Elite: Dangerous

Has anyone else heard of this PC game? I stumbled onto it recently and it looks like an awesome flight sim / sci-fi experience. I'm planning on getting it, but it's currently in Beta. The basic premise is that you command a space ship, and you are free to travel to any of the 400 billion stars in our galaxy (yeah, 400 billion). You can mine, trade, fight, steal, discover, bounty hunt... pretty much anything you can think of doing in space.

Check it out: Elite: Dangerous

Are there 400 thousand million stars in this galaxy ? :huh:

Alexandre Orion wrote: Are there 400 thousand million stars in this galaxy ? :huh:

Probably not. :side:

As a flightsim nut, I'm watching and waiting. It got my attention when I saw it allowed in-cockpit first person POV. I just hope it has good gravity, with suborbital atmosphere and terrain modelling, but I do want everything
:lol:

It's weird we still think of Space combat like aerial combat, being of course there is no dense gas which requires 'flying' through out there in normal Space. I often wonder what real Space combat would look like, but I guess it would all be ranged energy weapons with a the fight devolving into ballistic weapons.... with the winning elements being power available, shielding and number of weapons ie size - bigger = better. Things like forward firing cannons etc would seem redundant. I think the smaller ships would have fully gimballed weapon array's around a central thrust module where all the stuff was packed, and application would be weapons would stay locked on target no matter the vessel's orientation and pilotage would all be about target selection, navigation and power management.

Alexandre Orion wrote: Are there 400 thousand million stars in this galaxy ? :huh:

There are approximately 300 million

I am so excited for this game though! You have no idea how badly I have wanted a game like this to exist. I've thought a game like this would be awesome since I started watching Star Trek: The Next Generation...

If I'm not mistaken, open Beta starts today. Ya'll might want to see if you can download it

Adder, have you played the game? I ask because you basically described exactly what the game is like. Energy weapons, ballistics, energy transfers between weapons, shields, and engines, gimballed weapons, locking weapons on target... that's all fact. Of course, you have to make money in-game to afford the better weapon systems and larger and/or higher quality ships.

The one thing I love about the game is the same thing I hate. It's complicated. I've been playing for a couple weeks now and I still haven't figured out what I'm supposed to do, or some of the more unclear functions of my ship. But then, that's cool, because it means I can do whatever I want. The main problem is making money/trading. Still haven't figured that out either.

Are there 400 thousand million stars in this galaxy ? :huh:

I'm sorry, LOL. :silly: The game doesn't take place in OUR galaxy. The number is right, as the game claims, though I imagine it is somehow randomized since it would be impossible to program 400 billion star systems.

One last point to make is that to play the game properly, you'll need a joystick. I've tried playing with a mouse, xbox controller, and one low-end joystick. I wasn't satisfied with control of my ship until I got the Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X Flight Stick. It comes with a separate throttle and even more buttons :laugh: It's pretty hardcore. There are much more complex and expensive ones though, so this was a compromise.

If any of you guys end up playing, let me know!

No I haven't played it yet, I think I watched a dev conference video a few months ago... not sure if it was prompted from a post here or just random interest.

I have a question, does the initial purchase allow unlimited play, or do you have to buy the program and pay a subscription?

I've got a Saitek Joystick (X45), but the throttle died, so I use a racing steering wheel (as throttle) and pedals (for yaw) to add the required control inputs. Its rough and ugly, but it gets the job done if I can get the axis' to match.

That's cool, Adder. Nothing wrong with jerry rigging your controls. I actually dusted off an old track-ball mouse to use for Head Look mode while I'm flying with the joystick, as long as I don't need my hand on the throttle.

That's a really good question, as to pricing. From what I've gathered, no one has ever mentioned a monthly fee. I don't think the game is technically an MMO. I hope there isn't a subscription though. Now you've got me worried Adder! :huh: LOL

I play it from time to time, this is actually a cool beta.
I personally use an X52 and vocal commands using VoiceAttack, enjoying it so far. :side: