My Thoughts on ED + noob questions i need help with.

[BanzaiMike]

I managed to get a few hours on Elite for the very first time (on any platform), I am already completely in love with this game and can see this taking many many hours of my life!

Training missions went well apart from the Advanced Combat, that Eagle owned me multiple times, and then some, but by then end he may have been owning me some more but i was putting up a heck of a fight however i was really struggling to get the hang of out maneuvering the ship to get on his six. Most times as we passed and turned on each other we was face to face but that is nothing that wont come from practice.

Graphics are amazing on both Performance and Quality settings, I had some minor screen tear on occasion but it was very minimal. I am running quality setting and the fps seems to hold very well with very smooth game-play and the only slow down I experienced was dropping into an instance where occasional this would take a little while but it didn't unduly affect the experience given the servers have just launched.

The sounds, oh my the sounds. Ambient, the score, the ships, weapons, everything is just fantastic.

Controls are very good and accurate in the default settings, I tried a few different combinations that a friend on Party chat was trying but I went back to a ever so slightly tweaked version of the defaults, I have the hang of most things however its a real struggle lining up with the letterbox and keeping aligned whilst approaching.

-I noticed in the control options there was an option for Rotational Control which mentions it helps with ports etc yet i do not know how to toggle this option, anybody able to shed any light on how to use this feature, what buttons to use and could explain further what it actually does?
-Any advice on approach to letterboxes as I am struggling to keep aligned on approach?
-Maneuvering to line up with the pads can be tricky when right above them as if i overshoot it can easily go pear shaped when trying to reverse back to it, any advice from the long time CMDR's?
-Also I crashed and burned in the back of the Dahan gateway on my first attempt (accidentally boosted) and accrued a dormant bounty of 1000cr, how do i pay this off as i cannot find any menus when docked in the port or on the ship to do this?

This day is going to be a hell of a long slow day for me in work until i can get home and jump back on again [haha]

 

[Mr Cynical]

Rotation control is only inside the large spinning stations. It's on by default, try landing without it on! It's a setting on the right hand panel.

Line up 5km out and just approach slowly (under 100) until you get hang of it. If you fancy boosting in when smuggling, make sure to put 4pips to sys to max your shield strength if you are not confident of making the slot, or plastering the back of the station when inside

Landing is easier to start with if you head nose first straight down onto the pad, then when the landing guide appears you just see where you need to rotate/pitch etc. Don't forget gear and the big yellow arrow pads must be at the back.of your ship when landing, not the front, or you can't dock. Did that more than a few times when first flew.
o7

I was loving being back in a sidey again last night, it all feels new again. You will lose hours of your real life in this game, better get used to not needing any other games, save your cash for the Frontier store!

 

[BanzaiMike]

Rotation control is only inside the large spinning stations. It's on by default, try landing without it on! It's a setting on the right hand panel.

Line up 5km out and just approach slowly (under 100) until you get hang of it. If you fancy boosting in when smuggling, make sure to put 4pips to sys to max your shield strength if you are not confident of making the slot, or plastering the back of the station when inside

Landing is easier to start with if you head nose first straight down onto the pad, then when the landing guide appears you just see where you need to rotate/pitch etc. Don't forget gear and the big yellow arrow pads must be at the back.of your ship when landing, not the front, or you can't dock. Did that more than a few times when first flew.
o7

Thanks MrC, its certainly a struggle getting to grips with approach and landing but its one I thoroughly enjoyed and no doubt will get the hang of soon enough.

Do you have any idea on the bounty and how to get rid?

 

[Jintosh]

On the back of all stations is a feature rising up from dead center of the back wall, that has lights on it. From outside of the slot you can see these lights when you are correctly lined up. Keeping the three lights visibly centered as you head through the slot will pretty much guarantee you make it through ok. In anything bar a Beluga or a Type 9 you can move so the lights are on the green-light-side of the slot, which will keep you safe from any exiting NPC ships.

In the Station Services menu there's a Contacts link. The place to pay off bounties in located under it.

...and if you want to play with rotation control, make sure you're in a cheap ship the first time you do that inside a station :-D

 

[BanzaiMike]

On the back of all stations is a feature rising up from dead center of the back wall, that has lights on it. From outside of the slot you can see these lights when you are correctly lined up. Keeping the three lights visibly centered as you head through the slot will pretty much guarantee you make it through ok. In anything bar a Beluga or a Type 9 you can move so the lights are on the green-light-side of the slot, which will keep you safe from any exiting NPC ships.

In the Station Services menu there's a Contacts link. The place to pay off bounties in located under it.

...and if you want to play with rotation control, make sure you're in a cheap ship the first time you do that inside a station :-D

Thanks Jintosh will keep that in mind

 

[Ashnak]

...
-Any advice on approach to letterboxes as I am struggling to keep aligned on approach?...

Since you're probably still in the Sidey, yes, one: Don't bother too much. In the Sidey, the slot is HUGE.

Check this video:

Spoiler

[video=youtube;LRYWlezRLE4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRYWlezRLE4[/video]

 

[TorTorden_VR]

Maneuvering to line up with the pads can be tricky when right above them as if i overshoot it can easily go pear shaped when trying to reverse back to it, any advice from the long time CMDR's?

May main trick is to use the compass marker.

Outside with docking clearance it should point to the mailslot, I don't have any problem finding that anymore.
But inside it starts indicating the center of your landing pad.
I then align center with my pad and glide towards the numbers, when the compass marker is directly below you, and at the very point it blips between solid and hollow is dead center above the lock in spot.
When there I apply gentle vertical thrust down.
Nails it every time.

Or you can get a docking computer and watch it grind your ship across the floor, as if you have given the stick to Roger that 'special' cousin who's hands for some reason always smell bad.

As for the combat trainers I find them not really suited for the main game.
Granted I haven't really done them yet, but in the actual game I wouldn't take on waves of smaller ships in an Asp explorer, and I wouldn't fit it out the way they have in a million years either.
If you want to learn some combat I would get a viper mk3 and have at it.

Also whoopsies happen.
I lost at least 4 vipers to the back of the station, when coming in "a little hot".

 

[BanzaiMike]

May main trick is to use the compass marker.
http://assets-cloud.enjin.com/users/12219432/pics/original/3282361.jpg

Outside with docking clearance it should point to the mailslot, I don't have any problem finding that anymore.
But inside it starts indicating the center of your landing pad.
I then align center with my pad and glide towards the numbers, when the compass marker is directly below you, and at the very point it blips between solid and hollow is dead center above the lock in spot.
When there I apply gentle vertical thrust down.
Nails it every time.

Or you can get a docking computer and watch it grind your ship across the floor, as if you have given the stick to Roger that 'special' cousin who's hands for some reason always smell bad.

As for the combat trainers I find them not really suited for the main game.
Granted I haven't really done them yet, but in the actual game I wouldn't take on waves of smaller ships in an Asp explorer, and I wouldn't fit it out the way they have in a million years either.
If you want to learn some combat I would get a viper mk3 and have at it.

Also whoopsies happen.
I lost at least 4 vipers to the back of the station, when coming in "a little hot".

That's brill, thanks!

 

[TorTorden_VR]

That's brill, thanks!

Took me only about two years to find it....

 

[Mr Cynical]

Thanks MrC, its certainly a struggle getting to grips with approach and landing but its one I thoroughly enjoyed and no doubt will get the hang of soon enough.

Do you have any idea on the bounty and how to get rid?

The dormant bounty can be paid off as a legacy fine when the timer runs out.

Although, if you commit another crime in the same system or get scanned by the police in that system (and haven't paid it off while it was a fine) the bounty may be reactivated, and they will attack you as 'wanted' (that will show up in red on your HUD above your ship's signature gauge (the squiggly lines) on right hand side Keep the squiggles to a minimum for stealthy running if you want to do the proper smuggler roleplay.

If you have no intention of going back to the system, you could just ignore the bounty/fine. I think it sometimes pops up on rebuy screen if your ship gets destroyed too?

If you want to pay it off but you are light years away in a different system, you need to find a system with an interstellar factors contact, who can pay it off for you for a 25% fee on top.