I'd recommend looking around on the forums for people that are willing to teach new players(lots of them exist). However, keeping a negative attitude will likely get you no where. I am currently near the core or else I would help you out.
Well done on the beginner guides guys. GJ. (sarcasm)
- Thread starter Triple88a
- Start date
I'd recommend looking around on the forums for people that are willing to teach new players(lots of them exist). However, keeping a negative attitude will likely get you no where. I am currently near the core or else I would help you out.
I found the tutorials really helpful on here tbh. OK the docking one just gives you the basics but after a few hours you can dock a sidey without really thinking.
Best advice is to do some easy courier missions. Get an eagle and head to your nearest nav beacon for a while. That's should get you enough for a cobra which is a great multi role ship. From there you can do what you want.
Also if you head into a dock with the red light on your left (port) docking pad 1 is directly below you numbers go back then clockwise.
You'll be getting denied in open play on smaller platforms hit solo play initially you'll have less issues docking.
Best advice is to do some easy courier missions. Get an eagle and head to your nearest nav beacon for a while. That's should get you enough for a cobra which is a great multi role ship. From there you can do what you want.
Also if you head into a dock with the red light on your left (port) docking pad 1 is directly below you numbers go back then clockwise.
You'll be getting denied in open play on smaller platforms hit solo play initially you'll have less issues docking.
Welcome to ED! I started about 2 weeks ago and had the same problems you are having now. I played the tutorials until I understood them really well and I watched a lot of Youtube videos.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=77424
That link might help you. It has some good videos on how to get started. If you have other questions, please feel free to post here. The people are very helpful!!
http://www.elitetradingtool.co.uk/
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=80291
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=63119
Added some useful links! I hope they help you!
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=77424
That link might help you. It has some good videos on how to get started. If you have other questions, please feel free to post here. The people are very helpful!!
http://www.elitetradingtool.co.uk/
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=80291
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=63119
Added some useful links! I hope they help you!
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Wait a minute, you can handle KSP but not ED? That's like saying you can handle quantum physics but can't handle algebra. 
Figuring our what the hell you're doing is PART of the game. Take it in that way, and you will soon be on your way. If they told you exactly what to do and why, it would defeat the purpose.
As others have said, do the training missions to learn how to fly and dock, use the galaxy map to jump between stars, and so on. As for general hints on what to do:
You have a basic discovery scanner in your ship. In your right hand panel, go to the fire groups tab, and assign a fire button for the scanner. Now, when you look for stars for which you have no system data (the "show system map" icon is red in the galaxy map), jump to these star systems. On arrival, stop and face the star. After a moment, you should see the "discovered a new celestial body" message, and can target the sun. Do so, and your ship will begin scanning the star. While it is doing that, use your discovery scanner (hold the button until its finished). You may discover more system bodies (planets etc). When the scan is finished, target these via your left hand panel (navigation) and fly towards each, until it begins scanning them. When you're near that object, use your discovery scanner again (it has a limited range, and may pick up more objects now). Once you have scanned a system, you can fly to another system at least 20 ly away and sell your scanned data after landing at a station: Use to the Universal Cartographics function in the station menu.
As others suggested above, use the bulletin board in stations to find missions. I'd suggest you take only transport missions at first. Smuggling may pay more, but you must know what you're doing else you may end up dead or with huge fines to pay. You should avoid combat missions until you have mastered the training combat missions and know the basics of flight and combat.
You can also trade. But know that your starting Sidewinder has very little cargo space, and you only have very little starting cash, so it will be slow. Check the system map to find out what type of station you're at (for example, industrial, agricultural, refinery etc) and what other stations are in the system, or in systems nearby. Then check the commodities market and see what items are in stock. For example, if you are at an agricultural station, you will find things like animal meat, grain, and such. In the detail view for each item you will see what type of stations will buy that commodity (take that as a rough guide tho...its not 100% reliable). Buy as much as you can of these, and fly to a station which wants that commodity. Sell (with hopefully a nice profit). Repeat
Once you have earned a little cash, you can either upgrade the components of your ship (in outfitting) or buy a bigger ship. Its up to you
Hope this helps a bit. The galaxy is huge, and there's a lot to learn to be successful. Stay at it, it can be very rewarding!
You have a basic discovery scanner in your ship. In your right hand panel, go to the fire groups tab, and assign a fire button for the scanner. Now, when you look for stars for which you have no system data (the "show system map" icon is red in the galaxy map), jump to these star systems. On arrival, stop and face the star. After a moment, you should see the "discovered a new celestial body" message, and can target the sun. Do so, and your ship will begin scanning the star. While it is doing that, use your discovery scanner (hold the button until its finished). You may discover more system bodies (planets etc). When the scan is finished, target these via your left hand panel (navigation) and fly towards each, until it begins scanning them. When you're near that object, use your discovery scanner again (it has a limited range, and may pick up more objects now). Once you have scanned a system, you can fly to another system at least 20 ly away and sell your scanned data after landing at a station: Use to the Universal Cartographics function in the station menu.
As others suggested above, use the bulletin board in stations to find missions. I'd suggest you take only transport missions at first. Smuggling may pay more, but you must know what you're doing else you may end up dead or with huge fines to pay. You should avoid combat missions until you have mastered the training combat missions and know the basics of flight and combat.
You can also trade. But know that your starting Sidewinder has very little cargo space, and you only have very little starting cash, so it will be slow. Check the system map to find out what type of station you're at (for example, industrial, agricultural, refinery etc) and what other stations are in the system, or in systems nearby. Then check the commodities market and see what items are in stock. For example, if you are at an agricultural station, you will find things like animal meat, grain, and such. In the detail view for each item you will see what type of stations will buy that commodity (take that as a rough guide tho...its not 100% reliable). Buy as much as you can of these, and fly to a station which wants that commodity. Sell (with hopefully a nice profit). Repeat
Once you have earned a little cash, you can either upgrade the components of your ship (in outfitting) or buy a bigger ship. Its up to you
Hope this helps a bit. The galaxy is huge, and there's a lot to learn to be successful. Stay at it, it can be very rewarding!
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iam totaly new to game aswell, but now i can feel lack of tutorial. First of all is control - iam using X52 and spend like one and half a hour to figure out how to dock. Also i very like undocking tutorial where you can press all buttons and read what thay do.
Btw any1 who use x52 can help me figure out how to navigate on left bottom menu - i use Elite profile, and when iam 'look" at panel i can use upper joistick(on stick) to navigate right and left menus, but iam totaly lost how to navigate up and down, only way i could do it is using keyboard (W and S buttos).
I know i can find out it by experimenting with my X52 but alot of vidoes and text guides and also Saitek profile setup tool just a WALL of info i hardly can sort out atm. (yesterday spend all my free time after job only to figure out how to dock, lol)
Btw any1 who use x52 can help me figure out how to navigate on left bottom menu - i use Elite profile, and when iam 'look" at panel i can use upper joistick(on stick) to navigate right and left menus, but iam totaly lost how to navigate up and down, only way i could do it is using keyboard (W and S buttos).
I know i can find out it by experimenting with my X52 but alot of vidoes and text guides and also Saitek profile setup tool just a WALL of info i hardly can sort out atm. (yesterday spend all my free time after job only to figure out how to dock, lol)
X3 had a 96 page manual. I played X3 after reading that thing up and down. I played ED after doing each tutorial mission. When I got into the game, I figured out how to find my freegle via google and poking around the galaxy map, and spent time making sure each step I took was intentional. I did not jump straight in, hoping my skills and experience would let me find my feet, ing around until I ran out of fuel.
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Based on what OP has told us so far, I blame the user for this negative experience.
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To be fair, I'm a fan of roguelikes, so maybe I'm just really versed in starting.
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Based on what OP has told us so far, I blame the user for this negative experience.
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To be fair, I'm a fan of roguelikes, so maybe I'm just really versed in starting.
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I think I suffered the same issue as you when I started playing last year during Beta 3. What I did was made the joystick hat 1 performed as the WASD keys in the Saitek utility, which did the jobs of navigating all the menus. Then I redefined the power distribution keys to WASD too from within ED, so when I wasn't looking at the panels I could change those too which was what the original joystick hat 1 functions did. I hope that helps!
As for the OP, you sound a little bit negative and have come on the forums to say so despite the help you're getting from many people who can empathise with your plight. This game is awesome when you get the hang of it, but perseverance is the key and YouTube experiences offer the best way of learning that if you feel you can't understand the manual.
OP: You are correct, this game isnt easy to get into at all, many things are explained poorly, or not at all. Its quite fun once you get the hang of it, but much of it remains a UI nightmare for no ood reason. Your landing pad problem is likely because all the docking bays are full, though the game idiotically never tells you this. Either go somewhere else to dock, wait, or log out and log back in with solo mode so no other players can fill the landing pads.
You could always check out my handy beginners guide
I use the big volcano shaped thumb 4-way thingy on the joystick. But go into options (from the Elite main menu), and you can set the thing up exactly how you want it to work, and save it to a personal bindings file.
Learning on the fly is much more fun, and more rewarding.
I agree in principle, but it's down to personality. I think the Xbox version is more pick-up-and-play from a control point of view, but the tutorials need a lot of revamping to compete with mainstream games with proper tutorial modes that walk you through the basics. They should have around 30 tutorials, from how to manage the cockpit, to silent running and flight assist. Trading, PowerPlay, Exploration, Drones and Mining too. Even if it's just a set of 60 second videos linked from the game, but ideally some sandbox type tutorials like the ones we've got. An Adder with a drone thingy and a mining Laser starting 10km from an asteroid belt, with a remit to pick up 3T of ore. Simple to set up. Simple to explain. Great for practice. Great for the game.
Elite Dangerous...... Who said it was going to be easy?
I don't think Elite Easy will sell very well.
I know its not a helpful response to the OP; however, this is not an easy game to get started in, its a long grind to purchase and upgrade ships for any new player and you're learning all the time too. If you're expecting a "rail track" game you will be angry and upset. It is a fluid player choice game, where you learn everything you need as you make your progress within it, choosing or changing your "path of progress" as and when you want.
When you start:
I don't think Elite Easy will sell very well.
I know its not a helpful response to the OP; however, this is not an easy game to get started in, its a long grind to purchase and upgrade ships for any new player and you're learning all the time too. If you're expecting a "rail track" game you will be angry and upset. It is a fluid player choice game, where you learn everything you need as you make your progress within it, choosing or changing your "path of progress" as and when you want.
When you start:
- get to grips with basic fly out and dock before you can think of doing any missions.
- Use the tutorials on the start menu and don't go into game until you are feeling confident with:
- take off
- landing
- flying and
- basic combat.
- Learning to manage your cargo, navigation and ships modules will come in time, but enter as Solo mode first.
- Don't buy a new ship until you can afford the re-buy costs and the kick in your wallet from loss of cargo.
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You've convinced me as long as they are opt in and not compulsory (I like being able to skip them). They could even combine multiple tutorials such as the bulletin board, take off, station exit, hyper-jump, FSD, interdiction, combat, landing, repairs, refuel and claiming your money in a single tutorial pirate hunt (which could also demonstrate faction rep).
But if they did that there wouldn't be such timeless classics as "how stigbob learned that silent running turns off your shields, by hitting the wrong key in a dogfight" which I survived by the skin of my teeth and really enjoyed.