So, what have you learned this weekend?

[trollson]

Braved putting my toe into the water giant for the first time since the update last night...

Despite predictions to the contrary I did not die!

I did however have to run like the solar wind from a Deadly NPC interdiction who took out my shields before I could turn to face him (I'm in an A-rated multi-purpose Cobra III). The police appeared on the limits of my sensors, but vanished before I could turn towards them.

Made it to an Engineer to have a looksee. Parked up for the night.

By the way - While scanning some moons on the trip, I thought that my Details Surface Scan declared "anomalous" readings on one scan, rather than the usual message in the Info panel. Was this space blindness or genuine? I couldn't see anything on the System Map afterwards.

If this is a "thing" then perhaps the DSS should send you a mail message to log the event, as the Info panel doesn't have any history and does not provide context. For that matter, a lot more could be logged in messages for persistence - even if its an "archive" to the local machine.

~~~~ This was a first encounter with the Data collecting aspect added for Engineers; the data report was found in the relevant inventory later. This new development was not known to me at time of writing.

 

[WR3ND]

I learned (again - repetition is part of the learning process I'm told) to not listen to 'Forum Rants™' and to play the game to be able to make my own judgements.

So far I like what I've experienced and have had zero problems with "OMG interdictions" and "OP AI".

Better lucky that good heh?

Out of rep for a mod... how embarrassing. [downcast]

 

[CMDR RaoulDuke]

I've learnt I don't have the jump range to get to the Formidine Rift. Back to civilised space for a better jump range.

 

[matemaster]

I learned that now shields and hull are made of paper

 

[anikaiful]

Learned? Nothing much which I'd not known before. Seen interesting things though and done some (to me brand new) missions.

 

[Mr_sukebe]

Thoughts:
- Crafting is clearly going to take a while. I've visited my initial 4 engineers and made rank 2 with two of them. Personally I'd rather have seen FD focus on logic like wings, and how run say convoys, but hey, that's just me
- I like the new traffic control. Lovely little touch
- Yep, stopped being interdicted by bad pilots in Sidewinders. GREAT. It was always ridiculous prior to 2.1, one of the worst parts of the game
- Yes, I am being interdicted, but now only by NPCs who think they've got a decent chance to take me on. So last night, I was interdicted by an Anaconda whilst in my fully kitted out Python. Yep, that is the way it SHOULD be. Me, I just ran for it. Quite why some players think it's a good idea to try to take on tougher ships than their's I just don't understand. So for me, a BIG thumbs up for the AI changes. No, i don't win all the combat, quite the contrary, I do a runner. Try it sometime.
- I did go off to pick some fights, but instead of taking an armed trader, took out suitably kitted out combat ships, i.e. with hull upgrades etc. Sure, it was more of a challenge, but it was more of a challenge in a GOOD way. I don't want it to be an auto-win.
- I like the changes to the missions and how they're given out. I'm now getting sensible level missions consistently. Prior to 2.1, I was regularly having to switch between open and solo to get some decent missions.

In short, this a definite "mind-shift" on how to approach the game. Previously, you do what you want with relative impunity. Now, you have to think a LOT more about consequences and how to deal with what you'll find.
My guess is that this will definitely slow down "the grind", but again, that's a good thing from my opinion. I want to play the game because of how it makes me feel, not just such that I can hit elite status.

Thumbs up from me.

 

[Kicks]

My PC died so I was forced to buy a new one. It was 6 years old. I've been dragged in to the realms of top-notch CPUs and GPUs.... the game is incredibly beautiful - I mean, it was before, but on a decent machine it's even more impressive.

 

[Flavourless]

I go anywhere and fear nothing (I run away a lot)

I know this is humorous, but in fact true. There is no dishonor in a tactical withdrawal when the odds are no longer favorable. Its just smart tactics.

Why do people monotonously claim that if an NPC ship has some kind of advantage then it is a bug??
It is a design choice which is required by the lack of ability or resources to program AI to be competitive in the game without allowing them to do things that a PC could not.
Whether that is cheating or not is just semantics, but ED NPCs have always cheated, do cheat, and always will cheat.

Anyone that accepts unsubstantiated statements from people in an online forum over personal experience is incredibly naive.

 

[Cynaqq]

My PC died so I was forced to buy a new one. It was 6 years old. I've been dragged in to the realms of top-notch CPUs and GPUs.... the game is incredibly beautiful - I mean, it was before, but on a decent machine it's even more impressive.

Hahaha The exact same thing happened to me with the release of Horizons. PC died on the day of the release and I bought a new one. The improvement was so tangible, I had some kind of space sickness for a few ours until my eyes adjusted to the new framerates and draw distances and higher resolution.

 

[bamber]

Scavenging on Planets is an even better way of making money early game than it was before - my cobra 3 currently has 50% of the stuff I have collected for free with a Galactic average >10000Cr

Don't sit on planets doing other stuff away from the game - pirates scan you!

The SRV is bigger and cant get under the ships as easy need to enter from the rear now almost all the time (oh err!)

Planets are a lot nicer

SRV track are great to follow to get to the canisters that have rolled away when you find them and you are full

 

[Eli Jack]

I learned that this:

Has no actual bearing on reality.

I also learned that I have a psychological aversion to playing slot machines to the point that I can't push the button. It makes me feel sick.

I learned as well that, contrary to my belief, I don't actually have to play the game at all and the world doesn't end if I don't.

Finally, I learned that the forums are far more entertaining than any game.

 

[Udayana]

Did they changed something? i'm pretty sure i have a lot less interdiction and godly AI's encounter than the last few days. Balance needs time, it is always the case with every MMO i had played. But i did have to change lots of things to the way i think, tactics, etc.

Old habits die hard, and it costs me around 50m credits to adapt, only a couple of millions left so i parked the big ships, sold a few costly parts and back in my Cobra Mk. III now

One thing that bothers me is the bugs. I learned a lot about bugs. The reoccurring kind of bugs.
Connection problems, Matchmaking, Adjudication, Infinite Hyperspace, Infinite Super Cruise, Infinite Loading, old repair bug comes with every major update. Resurfacing bugs is the most common. Actually i came here to the forums too see if anyone else has reported it. I really like to know and find it intriguing how a bug , one and the same bug, can reappear so many times? It gets silly.

 

[anikaiful]

I learned that this: http://i67.tinypic.com/4qmvr7.png Has no actual bearing on reality.

If it was gained pre-2.1, then no, indeed, it has nothing to do with representing skill for example

 

[Kicks]

If it was gained pre-2.1, then no, indeed, it has nothing to do with representing skill for example

I am so glad I'm only "Competent"

 

[anikaiful]

I am so glad I'm only "Competent"

Pretty much betting that people who AFK-grinded their way to Elite ranking are among those who are having hard time with AI that's not-so-dumb anymore

 

[Jason S]

I am so glad I'm only "Competent"

and I am glad I am only novice in fact one of the reasons I now always run is I do not wish for my combat rank to increase

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

That dropping such an update right before a long weekend is a bad idea...

It could have been worse - like a AAA-release right before the X-Mas holiday season, when most of the dev staff would take an extended well-earned break only to come back and see the people rage about the bugs.

 

[verminstar]

I learned that this game is not the game I thought it was...I can't play the game my way...no choice but to wing up or accept charity just to survive is not playing the game my way...thats a multiplayer survival game with months of constant grind to look forward to...yay not ^^

 

[kofeyh]

I learned that this game is not the game I thought it was...I can't play the game my way...no choice but to wing up or accept charity just to survive is not playing the game my way...thats a multiplayer survival game with months of constant grind to look forward to...yay not ^^

You can play it your way. However AI are now a little more of a threat to playing it your way, than they were. As it is for everyone else. Also elite has always been a grind if you let it be.

I have no idea what people will do when the big bad arrives. Presumably endlessly complain in the forums about not being able to play their own way (ie capitalise on stupid AI for profit).

 

[Bzek]

I learned that this game is not the game I thought it was...I can't play the game my way...no choice but to wing up or accept charity just to survive is not playing the game my way...thats a multiplayer survival game with months of constant grind to look forward to...yay not ^^

Except you don't need to wing or accept charity. There are plenty of choices for new starters.

I only wing to help new friends get in the game and teach them the basics. Usually I am doing my own thing and works fine. This is not only me, but the large majority of players.

You just need to practice and learn the ropes. It is a steep difficulty curve at the start, but not insurmountable.