Answers from the Devs 15/10/15

[Don Alvarez]

Now that new player factions are in, and hopefully with more on the way, and more players as a result becoming more interested in working and gaming the background simulator, are there any plans to make more of the BGS inner workings visible to players? For example welfare and wealth values can be a complete mystery, and there are more and more players trying to figure out how it all works but its like feeling your way around in the dark. Perhaps some of these faction values could be added to the system map to let folks get a better guage on how their effort are actually impacting their factions?
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Also
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It seems that when a faction expands into another system, there is now way to work to get it back out again. For example In the system my group is working we have a faction from a nearby system we'd like to get rid of. If a mechanic has been put in place for them to get there, it follows that there should also be a way to get them back out again. How can it be done?

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

First off, I have to say that I'm in total admiration of what the Devs at Frontier are creating with ED. After 34+ years of gaming, ED is the only game that actually caused me to speak the words, "I've waiting my entire life to play this"! That being said, I have a bit of a dilemma and I was hoping one of the Frontier Devs could nudge me in the right direction.

The scenario:

So I recently learned that a bunch of my friends are playing the PC version of ED which means I'm currently all by my lonesome on the Xbone. While I could plead with them all to get Xbone's, I know that just isn't going to happen. Besides, I have been mulling over getting this for my laptop so that I would have the option of a HOTUS and/or VR goggles. This could be enough of a tipping point to pry me away from Xbone, but I don't feel I have enough information to make that call yet.

The dilemma:

I switched to all Macs and got rid of all my MS machines a few years ago because I couldn't stand Win 8, so my trusty MBP is now my only option outside of Xbone for playing ED. I have a late 2013 MBP with a 2.6 GHz Core i7 CPU, 16 GB RAM, and an Nvidia Geforce 750M GT video card. With Horizons on... well... the immediate horizon, I have some questions that I haven't been able to find satisfactory answers for. So without further ado.

Questions:

1.) I did find mention that the 750M is not up to snuff and won't be able to run ED at the recommended settings. Is this true? If not, then questions 2, 3, and 4 become much more relevant.

2.) With regards to Horizons, should I bite the bullet and setup Win 10 in Bootcamp or should I cross my fingers and get the OS X version of ED? Obviously the optimal scenario is to have the OS X version of ED as I don't want to be stuck with the PC version if/when Apple decides to support compute shaders in OS X.

3.) Can I run ED without any issues on Win 10/Bootcamp? I don't want to make any assumptions before I buy a copy of Win 10, or the PC version of ED for that matter. If performance is degraded in any way with Win 10/Bootcamp, I'd rather gamble on Horizons getting support in OS X eventually.

4.) Which is likely to happen first; OS X support for compute shaders or cross platform support online? While Xbone doesn't currently have or support a HOTUS, nor even the hint of a rumor regarding VR, I may still decide to keep my money in the bank and hold out for cross platform support to join my PC buddies online.

Any help with this decision would be much appreciated.

1. I play with an older MBP from early 2011 with an HD6750M with 1GB of VRAM. I have I would say medium graphic settings at 1600 x 1050 and get around 30fps if the servers are not too busy, so your 750M should be well enough for the task.

2. You shouldn't cross your fingers for the OS X version of Horizons. It will probably never happens. So, yes, bootcamp is your best shot at this time.

3. Well, that's a hard question to answer. By plunging in the Windows world, you expose yourself to everything that makes us hate Windows.

4. Right now, I believe that the Xbox players are with other Xbox players, even though they share the same galaxy than PC users, I don't think you can instance or "wing" with someone on the Xbox if you're on a PC but I could be wrong about this.

 

[Warwick Red]

2.) With regards to Horizons, should I bite the bullet and setup Win 10 in Bootcamp or should I cross my fingers and get the OS X version of ED? Obviously the optimal scenario is to have the OS X version of ED as I don't want to be stuck with the PC version if/when Apple decides to support compute shaders in OS X.

I don't know if anyone else answered this, but if you buy the PC version, you also get the Mac version ...

 

[Hydrino]

Is there still planned a digital art book as promised to Mercenary Edition and earlier backers? I may have missed it but don't see it in my account to download and haven't seen a link like the game manual. I know most images can be found by scrounging the web and trying to get working links to old newsletters but it's a lot of work.

If nothing else, I think it would be cool for FD to put all the concept art and WIP pictures that have been publicly shared (newsletter, or other publications) in one forum post or website that is easy to navigate and call that the 'book'. I think the community Wiki has most of it but I hate that interface.

 

[Alec Turner]

Is there still planned a digital art book as promised to Mercenary Edition and earlier backers? I may have missed it but don't see it in my account to download and haven't seen a link like the game manual. I know most images can be found by scrounging the web and trying to get working links to old newsletters but it's a lot of work.

If nothing else, I think it would be cool for FD to put all the concept art and WIP pictures that have been publicly shared (newsletter, or other publications) in one forum post or website that is easy to navigate and call that the 'book'. I think the community Wiki has most of it but I hate that interface.

Very good point. I whinged about this when it was 6 months late and am currently planning a special "let's celebrate the digital art book being 1 year late" event involving a coach to Cambridge, placards, eggs and a lifesize Wicker Man style Ed Lewis bobblehead. Watch the forum for further details ;-)

 

[Gryphorim]

On the Elite: Dangerous wiki, ships page, there are descriptions of capital class ships other than the big battlecruisers/interdictors. Specifically: Carriers, Destroyers and Frigates.
Now, while the Anaconda has been described as pulling duty as a frigate in smaller forces, and the carrier is mostly obsolete, will destroyers or other ships in the size gap between the largest player operated vessels and the Battlecruisers be coming in Horizons or 1.5? I dont mean playable, just as NPC occurences for when a show of force is wanted but a Battleship is too much.
Also curious about capital cargo ships like in the FE2 intro, and potential Alliance q-ships.

 

[Teklow82]

Does anyone else wish that if your weapons are retracted perhaps it be better if maybe your systems recharge better.. so say your at a RES site or COMBAT zone. if your shields take a punding and you need to fly off for a bit to recharge. just seems im spending more time recharging shields then anything else these days. yes i have SCB but it be nice to maybe retract weapons and maybe get a small bonus to shield recharging.. just thought for dev's maybe so i can get back to enjoying the game more.

 

[AnnuverScotinExile]

Is there still planned a digital art book as promised to Mercenary Edition and earlier backers? I may have missed it but don't see it in my account to download and haven't seen a link like the game manual. I know most images can be found by scrounging the web and trying to get working links to old newsletters but it's a lot of work.

If nothing else, I think it would be cool for FD to put all the concept art and WIP pictures that have been publicly shared (newsletter, or other publications) in one forum post or website that is easy to navigate and call that the 'book'. I think the community Wiki has most of it but I hate that interface.

There is a sort-of excuse with them waiting for the 30 ships to be out so they can include pictures of all the ships. <snip>

 

[nosscar]

Hello Don Antonaci, Don Trotter here, i need information, and if i don't get it, your gonna be wearing a concrete overcoat pretty soon, so don't lock horns wi me or my truckers on this.

What i need to know is, what's gonna happen when you are killed or die on a planet, do we go back to last station, or end up in our ship in orbit, or something else.

I wanna know because that's where all your guys will be going on the first planetary CG we have.
[h=5][/h]

 

[newman1702]

Hello Don Antonaci, Don Trotter here, i need information, and if i don't get it, your gonna be wearing a concrete overcoat pretty soon, so don't lock horns wi me or my truckers on this.

What i need to know is, what's gonna happen when you are killed or die on a planet, do we go back to last station, or end up in our ship in orbit, or something else.

I wanna know because that's where all your guys will be going on the first planetary CG we have.

They did in fact answer this during their last streams - if you die in an SRV you will just appear back in your ship.

 

[nosscar]

They did in fact answer this during their last streams - if you die in an SRV you will just appear back in your ship.

thanks, watched the streams, missed that bit, so no consequence then other than maybe losing a srv, hope they make em expensive.

 

[Karan S'jett]

Hey zac! Some questions about minor factions:

1. War states can override economical states and that seems logical to me, but why can't an expansion state not override them too? It seems logical to me that if you get your minor faction into high influence and a boom state a consequense of that is that they hit an expansion state because of the boom state since they gathered enough resources to pay for that expansion.

2. Will frontier ever release a factual guide on how minor faction and all states work? Even if it's a simple one, it would be of great help. There are so many guesses and contradictions everywhere now that nobody can make anything of it. The mercs of mikunn guide seems rather spot on but it is still far from complete!

Thanks and keep up the good work
CMDR Karan S'jett o7

 

[hchalkley]

@PHFEENIKZ - The Geforce 750M does support DirectX 11, so the game should run OK in Bootcamp - I also have an iMac at home, I installed bootcamp in order to run the beta before the mac version came out. The 750M is a 'laptop' GPU, relatively low spec - it may take longer to generate the planetary surface textures as you approach a planet.
If you buy the game for PC/Mac, you can download and install both versions - you just can't log in to both at the same time. Game performance in Bootcamp is very similar to native osx.
OSX support for compute shaders depends on Apple; Cross-platform support for PC/Xbox depends on Microsoft; I wouldn't want to bet on whether either might happen at any point.
(If you don't like Win8 or 10, you can still find places to get Win7)

 

[Noogillim]

Can pilot-less ships in orbit while the pilot is down on the surface hail the SRV to alert them of other traffic/threat in orbit?

Not sure you'd be to impressed, driving your SRV around the planet surface when you come across a ship wreck on the surface, only to get that sinking feeling when it dawns on you that it's your ship !

What mechanics are in place for your abandoned ship?

 

[CmdrJacks]

@PHFEENIKZ - The Geforce 750M does support DirectX 11, so the game should run OK in Bootcamp - I also have an iMac at home, I installed bootcamp in order to run the beta before the mac version came out. The 750M is a 'laptop' GPU, relatively low spec - it may take longer to generate the planetary surface textures as you approach a planet.
If you buy the game for PC/Mac, you can download and install both versions - you just can't log in to both at the same time. Game performance in Bootcamp is very similar to native osx.
OSX support for compute shaders depends on Apple; Cross-platform support for PC/Xbox depends on Microsoft; I wouldn't want to bet on whether either might happen at any point.
(If you don't like Win8 or 10, you can still find places to get Win7)

+1 for the clearest answer we've ever had.

I may need to lay down.

 

[Riedquat]

I know weve been told that we will come across the skimmers whilst on planet surfaces.

But will we also encounter ships whilst we are in our SRV's?, of the varieties we already see in space?

I think this would be incredibly immersive, not only to see the odd ship buzzing past, but to encounter enemy ships as well, including player ships (friendly/hostile).

 

[Arubeto]

I know weve been told that we will come across the skimmers whilst on planet surfaces.

But will we also encounter ships whilst we are in our SRV's?, of the varieties we already see in space?

I think this would be incredibly immersive, not only to see the odd ship buzzing past, but to encounter enemy ships as well, including player ships (friendly/hostile).

Yes, that would be great! It could also prevent space and planet surfaces from appearing as two totally separate "levels" in the game and show that everything is connected with everything.

 

[phfeenikz]

@PHFEENIKZ - The Geforce 750M does support DirectX 11, so the game should run OK in Bootcamp - I also have an iMac at home, I installed bootcamp in order to run the beta before the mac version came out. The 750M is a 'laptop' GPU, relatively low spec - it may take longer to generate the planetary surface textures as you approach a planet.
If you buy the game for PC/Mac, you can download and install both versions - you just can't log in to both at the same time. Game performance in Bootcamp is very similar to native osx.
OSX support for compute shaders depends on Apple; Cross-platform support for PC/Xbox depends on Microsoft; I wouldn't want to bet on whether either might happen at any point.
(If you don't like Win8 or 10, you can still find places to get Win7)

Thank you, that really helps me weigh this decision. I'd probably go for Win10 since it can stream all my games from the Xbone, in case I ever want to do that at some point. I think the Xbone does the same with regards to the planetary surfaces. When you get close in super cruise, it looks like the surface is having a spasm every few seconds so it's not likely to be a downgrade from my current experience. I do have one other question. Do you use a HOTAS with your iMac? If I'm going to go this route, I'd definitely like to get one as that would be a huge checkmark in the win column if I decide to go this route.

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

Thank you, that really helps me weigh this decision. I'd probably go for Win10 since it can stream all my games from the Xbone, in case I ever want to do that at some point. I think the Xbone does the same with regards to the planetary surfaces. When you get close in super cruise, it looks like the surface is having a spasm every few seconds so it's not likely to be a downgrade from my current experience. I do have one other question. Do you use a HOTAS with your iMac? If I'm going to go this route, I'd definitely like to get one as that would be a huge checkmark in the win column if I decide to go this route.

Just my $0.02. I started playing with mouse and keyboard. Then, I decided to give my Logitech a try. Never went back to the mouse. I finally got a Saitek X52 and I'm loving it. I think that's a big factor in choosing whether to play on Xbox or PC. To me, at least, it is a huge factor. You just don't "feel" your ship the same when using a button or a little joystick on a game controller.

 

[David Aaron]

Since 1.5 and Horizons will release at same time will the beta's be together on the same server?