I tend to play ED as a kind of a sandbox. If is there anything i want to do, ill do it. But sometimes i also like combining role-playing with it, like that one time i had an idea for a kind of a generic han solo women, that runs around getting any job it could find, smuggling slaves, weapons, narcotics, bounty hunting, anything that goes along with the 'restrictions' i create for my characters, and these restrictions tend to follow my own views, i won't go into killing innocent cruise ships for example. And there was this another time when i created a Gordon freeman adapted to ED lore, that travels with the Gnosis megaship, helping by giving exploration data on systems near said ship, it is fun. I really like the freedom ED gives you.
How Do You Elite?
- Thread starter Good Whiskey
- Start date
Go for it. The more the merrier. But the thread is old enough now where I've had to redo the links and the like a couple of times, so there's no rush.
Amen, brother.
I was saved by a rat when I first started playing and that's what made me want to be one.
Of course, there are those who call in and then kill us when we show up. It happened last week to a pretty new rat.
Those are the real heroes. Guys who shoot at a stripped-down, jump range engineered, weaponless ship that is only there to help.
I think there should be a squadron out there we could call and say.. "Hey... this jerk killed a rat" and that squadron goes and hunts the jerk down. LOL
When I first got the game in early 2015, like everybody else I didn't really know what to do, where to go, anything at all really. Of course I immediately set about getting a Cobra MKIII because, well, it's got to be done right?
With that particular tick-box checked I simply 'became' a space ship Commander. No ties, no objectives, just wandering about doing whatever took my fancy. A CG here, a bit of minor exploration there. Just travelling, just mooching along.
Then I happened across a video on YouTube that showed some guy who'd found this strange alien probe thing. The original UA. I did a quick bit of research and found out where best to look, spent an hour or two refitting for deep space and took off. When I eventually did find one, I suddenly realised that I had no idea what to do with it, or if there was anything I could do with it, and that led me to the Frontier Forum and the infamous 'Threadnaught'. Long story short, I joined the then fledgling Canonn player group and suddenly I'm a researcher! One of my minor claims to fame being that I was the first to discover a system in which UAs spawned reliably and quickly which led to a great spurt in our knowledge.
So of course I'm in 'dedicated mode' at this point, and Canonn duties call. We built and maintain a Station in Varati, we helped colonise Colonia and our home there Canonnia. But I'm not really a team player. Don't misunderstand me, the team always got 100% but it ain't me. I'm an independent with a wanderlust. So now?
I left Canonn, and I'm back in the bubble, doing stuff. Recently it's been mining because I'd never done that before and I needed to recoup the cost of having my stuff trucked back from Colonia.
Now I'm getting ready to go look out all this Guardian stuff because it looks interesting.
Of course, that could all change tomorrow if I see something new and shiny on the way...
With that particular tick-box checked I simply 'became' a space ship Commander. No ties, no objectives, just wandering about doing whatever took my fancy. A CG here, a bit of minor exploration there. Just travelling, just mooching along.
Then I happened across a video on YouTube that showed some guy who'd found this strange alien probe thing. The original UA. I did a quick bit of research and found out where best to look, spent an hour or two refitting for deep space and took off. When I eventually did find one, I suddenly realised that I had no idea what to do with it, or if there was anything I could do with it, and that led me to the Frontier Forum and the infamous 'Threadnaught'. Long story short, I joined the then fledgling Canonn player group and suddenly I'm a researcher! One of my minor claims to fame being that I was the first to discover a system in which UAs spawned reliably and quickly which led to a great spurt in our knowledge.
So of course I'm in 'dedicated mode' at this point, and Canonn duties call. We built and maintain a Station in Varati, we helped colonise Colonia and our home there Canonnia. But I'm not really a team player. Don't misunderstand me, the team always got 100% but it ain't me. I'm an independent with a wanderlust. So now?
I left Canonn, and I'm back in the bubble, doing stuff. Recently it's been mining because I'd never done that before and I needed to recoup the cost of having my stuff trucked back from Colonia.
Now I'm getting ready to go look out all this Guardian stuff because it looks interesting.
Of course, that could all change tomorrow if I see something new and shiny on the way...
The most important thing for me in Elite is the illusion of flying a space ship. It has been this way back with Elite 2: Frontier and Frontier: First Encounters, and when ED came, the only thing I basically did, was changing my go-to space game.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.
I very rarely rush things in the game and usually go about my business all calmly. When I'm exploring I do so taking my sweet time, with music on my ears that kicks me into the space mood, and enjoy the simulated galaxy. Same with mining and other occupations in the game and I very rarely play when I don't have the time or calm surrounding to fully immerse in space.
What brings Elite to life for me, is the simulation. The calm gliding of my ship when flying FA off, disturbed only by the thrusters when I choose (or need) to use them. My ship is an object in space. The celestial bodies of 1:1 scale, mostly accurate stars and all the other things that make Elite a bit more like the real thing than other games. That' also what fascinated me in Frontier and First Encounters, and I enjoyed those old games more than the X games for example, despite the 90s graphics.
I never grinded or farmed or felt in any way forced by the game to do anything I wouldn't enjoy. Running straight to the top doesn't interest me the least, and it wouldn't feel natural for me, to have the best of everything within a few weeks of playing. That said, I'm playing for over four years now, and I actually have everything I need and I'm filthy rich, but all the stuff I own in the game gradually accumulated over the years and I still know exactly when I bought that AspX, my Anaconda or any other ship in my collection.
I don't fight much in Elite since there are a lot of other games where I can shoot things to bits, but instead enjoy the things, which make the game unique.
Nah, don't worry about it. It's just background radiation noise. Just part of being a rat, and if they got there in time to help, it was a successful mission, in my opinion. Just blacklist the Commander's name and move on to those who could use help.
I've been fortunate and diligent enough to where I haven't needed to call on your services, and have in the past thought of joining your ranks, but I prefer to take my time and pilot the smaller ships. Maybe one of these years.
Cheers, and thanks for what you guys and galls do, answering the call. "Need fuel?" It's very cool.
...
That being said, I'm not sure if it's against your policies or not to publish a blacklist on your site as a... warning for other Commanders. I haven't looked into it, but if you do, make sure to make it platform specific to try and avoid copycats. Bear in mind though that this could be misconstrued as encouraging harassment, so I don't think it should be something to be taken lightly, and is perhaps out of the scope of the Fuel Rat's mission and may only serve to exacerbate the situation. 
But I digress...
But I digress...
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Really good question.
In the past I used to play as myself in given world, using the most wild and different form available (Argonian Nerevarine in Morrowind, for example). In X-Wing Alliance, despite being called Ace Azzameen iplayed as myself, under guise. That style shifted as I started WoW years ago.
With WoW I got so hooked I played WoW alone for almost 3 years straight, without even thinking about any other game. There I made my main character, later few alts and over the years I have collected many of those, covering all classes and both factions. This altoholism was a pivot point where my approach shifted. Since then I stopped playing me in games, playing my alter ego in games.
I have ascended.
Remember old Black&White? Where you were a god and you performed miracles with your giant cow pet? This is me now. No, not the cow. The entity steering it and influencing world and main character.
For yeasrs now I play as I read books - I experience the world through main character. Of course, this character has many of my character traits, morals but it is separate being, with it's own story and history. But it isn't me. I'm more like moral compas for my characters, incorporeal being that "haunts" certain characters and influence them to perform in certain way.
Two notable exceptions - Mass Effect and Witcher series. In ME I was CMDR Shepard, tho I played femShep. It was my alter ego. In Witcher I am the Witcher. Beyond those two games I stay aside and advise.
So for ED I have created Shiro - female CMDR that took her chances and enlisted into Pilot's Federation Academy, got her patent and ventured into the void in search of... excitement, purpose, joy, fame and fortune...or whatever shes after. When I log in I find her doing her things.
This is my way of playing - less playing a character like alter ego, no more playing as myself. Now I play more like reading a book or watching a movie - interactive book and movie where I can have an impact on a character and mold them to my liking. I have observed that shift over the years with my WoW characters. Some I have for so long they stopped being game characters, they developed their own character, story and experience. They started to live on their own. And entering WoW and becoming Druid, Hunter or Paladin felt inappropriate.
So instead of playing a character I'm more voices in their heads, saying this is worth trying.
In the past I used to play as myself in given world, using the most wild and different form available (Argonian Nerevarine in Morrowind, for example). In X-Wing Alliance, despite being called Ace Azzameen iplayed as myself, under guise. That style shifted as I started WoW years ago.
With WoW I got so hooked I played WoW alone for almost 3 years straight, without even thinking about any other game. There I made my main character, later few alts and over the years I have collected many of those, covering all classes and both factions. This altoholism was a pivot point where my approach shifted. Since then I stopped playing me in games, playing my alter ego in games.
I have ascended.
Remember old Black&White? Where you were a god and you performed miracles with your giant cow pet? This is me now. No, not the cow. The entity steering it and influencing world and main character.
For yeasrs now I play as I read books - I experience the world through main character. Of course, this character has many of my character traits, morals but it is separate being, with it's own story and history. But it isn't me. I'm more like moral compas for my characters, incorporeal being that "haunts" certain characters and influence them to perform in certain way.
Two notable exceptions - Mass Effect and Witcher series. In ME I was CMDR Shepard, tho I played femShep. It was my alter ego. In Witcher I am the Witcher. Beyond those two games I stay aside and advise.
So for ED I have created Shiro - female CMDR that took her chances and enlisted into Pilot's Federation Academy, got her patent and ventured into the void in search of... excitement, purpose, joy, fame and fortune...or whatever shes after. When I log in I find her doing her things.
This is my way of playing - less playing a character like alter ego, no more playing as myself. Now I play more like reading a book or watching a movie - interactive book and movie where I can have an impact on a character and mold them to my liking. I have observed that shift over the years with my WoW characters. Some I have for so long they stopped being game characters, they developed their own character, story and experience. They started to live on their own. And entering WoW and becoming Druid, Hunter or Paladin felt inappropriate.
So instead of playing a character I'm more voices in their heads, saying this is worth trying.
Casual, that's why I find the tryard combat AI paired with peashooter player guns isnt fun anymore. Esoecially after experiencing a more well-rou ded experience.
That's dedicated griefing. Why not repolort it?Nah, don't worry about it. It's just background radiation noise. Just part of being a rat, and if they got there in time to help, it was a successful mission, in my opinion. Just blacklist the Commander's name and move on to those who could use help.
I've been fortunate and diligent enough to where I haven't needed to call on your services, and have in the past thought of joining your ranks, but I prefer to take my time and pilot the smaller ships. Maybe one of these years.
Cheers, and thanks for what you guys and galls do, answering the call. "Need fuel?" It's very cool.
...
That being said, I'm not sure if it's against your policies or not to publish a blacklist on your site as a... warning for other Commanders. I haven't looked into it, but if you do, make sure to make it platform specific to try and avoid copycats. Bear in mind though that this could be misconstrued as encouraging harassment, so I don't think it should be something to be taken lightly, and is perhaps out of the scope of the Fuel Rat's mission and may only serve to exacerbate the situation.
But I digress...
Is it something that's supposed to be reported? I tend to avoid the meta game-play and the like, so not something I'm familiar with. Sorry, not meaning to derail the thread.
I ED dressed like this:
I also don an 80s post apocalyptic wig for when aesthetics require it.
I also don an 80s post apocalyptic wig for when aesthetics require it.
That has nothing to do with meta game. Just recount the steps someone has to do to just shoot a fuel rat down. The meta gamer isnt the fuel rat in that case.
I was saying I tend to avoid the meta game-play, so I'm not all that familiar with that sort of stuff, not commenting on the Fuel Rats in that regard.
I tend to do most of my "role-playing" during the construction of my ships.
I have different classes of ship for different roles and any ship I build is configured in a standard way depending on it's role.
All my scout ships, for example, get 0E shield boosters, D-rated shields, thrusters and PDists, all my multiroles have a cabin, a cargo bay, a collector and an SRV etc.
This is mostly a practical thing, cos it means if I'm in a specific kind of ship I know, for certain, that it'll have certain capabilities.
I never have to worry about flying 200Ly and then realising I've forgot to fit an SRV hangar.
When it comes to actually flying the ships, though, it's just me playing a very pretty video game.
I have different classes of ship for different roles and any ship I build is configured in a standard way depending on it's role.
All my scout ships, for example, get 0E shield boosters, D-rated shields, thrusters and PDists, all my multiroles have a cabin, a cargo bay, a collector and an SRV etc.
This is mostly a practical thing, cos it means if I'm in a specific kind of ship I know, for certain, that it'll have certain capabilities.
I never have to worry about flying 200Ly and then realising I've forgot to fit an SRV hangar.
When it comes to actually flying the ships, though, it's just me playing a very pretty video game.
I understand what you mean.
That's actually quite a profound statement.
I ED dressed like this:
This is possibly the greatest post of all the times.
I expected nothing less, my good sir. Nothing less.
I like you, can we be friends?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.
My pilot is me, my real life persona, albeit shifted forward 1300 years. I am the classic chivalric paladin. In reality and in all the games I play. I play games with high skill caps for the glory of succeeding at them and the adulation of my peers. I use the same name in all the games I play and always play between lawful and neutral good, so you could say my game persona is 'established'. I have zero interest in even trying a 'naughty' playstyle as I have too much empathy, I feel sorry for innocent NPCs even. lol. Which is is funny really, since if they're wanted, it doesn't matter what their crime was, the sentence is execution and I'm the executioner. I'm also on a journey to the top of a mountain of great players, and without sacrificing my values on the way up (much harder to be 'great' as a lawful, as player targets are limited to the 'bad guys', which contrary to popular belief are very few and far between. For a terrorist any ship is a target and obviously this supports more pure combat practice, although...Since it could be argued that I only go after pilots who can fly and shoot, my battles are worth more experience than seal clubbing. I digress...) o7
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I guess I'm just me ... living out an alternative life as a happy go lucky space pilot who likes do a little bit of everything, see a little bit of all the sights and go a little bit of all the places. I guess I fantasise slightly that I'm a cross between Han Solo and John Milner (the old street-wise drag strip racer character from American Graffiti) rather than an old computer nerd. I'm not a bad guy but nor am I a lover of authority or above breaking the law as long as I don't hurt too many other people in the process.
I really struggle generally in video games in being anything other than myself. I know I could in theory use video games to play a completely different persona, be a different gender and/or a complete and utter bar-steward ... but in practice I can't help but play myself. Even my avatar is carefully modelled to look as much like me as possible, perhaps a bit younger and perhaps a bit more dashing and roguish ... but ultimately I'm just me.
I really struggle generally in video games in being anything other than myself. I know I could in theory use video games to play a completely different persona, be a different gender and/or a complete and utter bar-steward ... but in practice I can't help but play myself. Even my avatar is carefully modelled to look as much like me as possible, perhaps a bit younger and perhaps a bit more dashing and roguish ... but ultimately I'm just me.
I don't roleplay.
I don't stick to roleplay talk either. I can easily talk with squadron mates about the latest movie or whatever.
As a volunteer firefighter in real life, I like to help people and usually do if asked to help out on certain things in and out of game.
I stick to my own moral Compass (MC), which means I generally dislike to spoil other players fun.
I love to PvP though, so I'm not adverse to shooting up people with bounties or on the other side of a CZ.
Sometimes I feel the urge to interdict and blow up people, just because I can, but then my MC kicks in and I don't do it.
Occasionally, my MC gets overridden by booze or in the company of wingmates, which sometimes results in explosions, often my own.
My MC quickly takes back control though. I deeply resent ganking newbies, but can understand why people do it and don't condemn it.
Yesterday I blew up a novice Beluga in front of Robardin after several com attemps, because he was running missions against us.
Do stupid things, win stupid prices.
I like legit piracy, if I want my kick of non-consensual player interaction, I do this.
I love to fly spaceships and build spaceships, and I like most aspects of the game. Sometimes I get the urge to explore, sometimes
to explode. Theorycrafting and building ships is awesome. VR is awesome. Wing action is awesome.
That's how I Elite.
I don't stick to roleplay talk either. I can easily talk with squadron mates about the latest movie or whatever.
As a volunteer firefighter in real life, I like to help people and usually do if asked to help out on certain things in and out of game.
I stick to my own moral Compass (MC), which means I generally dislike to spoil other players fun.
I love to PvP though, so I'm not adverse to shooting up people with bounties or on the other side of a CZ.
Sometimes I feel the urge to interdict and blow up people, just because I can, but then my MC kicks in and I don't do it.
Occasionally, my MC gets overridden by booze or in the company of wingmates, which sometimes results in explosions, often my own.
My MC quickly takes back control though. I deeply resent ganking newbies, but can understand why people do it and don't condemn it.
Yesterday I blew up a novice Beluga in front of Robardin after several com attemps, because he was running missions against us.
Do stupid things, win stupid prices.
I like legit piracy, if I want my kick of non-consensual player interaction, I do this.
I love to fly spaceships and build spaceships, and I like most aspects of the game. Sometimes I get the urge to explore, sometimes
to explode. Theorycrafting and building ships is awesome. VR is awesome. Wing action is awesome.
That's how I Elite.
There are several and even a coalition that serves this purpose, but the logistics are literally impossible due to the way the game is designed. We would be happy to offer escorts to Rats, but I can't imagine it working, it would make an already time intensive activity take far longer, plus one escort wouldn't be enough to protect a rat from a wing of 4.