Newcomer / Intro Is it too late?

[Inkblot]

As somebody that played the original Elite on the BBC back in the 80's I was really excited about this game to the point that I kickstarter'd (kickstarted?) it back around 2013. Howver, for some reason I never actually got around to playing it, I always meant to but other things got in the way. I'm now at a point in my life where I have more time to do the things I enjoy and I thought of finally playing but as the title says, is it too late? Would I, a complete noob, close to retirement age with slow reactions who hasn't played more than 5 minutes since the original game, be able to reach a reasonable standard of play? I remember being concerned as the kickstarter progressed when it loooked like it wass becoming less of a game and more of a simulator, did that happen or is it a 'jump in and have fun' instead of a 'here is a 3hr training mission on how to dock'. Can I play on a single sceen or do I need multiple screens? Do I need a joystick/controller or can I use mouse/keyboard?

 

[sinisalo]

Blink and eight years goes by just like that!

But seriously, many of us are old dudes, there's a few threads floating around where we admit it. It's a suitable game for geezers.

You can play with mouse and keyboard, plenty do it seems, but I use HOTAS, pedals and Track IR. That's a good setup I think. But try it out, and if you like it you can step up your controls later.

It's not too late.

Good hunting commander and welcome to the boards.

 

[aRJay]

As somebody that played the original Elite on the BBC back in the 80's I was really excited about this game to the point that I kickstarter'd (kickstarted?) it back around 2013. Howver, for some reason I never actually got around to playing it, I always meant to but other things got in the way. I'm now at a point in my life where I have more time to do the things I enjoy and I thought of finally playing but as the title says, is it too late? Would I, a complete noob, close to retirement age with slow reactions who hasn't played more than 5 minutes since the original game, be able to reach a reasonable standard of play?

Yes, not instantly but within a short time. The best thing is that as playing against other players is optional you get to set the bar as to play standards.

I remember being concerned as the kickstarter progressed when it loooked like it wass becoming less of a game and more of a simulator, did that happen or is it a 'jump in and have fun' instead of a 'here is a 3hr training mission on how to dock'.

It is a hybrid between game and simulator.
There are many training missions and some tutorials available in the game non are compulsory but some are advisable if only to set up key bindings and get used to the controls. There is even one hidden in the challenge menu which is just about docking.

Can I play on a single sceen or do I need multiple screens? Do I need a joystick/controller or can I use mouse/keyboard?

A single screen is fine although multiple screens would also work, personally I use a Joystick and Throttle (HOTAS) along with my keyboard but there are people using keyboard and mouse, game pads, twin joysticks, rudder pedals and custom made dedicated cockpits. So whatever control method suits you and your budget.

 

[CMDR SleepyDelegate]

Definitely not late at all... I also played the early Elite games and later I was also eyeing the kickstarter, but then completely forgot about it and figured out my mistake in 2020... I also thought it is probably already late. But eventually I decided to give it a try and I play almost daily since then. I do mostly exploration and pirate hunting, when I'm in the bubble.

I started with mouse and keyboard. But I always wanted full immersion, therefore I was heading towards VR. As part of the preparation (I was waiting for HP Reverb G2 to come out) I purchased HOTAS and never regretted the investment. In the end, I believe HOTAS and VR is how this game is meant to be played.

Regarding my fears of being late: I thought most of the systems will be soon explored and there will be nothing left. Two years later and some 18.000 systems explored, I know that we are so far from it, that it will probably take a decade or two to start feeling like the Galaxy is fairly explored...

If I could give you some advice: do not engage in any road to riches gameplay. Do not take it personally if you get killed by another player for no apparent reason. Do not hide yourself in private groups or solo mode. And enjoy everything that happens in the game, including dying and respawning (which BTW does not happen often, unless you look for it).

 

[Ashnak]

Nope, not too late to get started - new players start all the time (although the interest has been waning). Reactins only come into play when you're into combat - PVE or PVP - and that part of the game is not mandatory (although there are some combat tutorials in the intro sequence - which quite a few newbies find very frustrating until they realize or get told that these are not mandatory).

But yes, there is an intro section with training missions, and you will spend some time in them. You will also spend a lot of time in setting up your ship and in setting up your control scheme. There are reasons why there are external sites like Coriolis, EDRefcard or Inara.

As for your setup - like others have said, the bandwidth ranges from the old guy in the recliner with a gamepad, playing on his TV, to the guy who built his own 3-axis game controlled chair, flying in VR with HOTAS/HOSAS. ED is extremely flexible in that aspect, what you make out of it is up to you.

 

[Inkblot]

Thanks for the feedback, game has finished downloading so will hopefully fire it up in a while. Seeing people referring to HOTAS (and checking what the acronym meant) got me thinking that I had bought a joystick some years back specifically for playing the game and sure enough I found it in my Amazon purchase history from 2014 - Logitech G Extreme 3d pro - let's hope it is as easy to find physically although I have a nasty feeling it got thrown away a couple of years back during a mad spring cleaning spree. Hoping we might have put it somewhere though as it was unused and still in the box so fingers crossed it didn't get dumped. If it did and I therefore need to purchase another one what should I be looking at assuming a fairly low budget - ideally less than £100?

 

[Para Handy]

That Logitech is a good stick to get you going. It has a weakness in that the twist axis uses a potentiometer (X and Y axes are hall-effect sensors) but maybe just set a large "deadzone" if your stick does have drift on the twist axis. The stick does also have a potentiometer control on the base which you can use for throttle (thrust) if you want.

I have one of these (well the HOTAS-X really) for use on a secondary PC and it works really well, a useable HOTAS for not too much money:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrustmaster-T-Flight-Hotas-Joystick-PS3/dp/B001CXYMFS/

Lots of people use this stick:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrustmaster-T-16000M-FCS-Joystick-PC/dp/B01H6KXGEI/

you can get it as a HOTAS bundle too:

Thrustmaster T16000M FCS Hotas - Joystick and Throttle, T.A.R.G.E.T Software, PC : Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games

Buy Thrustmaster T16000M FCS Hotas - Joystick and Throttle, T.A.R.G.E.T Software, PC from Amazon.co.uk. Everyday low prices on a huge range of video game accessories.

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[rootsrat]

As somebody that played the original Elite on the BBC back in the 80's I was really excited about this game to the point that I kickstarter'd (kickstarted?) it back around 2013. Howver, for some reason I never actually got around to playing it, I always meant to but other things got in the way. I'm now at a point in my life where I have more time to do the things I enjoy and I thought of finally playing but as the title says, is it too late? Would I, a complete noob, close to retirement age with slow reactions who hasn't played more than 5 minutes since the original game, be able to reach a reasonable standard of play? I remember being concerned as the kickstarter progressed when it loooked like it wass becoming less of a game and more of a simulator, did that happen or is it a 'jump in and have fun' instead of a 'here is a 3hr training mission on how to dock'. Can I play on a single sceen or do I need multiple screens? Do I need a joystick/controller or can I use mouse/keyboard?

Easy! One of Elite's biggest advantages is that it can be played very causally and doesn't require you to be a try hard.

You will easily experience 80% of what's the game has to offer in the cheaper ships and really not that much content is blocked behind the skill or endgame equipment wall.

Definitely try it out, but take it easy and slowly. It's mostly about the journey, as much as it is about the destination.

Right on, Commander! o7

 

[ethelred]

Just to re-iterate what others have said, it's not too late and there is plenty of game to get stuck into.

I'd also add that we're ready to answer any questions you may have and provide help if you need it.

There's also the discord for more immediate help.

Good hunting.

 

[AlSki]

Interestingly, EDs direction since launch has been to get more game-y and less simulator-y.

Right now, you can hop in a taxi and travel from a settlement in one system to another, with your taxi driver doing all the piloting.
Or you can have your own ship and install a couple of docking computers to almost get the same functionality.
Or you can fly yourself, 1984 Elite style.

Not to mention, that new pilots find themselves in a ringed off region of space so they can learn without worrying about player killers for the few few trips.

There is also so much support available from the internet (oh hi) and player groups, including ones that specialise in getting new players up and running.

 

[Codger]

Would I, a complete noob, close to retirement age with slow reactions who hasn't played more than 5 minutes since the original game, be able to reach a reasonable standard of play?

I started playing ED about 5 years ago, when I retired, as it turns out. I never played the original. I've had a wonderful time in this game. It does have a very steep learning curve, especially at first, but I found it interesting and challenging. 4000+ hours later I'm still playing and enjoying it.

You're definitely not too late. Jump in

 

[Frank]

As somebody that played the original Elite on the BBC back in the 80's I was really excited about this game to the point that I kickstarter'd (kickstarted?) it back around 2013. Howver, for some reason I never actually got around to playing it, I always meant to but other things got in the way. I'm now at a point in my life where I have more time to do the things I enjoy and I thought of finally playing but as the title says, is it too late? Would I, a complete noob, close to retirement age with slow reactions who hasn't played more than 5 minutes since the original game, be able to reach a reasonable standard of play? I remember being concerned as the kickstarter progressed when it loooked like it wass becoming less of a game and more of a simulator, did that happen or is it a 'jump in and have fun' instead of a 'here is a 3hr training mission on how to dock'. Can I play on a single sceen or do I need multiple screens? Do I need a joystick/controller or can I use mouse/keyboard?

I'd imagine that Elite: Dangerous would be the best game for you to play. There's a lot of us here who played Elite in the '80s so you will be in good company

CQC can get a little intense for us old'uns. If you know you will never beat the young'uns for their reaction times and the fact they've played long enough to have memorised the maps, then there's a lot of fun to be had there. As long as you keep a nice hot cup of cocoa and a warm pair of slippers handy when you've had enough

 

[Rock Hunter]

One of the things I’ve enjoyed about this game is the way you can ease into it both in terms of in-game activities and the equipment you use.

Much like you, but on a shorter timescale, I bought the game but didn’t play it for a couple of years. I bumbled around in confusion using keyboard and mouse trying to feel my way through the game, pretty soon I’d dug out a very old Microsoft Sidewinder joystick which was later replaced with the Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS Para Handy mentioned above. Four years later I’m still playing and have bought into VR, Virpil joysticks, rudder pedals and lots of things I really don’t need but make my enjoyment of the game greater. None of this is actually needed or required, I could still be playing with my ancient Sidewinder and keyboard quite happily.

Stay in Solo/PvE mode and, once you’ve learned how to avoid interdictions, you’ll be able to enjoy any aspect of the game at the pace you enjoy. Pop in here from time to time and you‘ll get great advice and pointers on how to make the most of the games scale. You’ll find people that circumnavigate planets in their space buggies for fun, or canyon racers meeting up for speed runs, the crazies who travel from one side of the Galaxy to another as quickly as possible and a myriad more sandbox activities beyond the missions you’ll find in stations.

Maybe we’ll be talking about Cmdr Inkblot in a year or two as being the greatest FA Off pilot this side of Alioth.

*with Cmdrs heard whispering at the local station bar - “I hear he uses a dual stick setup you know”

I hope you find enjoyment in the game.

 

[A5stroPope]

Im loving ED, as a new come er, returner?, i mean, i last played Frontier, err, moons ago.. fondly recall, 3 fps planet launch to ride of the Valkyrie on my 1 meg Amiga 500 on a single disk, 1 floppy, code condensed as my post, less is more.​

New to ED in a nutshell...

Skint, brass tacks... So, tbh, pleased that
I have managed to repurpose an Xbox 360 controller on Win 10 and oh the lulz having mapped about 60+ commands to various button combos...

 

[A5stroPope]

Quick question on PS34 Gamepad just burnt my fingers messing about, my experience with Sony controllers and drivers, etc.. led to formatting and reinstalling PC... head fell right off? After a few beverages, billy big balls wanted to play wireless, simples, instead i overwrote my USB drivers with ScpToolkit, no clue why i removed req. drivers and proceed to overwrite the whole lot ground up, declaring i accept 12 wireless Microsoft dongles to be fired up, during Win boot, fml..wireless doughnuts as much use, not 1 second into splash screen PC hung should have stuck to to my simple plan..
Xinput a WIRED PS3 Dual shock, no Bluetooth, no wireless.. no Disaster.. Over complicated matters, Win10 reinstall, Rufus a boot stick using Android phone.. Snowballed.. Anyone use a dualshock with/without bluetooth, wireless? out of interest..?

1. Connect the controller to your system..
2. Open Steam..

 

[aRJay]

One of the things with Elite Dangerous and controllers/joysticks/etc is that they must be plugged in and running in the same port/address before the game is launched otherwise they probably won’t be recognised and the game will load the default bindings.

 

[Para Handy]

Quick question on PS34 Gamepad just burnt my fingers messing about, my experience with Sony controllers and drivers, etc.. led to formatting and reinstalling PC... head fell right off? After a few beverages, billy big balls wanted to play wireless, simples, instead i overwrote my USB drivers with ScpToolkit, no clue why i removed req. drivers and proceed to overwrite the whole lot ground up, declaring i accept 12 wireless Microsoft dongles to be fired up, during Win boot, fml..wireless doughnuts as much use, not 1 second into splash screen PC hung should have stuck to to my simple plan..
Xinput a WIRED PS3 Dual shock, no Bluetooth, no wireless.. no Disaster.. Over complicated matters, Win10 reinstall, Rufus a boot stick using Android phone.. Snowballed.. Anyone use a dualshock with/without bluetooth, wireless? out of interest..?

1. Connect the controller to your system..
2. Open Steam..

Two suggestions, either:

1. Get to know the PC sub-forum where lots of knowledge is available to help people.

or:

2. Take more / less (as applicable):

 

[sinisalo]

Anyone use a dualshock with/without bluetooth, wireless? out of interest..?

I use a Cougar stick and throttle, Crosswind pedals and Track IR. But when the FSS and DSS were redesigned a few years ago I wanted to add a controller to run those suites. I tried a Dual Shock using the DS4 Windows utility and never got it to work. I just said screw that and went USB X Box controller and it's plug and play and works fine. And no charging to worry about. Cheap too.

 

[Mark Zero]

Aww, this thread is really wholesome. That's a little rare to see lately.

As somebody that played the original Elite on the BBC back in the 80's I was really excited about this game to the point that I kickstarter'd (kickstarted?) it back around 2013. Howver, for some reason I never actually got around to playing it, I always meant to but other things got in the way. I'm now at a point in my life where I have more time to do the things I enjoy and I thought of finally playing but as the title says, is it too late? Would I, a complete noob, close to retirement age with slow reactions who hasn't played more than 5 minutes since the original game, be able to reach a reasonable standard of play? I remember being concerned as the kickstarter progressed when it loooked like it wass becoming less of a game and more of a simulator, did that happen or is it a 'jump in and have fun' instead of a 'here is a 3hr training mission on how to dock'. Can I play on a single sceen or do I need multiple screens? Do I need a joystick/controller or can I use mouse/keyboard?

Short answer from a late 30's new-ish player (coming up on my second year now) is that you can absolutely just jump right in, and slow reactions aren't gonna be a problem. There are plenty of chill things to do in this game, and even most basic combat stuff is fun and comfortable once you get used to the rhythm of it. Be ready for a few frustratingly steep learning curves and a few sim-y complicated mechanics at first, but once you get the hang of everything you'll actually come back around to appreciating them.

Take your time, learn at your own pace, have a lot of fun, and don't rush through it. The "endgame" of Elite is basically having so much money that it no longer has meaning, and flying multiple ships that are so good at what they do (and that you're so good at flying), they almost trivialize the gameplay that was once chewy and difficult. Take your time getting to that point and savor it, and enjoy all the little things along the way. You'll be glad you did.

 

[metatheurgist]

.. Anyone use a dualshock with/without bluetooth, wireless? out of interest..?

Yes, wired. You can get it work wireless but you need a specific BT chipset to work. Mine does but if I pair the controller to anything else (which happens every once in a while when I play Helldivers with friends) I basically have to uninstall and reinstall the BT dongle to get it to pair again. So I just leave it wired now.