What You Need To Know About Elite: Dangerous Before You Buy It On PS4.

Elite: Dangerous is Coming to PS4 - Q2 2017


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Hi Guys and Gals,

I've owned Elite: Dangerous since February 2015 on PC and spent over 4,000 hours on it since. That's not a typo, it's a four and three zeros. Skyrim comes second with 220 hours played. I have three accounts for Elite: Dangerous. This is the only game I've ever bought more than once and I play it every day. I'm not alone, Elite Dangerous has sold over 2.2 million copies since it was released and in Q2 2017 it's finally coming to PS4.

I wanted to post this for anyone who is interested in this game as background info so you can make an intelligent decision to buy this game, or not. It isn't for everyone. Don't just take my word. Read as many reviews and opinions as you can before you spend money.

If you lack patience, if you want instant gratification, or if you expect to be a game god dominating everything and everyone around you within an hour, do not buy this game. You'll be disappointed. Other games only last 30-60 hours total. In Elite: Dangerous you need up to 100 hours of game play just to get oriented properly to the game world and mechanics. This is a game where you need to think and plan ahead in both the long and short term. Your decisions have consequences and responsibility for your success or failure is on your shoulders. This game gives you nothing, but a small starter ship and 1,000 credits. You have to earn everything from that point forward yourself. Disappointed players don't understand this simple point. If you want it, YOU need to go out and get it. There is no overt story mode, just a quick intro through the tutorials, then it is just you and your ship. You follow whatever path you want.

Think of Elite: Dangerous as a sandbox. The game gives you the materials to do whatever you want, but does not tell you what to do.

There's no getting around this. Elite: Dangerous is HARD; at least until you understand the many facets of game play. There is a steep learning curve involving several dozen controls. It does not take you by the hand and explain every little thing as you go. You drive your own experience. The game is unforgiving. Mistakes, even small ones, can kill you. The game is real time. There is no pause, there is no save (except when you dock or log off), the game world goes on, no matter what you do.


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When you start the game, you'll have the option to do tutorial missions. >>> DO THE TUTORIALS <<<. Make your mistakes there as you learn how to fly and fight. You may spend more time in the tutorials adjusting controls, trying different throttle settings and getting comfortable then you would in other full games. This is time well spent. Skip the tutorials and you will regret it.

TIP: Once in the game, get out of your starter system as quickly as you can. More experienced players will jump you and shoot you up for lulz. Even three star systems away, you'll be a lot safer.

Elite: Dangerous is immersive. The visuals and sound are like a hot bath you sink into. Weapon and engine noises differ with each ship model. Your ship sounds different when you take damage or land on a planet. You can modify your ships with more powerful engines, weapons, armor, shields and equipment. I play the game in VR with 7.1 surround sound headphones and it is awe inspiring at times. The game can be used with most VR equipment. Oculus Rift and Vive are directly supported. No word on PSVR, but the devs at Frontier are first rate, so don't bet against it.

The game does not dictate morality. You play as friendly or vindictive as you like (as do other players). You can be a white knight hero or despised despot with a hefty price on your head. Or you can act differently with every encounter. As long as it's within the Terms of Service for the game, you choose how you play.

The Elite: Dangerous galaxy is massive. It's the same one we live in today. There are 400 billion stars and 99.97% can be explored or visited. It is therefore a mindbogglingly large game map where only 0.02% of the galaxy has been explored after two years of play. Planetary landings were introduced in the Horizons season expansion and you can drive around on the surfaces of literally billions of planets. The ability to land on atmospheric planets and Earth-like worlds is coming in future releases.

Galaxy Map (400 Billion stars) example videos here:
https://youtu.be/FPiDjDQHB6c
https://youtu.be/IHg6lHvWdCw


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We have a great community of helpful players from around the world. FYI, There is a group in game called Fuel Rats. The Fuel Rats (FuelRats on Twitter) are a player group dedicated to rescuing players that have run out of fuel in-game. There are many more community groups for racing, exploration, decyphering alien artifacts, etc.

Comments that this is only a space trucker sim are from people who rage quit when they were not perfect in the first half hour. You can space truck (trade) if you want to, but there is so much more to this game. As I said, it takes time to get the flight mechanics and game system under control. Once you "get it" you can pivot in space and fire behind you without losing forward momentum. True Newtonian physics, if you want it.

The one word you are going to run into is "grind." Grind refers to improving your position by doing repetitive things to get money, rank and experience. In my opinion, the players who grind are doing it wrong. There is no end game, there are no victory conditions and you don't "win" Elite: Dangerous. People "grind" to get into the top end ships as quickly as possible and doing the same thing over and over usually ends up making them bitter about their game experience. That isn't the way to play. Have fun, do what you want to do and let the experience and credits come your way naturally. The best ship in the game, according to some players, is an Anaconda. It costs 147 million credits just to buy the base ship and you'll need twice that amount again to outfit it. I might be a third of the way to getting one, but I really don't care about that. The other ships (There are thirty vessels currently) are fun to fly and adventure with. I have a blast in whatever ship I pilot.

A full list of ships (with the ability to modify them into various configurations) can be found here:
https://coriolis.edcd.io/


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In a traditional flight game, you set pitch, yaw, roll and throttle and away you go in seconds. Elite: Dangerous has several dozen controls you can adjust for piloting your ship, SRV and ship launched fighters. Many of the settings are OFF by default, but as you grow more confident and daring you'll find those settings add a depth and sophistication all their own. You can use a mouse and keyboard, or game controller, but a joystick or HOTAS rig will give you the best experience IMHO, especially in VR.

You can choose to be a pirate, bounty hunter, miner, explorer, trader, smuggler, scavenge planet surfaces for items, deal in transporting rare goods, or switch from one career to the other as you see fit. Many players have several ships they switch between.

Elite: Dangerous is a game of power management. When in game you only have a certain amount of power for your ship. You need to manage your shields, weapons and engine power to play effectively. In game, this is known as the SYS - ENG - WEP. Adding power to one takes it away from the others. Learn the implications of this in a safe environment (tutorials - DO THEM). You ship will need fuel to power internal systems. Run out of fuel and you will die. You ship also has limited life support if you suffer a hull breach. Run out of air and you will die. Trespass inside a station or over a docking pad without permission to be there and you will die.

Heat is your enemy. Weapons fire, silent running and flying too close to some planetary bodies or suns make your ship hot. Weapons lock onto heat signatures. You can use "Silent Running" to stop radiating heat, which breaks weapons lock, but heat will continue to build up internally. You need to know what to do, because extreme heat will damage your ship hull and internal modules. If your hull falls to 0%, you will die.

If you die, you lose any unclaimed bounties, exploration data, combat bonds, cargo, and can fail some missions.


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There are three game modes. You may log into or out of any of them without penalty. All of them require a constant Internet connection be active. They are:

Open - This is where many people start. You can interact with many thousands of other Commanders (CMDR's). Many CMDR's are decent, helpful and friendly. Some keep to themselves and may not communicate. Others run upon seeing you. However, be aware that it's a dangerous galaxy with some CMDR's who will shoot you up without warning, just to watch you burn. Open is for people who know what they are doing and can either defend themselves or know how to run. Both PC's and NPC's can be found in Open. Both can try to kill you or take your cargo. There are no safe zones in Open save being on a launch pad. Players or CMDR's can be identified by hollow rectangles or triangles on sensors. Triangles mean they have weapons deployed. Green are friends, yellow are unknown and red are hostile. Remember, just because someone is green does not mean you are safe from them. If you are in Open, you are a viable target at any time and you cannot complain if you get interdicted.

Solo - This is the same as Open, but you are the only PC. You can learn game mechanics here without the danger of players shooting you up. Be warned, NPC's will still interdict and/or try to engage you. When first starting out they can be a handful.

Private Groups - This is for several players to either game privately or with like minded players. Not ready for Open? Then join a private group where you can learn the game in (relative) safety. Form your own group for you and your friends, or join an established one.

TIP: The largest private group is Mobius with over 35,000 players globally and more joining daily. Mobius is PVE and player versus player combat is only allowed under extremely limited conditions when in this group. Their discussion forum is here:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38362

All game modes above share the same background simulation. You can swap between game modes as you like.

There are groups for various countries and languages as well. English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian languages (and others) are available in game. You can join other players in what are called Wings. A Wing can have up to four PC players together with in-game voice comms to coordinate activities.

Game missions involve retrieving rare or needed items, tracking down an enemy and destroying them, bounty hunting, mining, landing on planets, exploring, assassination missions, recovering lost or stolen items, delivering messages, passengers or smuggling cargo. You can investigate unknown signals, or if you are into the pew-pew, head into a combat zone. More content is planned over a total ten year development plan of which only two years have gone by. The game is being improved continuously.

There's an insurance scheme in the game where ship losses (NOT cargo) are covered. With proper insurance coverage you'll get your ship back as it was. If you fly without enough insurance and lose your ship, you'll end up with a basic Sidewinder and 1,000 credits which is what you start the game with. DO NOT fly without insurance unless you are willing to lose your ship and effectively start again. I repeat, DO NOT fly without enough to cover your insurance rebuy unless you are willing to accept the consequences. Players have lost over 300,000,000 credits worth of ship and cargo in a heartbeat.

Elite: Dangerous is dangerous, but oh so rewarding once you get it right. Major patches come out roughly every three to four months. The devs are working on more game content and improving things all the time.

This is a game in progress and you can have input into how the future will look by participating in official discussion forums here:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=29

I have made a series of videos on the various aspects of the game here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WzV8qArrWc&list=PLr0ohBrfo3ImP7gOhvY2gL0tlVD1J0ti-

I've only scratched the surface, there is so much more to discover. The game is not perfect. There are bugs and given the vastness of play, something will inevitably annoy you. However, if you can see past the issues (which are being fixed and improved by the devs constantly) and this style of game play appeals, then you'll have a great time. If you expect the game to tell you where to go and what to do, don't buy this game. YOU drive where your character goes and what they do, no one else. Do not buy this game until you understand what you are getting into.

People who dislike (and complain endlessly about) this game bought it because they expected the same old follow the story line, blam-blam-blam, get the BFG and kill the final boss. The game was not at fault, their expectations were. There is no BFG, there is no end game credit sequence, there are no bosses. The game never ends. It starts with you in a small, weak, cheap ship and 1,000 credits. Whatever you accomplish from there is up to you and you alone.

Before you buy, watch my video series, read as many reviews as you can and educate yourself to the complexities of the game before plonking down any money. Elite: Dangerous is a great game for me, but that does not mean it will be for you.

The game is not free to play as suggested elsewhere. The game (today, this may change over time) costs between $29-$59 depending on the package you want. You can buy separate paint skins, ship kits and other items to trim or decorate your ship. These items are optional and don't change game play or game mechanics in any way beyond the visual.

The game is available now for PC, XBox and Mac computers with PS4 coming in Q2 2017. More info at the link below.

http://elitedangerous.com

Good luck CMDR. Hopefully, I'll see you in the big black at some point. There are many reviews of the game out there. Don't judge Elite: Dangerous by my opinion alone. Go read as many as you can and educate yourself.

O7
 

stormyuk

Volunteer Moderator
Wow nice post, Thanks CMDR o7

I embrace the grind with open arms, looking forward to it.

+Rep for a decent post in this forum which over the past recent few days seems to have turned into facebook. Where did all the Elite Dangerous related posts go? ;)
 
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tl;dr I've pre-ordered ;-)

But seriously though thanks for this post, it's a really useful objective guide to people coming here who aren't as hyped up as most of us regulars.
 
great info, nice to see an experienced commander giving his take and passing on knowledge. we can never get enough hints and tips to start this awesome journey. Although I understand why various OPS state how this game works, I cringe everytime someone has to defend the pace or the playstyle required for this game, because to me, if your dumb enough to think this is a walk in the park or stupid enough not to research and look into such a large open world simulation, then you deserve everything you get.

I really don't understand those who feel this will be an arcade type of exp, y,know pick up n play???
 
Think of Elite: Dangerous as a sandbox.....

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To some a blank canvas they can play in and draw on, able to wipe it clean and start new adventures whenever they want....

To others, a box in the garden that cats like to *rap in...

To each their own (I'm of the former view as, I suspect, is our Shadragon, OP)
 

stormyuk

Volunteer Moderator
To each their own (I'm of the former view as, I suspect, is our Shadragon, OP)

I think most of the regulars on the PS4 forum are going into Elite Dangerous with eyes wide open but this post is great for anyone under any illusions. While I am sure there will be casual gamers on PS4 who will potentially be disappointed with Elite that will be mainly down to them and not researching the game well enough before jumping in. This for me is exactly the game the PS4 is crying out for. My brief incursion into PC Core Elite Dangerous left me wanting more. Hopefully the PS4 version will deliver.
 
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Thanks for the great post CMDR. I look forward to playing this game.(again) I played it in the 80's on 3 different systems, becoming elite 3 times, first on Sinclair ZX Spectrum, second on Commodore 64 and third on Atari ST. So, maybe once again on PS4. It has always been my favorite game, never found another game coming close to the Elite experience.
ED has much more depth than it's previous outings in the 80's. What more could a CMDR wish for?
 
Thanks for the great post CMDR. I look forward to playing this game.(again) I played it in the 80's on 3 different systems, becoming elite 3 times, first on Sinclair ZX Spectrum, second on Commodore 64 and third on Atari ST. So, maybe once again on PS4. It has always been my favorite game, never found another game coming close to the Elite experience.
ED has much more depth than it's previous outings in the 80's. What more could a CMDR wish for?

space legs and better hairstyles for the female commanders ;)
 
ED has much more depth than it's previous outings in the 80's. What more could a CMDR wish for?

Those who played earlier versions of Elite will most likely love the game, even if there are some quirks. I haven't played Elite since the '80 and those were fun times.

o7 to the OP! Have some rep on me :)
 
Question: I haven't stepped foot into the Elite universe since the early 1990s, in Frontier: Elite 2. That game has a wonderful auto-docking feature (that would every once in a while go haywire). Is there still auto-docking in Elite? Or have they resumed the sadistic/masochist docking course from the earlier titles? :)
 

Jenner

I wish I was English like my hero Tj.
Question: I haven't stepped foot into the Elite universe since the early 1990s, in Frontier: Elite 2. That game has a wonderful auto-docking feature (that would every once in a while go haywire). Is there still auto-docking in Elite? Or have they resumed the sadistic/masochist docking course from the earlier titles? :)

You can purchase an auto-docking computer to outfit your ship with, yes.
 
Question: I haven't stepped foot into the Elite universe since the early 1990s, in Frontier: Elite 2. That game has a wonderful auto-docking feature (that would every once in a while go haywire). Is there still auto-docking in Elite? Or have they resumed the sadistic/masochist docking course from the earlier titles? :)

The "may occasionally get you killed" part of the docking computer is still present also lol ;)

I would echo the OP. When i grew up playing the original non of my friends liked it but I loved it. It is still the same now, it is a fantastic game, but not for everyone.
 
i know it has surprised me how many pc commanders hate the docking computer, and openly insult players who use it, such a shame there is always a use for a docking computer
 
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