I'm kind of scared to log in

[Gorgonaut]

In order to play the game effectively, you can't even begin to use a cheap ship. Tell me where I can buy a cheap ship that has the capabilities to space/surface mine, travel many LY's to reach the Engineers, carry the gear, has adequate weaponry/armor/speed and cargo space and SRV's, bays and whatnot. If you use a small ship, you will accomplish small things and since ED requires grind, you will NOT advance.

Since the new upgrade, I have mined, collected mats, bounty hunted and traveled more than ever before to try to get the mods to become competitive. I was successful in avoiding being blown up. Up until today.

While attempting to complete a mission for mats, I was interdicted by a Python that within a minute had taken out my shields and brought me down to 64% hull. Be aware that I also had a Python with reactive armor, which apparently is just like tissue paper now. So I not only boosted, but jumped to another system, repaired. Interdicted again, avoided the interdiction through the escape route. Tried again to complete the mission, interdicted again by an Explorer, fought that one and knocked it down, down to 46% hull. As I was trying to boost to reach my destination, the same Python that had interdicted me before shows up, close range, and proceeds to blow me out of space within a minute, and of course they target your critical systems with unerring accuracy, which adds to your quick demise.

I don't mind a fight. In fact, when I was interdicted I usually fight it out and I enjoy it. Before, I looked forward to an interdiction, now you have to run or you will die if an equal or greater ship hauls you down. Even the smaller ones can knock you around as well. What is the fun of that? I am deadly combat, over 60% to elite and have shot over 9k ships of all sizes so I am not a newbie. There is no fight now in these encounters, you just die. Now I must say that not every NPC is a Boss NPC, but these appear to be just that and appear regularly. But the cost to re-spawn an A-Class Python? It's not like other video games were lives are easily obtained, to get CR's, rank and everything else in ED, requires time and effort, but to been blown up w/o a chance sucks, all your efforts seem worthless.

By the way, a disturbing number of Pirates seem to have augmented ships as well.

You too will experience this if you are active and try to reach the new goals. Don't dismiss other CMDR experiences as anomalies; the posts are full of the same event such as mine. FD needs to re-balance. The NPC weaponry is over the top, their speed as well. You can damage them but not if you can't last more than a minute, you won't live through it if a Boss gets you.

"The Stars My Destination"
Alfred Bester

I've been flying small ships my entire career. During the betas, I did try all the large ship, but never took a liking to them. Granted, my account isn't brimming with funds, but I'm not in it for the money. That's... just a tool. Personally, I haven't encountered anything I'd classify as grind- perhaps our playstyles are very different.

Also, with the rejigging of NPCs, the game ought to be challenging, but more fair now. So far, I'm glad I'm back!


"Gully Foyle is my name
And Terra is my nation
Deep space is my dwelling place
And death's my destination."

 

[Marra Morgan]

In order to play the game effectively, you can't even begin to use a cheap ship.

Good opener - it saved me from reading the rest.

 

[Jamie Wolf]

NPCs loosing Eng Mods as of today....
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=257892

From my limited experience I can confirm they declawed the AI.
Last week 2 Sidewinders went through the shields of my Python extremely quick.
Last night I lost an interdiction against a Python and fled while having to wait for the FSD to cool down, and with the guy shooting all the time, I came out of it with 1 ring still in shields. Mostly because I was undecided and thought about turning around and taking him on.

Also Interdictions seem much easier in 2.1 fought against 2 last night, and in both cases the target circle stayed nearly all the time in the middle of the screen and when it moved it moved linear in on direction easy to follow. Unlike 2.0 or before when it went all over the screen.

The bonus mission or in mission updates are a bit broken, sending people with big ships to outposts, or I got it a few times where it would inform me I get a bonus if I deliver quick, and in the same time a note that I was not quick enough.

 

[Gorgonaut]

A bit off-topic- is anyone stil seeing the "dust motes" suddenly moving sideways when coming out of orbital cruise?
I don't have video, but I'll try to snag a screenshot next time. Always feels like I'm dropping out wrong, even though everything is all right.

 

[Karla]

My theory is some are inexperienced Robigo pilots who made millions in a few hours, bought ships they were incapable of flying and paid the price. Shortcuts don't always pay off long-term.

It wasn't just that. My problem was that I had pledged in power play the previous week and was flying around in a trader ship. This meant getting interdicted by wings of three ships all modded up at the most inopportune moment, generally when flying a trader or when looking at the galaxy map. I spend most of my time in a Res flying a combat ship and can handle my myself there.

The problem is that not everyone wants to do combat but the buffed up engineer mods were making everyone have to fly around in a combat ship. My Asp can only carry 28 tonnes of cargo now. That wasn't enough for two deliveries of fortification supplies at rank 2. And it's no longer worthwhile using it for trade or mining either.

 

[Karla]

I notice everyone who is saying that the AI is not so bad mentions that they are bounty hunting in a Hi-RES and not a Haz RES. Before 2.1 people were in Haz Res. That is the biggest difference now. Haz RES sites are no good for bounty hunting any more, I'm making about 1/3 the amount of bounties there than I did in 2.0 because the fights are much longer, and I have to go back much more often for repairs. Anacondas and dropships that can out turn you every time and manoeuvre like an eagle is ridiculous.

So I will be joining the Hi-Res crowd and do what I did when I first started playing the game when I had a much smaller ship and less skill, follow the police ships around and get a few hits in to get the bounty.

That's my experience as well. I used to always fly in Haz Res but have been flying High Res since the update. It's becoming Haz farming again because the target gets swarmed by so many cops and every fight is over really quickly again. When I finish buffing up my Vulture I might try the Haz Res again. Even just the level 1 double shot mod for the large frag cannon has made a significant difference. Modding the power plant, shields and beam laser could make Haz Res economically viable again, especially when I get higher than level 1 access.

 

[InlineSix]

Nothing is broken, one just has to make sure he has his brain engaged before undocking.

Only time I was killed by an NPC since release was in an unarmed and unshielded Hauler that got a surprise visit from an Elite Clipper...

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

I just logged in for the first time since 2.1 dropped.

It's not that much harder.

I flew my Python 5 jumps without being chain interdicted and/or murdered to death. And i just did a combat field test in my 2.0 FDL in a HAZ res. And i was fine. Only time my shields dropped was after a mishap with a FAS and an asteroid. Lol
Oh, and don't try firing off 3 SCBs in your FDL anymore. It gets warm. Lol (200% with heatsink!)

FEDs show up in HAZ ress now too, which is odd. But handy. Lol
They also show up much faster for other things.
I dropped in to a threat level 4 USS, with 5 Vultures waiting for me. I wasn't in any shape to fight them, but I hung around to see how long it would take the feds to show up. It was about 5 seconds.
Still had plenty of life left in my to jump out again.

The class 4 beam laser is awesome too. My FDL is running 4 multies and a class 4 beam. And man, it shreds everything!

Not sure what to make of the crafting gubbins, can't even be bothered to fly to one yet. Lol

 

[rrobes]

I've been flying small ships my entire career. During the betas, I did try all the large ship, but never took a liking to them. Granted, my account isn't brimming with funds, but I'm not in it for the money. That's... just a tool. Personally, I haven't encountered anything I'd classify as grind- perhaps our playstyles are very different.

Also, with the rejigging of NPCs, the game ought to be challenging, but more fair now. So far, I'm glad I'm back!


"Gully Foyle is my name
And Terra is my nation
Deep space is my dwelling place
And death's my destination."

"Tiger, tiger, burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?" W. Blake Good to see another classic SF afficionado.

 

[joshman72nd]

so far since the launch of 2.1 iv seen the machine gun bug only twice and shotgun lazer once.

shotgun lazer was after the supposed fix.

so far 2.1 is fine just make sure when you take a mission that you got room for the reward in your cargo bay if it also give a commodity.

 

[Gaarp Kobayashi]

(...)
Is the game really as broken as "everyone" seems to say now? If I log in, am I gonna have a bad time?
I don't grind. I pootle around, doing missions, trying to do things I find relatively meaningful. Sure, some things are frustrating, but this game wasn't made for just me. I still like it.

Ofcourse not! Those who shout the laudest aren't the majoriry. Not even close. They're just laudest. The game is pure fun now!

 

[monkeymagoo]

Lost my FAS twice over the weekend (in keeping with commandment #7) because my brain was still in 'easy/lazy' mode. You have to think a lot more about what you're doing, the fights you pick, and make sure you have an exit strategy when your modules start to fail (!) but it's a lot more fun. The fights you can get into are pretty spectacular and you can still pick off big bounties. Be careful in a RES, I haven't quite figured out what I did wrong yet but the feds all turned on me last night even though I went after a wanted target. Genuine 'oh oh' moment!

Just play it, it's good

 

[PavelKCZ]

2.1 is live! Hooray!
I played the beta, and it was fine.
Now, I see videos of plasma-spamming NPC, read about CMDRs dying in seconds, missions that don't work, bounties that are next to worthless, and just an endless amount of complaining and claims that the game is broken, ruined, a bug-infested mess, etc.

As I said, I played the Beta, and I had a great spiffing time. Before that, I had a break from ED, lasting a few months.
Reading all these gripes and complaints, I'm (somewhat foolishly) afraid to log back in. I don't want to lose my DBS for no reason, but it seems dumb to not play, just because some people think the game is borked. After all, the beta was fun. I only died a few times (all of which were tense, exciting dogfights)

Is the game really as broken as "everyone" seems to say now? If I log in, am I gonna have a bad time?
I don't grind. I pootle around, doing missions, trying to do things I find relatively meaningful. Sure, some things are frustrating, but this game wasn't made for just me. I still like it.

Game itself is OK, I think. At least when it comes to NPC fights. I did not lost any ship since 2.1 started, just had some repairs here and there.

There is only one major problem. The interdictions rate is insanely high. It is not dangerous, but it is annoying and boring. For example, if you look at etn.io to find some trading loop and you can read there that one travel (two jumps plus 200 Ls SC to the destination) should be around 6 minutes, the travel will be something like 20 minutes or more, just because the interdictions.

 

[reg]

For the OP. Personally I'm finding it easier at the moment. A lot less attacks from NPC's since 2.1 for me - maybe because I'm at harmless rank. When they do show up I just hyper out to the nearest system then straight back.

 

[Gaarp Kobayashi]

Lost my FAS twice over the weekend (in keeping with commandment #7) because my brain was still in 'easy/lazy' mode. You have to think a lot more about what you're doing, the fights you pick, and make sure you have an exit strategy when your modules start to fail (!) but it's a lot more fun. The fights you can get into are pretty spectacular and you can still pick off big bounties. Be careful in a RES, I haven't quite figured out what I did wrong yet but the feds all turned on me last night even though I went after a wanted target. Genuine 'oh oh' moment!

Just play it, it's good

I totally second this!!!! +1 for healthy & fully aware approach, Commander Monkeymagoo!!!