I just made a trip from Lave to just outside Alioth and had a great time getting there. I was getting fed up scraping creds together with small time board missions so I thought 'why not get out more?'.
So I did.
I began small, upgrading my Cobras weapons. Did some bounty hunting at a Fed nav point and kill stole wanted Anaconda's from stupid Fed rozzers. After a while they went red (Q: I never hit them- why is this? Did they get fed up of my antics?) so I quietly ran away with my lovely vouchers. Almost came ustuck when I challenged a Viper that had torpedo launchers....run away!
In general combat, I was impressed by how varied and challenging the AI was- at the time I had twin gimballed pulse lasers and thought I was a good match for vessels up to my size. This was a stupid assumption as AI use chaff and were very good at flying. I called time when I came across a Cobra who had turreted beam lasers and was becoming a pest......back to my cargo run.
So, with my Cobra filled with rare items I set out.......and all at once I felt how alone I was outside populated space....it freaked me out a little as I felt quite small and vulnerable. Fuel was fine (had a scoop) but each ship that whizzed past might be a pirate (Q: why do some SC ships have comet trails and others not?).
About half way I was flying towards a star in SC and was interdicted. 'Not a problem!' you might say- but whilst I was trying to evade I was rapidly twisting towards the (by now very close / hot) star. Not wanting to get fried or wreck my hull I submitted and found myself facing a Star Destroyer like Anaconda. Being so close to the star my temps were in the red but I had to risk higher temperatures from operating the FSD. I watched as the guage climbed higher....150.....175 and pop! I escaped just as my ship started to celebrate New Years with cockpit fireworks. Hoping this was my excitement for the night I pressed on. But no- later in an anarchy system I was interdicted twice. Luckily the second time the pirate was just an Eagle. I made fried chicken of the fool and got on with the job. Finally I made it to systems bordering Alioth and netted 250,000 creds. I then kicked back reading the latest GalNet and sipped a nice cup of tea, thinking of what to upgrade next, and get back to my cred making.
I loved how the scope of the game just changed when I just took a chance and went for it. The balance of rewards from being reckless or cautious is just right for me- I quickly learnt what my ship could do and I love the dread of slowly realising you are out of your depth fighting a superior ship. I can't wait for whats next in 2015 for ED....bring it on!
So I did.
I began small, upgrading my Cobras weapons. Did some bounty hunting at a Fed nav point and kill stole wanted Anaconda's from stupid Fed rozzers. After a while they went red (Q: I never hit them- why is this? Did they get fed up of my antics?) so I quietly ran away with my lovely vouchers. Almost came ustuck when I challenged a Viper that had torpedo launchers....run away!
In general combat, I was impressed by how varied and challenging the AI was- at the time I had twin gimballed pulse lasers and thought I was a good match for vessels up to my size. This was a stupid assumption as AI use chaff and were very good at flying. I called time when I came across a Cobra who had turreted beam lasers and was becoming a pest......back to my cargo run.
So, with my Cobra filled with rare items I set out.......and all at once I felt how alone I was outside populated space....it freaked me out a little as I felt quite small and vulnerable. Fuel was fine (had a scoop) but each ship that whizzed past might be a pirate (Q: why do some SC ships have comet trails and others not?).
About half way I was flying towards a star in SC and was interdicted. 'Not a problem!' you might say- but whilst I was trying to evade I was rapidly twisting towards the (by now very close / hot) star. Not wanting to get fried or wreck my hull I submitted and found myself facing a Star Destroyer like Anaconda. Being so close to the star my temps were in the red but I had to risk higher temperatures from operating the FSD. I watched as the guage climbed higher....150.....175 and pop! I escaped just as my ship started to celebrate New Years with cockpit fireworks. Hoping this was my excitement for the night I pressed on. But no- later in an anarchy system I was interdicted twice. Luckily the second time the pirate was just an Eagle. I made fried chicken of the fool and got on with the job. Finally I made it to systems bordering Alioth and netted 250,000 creds. I then kicked back reading the latest GalNet and sipped a nice cup of tea, thinking of what to upgrade next, and get back to my cred making.
I loved how the scope of the game just changed when I just took a chance and went for it. The balance of rewards from being reckless or cautious is just right for me- I quickly learnt what my ship could do and I love the dread of slowly realising you are out of your depth fighting a superior ship. I can't wait for whats next in 2015 for ED....bring it on!