How Do You Elite?

[Good Whiskey]

Obligatory Cockpit Cat...

You can stop reading here if you don't like reading things.

I noticed that a lot of commanders have different play styles. I'm not talking about Solo/Open/PG mode preference here. I mean we all seem to approach the experience differently. Some of us are clearly roleplaying via self-imposed ironman permadeath rules and our associations with certain native powers and player factions. Others have different accounts for different commanders, all of which belong to them, but who have very specific functions. A few are only here for the death and glory, narratives be damned.

I'm just Good Whiskey. I'm this guy in most games. I'm simply indulging in the simulation here, but as myself. I'm even Good Whiskey in Fallout 4 where I play as a gunslinging boozehound who fills every problem he can't talk his way through or around with bullets. It took me a long time to find an online persona that suits me perfectly, and now that I'm comfortable, I don't really create "characters" any more with unique backstories and traits that are different from my own. The appeal of that process is gone for me.

How do you Elite? Is your pilot just you, sitting there in your cockpit and going about your business, or are you someone else? A "digital alter ego"? Are you many different people who are all trying to achieve different things within the gameworld? Do the motivations of characters you cook up supplant your own when something happens to them, or do you find yourself bending the arc of their stories to fit within the parameters of a grand cosmic tale that you're trying very hard to steer toward some preordained end?

This stuff is interesting to me. Whether you play in Open or Solo, not so much.

 

[Caramel Clown]

Interesting question. I usually like to get immersed into game's world, so to some extend I suppose I imagine main character being me. Or should I say I imagine myself being there. But it can't be that simple. I'm not an...Argonian dragonborn, or space ship pilot in 3306. Even if I roleplay a character I always try to give it some traits of me. At the very least keep the same moral compass, so at least I feel like I'm doing the "right thing". In my eyes. It makes it quite difficult to be a bad guy in most games. I have to try and come up with whole set of rules and reasons for my character to be that way otherwise.

 

[Riverside]

I'm just me. I put myself into positions that test my resolve in ways I couldn't do IRL, and set huge goals, break them down into manageable chunks & work towards achieving them. Sometimes they take years.

 

[TiberiusDuval]

Well I try to play clean. I do not do crimes if I can help it, I started as rp:ing small guy against galaxy, nowadays I'm billionaire doing what ever I want. Mostly exploring and some bounty hunting. Being Imperial nobleman and filthy rich, no need to anything I do not like.

My character Tiberius Duval is from illegitimate branch of Imperial Duval family, keen on correcting wrongness of his family branches fate. Being duke in Empire means that, this part of his mission is fullfilled.

 

[WR3ND]

I'm not sure I'd call it role playing, but I prefer to play the game along the lines of my Commander being me if I were a Commander in the Pilots Federation in 330X. When things like the meta progression and other "gamey" elements or limitations don't make all that much sense contextually in the game, it does bother me to an extent and I don't find them particularly engaging and compelling, so I tend to avoid them.

This is more or less what I've been up to in the game the past few years. → https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threa...te-followup-continuation.396449/#post-6238654

 

[Deleted member 38366]

Just "me" basically, no alter ego of any sort or form, nothing different.

In a sense, not much RP involved in that respect.
Helpful, been around a long time, strong moral compass (stuff that I do and stuff I don't by principle), joined and left several Groups, ran my own Group, did Fuel Rescues etc, hunted Volcanism when it was still very difficult to find...

In the last year, did more Exploration than before and got quite a few Codex entries throughout the Galaxy.

All in all, I've been "myself" so to speak in basically any MultiPlayer/MMO Game, coming to think of it.

 

[Sysmon]

Since this isn't Mass Effect and I don't have to worry about the intentions of my crew members, I basically just play as myself: Started out just exploring aspects of the game as it was being built around me, then started on longer and longer exploration trips. Now back in Colonia, I'm working on combat rank and Materials stacks for the next big exploration trip. Was going to replace the old Asp Explorer, which I've had since I got out of the Cobra Mk III, with a Krait Phantom. But I decided that the Phantom is just another Asp Explorer, just less so. So I'll probably take a Krait Mk II instead so I can have some interaction with my poor crew member, who probably is going insane just sitting around making money.

Next expedition will start when the weather has cooled down enough to wear the VR kit again. Then it is back to the core and to Beagle Point and see what's been built out there since my last trip that way.

When I come back to the Bubble, maybe in 2022 or so, it could be time to see what Powerplay has turned into. Who knows? This is all pretty similar to my life, which has had me wander ever further away from my original home country, to now reside in New Zealand almost on the opposite side of the planet, and wondering what to delve into next.

S

 

[Speedcuffs]

I think it's me, as I am now, but with a different back story.

Stigbob said something, can't find it to quote, but basically, I can't RP bad motherlover, because I keep forgetting to be bad.

 

[VR Jay Le Chardon]

I RP as a rogue imperial navy officer, who has gone renegade, I take the imperial honour into my character, who is loosely based on myself, or at least our ethics and approach to things are aligned. I set myself large loosely worded overarching goals, and see what opportunities for advancing those goals the game offers me, and those opportunities are what dictate my "gameplay style". If I'm getting loads of assassination missions from a faction I'm working, I'm an assassin, if there is only donations to be made, I'm a philanthropist, if its only really passenger missions for that faction that are worth doing, guess I'm a tourbus operator for a day or two.

 

[Iron Golem]

My pilots actions and mindset are my own. How I imagine I would have to be in this universe to survive and get ahead.

Honor and integrity are everything to me. I am lawful but will do what I have to do in order to survive and protect my own, which Elite is very satisfying in the sense you can feel like that in character.

I've been in learning mode so I tend to interact out of character but always try to be my Cmdr to a degree.

The thought of strapping into a spaceship and going out to make your destiny however you see fit as just another person in the galaxy is a big draw and much more fulfilling than a mere game. Elite to me is an experience.

 

[Biff Stryker]

Cmdr Biff is pretty much an extension of me I guess. I did get an alt so I could do some pirating and smuggling to learn that aspect of the game just for fun. My daughter just joined the Junior Pilot's Federation Training Academy (you know, the JPFTA) so I made the alt a female Cmdr and will turn that account over when she graduates. I did not plan on her taking my bubble Cmdr lol. Shes been riding with me on my way to Sag A* and we've done some bounty hunting in her Cobra to toughen up her VR combat stomach. I'll get a 3rd account here soon so we can wing up and run around and also support the home base faction. Best of both worlds

So on one hand I'm a very handsome billionaire lone wolf pilot out exploring the galaxy with no particular place to go, but back in the bubble I can still be a dad.
As far as role playing goes, I would just end up making a sneak archer anyway

 

[Speedcuffs]

sneak archer

Popular, I suspect.

 

[Red_Beard_98]

I, like most it would seem, pretty much just play myself. I usually run a narrative in my head as I partake in various activities. It helps keep me engaged especially when I'm thousands of Ly's away from another living soul. I play some table-top RPG's where I can play other kinds of characters so in Elite, I'm me. Now that's not too say that I don't partake in activities that I absolutely would not do IRL. I have pirated (I'm on the exact opposite side of the law IRL), I have randomly killed other pilots (NPC's, I try to make interactions with real people positive if possible), I have smuggled and I have been involved in human trafficking (pixel trafficking?). I'm not opposed to certain "bad guy" activities, it is a game after all!

 

[Darth Wonko]

@Good Whiskey - great topic. And, I'm still hoping/pushing for Cockpit Cats.

So, for me, I started my account and just bumped around not having a clue what I wanted to do. So, I deleted the save (after I had spent 1B credits on ships) and started over thinking I'd create a 'bad guy' account and start pirating and stuff. I thought it would be cool to RP a bad guy.

As it turns out, I just really can't do that. I can't even pirate NPCs.

Forget about slave trading.

I've taken 'Wet Work' or 'Special Ops' missions in ED, only to abandon them because I can't kill civilians. But, I have no problem, once I liberate hostages, killing the hostage-takers. And I'll scan data points, or whatever, because I'm a IT guy and take a pretty casual view towards hacking (unless it's someone trying to get into my stuff).

It's the same thing with my D&D group. No matter what, I just tend to end up being me, which is why my characters tend to have backstories where they're smart-asses who have had problems chasing women and getting in trouble by saying the wrong thing at the right time (or right thing at the wrong time?) and having their mouth get them in sticky situations.

I guess, at the end of the day, I'm a Chaotic Good <fill in the game/character/whatever here>. I'm going to stick up for the little guy, try to do what's right whenever I can and not worry too much about breaking laws that don't really matter that much. For example, I'll speed on the highway, but not in a school zone.

This goes into why I like being a Fuel Rat. I just like the idea of helping someone out of a jam.

 

[Rick6549]

Nah i act here how i act irl, same in-game (minus the murder and stuff)

 

[GeoJase]

I like to DSS planets with the phrase "commence planetary bombardment"

 

[metatheurgist]

Like a Samuel L Jackson expletive.

 

[Hedy]

Usually the complete opposite of how I am in the real world. I seem to play Elite and most other games as a sarcastic misanthrope, unless it's Fallout New Vegas, where I'm a serial killer who leaves a plastic dinosaur calling card.

 

[DNA-Decay]

Is your pilot just you, sitting there in your cockpit and going about your business, or are you someone else? A "digital alter ego"?
Do the motivations of characters you cook up supplant your own when something happens to them.
do you find yourself bending the arc of their stories to fit within the parameters of a grand cosmic tale that you're trying very hard to steer toward some preordained end?

Uh.
DNA-Decay kind of took over.

I exist under this name on
YouTube
Reddit
This Forum
Facebook (Dan Decay)
Twitter
The HCS and Voice Attack Forums
Discord
Inara
eddb
and even in-game

DNA-Decay is a generally a projection of myself.
Except that he's more well known, better liked, wealthier and better connected than me.
Older, better teeth and funnier. Many more followers on Twitter than me.
Better and more significant enemies too.

That annoying Alliance guy.

5000 likes here. 5000 posts here. 5 warnings here.

 

[Good Whiskey]

At the very least keep the same moral compass, so at least I feel like I'm doing the "right thing". In my eyes. It makes it quite difficult to be a bad guy in most games. I have to try and come up with whole set of rules and reasons for my character to be that way otherwise.

I have a tough time with being the bad guy too. Apathetic? Sure. I can do that. Downright "bad" never suited me though.

I'm just me. I put myself into positions that test my resolve in ways I couldn't do IRL, and set huge goals, break them down into manageable chunks & work towards achieving them. Sometimes they take years.

See that's impressive. I feel like that's something most people who are in a game for the long-run aspire to. Grand plans. Big careers. Something meaningful. Elite provides that "career" experience, assuming you're not prone to burning out.

This is more or less what I've been up to in the game the past few years. → https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threa...te-followup-continuation.396449/#post-6238654

I love that thread. I've been meaning to add a ship to it.

Since this isn't Mass Effect and I don't have to worry about the intentions of my crew members, I basically just play as myself: Started out just exploring aspects of the game as it was being built around me, then started on longer and longer exploration trips. Now back in Colonia, I'm working on combat rank and Materials stacks for the next big exploration trip.

I feel like this is where I want to end up in Elite. Out there somewhere. The bubble is still a comfortable place though. I still have a few grinds to polish off before I can just wander into the abyss and start a new life. But there's something oddly appealing about that too. Maybe it's for the same reason that my favorite part of anything is always the middle. Two Towers. The first episode of the second series of Spaced. Day 7 of a 14-day holiday. Does that make any sense?

I think it's me, as I am now, but with a different back story.

Yeah, the back story changes, but you keep the core traits of who you are as a person. I'm like that.

I RP as a rogue imperial navy officer, who has gone renegade, I take the imperial honour into my character, who is loosely based on myself, or at least our ethics and approach to things are aligned. I set myself large loosely worded overarching goals, and see what opportunities for advancing those goals the game offers me, and those opportunities are what dictate my "gameplay style". If I'm getting loads of assassination missions from a faction I'm working, I'm an assassin, if there is only donations to be made, I'm a philanthropist, if its only really passenger missions for that faction that are worth doing, guess I'm a tourbus operator for a day or two.

The Imperial/Federal/Independent RP affiliation thing is interesting. There's a foundation there to build something more than the average "freelancer" who takes whatever work comes their way. It also imposes restrictions that can help shape a character. That's awesome.

The thought of strapping into a spaceship and going out to make your destiny however you see fit as just another person in the galaxy is a big draw and much more fulfilling than a mere game. Elite to me is an experience.

I think this game's biggest draw might be just how big it is. Some argue that it's empty because of it, but space is empty. Well, mostly. It gives the pilots who brave it a certain uniqueness that you wouldn't find elsewhere.

As far as role playing goes, I would just end up making a sneak archer anyway

I have a theory that we all end up as the sneaky archer. Oh sure, we play as the sorcerer, or the shield warrior, or the priest. For a while. And tell ourselves that we don't want to be the sneaky archer, because everyone is the sneaky archer. It's such a played-out archetype. There's bound to be something more me out there. But really, deep down, we want to be the sneaky archer. So in the end, we just give up and buy a bow.

The commander Attack Chimp is essentially me but turned up to "on"

...

I made an alt named Officer Elvis

Please don't ever stop being this person.

I'm still hoping/pushing for Cockpit Cats.

We all are. It's do or die. This has to happen. We've gone too far to turn back now.

I guess, at the end of the day, I'm a Chaotic Good <fill in the game/character/whatever here>. I'm going to stick up for the little guy, try to do what's right whenever I can and not worry too much about breaking laws that don't really matter that much. For example, I'll speed on the highway, but not in a school zone.

This goes into why I like being a Fuel Rat. I just like the idea of helping someone out of a jam.

You have no idea how much this game benefits from the Fuel Rats. I learned about you guys before I knew what Elite was. Two DCS wingmen were talking about the Fuel Rats and I looked it up. The first gameplay footage I saw was someone hunting down and killing a Fuel Rat ganker.

Usually the complete opposite of how I am in the real world. I seem to play Elite and most other games as a sarcastic misanthrope, unless it's Fallout New Vegas, where I'm a serial killer who leaves a plastic dinosaur calling card.

... That's brilliant. You actually found a perfect use for the all those T-Rex toys. Well done, Hedy.

DNA-Decay kind of took over.

I exist under this name on
YouTube
Reddit
This Forum
Facebook (Dan Decay)
Twitter
The HCS and Voice Attack Forums
Discord
Inara
eddb
and even in-game

DNA-Decay is a generally a projection of myself.

Sweet branding. Seriously, you're like an industry. I'm Good Whiskey everywhere, but I'm too lazy to actually do anything with the accounts. I have a ton of footage I never upload, tweets I never send, posts I never make, and so on. I actually have no idea why I post here as much as I do. I suppose I just have a phone and it's probably the best forum I know of. Everywhere else I used to post feels stale. And dirty. Like old socks that fell behind the machine.