I learned a lot from my recent efforts to unlock Palin and finally get G5 thrusters

Eraden

E
I learned that I will never EVER be an explorer in this game. 20 jumps into my 5K light year trek and all that was playing in my head was "are we there yet". Between that and bouts of smashing my head against my desk, I finally got that done. I also learned that Qwent should go and throw himself into a pit of Thargoids as he is little more than a nasty little gatekeeper. I also learned that Thargoids are really REALLY annoying and they don't like it when you take their sensor fragments (got hyperdicted by them EVERY SINGLE jump I was making back through the Pleiades). Mostly though, I learned that the rest of you folks who managed to get to G5 thrusters, as well as those of you who are true explorers, should be applauded for some really SERIOUS persistance! Good show there, you guys! Now to go get my darn thrusters finished. My Type 10 should fly a whole extra 10 meters per second once I'm done! :)
 

Dutchman141

Dutchman141
I hope Odyssey will make it a bit more attractive to go "out there" for cmdrs who aren't so much into exploration.
I love exploring but I get that it can be boring to others when you're not so much into the scientific features of the galaxy we fly around in.

When Odyssey drops I'll definitly plan a new trip into the black.

Have fun with your G5 dirty drag drives!
 

NorthernDevo

NorthernDevo
Eraden said:
I learned that I will never EVER be an explorer in this game. 20 jumps into my 5K light year trek and all that was playing in my head was "are we there yet". Between that and bouts of smashing my head against my desk, I finally got that done. I also learned that Qwent should go and throw himself into a pit of Thargoids as he is little more than a nasty little gatekeeper. I also learned that Thargoids are really REALLY annoying and they don't like it when you take their sensor fragments (got hyperdicted by them EVERY SINGLE jump I was making back through the Pleiades). Mostly though, I learned that the rest of you folks who managed to get to G5 thrusters, as well as those of you who are true explorers, should be applauded for some really SERIOUS persistance! Good show there, you guys! Now to go get my darn thrusters finished. My Type 10 should fly a whole extra 10 meters per second once I'm done! :)
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Chuckle - for those of us who do explore, we've all felt the same way at one time or another. Early in the game, the thought of thirty jumps is mind-boggling and you wonder how the heck you'll last. But once you GET the bug - if you ever do - it isn't the number of Jumps. It's what's out there. To go out - farther and farther. To never see another planet with 'Mapped First By...' on it. To get that slightly longer Witchspace jump which means there's something good on the other end - or maybe. ;)
To go thousands of Jumps where no-one has been. Oh yeah - it's intoxicating and when you really get into it, not boring at all.

There are, of course, times when you look back to the far-distant Bubble and grumble - HOW many Jumps to get home? That's CRAZY!!! So instead of putting up with the long trip home, you go out more - just a little more.

To know that you are the first to see something - a new ELW(T). Perhaps a Beacon no-one's found yet. Strange life - anomalies and mysteries.
We're explored 0.5% of what's out there. You just may catch the bug to help us fill that in. :)
Cheers!
 
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BelExandor

B
Congrats Cmdr.
Thrusters are (IMHO) the most useful engineered module in the game. Grade 5/drag drives can completely change several ships and make them....
not suck.
 

Eraden

E
Ydiss said:
I'm unlocking this for my third commander now... You sort of just get numb to it.
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Man, you must have the patience of a saint! I can't even begin imagining trying this all over again!

An addendum: if there is ANYTHING in this game that can be said to be unequivocally a grind, it's getting to Palin. That man is the most guarded geezer in the entire galaxy!
 
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NorthernDevo

NorthernDevo
Eraden said:
Man, you must have the patience of a saint! I can't even begin imagining trying this all over again!

An addendum: if there is ANYTHING in this game that can be said to be unequivocally a grind, it's getting to Palin. That man is the most guarded geezer in the entire galaxy!
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DAMN dude. If you think that's a grind, you haven't grinded yet.
I don't believe in grinding, I prefer to just play and unlock as I go. But Palin is well...kinda entry-level on the grand scope of things.
🤷‍♂️
 

Ydiss

Ydiss
Eraden said:
Man, you must have the patience of a saint! I can't even begin imagining trying this all over again!

An addendum: if there is ANYTHING in this game that can be said to be unequivocally a grind, it's getting to Palin. That man is the most guarded geezer in the entire galaxy!
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If you've not traded much yet (commodity market) you'll love Lei Cheung.

Unlocking is an extremely drawn out process, even using the most efficient route. I don't mind it being drawn out but the method is the problem... the check lists include excessively high required numbers which force repetition and that's where it falls down.

5kly, 50 markets, 50 rares... just isn't necessary... It's plain to see no thought went into why those values were set, definitely not with the new commander in mind. Arbitrary target picking just winds me up anyway but when the rare commodity is capped at 15 into 50...

Just once is enough. 1kly is enough. 10 markets is a dammed stretch but 5 would have been fine (like dweller's black markets, though even that... It's just 5x repetition, usually forced by cheese, abandon cargo mission and sell at 5 locations 1t at a time).

Forcing a bit of dabbling is great. But some of the targets are far from that. And repetitive on top.
 
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atom heart

atom heart
I found the exploration to be far more worthwhile when you do not simply jump/scoop/honk rinse and repeat. Also, the key bindings for things such as FSS are vital if you intend to do much of it. Make them easy for you, it is worth the time.

Allocate more than the time you think you will need for your trip. A bit like house improvements, estimate the cost, double it and you will be almost right.

What you take defines your options. A vehicle bay may not seem necessary but after a few thousand light years, the break from routine is VERY necessary.

Set out a goal, either discoveries or distance or whatever. This will give your exploration a reason.

I try to limit each stage of my exploration to say, no more than 20 jumps. There is no rush, it's been there a long time, it isn't going anywhere soon. The same with getting the 'First' bonus payment. It hasn't been found since the game began, it is very unlikely that someone will beat your claim.

If a system has more than 10 bodies, I stop and FSS scan, look for a nearby planet, DSS it and maybe land and have a drive around. Just to, you know, be the first to crash there or something.

If you feel yourself getting jaded with it, stop and have a break. Playing when you are not enjoying it is the definition of 'Grind'.

Never go back they way you came, say hello to different systems, they will really appreciate it.

The only thing that will stop you going back, is you. It isn't for everyone but when you get out there and know that no one has ever been where you are, where you only have yourself and your skill keeping you alive and supplied, maybe you will get it.
 

atom heart

atom heart
Ydiss said:
If you've not traded much yet (commodity market) you'll love Lei Cheung.

Unlocking is an extremely drawn out process, even using the most efficient route. I don't mind it being drawn out but the method is the problem... the check lists include excessively high required numbers which force repetition and that's where it falls down.

5kly, 50 markets, 50 rares... just isn't necessary... It's plain to see no thought went into why those values were set, definitely not with the new commander in mind.
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I would venture that it is not a new commander game mechanic. By virtue of that, the unlocking is very much a part of using your progress and game knowledge. It also teaches you many useful skills so the thought that went into it is very well balanced. But once accomplished it stays unlocked, it has to be a challenge.

ED is not a game you rush in any sense, for me anyway. Not progressing fast enough is not a fault of the game, it is a result of too much hurry and expectations right out of the starting blocks.
 

Ian Doncaster

Ian Doncaster
Ydiss said:
If you've not traded much yet (commodity market) you'll love Lei Cheung.
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50 markets is one of those numbers where if you've been trading as you go along, by the time you've unlocked the initial five engineers you'll probably already have this one and a lot more.

It's a big barrier if you're taking a new account and speed-running the engineers on it, but if you, say, did the first five engineers by plotting "fastest route" courses between all of them and the things they need (so seven systems including Ngurii and Pleiades), stopping and trading something plausible at each system on the route, you'd probably have the 50 by the end of that. If you were "less efficient" and spent some time wandering around going from system to system in an unengineered Sidewinder -> Cobra -> T-6 (as the traffic reports around the starter zone seem to indicate a lot of beginners are doing) you'd probably meet this requirement long before you even heard of Lei Cheung.

Vatermann (admittedly, a higher-tier engineer than Cheung) wants Merchant trade rank - when this was originally brought out, 3.7M trade profit would mean ~3700 tonnes of successful trade, or double that for average trade, which again would probably be your 50 markets right there if not considerably more. (Nowadays, of course, it's "one mission" or "sell the contents of one core asteroid at a middling price")

They do, I think, need to take a look at engineer unlock requirements in general because some of them have got much easier since they were introduced, and others haven't (and as a result are now relatively more difficult: I don't remember anyone complaining about Cheung or Dweller until about a year ago) - and it's notable that when they added the Colonia engineers, they all had trivial invitation requirements, two of which it'd require very careful planning to get to Colonia at all without meeting.
 

Ydiss

Ydiss
atom heart said:
I would venture that it is not a new commander game mechanic. By virtue of that, the unlocking is very much a part of using your progress and game knowledge. It also teaches you many useful skills so the thought that went into it is very well balanced. But once accomplished it stays unlocked, it has to be a challenge.

ED is not a game you rush in any sense, for me anyway. Not progressing fast enough is not a fault of the game, it is a result of too much hurry and expectations right out of the starting blocks.
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I didn't contradict anything you said though. I said it's good that it forces trying things. But 50 markets? I'd not done that many with my account that started in gamma by the time engineers hit, despite earning over 300m in trade doing ABA routes. 5kly isn't something someone does by accident in the happy life just "learning the game". It's specific. It requires a very specific focus. And doing it "naturally" only happens if you're already an explorer. Doing rares runs multiple times doesn't teach you anything. Once it's enough. One time, not 3x trips across 3x engineers.

Not a new commander thing? Why not? What's going to stop any new commander from doing it? I'm doing it for a third time with a brand new commander. Nothing about the process prevents a new player doing it.

If you're suggesting fdev intended it to be ideal for only players who just happened to have already done all the check lists by the time they think "hmm maybe I'd like 70% more damage, huge jump range and a massive shield tank now..." then I am not convinced.

The arbitrary values were not crafted around any such sensible pathways. They're mostly 50! It's just a number picked out of thin air.

Considering we've seen a community manager just recently answer in an AMA that they felt engineers has too much repetition and they're looking into changing it, stuff like this needs to be in front and centre.

There's no need for it. Third time round and I'm saying, it's not good game design. It could be better.
 
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Ydiss

Ydiss
Ian Doncaster said:
50 markets is one of those numbers where if you've been trading as you go along, by the time you've unlocked the initial five engineers you'll probably already have this one and a lot more.
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Extremely unlikely unless you've been just randomly trading for a very long time.

By the time engineers came out, Ydiss had traded for most of the 2 years I think it was. Ranked Tycoon. 50 markets?

Not close.

It's a vague number but one that carries an excessively specific demand that I'd challenge anyone to honestly admit happened "just by happy accident". Even us veterans.

50 markets is 25 individual ABA routes. Now, back in 2014 to 2015 ABA trading was the only meta. So sure, I'll bet some hit 50 before engineers (I'm looking at 777). But now? As a new commander.

It's excessively high. It needn't be. Nothing makes 50 better than 10.

As I said above, fdev have stated they're looking at changing repetition in engineering. This topic is front and centre. The whole process is built on repetition. It needn't be.
 

Factabulous

Factabulous
Ydiss said:
There's no need for it. Third time round and I'm saying, it's not good game design. It could be better.
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I've not heard any suggestions to improve it - mostly it's the usual suspects just wanting all gameplay gates removed.

Which is fair enough - some people just want the game to be mining one rock over and over. But other people want some challenge.

I rarely see people complain about the 50 markets (which I personally find the most annoying unlock). Most complain about Palin, or having to to 2-3 trips to pick up Fujjin Tea / Kamitra Cigars.
 
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