Newcomer / Intro Bunch of Noob questions

[RandomSanity]

I'm new to ED, and I have been having the most frustrating time ever with this game. Things that could be simple are needlessly complicated or frustrating. I've asked a few questions on the forums and have received decent answers so instead of creating thread after thread, I thought I'd ask them here.

1. I'm trying to make money via the method of finding unidentified signal sources and nav beacons. Now I can find them OK, but when I get near them in frameshift, I exist frameshift at the right location (both within the blue, speed and distance) but when I exit, the signal source is not there and there is nothing nearby. I can never locate the nav beacon or the signal again, it's like I'm in a completely different location.

The same goes for finding ships, I see them in frameshift, target them and exit frameshift so I can engage combat, but when I exit frameshift the ship is not there and I lose the target.

2. Is there an easy way to find the entrance to a station? Some of these are logically shaped and easy to find but others are shaped like a six sided dice and I find myself flying around them 5 or 6 times before I'm able to locate the entrance.

3. When I'm in framedrive, sometimes I put the throttle on full stop, but it still says I'm going too fast to exit, even when my speed is 0.14c or some such, how do I go slower?

Thanks in advance.. I'm sure more questions will come up.

 

[draktok]

For the frame shifting other players, you have to have an interdiction drive installed to use on them and pull them out of super cruise, otherwise you're droppping alone. For nav beacons and uss locations, you have to slow way way down and when you're near it it should say "safe to exit hyper space". But you have to be 1Mm or 1000km away and locked onto the target. Very close, very slow

 

[DaveB]

1: It sometimes takes a while for whatever is in the USS to spawn. Or it might be a matter of a few cans of cargo floating around as bait and the pirates won't jump you until you take an interest in them. (not worth it, they would be flagged as stolen if you scooped 'em anyway) Regarding frameshift, that's not how it works. You can't pull folks out of frameshift to fight them without an interdictor module. You can't see ships in frameshift from normal space, they are moving too fast.

2: always on the end that is rotating counterclockwise, for every station type.

 

[draktok]

For that stupid dice station, there should be some beacons with green lights to mark the entrance, but I do the same thing and fly around 6 times to find the damn short green light beacons

 

[Branoic]

1 - what is it you're trying to do at USS to make money? You wouldn't really need to go there unless you were bounty hunting, or looking for stolen loot to sell on the black market. Are you confusing them with exploration targets?

2 - for the dice shaped stations - there are a couple of things. Look at the hologram image of the station when you have it targeted - you'll see an arrow on the sides pointing to the side that has the door. Also, keep an eye out for trails from patrolling ships, as they patrol the front of the station. Some of the stations also have lanes of billboards out front by the doors which are easier to spot at a distance.

 

[terrorfel]

1. I'm trying to make money via the method of finding unidentified signal sources and nav beacons. Now I can find them OK, but when I get near them in frameshift, I exist frameshift at the right location (both within the blue, speed and distance) but when I exit, the signal source is not there. I've noticed that sometimes the ships don't show up for me, what I do is "stop" my engines when this happens and wait around 20 secs normally they show up at that point else I leave and try again. The best advice I can give is just keep trying. Pirates are very easy to find at resource locations, they normally pay out well if you are armed right.

2. The cubic stations have "arrows" pointing to the entrance if you "lock" onto the station itself and as you said the other styles have a logical entrance/exit Also, look for other ships, if you lock on them 9/10 the npcs are on the correct side.

Hope that helps

 

[Hump Johnson]

the cuboid I had same prob and answers were a, target it and in the lower left holo image of it you will see arrows on the flat surfaces pointing to the surface with the entrance b the entrance is usually the side facing the planet its orbiting and c if you come out of fsd drive the planet side you usually come out of fsd facing the entrance or at least on the right side of it. hth

 

[RandomSanity]

1. I'm trying to make money via the method of finding unidentified signal sources and nav beacons. Now I can find them OK, but when I get near them in frameshift, I exist frameshift at the right location (both within the blue, speed and distance) but when I exit, the signal source is not there. I've noticed that sometimes the ships don't show up for me, what I do is "stop" my engines when this happens and wait around 20 secs normally they show up at that point else I leave and try again. The best advice I can give is just keep trying. Pirates are very easy to find at resource locations, they normally pay out well if you are armed right.

2. The cubic stations have "arrows" pointing to the entrance if you "lock" onto the station itself and as you said the other styles have a logical entrance/exit Also, look for other ships, if you lock on them 9/10 the npcs are on the correct side.

Hope that helps

I'm on number 17, and I haven't found a single pirate at any of these nav beacons In fact I sit right on the nav beacon and there is nothing else in the whole area. I've done this 17 times and I can't find anything

My cargo hold is only 2 large, so I can't make money by trading. All of the bounty board missions need more cargo space. I've visited 11 stations in 7 different systems. I don't understand how people are making credits in either of these ways with the default ships. They speak as if pirates are everywhere when I've spent hours and hours looking and haven't spotted a single ship with "wanted" that wasn't in frameshift and therefore unattainable for me.

 

[draktok]

At the nav beacons i usually see about 5 or 6 wanted ships, and dozens of clean ships, per hour

 

[RandomSanity]

Where is this? I've tried 17 different nav beacons and I can't find a single one. I often wait there for upwards of 10 minutes because people tell me to be patient.

 

[draktok]

I don't know I flew 20 systems into space I can't remember the name. Poil, maybe? I'm not at home sorry

 

[Pon Farr]

Perhaps try exploration to make money for a while, then use that to get some upgrades. The first while is slow, but it's not impossible. I made about 20k scanning unexplored systems nearby. You have to sell the data at least 20ly away but that's no issue. After doing that, some small trading and simple delivery missions I had enough for a hauler which I kitted out for mining. About 4 hours gameplay doing that made me enough for my Cobra.

Keep at it, you'll get there.

 

[RandomSanity]

Perhaps try exploration to make money for a while, then use that to get some upgrades. The first while is slow, but it's not impossible. I made about 20k scanning unexplored systems nearby. You have to sell the data at least 20ly away but that's no issue. After doing that, some small trading and simple delivery missions I had enough for a hauler which I kitted out for mining. About 4 hours gameplay doing that made me enough for my Cobra.

Keep at it, you'll get there.

I just want to find something to shoot. Just once. Anything.

That aside, one question regarding exploring.. is there any way to avoid getting to close to a planet when you do that superdrive or hyperdrive? It blasts me out of superdrive right infront of the star which often starts destroying my ship due to heat.

 

[technophebe]

All of your questions are answered in my shiny guide here:https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=80291

(May not actually be shiny)

 

[Andrej]

1. Judging from yours experience i assume that you don`t exiting in correct point. It is the same as exit at the station, you must be under 1000 km with speed under 1000 km/s

2. Just align to the station that is rotating from you stick to throttle (mouse to keyboard, if you are right handed). The entering will be on the bottom.

3. Monitor your ETA to station and slow down to the blue zone when it shows 10 sec, and you will be fine.

Just keep trying Commander, Elite is not an easy game to master, but it is sure rewarding.

 

[RandomSanity]

1. Judging from yours experience i assume that you don`t exiting in correct point. It is the same as exit at the station, you must be under 1000 km with speed under 1000 km/s

2. Just align to the station that is rotating from you stick to throttle (mouse to keyboard, if you are right handed). The entering will be on the bottom.

3. Monitor your ETA to station and slow down to the blue zone when it shows 10 sec, and you will be fine.

Just keep trying Commander, Elite is not an easy game to master, but it is sure rewarding.

I'm using hyperdrive, I can't exit this manually, it does it automatically?

Additional questions:
So while I'm in frameshift drive, anything I see is also in frameshift drive and I can't enter combat, correct?

When I'm in a system and I want to go to a station that is still six hours away at my top speed, is there any way to superdrive/hyperdrive again? The game will only let me use frameshift and I have to fly for like 8 minutes or longer.

 

[Richard]

Don't know if this always works, but I find that approaching space stations as I'm flying outwards from the relevant planet tends to put the entrance roughly in front of you once I drop out of super cruise. In the original Elite the entrances always faced the planet, and it seems to work in E: D too.

About the nav beacons. I fly out to about 10 kilometres from the beacon, turn around and fly 10 kilometres back out the other way. I've usually found some ships by then. I'm sure you are already but make sure to target the beacon before super cruising to it - that way you'll be in the right place when you exit super cruise.

 

[Andrej]

I'm using hyperdrive, I can't exit this manually, it does it automatically?

Hyperdrive don`t drop you in the normal space, it drop you in SC, after that, you have to find yours point of interest (Nav beacon, Station, USS, etc.. you must drop in normal space there).

Additional questions:
So while I'm in frameshift drive, anything I see is also in frameshift drive and I can't enter combat, correct?

Correct

When I'm in a system and I want to go to a station that is still six hours away at my top speed, is there any way to superdrive/hyperdrive again? The game will only let me use frameshift and I have to fly for like 8 minutes or longer.

If you already in SC then no.

 

[Pon Farr]

I just want to find something to shoot. Just once. Anything.

That aside, one question regarding exploring.. is there any way to avoid getting to close to a planet when you do that superdrive or hyperdrive? It blasts me out of superdrive right infront of the star which often starts destroying my ship due to heat.

I do find it very odd you're constantly alone at nav beacons. Every one I've been to has other ships in and I've had enough kills at them to get to the dizzy heights of "mostly harmless".

When you drop out of SC at a beacon, can you actually see it? It should be on your scanner. Is it possible you're not dropping actually at the beacon , but some way before? I know you've said you are, but the fact that you're seeing neither beacon nor ships does make me wonder. No offence meant, mind. If you're absolutely certain you are dropping in right I'd suggest putting a support ticket in. Very odd.