This might be a long post...Bear with me.
I've been playing since launch day...I'd heard about the game, thought about buying in before launch but didn't wanna spend $80 on a game I may or may not enjoy...$60, not as bad. Bought the game, setup my Sidewinder Force Feedback 2, and completed training. Loved it. Every second. Loved it so much, I dropped $200 the next day on a Saitek X-55 HOTAS. I played so much during my company winter shutdown that I got a sore back from crouching over my desk to use the flight stick. I rebuilt my office chair with new armrests that hold the stick and throttle and a USB hub to keep the cords out of the way. (I'll share pictures if you're interested...I have a MK II in mind that will be way better than this one).
I love this game.
But I never saw any other commanders except when I was first starting off the game. My first week, i deleted my save 3 or 4 times before i finally felt i got the hang of what was going on. Making money was really slow for me. I got a mission to find some combat stabilizers, couldn't find them. I read online that they were to be found in some system about 100 LY from where i was. So i loaded up my trusty Sidewinder and went off to find them.
Then i got stuck out in the middle of nowhere.
I can't remember why, but I think where I ended up, i couldn't make any jumps to any further systems. I dont think i'd upgraded the FSD in the poor sidewinder and I didn't know at the time that I could get rid of modules to reduce mass and increase my jump range. So i started doing missions in the system i was in (my apologies for not remembering where...I've literally flown all around my quadrant in the last few weeks since).
I LOVE combat...When i heard about this game, I knew I wanted to be a bounty hunter. The idea of pure space combat the the hunt thrilled me. I don't read too many forums (i've since started with this game...For me, the initial learning curve was steep) so I didn't know about best methods, about the bounty list shown in the Net when you're docked. Then one day I discovered Nav Points. I'd never really needed to see them in previous missions, and most of the time I was out in BFE (Bum F'ing Egypt) looking for some black box or to this place or this place to hunt for pirates. I could never seem to hunt pirates since I had no interdictor and I couldn't afford one. They never interdicted me either.
So I'm flying around this nav point. I see lots of ships - I scan them, check their status (this was before i knew what a Kill Warrant Scanner was too...I told you, I knew about this game)...Oh! That one is wanted! Fight on. BAM! Take him out, make $12k. That wasn't took hard...I can do this! I spent the next half hour at this nav point and made $50k. Went out and bought an eagle. Loved it. Loaded that little ship out. I felt like a fighter pilot. The thrill of putting 4 pips into my engines and flying low and fast over the surface of a space station felt like the Death Star run (this was prior to seeing my first capitol ship and ACTUALLY flying in its valleys) was amazing. Combat was sweet! Nimble and fast! I'd played for two weeks before being able to afford this ship and I loved it so.
So, upgraded ship, developed my MO (just hunting around nav points) and i'm raking in the money (so i thought). I learned so much in 1 day in flying an eagle that i was able to buy a Viper. Outfitted it, enjoyed flying it. Could never seem to take out any Anacondas or Pythons...I couldn't figure out why (later i found out its because of something called a 'Plasma Accelerator'.
So I've done ok I think - but i NEVER see another commander anywhere. I realize this is probably cause I was out in the middle of nowhere. I spent about 2 weeks doing this. Enjoyed making money when I could (I work and have a dog...I dont get a ton of spare time). Recently decided to start doing missions to build my rep with factions - I have a habit in MMO type games where I do mundane stuff for a while and get bored instead of doing missions for some reason.
So now I own a Cobra. Its decently loadedI'm in some system somewhere (again, i don't pay attention) and am in a high intensity combat zone. I've seen plenty, but always encountered NPC's. I fly in, shoot some ships, enjoy the combat and the pilot ranking, then do it again. So I'm doing this the other night, taking down a dropship. My shields go down and I start taking some hull damage. I figure I've hit a friendly ship and now they're mad at me (I do this more often than i like) but I stick with the dropship - I know I can take him out before i take too much damage.
BAM, take out the dropship, put 4 pips into engines and hit the boost...I'll get out of the fray, jump to supercruise and then drop back out (easy way to fix the problem of being wanted in warzone). Normally when I run, I don't get chased....But this guy is all over my ass. Then i notice its a CMDR and not an NPC. I know he's out for blood. I check my systems and see that I've got over $200k in unclaimed bounties - I'm not going to lose this money. My trick to losing people - Stay full pips to engines, charge FSD and turn off flight assist and tumble the hell out of my ship. Makes for a difficult target. He's still chasing me, a few shots knock my hull down here and there. I'm at 8%.
I jump...I'm still in system, but cruising to the nearest port. I repair, rearm and decide to see if he's still out there.
I drop back into the battle and start scanning for targets. I see him again. I target an NPC ship again. I want him to start the battle again. Its too easy when you're the one making first contact. I take out the NPC viper and start skulking around, staying out of battle too much. My ship sounds an alarm: "Under Attack!". I see this enemy CMDR on my radar behind me. The fight is on.
Now, you could read this entire novel I'm writing and get excited for this tale of combat. I don't remember exactly what happened. He was in a Viper. I'm in a Cobra. It was a good fight. Both hulls down, both shields gone. He charges FSD and attempts to run. Sorry buddy - you pursued me when I ran and we took sides in this conflict. I'm out for blood.
I watch his hull slowly drop - i'm maxed out pips on engines to keep up with him and making sure no one is sneaking up on my six. Too many times have I chased NPC's down to 3% hull and have them jump just as i fire a kill shot. But not today.
His viper explodes in an inferno of ordinance and fuel...The adrenaline escapes my body - i realize i've been gripping my flight stick so hard, my knuckles are white.
I'm addicted to CMDR combat now. It gives me something more than some 1's and 0's on some server somewhere.
I'll say it again. I love this game.
I've been playing since launch day...I'd heard about the game, thought about buying in before launch but didn't wanna spend $80 on a game I may or may not enjoy...$60, not as bad. Bought the game, setup my Sidewinder Force Feedback 2, and completed training. Loved it. Every second. Loved it so much, I dropped $200 the next day on a Saitek X-55 HOTAS. I played so much during my company winter shutdown that I got a sore back from crouching over my desk to use the flight stick. I rebuilt my office chair with new armrests that hold the stick and throttle and a USB hub to keep the cords out of the way. (I'll share pictures if you're interested...I have a MK II in mind that will be way better than this one).
I love this game.
But I never saw any other commanders except when I was first starting off the game. My first week, i deleted my save 3 or 4 times before i finally felt i got the hang of what was going on. Making money was really slow for me. I got a mission to find some combat stabilizers, couldn't find them. I read online that they were to be found in some system about 100 LY from where i was. So i loaded up my trusty Sidewinder and went off to find them.
Then i got stuck out in the middle of nowhere.
I can't remember why, but I think where I ended up, i couldn't make any jumps to any further systems. I dont think i'd upgraded the FSD in the poor sidewinder and I didn't know at the time that I could get rid of modules to reduce mass and increase my jump range. So i started doing missions in the system i was in (my apologies for not remembering where...I've literally flown all around my quadrant in the last few weeks since).
I LOVE combat...When i heard about this game, I knew I wanted to be a bounty hunter. The idea of pure space combat the the hunt thrilled me. I don't read too many forums (i've since started with this game...For me, the initial learning curve was steep) so I didn't know about best methods, about the bounty list shown in the Net when you're docked. Then one day I discovered Nav Points. I'd never really needed to see them in previous missions, and most of the time I was out in BFE (Bum F'ing Egypt) looking for some black box or to this place or this place to hunt for pirates. I could never seem to hunt pirates since I had no interdictor and I couldn't afford one. They never interdicted me either.
So I'm flying around this nav point. I see lots of ships - I scan them, check their status (this was before i knew what a Kill Warrant Scanner was too...I told you, I knew about this game)...Oh! That one is wanted! Fight on. BAM! Take him out, make $12k. That wasn't took hard...I can do this! I spent the next half hour at this nav point and made $50k. Went out and bought an eagle. Loved it. Loaded that little ship out. I felt like a fighter pilot. The thrill of putting 4 pips into my engines and flying low and fast over the surface of a space station felt like the Death Star run (this was prior to seeing my first capitol ship and ACTUALLY flying in its valleys) was amazing. Combat was sweet! Nimble and fast! I'd played for two weeks before being able to afford this ship and I loved it so.
So, upgraded ship, developed my MO (just hunting around nav points) and i'm raking in the money (so i thought). I learned so much in 1 day in flying an eagle that i was able to buy a Viper. Outfitted it, enjoyed flying it. Could never seem to take out any Anacondas or Pythons...I couldn't figure out why (later i found out its because of something called a 'Plasma Accelerator'.
So I've done ok I think - but i NEVER see another commander anywhere. I realize this is probably cause I was out in the middle of nowhere. I spent about 2 weeks doing this. Enjoyed making money when I could (I work and have a dog...I dont get a ton of spare time). Recently decided to start doing missions to build my rep with factions - I have a habit in MMO type games where I do mundane stuff for a while and get bored instead of doing missions for some reason.
So now I own a Cobra. Its decently loadedI'm in some system somewhere (again, i don't pay attention) and am in a high intensity combat zone. I've seen plenty, but always encountered NPC's. I fly in, shoot some ships, enjoy the combat and the pilot ranking, then do it again. So I'm doing this the other night, taking down a dropship. My shields go down and I start taking some hull damage. I figure I've hit a friendly ship and now they're mad at me (I do this more often than i like) but I stick with the dropship - I know I can take him out before i take too much damage.
BAM, take out the dropship, put 4 pips into engines and hit the boost...I'll get out of the fray, jump to supercruise and then drop back out (easy way to fix the problem of being wanted in warzone). Normally when I run, I don't get chased....But this guy is all over my ass. Then i notice its a CMDR and not an NPC. I know he's out for blood. I check my systems and see that I've got over $200k in unclaimed bounties - I'm not going to lose this money. My trick to losing people - Stay full pips to engines, charge FSD and turn off flight assist and tumble the hell out of my ship. Makes for a difficult target. He's still chasing me, a few shots knock my hull down here and there. I'm at 8%.
I jump...I'm still in system, but cruising to the nearest port. I repair, rearm and decide to see if he's still out there.
I drop back into the battle and start scanning for targets. I see him again. I target an NPC ship again. I want him to start the battle again. Its too easy when you're the one making first contact. I take out the NPC viper and start skulking around, staying out of battle too much. My ship sounds an alarm: "Under Attack!". I see this enemy CMDR on my radar behind me. The fight is on.
Now, you could read this entire novel I'm writing and get excited for this tale of combat. I don't remember exactly what happened. He was in a Viper. I'm in a Cobra. It was a good fight. Both hulls down, both shields gone. He charges FSD and attempts to run. Sorry buddy - you pursued me when I ran and we took sides in this conflict. I'm out for blood.
I watch his hull slowly drop - i'm maxed out pips on engines to keep up with him and making sure no one is sneaking up on my six. Too many times have I chased NPC's down to 3% hull and have them jump just as i fire a kill shot. But not today.
His viper explodes in an inferno of ordinance and fuel...The adrenaline escapes my body - i realize i've been gripping my flight stick so hard, my knuckles are white.
I'm addicted to CMDR combat now. It gives me something more than some 1's and 0's on some server somewhere.
I'll say it again. I love this game.
