink effectiveness. So you can still stack cells, as long as you are able to spend the heat sinks.

3. We're adding a small amount of damage reduction to hull reinforcement packages. These are additive and increase the effectiveness of the packages (including module protection, as the damage reduction gets applied before modules are hit).

The end result of this is to make both shield cells and hull reinforcement packages viable, but not without cost. Fundamentally, using a shield cell should fry your systems a little, but can be managed with heat sinks to avoid massive hull damage (module damage from heat, is in general. quite light, even though the feedback is a little startling).

In addition:

4. We've increased the amount of SYS power a collapsed shield can "suck" to reform quite a bit, especially at higher classes. The effect of this is that large shields should reform significantly quicker, around a third of the time it would take before, in the best cases.

5. Zorgon Peterson has offered all of its FDL customers a free upgrade kit: slight improvements pitch and roll rates, a larger power plant housing (size 6) and more efficient cooling systems.

As with always, I look forward to your feedback.

To help manage this thread, please provide a heading comprising of SHIELD CELL, HULL PACKAGE, SHIELD GENERATOR or FDL as appropriate with your response (you can talk about multiple points, just use multiple headings).
Click to expand...

FDL got a power plant buff!
 
D

DrBo42

Member
Lol at FD caving. We're going to have the same problems but with people running a heat sink or two and a repair module. The increase to collapsed shield regen was long overdue though. Damage reduction with hull packages is going to make large ships more beast than ever. Run out of SCBs and just tank shit with military composite and 4-6 or so hull packages on an Anaconda.

But at least you'll eventually manage to get shields down...right?
 
A

Anton Sugar

Member
I don't know if caving is the correct term--apparently their implementation was pretty unforgiving:

1. Using one SCB requires Heat Sink to prevent overheating in a non-combat situation.
2. Module integrity is terrible, hull reinforcement packages don't help.
3. Armor is effective in terms of increasing the overall health, but not in protecting modules.
4. Module damage is RNG based, meaning even if you hit the module, there's a possibility of it not counting.
5. Cutter's drives are invulnerable to incoming fire (I see what you did there FD, I know you like the Empire, but let's not take it this far, shall we ?)
6. Overheating module damage is overkill, firing two SCBs (6A and 5B requires two heat sinks to compensate and still overheat and cause EVERYTHING to go out of control and die.)
7. Reboot and repair your thrusters make them go flight assist off despite showing that the fly assist is on. This throw your ship into a state where its UI shows flight assist on in your throttle control (meaning it gives you control for throttling forward and backward instead of instant movement like FAO), when it is actually flight assist off. So when you try to break, you have to throttle back into reverse to even get it moving. And regular throttle movement like 25% forward/0% throttle don't work in this state.)

Conclusions:

Heat generated from SCB is way too high, armor doesn't help modules, weird flight assist off with flight assist on throttle AI when repair and reboot, Cutter's drives are invincible from incoming fire. Large ships are now out of the picture for any large scale combat with these recent changes, please re-consider and adjust these changes.
Click to expand...
 
H

Hylian7

Member
Did someone say FDL buff? Yes please! These buffs are huge, hell class 6 power plant alone is huge!

I'm thinking I want to go with a bi-weave shield generator for my FDL when 1.5 hits main client. With the new power plant, I probably could stick with my previous build, but I see no point with this new stuff existing.

My current build involves having my SCB on one power priority higher than my Plasma Accelerator. Look to right panel -> turn on SCB, use it -> turn it back off. In 1.4, when a module on a Hardpoint is disabled by being on a low priority, it doesn't retract, so as soon as the SCB turns off I have it back instantly. The boot times in 1.5 invalidate this of course, but the class 6 power plant may leave me enough room to just leave the SCBs on.
 
B

Burny

Member
There's been a bit of a discussion in the official forums about the lack of jagged features in the planet surfaces shown so far.

I agree here - it's sorely missing overhangs and the likes.

This presentation of another proc-gen engine shows of pretty well what the planet surfaces are missing.

I hope they'll add this as well as SRV tracks before release...
 
S

SmartBase

Member
Burny said:
Telling people to get another Joystick/Throttle is among the least constructive things to do, but having used the CH Products Pro Throttle recently - albeit in combination with mouse & keyboard - I feel it spanks the X52 Pros throttle good and proper. Even though mine has the issue with the HATS not registering reliable enough. The downside may be the somewhat less ergonomic shape and flat travel, depending on what one prefers. But the mini stick is invaluable for lateral thrust. It's seriously amazing. Instead of all kinds of useless sliders and nobs attached to the base or that horrible mouse nub on the X52 pro's throttle, it just has a bunch of HATs, three buttons and the mini stick. Which all work without digging through the OS configuration (disabling the clutch function) and through Saitek's profile software, deassigning fuctions on certain buttons. >.<

Downside: It doesn't have a default configuration in E:D, as far as I know.

I received a mail saying that my MFG crosswinds will be ready for shipping soon - my HOTAS/pedals setup will be finally complete and I'll be in sim-bliss. :3
Click to expand...

I attribute my CQC stats solely to the Pro Throttle's mini stick, no way could I fly circles around people with anything less.
 
Mengy

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
Burny said:
Telling people to get another Joystick/Throttle is among the least constructive things to do, but having used the CH Products Pro Throttle recently - albeit in combination with mouse & keyboard - I feel it spanks the X52 Pros throttle good and proper.
Click to expand...

SmartBase said:
I attribute my CQC stats solely to the Pro Throttle's mini stick, no way could I fly circles around people with anything less.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have to echo these sentiments. Since buying my CH setup (stick, throttle, and pedals) I've realized just how crappy my Saitek HOTAS really was. Elite is so much easier and more fun to play with a good control setup. And yes Smartbase, that ministick on the throttle is superb for thruster control, I really wonder if Isinoia uses a CH setup since he flies full time with assist off? I rarely even touch the keyboard anymore in flight, 98% of every control I need is at my fingertips!
 
B

Burny

Member
Mengy said:
Yeah, I have to echo these sentiments. Since buying my CH setup (stick, throttle, and pedals) I've realized just how crappy my Saitek HOTAS really was. Elite is so much easier and more fun to play with a good control setup. And yes Smartbase, that ministick on the throttle is superb for thruster control, I really wonder if Isinoia uses a CH setup since he flies full time with assist off? I rarely even touch the keyboard anymore in flight, 98% of every control I need is at my fingertips!
Click to expand...

Isinona is using a Thrustmaster Hotas X - see his video descriptions. He also showed his button mapping in one video.

Which is why I'd be reluctant to recommend the "middle class" joystick options from Saitek or other manufacturers anymore. They cost too much, but offer too little upgrade over the cheap option, but seem to have a host of smaller or larger issues, if my X52 Pro was anything to go by. I'd tell people to either get the cheap, but sufficient option (Hotas X) or go all in and look at the CH Products HOTAS or the Warthog in combination with pedals.

Edit: My MFG Crosswinds are shipping. :3
 
A

Anton Sugar

Member
Datamined beta stuff for Horizons:

Most importantly, it seems the Christmas tree bobble is back bby, as well as a few more. Duvalobble head, Patreus, and winters .
buncha decals that I believe ive never seen named blackhole, bomb1, bat, horizons_circle, lave_con, meteor, pax, planet1,planet2,scorpion,shark,tiger and yogscast
Other interesting folders include the buggy sine wave scanner being listed as size 1 class 1, upgrade able module perhaps?
New module called int_buggybay (drink) lists multiple class (1,2)and sizes(2,4,6). passenger cabin module , planetary approach suite, modular fighterbay.
Paintjobs for new ships (cutter,corvette) ? None beyond what you've seen, but the ships that are iterations of preexisting have a number of painty j's.
Skimmers have some pretty cool weapons, ship missiles,vehicle missiles,bossbeamlaser,bossmulticannon,bossrailgun_fixed,missilerack,pulselasers and class1shield gen.
Skimmer types , already confirmed I think, ... Bomb skimmer drone, boss skimmer, missile skimmer, shield skimmer drone, skimmer drone, superbombskimmer ,
I'm sure there's stuff I missed! Discuss!
Click to expand...
 
F

Funky Functionality

Member
Burny said:
There's been a bit of a discussion in the official forums about the lack of jagged features in the planet surfaces shown so far.

I agree here - it's sorely missing overhangs and the likes.

This presentation of another proc-gen engine shows of pretty well what the planet surfaces are missing.

I hope they'll add this as well as SRV tracks before release...
Click to expand...

Doesn't seem likely with the way they're generating terrain. Same reason we're not getting caves. Displacement alone can only do so much. They may rework things in the future, but don't hold out for anything of the sort before release.
 
D

DrBo42

Member
So about those SCB changes...

https://youtu.be/x_obnjl6TvM

Now they're talking about making the class of SCB more vital to ship class/size meaning a 7 SCB for corvette will be appropriate while a 5 will be less effective. (But it's always been that way)

It's nice that they're making quick changes but it really shows how little planning they made to tackle this internally. First their shock at how much module damage scb heat was causing -> increasing scb regeneration effect -> oh god, that was too much uh...rebalance it for size.

This isn't how you make changes to pvp/pve combat mechanics.
 
B

Burny

Member
Funky Functionality said:
Doesn't seem likely with the way they're generating terrain. Same reason we're not getting caves. Displacement alone can only do so much. They may rework things in the future, but don't hold out for anything of the sort before release.
Click to expand...

The way the Outerra people are generating their jagged features and overhangs isn't all that different from the generation of sloped terrain. They are adding a "second", horizontal displacement step. This doesn't have to do with caves.

After seeing Outerra, I'll put it this way: In the Horizons footage shown so far, planets look like they stopped two steps short of making them believable. What I'm missing is the horizontal displacement for jagged features as well as large rocks on the ground seen in that presentation. I'd be quit disappointed if they didn't include that in the Horizons release. Mountains created by tectonic activity look simply unreal up close when they're only made of varying slopes. They need to be jagged.



The link to the presentation seems to be broken, so here is the corresponding forum entry. It contains growing stones, which is rather interesting to watch. ^^
 
B

Burny

Member
Staab said:
The Outerra stuff is crazy good.
I really doubt we'll get anything close to that in Elite though :eek:
Click to expand...

Other than time running out, I don't see why we shouldn't. In that case, there'as still time after the Beta starts. Frontier strikes me as a technically pretty capable studio and it's not just a "nice to have" feature imo, but a major shortcoming in the proc-gen.

Why would they go to the length of basing their generation on tectonic plates and then not want to make the resulting mountains convincing?
 
S

Staab

Member
Oh, I think it would be great and I believe they probably could...
But if it's not in there by now, I assume there must be some technical hurdle, or time constraint aspect, that doesn't allow it.
Seems like a pretty basic feature to have, wouldn't you think ?
Especially since in Elite they don't have to replicate real-life heightmaps like they do in Outerra since it's all procedurally generated, it would seem logical and easier to do than on an Earth-replica.
 
D

DrBo42

Member
I feel like if their current procedural generation tech could do it, it'd be in the presentation vids. May have to wait until later on for them to revisit it.
 
H

Hylian7

Member
Dropped in all my power commodity for Rating 5 again next week, now come on, ALD #1!

Especially if 1.5 hits soon, then I can bounty hunt in the new and improved FDL.
 
B

Burny

Member
Staab said:
Seems like a pretty basic feature to have, wouldn't you think ?
Especially since in Elite they don't have to replicate real-life heightmaps like they do in Outerra since it's all procedurally generated, it would seem logical and easier to do than on an Earth-replica.
Click to expand...

I agree, it seems pretty basic. That response directly after my post makes me think that guy might or might not know something...

Elite's generation - at least on fictive worlds - would have the advantage of not requiring Gigabytes of data for storage. A seed and the proc-gen algorithm should do.
 
Mengy

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
Burny said:
Other than time running out, I don't see why we shouldn't. In that case, there'as still time after the Beta starts. Frontier strikes me as a technically pretty capable studio and it's not just a "nice to have" feature imo, but a major shortcoming in the proc-gen.

Why would they go to the length of basing their generation on tectonic plates and then not want to make the resulting mountains convincing?
Click to expand...

If I had to guess it's probably due to performance limitations. Outtera does some awesome stuff but it's a pure simulation, not a game, so it can dedicate everything CPU wise to surface generation. Elite though is a game with a procedural generation environment in it, thus it also has AI to deal with, vehicle simulation, multiplayer stuff, etc. If they want Elite to keep it's performance up to par then they can't do everything that Outtera does, they simply won't have the CPU cycles to do it all.

What we are getting, while not perfect nor up to Outtera's standards, is still honestly better than I expected them to pull off considering the overhead they have in game.
 
P

Pomerlaw

Member
They will keep updating the PG stuff in the coming years.

Don'T ever think for a second that what we will have in a few weeks is going to be final.
 
B

Burny

Member
Mengy said:
If I had to guess it's probably due to performance limitations. Outtera does some awesome stuff but it's a pure simulation, not a game, so it can dedicate everything CPU wise to surface generation.
Click to expand...
From the first few slides:
All planetary data have to be compiled into our internal formats that are designed to be GPU-friendly, since the most of the terrain generation and rendering tasks in Outerra are performed by the GPU.

The data are divided into blocks and arranged by the level of detail, and the application has to get just what it needs for the visible part of the world.
Click to expand...
Also, their demo requirements don't make it look like it's requires unreasonable hardware (must remember to give it a try at home!):
Recommended:
Nvidia 470GTX or better, ATI 6870 or better
2GB graphics memory
a 2-core CPU
Click to expand...

Frankly, I think time is more of a limiting factor than anything else. In the recent live streams they have even had placeholder visual effects and the beta is supposed to start next week. I fully expect them to be patching in things they weren't able to include on time.

Pomerlaw said:
Don'T ever think for a second that what we will have in a few weeks is going to be final.
Click to expand...
Oh, I'm aware that E:D is a is evolving. I would just find it sad if their procedural surface generation would be this lacking at the Horizons vanilla release, seeing as it's their big initial feature and many other things are relegated to the season's later updates.
 
A

Anton Sugar

Member
Dumped 100 tons of Computer Components at Kaushpoos last night and easily cleared the 99% bracket, which is an easy 3 million credits (at least).

The CG still needs a lot of help, unfortunately :( One day left and we have commodity market, universal cartographics, refuel, repair, munitions and contact. Tier 10 is a shipyard, which looks impossible at this point (we're at Tier 5, I think), but I would love outfitting at this station.

Braben also gave a lil update on the 2.0 beta--64 bit OS only!

The Elite Dangerous team are working very hard getting ready for the Horizons beta next week. I have been impressed at what I&#8217;ve seen, it&#8217;s looking really beautiful; they are doing amazing things.

As always we&#8217;ve come across and solved quite a few issues. Our game is already using 64 bit data structures internally, and has been since the Kickstarter, but we&#8217;ve had to make a late decision to move to 64 bit OS support only (for Horizons), as some of the things we are doing with compute shaders have proved unreliable on Windows 32, especially with certain graphics cards even with the latest drivers.

So 2.0 and the Planetary Landings beta will be Win64 only. Season one will remain supported on 32 bit as well as 64 bit, until sometime next year at least. The good news is this doesn&#8217;t affect the majority of players; over 99% of our existing players are already running a 64 bit OS, but I&#8217;m afraid the roughly 0.5% on our last hardware survey who were still running a 32 bit OS will have to upgrade to run Horizons (most of these people may have upgraded anyway as they were still on DX10).

The team are working very hard, including this weekend to get the beta ready. The compute shader issues have caused us some delays, but it is well worth it. We are pushing this technology harder than we think anyone else has pushed it, and the results are great &#8211; the quality has continued to get better than those shown in my sneak peeks so far.

It will be tight for Tuesday but hopefully we can still achieve this date. It is looking and feeling really good, but if we find another major issue before Tuesday, we&#8217;ll let you know.

I will remain on this thread answering questions for the next hour, and will try to do a &#8216;sneak peek&#8217; tomorrow too.

Right on Commander!
Click to expand...

He's actually answering questions in the thread. Sounds like a delay of a few days is POSSIBLE.

EDIT: Also, check it out--Obsidian Orbital!

yq8BHel.png
 
Mengy

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
Just to let any explorers know, Erimus is organizing a group exploration trip all the way to Beagle Point on the far rim on the other side of the galaxy after Horizons launches:

image.php


https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=198085

The Distant Worlds Expedition is open to all who have the endurance and time to commit to this deep space journey.

The expedition goals will be three-fold :

1) To travel out to the far galactic rim and explore the worlds at as many key sites along the way - culminating with extensive SRV excursions of the airless planets at Beagle Point and the local surrounding systems.
2) To name the worlds that are explored throughout this journey, including the naming of interesting and distinct surface features we visit - like canyons, mountain ranges, gigantic impact craters etc (this is obviously unofficial, and is mainly for the Mapping Project). More details on this will follow.
3) Once complete, the expedition will leave the far galactic rim, cross back over the Abyss, and rendezvous at designated point on the edge of the Scutum-Centaurus arm. From there it will be decided by all members whether to follow the Centaurus rim 'southeast' and into the Silentium regions, or follow it 'west' and into the uncharted regions of the Abyssal Plain, one of the most remote regions of the galaxy. The purpose of this tertiary mission is to gather data on points of interest for the Galactic Mapping Project.

An additional mission goal (depending on how it works in Horizons) will be to seek out and locate worlds that are abundant in the new synthesis materials that are planned. Some of these materials are said to be capable of creating temporary enhanced fuel that can increase ship FSD range. Such locations rich in these materials will be invaluable to the exploration community, so scouting parties will be set up to locate and document these natural 'fuel depots' for the mapping project.
Click to expand...

I'd love to do it but they are looking to keep a pace of like 10,000 LY per week, and there ain't no way in hell I can play that much per week to keep up! I love exploring but I fly much slower than that. I might tag along behind the group just for kicks though, as I do want to see the far rim eventually so this might be a good time to do it.
 
J

Jedi2016

Member
In theory, there should be a spot of equilibrium between them where you could pass unharmed. Go ahead and try it, I'll wait back here. ;)
 
H

Hylian7

Member
Does anyone know where in the beta I can find a Fer-De-Lance?

I have been searching for four hours. I have shown only high population Hi-Tech economy systems, and even tried EDDB and not a single station it claimed to have FDLs had them. I just want to fucking try out the new pitching speed on the FDL in the beta. Ugh!
 
K

kvk1

Member
Reputation is so delicate in this game, it's so easy to degrade, and brutal to build back up.

I'm coming back from a long hiatus, haven't played much since PP was implemented.

Fucked up my Fed reputation in all kinds of ways in a span of about 24 hours. Went from Allied to Friendly mainly because I kept forgetting about minor faction dynamics. Who I should complete missions for, spare their killing regardless of their wanted status if they're aligned with me, etc.

Also, I forgot never to take any of "find this inside a signal source" missions. They are just the worst. The worst.

Just some musings. Can't wait for Horizons.
 
S

Serrato

Member
kvk1 said:
Also, I forgot never to take any of "find this inside a signal source" missions. They are just the worst. The worst.
Click to expand...

You know, for that they should do the equivalent in EVE, the deadspace ''pockets'' that are basically instances that are created when needed. A bit like the Current Signals but that are findable! Cause yes I approve that doing SS until you find the target is annoying. It's a reason I never do assassinate missions even if they are the best Reputation Rank wise.
 
K

kvk1

Member
Serrato said:
You know, for that they should do the equivalent in EVE, the deadspace ''pockets'' that are basically instances that are created when needed. A bit like the Current Signals but that are findable! Cause yes I approve that doing SS until you find the target is annoying. It's a reason I never do assassinate missions even if they are the best Reputation Rank wise.
Click to expand...

That would be a welcome change.

It's puzzling that their current iteration is essentially the same frustrating crapshoot it was from when the game first came out. The breakdown into the USS/SSS/WSS didn't really help in relation to the missions either.

I wonder if the mechanic is hindered by a more complicated fix than is apparent.
 
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